NorCal and Shill
A podcast where NFT artists tell stories, hosted by NorCal Guy. https://twitter.com/GuyNorcal
https://twitter.com/norcalandshill
NorCal and Shill
Web3's Renaissance is coming, whether we're ready or not.
Art has always been about storytelling, but what happens when collecting digital art becomes a way to document your own life journey? In this deeply personal conversation, Boona opens up about how a single NFT purchase captured the 10-year anniversary of his path to sobriety – a pivotal decision that changed everything.
Boona's perspective as both a podcaster and collector gives him unique insights into the world of digital art. He shares the lightning-bolt moment when he first discovered NFTs during the 2021 Clubhouse boom, comparing it to the feeling he had when Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone. For a lifelong gamer who had spent thousands on digital assets he never truly owned, blockchain ownership just made sense.
What keeps him passionate about web3 is the community built on authenticity. "It's the first community centered around something that incentivizes people to be authentic," he explains, noting how on-chain reputation creates natural accountability. Yet he doesn't shy away from addressing challenges, particularly what he calls the "dead zone" – art priced between 1-9 ETH that struggles during market downturns, leaving many talented artists in limbo.
Looking toward the future, Boona offers a bold prediction: within five years, all significant art will incorporate code components. "We're not even in a renaissance yet," he argues, suggesting that truly revolutionary art requires embracing technological mediums rather than simply digitizing traditional forms. His call for more honest criticism in the space comes from a place of genuine care – seeing the potential for something truly transformative if we're willing to have difficult conversations.
Beyond collecting, Boona shares exciting developments with his company Schiller, including their upcoming third season of media programming and the launch of Merch, a neo-couture fashion brand blending physical luxury with NFTs. This integration of technology with fashion exemplifies exactly the kind of thoughtful innovation he advocates for throughout our conversation.
Whether you're a seasoned collector or new to the space, this episode offers valuable insights on finding meaning in digital collecting and the courage to voice constructive criticism. Follow us for more conversations that explore both the art and heart of web3.
Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this guy?
Speaker 2:Who is this guy? Norcal? Guy NorCal and chill podcast. So it's chill time, NorCal and chill podcast. What the f***? Norcal and chill podcast Podcast. What the shill? What the shill? Norcal and Shill Podcast.
Speaker 1:So it's shill time, NorCal and Shill Podcast what the shill, what the shill. Hey everyone, welcome to NorCal and Shill. Today we have Buna. In this episode we explore his take on art collecting, the importance of storytelling and the need for reflective criticism in crypto art. Buna shares his adventures in spending on both the meaningful and absurd, gives us a sneak peek at his latest media projects and his excitement around NFT fashion company Merch. We'll also touch on his podcast marketing insights. While diving deep into our shared history in the world of podcasting, our collective passions and his initial forays into the NFT world, buna casts his visionary eye on the future of art intertwined with technology and what that means for artists today. Join us as we unpack the serious, the silly and the substantial with Buna in a conversation filled with gratitude, laughs and forward thinking in the Web3 era. Everybody, please welcome Buna. Hey, buna, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?
Speaker 2:Buna. Hey, buna, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today, gm? Uh, guy, I'm doing really well. Um, I just mentioning, right during the countdown, as uh, as someone who's you know, usually on the opposite end of the camera, uh, it's nice to be the interviewee, um, and to sit down and be asked the question. So I, I think, uh, for those that you know, obviously, you know, no one saw our DMs, but you shot me a DM and it was about 6.9 seconds between Norco DM and my response. He caught me at the right time and it just yeah.
Speaker 2:So thrilled to be here. I've loved what you have like amassed here. I've gotten to like learn about so many artists, uh through this podcast, um so many collectors, it's. It's. It's wonderful just to hear um a lot of the answers that everyone here provides, and you've built just an insane catalog like it. Just it's yeah, uh, just love what you do, man thanks, man.
Speaker 1:yeah, um, yeah, I appreciate that. I mean, I I know we are colleagues in this endeavor. Yeah, because you've been doing a podcast just as long as I have. Yeah, so definitely it's fun because we get to talk about behind the scenes things and we like compare notes. Yeah, definitely. Like, hey, what are you doing these days? What do you? What equipment are you trying out these days?
Speaker 2:like yeah, there's not many. There's not many people that uh, I can really just you know whether it's a positive, you know event or a, an event, I'm sure, or like the, the behind the scenes struggles that go along with this, because you know there's not many people who just like really get it. You know, um, right from the outside. They know it takes a lot of work, but like it's nice to have someone in the trenches, both in the podcasting and media side, on the art collecting side, on the bird app side and now the purple app side. You know, um, so it's nice to, it's nice to have that man, uh, and have appreciated that band. That's really how our friendship started. We randomly met in New York. I was literally about to go to bed and then you invited me to the Babylon event, ayla gave me her ticket and then we just vibed about podcasting on the Uber ride over there, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's true, it's true. And then we had DMs just about hey, man, have you tried this out? Have you heard about this? Have you done this? I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna, yeah, send me about that I want to learn about, I won't go take a look at that, yeah, but yeah, it was awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and if I would have taken every one of your recommendations. Uh, I would be in a massive amount of debt right now with audio equipment. So I'm glad I'm glad I've only have taken your advice in some of this, because I'm a I'm a shiny object guy and I just had to. I had to practice some restraint.
Speaker 1:So well, the funny thing is is like, even though I'm like hey, you should take a look at this Like I still don't have a lot of those things, I'm like, oh, I'm just running with what I got because it works.
Speaker 2:Tell you what, man, I feel like there's a certain threshold of equipment where, like, it just doesn't matter. You know, like it's like these, some of the little things, that it's like my main thing and I know you especially as a dad uh, it's like what can basically make my life easier and if it doesn't do that, like in a big way, it's it's just like not worth it. You know right, for sure, for sure, yeah, yeah, awesome. But yeah, happy to have a brother in podcasting and media. It's just like not worth it. You know Right, for sure, for sure, yeah, yeah, awesome. But, yeah, happy to have a brother in podcasting and media as well, for sure.
Speaker 1:It is nice. So what were your first thoughts when you heard about NFTs and crypto art?
Speaker 2:Wow, I thought about this a little bit. Wow, I thought about this a little bit and I would say my first reactions were so when I first came in was in the clubhouse days, early 2021. I didn't know what any of it was. I just stumbled into the clubhouse space where they had the buyer of Be of people's everyday's piece Um, the one that sold for like $69 million and that wasn't planned. It was also during the height that, I think the alien fedora pipe punk sold for like 4.2 million in that same week or right around then. It was unreal. Um, then it was unreal. So I was.
Speaker 2:I stumbled into that space not knowing what I was listening to, what I was in for and the best way I can describe it. There were two thoughts. There was one where it was a. It wasn't really a thought, it was a feeling and it was the same feeling that I felt when I saw, I watched, the Apple keynote where Steve Jobs pulled the first iPhone out of his pocket. It was that same feeling and that was what hit me first. And then the second thing that hit me as a native gamer, was gaming. That was my first. I'm like this makes an incredible amount of sense, because I've spent thousands of dollars in digital assets that I don't own. And right, you're telling me I have a way to now own them. So that those are my first two thoughts. It was a feeling followed by gaming just makes complete sense.
Speaker 1:Um, and that was the start yeah, that makes sense, a lot of sense. So did you collect art or like baseball cards or models or anything before nfts?
Speaker 2:so I did and I I often say I don't, but I think I've just forgot about it for so long. Um, it just feels like another lifetime. It was when I was very little. I collected, uh, you know, old star wars action figures. Uh, lord of the rings? Um, you know old star Wars action figures. Uh, lord of the Rings Um, you know the the six inch or one foot tall Lord of the Rings characters? Uh, I collected a lot of those.
Speaker 2:And I did collect a model cars. Um, you know, I had a Ferrari at 50. That was my first like real. It wasn't one that I put together, it was just a model car that you bought. Um, it was already put together and it was super well detailed. Um, but after that, after I turned maybe I'd say, between 10 and 13 years old, somewhere in in in that period of becoming a teenager, I just I just stopped Um, so really no, um, until web three. It really kind of just accelerated, um, my collecting outside of the art space. So it actually had something to do with me collecting vinyls again and, you know, getting different books and getting, you know, custom signed CDs and stuff like that. So I really started to fall back in love with collecting as a result of becoming an accidental art collector in Web3. Nice yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Collector in web three. Nice, yeah, that makes sense. Makes sense, yeah. And yeah, I see that record player right there behind you Looks good times.
Speaker 2:I have a story about that, but I think it's. I'm saving it for another question, All right.
Speaker 1:So what are the best things about web three today?
Speaker 2:I would say today, the best things about web three are the same things that I thought there's. There's some things that have never changed, that have remained. The best thing for me is that the number one, it's the people. I fell in love with this because it felt like the first community who was centered around something that incentivized them to be authentic. You know like it's if we are truly at the intersection of a new renaissance and you know what's coming and everything's on chain, it's public, it's immutable, it's so wild that, like most people are incentivized to just do the right thing because you're literally building an on-chain reputation, and I thought that that was really fascinating and I think I led with that.
Speaker 2:I guess just energy or I led with that kind of thought in my mind and naturally I just found people who also felt the same way and, funny enough, those are the people who I'm still friends with, who I'm still friends with today, you know, uh, and I've picked up a lot along the way, um, but it just goes to show that, like my initial cause, I came from the gaming world and web and web two world, where the opportunity to really make it was really just getting smaller and smaller and what you had to do to really become kind of a superstar or to like make some sort of a living on the internet was becoming less and less authentic, and that's really why I fell in love with it.
Speaker 2:So I would say the best thing in web three just to keep it simple is is the people and I'd say today, the fact that you know like we've seen so many advancements and new token standards and new way and a lot of artists experimenting with, like actual code and blockchain tech Collectors getting a little bit more thoughtful and a little bit they maybe ask more questions or maybe are questioning things a little bit more and having a little bit they maybe ask more questions or maybe are questioning things a little bit more and having a little bit more intent with how they collect. I'd say it's just really cool. It's basically the same answer, but it's people and then the maturation of the industry as a whole living through both cycles and coming up on, hopefully, another bull, but yeah right, right.
Speaker 1:That is an interesting aspect about the space we touched on earlier is just there's a lot of trust built in this space and a lot of reputation and a lot of things happen because of that reputation and but the flip side is it's funny because some people will blow that reputation but they still come back and you're like how are these people back in the space, like what is going?
Speaker 2:on. I know, I know the way I look at that man is that I feel like the people that I'm friends with are the people who are really concerned and included with building a legacy. And if we think about legacy, we think about that's like the longest time horizon, you know, that ever exists. So it's more of like, at the end of the day, what are people going to recognize both me and my friends for, you know, and I feel like there's a lot of people that think that way, and that's really cool. You know, in the short term, grifters and people who act amok will like come back because there's pure financial opportunity. But I think what helps me sleep at night is that I know that I've always strove to, you know, and the people I've been around especially now joined with Schiller Um, it's like there's a way to make money and feel good about it too. Uh, and build a reputation and make money and feel good about it too and positively contribute to something that I view is really important, you know, Um, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:So where do you see digital art and NFTs in five years and do you have any concerns as it expands?
Speaker 2:Hmm, um, I have an answer for both. I would say, in five years, I would say and this might be a bit of a hot take, which I know we're going to ask that a little later I think that code-based art or visual art, I'm going to be really bold and say that in five years, all art will have a code component to it, whether it's using blockchain as a medium or coding visual art with a generative coder, something that, because I feel like this is a if we really believe what we're talking about here, if we really think this is like a revolution, a digital art revolution, a computer art revolution, I feel like computers and blockchain as a medium are going to become like the art, like the, what art is going to be sought after, and I think we're seeing the early days of that, but there's just not a lot right now, and I think that that is my foresight of like, that's what I'd want to see, my foresight of like that's what I'd want to see, um, both selfishly and I just think as a whole, this is just really, it's really cool and it's pushing art forward. It's not just a new way to display old mediums that have been around for centuries. So that is, uh, where I see it. I also see us finally getting a good digital screen that everyone can agree on. The technology that's just like that. Just it hits, it hits mass adoption. Um, you know, when it comes to that, I feel like making, making easier ways to display art is going to be a huge thing in the next five years.
Speaker 2:Concerns I have a lot of concerns, but I think that the one thing that I am concerned about is and I think I'll always be concerned about this is the way I've looked at at least artist journeys, at least in the context of this space, is that, especially during the bear market, art that was really below 1 ETH did really well and art that was above 10 ETH did really well, but there was that 1 to 9 ETH range that just bottomed. It just suffered for probably a lot of different reasons. So I get concerned that there are not going like there's going to be a lot of artists that fall out when they get to that range and I feel like it's really hard to make it out of there. Um, so that is like one thing that, like, I feel like there's just not enough support for artists in that range, um, to span, whether it's a bull or a bear, like I just get concerned that there's not enough help in that area and I think it conflicts with the narrative of like I think we're starting to figure out that artists, you know like, having the right help is not always a bad thing Just because you can do everything yourself and you don't need middlemen, you know to, to make a living as an artist doesn't mean you shouldn't have help in that range, and I think that there's a conflict there.
Speaker 2:I think we're starting to figure out that there's like a a conflict there. You know, like maybe I do need help, like maybe this is a, maybe this is a lot bigger than me, maybe maybe there is a way to justify sending 20% for them taking care of all this other shit that I don't want to take care of, you know? Um, so I don't know. It's a long, long winded answer, but the concern is like just not enough people that are willing to support in that range on a longterm basis.
Speaker 1:The dead zone, what I call it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it sucks, cause I, most of my friends, are in that zone and I'm like I fucking love their art and I'm like I can't afford it. Uh, but also people from an investment perspective. If you just look at it without feelings or emotions involved, it just doesn't make sense. It's the hugest risk for a longer term reward that may not ever get there, right, right, you know it's yeah, so it's just tough, man, but yeah, and I would just say, to add on top of that, our ability to criticize art without getting offended. I feel like I'm concerned about that. I feel like we need, I feel like that's what needs is desperately needed right now. There are a few people who are doing it very well and they're taking the brunt of it, but I feel like, as a space, we suck at that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, for sure, because there's a yeah.
Speaker 2:Social media and art. There's a lot of things that don't work there.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, yeah, yeah so I mean, you kind of touched on it like price wise, what makes how you look at art but like, is there something that like pushes you over the edge to buy a piece? I mean, do you like talk with the artist first? Do you sit on it for a while Like how, how did? What's your process when it comes to approaching and purchasing a piece of art?
Speaker 2:It's a great question and I think I've had a few different approaches. I think it really depends on I'm a I'm a huge people person and like, for better or worse, uh, I think they're like I, sometimes I. Sometimes I agree with this and sometimes I don't. But part of my collecting practice has been getting to know the person, um, and that plays a big. I think it played too much of a role in my collecting in the beginning. Um, um, where I was mainly friends and I was such good friends that I just felt obligated to buy the art. But I didn't really. The art really didn't speak to me enough to justify the purchase, and I didn't figure that out until many months and years later. Um, right, so I would say it's still very important. It's not as important, um, but it also depends on if this is on the higher end of my budget. So it's like do I enjoy the artist? Do they have a cohesive body of work, no matter how large it is? Is it cohesive? Because that to me, in my opinion, takes a lot of work to figure out how to make it different. And Ruben Wu really changed my thought process around this, around visual language. You know, like, what is the visual language of an artist. Is it easy to tell the visual language of an artist? Not necessarily style, like I think style is too boxed in and I don't ever. That's the last thing I want to do. But I'd say, if there is a cohesive body of work, if there's some consistency, that is the second thing. Um, and also, like I mean, a lot of my conversations around art have come after the purchase. You know, like I'm not huge in DMS, um, I I'm not, like I have a few friends that I'm DM with, but just in respect to the question it doesn't play a big role. And really the most important thing for me and I think this might outweigh everything else, at the end of the day, say I don't do any of the other things is does it tell a story of like? Does it tell a story in my life? Is this a snapshot in time of something that I've either gone through or I'm going through?
Speaker 2:And I'll give an example of that Connor's piece, decisions, which I bought last year, was I bought, I signed the transaction Number one. It was the most I've ever spent on a piece of art, so it was a huge decision for me. But what outweighed every single roadblock I had to justify the purchase was. It was literally the 10th anniversary of one of probably the most pivotal points in my life where my parents basically told me they gave me an ultimatum to either go to drug and alcohol rehab or they were going to take everything from me, and I chose the latter and it was ultimately the decision that led me to fall flat on my face, to end up realizing I needed help to then getting sober and staying sober for over 10 years.
Speaker 2:So it was one of those things where I was able to sign the transaction on, literally on the 10 year anniversary of that, and it represented something big. It was a huge decision on my end, it was a huge decision on my parents and probably a bigger decision on my parents and to actually follow through with that. You know, ultimately this massive decision that led me to getting well and just the way connor portrayed that, the way it just it just fell in line with a story that was very, very personal to me. So I like to tell my own story when I collect art um selfishly like and I love to piece pieces from artists together from different across different mediums, to tell a personal story of my own and I just love that, right, yeah, yeah I love that.
Speaker 1:That's a good way to approach it. It's thanks, man yeah, what would you like to see more of in the crypto art space?
Speaker 2:I think I touched on a little earlier. Uh, which is I'd like to and this is all I'm also speaking to myself is more people having, who have been in the space for a while, having the courage to kind of just say things how they are, Like Deez is a great example. There's a way to do it without just being a complete asshole, you know, and it's like, but it's like are we being criticized, Like it's calling it how it is, you know? And just in an effort to help better people, Because I think that people are too afraid to like and myself I'm literally talking about myself as well to share some honest thoughts that we believe could be helpful and if they're not addressed, they're more detrimental to the space by staying quiet.
Speaker 2:So that's what I would like to see more of is people that have kind of maybe in the class of 2021, people that came in around that time, people who have kind of survived both cycles, you know, start to really weigh in, you know, start to not be as fearful and start to maybe step into more of like a leadership role and more of a steward role, Because I feel like I mean, I know there's a lot of other people doing it. But Deez is kind of like the first person that always comes to mind because he just you know exactly what you're going to get and he's going to call it exactly like it is and it's always fact-based, it's always you can definitely tell I don't know. I just like to see more of that. I think a lot of people are not doing that.
Speaker 1:So yeah, true, very true, the easy road is easier, you know.
Speaker 2:But ironically, I don't know if you've experienced this, but I've noticed that I've sent a few drafts to natasha um, and there's like a few drafts that, like I've sent her just to like proofread. I'm like it almost feels like I'm spending more energy holding it back than letting it rip. Uh, like interesting, like when I feel truly, now that I've been, now that I'm aware of this, and now that I've basically called myself out on a podcast as well, in addition to doing the work around it, it's like one of those things when you know it, you can't unknow it and you can't just like be willfully I just can't be willfully ignorant anymore, you know. So it's, the more I resist, the heavier it gets and the harder it gets, um, versus just letting it fucking rip you know, so here's that.
Speaker 1:I like it. I like it. Um, what is the best piece of advice you've been given? Or do you have like a mantra that you just kind of like repeat in your head that you live by, that you just kind of like repeat in your head that you live by?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and this one actually came to me really fast. The funny story, the great story about this was it was literally at my first like corporate big boy job. I started off at the very bottom of the food chain. I was in base level customer care at a call center, you know for you know so it was like that was my roots, you know for you know so it was like that was my roots, you know. Um, yeah, and I remember she just told me she would say my name and she, uh, my, my, my very first manager, technically second manager, but she would always come by and she's just like slow down. And she would always come by and just tell me to slow down.
Speaker 2:And I think for me I was so concerned about not doing a good enough job that I would just overwork myself, I would overdo things, I would do. You know, in a sense it's good because I do more than is avast of me, but I always. It was one of my first experiences where I was like, okay, maybe I'm gonna be okay, maybe this is gonna be, maybe I just need to slow down and then I can actually be more effective by slowing down. And that has just stuck with me and she was only my manager for like maybe a year and then she was gone from the company. But that just just slow down. You don't need, you don't need to be doing things so fast. You're going to mess it up For sure. So yeah, slow down.
Speaker 1:I like it. Yeah, what is your favorite movie quote?
Speaker 2:Man, this was a tough one. This was a tough one and what came to mind and I'm just going to let it rip and it's probably not anything insanely insightful, but I think it's just so incredibly goofy and brilliant at the same time. And it is from pirates of the caribbean and okay, and he's like, and when he's just like son, don't you remember, I'm captain jack sparrow and I'm like, it's just like silly but just bullish confidence about like don't you know who I am, like I don't need to say anything more outside of my name and you know exactly what I'm talking about and you can feel exactly what I'm trying to tell you just by saying that. Um, so yeah, there's probably a couple more inspirational ones, but I think that was the one that came to mind. Um, so I'm just gonna roll, all right.
Speaker 1:I like it. I like it. It's solid. Yeah, what is the best thing and the silliest thing you've spent money on?
Speaker 2:you can say in life, or you can stick to just this web3 space, however you'd like um, so I have I actually have two and I hope you're okay with I have two that fit both categories. Um, all right, the best and the silliest. The record player um, it may not sound silly, but the whole reason and this, so this the record player and all those speakers that you see, that was all originated from tool coming out with their very with the furinoculum vinyl special edition, and I didn't have a record player. So I got a record player and I realized that out of all the sound systems that could connect to each other, the sonos 5 was the only one that had the cable to it so you could plug it in. And I'm like, well, I can't just have one sonos speaker in a bow system over there. So naturally I got to system over there, so naturally I got to get the sound bar and naturally I got to get the subwoofer and naturally I need surround sound and naturally I need another one for my bedroom. So that was all. It was the best and silliest thing, cause it was just kind of goofy Like how how one thing spawned an entire home entertainment system. You know, um, and I don't regret it like it was the best it's. I say it's the best and the silliest because I I listened to it a lot tool is my favorite band in the world.
Speaker 2:Uh, and I use the hell out of both, you know, of everything I purchase. Um, yeah, so it's a little bit on the silly side just because it was. I remember looking back, I'm like that was just ridiculous dude, like that was um in web 3. My favorite purchase it was, uh, new year's eve either 2021. Yeah, it's new year's eve 2021. I was in a crypto voxels room with one of my great friends that I've met on the internet named outer lumen, and they were hosting, uh, an event in the metaverse. Um, and we all bought crypto dickle butts for either our last purchase of 2021 or our first purchase of 2022, and it was fun because we just we all they were like 0.001 you, you know, just dumb, dumb, cheap and, yeah, it was just really fun to center around something so silly and so stupid. Um, and it just like made it, just like made that time really special, but it was like I still have it in my, I still have it in my wallet today. You know, just literally a dickle butt uh in my wallet.
Speaker 2:So, um, yeah, that would be my web three purchase and my IRL purchase. Two of the silliest things that I bought. Um, and we all changed our profile pictures, like in a Twitter space, and so just a bunch of nerds hanging out on the internet rocking dickle butts, you know, like a $5 PFP, and it was one of the funnest times in my life.
Speaker 1:Nice. Yeah, I like that. Those are good purchases, good reasons. I like it. I like it. It's good. Yeah, so this one's a little challenging. Okay, if you could commission a piece and have two artists collab on it, which two artists would it be?
Speaker 2:thought about this a lot, um, and the two artists that came to mind would be very in their very different mediums, be t-show and, okay, 0x113, the creator forms. I think that there is just a level of art history knowledge, um a deep understanding of of a lot of different mediums, um a deep knowledge of expression and just incredibly passionate, but they show it in very different ways and I just think that that would be I don't, and the reason why, one of the reasons I did it is because I would have no idea what it would look like, but I know it would slap.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's fair. It's fair, yeah. Good reason yeah. What is one interesting fact about you that people might not be aware of?
Speaker 2:um, I'm trying to think about this because I've been pretty open, uh, about a lot of things. I've been open about being a recovery drug addict. I've been sober for, you know, 10 years. I'm trying to think, um, it's no secret my obsession with tool, uh, or Oppenheimer, um, you know. So, hmm, oh, um, I would say something that not a lot of people know is my first and only ever overseas trip was to Egypt in 2019.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So that was my only yeah. That was my only ever overseas travel trip and that was in Egypt. Went with my family for two weeks and did like the whole guided tour Just went and saw everything. It was one of the funnest trips of my life.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, that sounds pretty cool. I've never been to Egypt.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when I tell people that they're like yeah, you didn't go to like Paris first. Just like the traditional, your only overseas trip was to, literally to egypt. It's like yeah, um, so, yeah, yeah, yeah, that would be. I would say one thing that not a lot of people know um, yeah, yeah what is your favorite way to connect with new people in the space?
Speaker 2:I would say, you know I am a big hugger. So I would say, at events is a great, is a great way to meet new people and I. The second place would be Twitter space, but I want to elaborate on the first is that I feel like people who are newer in the space or I may not know, or whatever even if they've been around for as long or longer than me, I feel like there's just a level of dedication to be at these events that just tells me a lot about that person. It's like you're willing to show up, you're willing to do this. So therefore, it's a safe assumption that, for the most part, we're probably going to have a good conversation. You're probably someone I'd want to interact with and to and to talk to.
Speaker 2:So I say that, you know, is number one for me, just in person events and and then, yeah, twitter spaces are like the easiest and it's and it's just, there's just and it's just, there's just, uh, there's no friction, you know. Um, there's no friction and it's a great way to like hear people's thoughts and ideas. Um, like I said, I'm not a big, you know. I don't like I get so nervous about DMS, you know, and so I just don't do it a lot. You know, um, I use it primarily for, like scheduling and anything Schiller related, and you know, like that's primarily what I use it for, and it just cause I just I get overwhelmed, uh, having too many conversations going on at once, and so Twitter spaces is the best way in my opinion. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's fair. It's fair Reasonable. Yeah, cause those DMS are ridiculous.
Speaker 2:And you combine that with a horrendous or a no, there's no way that Twitter doesn't even try to manage dms for you, like there's no, there's no tooling. So it's like and just not gonna try man yeah, yeah, what's your hot take?
Speaker 2:um, yeah, so I alluded to it. I think I to it a little bit earlier, but I think that there are too many artists that are resistant or reluctant to integrate technology into their practice, and I mean technology in the form of whether it's code or blockchain, and usually those kind of go hand in hand. But they don't have to. I think that we are. Yeah, just to elaborate and expand a little bit more on this, I think that we're not even in a renaissance yet, because I feel like a renaissance is a big event where there's a lot of artists showing us a new way to see the world. There's a lot of artists showing us a new way to see the world, and I don't think there has really been a drastic shift in medium and a new way to show us the world in a long time.
Speaker 2:I think that a lot of the tools today are just shinier ways to represent mediums from centuries ago. You know, and like it looks cool, it looks pretty, but is this? You know, like, what are we doing here? Pretty? But is this? You know, like, what are we doing here? You know, like, if this is truly everything we say, it is? You know, I feel like the more and more we go forward and living in a technological age, and technology just becomes yeah, it's not going in, it's not becoming less a part of our lives, it's becoming more. So why not embrace the mediums native to that to really explore new ways of seeing the world?
Speaker 2:And I just don't think there's a lot of that and I think there's a lot of reluctance and resistance to it. I think people get really offended by it. I think people write it off. I think people are just willfully ignorant to it and I just think you know especially with the trailblazers that I see that are doing that it just tells me that it's coming and whether anyone wants it or not, whether you agree with it or not, it's one of those things where it's like I just think it's going to be here a lot sooner than people think. Um, and I think that people aren't really willing to see it. Um, so that was. I would say that's, I would say that's my. I don't know how hot that is, but it's. It's probably the hottest I've ever said. You know, probably the hottest take I've ever given.
Speaker 1:Um that's right somewhere. So tell us a little bit about yourself. Any projects I know you're you were Schiller and your projects you're working on, tell the audience about yeah, so we are ramping up for season three of media.
Speaker 2:We haven't really announced a date, but it's going to be in March, so we are going to be doing that again. So really just doing a little scheduling of interviews, trying to do as many before the season starts, so I don't have to run into a lot of problems I had over the holidays, um, you know. But I would say, outside of that, we have uh a lot of clients that we're working with, which is, it feels, really good, we're at, we're at, we're kind of at capacity, which is, uh, always a great thing. You know it's it's hard, it's challenging. You know, um, being fully remote is really tough.
Speaker 2:But I'd say one of the things I'm most excited that we're that's coming up soon is, um is the launch of merch, which is the one of one of X, you know Neo couture fashion brand, um that links it to an NFT, so um going to be dropping here pretty shortly as well. So we're kind of gearing up for that and just stoked Like the material it's insanely high end. It's an entirely new approach to fashion. We talked about it a little earlier. I think fashion is just man. It's so cool, like when you combine it with technology in a thoughtful way, it's even better. So I'd say, you know, as far as, like, we have, we have a few things that we're working on, but podcasts, um, frames, you know, for whatever, whatever ideas we kick up with frames, uh, we're, we're definitely, you know, fungies, basically their marketing department right now, so we're we're doing doing a lot there, um, and then, yeah, one of our clients, so, yeah, that's kind of what's on the horizon right now.
Speaker 1:Sweet. Well, I look forward to seeing that merch from merch and uh, cause it sounds awesome. I mean, I actually am looking forward to it and to be a participant in it, and uh, yeah, man, I want us to also say thank you so much for coming on the pod today and sharing some of your time, and your thoughts and insights are appreciated.
Speaker 2:Thank you, yeah, these are fantastic questions, man, and they made me think a lot. I'm really kind of getting used to thinking a little bit more about stuff like this, so this is a great. This is a great time. As I said earlier, love what you do. This is a hustle that I obviously very much admire and respect, and this is a blast, man. I really appreciate it, guy. Who is this guy?
Speaker 1:Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Norcal guy, norcal guy.
Speaker 2:NorCal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy, norcal guy. Norcal and chill podcast. So it's chill time. Norcal and chill podcast. What the sh-, what the sh-. Norcal and chill podcast. So it's chill time.