Open Letter

I get emails and msgs through all the sites I'm on all the time like this following note:

-----Original Message-----
From: ****
Sent: March 28, 2008 8:08 PM
To: Shaggy
Subject: shaggy

u are very entertaining and u do help me get stress out when u are funny but i have a question can u help me try to get my name out there because ive been trying to get people to help and like idk what to do


Usually, I try to help give mentions and show guys the ins and the outs of it. But after checking out this kid's page, I wanted to really lay it all out. He's young, and since no one else wants to help him it seems, I guess I felt responsible for giving him a thorough answer as follows:

It's 4am, I just got home from work... so this may sound a little scattered.

The first thing you got to ask yourself is what are you trying to get "out there" as? Anybody who seeks attention just for the sake of attention is doomed before they ever start to promote their name or ever start a career. What do you want to do once people start noticing you? Nobody sticks around to watch someone just to watch them, and hardly anyone remembers them after they leave. You got to be focused on what you want to do before worrying about people knowing who you are.

I once had a very famous lady in radio history tell me, "remember...you start the day as a nobody, and when that mic is off, you're nobody again." Her name was Chatty Hattie Leeper, and she's beyond a legend in entertainment. I trusted her advise a lot, almost as much as I did my parents...and for a southern boy, that's deep. Hattie told me to make sure I wasn't being like most DJs of the modern era...so stuck on themselves that they failed to entertain anyone else. They had nothing going for them outside of being "on the air." As people, they were horrible...and she scolded me anytime I got a big head. I have to be entertaining to impress her, bottom line period. I try to pass that advice to people wanting to get noticed in any entertainment field. HAVE A REASON FOR PEOPLE TO WANT TO BE AROUND YOU.

Also, be careful what you wish for... I was once a unnoticed, funny kid in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina. My life was simple and I grew up in a great rural community. Entering college, and radio eventually...changed my entire life. I was always shy before, but people rushing to see you for no other reason than your job is CRUSHING. After 13 years of this life, I can no longer enjoy the basic things most people take for granted. Everywhere I go I'm spotted. I can't eat out, shop for groceries, or spend time with my kid because of who I am. My life is so different from when I started that sometimes I have to remind myself I'm nobody important at the end of the day. It's just rough when you can't just go around like a normal guy...

And I love everyone of the people that walk up to me. How sick is that? My listeners, my fans...they are great people. I thank them every time they say they like my show. I try to make time to talk to everyone I meet, and remind them I'm nobody without them. That's another rule of being a true entertainer....your fans are the reason you can even do what you do. Never take that for granted. Thank everyone everyday they come to see you. Be grateful for them, even if you feel like you are getting crushed with attention sometimes and just want to be alone. Never ever forget to take care of those that take care of you.

You got to remember too, that you have a responsibility as an entertainer. You have to always be the better person. Keep your personal life out of the way of your act. People remember the loud offensive entertainers, but only the good guys become legends.

I guess the last thing is the most important. Since I was 18, and professionally in radio, I can honestly say I've had a fun life. I get to do and say things most people really wish they could. My life is a blast. HAVE FUN with WHATEVER YOU DO. Don't force yourself into the spotlight without the goal of just having fun. You make mistakes? LAUGH A YOURSELF! People insult you and call you names? HELP THEM AND LAUGH SOME MORE! Never lose your cool, and most importantly, never be too cool to be bothered. Entertainment is an expression of yourself. If you are happy doing it, people are happy watching you do it...whatever your "it" may be. DJs, musicians, actors, and comedians can all lay down one truth to why they really do it. They do it to have fun.
At the end of the day, it's still the most fun I've ever had regardless of working long hours.

After reading this, take some time and think it over about what kind of entertainer you want to be and that will answer your most important question...and the one you asked me. How do you promote yourself starts on what you are actually promoting.

Alojah,
Shaggy

-hopefully this helps people who are thinking the same.

Your morning moment of Zen

If you ever want to start the morning off with the neighbor people in Hollywood have spent years trying to perfect... visit Zen Radio.

Yes, for people in Hawaii it's terribly early to wake up, but I managed to drag myself out of bed for what was a great experience. It's laid back chat, funny news bits, weather from YOUR city (he actually told me the weather in Kula, HI!), and insightful commentary. For younger audiences, think of it as hanging out with your coolest Uncle and his funny hats... For the rest of us, imagine being able to wake up and have your neighbor bring you coffee. Literally, he hands you a steaming cup of it, right through your computer..

No, not really. That's just a dramatization....but you get the point.

On Sundays, Zen Radio does a talk show on current issues and greater understanding of mind and body. All the info is on his profile...

GO WATCH AND BE WELL

Entertainment Online

Wow, that almost sounds like a show doesn't it? Perhaps it should be...

When The Shag Report was started, I wanted to avoid writing any heady pieces until people found the site and got a general feel for what it is about. My goal was to establish a place where entertainers could be looked at and acknowledged as entertaining or not. As with the birth of the TV age, someone must try to cut through the haze and explain how the medium works. Thankfully, a lot of someones have lovingly given time to watching shows of interest and writing short articles.

What IS entertainment exactly? With the invention of radio, entertainment was defined by great voices, imaginative narratives, and compelling content. When TV came along, a lot of stars of radio's golden age moved into the new medium only to discover it was a completely different world! Hot lighting, tons of caked-on make-up, and long days defined the pioneers of that industry. Now...we come to the internet.

Interactive Entertainment will be the next level the world will go. Anyone that wishes to challenge that assumption need simply to look at the amount of sites that are now trying to exploit the technology to entice new subscribers. How though will it be defined? Will the people now setting up shows online exclusively one day be considered the pioneers of the genre?

The most important question I'm afraid is something that should send shivers down the spine of anyone who is an experienced net show viewer...

Who will be the people that define the standard that all other broadcasts that follow try to uphold themselves too?

I think the easiest comparison would be if you think of the golden age of TV talk shows. Reality talkers came in a million shapes and colors, and each were going for a specific market of people much like online broadcasting does now. Can you count how many talk shows came and went in the past decade? Will this too be the fate of online entertainment one day? Only time will tell...

However, now that you see what this site is about, how about we ask YOU your opinion? We want to know what you consider entertaining, and what you consider mindless drivel not suited for the worst public access cable channel you can imagine. Tell us, and let us know what YOU find interesting or entertaining!

Congrats to the first Stickam Casting Call Winner!

Congrats goes out to Audio, who is on her way to the SXSW in Texas. We're still working on getting the raw numbers from Stickam and hope to be able to post the voting breakdowns. Word is... a LOT of new members were brought to Stickam during all the hooplah.

Immaturity

Living in England, the time difference causes me to post things later than they should be.
In yesterdays show, i realised the immaturity of some of the members of the chat.
I remember the days when the chat was all about Jen and her sex tips (LOL!) and when it was full of regular members, with the occasional newbie. Being a mod, i have to keep an eye on what is being said in the chat.
So in the show yesterday, the chat was full of new members. A lot of them had come in to spam the room, others came in to ask Shaggy rediculous questions.
One of the regular members said that she does not enjoy being in the chat as much as she used to.
What happened to the fabulous chat in Shaggy's room?