Give and Get

Hello all, for those of you just joining me, let me catch you up. Alabaska, THE state of mind, is meant to be a congregation of creativity. I apologize if the overuse of alliteration is too apparent, but when it fits, it's gonna happen. Anyway, There's another part of the mindset that makes the glorious 51st state of the union so great. The best way to explain it would be non-monetary exchange. We want to encourage people to help our fellow human kin out. Not just the ones you're related to either. What I mean is, money isn't the only thing that can repay somebody for a job well done. Whether it's as simple as the words "thank you" or a good-old fashioned bartering session, non-monetary retribution for help or other positivity can be an outstanding tool for creating new friends, business networking, and everything else in between. Let me show you a few examples of how this works for anyone that doesn't quite see how not having money doesn't mean you can't get the most out of any situation.
 
A great example that comes out of this mindset for me would have to be between Milton Glaser, the creator of the iconic "I love NY" logo (yea, that shirt with the red heart every tourist gets when they visit NYC ) and the founders of Brooklyn Brewery. The Brooklyn founders had little money banked to create a lasting image for their company to be recognizable among the hundreds of other competitors on the shelves, but they pestered the artist for months, getting themselves a 15 minute appointment with Glaser. After begging him to reduce his cost with no luck they offered him the only thing they had... beer. Glaser negotiated that he receive free beer from the company for the rest of his life in exchange for creating their logo. To this day, they are all friends and yes, Milton still gets his beer and Brooklyn Brewery has kept the iconic script "B" with its green background.

 

I'd have the same expression if someone said they'd give me free beer for life

Maybe you're thinking, "That's just one lucky and talented guy that made out like a bandit from this money-free exchange, something like that will never happen to me." Well let me point you towards a city that exists with this mindset as the only way in which any exchange of goods can be made. The city  exists for just one week at the end of august near Reno, Nevada every year, in which the same city disappears as quickly as it was created. Maybe you've heard of this place, it's the Burning Man Festival of course! I have never been to it myself, but have felt it calling out to me throughout the last few years, well, maybe it's the handful of friends I have who've made the sojourn to Nevada the last five years running, but you know what I mean. This amazing creation has been going strong since 1986, the festival has no limits on self expression and only allows "gifting" as a way for transactions between participants, or "burners" as they're referred to. Whats beautiful about this idea is that your gift could be nothing more than a silly dance in exchange for a cup of water or maybe you'll stop by someone and they'll write you a poem on the spot in exchange for a lift on your bicycle (no cars are found within in the city by the way, except for safety patrol cars and mutant hybrid art cars) Did I mention that this "city" has a population of more than 50,000 people? With that all said, anyone can find a way to not only survive without money, but thrive.

Aerial view of the city

Your typical building within the city

Some "burners" hanging out

Just your usual mutant car

Maybe you're still a negative Nancy and all you can do is nay say the idea of living without holding money in such high regard. Well here is another example that  doesn't require you be an iconic artist or schlep all the way out to the desert for a mere week, but a business that already exists in Brooklyn and offers their services not for money, but for the best barter once a month! What am I talking about? It's White Rabbit Tattoo, located at 121 Essex St. The talented artists offer up a free tattoo of your choosing in exchange for the best item or offer (non-sexual of course) of anything you can think of. just this week the winner traded a flying-V bass guitar, while others offered piano lessons, antiques, homemade clothing and more.

At Alabaska, we will try to keep this going as well, in correlation with the idea from the talented minds at White Rabbit, we will advertise "Fresh ink gets a drink" throughout our hours of operation.  This promotion will mean that if you visit us with a new tattoo (meaning done that day folks) your first round is on us! So come for a free drink, and stay for the great experience, just remember to keep passing it along when you leave and keep that creativity flowing.

In this world...

While my last post tackled the endorsements of celebrities in a hypothetical world, this one will come crashing back down into the reality in which we live in. Celebrity endorsements aren't anything new, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it as the saying goes. Tacking on a famous face to a product has helped countless companies throughout any industry you can think of increase sales by adding some emotional currency to its product.

Alcohol is a personal favorite product of mine so lets see who from tinsel town is bellying up to the bar for a drink and a paycheck. As it turns out, there are a ton of celebrities that endorse alcoholic beverages so keep in mind this is just a top three from me, so if you know of one that I didn''t mentioned and want to share, send me a comment! I would love to hear what craziness is going on out there that I haven't heard about yet. For now though, lets get back to that list.

1. Clint Eastwood - Pale Rider Ale

   

   Are you feelin' lucky, punk?

This brew was created in 1997 and developed by Clint himself with the help of Celis Brewery out of Austin, Texas. The name was a play on a movie  he starred in with the same title in 1985. As of August of 2000 it's no longer distributed anywhere, but its short life span wasn't in vain. Clint actually donated all the profits of his beer to charities, such as the Carmel Youth Center in California. I'm putting this at the top because while I don't see eye to eye with him on his political views, I would have totally purchased a six pack,or four, if I had the opportunity today for the reasons stated above.

   2. Sean Combs - Ciroc Vodka
 

 Mr. Combs may be better known for his media mogul status as a recording artist, producer, and movie star, but he generates a large portion of his yearly revenue from endorsing high-end liquor such as Ciroc. The owners of the vodka recruited Combs in early 2007 as just the face of the drink, but after seeing sales increase considerably, negotiated a deal giving Combs more responsibility and more pay. Combs re-branded Ciroc as an "ultra-premium" Vodka, changing its positioning and increasing sales by 131% in the U.S. alone. He's helped them with creating new flavors, such as peach, to enter the market with and is pulling in tens of millions off this business deal. I'm not one for mixed drinks, but I'd sure like to sit down with Mr. Combs and find out what the next thing I should be investing in will be!

  3. Bill Murray - Suntory Whiskey

This is the personal favorite of mine. It's a trifecta of perfectness. The actor, the movie, and the whiskey are all great on their own, but mixed together, create the perfect advertisement in a movie without even looking like it's trying. For those of you who need a little info on what I'm talking about, Bill Murray plays an aging actor in the movie "Lost In Translation" who is set to film a commercial for Suntory whiskey. The ad placement promotes the product while seamlessly fading into the movie as just a piece of the action and not forcing it down the viewers throats, so to speak.

I know there are tons of other great examples of mixing celebrities and booze out there so tell me if you think there's one better than the ones above. I've been without cable for the last few years, so I'm sure there are much more relevant ones out there. Keep your imagination at full throttle folks and keep sharing it with the world. 
        

In a world...

The other day I was posed with the question, "If you could have any celebrity endorse and promote Alabaska, who would it be?" I have two answers to this conundrum. First, and in my opinion the better of the two responses, would be to look in the mirror and there is your answer. It's anyone and everyone. You just have to believe in yourself and what's inside your mind. With that mindset, and maybe a little charisma to boot, whoever you are becomes the greatest promoter of the state of mind that is Alabaska.

As much as I love the idea of the former endorsement model, the slight problem is that unfortunately, you (myself included) aren't adored and emulated by thousands of screaming fans on a daily basis. With that being said I have an easy option B that I think would be faaaaaaantastic. Hell, they might even be on board if they ever happened by for a drink. The celebrity I'm referring to isn't a who, but rather they. They go by the name  Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

 
If you're not familiar with this amalgamation of awesomeness let me fill you in. They are an indie-folk band comprised of an ever-changing lineup consisting of anywhere from nine to twelve artists. Their sound is reminiscent of folk, gospel and  the psychedelic rock of the 1960's and 1970's While the band is constantly changing, their two vocalists, Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos, are the face and permanent features of Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros. Perhaps these two would really be the ideal candidates as the actual celebrities for this hypothetical endorsement deal, but they're all pretty much a package deal in my mind.

What leads me to believe they are the ideal candidates for this is that they formed as part of a musical collaboration between Ebert and Castrinos. They didn't create all of this musical magic in Alabaska originally, but I'd  like to think that the next big thing from them, or any other artist for that matter, could find a home within Alabaska as a place to create the next gem in whatever industry they choose. Another fun factoid for all of you is that the name of this band originated from a short story Ebert created while dealing with recovering from drug addiction stemming from his original band IMA ROBOT. The character Edward is described as a man sent from somewhere out in the universe to save mankind, but constantly gets distracted by girls and falling in love. The story touches me not because of it's content, but because while the story is a fun creation of Eberts' mind, it evolved into so much more, a way to deal with recovery, a band name, albums of songs filled with love, hope and positivity that anyone can get behind. This process of moving with ideas and letting them grow into so much more are proof that there people out there with the same mindset as me and all you potential citizens of Alabaska.

Now I know what you're saying, "Why would you want to risk using an ex-drug addict with a cult-esque band behind him as someone to endorse your business?" Well I'll tell you why. Because as The Alabaskan motto states, "We don't judge". We all have our past and must either own it and move on to bigger and better things, or let it, and the thoughts of others, decide who we are for us. From the looks of it, Ebert chose the former and that's exactly the kind of person I'd want spreading the word for Alabaska.

The Beginning

Like all things awesome, Alabaska has a humble starting point. It was June of 2011 when my girlfriend Raina and I were hankering for a change of pace. The Universe was smiling on us when we were pondering what to do when BAM! we remembered Mountain Jam. This was and still is a three- day music festival located at Hunter Mountain in upstate New York. It was just around the corner on our calendar so we purchased tickets and started making a list of necessities right away. A week before going we came to the realization that finding our way back from the concert area to our tent would prove difficult. With the mix of darkness, our drunken vision and the sea of fellow campers around us, it dawned on us.

We need a flag.

We found some old cloth and our artsy friends volunteered to draw whatever we wanted once we had an idea, the sharing of brain cells commenced. We knew we wanted something original and started mix-mashing states together. Pensyltucky? not original enough. Califorginia? Meh. Flakota? Sounds like a disease or a rash to me. And then it rolled off our tongues in a soft southern twange as if it were the most well known place on earth... Alabaska.  The honey badger, pickle and french slogan were all part of the creativity among Raina and myself, it seemed like just jokes at the time but Alabaska just kept growing on us more and more as we neared the festival.

We weren't the only ones who thought so once we got there. After we were all set up with our mini-living situation we started collecting sticks to create a pole for our flag to fly. Our neighbors, who were complete strangers, at the time inquired what we were up to and noticed the name on our flag.
"What do you guys think of made-up states?" asked Raina
"Sounds cool to us." was the reply from our Bostonian friends.
We gave them the rundown of what and how the flag came to existence. They loved it so much they asked to become inducted as the first Alabaskan's at Mountain Jam.

It was with this handful of people we came to create all sorts of things such as the political system of Alabaska, which is composed of a Grand Marshall who keeps order among everyone. Don't worry there aren't months of campaigns to become elected, the only prerequisite to be Grand Marshall is you must be wearing the fanciest hat and the title is all yours.

We're still all good friends to this day, using social media to keep in touch and share our crazy stories of life and all the little things that go on in it.

That flag was the catalyst to the realization that if we just put our ideas out there for people to see, a lot of good can come from it, the goal now is to keep that momentum going and see where it takes us.

The state of mind

Alabaska isn't a place made up of lakes and mountains, or towering buildings and industries. You won't find it on some topographically correct map, no sir. This is a place that lives inside all of us. It's in everyone's thoughts and soul, where no idea is too crazy or inconceivable. Most times, people give up on their ambitions for the simple reason they think they're the only ones that get it, or would want anything to do with their ideas. I was just like that, I always chalked it up to being a twin, always needing a partner in crime in order to make something happen. But then one day, I decided to run with that very thought. No one should be alone with their ideas, it's actually downright selfish when you think about it. Get them out in the world and share them, you never know who else might love what you've come up with and help turn whatever that is into a reality. This mindset is the keystone that holds Alabaska up.

To help you with that train of thought, here are some "facts" that may help you see Alabaska a little more clearly. The state itself is found somewhere in north America between Alaska and Alabama, that's roughly 4,300 square miles if you're curious. The region is filled with so many diverse people it's hard to think that nobody out there could see the beauty or greatness in something like you!  It's state animal is the honey badger, they are solitary creatures, but work in pairs when hunting during special times of the year. Also, they're small, but extremely strong. This goes pretty well with the founding ideas of Alabaska. the state food is the pickle, they start out as something completely different, but get mixed up with some new ingredients and emerge from their jar a whole new food (a delicious one at that). Another fun fact of the  51st state of the union would be it's motto. "Nous N'avons pas juge". Whats that mean? well it means quite literally, "We don't judge." Alabaska is a place where we don't want anyone to be afraid to collaborate, create, and cast out their ideas to the masses.

As a co-founder of this place I will go first and share my ideas and ambitions with you. What I want to share with the world is a place where the spirit of Alabaska is thriving, and to have a  delicious beer while that happens, oh and with  fresh homemade cookies! Yes, I am in the process of creating the headquarters of Alabaska by opening a simple bar by the same name. While it doesn't seem like reinventing the wheel, it's still just an idea, a starting point. I want to create an environment that encourages patrons, or Alabaskan's, to embrace the great state of mind. "Passports" will be available at every table, which will be little more than awesome notebooks to do whatever you like with.

I hope you all enjoy the first glimpse into some of my thoughts and ideas. There will be many more to come. If you didn't, well hey, "nous, n'avons pas juge".

Official logo of Alabaska