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An
open letter from Scott Adams
May
11th, 2009
Dear Brazilian music fan,
This
year marks the 22nd anniversary of my first trip to Brazil
- Rio de Janeiro to be exact. It's as fresh in my mind as
if it was yesterday: vivid memories of new places and new
friends that are forever linked to music. The spirit of Samba
and the Bossa beat permeates the city. In Rio, rhythm is everywhere.
A
few days before returning home, a couple of my new friends
took me shopping for Brazilian albums and I didn't think twice
about the clothes I left behind.
As
I boarded the plane for home, I promised myself that this
first trip wouldn't be my last. In fact, I returned a little
more than a year later armed with a thicker Brazilian Portuguese
dictionary and a three-city itinerary which took me to São
Paulo and Salvador, Bahia as well as Rio, where I spent two
long afternoons with singer Caetano Veloso for my first Brazilian
music writing assignment.
Don't
get me wrong - I wasn't a professionally-trained writer, but
my love affair with Brazilian music was clearly taking my
life in some interesting directions. I was back again six
months later, and again eight months after that to meet and
interview saxophonist Leo Gandleman and singer Gal Costa.
The
Next Step
When
I get interested in something I like to share it with those
around me - I've always been that way. And I'm sure that sometimes
my friends wished I'd give 'that Brazil thing' a rest, but
it never really entered my mind. Ever since those first few
days in Rio, I was focused on learning as much as I could
about Brazilian music and then figuring out new ways to get
others to enjoy it, too. Not an easy task, but a plan was
forming.
I
began my radio show 'The Sounds of Brazil' in 1992 in Chicago,
gave notice to my day job and haven't looked back since. Five
years later, I started Connectbrazil.com with half a dozen
Internet pages (one of them featured an animated palm tree!)
but by that time my personal passion for Brazilian music was
spreading. You can read more about how I started out by clicking
here.
And you can read comments about my work from other Brazilian
music fans here.
A
Hundred Songs
Music
is my life. I've loved music since I was a kid growing up
in rural Minnesota. I mean really loved music. I remember
my reaction to my first grade teacher when she asked me what
I wanted to learn in school. "The names of a hundred
songs," I said! She didn't think I was serious, but I
was.
By
the time that college came along, I was majoring in music-
studying jazz improvisation. I became the vice president of
student government, because that's who was in charge of hiring
the national-caliber music acts for on-campus concerts. I
hosted a jazz radio show called 'Montage' and I had a nice
record collection to go with it.
I
learned that I was better at working with music than creating
it, so I put away my saxophones to become a top club DJ during
the Disco years here in Chicago. I reported my weekly playlist
to Billboard; was even hired by ABC radio to record 'hot mix'
programs for the local Disco station. That's right around
the time that I discovered Brazil.
The
Joy of Discovery
The
first CD I ever bought was the 'Astrud Gilberto Album', remarkable
because it is still one of my favorite Brazilian CDs and for
the fact that I bought it a year before I had a CD player
of my own - they were still pretty expensive back then.
But it didn't keep me from buying more Brazilian CDs: I was
on a first-name basis with the few stores that carried Brazilian
imports in the late 80's! Each trip became an adventure: What
new names would I come across today? What new sounds would
I hear when I stripped away the plastic wrap and pushed the
'play' button? There was something exciting about seeing that
little label on the back of a CD that said "Made In Brazil",
and knowing that it came from a country half the world away.
There's
no doubt about it: That sense of anticipation was a big part
of my growing love of Brazilian music and it still is, today.
That's why I'm really energized about our new Buyers Club!
Free
CDs, Free Shipping
I'll
start you out with your choice of three free CDs, give you
Priority Processing and great discounts on every order, ship
every regular three CD order to you for free, and put you
in position to win great prizes - I've given away everything
from CD collections to trips for two to Brazil!
And
just as its name implies, the Connectbrazil.com Buyers Club
is about a lot more than discounts on every order. It's about
the joy of discovery, about igniting that sense of exploration
that's inside of us all - with my 17 years of experience to
guide you along.
It's
also about getting back to that sense of anticipation and
putting the excitement back into musical exploration.
The
heart and soul of the Connectbrazil.com Buyers Club is our
'Seasonal Selection'. Every three months, our editors compare
dozens of entries and then award a single CD or DVD with the
title of 'Editor's Choice'. You'll receive this selection
automatically once each quarter as part of your membership
privileges - always at the lowest possible price.
And
I'll stand behind each and every one with this guarantee:
If you're not completely satisfied, for any reason, I'll send
you a $10.00 credit voucher good for your next purchase, and
you can keep the 'Seasonal Selection' or pass it along to
a friend.
What's
behind my thinking? It's simple. As more and more members
join, the number of 'Seasonal Selections' will also increase,
giving our Buyers Club a strong consumer's voice in the Brazilian
music industry. Think for a moment about what you'd like to
see for Brazilian music in the future: More recordings? More
concerts? Travel packages to Rio? Now you have a way to make
your voice heard, and to help the music industry appreciate
your passion for Brazilian music.
My
Buyers Club is based on these qualities - the same ones that
have served me so well, leading me to create the most successful
commercially syndicated Brazilian radio program ever heard
in the US, and to publish its partner website, Connectbrazil.com.
So,
What's Next?
Somewhere,
right now, a young Brazilian musician is working the club
circuit in São Paulo, paying his dues. Or maybe she's
sharpening her skills in a Rio sound studio, getting ready
for that debut recording. In fact, maybe that CD is already
sitting in our warehouse, ready to be sent to your home so
you can strip away the plastic wrapping to discover a brand
new sound.
Remember
my story about the record stores I used to visit? Today, every
single one of them is gone, pushed away as a result of dramatic
changes in the music industry. Major record labels are mere
shadows of their former selves - staff and budgets have been
cut to the bone, and fewer Brazilian albums are being released
and promoted.
And
while you can choose to buy your music anywhere, I believe
that nothing comes close to the Connectbrazil.com Buyers Club
when it comes to great benefits and making your voice heard.
I
hope that you'll consider joining today. Either way, send
me a quick e-mail to let me know what you think and what I
can do to make it even better. And if you know of someone
else who might enjoy knowing about our Buyers Club, I hope
that you'll pass the message along.
I
love Brazilian music, and I'm constantly amazed at how many
people have become fans after hearing a song or two from Antonio
Carlos Jobim, Evete Sangalo or Sergio Mendes. It kind of makes
me wish that I had something like the Connectbrazil.com Buyers
Club when I was starting out, and I'm very pleased that its
here for you now.
Always
a pleasure,
Scott
Adams, Publisher
Connectbrazil.com
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