My Favorite Time of Year

West Coast Vacation

As I sit here and finally update my blog, the Linden tree that's framed inside the view of my kitchen window is slowly starting to turn from green to yellow indicating the change from the Summer season into Autumn. The drop in the weather was sudden and unexpected, but that only means my wardrobe turns into my favorite fashion time of year. A time for tweed and plaid textiles, overcoats, leather, scarves, hats and of course boots.

So what have I been up to this past month? Well, mid-August brought me to the West Coast for a mini-vacation and SoCal wedding. We flew into Las Vegas, rented a car and drove from there to Los Angeles to visit with friends and attend the wedding of my good friends Drew and Tita. They both looked so lovely and the wedding was so special - I am so happy I was able to be a part of their special day. I also got to see friends that I haven't seen in years, so that was really awesome as well. Soon after, we headed to San Francisco and then towards the tail end we hit up Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite for an evening and spent our last night in Vegas. A very whirlwind trip indeed, but it was a great way to maximize our time and was still able to see many of my good friends -- if even for a moment. If you want a mini-film version of our trip and have 15 minutes to spare, please visit my previous posting.

Red Rock Canyon 20 minutes outside of Vegas.

A beautiful view of the Bay Area on top of the Marin Headlands.

Taking a stroll down the Venice Canals, Los Angeles, CA.

Yosemite National Park

The view outside our hotel on the Strip in Vegas.

Beautiful view of San Francisco from Twin Peaks.

Patiently waiting for our In-N-Out Burgers.

Introducing the lovely Mr. and Mrs. Munson

Since being back, my focus returned to Sound Unseen 11 - the annual Fall film + music festival I produce and creatively direct. As a team, we collectively agreed that we need to scale it down this year and focus on a manageable and on-budget festival. My work with this organization has been rewarding, but incredibly challenging as the festival has always been a labor of love project since its inception 11 years ago. We all know it's great to work on something that's derived from passion, but what's even better is if the work you're doing is organized, funded and it's all resting on a solid business foundation -- which is what I'm trying to help shape this organization into. Sound Unseen has had 3 different Directors over the years, all of whom ran it very differently and the organization is facing serious sustainability issues.  At this point, I am doing my best to consult on how best to move the organization forward and it is challenging when funding, resources and a staff is pretty much non-existent. It's a tough situation when you can clearly see the potential and possibilities that exist within Sound Unseen. It's got 11 years of history to build from and has existed on pure street credibility and authenticity. It stands for great music films, live music events and the art of cinema. However, in order for it to succeed and maintain a presence here in the Twin Cities, we need to sort of "start over" with properly laying down a strong business foundation (which shockingly hasn't been done), find operational funds so we can have a year-round staff working on it and then find the right talent to divide needed roles and responsibilities. I know it can be done, but I am unsure how involved I can be after this Fall festival wraps.

This year's official festival poster - designed by yours truly.

It's a tough place to be in as Sound Unseen offers me an opportunity to perhaps really work for myself and do something I love and am good at, but the problem lies within the organization's current state. I am still not sure I want to stay here in Minnesota and I don't know if I can invest my time and talent to an organization that has serious sustainability and management issues. It's a lot to think about and I have some tough decisions to make.

The festival begins in a week and half and it feels good that we're running a tighter ship this time around. We're only screening 12 films and only throwing one big party, which is our Closing Night Party. I'm really happy that we've partnered with The Southern Theater, as it helps to expand their programming and it introduces our festival to a new audience. As usual, our programming is awesome thanks to Jim Brunzell III -- we have TWO U.S. PREMIERES (a film about Anton Corbijn and the other a doc about Feist). It really is a great festival and I truly hope people get off their asses and attend these rare screenings.

Anyhow, outside of work I've just been taking it easy on the East Side of St. Paul. Dylan and I are planning a camping trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior so we can take in the Fall colors and get in some nature before the snow falls. I'm planning a trip to the East Coast now -- visiting a friend in DC, then heading up to NYC and then to see my family in Philly. Really looking forward to that!

Until next time!