ONOFFON

[onoffon]

Oct 14, 2008, 9:33pm, onoffon wrote:A few days ago, a gentleman in Great Britain decided to buy our latest CD, Bridge to Presage, from our CD Baby page. He just found it on the site and bought it. How very cool...Then, today, I get another email from CD Baby. Apparently, this gentleman enjoyed it so much that he returned to buy copies of our first two CDs also, Surrender Now and Your Mind.As you all know, CD Baby sends you the contact information for those who have bought your CDs and suggests you email them. So, I did. I received a response this morning -"hi von. just looked up your dad harry. you are a very lucky young man to have such father with a tallent. and to hand it down to you. so you could make such great music. i must admit that out of your 3 albums. bridge to presage is a master peace. i've told everyone that know who loves truly great music to buy this and surrender now. your mind. im sure by now everyone in london knows your band. please keep the great stuff coming von/don/dave.....marcus/glen/ron/bob...what a bunch of masters. joe"What a great email!!!! It was so cool to be called a "young man" - I hate to tell him how old I am... of course, age is relative and I don't know how old he is... Whatever - he's A-1 in my book and I thank him for his purchases and his kind words...

[onoffon]

I've been working for a few months with a gentleman, Rich Brennan, who is serving as consulting producer on the documentary. He just left a recommendation on my LinkedIn page and I wanted to share it with you -Dear Von, I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users. "Von Babasin is a class act all the way with the passion and the creativity and the talent of a true professional. We are working together to make a dream come true and his level of commitment is extraordinary."I continue to align myself with those who see the singular vision and understand the importance of this story's addition to the annals of jazz history.I dearly thank Rich for his kind words...

[onoffon]

Thanks Dave... and thank you, Squids... I can't tell you how much your comments mean to me. And let me tell you, my father's story was not wasted on Mr. Clarke. He was honestly interested and respectful of what my father did.Another interesting tie to Stanley's career, he states that he invented the piccolo bass. That may be true, but it came about because of my father's early work. I've mentioned before that my dad played and recorded the first pizzicato jazz cello in jazz history but it goes deeper than that. What he, and others after him did, was actually alter the cello. A traditional concert cello is tuned in fifths - my father altered the headstock so the instrument would tune in fourths, like an acoustic bass. So, in essence, he was playing a miniature bass, or piccolo bass.My dad was way ahead of his time.This year marked the 20th anniversary of my father's passing and I've been trying to get his story told for two decades now.I am getting the history books rewritten and the movie will be the 'piece de resistance'! Von Babasin NYFA Fiscally Sponsored Filmmaker http://www.nyfa.org/nyfa_artists_detail.asp?pid=5613 http://www.onoffon.com/nyfa.html

[onoffon]

Today, I'd like to share a couple of inspiring messages I've received over the last couple of days. The first is from the head of an arts organization that I contacted a couple of years ago and recently sent an update to. The second is from an investment contact who asked me to send a full proposal to an executive producer he works with -"Thank you Von for the update on your film. I remember you and am glad to know you have not given up. Tenacity is the backbone of the filmmaker. I will keep your project in mind.Best regards, Carole""Hi Von, Thanks Man.I will call him on Tuesday or early Wednesday to give him a heads-up on the package. His wife is a professional musician too, I'm sure they will dig the cd as well!! Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to.Thank you VonSincerelySteven"It's always good to receive these kinds of messages to help feed the drive... Onward...

[davewalton]

Nov 19, 2008, 9:30am, onoffon wrote:Onward...And Upward. There will be a big "Ted Moment" when this thing screens (and I believe it will).

[drew]

You just keep getting closer to the top of that mountain, Von.Keep climbing!(then toss a rope down for me)

[onoffon]

Thanks orest! Yes - I liked that line a lot too!Nov 19, 2008, 10:30am, orest wrote:"Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to."It applies to so many of us here in this community. I really felt I had to post it since it is so inspirational!

[onoffon]

Nov 19, 2008, 10:35am, davewalton wrote:(and I believe it will). Thanks for your support, Dave! (and I know it will)

[onoffon]

Nov 20, 2008, 6:12am, drew wrote:You just keep getting closer to the top of that mountain, Von.Keep climbing!(then toss a rope down for me) Thanks Drew!I definitely keep climbing - I've just lost my Sherpas along the way... I'm going to have a 'thank you' list in the credits that will rival the number of animators in a Pixar movie...

[onoffon]

Nov 21, 2008, 6:26pm, cjdenecia wrote:I'm just trying to skim through this thread to get an idea of where you're at right now man ...all I can hope is that good things do come to people who work at it and that there is some sort of justice in the world.good luck with it all man ... I'll follow along as best I can now and keep a few good thoughts.Thanks C-Man - I can use all the good thoughts you can muster! There's a lot to absorb here. I've been running this freakish thread for almost five years now. It's the closest thing to a blog I've ever contributed to and the TAXI community has been kind enough to let me ramble on. I think of it as my little chronicle of my attempts to add to the aesthetic worth of the world.BTW - don't be fooled by the viewer count. When I first started, the counter rolled over at 4,000 views, which it did twice. Then, after the first board upgrade, it rolled once at 10,000. Now, it's passed the 10,000 mark and I'm not sure where it may roll this next time.So, that puts the total view count on this little blog thread of mine at 30,494 and counting... For what it's worth... And, finally, I attended a networking event last night at a restaurant called Ca'Brea in Los Angeles, hosted by an organization called AFFMA, the Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art. They host an international film festival, now in their 11th year, that highlights the contributions of artists of Armenian descent. Since my father is probably the most prominent Armenian-American to have influenced the very American artform of jazz, they have embraced his story with open arms.Only good things will come from the associations I made last night and a great time was had by all...