The Christmas Party with Cali Lewis was a smash hit. The streaming concert was fun for the people watching online and all the people who came to Cali and Neal’s house. Philip Nelson from NewTek brought an HD Tricaster and it was the first non-NewTek live stream with and HD Tricaster.
Cali and Neal are going to be replaying the event at CaliLive.tv
John P took some amazing pictures of the night. Video is on the way, but in the mean time, check out some of John’s pictures on his Flickr page.
It was such a whirlwind night, and I have so many people to thank for making it a hit. Dave Peterson was so awesome helping get the party ready. It was a hoot sharing the kitchen with Dave, Cali, and Neal as we made yummy food, even though my jalepeno bacon snacks lit everyone’s tongues on fire.
My wife and daughter had so much fun being around my friends and are so thankful to finally be a part of one of these wonderful annual events.
I have found that the older I get, it becomes more rare to find those people who you truely connect with. Mind you my “day job” is piano bar at night and most of the people there are pretty wacky anyway.
But luckliy I have this “alter life” going on thanks to the web, tech, ringtones, new media, ustream, etc.
This has brought me to a world where there are people whom not only I admire but they admire me. Who knew?
For a few years now, I have had the honor to know, work with and become great friends with Cali and Neal from Geekbrief. (I hate using the word honor lightly and maybe that isn’t really the word, but there ya go)
Now it is no secret that Geekbrief.tv is one of the best shows on the web. You’d have to be living in a hole to not know how entertaining, fun, uplifting Cali Lewis and her husband Neal Campbell are.
Let me rewind and give a brief history:
Already hugely popular back in 2005, Cali gave me a call and asked if I’d help them on a video project. They had heard of me from my jingles I did for Adam Curry.
The project never aired, but I did make them a GO Daddy Commercial jingle.
We actually all met at the New Media Expo in 2006. (By the way I advise at some point everyone must meet their online associates in person sooner or later. After all, humans need contact)
Over the years, I have been involved in some of my best musical creations because of Cali and Neal. Numerous musical stingers for Geekbrief, Digg the Code, and the iYule.
Probably one of the most fun things though, is how my Ustream shows have exploded.
It started with Cali twittering that I was in my studio streaming, which then meant hundreds of people logged in to watch me and eventually an impromtu concert eruptped. To say it was magic is cliche, but I don’t care. It was magic. And everytime I do a Usream concert, Cali and Neal go out of their way to make it better than I could. They promote it and even come to Nashville sometimes and set up lights and cameras and get Ustream to make it look good.
This goes beyond being collegues. This is a true friendship, and I have come nowhere close to being able to thank them properly or even repay and do for them what the have done for me.
