CurlyShavings

I was out and about yesterday with a colleague during lunch and decided to stretch the legs a bit by taking a turn around 800 Superior when I very nearly bumped into a local artist named Wesley. With a guitar over his shoulder and a smile on his face he asked us if we wanted to buy his CD. We could even listen to it first on his portable CD player and headphones. While the offer was very tempting, we needed to get back to the office in the next five minutes or so and anyway, with the wind whipping the 33°F Cleveland air around, it felt like -33°F instead. "No time to listen, but I'll get one anyway; what kind of music?" Sort of a bluesy-folksy mix, we were told. I handed him my $5.00 (now his) and he handed me his cd (now mine). "Make sure you check out my MySpace page," he insisted, tapping the cellophane cd sleeve, "With Open Eyes I'm Finally Free, and don't forget to add me to your friends list." We thanked him, headed north to the corner and then west along Superior.

Interesting, I thought. I wonder what Hugh would say about this social object. Think about it: a random stranger on the street stops two other random strangers to do some marketing, make a sale and expand his brand. We were given the chance to sample the product in a very personal way (for me, anything with a headset is a very personal device). We were invited to join his "friends" list. The "social object" (the CD) also functioned as his business card with his name, phone number and MySpace URL on it. This is just too cool.

We went back to work and I got a chance to listen to it at my desk later that afternoon. The music itself isn't for me and don't let that stop you from buying a copy or going to one of his shows (he was at Phoenix earlier this month). I think he is trying to play a style or collection of styles and is in the process of discovering his own style. And I repeat, don't let that stop you from buying a copy for yourself! Maybe if I were listening to it under the sun somewhere (Mall C?) with a warm wind gently blowing instead of our current weather I might think differently about it.

I'm not a big fan of MySpace and don't have an account. So unfortunately, Wes won't get a chance for me to befriend him there and it might be tricky for him to ever find out that I blogged about it here. I haven't found an email address for him yet.

Wes, I wish you all the luck! Keep up the guitar, singing and your global microbrand!

(Note: words "in quotes" above shouldn't be seen as actual words of the person speaking, just a way to facilitate the dialog on the page.)