When Like Minded People Come Together

When Like minded individuals come together to join forces for a common goal they release a force that acts upon nature and every other thing they come in contact with.
“It doesn’t take everyone to affect change it begins with one then two and finally it will spread like a bush fire for the whole world.”
The Samba Project
joelsamuelpresents
With other sites wherever there are ears to hear and eyes to see- I will give my words, because words are free.
Myspace, YouTube, Gather, Google +, Pinterest.

Integrity who do you know that is really integral?
Do you even know what the word means?
Does it take or cost anything to be given truth?
We have invented religions and beliefs based on words and when has a word, been the thing?
We live our lives looking in the mirror and so rarely do we have the insights to remember or question.
You can quote, write, preach and communicate, yet in the end we live in a Fatalistic world.
We can try to emulate, but it’s in the trying that we already sow the seeds of failure.
Why do we feel we need the authority to feel alright with ourselves and allow someone even blinder than ourselves to lead and take responsibility for everyone and everything?
When I first began to communicate I documented things and enjoyed the challenges of capturing performances.
I wanted to know what I was producing and it was all an offshoot of speaking and music and then writing- all entertainment.
I have met many people who have called me psychic and they cannot understand why I charge nothing for my writings?
It is a gift and gifts are given freely, because it has nothing to do with nothing, but its free.
They say I walk through the Tarot Cards as the Fool, but the meaning is so abstract as to render it non- sense.
So my audience is for the marvelous, beyond my conception and like a dance I do it for you.
There are a few things that are truer than others - They are obvious by way of any integral person.
We all are here by the grace of whatever you want to call it and when it is our time we go. “No one gets out of here alive” all of us need to know what living is all about then- the craziness and the accepting of false hood, become as transparent as the truth.
When we accept things we become complacent then you stop in your motion.
When you surrender to life which includes your demise then you become open to seeing what is real and then everything and everyone will understand- its so simple, yet the most magnificent event that was ever produced- the Here and Now.
That is why I write words- This is why I accept the challenge of speaking from my heart and that is why I do it-

Joelsamuelpresents

Reunion Party for Backstage Pass

The reunion party for Backstage In Arizona took place on Sunday April 29th, 2007 at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix.  It had been a very long time since I had  hosted an event and  I picked this venue because of many  because I first appeared professionally in public at the Purple Turtle, before it was known as the Rhythm Room   Also Bob Corritore has always treated me with cordiality and friendship.

It had been a very long time since I produced a party and timing was very important and  magical.
The Passing of Blues great Chico Chism brought home many things that had been on my mind.
I was introduced to Chico in Chicago by my close friend Phyllis Benstein at the Kingston Mines nightclub in the early 1980's.  When we talked and I encouraged him to make the move to Arizona and I am sure he conferred with his long time friend Bob Corritore before making any final decision.
Yes, he was old, but it reminded me of everyone who has already passed- of all the
friends who have aided me in preserving my library for future generations.

For many years my 3/4 inch video library of Backstage In Arizona had been in the trusted safe keeping of my late friend Geordie Hormel who had asked me what gift I wanted him to do for me out of friendship.
I asked him if he could preserve these video tapes for future generations and he and Jamie kept them safe through my constant moves. Then when Geordie died I knew that once again this library was in  jeopardy of being lost and needed attention & preservation.

I had gone through some storms in my life and the good Lord offered me an opportunity to move again and spend  time in Washington State; and a new chapter in my life.  There was one name that I knew and respected and trusted enough with picking up all 27 large boxes of video tapes and storing it for me until the time when I could finally figure out what to do with it all.  John Dixon's wise council has proven to me that he is a very prophetic and worthy keeper of the archives.  Aware that video tape has a shelf life, the time had come to make a decision as to what to do with the archives.

Since moving to Washington I have continued to keep the flame alive by introducing some of my library to  a world audience via my YouTube and Myspace websites.  What I have been able to accomplish in this new medium can be seen there, but there is so much more.  The AMEHOF has been struggling and I wanted to see if there was a true way to preserve all of the archives for future generations  because it is rare and has cultural significance to Arizona history of Arts & Entertainment.
I had already given them the Ed Goldberg & Barbara Sayles Groleau- Photographs with sign in book from some of my early shows; and some of you have commented saying you enjoyed it.
I contacted the Arizona Commission for The Arts and wanted them included in everything concerning these tapes.

The timing needed to be right and it just felt like it was the right time.
I never had the opportunity to produce the Tenth Arizona Entertainment Awards, but sometimes things are not meant to be.  Many people have told me how the entertainment scene has gone underground since I left after the Ninth Arizona Entertainment Awards.  I did not leave out of any vindictiveness or spite, but out of necessity and moving has opened another chapter in my life.  The magical time of my past that I worked so hard to capture and maintain is contained in my video tape library.  It remains my passion and though my spirit is not as strong as it once was , I continue always to do my best.

I have lived an extraordinary life so far and I am so thankful to have been allowed to share and create something artistic and meaningful.  It is with this in mind that I wanted to see you all again and present you with my library so that others can step up and carry the flame to preserve it for our future generations.

Best regards,
Joel

Catch a Rising Star

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The lights were just dimmed and I felt that I was alone.

Suddenly there was the sound of applause and I realized that I was in a hall filled with a large audience. It was my encore performance and for the first time I knew that everything I had worked so long and hard for had reached fruition.

The curtains were again drawn back and even though I could not see the faces of all the people watching I knew that I was no longer alone. This is what all performers want for their hearts desire; to be recognized for their talents and contributions.

Having been a guitar player and being young and energetic, I wanted to make my mark on the entertainment scene in Arizona.  I started out by running promotions for Chuckles Comedy Club in the Phoenix area.  This was at the time that cable TV had just arrived in the valley and nobody understood what it was.  A friend and I wanted to produce fundraisers, incorporating comedy by bringing in national comedians to create the show.  Because the cable companies were wanting programming they were happy to get involved.  Thus the Evening of Laughs started us on our way to TV production.  From there I produced several pilots, which included Phoenix Tonight (a variety entertainment show like the Tonight Show).  Because of the potential for success, we moved the Phoenix Tonight to a private video production company.  The show lasted only one season, but it was here that I meet Ron Noah who was publishing that Soundboard Music Magazine, and producing the Soundboard Music Awards, which I helped produce.  

With the failure of Phoenix Tonight, I pitched a new series, Backstage Pass in Arizona, to the Scottsdale United Cable.  On my show I integrated the Soundboard Music Awards with  the annual awards that I was giving out for my show and created the 1st official Arizona Entertainment Awards in 1986. These awards honored all areas of entertainment  - music, dance, comedy, acting, personality, contribution to the arts.  It was a day chosen to honor outstanding people in their genre who were voted for by the public to receive the award.  This was never to be a "best of", but a celebration of excellence of the arts and entertainments.                                                                                    

The awards show lasted 9 years and was a huge part of my life during that time.  From a core group of about 5 of us, to managing a crew of nearly 160, many people dedicated long hours and hard work to making the Arizona Entertainment Awards a success.  I have thanked them over the years, but you can never thank anyone enough that helps to create and maintain a dream. 

In everyone’s life you either are a spectator or an actor and sometimes you play both parts. I know I have been every conceivable character at one time or another on my stage. The play of life makes every performance count and whatever you leave behind is a testament to who I am and what I tried to accomplish. All the time that was spent practicing my craft led to these specific moments when I knew in my heart that I was appreciated for my art. This is something worth more than anything else and is something that I can always take with me wherever I go. It transcends the mundane world of possessions and the striving for more and more. It is the nectar that quenches the thirst for those that want to leave their mark. It is the moments spent in preparation and the actualization of cherished dreams.

So many times I thought I would just give up, but each time I picked myself up and continued. Now what I have created is a large body of work that will stand on its own merit as a testament to who I am and what I tried to communicate. It still can be compared to the myriad of others though yet does stand by itself as something notable that gives me satisfaction.

You can judge it -depending on your particular likes or dislikes, but it stands as something I have accomplished that is a record that says -I was more than just a couple words on a headstone or lost to everyone forever- as if I had never lived.

The prophets and the sages have been mute council for how to be me in this life--examples to live a life of meaning for this short performance on the stage of life. I am but an actor playing a part.I know that I will never please everyone and that is not my intention, but to follow my own light -wherever it may lead me.I have seen things in my life that many would doubt its validity, but it has been a guidepost for me and made me who I am.

So much has been left out and this offers such a fragmented and partial perspective, but must suffice, because what is, is.I continue to create and offer my art to any audience that enjoys what I have to share. 

I realize that nothing endures and a rising star vanishes in the night. 

Welcome to my show all friends that come to know me here.
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IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME

When I began producing and writing I knew that I would have an audience because I was presenting it as variety entertainment -full of all the diversity it contains.
Have you ever noticed how strangely some things actually work?
Lately I have been watching and listening and I see how many people are now finding it politically correct to expose their feelings as if wanting to win a popularity contest.
Our elections are in direct correlation to how many people vote for the next American Idol and at the same time you see how easily society accepts and stops questioning the status quo.
Opinions are like art and using words complicate it, because words can take on so many different  meanings.  Add on top of this the strange advent of "sound bites" and "twitter" and "Facebook", the social media craze- and now a chipmunk doing the Harlem yada yada is the next "big thing".

Everyone loves to give advice. What one person calls constructive criticism another thinks  it an insult.  Many people build their livelihoods on having special information that they are betting you do not have and will pay for these services.  Agents, lawyers and advisers who are getting paid for their services really treat things superficially.  If you have talent is subjective and totally arbitrary.  The odds are if you produce and take it at all seriously then you will always find others that agree or appreciate your art.

A song written by the band Moody Blues- the Tide Rushes In -says it another way.
“You keep looking for someone, to tell your secrets to.
I’ll sit down and lend an ear, yet I’ll hear nothing new."

Some people feel a need to engage me and attack what I feel is my contribution and many old friends have dropped out, because they feel hurt and abandoned.  There are so many unspoken agreements and missed communications and now in the age of the electric word we can kill someone with the delete button and terminate all probability of any reconciliation.  We accept the new cliche rehab or a debate and confessions and the constant apologies. What began as a great experiment of "reality TV" is being turned into a sponsored big business monster.

Look at what is plastered all around to capture your mind and indulge your senses.
So what is the internet all about for you?
I have always followed my own light and stepped to the beat of my own drummer- we are here for such a short time and why squander it.
Time is the only thing you cannot replace and how much of our life seems such a waste of time.
              If you build it they will come.
              If it is true, it will live on.
              Trust your heart and walk your talk.
              If you do this you will find.
              You haven’t the time to look behind.
              If you speak it they will know?
              That its all for you and its just a show.
Best Regards,          
Joel
joelsamuelpresents   

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Hello World Welcome to My Blog

                                                    Nigel and Me in the Cascade Mountains
Welcome to my blog. Here you can find interesting stories behind the videos that I have on my 2 YouTube channels.
Joel Samuel           BS Cactus

Time is the only thing that can never be replaced- so I have to prioritize where I spend my time.

YouTube has my biggest audience by far, because of all the work I have put into my two channels joelsamuel and bscactus- I have over 900 original documentaries for everyone to watch.

Then I also spend a lot of time on Facebook, connecting with new and old friends, yet my audience there is very small in comparison.

Myspace has more people, but it isn't as intimate, yet I try to keep up with it and my writers site which pays money for everything I upload called Gather.

My blog is really the story of my life.  I hope to piece together many adventures through stories, videos, and pictures - as well as adding my own philosophy of sort.  I welcome all your comments and questions, and if there is anything from my past shows that you would like to see, just ask, and hopefully I will be able to post it on YouTube.   

Welcome to my show and I hope you enjoy your time.

Best regards,

Joel Samuel