You Can’t Come With Me!

Fairly recently, I realized something interesting.  We spend a great deal of time sharing our treasured moments with each other because we want people to feel the same as those things made us feel.  The problem is… they don’t.  Not really, anyway.  Even the people you physically spent those times with remember things their own way.

I could pick a random moment in time… playing Crossbows and Catapults with my brother at the kitchen table one Christmas vacation.  I was listening to Rainbow and Emmerson, Lake and Palmer he was listening to something else, across the table where the view was different.  It was the same hour that we shared and some things will match but they were unique experiences to each of us.

One of the things you read a lot in marketing is to bring your fans on your journey but how can you truly do that?  You can’t.  What you can do is share moments that you enjoyed or learned from and, perhaps, they will trigger something in others.  Take my example of Crossbows and Catapults.  Maybe you weren’t there (Unless you are Lee, you weren’t) but, perhaps that reminds you of a time your family sat at the table and played a board game, or cards or put a puzzle together.  Maybe there was tinsel hanging from the tree in the living room.  Perhaps you used a needle and thread and strung popcorn.

Maybe you aren’t in the studio with me when I create a song.  Maybe that song reminds me of winter because it was freezing outside when I composed it.  Maybe, for you, it is a summer song because you first heard it in July when you had Spotify on random at a picnic and my song came on.

What you can do is inspire ideas in others.  Maybe that ice pond I tried to build in my front yard one year wasn’t a good idea but perhaps that will give someone else the idea to find a skating rink or get lessons.  How about the time my brother and I started rolling snowballs and realized we could make giant snowballs and rolled a few together and then hollowed out a fort?

My point is that it doesn’t matter if you feel the same things I do.  It would be amazing if anyone shared my exact memories but that isn’t possible (at least with today’s technology.  Who knows what the future may bring).  All that matters is that you feel something.  That you smile.  Maybe even that you are inspired by music, a book, some holiday or vacation pictures that a friend posts.  Look, listen, read and be inspired!

Share your memories in the comments below and inspire others!

Cheers,
Scott

In case you are interested, here is a list of holiday music I have available (Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, CD Baby, Spotify and more):

Mental Sauna III: Christmas Inflections

We Three Kings (Featuring Taran Emmert on vocals and Bruce Vaught on acoustic guitar.

Haunted Holidays: Deadly Christmas

Haunted Holidays: Deadly Christmas II

Haunted Holidays II Promo

Mrs Clause

Las Vegas Strip Walk Southbound Part 2

Las Vegas Strip Walk Southbound Part 1

Atari Adventure - Finding the Easter Egg

Opium –A Hilarious, Erotic Adventure in Space

I went into this show with only one preconceived notion – it is going to be a bit naughty.  I didn’t know how mild that statement would be.  Walking into the theater, you feel transported back into a 50’s sci-fi film.  Surprisingly, the tasty drink menu (the drinks are tasty, not the menu itself – I did not sample that), are served in bags.  It does make them a little awkward to carry and they may be a little cold in your hands but the show will warm you up quickly enough.  My drink came with Pop Rocks and I highly suggest it.

I love the intimate theater, glowing in neon colors inside the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino.  The stage area is very small by typical Vegas standards but is absolutely perfect for this show.  Certainly a throwback to the old days of smaller venues and feeling more connected to the show instead of just a spectator. 

The premise of the show is that you are on Uranus (a joke that does get slightly overplayed) and you are headed to Las Vegas.  You meet the crew and experience their special talents along the way.  There is a lovely merger between classic show skills and new, inventive ways of performance displayed here.  In particular, the juggler, for example.  I have seen lots of jugglers over the years but I have never seen one work in this style before and it is quite impressive.  The contortionist was not only enjoyable but absolutely hilarious.  Those two alone are well worth the price of admission.

That isn’t to say the rest of the performance wasn’t fantastic, because it was.  From start to finish, if I wasn’t laughing from the jokes, I was in awe of the performances.  All backed by a very solid band, playing a good amount of familiar music that you will clap your hands to (don’t worry, they’ll let you know when to do this).   My stomach is actually sore today from laughing so much.

If you are planning on coming to town or already there, take a couple hours and have a rip roaring good time at Opium.  Beware, one way or another, you may get wet.

For tickets:

https://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/entertainment/exclusives/opium