Leif Fescenmeyer | Senior Marketing and Advertising Leader
Elegantly breaking down complexity into insight.
He wrote on of the most inspiring books of our time and my life. He was a reclusive man, a man passionate about his work. He had his oddball tendencies, but then again who doesn’t? He will be missed by many, including myself.
“It’s funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to.” — J.D. Salinger
J.D Salinger – 1919-2010
From the last post, you may have read that in order to apply an audio track to my video, I needed to create it first. It was no big deal at all. However, once I started producing that track, I wanted to produce more!
As a result, I’m going to produce some original, custom Son of Erik tracks for an album. Now, Son of Erik, over the last year, was primarily a DJ/Mixtape sort of adventure. I would produce an hour long mix utilizing existing tracks, try and splice them together creatively and pass them along to my friends. I had no intention to mix live sets or make profit on it, it was merely a hobby. But, I want more.
I believe that Son of Erik can evolve. It can be mixtape production as well as producing tracks that are original to the Son of Erik name. Moreover, I can then utilize those tracks into the mixtapes themselves while making an album. I have to say I’m very excited.
So, what’s next? Well, I’m planning on producing an album in 6 months or less featuring only Son of Erik tracks. I know that’s far away, but I need to get a grasp on some things technical: scales, time-management, and overall flow of the track. My plan is to work on this album as much as I can while producing the mixtapes on the side. And of course, I’ll keep you all updated on the progress. (Maybe give you all a preview of a few tracks too!)
For a long while now I’ve been wanting to try my hand at creating some video works. I have been producing some mixes under the Son of Erik name for the last year or so. But, video has often intrigued me, as a result, I’ve created my first video. (Well, first since High School.)
The video is entitled “Abstract Ambience.” Yes, it’s a pretty basic video with nothing really going on. It’s simply a candle burning with no over or undertones. I’ve always been entranced by flickering flames. They’re so lovely to stare at and get lost in. The video was shot using my Canon SD750 Powershot camera. I used this camera simply because I don’t have another. I edited the whole piece using Apple’s iMovie.
I had originally wanted to use Ulrich Schanuss’ “Gone Forever” track for accompanied audio track, but the upload was denied on YouTube for copyright reasons. Yes, I do know you can’t do that, I simply forgot. As a result, I needed a new track that was free of copyright. I decided to use my skill set in audio production to create a custom track that would reflect the overall feeling that I was trying to convey. So now, Son of Erik also makes background music for videos.
It was a great evening of creativity tonight. Shooting and editing my first video and producing the accompanied audio track for it too. I can’t wait to make more videos, develop new ideas, create new tracks and post them all for you to watch.
So, take a look. Let me know what you think. I can take the criticism, however, please keep in mind, this is my first attempt and I plan on getting a lot better as I delve into this new creative experiment. Enjoy!
My recent trip to Chicago proved to be a lot of fun despite the disappointment I encountered on Thursday. One of the purposes of me extending my stay, was to figure out how I would interact with the city that I love.
Day-to-day, I started to feel immensely comfortable. Not just because of the amazing generosity of my friends James and Laurie for setting me up for a few days, but because I started to find a rhythm in a city where you can’t afford to not have one. I even started having a feeling that I lived here, a few blocks away from my friends. Weird. Public transportation is key in moving around Chicago. I was able to travel, with ease, around town. I didn’t really explore a lot of the town, but I’m starting to get perspective. I’m starting to understand my sense of direction and starting to get a feeling of security on top of that serenity.
Cell services are a bit lacking though. Not to say that I don’t have a signal here, it’s just a bit less reliable. I’m assuming that is due to the number of people on my network. I’m not thinking it’s going to be a major issue.
I was telling friends that the cost of living is just a bit above that of Milwaukee with rent and transit. However, things are more expensive as illustrated by me wanting to buy sponges for painting with Laurie. They were retailing for $3 each at Walgreens. That’s sort of expensive for something I’m just going to throw away. Something to think about I guess.
Overall, I found it very welcoming. Overall people here respond to kindness and gestures of friendliness. But, you have to pull it out of them or initiate it first. I don’t think that will be a problem either. Chicago is a great town and filled with life.
I want to give a shout out and a hearty “thank you” to James and Laurie for being so generous in welcoming me to stay at their pads. (I need to find a time to come down when the weather isn’t so crappy.)
So, yes I have neglected this blog a bit in the last few days. Sorry, it wasn’t my intention at all. Been sort of busy lately.
One thing that I have been doing, is transferring all my Zip discs to my MacBook. I thought there would be a lot more information on them, but it turns out, all the information on the 15 Zips totals 600MB. Laughable today, but by the standards of yesteryear (yes, I said yesteryear) it was a ton of information.
Needless to say, it was a walk down memory lane. I saw projects from early on in college, typography experiments, party invitations and various other assignments. But, the gold medal find was my work from high school. There is a lot of junk in there, but I think some of the work shows progress. Or at least, a desire to learn more about the graphic arts. I guess, early on, I knew where I wanted my life to go…
Let me know what you think. (Keep in mind, these are from 1999 when I was only 18.)
Everyone has those turning points in their lives. You know what I’m talking about; those “leap” points. The times that arise when you realize that in order to do something, you must take a gigantic leap, almost a blind leap.
I’d like to think that those leap moments are the catalyst for change as well. As a way for us to move forward. These leaps can be anything from change in lifestyle, to buying a car or house, moving, engagements, and the like.
I believe that I’m at a leap point in my life right now, a point at which I am not allowed to advance until I take the specific leap that is plaguing me. I know what the leap is, I just can’t seem to bring myself to jump. How does one do that anyway? Do I over-think things too much? Do I analyze every action into too much detail? I do actually, so I guess those aren’t the questions I should be asking myself. How do you overcome over-analyzing everything in your life? That’s the question right there. Leaping with blind faith, in the hopes that it might work, or ideally work, is something I haven’t done since I moved up to Milwaukee in 1999.
Perhaps this is the catalyst that I need to move beyond my current situation? Perhaps I need to leap headfirst and believe that it will work. I need to overcome the idea that money is the main motivator in the decisions of my life. Remember back when we were younger when money wasn’t all that important than happiness? I believe if I tap into that idealism that we once had, I can overcome this inability to believe that I can attain that which I want to, that which I need to.
However, all this talk of ideally taking the jump relies on one thing. Once I have established that “one thing,” I can move forward. I can take the leap, because after that, everything is beautiful and doesn’t really matter. After that “one thing,” I can be at ease with any decision I make.
In the end, I need to be bolder. I need to be comfortable with asking the tough questions and engaging in difficult decisions. Otherwise, I am just going through life and wasting it right? That which I truly want, and don’t strive after, becomes a wasted opportunity and a wasted time.
A responsibility of the designer is to make sure the communicative process/dialog is never impeded or broken. As designers, we are the masters, or hope to be, of the communication process; whether it be through identity development, advertising or the making of publications. We set type, layout images, create copy, all in order to communicate the idea or message to the audience. It is our responsibility, or divine calling to maintain that communication, to create that communication.
However, it has become customary for designers lately, to forget or disregard the notion the we must maintain and facilitate the same amount, if not more, communication with our clients. They didn’t hire us so they could do all the talking nor did they hire us so they could communicate with the audience by themselves. They hired us for our ability to communicate a message. There is always information that we need from our client. Always something to think about that the client needs to say without dialog. We as designers have no idea what to do in order to finish the project, unless we can establish and maintain dialog with the client.
Also, we as designers, are the conduit through which all communication from the client and the audience travels. We are the interpreters, the ones who translate one language to another so the marriage between the client and audience or client and consumer will never be interrupted.
Like what was mentioned before, it is our divine calling, as designers, to facilitate and maintain that conduit between client and audience. Without it, all design would be chaotic and most communication would be chaotic. None of the messages would make sense.
Our job is communication. Our job is dialog and it’s our job to defend, create and maintain that dialog.
Most of our important ideas are trapped in people’s heads.
I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Gallery Night in Milwaukee, in the Third Ward. First off, my friend Bridget and I got a late start to the evening. So, we were a bit rushed right off the bat. No bother though, we knew where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see, which helps a lot during a Gallery Night evening.
Our first stop was to the Milwaukee Public Market for some letterpress prints. Very cool prints, however, they were few and far between. Color was spot on, although, I wish they were a bit larger. Overall, cool prints.
Our second stop, after the Public Market and Starbucks, was Cranston in the Marshall Building on Water Street. It’s one of my standard stops during Gallery Night it seems. But, out of all night, it proved to be the most fruitful. I didn’t get a chance to see who created the prints, like the one you see, but they were amazing. So beautiful were the colors, the aesthetic, texture and imagery. These prints were simply intoxicating. What a great find tonight!
After Cranston, we head over to (Shoo) for some beautiful, vivid landscapes. I guess there were custom Chuck Taylors, but I didn’t see them. After which, we ran over to the Dye House for a Bob Marley photo exhibit. Standard portraiture, nothing that hasn’t been done before.
Unfortunately, time was not on our side and we had to head back. It was a cold night and the coffee’s that we got, helped out a great deal! I would like to throw out a personal thanks to Bridget for being an amazing companion on the whirlwind Gallery Night tour.
Hey everyone! The new Son of Erik mix has been finalized and posted. It’s entitled “What the Funk – Why the Funk is it so Funky in here?” Yes, as you can imagine, there is quite a bit of funkadelic drops in this hip-shaking mixtape.
I have provided a link for you (at the bottom of this post) to download the mixtape. (If you would like it split into tracks, let me know, and I’ll provide.)
What’s the tracklisting look like? I’m glad you asked.
Dr. Funk – Sidechains
It’s Too Funky In Here (Vs. James Brown) – James Brown
Disc Odyssey – Crazy P
Make You Mine (Codebreaker remix) – Miami Horror
I Feel Love – Donna Summer
She’s A Lady (Vs. Tom Jones) – Tom Jones
Sweet Disposition (Full Vocal Mix) – Morgan Page
When The Lights Go Down – Armand Van Helden
Set It Off (At The Playboy Mansion Mix) – A Taste Of Sugar
Who Said – Planet Funk
Good Luck (Tim Deluxe Funked Club Mix) – Basement Jaxx
Blinded By The Light (Extended Mix) – Funkstar Deluxe with Manfred Mann
These mixes are not intended for sale or reproduction. Son of Erik does not and will not receive any proceeds from the production of these mixes. Please respect the copyright of the original artists that have been listed.