An email from a friend

My blog entry for today is something a little different. It is a copy and paste of a letter from a friend.

Simon Higgs is a bit of an icon in the music business. He also is a stong supporter of the homeless. Some information on Simon: He is the owner of Higgs Communications. They specialize in digital music distribution as well as providing technical expertise on web and network issues.

Simon Higgs also provides consulting and artist relations expertise to musical instrument manufacturers (guitars and amplifiers). Past clients include Gibson Guitars, Zemaitis Guitars (Greco / Kanda Shokai), Lipe Guitars, Togaman Guitars, Sonic Images Records, & NSoul Records.

Higgs Communications also publishes "The Guide To Selling Your Music In The iTunes Music Store", by Simon Higgs, which is aimed at independent artists and labels and has sold in over 30 countries. More info on Higgs Communications can be found at http://www.higgs.com/

On to the letter.  My style in answering email is to reply in the body of the letter itself in bold type or type font of a different color.

To: myles@guitaramplifierblueprinting.com
Date: Sunday, January 10, 2010, 8:16 PM

Hi Myles,

Sorry to have not touched base with you since before the holidays. I got slammed from a bunch of different things.

We've been working with some folks living in the National Guard Armory shelters. One girl we helped get in there ended up in jail (she couldn't make bail at the hearing for the situation that made her homeless in the first place) so I've been learning the ins and outs of the LA County Sheriff's dept inmate handling.

Which leads me to something else. Some of the people we've previously met downtown were only there because they came out of jail with no ID. Some of these people were working before they went to jail but without ID they couldn't apply for an apartment (requires a credit check), or access their bank accounts until their ID was replaced. They became instantly homeless and lost in the swirl.

I was wondering if you could do an informal survey to see who has CA ID and how long it takes a homeless person to replace it. I'm thinking this one issue may have some impact if the law could be changed to ensure every inmate gets their ID on release (they all have ID inside to keep track of them).

I will start asking folks if they have ID.

Also, how much is it to sponsor an evening of snacks & goodies?

I don't know how much at this point. It is very inexpensive. I have had money come in faster than it can be spent at times. There are some folks downtown that give me terrific prices on things like bananas, sometimes ten pounds for a dollar. Many folks give me some food items for nothing. I go to Smart and Final for breakfast bars such as quaker oatmeal bars which are not too pricy in bulk. The factor that is the holdback is my capacity to carry things while still having hands free at night. I have some friends at an SRO hotel that let me store things there so on most evenings I can come back a few times to replenish. On my blog I have a list of the contributors and their contributions are still holding up quite well.

Last question. Are you going to be at NAMM? Zemaitis aren't exhibiting so I'm not working for them this year (but I get to see the show - what a concept!).

I don't know about NAMM. I opted to not go a few years ago and found I did not miss it at all.  It is always the same stuff and if something is really cool that is shown at NAMM and is something of the "real deal" it will be cool for weeks or months after NAMM.   I will see it then, without being in the middle of the insanity and chaos of NAMM.  Friends I could talk to at NAMM I generally am able to talk to outside of NAMM and NAMM is not a great place to converse anyway.  Folks that exhibit who are friends need to spend time building their business and not chatting with me at the show when we can do that in a better setting and they have generally spent a lot of money to exhibit, the travel, hotel and other expenses.   It is better them to use their time at NAMM to best advantage for their business in these hard times.

-- Best Regards,

Simon Higgs

Regards,


Myles