Home

Jun2

Over the last seven months, I’ve thought a lot about the meaning of home. November 2, 2012, at nearly age 32, I moved back to my hometown to take care of my Grandma. After a very rough winter and spring, she now resides in a local skilled nursing facility. Fortunately she now appears to be healthy and at least content. We are fortunate she is still with us. Even though I visit her nearly every day, I miss her. I think of all of our outings to her favorite restaurants, all of her little quirks, not to mention all of the fun we had when I was a kid. Then add in the fact that I am currently living in her home. I am reminded daily of French toast and bacon breakfasts, mouthwatering ice creams sundaes with fresh berries, and countless family gatherings, whether Easter, hunting season, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. She’s always been an important part of my life and the lives of everyone in my immediate family. It’s difficult to watch her world constrict, watch her lose interest is things she used to love, watch her slowly forget. No, this year has not been an easy one thus far. So many little things surprised me when I first moved back to Omer. After managing a convenience store in another small Michigan town, I came to realize just how friendly people can be in my hometown. They may not be more sophisticated, articulate, or educated, but they are much friendlier. Working in a convenience store built by my Grandpa brought about mixed emotions. I wish he was here. Things you never thought would change change, and yet so many things remain the same. Growing up, all the boys into skateboarding congregated in the large parking lot behind the convenience store. Well, during an unusually warm January day, I had to smile as I stepped out back to see a group of skater boys trying to impress one another. Same story, different kids. I saw more former childhood classmates while working at the convenience store than I’ve seen in the last 14 years. Since when did we become adults? Now we are discussing who moved back to town and who moved away, marriage and kids, not scheming and dreaming to be anywhere but here. In mid-May I quit my part-time job at the convenience to work for my parents at Russell Canoe Livery for the summer. My brother and I eventually plan to purchase the business from our parents. Already there are so many names I recognize from my childhood, customers who have been with us for over 25 years. Yet, so many things have changed. I miss my grandparents being there day-in, day-out. We no longer run out of canoes on prime weekends, we rent more tubes. You no longer need an adapter to get into our electricity. Somehow I missed that one. I love the business and hope we can expand for years to come. All of the little things I mentioned above mean “home” to me. For better or worse, I do belong here, and I intend to make the most of it. Now for the hard part: I have to somehow make this all work. Somewhere along the way I lost sight of what is possible. I need to regain the drive and vision I had in college. I need to once again ignore all those who say “I can’t.”

The Future Of Entrepreneurship In Bay City

Sep2

English: Bay City, looking East from Veterans Memorial Park. Bay City, Michigan at dusk. Bay City, Michigan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fresh faces of business: Bay City has become a home for handful of young entrepreneurs | MLive.com

The essence of this article is great, but I can’t help but feel there is something missing. Why should it only be a handful? Why aren’t we doing more to encourage entrepreneurship? No, instead we punish those who wish to create anything at all levels of government – local, state, and federal. I have to admit, Michigan as a state is striving to do better, but the inept government of Bay City is doing absolutely nothing to help.

Anyway, I hope some good can come out of this get-together. I might just go. I’d love to better understand how those entrepreneurs got started. That has always been my dream.

Midland Street, Bay City, Michigan

The Story Of Us

Aug26

America The Story of Us — History.com TV Episodes, Schedule, & Video

Sometimes fragments and germs of ideas are bounced around in several different ways before they truly come together. When they do finally come together, it can be downright magical. It all started with the simple notion that I am a writer and I love genealogy. Once those two things became known, a cousin suggested I write about the history of the family business on my Mom’s side of the family. That idea has been kicking around for a while, I am far from ready to go there for a whole host of reasons, but it was something important, an idea. By the way, if you are reading this L., I haven’t completely given up on that idea.

Fast forward a couple of years and all of a sudden my parents and siblings are aware of my blog. Not only are they aware of my writing, they actually think I am a good writer. No bias there, right? Here’s the thing: I think the biggest praise was from my Dad. He is not the type to give praise for just anything, whether or not you are his child. The fact that he is even aware of my writing is huge. But I digress.

So, as my Mom is boosting my ego by telling me my entire nuclear family is at least somewhat impressed by my writing, she completes the idea. She thinks I should write the history of our family business, the history of Russell Canoe Livery. I like to think of it as The Story of Us. The thing is that Russell Canoe Livery is such a family oriented business, and I hope it always will be, that it will be impossible to write about the livery without writing extensively about the history of my Dad’s family, as well as our own. The entire idea gets at the very heart of our family, the reason I decided to study business in the first place, and even who I am as a person. I want to make this clear: I can’t imagine my family not owning the canoe livery. I can’t imagine growing up not working for my parents. It will always be very near and dear to my heart.

Aside from all of that, it is a compelling story. It is a story of entrepreneurship. It is the story of a mother and son working together to keep a business running under less than ideal circumstances. It is the story of two baby-boomers raising a family of three kids. It is also the story of the love between grandparents and grandkids. It is also the story of an extremely small town that likes to keep to itself. It is also the story of friendly competition and a changing society.

I have to do this. If nothing else I have to do this for my nephew and any future nieces and nephews. They all deserve to know the story.

Oh, and not to get political, but: Yes, my family did build this. We did it DESPITE government actions.

By the way, if you’ve never had the pleasure of watching America The Story of Us on The History Channel, it is wonderful, even if long. It is a unique look at what makes the US what we are today.

Rules Can Keep Your Family Business and Family Together (josephdwelch.com)
By Hiring Mom and Dad, Young Entrepreneurs Shake Up ‘Family Business’ (voanews.com)
Family business succession – tips for making it work (simplybusiness.co.uk)
Friends and family business borrowing up (simplybusiness.co.uk)

StereoTerra and Memories

Aug18

I just couldn’t help myself this week. Sometimes there are things that just can’t help but remind you of better times; indeed, some of the best times of your life. That is precisely what happened this week. It all started a couple of weeks ago when a promoter for StereoTerra asked me if he could put up a poster promoting the new music festival in the store (for those not in the know, in my off-line life I manage a convenience store open 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week, 365, and yes, we happen to sell gas). I directed him to the adhoc bulletin board back by the bathrooms only to later realize he plastered several posters in strategic places around the store, which I had to promptly take down (unfortunately). Despite this simple act of deception, I was intrigued. He obviously believed in what he was promoting. He even gave me and members of my crew free passes for the entire four day music festival.

For the record, StereoTerra is at this very moment being held in the aptly named Edenville, Michigan, a very small town set among several manmade lakes along the Tittabawassee River in mid-Michigan. It is close enough that I’ve watched in amusement all week as 20-something wannabe hippies, eclectic band members, all manner of kids gearing up for a very long weekend of debauchery came parading through the store, huge Chevy vans and canoes in tow. I loved every minute of it, and so did my crew. And so the rumors flew.

Supposedly the good residents of Edenville did not want this four day music festival to happen. It might have something to do with the hours. StereoTerra’s eclectic line-up, which includes indie rock, folk, country, alternative, and just about everything in between, is set to run Thursday August 16th – Sunday August 19^th 10 AM – 2 AM. Well, as Edenville supposedly fought the festival, Midland County stepped in to help ensure the festival would happen. Supposedly promoters spent tens of thousands of dollars clearing land for camping and venues for the music festival. It became a simple matter of economics. Midland County wanted the money, despite the threat of noise. Heaven forbid anything takes place after 9 PM!

More than anything, I hope the festival is successful. If all goes well, it is to become an annual event. Michigan needs events like these, especially rural Michigan. I have to say, even though I didn’t make use of my free pass, just the fact that StereoTerra is taking place so close to home, at this very moment, brings back so many wonderful memories.

Ten long years ago I was in the exact right place at the exact right time with the exact right people. I was living in Austin, Texas at the time and had the inside scoop for the first annual Austin City Limits Festival, held in Zilker Park, August 2002. Ten years later, the festival is still going strong, despite rumors of it becoming much more commercial. The funny thing is that I didn’t recognize many acts at the first ACL Fest, with the exception of Shawn Colvin (which is another story all together). Today, what I wouldn’t give to see the lineup they have for ACL Fest 2012! Jack White, of the White Stripes, Weezer, and most impressive of all, The Red Hot Chili Peppers are all in the lineup. I honestly don’t know how I would’ve handled that lineup back then. At the time, they happened to be three of my favorite bands.

So why do I have such fond memories of ACL Fest? Several reasons. First off, I hit the festival with two of my best friends in Austin, Andy and Cheryl. Andy had a radio show on KOOP at the time, and Cheryl happened to be his manager. We weren’t just your run of the mill kids who happened to be fans. All three of us took music pretty seriously, but certainly not seriously enough not to have an amazing time. On the first day Cheryl happened to lose her cell phone in the crowd. As Andy, Cheryl, and I scoured the ground for her phone, Cheryl lost track of me. After she found me, she told me a story that still lives on in legend. Supposedly she saw a women, a women who happened to look JUST like me, jump on stage during Bob Schneider’s set. This woman supposedly flashed him. Somehow, under the influence of the strong Texas summer sun, Cheryl and I decided it would be fun to let Andy believe I flashed Bob Schneider. At the time, Bob Schneider fronted several successful bands in Austin, including The Scabs and the Ugly Americans. As you can see here, he is extremely good looking and still going strong. Oh, and he’s talented too. So yes, when we finally found Andy, Cheryl told him I’d flashed Bob Schneider. I wish.

After one long day in the sun, goofing off, and listening to great music with friends, Andy and I went back for round two. In the middle of the day we happened to be waiting for Shawn Colvin’s set when Andy did what he always did best. Talk. After he and I set out my quilt on the grass near the stage, he struck up a conversation with a group of very young soldiers from Fort Hood. They were just a couple of years younger than me, probably ages 18-20 at the time. More than anything they were incredibly angry they could be sent to Iraq at any time, and yet they couldn’t buy a beer on an insanely hot August day in Texas. I think of those young men often and wonder how many of them served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Were some them still stationed at Fort Hood when terrorism hit Kileen? I will never know.

As the sun went down, Andy and I decided to move on. We followed the throngs of people leaving Zilker Park and ended up hanging out at Shady Grove on Barton Springs. The funny thing is that Shady Grove was packed. Somehow they were letting people order takeout and set up on the lawn. That is exactly what Andy and I did, throwing back Bohemia, the best Mexican beer I’ve ever had, and eating takeout. That unique dining experience topped off an amazing weekend. You just can’t beat an August music festival.

Volume at music festival to drop after complaints (sfgate.com)
Mid- Michigan music festival prompts residents to complain about noise level (clickondetroit.com)
Austin extends ACL Music Festival by a weekend (chron.com)
Council OKs extra ACL fest weekend (statesman.com)
ACL Fest will be TWO weekends in 2013; this year is sold out (brooklynvegan.com)

Facebook, Twitter, and GoodReads ~ Oh My

Aug5

Lately I’ve been spending my time filling out the Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde Facebook page, which you can find here. I’m hoping to eventually create a community there that wants to have in depth conversations. Right now, as I’ve just set up the discussion boards, I’m having a conversation with myself! I visualize it as a place for readers to plug their blogs, discuss what books they just finished, and share ideas as to what they’d like to see here. I want to make Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde truly interactive. Currently I have 50 members, myself included. There is always room for one more.

In addition to finally fleshing out the Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde facebook page, I’ve also spent some time developing my Twitter account, @russelllindsey. If you take the time to follow me, I follow you back. Currently Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde, each and every post, is broadcast to 162 Twitter followers.

Twitter and Facebook aside, I’ve also gone through my GoodReads account. You can find me on Goodreads here. While I don’t have the details right now, a conversation or two I had on GoodReads may have a huge impact on the future of Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde. Stay tuned!

Even though it has taken me a lot longer than I would’ve liked, I’m glad I’m finally starting to truly use social media to promote Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde. So, I’m curious – to all those writers out there: What social media sites are you using? How often do you use it? How do you create an audience for your work? I’d love to hear about all of your experiences. Good, Bad, and Ugly.

Summer Reading/Summer Blogging

Jul22

English: Photo of Bonnie Jo Campbell (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As usual, I’m not sure where to begin. This summer has personally held some nasty surprises for what passes for my life. Then again, I suppose I have to start somewhere if I am going to achieve anything at all. I’ll spare everyone the details for now, so I’ll get right to the point.

Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde has unfortunately suffered as a result. I’m trying to get things back on track. It just may take a while. I’ve sorely neglected the feature that inspired so much this year: My Life In Pop Culture. I’ve also neglected to do my part for two new blogging award nominations I received as of late. Blogging awards are a wonderful way to show appreciation to those bloggers nearest and dearest to your heart. I’m honored to have received them. Thank you for the nominations! I’m looking forward to correcting this error on my part as soon as possible. Also, I’ve been haphazard in sharing some of my favorite bloggers here. I’m finding it difficult to balance my own blog posts with reblogging wonderful posts from the likes of Childhood Relived. I somehow have to strike a balance. I love creating my own content, of course; at the same time, I come across so many wonderful/funny/inspiring posts, I instinctively want to share it with the most wonderful audience of all: my readers. When I reblog, I do it out of sheer admiration. I just want everyone, readers and bloggers alike, to realize that fact.

And then there are books. I’m not sure if many of you’ve paid attention to my running reading list stuck to the top of my blog, but I’ve had my nose stuck in various books for the last two months. It can be blamed on learning how to borrow e-books for my Nook Color from the Bay County Library System. I’m getting a lot of mileage out of my Nook Color. I love it to the point where I’m seriously considering asking for a Kindle Fire for Christmas and/or my birthday. I love to compare/contrast. It isn’t that I favor e-books over hardcovers or well-loved paperbacks – nothing will ever replace the feel and heft of a physical book – I just read that much more with an e-reader. My next experiment: Audio books on my laptop and/or Nook Color. This may sound stupid, but at times I wish I could commute via Metro instead of having to personally drive 40 minutes each way to work every day. Think of the reading time I could get in if I lived in a large city! Ah well.

The books I’ve read so far this summer will have a lasting impact on me, my writing, everything. I love them that much! Each one deserves its own post and review. The problem is that I never feel I do a book justice when I review it. I always seem to leave something important unsaid – and that infuriates me. Just don’t be surprised if I finally establish a series of book reviews here.

I hope to soon create a flexible schedule/outline for content. Stay tuned, as always. I still plan a series on Linda McCartney’s photography, Paul McCartney himself, and more. That, of course, doesn’t even begin to cover politics. I also, regrettably, haven’t written a personal post about Turner Syndrome, outlined my thoughts on reproductive rights, and so much more. I just need to get organized and go for it. What saddens me is that people are clicking on those links to Turner Syndrome and Reproductive Rights only to find nothing there.

By the way, I’m well on the way to achieving my reading goals for the year. I’ve read 17 of the 25+ e-books I pledged to read in 2012. I’ve read a total of 28 books, both traditional and e-books, out of the 60 I hope to read in 2012. With five months to go, my goals are in sight! That is a wonderful feeling after coming so close to my goal of 48 in 2011. Oh, and congrats to Bonnie Jo Campbell, one my favorite Michigan authors and the author of one of my favorite books, Once Upon A River. Once Upon A River was selected as a 2012 Michigan Notable Book! Well deserved. I discuss Once Upon A River here.

Barnes & Noble launches Nook for Web (ubergizmo.com)

Happy June!

Jun1

English: Bay City, looking East from Veterans Memorial Park. Bay City, Michigan at dusk. Bay City, Michigan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ahhh… June. It’s finally here. Summer and all it brings is finally here. In Bay City it means festival after festival after festival, and all they entail. It starts with the River Roar and St. Stan’s Festival in June, continues with the Fireworks Festival in July, and continues with the Pig Gig in August. September brings River of Time and leads into Hell’s Half Mile Film Festival and Haunted Temple in October. Oh, and I didn’t even mention the throngs of campers heading north on I-75 each and every weekend now through Labor Day. Let the craziness begin.

Scroll the events and you’ll see what I mean. There is literally something every week.

Calendar of Events – Great Lakes Bay Region

2012 June Events in Downtown Bay City

Hell’s Half Mile Film and Music Festival

High School Memoirs

May19

USA public schools

This could only happen in my life. Not all that long ago, my former high school principal wrote a pretty scandalous book about all the things he saw over decades serving as a high school administrator in both the parochial and public school systems in Michigan, including the school system I attended grades K-12. He spent much of his tenure as high school principal at Standish-Sterling High School, the high school from which I graduated in 1999. Much to my fascination, many of the incidents in the book actually took place during my junior high and high school years. At that time the junior and senior high schools were housed in the same building. I finally had the opportunity to borrow a copy and read what all the fuss was about.

Before I go any further, a little background is necessary. The Standish-Sterling Community School District, located in Arenac County, is a consolidated rural school district dating from the very late 1950s. It serves the small town of Standish, Michigan and the village of Sterling, Michigan, as well as much of the surrounding area. Prior to 1959, both Standish and Sterling had their own school systems, including high schools. I have family members who graduated from Standish High School and Sterling High School, and scores who are alumni of Standish-Sterling High School.

Farming makes up much of the community and in fact the entire county. Despite being a small Class B school district with approximately 1,800 kids enrolled in the entire district, and even that number seems too high, it is far and away the largest of the three school districts in Arenac County. The other districts are less than half the size of Standish-Sterling Community Schools. In my opinion, those two districts, which are in close proximity to one another, needed to consolidate decades ago. Only traditional high school rivalries continue to get in the way.

As for my personal history with the Standish-Sterling school district, it is the foundation upon which my entire education rests. I attended all three schools that made up the district at the time: Sterling Elementary (K-3^rd), Standish Elementary (4^th-6^th), and Standish-Sterling Junior/Senior High School (7^th-12^th). In spite of being bullied horribly in elementary school, cliques, lack of any athletic ability whatsoever, and more than a few mediocre teachers in junior high and high school, I did receive an excellent education. There are only a handful of my high school teachers who truly prepared me for college well and inspired my imagination. For that I will always be grateful. My freshman year at Michigan State underscored just how well I was prepared and set the stage for all that was to come.

But there is so much more to my personal connection with the school district. Not only did my Mom teach 6^th grade and then kindergarten at Standish Elementary the entire time I was a student, she attended both Standish Elementary and Standish-Sterling Central Junior/Senior High School her entire K-12 education as well. I poke fun of the situation here. It meant I had several teachers my Mom had had 24 years earlier. As the child of a teacher, that much more was expected out of me, daily.

There is so much that goes along with being the child of a teacher. I don’t know where I’d begin. I do know this: I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I know nothing else. One huge benefit of being a teacher’s kid is being privy to inside information, including the earliest possible cancellation of school due to snow and ice. While I would not consider my Mom a gossip by any means, at times she felt compelled to share information with someone, anyone. It was usually me. She knew I would and could keep things to myself. At times things would happen at school which demanded explanation. I always knew my Mom would and could explain without resorting to lies and cover-up. That gets at the heart of the book I mentioned above, Listen To The Echo by Dennis James Haut.

Well, where do I begin with the book? I’ll start by stating who I think should consider reading it. The only people I think would be interested are: 1. People who grew up in the Standish/Sterling area during the 1980s/1990s or had ties to the school district at that time. 2. Writers who want the perfect example of why good editors are needed. The book also offers a good example of why and how gratuitous errors in spelling, grammar, and usage can hinder the entire message of a book. Mr. Haut tries to explain this away in a “review” of the book on Amazon. He states that he planted all of those errors in the book in order to make a point. He treats it almost as a perverse game. I was left with two simple questions: 1. If you meant to have over 2,000 errors in a published book, why wouldn’t you, as author, ensure it didn’t endanger the readability of the book? That certainly wasn’t the case with Listen To The Echo. 2. If it was meant as a game, why would you not include that information at the end of the book? Again, not the case withListen To The Echo.

Now that all of that is out of the way, I will indulge you dear readers with the juiciest tidbits in the book. It is true. The book contains true stories of sexual escapades between teachers and students, as well as administrators and school staff. It confirms many rumors I heard over the years and sheds some very nasty light on one particular love triangle that took place while I was in junior high school. Let me set the scene.

Imagine you are in 7^th grade. The junior high you attend is simply one hall of the high school. One junior high teacher on staff is married to the assistant high school principal. Their son is a grade ahead of you. During the course of the school year a student walks in on the assistant principal having a full on affair with one of the secretaries. The affair becomes common knowledge and ends up in a cat-fight in the main office between the secretary and the teacher, i.e. the wife of the assistant principal. It happened, and it’s in the book. I just didn’t realize how nasty things became between the two women involved. It nearly ended with assault charges according to the book. I can’t imagine what the son of the assistant principal and teacher went through at that time.

Speaking of sex, Haut also addresses the many alleged affairs that took place between students and teachers. He doesn’t go into much detail, thank God, but one statement really made me think. He states that one of the teachers ended up marrying the student with whom he was having an affair. Again, completely true. I actually know the couple well, especially the one-time student. They are now both high school teachers. Get this: They’ve been married for over 20 years and have three grown children, all prominent kids within the school system at one time. The entire situation makes one want to throw out any preconceived notions of relationships. Next to the student/teacher affairs, affairs between teachers seem mighty tame.

One of the scariest and strangest incidents of my childhood is described in detail in the book. It occurred in 1995 and set the tone for things to come. Back then I was in 8^th grade. I’m not exaggerating when I say I grew up in a different world. At that time, in the days before Columbine, there was nothing preventing students and staff from having rifles locked, unloaded, in their vehicles on school property. I grew up in an area of Michigan where school is called off the first day of firearm deer hunting season. It was not uncommon for high school kids in the area to hunt before school. Again, nothing prevented students from locking up their firearms in their vehicles on school property. Insanity, right?

Along came the damn French trip and all that came with it. Later we referred to it as the S. A. incident, S. A. standing in for the initials of the student involved. It all started with the idea of the French language class taking an ill-advised trip to Paris. One student on the trip, S. A., a senior, the Valedictorian of his class, with an appointment to West Point no less, made the mistake of thinking the drinking age in France, 18, applied to him. In the end he got caught drinking in a Parisian café. I don’t remember the specifics, but there certainly were consequences. S. A. didn’t like them, even though they could’ve been much worse.

One spring afternoon, S. A. decided to drive to the administration building, located almost immediately behind the old Standish-Sterling Central Junior/Senior High School, and threaten the administrators with a gun in his vehicle. This infamous incident, four years before Columbine, led to an immediate lockdown of the junior/senior high school. As I was currently in class near the back entrance to the school, in fairly close proximity to the administration building, I remember it vividly. Fortunately, S. A. was apprehended until the police arrived. Such vivid memories flooded back that I actually dreamed of high school after I finished the book.

I have to admit I absolutely hated high school. While I wasn’t bullied in high school per se, my worst experiences with bullies occurred in elementary school, I felt trapped and bored. I spent much of the time just biding my time until college. I couldn’t wait to leave Standish-Sterling behind me. Unfortunately, with such deep family ties, and parents and grandparents that continue to live in the area, not to mention family businesses in the area, it just isn’t entirely possible.

I suppose that is what surprised me most about Mr. Haut’s book. He throws just about everyone under the proverbial bus, including the families of the Valedictorian and Salutatorian of my class. It truly opened my eyes. On the surface throughout our K-12 years, it might have looked as though I was friends with both of those women. Frenemies would be a much more apt description. I won’t go into details, but suffice to say I didn’t realize the true depth of the bad circumstances both women faced at home. If I had, I might have looked at both of them in a different light. I can’t imagine the pure cajones it took Mr. Haut to write the book. His children and grandchildren still live in the area. What pure lack of class. It amazes me I received such a good education even under such inept leadership.

As a side note, as I looked for a picture to use with this post, I came across a picture of a classroom that somewhat resembles a cross between the classrooms of Sterling Elementary and the old Standish-Sterling Central High School, now Standish-Sterling Middle School, both built in the late 1950s/early 1960s. The picture is part of the post below, which is quite interesting itself.

USA public schools

Under The Radar Michigan: Episode 210 “I’m All Thumbs”

Apr21

Bay City, looking East from Veterans Memorial Park. Bay City, Michigan at dusk. Bay City, Michigan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Episode 210

Ok, my adopted hometown of Bay City is highlighted on this recent episode of Under The Radar. Check it out. Pretty interesting stuff, especially if you don’t know a whole lot about Michigan.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. Bay City has so much damn potential. It all comes down to one thing: JOBS. Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox now. Enjoy the episode! Oh, and this is pretty sweet too.

An Interview With Mid-Michigan’s Own Bob Hughes

Mar29

Bob, I thank you for taking the time for this interview today. I greatly appreciate it. I’m going to start off by giving people a little background. You and I go way back. I honestly do not remember a time when I did not know you. For the record, as a teenager, Bob worked for Russell Canoe Livery during the summer. While I spent my childhood summers swimming in the Rifle River near the Russell Canoe Livery dock, Bob spent his time hauling canoes. Due to a bit of nostalgia on my part, and mutual Facebook friends, Bob and I reconnected via Facebook. It’s been a fun trip down memory lane. The canoe livery was a huge part of my childhood.

While I knew Bob worked as a local musician, I really didn’t know any of the particulars until we became Facebook friends. The more I learned about his career, as a musician and otherwise, the more I wanted to know. He appears to be one busy man!

Thank you, for taking the time to put this together. I definitely go back, and like you say, can’t remember a time when I didn’t come around at least once in a while to say “Hi” to everyone and make sure you and your family were all doing well. It was always a good feeling, that’s for sure, to see you guys.

Bob, I want to start at the beginning. When and how did your passion for music and radio begin? When did you first begin performing?

Honestly, for as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed music and been fascinated by radio as a medium. I can remember my brother and I lip syncing and playing air guitar as little kids. I did the high school band thing and played drums, tuba, trumpet, baritone and bass guitar, probably due to an A.D.D. thing, but it was a solid footing for learning the basic workings of music. From that, I played with a couple of garage bands in high school and had fun doing it. We played some small shows, so I guess that when I really began performing in front of people. I also started working with some friends developing basic DJ skills and knowledge. However, I didn’t realize at the time that I was missing some key components of a musical education which led to a period of 15 years of really doing nothing with music or in radio as I made my way through corporate America. It wasn’t until after I became disenchanted with a career outside of music that I realized how much I actually missed the world of music.

How did you land your first gig? Would you mind telling us a little about it?

Yeah, that’s kind of a funny little story that involves a little background info. Around 2000 – 2001, I saw a guy playing guitar and singing at a party and I thought to myself, “Gosh, he’s not very good. I could be that bad and have fun doing that.”, and I also saw a dude from Northern Michigan, Pete Kehoe, who was playing at Bay Harbor. Pete was, and still is, AWESOME. And, my goal changed…I told myself, I wanna do what that guy does. So, I got a hold of Pete and asked him what gear he had and I went out and bought as much of the same stuff as I could find. I then started practicing in the basement and, after I lost my job in 2003, my living room. Very popular with the wife! When we moved back to Michigan in 2004, I was continuing to practice and got a chance to play at a “Relay for Life” event in Tawas or Oscoda, I can’t remember. From there, I literally started playing at a restaurant/bar about a mile from my house for dinner, and things got better from there. Pretty soon, I was playing anywhere from 3 to 5 nights per week.

Speaking of your musical career, I noticed on your website that you state a second solo album is in the works. Is that still the case? What led to your first album?

Time is the biggest thief and he’s got a great disguise. I do have a second album in the works. It’s difficult to work on, due to the time I spend in the studio on everyone else’s PAYING work. It’s coming along, though…just at a slower pace than I’d ever like. I have 6 songs in preproduction stage. I’m mostly trying to figure out how produced I’d like it to sound, or how much instrumentation I’d like to put on the tracks. I want to do as much as I can on this by myself. I think my first album…I like that we say “album”, we’re old….was a necessity for my head, just to see if I could do it. I had some great help from fellow songwriters, musicians and an incredible producer in Allen Bondar, from Dharma Records in Grayling. He offered me the opportunity to work with him and I jumped at it.

Bob, you currently play with a reunited THE POOL BOYS. I was wondering if you could tell us a little history of the band, past and present.

Well, The Pool Boys are kind of one of those love-hate bands. I love what we do, but I hate what it does to me! We have WAY too much fun and it’s a lot of strain on my body and voice. Anyway, Sal Agnello, a talented musician from Tawas was playing with an outfit and had caught my acoustic act. Him and I sat down and started fiddling around with some acoustic stuff. He then suggested that we try some “sequenced” tracks, which are pre-produced tracks that lack vocals and, in our case, guitars. So, basically, we’re playing along with a computer directed keyboard producing all of the drums, horns, pianos, bass, etc., whatever we wanted. The practice has been around since the mid to late 80’s, but a lot of musicians kind of shy away from it. However, it’s really cool, because the songs you can play are only limited by your imagination and ability.

So, right out of the gate we got the house gig at the old Holiday Inn in East Tawas, and had that for a couple of years. Then, did the casino circuit for a bit and due to my throat problems and extra children, we had to take a hiatus for a bit… which was good, because Sal really perfected the sequencing of the tracks. Last year, we started talking about the market for sequencing and we picked up a drummer, which really adds to the sound, and viola….The Pool Boys are back running around, again. We’re focusing more on resorts, casinos, private parties and festivals, for purely selfish reasons!

As a musician, what are your favorite bands and artists? Which is your favorite genre?

Oh, man…mostly people I don’t play! Um, Led Zeppelin’s always been huge for me, the Doors, Pearl Jam, Bob Seger, almost anything from the 80’s, because it was when music was fun. But, from a creation stand point, I look to The Thorns or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The great harmonizers! As far as my favorite genre, folk based rock.

Let’s switch gears for a second. I know that you also host a local radio morning show called “The Drive By” on Mix 92.1 | Caro, MI. What led to your radio/announcing career? I also read that you announce for the local minor league baseball team, The Great Lakes Loons. How did that come about? As both an avid fan of radio and baseball, I find it all fascinating.

Going back to always being interested in radio and music, I worked as a mobile DJ from the time I was 14 until the time I was 23, which kept my interest and built some skills. Also, I got an opportunity to work in radio right out of high school, when I was way too young to handle it and realized there was NO money in it, and I was fine with that, back then. So, I went on my merry way. Fast forward to 2010, when my wife and I bought a house in the Caro area, I saw a radio station on the way home from the closing and stopped to see if they needed someone, well TA-DA, I had a job in radio. Some personnel changes were made to move me into a morning show co-hosting slot and that’s where I find myself today. With the Great Lakes Loons, I responded to an open tryout and got the job as their on-field host. I’m really pretty fortunate, I have very fun jobs and both Mix 92.1 and the Loons are great organizations with great people.

Ok. It is time to discuss the inevitable. There is a local well-known radio personality on WHNN-FM that happens to share your name. What confusion has that created over the years? I know you had fun with the situation when you were younger.

Really? No kidding? I hadn’t heard of this fellow….Yeah, Bob is a great guy and we have a lot of fun together, especially with the name thing. We only live like 7 miles apart, which again is interesting. It’s a two way street for the confusion, though. He gets questions about his name being on a marquee for a performance and I get people trying to tell me they’ve listening to me for years. I’m not sure if there is any other radio market in America that has this problem. I know when I first worked in radio in the area, the station had me use a different name. This time around, I was like, who cares.

And, yes, there were times in the past when Bob’s name was thrown around a bit liberally for shameless acts that shalln’t be mentioned! Good times.

In addition to performing on-air and off, you also own Bob Hughes Studios. How did you first become involved in voice-over work? What made you decide you to go into business for yourself on the production side of things? What projects do you have coming up?

Once again, back to my disenchantment with corporate life, I had an opportunity to get back into media productions in 2004. I started working with some outdoor television producers, including Mike Avery, which led to videography, video editing, commercial production and lending my voice to show intros and spots. So, I found myself buying a bunch of gear and figured I better make some money to support the purchases and Bob Hughes Studios was born. I work mostly online with a couple of ad houses and contract sites, and it keeps me pretty busy. One thing I have found is that with my name on the door, I definitely care more about what leaves the editing bay. I take great pride in having won industry awards for quality and creation, having my voice on 6 of 7 continents, as well as watching my business grow over the past 8 years.

Developing projects are kind of hard to nail down. Currently in the hopper are a couple of product videos for the web, a steady stream of eBooks and other voice over projects. I don’t like getting too far out in the calendar, though because it slows down turnaround time for customers and I like getting them their products as quickly as possible.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a creative career and go into business for his or her self?

Find your passion and do it early in life! Don’t be afraid to ask for help and take the chance while you have nothing to lose. Get the education for the creative career you are interested in and be aggressive in your pursuit!

The one regret I have is not pursuing music creation more aggressively when I was 20 or 21. I didn’t know I had a gift and I never took the time to really look into myself and find out what was in there. But, had I just listened to my heart and looked to others to help me find this out, who knows what could have happened, good or bad.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions! It was fun catching up. I know you are a vet of Operation Desert Storm. I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for your service to our country.

Well, thank you for thanking me. I’m glad I was able to serve, because so many are not able. It’s always great chatting with you, that’s for sure. Thank you for considering me an interesting topic! I hope your readers find something interesting, as well!