Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Landing a Dream Job

I can't imagine my life not in the travel and hospitality field...and yet, that's never where I aspired to be when I was younger. I stumbled into it quite innocently and I've never let go (or, probably more truthfully, it never let go).

But why wasn't it an option? My mother instilled in me an ethos to always give back; to be in service to others. And, I can't think of an industry that is more "in service" than the service industry. So why wasn't it a viable option as I made way way into adulthood? Because, historically, we've paid shit wages and demanded impossible hours of entry-level positions? Because society and educators didn't value the work we do? Because self-absorbed asses in our midst think it's OK to demean service workers to their faces?

An interesting story in Fast Company caught my attention over the weekend. Roughly half of teens aspire to work in an artistic or investigative career. Only 2% of careers are in the arts/creative field and 8% are investigative (think scientist, detective, researcher, etc.). Why don't more dream of a job in hospitality?

Which then got me thinking about the new Amazon Prime series "Life's Rewards," where a rich playboy loses everything and is forced to live off his hotel points. As I suggested to Visit St. Pete / Clearwater's Steve Hayes on the DMOU podcast, my favorite aspect of the show was not just the character's reawakening...but the service staff around him that helped him find his way.

The answer isn't ads that extoll the virtue of a life in hospitality (did those Army ads make you want to join...or was it the TV shows and movies that glorified the cause?). We need more shows like Steve's to inspire the other half of teens that hospitality is a path worth considering.

Like That Will Have a (Positive) Impact

Not to throw shade at the head of the Hotel Association of New York City, but his recent support of Mayor Bill de Blasio's summer-long waiver of Hotel Room Taxes is perplexing, at best, and reckless, at worst.

Don't get me wrong, there are some destinations where $18 a night might influence a potential visitor to choose another city. But, honestly? This is freakin' New York City. A destination that isn't up for debate on haggling over price. It's also a City with a pandemic-induced budget hole that could use those revenues to shore up other parts of the economy or infrastructure. To forfeit an estimated $30 million of tax revenue on a feel-good gimmick that's simply not needed to jump start the hotel sector is amazingly short-sighted.

The consumer tax savings on a $300/night room is roughly $18, it's $12 on a $200/night stay and $6 on a $100/night stay. So, don't call me elitist when I say people wouldn't let $18 blur their desire. That's a drink in the hotel bar for people willing to spend $300 a night...and a hot dog for those attempting to be frugal. 

If the powers at work here really want to help, don't waive the Room Tax. Use it to subsidize a portion of theatre tickets so the theaters and their crews and companies are made whole...but that tickets are more affordable to the tight-fisted (but culturally sophisticated) consumer this summer. That will capture people's attention. Broadway on Sale for one Summer only? That will cause theatre goers that might fear an unmasked city to take a chance and return. The same with admissions to sporting events and museums. And, let's find a way to help our restaurants come back.

The Mayor deserves huge props for dedicating $30 million in recovery funding for the work of NYC & Company. But, forgiving a fee that hardly anybody notices when there are so many ways to maximize this revenue? Unforgivable.

Marvin Gaye

I know we featured Marvin Gaye just last year on the 50th Anniversary of his recording of "What's Going On." But, it was 50 years ago today that one of the most important albums of a generation was actually released. And babies, there were a lot of groundbreaking albums in 1971...but nothing like this one. Indeed, last year, Rolling Stone named it to the top spot on its Top 500 Albums of all time.

Wikipedia describes it thus: "The narrative established by the songs is told from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to his home country to witness hatred, suffering and injustice. Gaye's introspective lyrics explore themes of drug abuse, poverty and the Vietnam War. He has also been credited with promoting awareness of ecological issues before the public outcry over them had become prominent."

That the album ever happened is a miracle. Marvin was a singer of love songs. Signed to Motown a decade earlier, he had a string of hits under his belt like "Ain't That Peculiar," "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and the amazing "Heard it Through the Grapevine." When he presented "What's Goin' On" to the label brass, they rejected it. It was a departure from the gravy train of crooner hits for which Martin was known. But somebody at Motown secretly arranged to have the single pressed and 100,000 discs sent to record stores and radio stations. It became the fastest selling single in Motown history. 

Motown brass, humbled by their own hubris, told Marvin he could continue down this path if he could produce a full album within 30 days, knowing full well that such a deadline was an impossibility. And, Marvin proved them wrong again with what is now considered the Number One album of all time.

On this Music Friday...while "What's Goin' On" is sadly as relevant today as it was 50 years ago (even more so, in my eyes...but I already linked it above), we're going with another gem from the album. This is "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)."

No less relevant 50 years later. If Marvin were still here with us, he'd likely just shake his head in disgust. As we all should.

The Chef as The Story

If you've yet to catch an episode of the new CNN travelogue series Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, treat yourself. Beautifully shot, the series explores the variations in cuisine, traditions and preparations throughout the country.

Just as beautifully shot (and no less culinarily compelling), is a new online series we recently stumbled upon from our friends at VisitNorfolk.  City with Bite is a semi-weekly video series featuring local food and culture icon Nomarama as your host with a stated mission to try all 600 of Norfolk's independent restaurants. And, with 4 episodes already online and streaming, we're so planning our next visit to the city!

Click on the slightly irreverent trailer and I dare you not to watch all four episodes.

Congratulations to Kurt Krause and the crew at VisitNorfolk. Sensationally played!

Bunny Wailer

The last member of the ground-breaking group The Wailers has departed terra firma...but what a life Bunny Wailer led. We could only have been as blessed.

Hanging out on the streets of Nine Mile, childhood friends Bunny, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh created the Wailing Wailers and achieved international success. All three ultimately went on to sensational solo careers, with Bunny winning three Grammys in the '90s.  He was still churning out music videos in 2017 and, even after a stroke laid him low, participated in a Playing for Change video of "Soul Rebel."

We say farewell with one of my faves, "Roots, Radics, Rockers and Reggae."

Thanks for all the smiles, Bunny. For, no one could ever have the blues when listening to you.

The Day the Music Died

This week in 1959, the fledgling rock world lost three of its brightest voices when a plane carrying Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens crashed shortly after a concert at the Surf Ballroom in Cedar Lake IA. Both the Buddy Holly Story and La Bamba were fairly righteous movies for the uninitiated. If there was ever a movie about the Big Bopper, I never saw it.

Don McClean immortalized the tragedy in his hit "American Pie" in 1971. And this week, he and Home Free released this gem.

On a Music Friday in which we look back, it's an acappella version of the classic "American Pie."

Sublime.

The Inaugural Concert

While the 'VID clearly played a role in changing up the tired, staid tradition of Inaugural Balls...this week's "Celebrating America" show should be the de facto new tradition, n'est-ce pas?

With the Boss kicking off the evening on a somber tone, the event was capped off by an over-the-top Katy Perry, who thought she was the star...and not the Fireworks of which she sang.

In between, there were sensational performances from the Black Pumas, Jon Bon Jovi (if for nothing more than the timing of the cinematography), John Legend, Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake & Ant Clemons and more.

If Music can lead a national renaissance, it doesn't get much better than this on the first Music Friday of a new era.

A Day of Hope

I'm not blind to the fact that roughly 50% of Americans voted for the other side. And, I'm not blissfully unaware that a large number of those that voted for the former President were likely not watching the coverage of this Inauguration Day. But, that's a shame.

Because what was on display today in the nation's Capital was a breath of fresh air. An Inaugural Address that offered inspiration and hope; almost Kennedy-esque and, in retrospect, a stark contrast to the darkness of the last address. An evening devoid of balls and parties in which mere mortals could never picture themselves...but instead, a televised celebration of America to which we were all invited with front line Americans featured alongside some of our favorite performers. And, an evening that concluded with the most bad-ass fireworks display I've ever seen. And, here's to future inaugurations continuing this tradition. Tonight, I feel empowered to be inspired.

Those who know me well, know that I am fiercely independent in my political views. I believe the two-party system is the axis of evil. I believe it prevents us from what we could be as a nation...and that the media prefers the two-party system because it makes their narrative easier, not our country better. Thus, other points of view don't get the air they deserve.

Put another way...do you want Coke and Pepsi as your only choices in life, or do you occasionally hanker for a Mountain Dew?

So here's the deal. As a nation, we test-drove the Trumpian model and found it to be good for the economy but bad for a boatload of other things. So, all I ask is that we test-drive Biden-Harris. A majority of this country's citizens wanted a change. Let's see if they can deliver.

I hope to God that they can...for all of us.

Image Credit: NBC

 

Where Music and Economic Development Meet

This is about the time of the year when this blog moves from discussing the issues surrounding Destination Marketing and Community Development to featuring really cool songs of the season. Typically, it's a fairly hard pivot with a degree of whiplash. That we always post music finds on Fridays mitigates it slightly...but we've never had a segue like today.

Earlier this month, I stumbled upon a holiday music video by an Oklahoma-based duo named The Imaginaries. At the close of the video, as the credits begin to roll, what to my wondering eyes did appear but a logo shout out to the Chickasha Economic Development Council (it's on the band's homepage, too). Yesterday, I had the chance to chat with EDC Director Jim Cowan. He told me that Christmas has always been a big deal in this town of 17,000, a half hour out of Oklahoma City. Their Holiday Lights extravaganza typically attracts hundreds of thousands each year and this year, the installation of a 40-foot tall replica of "the leg lamp" from "A Christmas Story" drew national and international media attention from as far away as Japan.

But, it's the sheer livability of a community like Chickasha that Jim believes is the hook to get entrepreneurs and families to move there. And, as people in urban centers rethink where they live in this new work-from-home environment, smaller communities need to stand-out from the crowd. In this Hallmark-style video, the nostalgia, the friendly culture, the arts, music and video all come together to position Chickasha firmly on the list for consideration. And, we love the brilliant marriage of Music, the Holidays and Economic Development.

As we transition over to our favorite Holiday Music finds of the year, luxuriate in "Hometown Christmas" from The Imaginaries. 

17-11-70

My brother from another mother during my days in Rock Radio was one Jim Murphy. We, along with a crew of intrepid radio innovators, helped propel an FM Rocker, 60 miles outside Downtown Chicago, into the Top 20 in that city's Arbitron ratings in the mid '80s...no small feat. We did it with irreverent style and an eclectic playlist that refused to play only hits. And yeah, a 50,000 watt blow-torch of a signal.

Jim reached out the other day with a photo from within his fridge. It was of a gallon of milk, stamped with the expiration date of 11-17-20. He asked if it rang a bell...and, it didn't until he said, "50 years ago?" And, it all came flooding back.

17-11-70 (in the British style of numeric dating) was the title of the live album from a then-emerging Elton John. His first album didn't elicit much attention in the States. His second, contained the hit "Your Song" and was released in April of 1970. In November of that year, he was touring in America and was offered the opportunity to play live on New York's WABC-FM (live concerts on the radio were a big deal before TV concert shows and, of course, the internet).

The live bootleg of that radio concert on WABC-FM is an amazing glimpse into what was to come. If you want some background to stave off today's Friday the 13th Blues, these 85 minutes are pretty cool. You'll get the crackle and pop from an old vinyl...but it's an audio snapshot from 50 years ago. Before his first single in America exploded.

During the concert, he talks about the release of the single from his last album, shares a song from his new album that had just been released two weeks prior as well as a song from a soundtrack to a film that was coming out in 1971. Fascinating how the music industry operated 50 years ago...and how Elton was playing everything. This live album was released on March 12, 1971. The soundtrack to "Friends" 12 days later. And then..."Madman Across the Water" seven and a half months later. It was an incredible burst of creativity.

Because there's no video from that WABC concert, we salute that moment on this Music Friday with this gem that was featured on "17-11-70" a few months earlier from a BBC-TV concert. This is "Burn Down the Mission."

And, Jim? We so gotta reconnect soon. And, thanks for the smile from your fridge.