“Killer products equals Killer profits.” – Steve Jobs
When Ed Duncan called me with the idea for Party on the Moon, the timing couldn’t have been better. I had a made a shift in my priorities and he wanted to create something new and big for his company, East Coast Entertainment.
Ed’s idea was to assemble a 13-piece band of national caliber to perform for high-end clients in three-hour, non-stop shows. It was an innovative concept at the time. No band in the country was doing it. Party on the Moon would be the first to market such talent for events like weddings and corporate gatherings, and we would do it a cut-market rate. As Ed would say, we would offer national talent without the ego or rider.
What attracted me to the idea was Ed’s drive to make the band the best of its kind in the country. “Do it right or don’t do it at all,“ said Ed.
Building Party on the Moon enabled me to couple my passion for creating original music and performing live with the goal to become the best cover band in the world. Most musicians see performing cover music as a gig, but I saw its potential as a career.
Everything about Party on the Moon was to be big. Big lights. Big sounds. Big production. Big party. We envisioned a concert dance experience, in which spectators could groove or relax and enjoy the show. With the talent pool available to us in Atlanta the scope of the project was within our grasp.
The format of a performance would run like a New York City dance club – a continuous stream of the best songs by the best artists. There was to be no pause between songs. The shifts in tempo and rhythm would be seamless. Dead air is, well, dead. The goal would be to draw the audience to the dance floor in 90 seconds and maintain the revelry for three hours. That’s a killer product… and an offer a client can’t refuse.
Of course, we had our share of skeptics. Agents told us the market wouldn’t support a 13-piece cover band and that the idea was financial suicide. My former band mates told me that, “No band plays three hours without a break. You and Ed are crazy!”
In retrospect, the endeavor was a little crazy. I was maxing out my credit cards to shoot a video, build a website, take photos, hire a marketing company, buy costumes and equipment and book transportation. To top it all off, I was going into business with a guy I barely knew. But I sensed that Ed and I were kindred spirits in the gunslinger vein. We shared a vision of being the best we could be, and we believed that people would pay for quality. We made decision quickly, but not rashly, and stayed the course. It became a habit that would serve us well.
Are you thinking about creating a business? If yes, follow your heart, make decisions quickly and wisely, and stay the course. And, of course, if you build a killer product, just like in the movie “Field of Dreams,” they will come.
-Dennis
(This is an excerpt from chapter three of Rock ’n’ Roll, Martial Arts & God. Dennis’ book is available on amazon.)
