Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada

OK… I gotta admit that today’s post was partially inspired by the fact that my boys have been playing ROCKBAND a lot over the March Break and one of their favorite song to play seems to be Detroit Rock City by KISS, released on the Destroyer Album back in March of 1976. Man… That’s freakin’ 33 years ago and the kids are still lovin’ it!

Of course ROCKBAND has breathed new life into a ton of music, and introduced my boys to various generations of music in the addictive format of a video game, but for some reason I have less of a problem with this particular video game as a parent than I do for say a bang bang shoot shoot sort of game. Sure the game over simplifies what it actually takes to play guitar or drums, but that our boys are being exposed to music and having a hoot doing so is still pretty cool.

But I’m sliding waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off topic. Monday’s are dedicated to marketing and the point I wanted to make today was about longevity. The Band KISS has a ton of stuff working in it’s favor when it comes to the marketing and promotion of their product. The look, the iconic KISS lettering, the sound, the incredible live shows, but the fact that they’ve been together in one incarnation or another for over 37 years means that they’ve been able to play to several generations of fans.

Admittedly it’s a bit weird driving down the highway listening to my eight year old belting out the lyrics to ‘Love Gun,’ but in a strange sort of way it’s also pretty cool. That KISS has endured as a band long enough to be around for my boys to enjoy is pretty cool not to mention the fact that I’ve become more of a fan of their music and their ‘show’ as a result of my kids than I ever was when I was growing up.

I never really thought about juggling as a career when I first picked up three bundles of socks and started throwing them around at the age of thirteen. I never thought that the checkerboard pattern that started invading costume elements around 1985 would lead to the performance persona that’s kept me working and happy with what I do for almost three decades, but it has and I still find it remarkable when people come up to see me and say things like – I remember seeing you in Ottawa on Canada day twenty years ago… If you can find something that you genuinely love and can find a way to keep the excitement for what you love alive, then you’re bound to be at it for years. Love what you do, care deeply about what you do and above all else, enjoy the ride!

Do all that and you may even make it to your own set of Russian Nesting Dolls!

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.