Tuesday, August 14, 2012

James Wesley Jackson

Tuesday August 14th, 2012 – Fox Lake, IL

   Just what I need, more projects to complete. I’ve got a plate so full I need to find another plate to hold the first one. If I could just find a way to add three or four hours to each day or shrink my project list, I’d be ok. Neither of those seems to be an option so that means it’s still a major issue.

   I’m trying my best to make the most of every single day, but the more I try to get done the less I feel I accomplish. Time has been flying extra quickly lately, and racing the clock doesn’t make it easier. I can do what I do, and that’s it. But it’s never enough, and I feel like I’m wasting life.

   Today is the birthday of some of my very favorite people. I don’t know why they were all born on this day, but there is a bumper crop of sweet people I know who have birthdays today. One of them is my friend James Wesley Jackson aka ‘The Enviromedian’. We have unfinished business, but not in a bad way. I produced a comedy DVD for him in 2011 before I went into the hospital.

   That slowed everything down, but especially this particular project. I wanted to get it done and available for sale for his last birthday a year ago today, but it didn’t happen. I’ve been so focused on trying to recover and survive myself that it’s still sitting a year later, and I feel bad about that.

    James is a hilarious comic and an even better person. I can’t think of a more gentle soul on this entire planet, and it was my pleasure and privilege to work with him on this DVD project. I hired Pedro Bell of Funkadelic album cover fame to design the DVD cover, and he did a fantastic job.

   In theory, all I should have had to do was make some minor edits to the DVD master and make some copies and I’d be ready to go. I could do a press release and hopefully start getting a couple of media nibbles for publicity purposes and we’d be on our way. If it were that easy, we’d all get famous and rake in the big bucks. This is going to be a lot more leg work than I’d ever imagined.

   I still think it’s very possible, but I have no idea how I’m going to find the time to do it, not to mention the money to get the units printed up. I won’t need all that many to start, but I do need at least a few to send to media outlets to get James on. Tom Joyner’s morning show would be ideal.

   I also want to go after the audience who would remember his days touring with George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic during the heyday of the Mothership years. I am in contact with a few people who used to also tour with the group like Dawn Silva of ‘The Brides Of Funkenstein’ and Judie Worrell, wife of Bernie. They have been extremely positive, and I know they’ll both help.

   This is exactly what James deserves. He’s such a wonderful soul, his positivity is contagious as soon as anyone meets him. I think he’d be perfect for a lot of gigs most other comedians couldn’t do, and if I can help pass along the word, I’d be honored. Producing others is something I enjoy.

   If I could find about a dozen people to produce, I’d gladly get off the road and put my time into building their careers. I’m a fan of so many, and James is right up there with any of them. I really hope we can make this happen for a lot of reasons. But if it is to be, it’s up to me. Time ticks on.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary

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