Capitol Records, a dream, and the Grammys
When my Adobe conference finished tonight I decided to head out to Hollywood. I had never seen Hollywood before, other than what I remember from the movies. I actually watched the original Muppet Movie the other day with my 5-year-old son and thought it was funny how the entire plot revolved around a simple dream of traveling to Hollywood.
Suddenly, as I started walking down Sunset Boulevard facing the setting sun, I found myself lured into this same naive thought of my own musical discovery. I admit I’ve always had an attitude of the eternal optimist with a bit of an Existential twist, although I cannot say why I suddenly felt compelled to follow the trail of Hollywood stars into the lobby of Capitol Records. As I walked into the lobby, the guy standing in front of a sea of gold records told me the offices were not open to the general public. But as I exited the building, I struck up a conversation with a worker at Capitol Records, and found myself handing him a copy of Peach League’s Whatever I’m Chasin’ CD.
Yeah, I know it was a desperate move and I’m not sure why my introverted instincts suddenly dissolved, but I guess I just wanted to believe in the Hollywood myth of following your dream. I am usually not so bold, but my boldness continued throughout the night when I struck up conversations with musicians and tech CEOs and handed out copies of the new CD like I was offering them a stick of chewing gum. No one acted like I was being strange, but I did feel a little awkward with my delivery, even if my only intention was to just let one other person hear the music that took so much energy and heart to produce.
And while the Hollywood stars were now behind me, I soon found myself shuffling over the Grammy imprints to the Grammy Museum, which happened to be free of charge for the night, thanks to Adobe Max. I entered the fourth floor and worked my way down, staring at the detail on the aged Martins and Gibsons encased in glass frames. The handwritten song lyrics from the likes of Jimi Hendrix seemed so normal for such an extraordinary musician and songwriter. From Charlie Mingus to Johnny Cash and Kurt Cobain, these legends all seemed so human when tracing back their steps. They all had one thing in common and it was their passion for their music. Perhaps this was the perfect ending to a day when the stars of Hollywood incited my passion for music and my hopes and dreams for this Peach League project.
