On that note, Sweetwater is once again producing their annual GearFest 2010 event where they will be giving away $75,000 in gear.  This is a two day festival/conference where audio professionals and musicians alike will benefit.  There are workshops, a musicians flea market, live performances, tours, and more.  It is being held on Friday June 25th (noon-7pm EST) and Saturday June 26th (9am-5pm EST).

If you’re an artist, songwriter, recording engineer, band, producer, or involved in the music industry, it is a great place to find new gear and meet some new people in the industry.  After all, it’s all about who you know, right?  You never know either; you just might walk away with a new project studio setup!

If you’ve got hundreds, or thousands, of people in your area that share common interests, why not engage the local businesses and partner together to host events, shows, and festivals? Not only will this bring the businesses revenue from their local (and hopefully regional) patrons, it also shows the community that they don’t need to drive 40 minutes to do something fun. Bringing in regional artists and musicians will help the community remember why art and music are important in our school systems. The arts promote creativity, innovation, and raw emotion. These are characteristics that one carries for a lifetime and are applicable in all different arenas of life.  I am a big fan of all different types of art.  I find things to be art that others might not.  And I truly appreciate it when people take action and create their art in various forms.

Being a part of a smaller community, I’ve decided to help take action and try to help the arts regain that traction that was once great. To do my part, I’m helping put on regularly occurring shows with some regional (and even international!) artists. We’ve got a great venue, art gallery, and recording studio in Indiana (not to mention The Sisters’ Tea & Eatery!) that all come together to make great things happen.  It’s $5 at the door, and there are great local eateries within walking distance that will fill your stomach with their specialties. It’s a great way to reconnect with friends as well as discover the undiscovered.  This month we’ve got The Great Flood Catastrophe, The Rendition, The Jill Hagen Band, and From the Rooftop.  Not only will you get to see and hear some great music, you’ll also witness the visual art of Sayaka Ganz, Angela Leed and Adam Parsons.

I encourage you to do the same in your community. Talk with your local businesses and artists and see what kind of ideas are floating around. Sometimes all it takes is a few like minds to get together. Before you know it you’ve got more on your plate then you can handle and are forced to bring in more people to help make everything happen. It’s a beautiful thing and a good problem to have. If you’re in the northern Indiana region and want to find out how you can help, let me know!  The most simple of ways that you can help make an impact is by going to the local events, shows, and businesses. Just showing up is more than enough support. Let me hear your thoughts about ways to help impact the local communities, businesses and arts!

Cheers,

Josh Walker

If you’re online and have any sort of web prescence, you need to understand the importance of search engine optimization, or as it’s also known, SEO.  You don’t necessarily need to know all about SEO, but you should at least know someone who does.  And that person is Nate Findling.

The internet has transformed.  It is changing month by month.  Day by day, for that matter.  And we need to keep up.  If you are looking for a way to maximize your online presence, check out what Nate is capable of.  Todays internet, and our presence there, is much broader than just one url; now, all of our social media activity is a part of who we are online.  Our reputation and legitimacy.  Not all of us have a way with words that communicates our ideals fluently; that’s where a copywriter comes in.  Someone that can take your idea and concept and translate it into an understandable and comprehensible story.

Nate is that guy.  He can help your company or organization really reach your target audience.  In words they’ll understand.  Not only does he write for other people and companies, he’s writing a book of blues himself.  A book about the ups and downs of life, and how he got to where he is.  Where he’s going.  And everything in between.  As an internet marketing specialist for Chicago and Indiana,  he understands the importance of using digital media to help make his publishing dreams come to fruition.  Don’t think for one second that because you’re writing a book for print that you don’t need a solid and sharp online presence.  Let Nate take a look at your situation and set you up for a successful journey.

If you have a website for your company (and if you don’t, you should), you need to talk to Nate about how to maximize the potential of your site.  You, like many others, may not realize the full potential of the content on your site.  Nate Findling can and will.

Again, thanks for reading.  We’re all in this together, so why not take a few minutes every day to get to know those around you?  You never know when they’ll come in handy.  Even if you never need their services or talents, they will bring a little joy into your life that would otherwise have been absent.

Cheers,

Josh Walker

I’ve had the opportunity to build and open a recording studio that will not only be used to track and mix bands, but also benefit the local community.  I’ll be using this space to host frequent workshops and seminars to educate and teach young and old alike about music, recording, and managing techniques.  There are many misconceptions and bad habits when it comes to making music; I’m looking to help curb this and fill that void.  There are young kids that have a passion for music as well as older people that have been around and creating music for decades.  I’m looking to foster community and education in the local area while helping artists and bands create the music they love.

I’m also doing artist management for a small venue.  I’ll be bringing in local and regional artists and bands to perform every two weeks.  If you or anyone you know might be interested in performing, get ahold of me.  These performance will include live streaming video and audio during the performance.  The studio is tied into the venue, and I’m offering live recording to any artists that perform there.

I’ll be documenting the progress of the studio as we build.  Right now, we’re in the framing stage with cabling, drywalling, and more.  I’ll be moving in recording gear throughout the next couple weeks along with studio furniture and lighting.  In the coming weeks and months we’ll be painting, applying acoustic treatment to the rooms, and completing the “vibe”.

You can keep checking back to keep up with the progress and see how it’s coming along.  And if you know of any bands that could use my services and experience, let me know.
Cheers,

Josh Walker

When it comes to the internet, social media is absolutely the direction we’re all headed.  If you are a business, an individual, a band, or a presidential candidate, you can and should be utilizing the whole social media concept.  Gone are the days that the internet was only for gaining information on a certain topic.  Now we use it to communicate and network with people both locally and globally.

Kathy provides great social media training seminars.  She is also available for various lengths of general social media consulting and auditing, as well as her Social Media Bootcamp.  This is a four hour workshop that will educate attendees on the best ways to use Facebook and Twitter for their business or organization.  More in-depth topics are discussed as well.  I believe that you’ll find her social media training and consulting very beneficial.

Not only is Kathy recognized for her work in Northwest Indiana social media, she was recently voted as the “Social Media Name of the Year” in the female category for 2009 at the Indiana Inaugural Social Media Summit.  Unfortunately I was unable to attend this year, but from the people that were there I hear that it was a great time.  She won because of her work and dedication to educating others about easy as well as intricate ways to use the internet and social media.  No one is too young or too old to start learning.

I know that I’m continuing to learn more and more about social media on a daily basis.  Little things like frequency, the value of content, how to give back, and more.  Some of it I learn by simply doing, while a lot of my insight has come from people like Kathy.  We can all learn from one another, so I encourage you to check out Kathy Sipple and see how she can help you implement solid social media marketing services and practices.  She will show you how to effectively use Facebook, Twitter, and more to expand your business and gain positive exposure.  I know that a lot of people only use it for keeping up with pictures of family members.  Kathy will show you how to really use it.

If you aren’t already, follow Kathy Sipple on Twitter, or check out her Facebook page.  Take the time to do yourself a favor and find out more about how to improve the way you interact with customers, fans, clients, and people in general.  You can catch up with her at various networking events or her workshops.  Follow her on Twitter and she’ll be sure to fill you in and give you great tips and advice.

Thanks for reading, and till next time, pass this along.  After all, it’s all about the people.

Cheers,

Josh Walker

If you live anywhere in Indiana, this website is a good place to get your quotes from.  But if you live in Northwest Indiana and are looking for auto insurance in Porter or Lake County, this site is a must.   And if you’re looking for homeowners insurance in Hobart, Valparaiso, or Chesterton, they’ve got you covered.  They’ve recently come online and have been active at ensuring that their readers are getting tips and information on ways to save money on auto insurance.  And NWI Quotes does a great job of engaging the community.  For example, they recently gave away gift certificates to area restaurants to winners who simply filled out an online insurance quote form.  A man looking for Hobart auto insurance won himself a free dinner just by filling out a free quote request.  He also got three great quotes that were tailored to his needs.  So, not only do they make it easy to get a quote, they help you have fun doing it.

If you’re in the market for an insurance quote, do yourself a favor and contact NWI Quotes.  It’s a free service, and you’ll be happy you did.

Thanks for taking the time to read.  I hope you all are enjoying the variety of posts here.  Make sure you’re checking back often because you never know what you might miss!

Till next time,

Josh Walker

When it comes to Indiana FHA mortgages, Dave Woodson is the person to contact.  He deals with mortgages on a daily, even hourly (sometimes by-the-minute) basis.  If you follow Dave Woodson on Twitter, you’ll see that he is consistently providing people with the most up-to-date and breaking news regarding the indiana mortgage rates.  Dave not only helps you stay in tune with what’s going on with mortgages, he can also help people in Indiana that need to refinance their mortgage.

I know that this was the first house that we’ve purchased.  While the process for us wasn’t too difficult or confusing (we had some great help), I highly recommend Dave for anybody that is looking for a Northwest Indiana mortgage broker or an expert on Indiana FHA regulations.  He knows his stuff.  On top of being an expert in his field, he’s a nice guy.  After you’ve been through the process of purchasing a home with him, I am assured that you’ll remain friends years to come.

If you’d like to find out some more information on NW Indiana FHA mortgages, you can also go to his website, The Mad Mortgage Machine.  There you’ll find even more information on FHA mortgages, rates, and anything relating to Indiana mortgage.  He is great about using video and blog posts to keep people informed and educated.  Dave picks up where the others leave off.

Be sure to check back next week for another post about someone from Indiana that you should get to know.  Because while timing is everything, relationships are key.

Which leads me to the reason for this post: you need relationships with people of all professions.

Being an entrepreneur, I don’t have a legal team at my disposal.  A useful way I find information is by researching my issues online, which can be a great asset but also a breeding ground for false information.  That’s one reason I find and rely the same few trusted online sources.

One of the sources I’ve found to be most reliable for legal news and information is the NWI Lawyer blog, especially for news pertaining to law and various topics in Northwest Indiana.  I like to know what’s happening in my community and region, and I’ve found this source to be a very reliable outlet for stories and updates in the area.  Not only does NWI Lawyer post frequently, but they also put out useful information for other attorneys and lawyers.

NWI Lawyer informs and assists people in a myriad of matters concerning their lives, from driving on suspended licenses to divorce cases to general news on the judicial system.  This site keeps a fantastic pulse on the current situations developing not only in Northwest Indiana but in the general Region as well.

In addition to the posts and information on the blog, which I’ve read and found them both interesting and informative, there’s also a useful side bar of even more helpful links.

I am an audio engineer, not a lawyer.  But I do know that there are times when I will have questions regarding law and legalities.  This site is the first place I’ll go to for information.  I know there are hundreds, even thousands, of websites and blogs dedicated to law and such,  but I have yet to come across one that is more accurate and up to date than NWI Lawyer.  If you need local and regional information or want to see what’s happening in your community, you need to keep up with the NWI Lawyer blog.  If you are a lawyer or attorney, you should also check out the blog.  If you live in Northwest Indiana, you should check it out.  It never hurts to know what’s going on.  You can view the blog here or by typing http://nwilawyer.blogspot.com/ into your browser.

That’s where knowing people can benefit everyone.  You never know when their resources and knowledge will come in handy.  With that, I encourage you to get to know the people in your community.  Help them out, and in turn they will help you.

I’ve been working closely with the band Etna Green from South Bend, Indiana for the last couple of years.  We did their first album together in Missouri.  The entirety of the album was recorded in no more than 44 hours.  All tracks, including  vocals.  Thanks to time constraints and such, we were forced to blow through it and see what happened.  The final product, after 80 plus hours of editing and mixing, was “Titles & Deadlines”.  For a rushed demo/EP (and budgetary/time constraints) it wasn’t bad at all.  And if you’ve ever had a chance to see them live, you know that they have a great amount of potential.

In the last eight months, Etna Green has really stepped it up a level or two.  I’ve sat in on writing sessions and practices and been able to witness the time, energy, passion, and overall dedication they put into their music.  The new material that is forthcoming is fantastic.  Nothing short of amazing.  We’ve began tracking some of the new stuff, and just listening to the raw tracks gives me chills.  Each time I play them back.  You can literally feel and hear the emotion and passion dripping from their music.  Being able to have worked with them on their first album has enabled me to really get to know their sound and dynamics.  It’s helped build a relationship where there is a give-and-take, allowing me to push them in some areas.  Having gone through a very treacherous recording process on the first release, we are taking as much time as needed to complete this album.  This makes for more comfortable artists and just feeds the creativity process.  Taking time is extremely conducive to productivity.  It may take longer sometimes, but the end product is worth the time.

I absolutely love recording music.  Capturing that sound and being able to put it on display for others to enjoy.  It’s technical, electrical, and at times very draining, but at it’s most simple form, it is art.  The art of capturing emotion and energy.  Along with the dynamics that go along with the music.  If you haven’t had a chance to check these guys out, do it now.  And keep an ear out for the new album coming soon.  You will not be disappointed.

In other news, I’m working on possibly opening a new recording studio.  Also, I’ll be doing a review and some tutorials on the Rode NT5 microphones and some really easy ways to get great results.

Till then…