[Today we bring our behind-the-scenes series on the development of Gama-Go's large Yeti figure to a close. Greg Long, Gama-Go cofounder, is your tour guide in this final installment and he dishes on the final package design, final figure, and the impending pre-sale this Thursday. Enjoy.]
Sometimes I head over to the Brainwash cafe to clear my head and get some of the thinkin' work done that I find difficult to do in the office. Brainwash is a bit of a SOMA institution. It's a cafe/laundromat with a typically SF snarky staff and ridiculous clientele. Once you've gotten your coffee, grabbed a table, and started looking around - you'll see five or six people on computers, a couple of faux or not-so-faux junkies, a bunch of overly-made-up gals from the cosmetic college down the street, and a couple of frisky-looking europeans who just rolled in from the hostel around the corner.
After spilling the news that we couldn't do the plastic-molded ice cave box, Denise quickly sent me an alternate box option that had a bunch of photoshopped elements that would work together to make the Yeti look enmeshed in ice. It was alright, but it wasn't the direction I was looking to go. Now here I am sitting in Brainwash with some coffee and looking over our fall product mix spreadsheet. I need to put it away and get to some doodling. I quickly sketched what I was thinking. Lots of cutaway windows: front, top, both sides - all of 'em have windows. Get the Yeti name spelled out in logs and a carved GAMA-GO on a board. Loads of huge icicles, etc. I took a quick photo of it with my phone and texted it to Denise and Omar. The main thing is that I wanted all of it to be painted.
Before I had finished my coffee Denise wrote back that Dave Higgins - the same artist who had hand painted the master of the wooden Dbot - could do the painting for the box. Excellent.
When I got back to the office I found that Denise had sent me some photos of the actual painting of the resin one-off of the Yeti. Some sweet timing. We had gotten images of the resin master the week before & things were rolling along reasonably smoothly. This first round of painting photos were a bit off. Denise's painter, Liz Belomlinsky, had gone with an ashen gray color for the face and hands of the yeti - definitely off-spec and a bit creepy, but ultimately not a huge deal as the rest of the painting was on target. I typed out a color change email to Denise and that was that.
With the painting done, the yeti could now move into production. Last piece was finalizing the box. Fast forward a week and a half.
[After a little bit of a hiatus, we're back with the third installment of our look at Gama-Go’s Yeti figure coming in the fall from Ningyoushi. Once again, Gama-Go co-founder Greg Long is your colorful and insightful tour guide. Enjoy. ]
Ok, picking up where we left off with this Big ol' Yeti. I was talking about Ningyoushi's Denise and Omar's surprising suggestion.
GAMA-GO's offices are in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco. For you who don't live in San Francisco, SOMA is that part of town where you can still find companies that are actually making physical do-dads, gimcracks, gewgaws, etc. There's sweatshops and welders, furniture makers and coffee roasters.
There's a lot of hobos. It's part of the deal. Loads of reasons for it, mostly it's because there's a lot of people and services trying to help folk out here in the SOMA. It's the neighborhood where needle exchanges, shelters, and outreach programs are allowed to exist.
Our offices are on the second floor of a building that, long ago, was a textile mill. Beneath Chris' desk are a pair of steel doors for when they use to hoist the raw materials up for processing. We've got some odd windows that run about a foot above the floor the length of the warehouse. They're good for scoping out the shitty alley next to the building & watching the hobos break into cars. There's your run-of-the-mill drug use and pissing and whatnot. I've personally put two fellas in jail after they broke into some cars.
Across the alley is a fantastic restaurant - Basil Thai - the folks who run it are a good group of people. They work hard, make great food, and are a tight-knit crew. In between lunch and dinner, around 3pm, the kitchen crew takes a break & has a couple cigs in the alley. A couple years back they got a dart board and hung it on the door to the kitchen. It's become a part of my daily ritual to watch them toss some darts and relax.
I was looking down in the alley and noticed the dart board oddly sitting on the ground resting against a car's fender. "What the fuck is that doing there?" I wondered to myself.
Then I noticed this hobo kinda quickly stagger-pacing around. He was giving off a bad vibe. He kept coming back to look at the dartboard & look around to see if anyone was watching. On one of his passes he grabbed it and walked down and around the corner.
Then I see Chris jump up and run out of the office. A quick glance out the window shows him barging out the alley door and sprinting down the street.
Five minutes later I see Chris walking back around the corner with the dartboard in hand. The kitchen crew has meandered outside and he's explaining to them what went on. There's suddenly a lot of smiling and laughing and patting of backs. It's a good day in a SOMA alley.
What does this have to do with a toy Yeti? Not much. But nothing happens in a vacuum. I see hobos and dartboards in the GAMA-future.
[Today we continue our look at the development of Gama-Go’s new ‘big’ Yeti figure coming in the fall from Ningyoushi. For this second installment Gama-Go co-founder Greg Long returns with his cure for Yeti Constipation -- and he talks about sculpt revisions as well.]
Well, there ya have it. Chris is right. He often is. That bluntness of his has gone a long way towards making GAMA-GO the success it is.
Denise had just emailed over the second round of photos from her sculptor. The form was looking pretty good. It's always a trip watching something move from a sketch into reality. I hadn't worked with this sculptor before, but Denise had good things to say about Mr. Eli Livingson & the work he'd done for them prior was solid.
The first shots had come through a week earlier. A rough shape. You could still see the marks of Eli's fingers in the clay. It's hard to gauge scale with photos, but it sure looked big. He had tackled successfully some of the really odd areas of the Yeti. For Example, the Yeti's crotch in our illustrations is just plain strange.
[Gama-Go makes swanky Tees, Hoodies and more featuring strong character designs from some of the coolest artists around. But wait... There's more up their sleeves. Toys and more toys! Today we're stoked to bring you the first of a multi-part look at the development of the Big Yeti coming later this year from Ningyoushi. Your guide for this journey is Greg Long, Co-Founder of Gama Go and dope storyteller].
The fries are really good at Custom Burger on 7th Street, but the fucking beer - Corona - is $6. That's just unconscionable. I make my way over to the table where Chris, Omar and Denise are sitting.
Nods all around. I sit down. Chris commiserates about the cost of beer in swanky-gentrifying-burger-spots and we all do a little bitching while munching on the sea-salty fries.
It's an odd feeling eating fancy fries and talking toys while watching the everyday mélange of disgusting San Francisco 7th street hobo antics occurring right out the window. Junkies, shit-stirrers, crotchety geezers, mean-ass SOMA regulars clucking and scrapping for turf.
Omar and Denise are good people. They've been buying GAMA-GO for Ningyoushi since they started. We've done events and pop-up shops at their store, Double Punch. They're some of my favorite industry people to bounce ideas off of 'cause they get all excited about things but have a real keen business sense about what works and what doesn't. They talk straight, do what they say, and don't fuck around. They make things happen.
We talked about all sorts of projects at this meeting, banged things out. New paintways for the wooden deathbot, a triple-threat collaboration with Joe Ledbetter, and the big-ass Yeti Vinyl figure.
The Chicago Music Awards has nominated me for Best Classical Entertainer (Category 7). Please click here to vote by December 31. Thanks!
Cedille Records, one of the world’s premiere audiophile labels, is releasing my next concerto album, Mendelssohn and Schumann violin concertos with the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester. Seven-time Grammy winner Steven Epstein was the producer. The sessions went so well that we were able to add additional repertoire, both Beethoven Romances! The album is scheduled for release in fall 2013.
Sales of classical recordings, especially albums that involve orchestras, rarely if ever cover their production costs. Capturing and preserving the music of today’s great artists can only be done with the generous support of donors. Sales of downloads and CDs cover only 20% of the expenses at Cedille Records, so they rely on charitable contributions to produce their releases. Cedille is using traditional fundraising methods as well as this Kickstarter campaign to support my project, and we’re very excited about the opportunity that technology provides to share my music with a larger audience, to engage more supporters and to make classical music more accessible.
Cedille is hoping to raise $10,000 through Kickstarter, 12.5% of the projected $80,000 budget, to ensure that this project can be completed. Please visit our Kickstarter page to learn more about the project and about the special gifts you'll receive for each pledge level - starting at just $10.
The campaign concludes on December 31, and will only be funded if we reach our goal. Cedille is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit, so your donation is fully tax-deductible. There are just two days left, and we’re almost there!
Your help is so important for the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation’s support of young string players. Scroll down to read our newsletter. Make your donation online or by printing out our donation form. Thank you very much!
I’m very honored to have been commended for my work in music education by being awarded the Karl Haas Prize by the Klassix Society, joining former recipients Michael Tilson Thomas, Christopher O’Riley, Peter Van De Graaff, and more. Click here to read the press release.
I’m very pleased to announce that International Creative Artists is now my representative for all of the world except North America. Click here to read the press release. Melvin Kaplan, Inc., continues to represent me for North America.
My podcast, “Violin Adventures,” is resuming on Tuesday, January 1. Subscribe on iTunes or access it directly from the blog page. Watch for a new episode every two weeks, and be sure to send in your questions to be answered on “Inquiries from my Inbox.”
Professor Werner Scholz, with whom I studied in Berlin in the early 1990’s, has passed away at age 86. Professor Scholz was a student of a student of Joseph Joachim, the friend and collaborator of Brahms. It was a privilege to know him and study with him, and he will be truly missed. Read the tribute on violinist.com.
As supporters of the Rachel Elizabeth Barton (REB) Foundation, you are on the forefront of addressing the missing link between talented young string players and their ability to achieve their dreams.
Now in our 11th year, we have some amazing success stories to share, as many of our recipients have transitioned from talented students to young artists on the brink of their careers to becoming fully established professional string players.
One of our first Instrument Loan Program recipients, Eric Nowlin, received the use of a 1700 Gofriller viola in 2004. An instrument of this quality allowed him to fully express his artistry, leading to his receiving Second Prize in the prestigious 2006 Naumburg Competition. He subsequently won the position as Associate Principal Violist with the Toronto Symphony, giving him a steady income which enabled him to purchase a high-quality viola of his own. In addition to playing in the symphony, Eric is also on the faculty of the University of Toronto and is the violist of the New Orford String Quartet, one of the most acclaimed young ensembles in Canada. We are proud to have played an important role in helping to launch Eric’s exciting career.
Eric’s relationship with the REB Foundation continues … as one of our generous patrons! The modern viola that Eric played during his college years is on loan through the REB Foundation to Bora Kim, a talented teenage violist. We look forward to watching Bora’s career as she continues to grow and develop.
The 1700 Gofriller viola that Eric once played is now on loan to Matthew Lipman, one of the most gifted young violists of his generation, Only 20 years old, Matthew already has a biography filled with awards and performances that would be impressive for someone twice his age. In 2012 alone, he won First Prize at the Washington International Competition, Stulberg International Competition, Juilliard Concerto Competition, and the First and Grand Prize at the 2012 WAMSO Young Artist Competition. Matthew has soloed with numerous orchestras and has performed at Ravinia, Music@Menlo, and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He also appears as a guest artist on Itzhak Perlman’s new album “Eternal Echoes.”
Matthew’s background is an unlikely one for such an accomplished young artist. He grew up on the far south side of the Chicagoland area and began viola lessons in public school in the fourth grade. His talent and hard work quickly caught the attention of the music world and led to scholarships for his lessons. Matthew’s father currently works part-time for minimum wage and his mother is dealing with serious health issues. In addition to being supported by the REB Foundation’s Instrument Loan Program, Matthew has also been a recipient of our Grants for Education and Career, which helps him with costs that neither his family nor his scholarships could cover. Some of these expenses have included instrument maintenance, airfare to concerts and competitions, sheet music purchase, and audition recording sessions.
There are so many more stories to share: violinist Karla Donehew-Perez is currently playing in the Catalyst Quartet; violinist Joanna Frankel is the new concertmaster of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, South Africa; double bassist Henry Chen joined the faculty of Ball State University… the list goes on. Thanks to our generous supporters, the REB Foundation has helped so many young artists. With your help, we look forward to continuing our important work for many years to come.
The number of applications we receive from deserving young string players increases every year. That’s why we’re counting on your generosity now more than ever. Donations to a worthy cause can be the perfect gift for your loved ones. As you consider your year-end charitable giving, please remember the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation, which is enhancing the lives of so many young musicians. The future of classical music depends on supporting talented students and young professional musicians during the early, formative years of their development. With your help, these young artists will inspire the next generations as they provide the world with many years of beautiful music. Your gift is truly the gift of a lifetime.
P.S. You may direct your gift either to our general fund or to one of our specific programs. Thank you. . . and best wishes for healthy and happy holidays!
I'm very excited that Cedille Records is releasing my next concerto album, Mendelssohn and Schumann violin concertos with the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester.
Cedille has launched a Kickstarter on my behalf. We are hoping to raise $10,000 through Kickstarter, 12.5% of the projected $80,000 budget, to ensure that this project can be completed. Please visit the Mendelssohn/Schumann Kickstarter page to learn more about the project and about the special gifts you'll receive for each pledge level - starting at just $10.
The project will only be funded if we reach our $10,000 goal by December 31 - just 10 days from now.