Interview

The following interview appeared in the Winter 04/05 issue of The Creative Line magazine.

CREATIVE LINE: How did you first get into the arts?  BOOMER: I was about 9 years old… and with my dad I used to watch the old Dodger / Giant games on TV from Candlestick park.  Willie Mays ran the bases and roamed the outfield with a certain grace and flair… I didn’t know it at the time but what I was seeing was harmony and aesthetics in the field of athletics.     

That’s fascinating — most people don’t seem to connect sports and arts?  Yes, but when you look at the greatest athletes in their sports like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Willie Mays, George Brett, Steve Young, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, etc. etc. you see a real dance come alive.  You get a sense of harmony of movement in the way the greatest athletes run, pass and work in concert with their team to achieve, hopefully, a beautiful result.      

What is the biggest difference you see between sports and the arts?  In sports, you usually have someone overtly trying to prevent you from making your move, or your play!  You have an opposing player and team that is totally determined to stop you no matter how graceful you might be without them. So part of the “art” is accomplishing your task in spite of the direct opposition. So sports is possibly more like life… you have to attempt grace and attempt victory in spite of some pretty insistent barriers. 

What did that early experience do for you? It made me want to play baseball!  And as a result of playing some pretty good ball from Little League to college here in the Southern California, my nickname “Boomer” stuck pretty well.  So something good came out of it! Actually it made me admire and appreciate great talent and ability… and I still do… whether in the arts, sports or business.

Why did you start The Creative Line magazine?   It’s pretty simple really: In 1999 I looked around and recognized rather quickly that there was a huge bottleneck of talented writers, fine artists, songwriters, actors, etc. with a vast amount of brilliance and capability roaming around Southern California.  I wanted to help bring those creatives and their works more recognition… and also to assist the organizations that were already working in those directions.    

What did you do to build the magazine initially?  Well the publication started off as a small 8 page newsletter, just one color. We changed colors each month, you know to give it a little more flavor.  Anyway, I got 2500 copies printed off and I started taking them around to LA area songwriter clubs, art galleries, public libraries and also to the arts and music associations and networks.  The more I went out into the arts communities, the more groups I found out there in need of help.  Many were just hanging on by a thread with not much support, no money, etc. etc.… so they liked it when they got an article in the magazine.

You kept building the magazine, right?  Right. We kept printing more copies — first 5000, and then 10,000.  We also increased the size of the magazine from 8 to 12, to 16 and then 24 pages.   We started putting art on the front cover and then went full color on the front!  We were pretty happy… but we still wanted to make it bigger.  With more copies being printed, we started to reach out further and further into Southern California. Most recently we have grown up to 44 pages, full color throughout and we are reaching 50,000 active, creative people each issue!  So we’ve gotten somewhere.  We’ve got a bigger team now… but we still look to build it even more.   

When did you start Artists Helping Artists (Aha!)?  Though I had the idea for a while, it didn’t officially begin until I wrote The Code to Helping Artists, 7 Big Lies About Artists and The Magic of Helping Children be Creative.  After I wrote these in the fall of 2001, I decided I should also try to live out what I wrote.  And as these pieces were all about assisting and encouraging artists, bringing artists together, and making a difference in the world through the arts… well I decided to organize up a formal Aha! activity. 

What is the mission of Aha!?  The mission is really to ignite the imagination and creativity of artists and others through fellowship, common vision and the spirit of cooperation.  Of course, when you start bringing artists together in a sense of friendship and camaraderie, they tend to get quite energized and a lot becomes possible — the artists themselves begin to create and collaborate more.  We’ve seen that often.  And they begin to assist in making a difference and generally assisting culture through their forms and causes.  So that broader goal — an enhanced society — has to be part of the mission. 

What are the artists Round Table forums?  Basically, the Aha! Round Tables help artists and innovators collect, connect and converge across cultural, philosophic or artistic disciplines.  It’s pretty fascinating to see artists come down from their lofty perches and out from their studios and garages and share their vision.  There is really no lack of vision out there.  If you have any doubt about this start attending some of the round tables and listen to some of the artists. 

What are the benefits of such forums?  Well, by helping artists initiate new friendships and getting closer to other creatives of like mind and soul… they become visibly energized.  It’s quite interesting.  Often they gain new contacts to help them in their craft or career — we’ve had gallery owners, music producers, art reps and others who want to help artists build their careers join us at these forums because they want to make more connections as well.  We have found that when artists come out of their shells more and more and become part of a larger team, they have more options… and more opportunities with their art.  

What other programs help Aha! achieve its mission?  Quite a few really.  We have an international Call to Arts! fine art contest, international Call to Arts song contest, the Works of Heart youth arts campaign and alliance and the Call to Arts! Summits, which we put on twice a year. We also a have an Ambassador program for those who not only dream big but can do big!   

What is your Aha! Ambassador program?  Ambassadors are senior representatives of Aha! who help ignite the arts in local communities and regions.  These are dedicated artists and arts enthusiasts who build partnerships with arts commissions and organizations, set up local round tables and generally are catalysts who help spark a local renaissance. We currently have about 20 or more Ambassadors throughout Southern California and quite a few being set up around the world. They are vital components to the Aha! network.  

You also have some books?  Yes, I wrote Changing the World through Art and Song which is really about the power of songs and art to make a difference in people’s lives and also culture.  I always felt that songs had a unique capability to get a message across and also to alter one’s course of thinking, or change the direction of one’s action.   That’s a very powerful thing and so I wrote about it and how I saw it being someone who was also influenced by what I heard in songs. I also wrote Aha! Adventures and Discoveries from the Artists Round Table.  That one really implores artists to  put their dreams and their passion into action, to be part of a larger team and to build something better.  It doesn’t pull any punches.  The 7 Big Lies about Artists are dispelled in that book. It’s all about action. Without action, creative dreams are just that… dreams.  

Anything else you want to say?  Yes, if anyone hearing (or reading) this interview, believes himself or herself to be an innovator or a visionary then I would strongly encourage them to pursue their creative thoughts with great passion. And back up your vision and passion with specific action, even if small steps, towards your goal.  Nothing could help support your dream more than your own action, no matter how small. That action will lead to others assisting you too!  Further if you are a big dreamer or have an arts organization or project… I would love to meet you.  Part of my passion is to work closely with those of large and vibrant vision.   I invite you to drop by a round table or send me an E-mail at TheArtistsLine@cs.com and introduce yourself and your vision.  

Don’t be shy with your dream… the bigger it is... the better!