By Jerry Bazata, “Money Answer Man”
While vacationing in Florida with my family back in September, 2011, little did I know that my “DJ instincts” would be called upon in a way that I had never imagined.
There was no way that I could have guessed that while wearing only a bathing suit and a smile, and by reaching out to help a young man, I would wind up being part of a rising star’s career.
The Chance Encounter
My daughter Isabella-Maria and I were standing in line for the family raft ride at Typhoon Lagoon at Walt Disney World Orlando. Like her dad, Isabella at age seven is very sociable and enjoys striking up a conversation with people.
She quickly engaged the family standing in line in front of us; Brian and Susan Potter, and their son Luke, who were on holiday from England.
Isabella told them all about her favorite rides in the park, and mentioned that her dad is a DJ. Luke said that he was a singer/song writer, and that he had just released a few songs locally in London.
As you can guess, the conversation quickly turned from “Mickey to Music,” and as our turn arrived to enter the raft and plunge down the slide, I provided the family with URL for my website, and asked them to send me their contact information. I put the encounter in the back of mind until several days later, when I received an email from Luke. He gave me a link to his YouTube Video as well as MP3s of three of his songs.
Almost instantaneously after listening to them and watching the video, my internal DJ instincts took over. There was just something about his voice, instrumentals, sound, look and “vibe” that just clicked with me; however, having little experience in music production I decided to call in some experts for their opinions.
The Expert’s Opinions
With Luke’s permission I shared his music with some key people I know in the industry; Glen Ervin and Nick Hahn at Promo Only, and Wild Bill and Larry Clawson at Xmix. All agreed that Luke had potential but needed to engage the services of other professionals to help fine tune music and style.
I contacted Luke, gave him the feedback, and provided him with contacts and resources. Both Luke and his parents “took them to heart.” Over the next six months, Luke sought out the professional advice and guidance that was suggested, and to my happy surprise, he also kept in regular contact with me about the progress he was making.
Fast forward to early March, 2012, when I received an email from Luke seeking my input on a new song he had been working on under the tutelage of the experts he engaged. “Were Alive” was the song title, and after listening to it, my inner DJ instincts kicked in once again, and I just knew it could become an instant hit with Top 40, Alternative Adult and Rock fans.
I re-contacted my connections at Promo Only and Xmix again for help. Like me, they also responded enthusiastically to Luke’s more polished sound, and I was put in touch with the companies’ production teams to help take things to the next level for Luke.
The End Result?
You can find Luke’s smash hit “We’re Alive” on the Xmix Mainstream Rock May 2012 Issue and soon to be released Lenny B Dance Remix on Xmix Dance Series. Promo Only will be releasing the radio version on the Mainstream Radio July 2012 issue, the Lenny B Dance mix version in the Promo Only Club Series, and the music video on Express Video and Hot Video very soon.
Luke’s Hit Music Video – “We’re Alive”
A Rewarding Adventure
For me, the most rewarding parts of this “adventure” were the opportunity to use my DJ instincts to help a rising star, and the willingness of the Promo Only and Xmix music movers and makers to lend their considerable experience and advice to help Luke achieve his dream.
A BIG thank you to Chuck Barrett, Peter Werner and Glen Ervin at Promo Only, to Wild Bill and DJ Serge at Xmix, and to DJ Lenny of Lenny B Productions for all their efforts.
Keep an eye on Luke Potter and his career. There’s a guy named Harry with the same last name who conjured up some pretty big success!
Have you ever had a similar experience? If so, I’d love to hear about it!
