Honeycomb Music: honeycomb

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The Bahamas

Two words My People!!!
LOL!!!!!!!!!' I can laugh about it now.
But let me start from the top.....

Sheronia Rogers is someone I've known and respected for years. We were church buddies for many years. I know that she takes her family on cruises maybe 3 times a year. So if anybody was going to partner with me on this, it would be her.

So I asked her to do this with me, and she took the wheel and just started driving. Perfect.

I've been in the industry of music for 30 plus years. And a lot of the times, I feel like I'm just starting.

Can you imagine the butterflies I have now? This is our FIRST time hosting a cruise of this magnitude.

I already know how things can go crazy when planning events. We've done plenty events, and I've seen some crazy things happen. So with this being our first cruise, I'm a little nervous. And we're involving a travel agent that will be in control of a lot of the registering or booking of clients. I'm not totally comfortable with that. However, this is the business that we're venturing into. And I'm told, this is how it goes. So we go with it. I spoke to the travel agent and I feel somewhat relieved. She seems cool! I thanked her because this is going to be a venture and a lot of hard work. We even talked about Tequila shots when this was over. LOL.

Sheronia is as busy as all get out. "We need this. We need that. Do you have the money? Well when will you have it? How much? How soon?" She was already on this thing and we still have a year before it actually happens. LOL
As the months go by, problems started to arise.
People are angry about this and that. It appears to be a communication gap between the people and our travel agent.
Hmmmmm.

This is the fear that I talked about earlier. When my name or Honeycomb is a part of something, I like to have hands on. This way if anything goes wrong, I can take care of it myself. But when I'm not in control, I can't do anything. Sad part is, my name or Honeycomb is still the brand that people see. So whatever goes wrong, I lose either way.

But to win the game one has to be in the game.

So the months are going by and I'm getting even more complaints about not being contacted about this and that.

"Josh I haven't heard anything from your travel agent!"

I'm worried. Sheronia is doing everything she can to make this as easy as possible. Some friends that I trust are calling me saying things like "Yo. You good?" LOL.

See here's the deal. Before I became a business man or a musician, I was born a human with emotions and feelings. As a grown man, I'm not going to allow anyone to speak to me any kind of way. I'm from Brooklyn. And what that means is this, I know how to deal with a loud mouth. So when I feel a slight disrespect in ones tone of voice, I find it difficult to stay calm and respect what this person is saying.

But I managed to be professional.
Fast forward.

It's almost time for the cruise. People seem to finally be excited. I'm worn way out! I know Sheronia has to be worn out. But somehow, it's all just now about to BEGIN!!

Everybody on our team is working hard and making sacrifices. We all know how important it is to at least make a decent impression with integrity and consistency. So we don't wanna do anything wrong. Carnival gave us very little to work with. But hey, what can we do, cancel?

This entire trip is being afforded by us. There is no corporate account or sponsorship here. Next year, DEFINITELY! But right now, no.

Carnival isn't going to give us any extra privileges. We're nobody to them. So when we got the final itinerary, we were shocked, disappointed, nervous, and everything you can think of. The party times were not what we wanted and Carnival was not budging with a single thing.

Side note.

Money talks. If we chartered the voyage, we would have gotten the red carpet treatment with better options. So when we made the announcement about the party times, it was game on. FIRE from a few of our patrons started to come in.

"3 hours?!?!?!?"
"This is more like a senior citizens cruise!!!!"
"We can go see Louie and Jihad any Wednesday or Saturday!"
"This feels so bait and switch!!!!!!"

And then more disrespect started to come in. People would see Louie and Jihad in clubs and complain loud for everyone to hear. One woman saw me at a club and wanted to draw a crowd with her disrespect. Yelling, at MY EVENT, "This is a mess!! That's all this is. A mess!!!!!"

It was really hard to remain calm and accommodating. But folks are frustrated. In all fairness, we understood what the problem was. And that just had a Domino affect on anything else that happened.

At this point, I'm almost feeling regret. I hate feeling like I'm being attacked when I'm innocent. But because this is a Honeycomb event, it's my responsibility to ensure satisfaction to our patrons. I had to take responsibility for everything. I want to fight somebody.
And then there were friends that came with, "See what you shoulda did was....."

Side note. Shut up!

The sound system(speakers and such) that the cruise ship has is nice. But my people are accustomed to some real thunder. So we have to rent sound. And that can get crazy financially.
Jason Ojeda is the guy we use when we do our annual Birthday Boat Ride in NYC.

When I arrived to his warehouse, I knew we were in way over our head. Jason has years of experience. And when I told him what we're doing, he began to explain to me what we needed. I'm thinking to myself "What did we get ourselves into?"

But after all of the calculating and listing of equipment, he gave me a deal that we could work with. It was something that only God could give us folks. We were blessed by God through Jason. He really blessed. I thought I was going to cry when he gave us the deal.

Sidebar.

Nobody looks out for nobody anymore in this industry of music. You really gotta know a person these days. I know Jason. We've done NY boat rides for years. But we've never hung out or had drinks. So for him to give me a real sweet deal was very unexpected. But "God is faithful", my mom said on her death bed.
And he really is.

We rented this big cargo van and I drove it to Cape Canaveral, Florida!!!!

Im starting to see folks I know. I'm feeling some joy enter back into my spirit.

Side note. People can take whatever joy you have about a thing IF you allow them. They will step, spit and piss on something that you worked painstakingly for and leave you bleeding your heart out. And then, they'll move on within that same hour as if nothing was said. And you will never forget what that person said/posted. It will hurt you every time you think of that person. But I have some good advice for those of you that this has happened to. You can't please everybody. Be grateful that you're doing something you wanted to do. You ventured out. You tried it. Even if you suck at it. Do what makes you happy. If someone is displeased with your efforts, so be it. So long as you're not disrespected. My people have a tendency to get animated. We have a defense mechanism that tells us to speak loudly and aggressively. We do it to waitresses all of the time. Speaking to them all nasty as though they cooked the food. But I digress.

We board. There was a safety drill and before long we were sailing. Tonight is Jihad. And I don't know what to expect.

Moises Montoya is Louie's assistant but he's there to help me set up the equipment. The club looks decent. I like.

Moises set up the sound and it sounds nice!!!! This just may work. At our Welcome Party we have food and open bar. Open Bar! I saw the drinks and I know I'll need at least 10 of those! I made contact with all of the vocalist and they seem cool. Everybody on the team is positive. And I'll be honest, I would have unraveled completely if they weren't. So I'm grateful. Gloria is looking great and in good spirits. So that's good. OK. Let's go.

First night was dope. Short 3 hours. But Jihad played as though he were in concert. Folks danced. I loved seeing the energy in me change from this dark feeling of doubt to a bright optimism. Louie came down to enjoy and observe.

The next night I asked Louie to give us a Flashback party night. We figured we can have the first night be a club night where Jihad played new and current hits.

Louie could play a classic night for those of us into that. And the last night they both can play whatever they're feeling.
The vocalists all sang their hearts out. Diviniti, Kia Stewart, Taihisha Grant, and Dawn Tallman came through and did what they do best. I was so happy.

Poet, Janeen Lyons, had surgery on her knee. She really had no business on this cruise ship. She should be home recovering. But like the rest of the team, she is dedicated to giving 100 percent of herself to make the vision happen. I felt grateful to all of them.

Side note. I appreciate my Honeycomb family. I will stand by each and every one of them. Everybody kicked in and sacrificed money and time with NO PAY to make this thing work. As the CEO of the company, my heart was really touched by their generosity.

I'll tell you all the honest to goodness truth. When it was all over and I finally got in the cargo van with the equipment loaded and ready to drive home, I remember feeling good. Why? Because we did something good! There were some, well there is one person who absolutely hated it and continues to show her disrespect, but you know, she has that right. On the last night when Sheronia shared, she said "that everything is not for everybody" and that is so true.
However, we saw a lot of happy faces and received A LOT of LOVE!

I'll admit we went into this excited and not as informed and we own it. That is the price we pay for doing what we love and will continue to do. Thank you to those who completed our survey. We were humbled and overwhelmed by the sharing of the joy of your experiences, your positivity and constructive feedback.
90% of our cruisers who completed the survey ranked the event from Very Good (40%) to Excellent (50%). We are so happy that they enjoyed themselves and gave us some great suggestions. Honeycomb is committed to quality entertainment. We will not make excuses for mistakes that we make. We are happy to take responsibility, for that is how we learn. Having said that, we look forward to hosting next years trip. Bigger and Better.

God or Fate?

Most people I know believe in some sort of "higher power". My Christian friends say that this being is the one and only God. And his name is Jehovah or Yahweh. My "new agey", super deep friends say that this being lives in us and is called "Our Higher Consciousness". Here's my question. Assuming you believe in God, where do we draw the line between fate and God's will? I had a fortunate turn of events happen over the last two days. And my belief is that God made it happen. But first, let's look at that word FATE. I've looked at a few dictionaries. And all of them say that fate is "That which is inevitably and unavoidably predetermined. Hmmm... Predetermined? OK.... But predetermined by who? Did someone predetermine what would happen to me, and how is that predetermination carried out? I got a call from an agent that I admire. He expressed interest in collaborating with me to make some opportunities happen. Great! No promises. Just interest and commitment. I also heard from a friend of mine whom I had a disagreement with about a business venture and while on this call/text, we were able to agree and move forward with that venture. Seamless. Without ever showing any animosity, anger or disrespect toward each other. I'm writing a book that needed major help, and one of my artist was able to make that happen saving me a lot of money. And she was able to get my book published. This is not a testimony. Nor am I trying to market any music or whatever. But a question. ALL OF THIS happened within two or three days. I just so happened to say a prayer about my career before all of this happened. And BOOM! Prayers are answered. It's 7:07am on Jan. 20th. Inauguration Day! I'm drinking coffee with some cinnamon sprinkled in it, looking at my Christmas Tree. Yes, Christmas Tree. Shut Up!! I'm feeling Uber grateful. And I want to share this story with some of you who are feeling frustrated about decisions in your life. Prayer is amazing! And I'm not at all deep neither am I super spiritual. So if prayer worked for me........ I suppose I'll start removing the decorations off of the tree today.

My Listening Party

Back in the 70's, listening parties were a common occurrence. A label would host a listening party and invite artist, labels, and influential people. This would be the beginning of creating a buzz in many cases. Keep in mind, there was no Internet. Labels and its artist didn't mind giving away promo copies to DJ's and radio personalities.

Radio personalities would often play songs from the album on mix shows, and if the artist were fortunate enough, they'd sometimes hear their music played on regular rotation. We all know, getting music played regularly on a major radio station can cost loads of money. But back then, music was making a lot of money. Budgets were higher. Much higher. Labels could drop $40K for major radio play for a single song and not even feel it. After the listening party and promo copies were given out, there would be the "release party". Now this was a big deal. Usually there'd be a performance. The artist knew that they would have to KILL this performance. This party would be the party of the year! Everything was going to be magical! The who's who would be there. Even the pimps, drug dealers, and hustlers would show up wearing the most expensive clothing money could buy. Other famous people that you never imagined you'd ever meet would be there. Cameras would flash all night. Drinks were poured, and people felt good. The "buzz" was created, radio is playing the jams, people are familiar with the single. As the artist, you are "The It" person. And it all started with......

THE LISTENING PARTY.

I'm a bit old fashioned. I like the old way. It feels better to me. Inviting friends, family, and loved ones to get together over drinks and music.

There's no way an artist can survive doing everything the old way though. Today, the entire music business has changed the way it works. Listening parties almost never happen. The Internet has taken the place of the listening party. Promos can't happen unless the record company doesn't mind file sharing and running the risk of extremely little to no record sales.

A child once said to his father who happens to be a music executive, "Why do people buy music? That's like buying air."

Air is the most significant "nothing" there is. We can't see it and it's something most people take for granted, but we'd soon remember its value once it is taken away. We need air to live. And if there was a monopoly on air, we'd all be in line to purchase it. What the child said is accurate. Music is very much like air. We don't realize it sometimes, but we need music to live. The child was probably on to something deeper than he realized. Everyone has access to every new album released. PERIOD! I don't care who it is, you can get the album for free. Right now!

Just go to YouTube and search for the latest album, even if it just came out today, and take a listen. There's even a website that will take the URL from YouTube and download the audio from that clip on to your computer. So now, at no cost to you, you own the album that took the artist, sometimes, years to make. The artist relies on your purchase to make a living. The artist has no insurance plan or 401K. No retirement money. All the artist has is gigs and record sales.

Think about that. And you wanna know the really sad part? I know a lot of artist that will spend their time trying to convince the world that they're on top. The truth is, every artist is trying to win. Every artist is doing their best to keep working. Remember the days when most artist were celebrities? Remember the days when most artist drove a Benz? Remember the days when most artist would pop up in a magazine ever so often and we'd cut out that article because we knew them? Remember when Soulful House music was getting regular rotation on major radio stations around the world? Those days are over. Every artist everywhere is working hard to stay relevant and busy. The entire music industry has taken a blow to the pockets.

There are a few who still live lavish life styles. Rockers, hip-hoppers, and pop stars do exist. But there are more artist working hard at surviving the music business than there are artist riding high in it.

What I'm trying to say is this, support your favorite artist by buying the project. Yes, you can easily get it for free. Yes, someone that likes it and bought it can and will email it to you. But it adds to the longevity of the artist when you purchase.

And when you purchase, refrain from sharing(emailing) the project with friends that don't buy music. Music will always be free from now on. That's just a harsh fact that we must accept.

People will listen to it on streaming websites and enjoy it while never purchasing it.

The shelf life of any project/album is only 3-4 weeks. That means when a label releases a project to the public for purchase, the excitement and "buzz" will last a short 3-4 weeks.

These days, artist are releasing albums after working on it for a under a month in their bedrooms. And that's because it almost makes no sense to work on something for 3 years, spending money on musicians and high end studios for it to last for under a month. And the record sales are so low that the money spent making the project isn't recouped.

The bad thing about that is, a lot of the magic is compromised. The interaction between musicians isn't there. The collaborations aren't there.

Today's generations are unfamiliar with the kinds of productions us 40-something year olds were exposed to. Even if one grew up with good music in their homes, few artist and labels are affording those kinds of productions. So it's more likely that the masses will hear projects with bedroom productions(productions done in a room using a few samples and a mic), respectfully.

People from around the world have grown a taste for these kinds of productions because that's what's being fed to them.

And because music budgets have dwindled down to an all time low, there will be way more bedroom production releases than there are anything else. I've even heard a few trap songs that I dug and thought were fun. However, I have a love and appreciation for produced and orchestrated projects as well. I need for supporters to know how serious and important it is to pay for music.

The definition of "quality music" has more to do with who's speaking. What I know for sure is that "quality music", whatever the genre, isn't cheap. Even if it's John Legend singing and playing a piano. The microphone, the engineer, the studio, the catering, the travel cost, all add up. And he certainly wouldn't appreciate us downloading it for free. As a matter of fact, don't just buy the one song, spend your funky $9 and buy the whole thing. Support the artist. He needs and wants you to do that.

Even someone like Jay-Z who we know is rich. Our position should be to purchase. That's what we are supposed to do as patrons. The moral thing to do is go buy what you want and not steal it because you will probably not get arrested. It's theft people. It's stealing candy from a baby. No matter how you slice it ladies and gentleman, when you take a thing and not purchase knowing its for sale, you steal it. Some of you steal and take communion on the next day and feel no conviction. LOL.

I'm asking that we support our artist and keep "quality music" alive.

On Friday, April 15th 2016, my label, Honeycomb Music, hosted a listening party for my solo album "June 9th".

The party is going to start at 7pm. When I arrived at around 6:20pm, I noticed people standing in line, waiting for the doors to open. I immediately felt humbled and a tad emotional. These people are mature adults with lives of their own. This is a Friday night in NYC. They could be out having the night of their lives but they chose to share their time with me. They came to hear what I'm doing. They invested their time in me. It's time they will never get back. I feel grateful.

I'm a musician, singer, songwriter, producer but I am a lover of music first and most importantly. This album represents that. This is something I've been chipping away at for at least 5 years. There's a song on it I wrote back in 2009(Here's To Love). It's been a long time coming. Cielo is a very popular night club in NYC and I got the opportunity to host this event there. Louie Vega and Kevin Hedge host their weekly party, ROOTS, here and I knew the sound system is one of the best in town.

The staff were all so accommodating and friendly. Everything is smooth sailing. I saw friends that I've not seen in many years. Family members were there. DJ's and artist were there. I almost felt like the "It" guy. The music on this album is unlike anything I've ever done in my 30 years of doing music.

I've always been a part of a group. And now I'm doing music on my own. I never recorded a cover song(songs made famous by other artist) before, but on this project I did a Stevie Wonder, Gill Scott-Heron, Bill Withers, and Beatles tunes. I wrote a slow sad song called "Not For Me". That's a first. I did a tune that has a shuffle rhythm, and that's a first. That's why I named this project June 9th. That date is my birthday and this project to me feels like I've been born. My first time at doing music for me, by me.

I even wrote a song for God. It's called "In All I Do".

I plan to shoot a few videos before releasing this project. Visuals like that help the life span of the project. It's extremely necessary but it cost money. Real money. I did a video for a song a few years ago that cost me $3000! For this project is like to do at least 3 videos. I'll include the DVD in the cd. But I need to pay for the video production. The staff, the camera equipment rental, the extras, the catering, the directors fee, the editing. After all of that, we upload the videos on the social networking sites. Let that run for a month or so.

And then we get the cd/DVD's manufactured and packaged. Now how much do you think all of that cost?

Exactly!! And where do you think I'm going to get this money from???????

Exactly!!

And why do you think I'm asking you to buy projects instead of downloading them for free?????

Exactly!!

This isn't going to be easy by no stretch of the imagination. But I've been doing this for 30+ years, and I'm not stopping now. My goal is to spread the spirit of love throughout the world with my music as much as I can with your help.

I already have a gig coming up in SA with a respected artist whose project I sang on. Afterwards we go to London and NY. I'm going to possibly get a chance to sing two songs from my album on that tour. Just want to start the "buzz" on this project.

Chicago

December 30th 5:58am

It's 5:48am and I'm blogging. I really need to find more things to do. LOL! My man Sean Alvarez invited me to come do the Promontory. And I love Chi. So this gig is a no brainer. I'm ready.

9:39am

I'm in my seat. This plane is packed. Everybody seems a little annoyed.

And someone farted in my area. Not sure if it's the older woman next to me or the young lady in the aisle across from me.

Why do I feel like everyone is looking at me?

What is that? If I farted I'd have excused myself or something! This is offensive!

Anyway. Chicago! Yay!!!!!

10:05am

We're in the air and I just experienced racism. Wow! The guy in front has a baby in his lap. The baby has a cold and is coughing. I won't mention that nobody is covering the child's mouth. Anyway, the baby coughs and the pacifier flew out of the mouth of the child. It's now on the floor next to me. The guy was breaking his back, stretching his arm painfully, trying to reach it. But his seatbelt is on. He can't reach it. So I carefully pick it up, making sure not to touch the part that goes in the baby's mouth. When I pass it to the guy, he has an attitude! As though he didn't want my dirty black hands touching his baby's pacifier! Now I've been told that I can be sensitive. But this guy really has a problem. He seemed exacerbated and annoyed. He didn't say thank you. Maybe he feels like if he needed help he would have asked for it.

I'll be the bigger person. I'll let him live. LOL. Sad though.

11:05am

Random thought. Remember Sea Monkeys? What were they really?

4:30pm

So I decide to stop in The Silver Room. And man, they've got everything. Leather travel bags that I'd love, Jewelry, hats, shades, artwork. And they were playing Herbie Hancock!!!!! The fusion 1970's Herbie Hancock. The staff made me feel quite at home. It was dope. Reminds me of the cd store in 5 points ATL. Really comfortable and fly.

7:23pm

So I'm at the venue. Sean Alvarez is there. Extremely professional. Everything looks and feels great. I'm at the bar located downstairs having a tea. Nobody seems to have any connection with the club upstairs. It's as though the restaurant and club are entirely different venues. The lady next to me must've gathered that I'm part of the event taking place upstairs. She asks "Excuse me, what kind of music are they playing tonight?" So I replied, "House". That was it. End of conversation right? No. Her boyfriend looks around her and stares at me. It seems he needs me to know that she's with him. So I say, in my most non-threatening tone "Peace Brother".

He stood up ever so slightly and raised his voice a little. "Peace What?!?"

His girl put her hand on the guys chest and said "No!"

I'm thinking, "What just happened? Did I almost get beat up just now?"

Dude just raised up on me! He was very big and muscular. Veins in his neck. I even peed on myself a little bit. Not enough to wipe or anything. My underwear could pretty much absorb this amount. But the point is, I was a little startled. So I repeated myself. In an attempt to regain any sense of toughness that just fled my body. "I said PEACE BROTHER". And he replied. "Oh oh. Yeah. Wassup".

What the heck was that?

Whatever. This restaurant/bar is sexy. They're playing James Brown. And they have the album displayed to show the customers what's being played. "Black Caesar", Dope!

1:30am

So I did the gig. It kinda felt like I was entertaining family in my living room. Really cozy. Everybody seemed to have fun. Sean looked happy. So I'm feeling great. Saw the entire Chi crew. Met some new Chi peeps. Met some Facebook friends which was cool. They all gave me so much love.

9:30am

Usually when I blog, the craziest things happen at the airport or on the plane.

So as I'm sitting in the plane, a sister boards the plane with a plate of food!! I'm talking a paper plate with the aluminum foil on it. Martin Luther King Blvd. style!!!!! I couldn't believe it. So now that she's taken her seat, I see her bow her head. I'm thinking, "is she saying grace?"

Nothing wrong with saying grace. But wait a sec. You're not about to eat a plate of fried chicken & fries on this plane are you? Really? She had the entire plane reeking of ketchup and grease!!!!!!! Why am I embarrassed?

But anyway I'm home. Great trip.