Sunday, May 16, 2010 

Is It Really Who You Know?

I suppose Dale Bozzio from Missing Persons is the same as most folks: If you're used to doing something or being someone for a long time, you don't really think much about it anymore. It's hard not to take things for granted, as a matter of fact. I've been playing music, writing setlists, writing recipes & menus for so long, neither one of them feels any more complicated than taking a shower. If you're great at something, it probably just seems natural to you, and no big deal. It's also funny how most folks, regardless of a having a talent in one area, usually crave something they're not great at.

A great singer might really want to be a great guitarist, and vice versa; A great basketball star might want to be a baseball player; I know a successful lawyer who would give his right arm to be a successful songwriter; and on and on.

In Dale's case, as I always say to her, she has something EXTREMELY valuable most folks can only hope for: A whole rockstar career of connections & pals out there just waiting for her to "light it up" with something new.
But it seems she needs someone like me to help spin her head around & get a new perspective at some great resources she's earned & created on her own - people she knows. And this is why I'm a broken record about her launching her food line: Of all the people who come at me wanting to launch their own line of food products (and that's a lot, and unless they have a lot of cash to throw at it... hell no), Dale's the only one who tells me she can get guest segments with some of her pals & friends who have their own shows, including Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres, Martha Stewart and more. In my world, that is extremely rare & valuable.

Another example: I was speaking to her about an entertainment/marketing company called AEG, which is producing Rocklahoma this year. You might have heard of AEG: They were the ones producing the Michael Jackson shows in Europe, which of course never happened. It looks like they also do a bunch of other big time stuff with professional sports teams, venues, event marketing and more.

At some point in the conversation, Dale says: "Oh, I know Randy Phillips at AEG." (photo, left) .Who's that, I ask? "I think he's the boss there." For real?!?!?!? Turns out he is indeed the CEO there. Damn, Dale - that's huge.

Talk about "burying the headline": A week or so later, Dale shares some more details about her old pal at AEG: "Randy used to be our manager for Missing Persons - we had a lot of success with him." WTF?!?! So this isn't some random pal from back in the day, folks - that's a strong connection between them. She also shared even more personal history between them, which also speaks to much more than a passing contact.

And so, I'm happy to say we tried our first little "who you know" experiment last week: I got Dale some contact info for AEG and - as promised - she made a couple of calls, and left a message for her old CEO pal. While there's no way to know what will happen there, it's got me looking around for who else might be receptive to helping with her long-simmering food & cooking career - how about one of her old boyfriends who produced a record for her? (hint: rhymes with "fence").

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Monday, November 16, 2009 

Dale Bozzio's Consalvi Foods

"The difference between crazy and eccentric? Money..."At least, that's how I think the old saying is properly quoted - and I think Dale would probably enjoy the saying in context with her.

Truth is, I don't know any musician, entrepreneur, restaurant owner or the like who couldn't be called crazy for being in the business they're in. The difference? Money. Only the ones who achieve commercial success seem to be immune to being lumped in as a hopeless dreamer/loser/failure. I guess it depends upon how you measure success, eh?

As any real fans of Dale know, right now she's in the pokey in New Hampshire ("Kitten In The Can"), doing 90 days or so for animal cruelty.

FYI, this whole thing is ironic; anyone who knows Dale knows she prefers animals to most humans, and does her best to rescue & adopt them - too much, in the opinion of some. My hope, however, is that she can "do a Martha;" come out stronger than ever, and use the experience to reinvigorate her career - but this time, with food as the backbone.

While I'm not sure where things are at with her food company dreams, I am sure she has some pretty heavy-duty fans (with national TV shows) she could probably book segments on when/if she's ready to roll with her line. Some names Dale kicked around: Jimmy Kimmel, Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart, Ellen Degeneres... that's an amazing promotional edge any startup food company would kill to have...

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Monday, November 09, 2009 

"If Cats Could Talk...

... they'd let Dale walk?"

MAYBE YOU'VE SEEN SOME RECENT press about Dale Bozzio (singer for Missing Persons) and her "cat trouble?" I actually hadn't heard a thing about it until she showed up here at the studio last Friday on her way from California to do 30 days in some small town jail in New Hampshire next week (yikes!). My first thought: WHAT A CRAPPY LAWYER - FIRE HIM IMMEDIATELY! But my second thought: Consider the old saying that "any publicity is good publicity."


I'm always looking to make lemonade out of lemons; In Dale's case, it appears she's finally ready to move forward with something I've been talking with her about for awhile: Her own line of gourmet food & wine. She's always been big into cooking Italian food, which speaks to her Italian/French heritage. After spending some time with her this weekend, it also dawns on me maybe it's time someone acknowledged her role in the success of Missing Persons (much more than being the singer), plus the incredible quality of musicians and artists she's been able to befriend & work with in her career (more soon...)

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