Winning in DC

Posted on by goldenlifemusings

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On Sunday I had an opportunity to attend the very first DC Music Summit, hosted by Accelerate with Google. Thanks to fellow Washingtonian and artist/entertainer Ashley Brown, who founded the summit, aspiring and current artists got to come together, network and learn more about the music business. I can’t tell you how beneficial this was for my hometown of Washington, D.C., which is sprawling with talent, but for some reason has never quite been able to establish itself as a destination for thriving musicians and entertainers. A lot of talent is born here, but it’s not too long before our fellow homegrown artists are forced to pack themselves up and ship off to lands of greater opportunity – aka New York and LA and now to a certain extent, Atlanta – to find success.

As I listened to the phenomenal panel on the “Music Industry A to Z” that featured a range of industry experts as diverse as the District’s music scene, I found myself both encouraged and mystified at the same time. There was a lot of great information shared by the panel, which was comprised of The Washington Post‘s pop music critic Chris Richards, Future of Music Coalition CEO Casey Rae, Grammy-nominated producer Rich Shelton, The Growth Group’s Alexis Kimbrough and Listen Local First co-founder Chris Naoum. Even audience members, which represented such local organizations as the DC Chapter of the Grammy’s and the District Government’s Entertainment Office shared valuable information on how to “make it” here in DC. Which begged the question, if we have so much talent and we have all these resources and tools to support success at our fingertips, combined with the changing music industry in our favor, why aren’t we as our generation now calls it, WINNING in DC? [Side Note: There is a subset of artists that have been able to make a good living out of their craft in DC and I applaud them, but I’m talking about winning in the music industry on a grander scale as a culture.]

When I say the changing music industry is in our favor, I mean we are moving more and more every day to a completely digital society driven by independent and label-owned artists alike, which should mean location matters less. As long as you can get your music to the Internet, you are good right? Well, not so much if you don’t know how to market your music online and monetize the growing online sources of music like Pandora, Spotify and Youtube. That’s the area in which I believe many local artists are suffering and where the Summit hit the mark – offering information on how local artists can maximize those online marketing and exposure opportunities.

As an artist myself and part owner of a family-owned local music production company and DC native, I have a vested interest in seeing the local music scene flourish. I applaud Accelerate with Google and Ms. Ashley Brown on bringing this important and necessary platform to the District. I hope to see other projects like this follow suit. In the meantime, whether you are an artist yourself or you just appreciate good music, be sure to support the talented group of musicians, singers, rappers, songwriters, producers etc. that live and work in our great nation’s capital. Little by little you can help DC become not just a breeding ground for homegrown talent, but a place where they can live and WIN.

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The Summit was held at Mousai: Young Artist Coalition
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Local Group Prinze George performs at DC Music Summit

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Me with Angela of the DC Entertainment Office
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Music Industry A to Z Panel
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Audience Members at Music Industry A to Z Panel

Review: South Beach Food and Wine Festival

Posted on by goldenlifemusings

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This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the 15th annual South Beach (SoBe) Food & Wine Festival and I must say it’s one of the best festivals I’ve been to, hands down. Even though I only had a chance to partake in two of the events, which totaled 5 hours of indulging in some of the best food and adult beverages I’ve tasted, I felt like I got my fill of the experience – enough to have me already planning out my participation next year.

The feature event on Friday night was the 10th anniversary of the wildly popular Burger Bash, in which Food Network Stars Bobby Flay and Michael Simon have participated in previous years. This year, the two high-profile chefs showing off their burger skills were world-renowned Chef Morimoto and TV personality and weatherman Al Roker, who actually served me one of his delicious patty melts. Who knew Al could throw down in the kitchen like that?

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Even though I’m very much a carnivore and love my meat dishes, I’m not much of a burger girl….that is, until the Burger Bash. I have never in my life tasted so much yummy goodness in one night. I wish I could say I had a taste of the more than two dozen burger entries but sadly, I tapped out around 10. I certainly put in a good effort though! Ultimately Jersey Dawg, a food truck based in South Florida, won the contest but unfortunately for me they were one of the burgers I didn’t get to sample. That’s just an excuse to go back to Miami and try it out. Of the ones I tasted, certainly STK and El Rey de Las Fritas were among my favorites.

On Sunday, I participated in the Goya Grand Tasting Village, and grand it was indeed. So grand in fact that the 2 hour option I selected in lieu of the 5 hour option wasn’t long enough. I could have had at least another hour to soak in all of the deliciousness that awaited me. From the grilled octopus to the macaroni and cheese meatball to the flank steak and horseradish mashed potatoes with chimichurri sauce to the smoked cod fish offered by one of my favorites, Oceanaire, I was absolutely in heaven. Not to mention the large selection of wines offered. There was so much to experience there that the 2 hours felt more like 20 minutes.

In addition to the dozens of food and adult beverage stations, there were cooking demonstrations offered by actress and TV personality Tia Mowry and world renowned Chef Jose Andres; a book signing by one of my favorite Food Network stars Geoffrey Zacharian; several swanky lounge stations decked out in the signature all-white or Art Deco-style South Beach motif; and an entertainment stage hosted by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. I seriously was on sensory overload. Helpful Hint: Invest in the five hour option so you don’t feel rushed and you can savor the entire experience.

I definitely recommend making a visit to the SoBe Food & Wine Festival but the one thing that may stop you is the price. Despite the cheapest tasting event being around $100, just about every event was sold out. Simply put, don’t expect the prices to go anywhere but up. I will say though that price is only an issue in the absence of value, and this festival certainly brought a lot of value so it was well worth the investment.

Why won’t we be great?

Posted on by goldenlifemusings

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I absolutely love quotes. Every now and again one jumps out at me and won’t let me go like this one from Mr. Lois. This quote was hidden on the 110th page of the “On Passion” section of this month’s edition of Forbes magazine. Being an entrepreneur, I immediately thought about how this related to potential new business owners, but the more I thought about it, this quote is for every living human being. If I’ve learned one thing going into my twelfth year of being in business for myself, it’s that everyone isn’t made to be an entrepreneur. However, everyone was put here on Earth for a purpose and the sad reality is many people don’t even bother to discover what their purpose is, much less fulfill it. Many people wander through life settling for a mediocre existence, not because they weren’t born for something greater. More often times than not, it’s because of one simple yet powerful emotion, fear.

What is it that we are afraid of anyway? For some it may be failure, for others it may be success, but why is that? Is it because we are afraid of what others might think or say? If we all just accepted the reality that all of us are human and we all have something to be fearful of wouldn’t that be enough to motivate us pass the fears of others’ opinions? Maybe that’s not it. Perhaps it is the responsibility that comes along with being great that people fear.

In my line of work I get to talk to people every day about what we call a “WHY”. It can be an acronym for What Has You. Simply put, if you could have it your way and time and money were no issue, what would you be doing and who would you help? Frequently in those same conversations I hear the excuses people give themselves for why they can’t be great. They say they want more but they don’t have enough time or energy or resources to go after it. But is that the truth? Could it be that we are instead choosing to believe the lies our fears are telling us? I’ve come to the conclusion that it is the latter. Because if that were the case, if it really were a lack of time or resources or even opportunity, those who have come from literally nothing to go on and be a great success would not have been able to do it. I live for the success stories of people who literally had no other option but to win because it helps me take all my excuses off the table for why I can’t achieve my own greatness.

Going back to responsibility, I believe our job and responsibility as human beings is to first seek and understand God’s purpose for our lives and then live boldly in that purpose. Some of us have a purpose that is larger in scope than others but I refuse to believe that any of us were put here on this Earth to just survive. I get it. I once believed that I was more comfortable and safe collecting a paycheck every two weeks from a job I didn’t like in lieu of being in pursuit of my WHY. Then I had a mindset shift. I asked myself what if it’s even more dangerous to get to the end of life, which could be at any moment, and realize we didn’t do all we could to be great?

Here’s another pertinent quote: “Action cures fear.” Go out there and slay the dragons of mediocrity today by taking action towards your greatness.

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