YOU WANT A THIGH OR A LEG? AL1CE Chapter II Virtual Tour Thoughts September 30, 2020

You Want A Thigh or A Leg? Leg II of the INSIDE/Out Virtual Tour With AL1CE

8/19/2020


Good evening!  Welcome to al1ce.tv!   This is the Inside Out Virtual Tour with AL1CE - Chapter II.  I have this basic introduction tattooed in my brain.


I was not inspired to write during this second leg of the tour. No real reason - but I learned that when I’m not inspired, I shouldn’t try to force it just for the sake of writing something. But today - I was writing film reviews and I think that got my writing juices flowing. We’ll see where this leads.


My random memories from this second leg:


*Booking the guests was the toughest that it’s been! I think it being in the heart of Summer had a little to do with it. I think pandemic burnout had more to do with it. And I think folks that work for certain artists had something else to do with it, too. All I know is that I had a ton of movement to work around with artists schedules, wanting certain days, changing their minds about certain days, pre-record requests instead of live, and other assorted things. I am happy with all of the guests - don’t get me wrong. But certain days were pegged to be filled with one guest that at the last minute turned into a different guest. And this seemed to happen almost daily with some new wrinkle I had to iron out. And the end result is that I ended up overbooked - which I try to avoid at all costs as it looks unprofessional. Those obligations are being met right now with the current post-tour interviews I have scheduled. A few others, that weren’t locked down yet, are hopefully moving to October. I’m already following up with some of those guests about the Fall opportunity.


*The Fun Table - Rounds I and II (and III but that was not technically a part of the tour). They got better as they went along. It’s interesting that in a much more casual arena, other factors have to be considered. The first being some of the artists have very real and large followings (socials and in real life) - they can’t be as open as they’d like to be as it could come back to bite them - which I understand. In reality the same could bite me too but I don’t give a shit.


The second being some people just aren’t comfortable talking about certain topics. Again, no problem - I don’t discuss politics during these (maybe indirectly a comment will come out) - so I get it. No sex questions - no problem.


Third it shows people in a new environment and how they react. I am typically an introvert. So, depending on my mood, I may engage with more than one person at, for example, a business meeting. But, in other cases, I may not engage at all. The Tea Times are good examples, too. Sometimes I’m in the mood to listen, other times I’m ready to ramble. By the time the fourth Fun Table happened after the tour - I felt we hit what I was initially looking for - getting people to talk with each other (and me), not me dictating things. Wade and Mike both chirped up many times during their session. We’ll see where these go. I really enjoy doing them.


*This is a lot of work - haha. I already knew this but as I’ve described to publicists and others what I’ve been doing on this tour (since May) - their reactions helped me really realize just how much work has been going into these shows (overall of course).


*I lost my perspective more than I usually do. I could blame this on pandemic-brain or squishy brain but I know I can do better. I got a little snarky during this leg of the tour. I don’t know if it came out on air but it came out in other areas. I will do better because I’m now consciously aware of it.


*I was constantly thinking about my upcoming day job obligations - some of those were being texted to me DURING my interviews. There’s a little BTS information for ya! Yes, I could turn off my notifications but I figured - it’s like an hour long window - from tech to preshow to livestream. How many texts could I get during that time (and it’s at, for the most part, 7pm PDT)? A lot, apparently. If I could afford a different device to stream from, believe me, I would. Future purchase when I can afford to do so - maybe next year heh.


*I can usually rattle off the list of guests right off the top of my head. Right now - certain ones I remember for sure - Emma comes to mind, Life Is Easy folks, Nichole, Blaise, and the Fun Tables. If I really sit here and think about it I can rattle off all of them - but it’s odd to me that I can’t do it immediately. That’s a major difference between the first leg and the interim shows and then this leg. Probably because I have too much in my head about day job obligations.


*The last hour long set that AL1CE played on the 13th was damn near perfect. It was one of those performances where everything seems to be clicking. I don’t know how the band felt about it but from my fan point of view - it was on another level.


*There’s a lot of generosity and understanding amongst the AL1CE fans. I wasn’t kidding when I mentioned a road/plane trip is in order to LA - once it’s safe to do so. It would be great to meet everyone in person!


*I did my best to shorten the heck out of my show intros so I could do the guest intros and then get right to the interview. I spent too many minutes on the first leg talking about things when I should have been maximizing my interview time with the guests. I feel good about this change.


*I’m happy that Paper Nova got an offer to join a show and that they accepted. We talk all the time about networking, connections, and opportunities. I know so many people that miss out on opportunities that are right in front of them (including me - all of you know I had to think before committing to this tour back in May *shaking my head at myself*). It’s that old adage you can lead a horse to water….glad they decided to drink. ;)


Yeah, that’s about all I got right now. I may leave this and see if anything else comes to mind before publishing it.


8/23/2020


What a very full week in terms of Eclectic Arts. I just finished the interview with The Warning from Mexico. It was a major success but a little bittersweet.


In general I am always looking to see how I can grow Eclectic Arts. It is not my main focus but I am aware of the numbers (publicists always ask for them) and when I can bring more exposure to EA and/or AL1CE - I am going to try to do so.


With the shows with AL1CE - I tried to bring Danny Koker’s fan base over to the interview. I tried to bring Jake Shimabukuro’s fan base over to the interview. Neither were what I would deem as successful. Jake’s numbers doubled during my interview as it streamed but it wasn’t even a fraction of what I had hoped for.


So, the interview today I was trying to schedule during the AL1CE shows. I had a feeling their fan base would translate to views of the live-stream. Sure enough - as soon as I posted about the upcoming interview, I was getting likes, follows, and even new subscribers to my social media channels.


When we went live - the fans were already in the YouTube chat. We ended up with nearly 600 views combined on the three platforms during the livestream and two hours later we’re over 1000 views combined. Positive comments about the interview being one of the best ones done with the band, the interviewer did his homework, etc., etc. My socials have all increased by 30-50 new people. Of course that makes me feel great but man do I wish this had happened with the AL1CE shows - to bring more exposure to one of my favorite bands. Hopefully - next time I can get things to line up so something similar happens on the next tour. I want more people to know about AL1CE!


9/30/2020


I did not forget about this half done report. I just never got around to adding to it. For whatever reason, I find myself on this Wednesday evening in the mood to finish it.


Chapter II of the virtual tour feels like it was a looooong time ago. I think the fact that I’ve been continuing virtual events is one of the main reasons. I’m very happy that the guests that I couldn’t fit into the tour dates were able to happen in August and even early September.


Random thoughts:


*We are one week out from Chapter III starting.

*This Saturday will be The Fun Table Sessions - Round XI. I’ve been having a lot of fun (no pun intended) doing these. Each of them has their own flavor and they’ve really taken on a life of their own. With the pandemic still keeping me alone more than I’d like, the conversation once a week is a nice thing to look forward to. And I absolutely love it when the guests get on with each other. I am more than happy to sit back with my drink and just be a fly on the wall.


*I have reached out to a good number of guests for the upcoming Chapter III. None are scheduled except for one - which was just confirmed about two hours ago. I am waiting for one guest to get back to me which is holding up some dates. But, the others, I’m going to start booking tomorrow.


*Back to Chapter II. It’s funny how my pending day job obligations back then we’re taking up so much of my time and thoughts. I’m now starting a totally different survival job and I feel good about it. Much better than I felt about things back in August. The schedule will still work with the Chapter III tour dates so that was a big plus.


*I know why I felt like writing tonight - Chapter III is starting next week - duh. This chapter was unfinished so - yeah - here I am…


*Numbers have been brought up recently. 62 virtual interviews (since May 22) and counting. 55 film reviews (since April 17) and definitely counting. By the time we reach the end of 2020, the virtual interview number will probably be in the 80’s is my guess. Maybe 90’s - depending on how interested I am in doing more of them during late November and all of December. Virtual Christmas anyone? And the film review number will probably increase by 20 or so - maybe more. I have a few more to do right now but not the big long list like a month ago.


*This is really more about what’s going on now and what's coming up than Chapter II of the tour. Oh well.


*Last thoughts about Chapter II. I have not re-watched those interviews - other than short segments for social media purposes. Interesting fact that I just thought of now. Hmm - I wonder why that is? Each chunk of shows has its own feel to me now that I look back on them. Chapter I, the Interim Shows, and Chapter II.


I wonder what Chapter III will look like once I can look back on that leg in, say, November or December?


As always - thanks for reading these ramblings. I think I may start another one just to write about what’s been going on lately and what’s coming up. Take good care!

Best,

Mark Sugiyama

Eclectic Arts

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