Social Society

Social Society

i’m very connected to people 

through social media

sharing a sense of depth and meaning

is affirming

the immediacy and the intimacy of the socials

is the currency

here within the digital age

i’m in the bank awhile back

and my bankers phone buzzes

and i asked him

if that was his buddies sending him reels

and indeed it was

and that’s cool

because we can always use a laugh

cynthia sent me a link to ‘i rate dogs’

it’s a dopamine hit

watching dogs be amazing - you feel it!

anyway

i’m not as perplexed about screen time

as most are

i’ve been saying this for years

also

what’s the point of this blog?

craig

coffee / egg and bacon sandwich with HP sauce from a glass bottle

.

Moments

the moments where you either 

finish or start something

that's where life hides

we were at cocoa beach

5 of us bouncing in the waves

wade leah and i swam out

leaving talia and katie to fend for themselves

they’re little 

and the ocean was having it’s way with them

they were getting thrown about 

trying to keep their tops on

laughing loudly

and the 3 of us started laughing at them

and in that moment

for the first time in what feels like years

i was happy

my life started doing the slide show

the sorrow and the joy

the struggle and the success

all flashed by 

like i was dying

or perhaps moving on

in that moment

i knew it was time for a profound change

it wasn’t something that i had been planning

it was revealed in an instant

i’m not a metaphysical person

but i know enough 

to pay attention to moments like this

underneath the sunshine

i changed my life

in a moments notice

i announced it to the band

before we went on stage

a sold out king center

hands in the air

a big band

that was a proper send off 

it was the right show at the right time

to do a zep label 

i woke this morning

to an email chain that i’d been grooming 

for a couple weeks

a real offer to buy my company

i’ll be sixty four in a couple months

it’s time to prepare for death

and i don’t mean that in a morose way

i have always played the long game

but after twenty three years

the offer got me thinking

and coupled with the beach moment

i put it to careful consideration

it was reasonable

here’s what would happen

they’d look at my books

and immediately see 

that i’m overspending on musicians

they’d bring in a cruise ship director

or someone from an entertainment complex

and have them retool 

everything

screens

younger musicians 

all working on a click 

so the lighting director can execute his cues on beat

think the ones

souless 

meanwhile i’d be back on the beach

reaching for the ipa before noon

napping at 3 

a nice dinner out

blah blah blah

i thanked everyone for their time

and deleted the thread

clamp arrived for our weekly uk zoom

afterwards we talked about our fathers

and he shared a quote with me

that his father shared with him

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world, the unreasonable one persists in try to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” 

- George Bernard Shaw

fuck yes

craig

june 27, 2025

coffee and a glazed donut

the walk

 did the ritual walk to massey hall today

a beautiful spring day in toronto

everything was in bloom

lots of people on the streets

i was feeling good

passed a young man

passed out

slumped up against the wall

visible signs of drug addiction

but

he had a small container of milk

and a box of cereal

and he had gone out and bought it for himself

perhaps his last shred of innocense

it gutted me

my neigborhood is not romantic

it’s real and gritty

but also safe and steady

you learn about yourself here

most of the homeless are documented

anytime someone becomes a hazard to society

they are swiftly scooped up

and more than likely

medicated

there are long lines at the food banks

the longest i’ve seen

there’s a sense of unrest sometimes

precarious peacefulness for the most part

i abide

i keep a close eye on the musicians i work with

i like to know about their lives

they’re all doing well

and getting through things

aren’t we all?

the stage crew is ready here at massey hall

we talk about how many shows we’ve dong together

and how we’re approaching tonight’s performance

this crew is a well oiled arm of hydraulic might

me?

it’s time for avocado toast

craig

avocado toast 

.

The Socials

 i was online in 1996

i quickly made the jump 

out of expensive recording studios

to

digitally creating music for tv

running a logic system off a tiny mac

the networks all got hip quick

i watched budgets go from $7000

to $700

times were changing

i rolled along

in 2003

when i started CAL

i told all the musicians

that they would need an email address

in order to go forward with my company

for many of them

this was a big undertaking

i forced many musicians to get online

in 2007 i had an arguement with a close friend

my stance was that ‘likes’ and followers

are going to be the currency of a successful business

he thought i was nuts

and that it had no actual value

in some ways he was right

but not really

all of the alumni share reels and clips

i worry that one day 

while crossing a border

they’re going to confiscate my phone

and see all the ridiculous and inappropriate reels

we all send each other

after that it’s ‘midnight express’ time

in a turkish prison for me

mostly we share cool stuff

i’m always amazed 

that someone went to the trouble

of conceiving 

filming

editing

and posting a video

for the sheer purpose of entertainment or instruction

sure they get likes

and followers

but other than that - they’re just doing it 

for the sake of being human

i always say that it renews my faith in humanity

the past couple of months

i’ve been producing videos

and posting them consistently

our likes and followers have more than doubled

and we’ve become a major presence 

while scrolling

the comments are overwhelmingly positive

but it speaks to human nature

at how a stray hater 

can stick tar to your heels

the haters really go after the zep band

our levee breaks video is getting close to 750k hits

and that’s big for us!

but the comments from the haters are incredible

here’s a couple

- drummer sucks

- singer sucks

- you guys should pack it in

- you’re playing it wrong

it’s astounding!

i don’t let it get to me 

i know who i am and what my company can do

but you know…

before i block them

i click on their profile

and dive in

they all a few things in common

- male 50+

- no likes

- no partner

- pictures of pick up trucks

- balding

i want to copy and paste this comment

“I’m sorry you feel that way. We’ve checked out

your profile and you seem angry and lonely. 

A more positive online persona would do wonders

for your mental health. Being a voice of hatred and

aiming at hard working musicians just digs you

deeper into a hole. Cheer up!”

but i don’t do this

because it’s just blow torches their flame

human nature revealed online is tricky

but i am quick to reassert

that the overwhelming vast majority of people

are good a decent and caring and cool

i’m not sure what the haters think they’re achieving

what is the mind set?

they watch the post

and there’s maybe 100 comments

all happy that we’re sharing music

but one old guy sees this

and thinks to himself

‘i’m going to take a dump on this thread

everyone will love me then’

it’s weird 

like many of us

i immerse myself on the socials

i’m on all the platforms

my attention span is that of a gnat

i can barely get through tv show or movie

without being bored 

i like short spurts of information

i’ve done well on the stock market 

(i just cashed everything out except for tesla and bitcoin)

and my cooking has bumped up to the next level

(making my own stock was a game changer)

i follow er doctors

palliative care nurses

a ship captain

a family in nigeria

a woman who sits on cakes 

artists

ny times

the moth

ron butler (a straight shooter)

a pretty healthy variety of people

all of them sharing their lives 

in hopes of making yours just a little bit better

it renews my faith in humanity

craig martin

(coffee, chocolate croissant)

.