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jafreitag · 4 years

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2020

On January 1, 2020, I went to LNHQ. The holiday party had happened a few days earlier – a sorta-epic “booze cruise” with Lana Del Rey off the Catalina coast. Everybody nursed hangovers on flights back home, and then bugged off to celebrate their new years with their people.

The office was spotless – just a few dust motes floating across the afternoon sunlight in the conference room. I grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote “What if…” on the green board. It was intended as a turn-the-page talking point. OM and I had had a sit-down after we got back from Cali. Good talk, honestly. He’s well-versed in stuff that I do not understand, and he’s driving the proverbial bus as the new LN CEO. Lotta heartfelt questions from him, lotta heartfelt idks from me. “You gotta…” and “Yeah, I suck at that, but what about…” Some bourbon later, we adjourned. “Love you, dude” and “love you back, man.” Let’s meet next week and ok.

So that’s why I was there. What are we doing? What if… What if we actually try hard? What if ECM keeps killing it on Instagram? What if Jane and Trevor come back? What if we move to a new location, and the corporate and content wings find a new synergy? What if all of the sponsorships pan out? And O’s settlement with Adidas? Sky’s the limit, right? Let your imagination wander. I mean, what if Fiona Apple puts out a new album in 2020, and it’s not just great, but better than The Idler Wheel, which was the best album of 2012?

Seriously. What if?

Or what if the entire world breaks?

That wasn’t in my head back then.

It’s December now. And we’re in a global pandemic, which is getting worse (or at least not getting measurably better) every day. This year has been indescribably difficult for all of us, particularly the ones personally affected by Covid-19. And it has been difficult for businesses across every sector, particularly entertainment. Seen a show lately? Nope? Me, neither. At the beginning of the summer, I paid Laura Marling to watch a stream of her performance at Union Chapel in London. Seemed cool then, seems irrelevant now.

We can’t help artists/bands, really, until we can see them again. And who knows when that will be? Next summer? Next fall? Maybe 2022 before we all feel safe in massive crowds again (even with masks)? Maybe never? Until then, we have streaming services. And … woof. That’s an Apple/Spotify cart that I’d prefer not to upend, mainly because it benefits me, but it’s worth some words.

I’m a Spotify person. My home team is comprised of six Spotify people. We pay, collectively, $14.99/month to stream almost any music ever recorded and released. That’s around $2.50 per person per month. Pretty good deal, right? For sure. Here’s the problem: Spotify pays $0.003 per stream. That’s 1/3 of a penny. If you’re a Zeppelin or a Beatle or a Stone, that’s just a nice little dividend. (Keith is like, “Hey, baby, I love Spot-ify. I bought this sweet fedorah with that check.”) If you’re somebody else, somebody less established in the Rock-royalties pantheon, you’re probably not buying a hat. You’re probably hoping that Spotify might, might, pick up your next cup of coffee – or one at the end of the year, I don’t know how that works.

Spotify does this year-end Wrapped thing. You get a weird Snapchat/Instagram video that tells you stuff. Your most listened-to artist/band, your also-rans, etc. You also get some pretty sweet virtual (and unearned) affirmation.

My win was this.

911 seems good. It’s better than 11. The green-dotify didn’t specify whom those new artists were, which sucks, but I have a decent idea. And I’m guessing that many of those artists have Bandcamp pages, and I didn’t visit any of those. Actually, that’s not true. I did visit the Car Seat Headrest page because Will put out three different iterations of the new record on streaming, cd, and vinyl. It was mostly the same – alternate sequences and some alternate versions of certain tracks. The alternate versions weren’t on Bandcamp. You had to buy all three formats to get the whole record. Or you had to be ok with the iteration that you got. Or you could just find the alternate versions on YouTube. Sure, they wouldn’t be on your phone, but you got to hear them.

That’s not me being petty or cheap. I could’ve bought the cd and vinyl iterations. And I could’ve bought alot of music on Bandcamp, but I couldn’t have bought 911-new-artists worth. How many could I have bought? Not sure. How would I have decided? Not sure. I’m glad that I discovered that many sounds, and I’m concerned that most of those sounds were produced by real people struggling to create in this challenging (intentionally undersold the adjective there, but “terrible” and “horrible” seemed trite) environment. I’m more glad than concerned, if you follow the dichotomy. And I’m not happy about it. Having identified the problem, however, I’m flummoxed about a solution.

I listened to alot of music in 2020. #WFH #FTW (And two hashtag sentence fragments make a sentence. I just checked the LN style manual. Jane said ok.)

Alessandro Deljavan is an Italian pianist, who was born a few months before I graduated high school. He recorded Erik Satie’s piano works. My best friend and I listened to that alot this year – she calls it “sleeping music.” Miles Davis, obv. Early-covid, I made a chronologically-tight playlist of his pre-Columbia material. Mid-covid, I started a chronologically-tight and still-unfinished playlist of his fusion material. Jenny Lin? I think that’s a holdover from last year, when sleeping music was her Chopin’s Nocturnes. CSH was my lawnmowing soundtrack. Daniel Baremboim? No idea, maybe I hit his Mendelssohn’s Leider ohne Worte too many times during the days.

Minutes listened and top genre are what I want to talk about, real quick, before I get list-y. 115,891 minutes is 1,931 or so hours, and 80.5 or so days. I listened to two and a half months straight of music this year. That’s not a brag or even a humble brag. It’s a fact. And most of that (trust me here, I ran my ass off to playlists) was Indie Rock – the aforementioned “new artists.” How can I help them, besides streaming their amazing work over and over and over, and championing them here? Shouting indirectly at Spotify on social media seems unlikely to change a flawed system. Anybody with more constructive ideas can share them below the line.

Ok, the list.

I did it. I broke the unspoken rule (nobody gets #1 twice), and I’m ok with it. 2020 was a unique year. Up top, that’s Fiona from a Zoom call over the summer. She didn’t really know about Liner Notes, but she was willing to talk while walking her dogs. I wasn’t sure that Fetch the Bolt Cutters would be the album of the year at that point, but it was a nice chat. Tbh, I struggled to finalize the list because any of the Top 10 could’ve been Top. The margins were very fine. (And fwiw, I may tweak things a bit over the next few weeks.) Links to Spotify. And COME ON, Spotify. Pay artists more, and pay indie artists even more than that.

Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher

Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud

This Is the Kit – Off Off On

HAIM – Women in Music Pt. III

En Attendant Ana – Juillet

Samia – The Baby

Kelly Lee Owens – Inner Song

Adrianne Lenker – songs / instrumentals

Porridge Radio – Every Bad

SAULT – Untitled (Black Is) / Untitled (Rise)

Taylor Swift – folklore / evermore

The 1975 – Notes On A Conditional Form

Car Seat Headrest – Making a Door Less Open

Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately

Lomelda – Hannah

Fleet Foxes – Shore

Soccer Mommy – color theory

Beach Bunny – Honeymoon

Retirement Party – Runaway Dog

Shopping – All or Nothing

Ela Minus – acts of rebellion

The Strokes – The New Abnormal

Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death

Kate NV – Room for the Moon

Dehd – Flower of Devotion

Gum County – Somewhere

Bad Moves – Untenable

Jeff Tweedy – Love Is the King

Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter

Autechre – SIGN

Four Tet – Sixteen Oceans

Sorry – 925

Dream Wife – So When You Gonna…

Fenne Lily – BREACH

Margaret Glaspy – Devotion

Jordana – Something to Say to You

Hinds – The Prettiest Curse

Gorillaz – Song Machine: Season One

Tame Impala – The Slow Rush

Tycho – Simulcast

Ólafur Arnalds – some kind of peace

Ezra Feinberg – Recumbent Speech

Slow Pulp – Moveys

Young Jesus – Welcome to Conceptual Beach

Bartees Strange – Live Forever

U.S. Girls – Heavy Light

Empress Of – I’m You’re Empress Of

Charli XCX – how i’m feeling now

Oliver Coates – skins n slime

LN is on hiatus for a little while.

More soon.

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calilili · 1 year

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"The working class artist is 'canary in the coal mine' of culture. She represents the free-spirit in everyone. Going forward, I believe, we will all find out, that the shortest distance between the artist + her audience, will save mother earth, because the artist holds together the fabrics of culture, society, humanity + civilization. My work seeks to nourish + strengthen our 'cultural immune system' against threats to democracy + freedom. Please Support My Team. "©calilili™

” The working class artist is ‘canary in the coal mine’ of culture. She represents the free-spirit in everyone. Today’s increasingly authoritarian, indentured servitude economies where even ‘the arts’ enable 1-Percenters in earning obscene profits, leaving working class artists out in the cold of newly de-professionalized systems with shredded standards, was preceded by the gutting of the…

” The working class artist is ‘canary in the coal mine’ of culture.

She represents the free-spirit in everyone.

Today’s increasingly authoritarian, indentured servitude economies where even ‘the arts’ enable 1-Percenters in earning obscene profits, leaving working class artists out in the cold of newly de-professionalized systems with shredded standards, was preceded by the gutting of the indie artist.

My work seeks to nourish + strengthen our ‘cultural immune system’ against threats to democracy + freedom.

However – it’s up to each and every one of us – to “vote for ourselves” in all of this.

The parallels with actual “voting” for public service – are quite palpable. Each vote for a public servant, is a vote for or against ourselves.

It’s up to us – to choose humanity. To Choose to support artists, instead of corporations posing as such.

Going forward, I believe, we will all find out, that the shortest distance between the artist + her audience, will save mother earth, because the artist holds together the fabrics of culture, society, humanity + civilization.

“

Excerpts by © Cali Lili

“Makin’ a Livin’ Not a Killin’ ™

My Oscars 2020 Contender Indie Film and Original Soundtrack

“eVe N’god this female is not yet rated ™ ”

from my Sustainable, Green, Upcycled Tiny feMt0™studi0

“Imagine being a poor kid who’s core joy in life, is the creation of something beautiful and then finding out that the rich kids can show up to steal your creations and claim them as their own ? “

Before the Covid-19 pandemic I wrote much of the text-collage below as a “compilation” of excerpts from my writings.

Upon re-reading it – I am viscerally struck by many eerily prescient statements, including my mention of the “cultural immune system�� – which is not an unusual reference for me, but it’s got special resonance now.

Imagine – being a poor kid who’s core joy in life, is the creation of something beautiful and then finding out that the rich kids can show up to steal your creations and claim them as their own ?

I’m a numbers challenged poor-kid artist who worked to get an “A” in my College Economy class, yet – never expected ‘economics’ would become so key to the art and sustainable humanities – work I was born to do.

Now, it seems almost fitting that “economics” in the context of art-making should become a focus. True artists are ‘not in it for the money,’ we are driven by an other-worldly ‘calling’ yet we DO have to survive + we do face commercial and other ” vampires.” So much ego, jealousy and competition obstructs the work, especially in the era of “corporate art” and also – “amateur art” – in which “everybody is a celebrity and therefore nobody is authentic.” Time and focus become even more precious and reaching the audience, becomes more challenging in the context of so many distractions.

I want to make clear that I’m not just slamming big budget productions or corporations — they employ many people and are a very important part of the “economic landscape” – the “economic eco-system.”

But like all eco-systems – balance is key.

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Just as the “big fish” get to swim big in the big ocean … – so too, must my tiny productions be nurtured, supported by the industry, the economy ( the big ocean ) and diverse audiences, just as my work as an artist – should be nurtured by elders, producers, directors, fellow artists through quality acting jobs in the larger economic arena – without being mutually exclusive, or – damn near impossible without “the right connections.”

Where we have arrived in the current imbalance of the economic eco-system of the entertainment industry – is, like the imbalances leading to climate-crisis, endanger species – so too, does the imbalance in our industry ( and I dare-say many other big money driven industries ) threaten the artist as an endangered species.

Things don’t have to stay the same.

There are ironies evident during the current pandemic. One of the ironies we recently noticed, involves several entertainment venues that were cold, indifferent, callous, arrogant – and even cruel – to young artists like myself, just starting out with fresh projects – who are now actually begging US to write to OUR government representatives – asking US to ask that OUR tax-dollars go toward bailing THEM out!

Some of these venues – even go so far as to “pose” as “mom and pop” operations, which for me is a huge irony as I have been advocating the return of the “mom and pop ” economy with my “MomNPopUpShopZ™ ” moniker but I CERTAINLY would not call these “outfits” anywhere NEAR the kind of “AuthenticIndie™” that takes place at my studio.

Really now, the height of hypocrisy – to write to artists whose dreams you tried to crush – asking for a bailout ?

But that’s actually the environment our culture has enabled, via the “Gentrified Economy ” we’ve been enduring – that led to the literal “gentrification” of our very “culture” – which in its purest form is the physical expression, embodiment of the “soul” of the people.

Like those who “vote against themselves” by voting for politicians that work for the 1% richest echelon of their district, while getting the 99% to believe they deserve poverty – there has been an apathetic acceptance by too many of us – that those who literally absconded with our resources are somehow “endowed” with forms of “entitlement” based upon the size of their bank accounts – even if those numbers were not quite ethically attained.

It’s a “Stockholm Syndrome” of some sort.

If we don’t free ourselves from this unhealthy cycle, we will continue to enable the very abuses of power that got us here in the first place – massive inequality with the 1 Percenters getting bailed out even as they continue to suck every ounce of resources from the rest of us.

Witness the Covid-19 Circumstances : most renters are not able to leave the house to work … and yet … many of the larger landlords just got bailed out in various ways … but the renters STILL OWE THE RENT.

How does that make sense ?

It just doesn’t.

I believe the “economic eco-system” in the “arts and culture” professions, too often intertwined in a symbiotic fashion with what’s known as “the entertainment industry” – which dangerously includes ” news ” now … – CAN be nurtured back to health – if we can find enough consensus among the wide range of artists from the fat-cats – to the tiny fish like me.

I DO believe that if the George Clooneys / Tom Hanks’s / Amy Adams’s / Meryl Streeps – types – now including the “star news anchors” – and “star pundits” – could someday consider what I am proposing – we could create a far more humane – healthy – AND ethically lucrative industry.

For one thing, true actors, musicians, artists and technicians alike – could communicate directly with potential future collaborators – directors / producers etc … – without the excruciating and humiliating obstructions currently in place. There could be some continuity such as that which I describe in my “HighSchoolMeetsOldSchool™” concept – where people at every stage of their careers and lives – move forward without being tossed into the trash. If we continue to support “disposable culture” – we will continue to be treated as “disposable people.”

It’s literally an insane system right now – the height of gentrification – and unapologetically so – with pecking orders reminiscent of high-school cliques that never had to grow up because they were enabled into becoming their own industry clique.

We are supposed to just “accept” the hierarchy – people whose films or music are just – not that great, didn’t even earn much at the box office – but were “in the club” so they were therefore – “better” than actual working class artists putting out quality projects … ? People were silent – nobody could speak out in this environment or – that age-old threat : “you’ll never work in this town again became a reality.”

How SICK is that ? Very. It’s literally, a virus – one that reflects the larger gentrified economy but is magnified by its rare surroundings.

Covid-19 is exposing all kinds of realities.

‘Why is backing my working-class-artist – work – a worthy / valuable investment ?’

That’s the question I posited for one of my upcoming books.

It was also supposed to be included in IndieGoGo / Patreon campaigns, but we found platforms like those, to be somewhat antithetical to the main purpose of this essay and the undertaking as a whole. I hope as you read on, you might see why.

Having said that – we need and appreciate your support.

We are expressing this outside of forums such as “IndieGoGo” ” GoFundMe” or “Patreon” for a variety of reasons, including those mentioned, but also because this work is done on a professional basis – and it is only by virtue of an “illness” in the industry – that we are forced to communicate outside the norms of the industry – directly to you – our partner in the sharing of culture AND in what I am outlining as a future for an ” INTEGRATED” and “INTERDEPENDENT” awareness for culture and economy.

Like athletes, we train – and train – and train – and we get injured, take losses, have to recover – and there are a billion different adjustments and daily practices that must take place before a performance of excellence is accomplished.

Also like athletes, we inspire and uplift.

But there is an added – urgency – to supporting work like mine. My films, music and writings, have not blithely worn blinders in the name of “entertainment” at the expense of culture. My work takes responsibility for recognizing – that what we release into the “bloodstream” of our culture, our society, the minds of our sisters and brothers – will impact our globe and precious wildlife. sealife – the very water and air – in some small or large way.

We haven’t taken the easy route, just napping our way into the public arena to collect profits and ego strokes.

We care.

I care.

I REALLY care, sometimes to the detriment of my own peace of mind and wellness. But I work on that too – and I also have a wellness project in the works that I look forward to sharing with you.

I guess what I am saying is – while I don’t believe in “tribalism” ( see my professional bio ) I DO believe in the power of our collective “global village.” That’s who I am working for – that’s “my tribe” – US.

Below are excerpts from my ‘meditations,’ stream of consciousness attempts at a response :

The artist is ‘canary in the coal mine’ of culture. She represents the free-spirit in everyone. Today’s increasingly authoritarian, indentured servitude economies where even ‘the arts’ enable 1-Percenters in earning obscene profits, leaving working class artists out in the cold of newly de-professionalized systems with shredded standards, was preceded by the gutting of the indie artist. My work seeks to nourish + strengthen our ‘cultural immune system’ against threats to democracy + freedom.

Please join my movement : ‘SupportTheARTSustainTheARTIST™’ ©

Here’s why :

My concerns for global culture were quite intense before this pandemic … but of course, like everything else – we are at full throttle now – high gear – but hopefully, not so high that we “throttle” ourselves :

” I am experiencing the 21st Century – intensely –

While daunting, sometimes harrowing, always challenging – I believe – it’s an opportunity for us to : “Make Up A Better World.”

I’m an actress/director + singer/songwriter so I work with “ stories,” employing design, rhythm and shape as building blocks.

The expression “making up a better world” unfolds into a multitude of meanings. “Making Up” can mean – hand-made – fabricating stories as I do at my green sustainable studio, it can mean wearing literal “make-up” and – it can also mean – resolving an argument … “mending a tear in the fibers of a culture.”

That’s what I aim to do with my projects – to nourish and “mend” as I contribute to the “woven” fabric of a culture showing some “wear and tear.”

As an authentically independent : “TruliIndie™” artist, I’ve come to realize that maintaining an authentically “indie” status holds the same challenges that we as “individuals” face in an increasingly “corporate” world dominated by a “ Cultural Industrial Complex.” That’s a phrase I’m paraphrasing from the well-known expression “ Military Industrial Complex “ – illustrating how the same form of “corporate takeover” can be applied to culture. That’s dangerous and it renders the “Indie Artist” working outside of Corporate Media – and “Endangered Species.” It now occurs to me, that there is also a “Medical Industrial Complex” – that does not put patient safety above public relations or profits.

But here’s the thing – the reason I think you might consider caring about my work :

Just as the non-corporate tethered artist “works without a net” – going forward into the 21st Century : every free-thinking individual – daring to decline, oppose, disagree with, not become dependent upon a corporate entity – they too will increasingly become an “Endangered Species.”

The fallacy in assuming that only one group gets targeted by corporate domination – becomes evident daily as authoritarianism rises parallel with increasing reliance on Artificial Intelligence and continued indifference towards sustainable technologies to save our planet as “new planets” are sought for “expansion” of an old patriarchal model that is damn near destroying our “mother earth.” ( Re-reading this after covid-19 is shocking – because surely our economy will lean more toward AI as “non-contact” business seems to be a trend.)

My view is – just as we find ourselves at a time of great opportunity to reverse and amend the harmful advance of “climate change” – we also live in a time of great opportunity to assert the freedoms taken for granted by so many, who enjoy the democracy died for by so many and – to this day – longed for – by so many more.

A culture’s freedoms – the freedoms for everybody – are measured, expressed ( or suppressed ) in their purest form, upon examination of the “health” of it’s arts.

I’m going to repeat opening statements as they are beginning to feel like necessary “mantras” :

“Imagine being a poor kid who’s core joy in life, is the creation of something beautiful and then finding out that the rich kids can show up to steal your creations and claim them as their own ?

The artist is ‘canary in the coal mine’ of culture.

She represents the free-spirit in everyone.

My work seeks to nourish + strengthen our ‘cultural immune system’ against threats to democracy + freedom.”

With your support, I can continue to prove that my Authentically Indie Movies, Albums and Books from my green, sustainable, non-corporate, studio – can remain “organic,” sustainable AND authentically free from corporate-speak, corporate-culture, corporate-cultural propaganda which so often include age-old biases such as misogyny, racism, homophobia and climate/nature denial.

If only the 1 Percent among us – make movies, write books and music that ever get “distributed” to the nation and the world … then – our very thoughts, dreams, hopes, wishes – our very brains become shaped forever by that group’s agenda.

We literally become ( or continue to be ) “indentured servants” of the 1 Percenter class in a profound way : our very imaginations, our language, the rhythm of our hearts beat – to the beat – of the drum, paid for by those who can afford to make the commercials and publish the glossy photos in Vogue, Teen Vogue, Esquire, The New York Times etc …

By some form of “Economic Eugenics” paid for by – we – ourselves, we will be contributing to the “natural selection “ of any truly quality ideas – literally stolen from ourselves – from Twitter, Pinterest and other mediums that working class artists and thinkers can afford to use to express ourselves, which are “spied upon” by the “interns” or publicists hired by the wealthy – who then appropriate those ideas into their mega-rich megaphones – claiming the genius as their own, even as the geniuses are left to die penniless, as they have often done throughout history.

If we continue to support / consume mostly corporate-media born from money worship, there will continue to be only two classes of artist – the Uber rich and the Uber poor and it will continue to spread to other fields of study, other corners of civilization.

But if we shift our economic values, make a concentrated, conscious effort to avoid “consuming” corporate media and an effort to “consume” more “ArtisanMadeMedia™ + Arts like mine – on a personal basis, supporting arts that are created by an individual artist in need of our support – and if we all – support EACH OTHER’S SMALL BUSINESSES – in a sort of “revival” of the “mom and pop“ businesses – what I call “Mom N’ Pop-Up ShopZ™ Economy” – then we can create a healthier “economic environment” – in the same way we can save our own “environment” from the harmful effects of consuming all the oil, gas and other products upon which the 1 percent grow fat – as the planet grows sick.

ReadTheIndieLabel™ WhatsInYourIndie™ :

Not all indies are created equal.

Many movies, albums, other projects and products have long ago appropriated the word “ Indie “ because it’s “cool.”

But often these are big budget, corporate – backed – deals.

That’s part of “what happened” to movies and music – they became all about the deals, not the movies, not the music, not the artists, or the audiences. They became about – the money – but those deals wanted it both ways. They wanted to appear “indie” – while still raking in obscene profits. There’s a reason these entities wanted to study our “tastes” a an audience via big tech.

Recently studios have cultivated a hobby – they slander American actors, claiming we don’t have the “skills” or discipline of actors from other countries.

Now – please know, I am in love with so many cultures. I am not speaking from some xenophobic point of view. I LOVE actors from all cultures. It’s the goddamn slander from studios that I am taking exception to.

If you’ll notice there are quite a few actors from other countries playing Americans. That might be fine, but I can assure you this has nothing to do with our skills or discipline. American actors are, becoming an endangered species. Why ? Money. Power. Money. This is the “money-ball” of movies and music.

Excerpt from Cali Lili’s opening statement in 2013 :

“ In Bob Fosse’s Film “Cabaret,” the Song “Money” (by Kander & Ebb)

chants … incants …

Something we might catch

running on the hamster-wheel

in our own heads …

“Money Makes the World Go Round

The World Go Round

Money – Money – Money …”

… the song goes round …

“Money” … is what it takes to do many things …

DUH.

Especially … Making Films …

Double DUH.

But “Money” doesn’t “MAKE” … Anything.

And FILMS are MADE … by Hand(s) …

Albums too …” © Cali Lili 2013

Excerpted from my essay originally published in 2013 during the Cannes Film Festival – here’s the full essay :

MoneySez™ Movies4The99Percent™

https://calililiindies.com/2014/02/12/moneysez-…

My “client” is :

The Individual In EveryOne™

and

“KidsOfAllAges™

If we continue to support “Disposable Culture” then we will continue to be treated by our politicians and legislators like “Disposable Humans.”

I’m really worried about this and I have been, ever since I considered law as a career.

I decided that I could do more for the “global village” with my work as an artist and culture- “maker.”

I am “weaving” and “simmering” what I hope, could be “cures” to some of our ills – with my secret-sauces, based in love, kindness and respect.

I believe in making projects that help us “preserve” our “innocence” as though we are living in the “Summer” of our humanity’s harvest and we must make sure that every flavor is preserved in both seed form and in a cultural – “jar of preserves” – for the Winter. That Cultural Winter seems colder during Climate Change. ( Re-Reading this, post Covid 19 – is chilling ).

In 2012 when we first announced and advertised / listed the hiring of diverse inclusive team members on Craigs’ List – we saw many hate-filled, vicious, comments from racists, misogynists and homophobes who detested the fact that we asked for more “women, persons of color, LGBTQ community members to apply for the team positions.”

It was a shocking introduction into the kinds of cruelty we witness today.

It is with great pride, that we have released a project intended to heal, mend, balm and inspire us – in spite of such unkindness in the world.

One of the many mottos at my tiny studio is :

“The Chain of HumanKindness Is Stronger Than Our Weakest Links ™” ©

The projects I will introduce here are “HandMadeToMakeADifference™” ©

We work – with my methodology, stemming from a lifestyle philosophy rooted in yoga, zen and dance – which flows not only into my works of film, music, poetry but into the “works,” the workings – the “how” we can support each other instead of corporations.

Mind you, I don’t hate corporations, if they are pro-human. Humanity First.

This methodology born from experience is always on our minds and in our hearts. I hire teams of high quality crafts-persons, technicians and artisans to make each of these projects as a collectors’ item, not disposable fast-culture nor the plasticized packaging of a meme.

There is pain that accompanies the basic needs of an artist.

These are agonies most people aren’t aware of because most of our references, when we hear the word “artist” – is the slanderous examples of either the “crazy rich” or the “just plain crazy.”

In fact the life of an artist is both for more amazing and far more mundane than we might imagine – but still requires every ounce of dedication.

It’s not just a job, it’s a “calling” and that sounds romantic but truth be told – not everybody would even want to be “called” because it can be exhausting and it’s not really a choice.

If one is born this way – one must create.

But : “ imagine being a poor kid who’s core joy in life, is the creation of something beautiful and then finding out that the rich kids can show up to steal your creations and claim them as their own ? “

Media, tv, movies, social media are today’s public square, playground, and printing press.

They do “inform” us – but they also “shape” us.

Since there are no “ingredients labels” on the media we consume, we are literally “consuming” ideas, biases, and content ( which may be stolen from artists ) at our own risk, at the risk of the very fabric of our culture and civilization.

If we aren’t able to “sample” the more “whole foods,” artisanal, farm-to-table, versions of media, such as that which I make at my studio and which receive contributions from people like my local farmers, who contributed produce to my film set, then – we are abdicating our “food-for-thought-sourcing” and just “trusting” that “big media” knows what we should “consume.”

Every radio station, tv channel, including much of the “on demand” and streaming now – are backed by the very same big media who controlled three networks in years gone by. Same old same old.

If we don’t broaden our own “tastes” in arts and culture, as we did with “foodie” culture – where we discovered “sourdough” bread and artisanal cheeses, heirloom veggies and – VITAMINS … – we will be depriving our emotional, intellectual, spiritual and even physical well-being – of wellness opportunities as a culture.

We might be depriving ourselves of the innate “healing capacity” of our “Cultural Immune System” – the capacity to come together as a “Global Village” and solve problems like economic inequality, gun violence, health care, education, and environmental injustice / climate change.

If we deprive ourselves of our innate healing capacity to “think for our-selves” as individuals free from the shackles of corporate-think often laden with internalized bias, misogyny, racism, homophobia and science-denial – then we will have abdicated control over the “levers” of our minds, the minds of our children, the minds of future “leaders.”

Inevitably this abdication of “free will” – shapes, defines and controls Culture, collective and individual fears and hopes – channels our education – which in turn shapes future policies, laws – medicine – health , housing , food safety, personal safety … ( again, I’m re-reading this … in post-Covid-19 times – I’m quite amazed this was written before Covid)

We don’t have an ingredients label on our media – by that, I’m not referring to the ratings / reviews of content determined by the “Corporate cultural industrial complex” policing itself. What I mean by “ingredients list” is – asking questions with our newly found critical thinking / think-for-myself skills – asking questions like : “ who made it, how was it made, when I stream this movie / music am I supporting an indie artist not signed by a corporate fat-cat-copy-cat ? “

When my movie was complete, we sought to find “distribution” with a movie distributor known for “indie films.” We realized – after reading their policy which stated in public “ if we haven’t worked with you before, we won’t work with you now” – that every movie they distributed was “packaged” by one of the 1Percenter largest “Agencies” who cast only their own “1Percenters” and – in some cases, the Agencies were co-producing the movies with the 1Percenter studios / mini-majors.

Money Money Money.

SO MANY great actors, artists – were cast aside by such policies. If you are a cinephile, you know how many brilliant directors, actors, singers – artists were cast aside by those who bought the power to – “greenlight” or stop projects that might have employed some of the greatest artists.

I make ArtisanMadeMedia™ – just like home-made cookies fresh from the oven or organic fresh-picked vine-ripened fruit – my projects are “Organic” – we are not infused with a list of chemical ingredients one might find in a “store-bought” cookie – or chemical-sprayed Agribusiness GMO franken-fruit.

Here is one example : for actors, the “Breakdowns” mean everything.

In fact, the “Breakdowns” might actually represent the “breakdown” of actors’ abilities to seek quality, paying acting work without a high profile agency — and there-fore — they might represent – how the entertainment industry destroyed the American Actor.

The “Breakdowns” is a list of all the acting jobs available at any given time — paying projects, projects that represent the highest possible goals a working actor might attempt to achieve on any given day.

But most actors – cannot see them.

They are ONLY provided to agents.

How do you get an agent ? Get work that shows you are good at what you do.

How do you get work as an actor ? Get an agent – with access to the “Breakdowns.”

It’s an insane Catch 22

Is it legal ? Who knows. Who asks ?

If you ask – will you be barred from “ working in this town “ ?

Who knows. Who asks ?

Some of the industry avenues to whom I sent my indie movie “ eVe N’god this female is not yet rated “ ™© in my early attempts to find distribution. I was told that my movie was “too experimental”

Now my team and I witness the programming on those channels – which parallels every single theme addressed in my movie. Mainstream content is a double-edged sword to me + any other indie artist who “pitches” them a project. Big Media now appropriates the voice of the female creator, the person of color creator, the LGBTQ creator, the science-based creator … just as some charities of late have begun to appropriate the voices of small charities working for years to support their causes.

A large distributor recently produced a project with elements similar to mine – so somewhere in the dialogue of this century – I’ve got to ask : what did they do with my voice – when I pitched them my project — and when they told me it was “too experimental.” Well – one look at current programming — shows that my project would have fit perfectly with their current slate. It’s clear to us – that we didn’t know the right people, have the right agents, or contacts.

Seriously ?

Is THIS how we are going to continue to allow our “cultural story” to be written ? Are we going to continue to allow this culture to be run via insider trading and cliques ?

Will we allow ourselves to stay in high school forever ?

At what point – do “We The Creators” and “We The Audience” — collectively “ We The Global Village “ — get to communicate directly with each other — without the “middle-men” and “middle-women” — the gate-keepers — running interference ? At what point – do we simply : connect ?

I’d like that point to be – RIGHT NOW — and I invite you to please, join me and my team.

I’m a poet, so I appreciate complexity of emotion contained within the boundaries of simple structure.

Campaigns and business don’t always capture an “poetic essence” for any given venture.

But I’m going to try … because poetry is at the core of everything I do.

I hope the information included, provides some insight about me … –

But, I want to cut to the chase, before I include more links …

Enough about me, let’s talk about you.

I need your help.

Ever since I began my project, I knocked on the doors of 1 % ers in Hollywood – seeking support for the kinds of innovation I wanted to deliver to a Hollywood dinosaur environment that was weighed down by years of misogyny, sexism and many other ” isms ” – especially the “isms” that deal with cold-hard-cash.

After throwing myself wholeheartedly and quite humbly on the “mercy” of the establishment, I realized ( and was warned by some of the good guys ) that there my types of innovation were not wanted by a status quo environment working hard at keeping the profits steadily rolling in to the same people in power.

Aside from raising the money to make my movie and album – I needed to secure distribution – in order to create awareness of the project.

This was crucial, because this film and album were especially focused on helping those “coming out” in the global LGBTQ community – and offering emotional support, solace, sister-hood in the Womens’ Rights, Human Rights, Interracial Love and Climate Change / Ocean Conservancy communities world-wide –

It’s a project “For the People” but the establishment in the entertainment industry was barring us from any forms of distribution – it was literally what I call a ” Gentrification of Culture ™©” – to the extent that our “culture” is dictated by the 1% who barely experience the reality of – what it’s like to “make a living” and live in the making of – our culture !

I see now that I was a bit naive – distribution is THE HARDEST part of movie-making now that almost anybody can make a movie. I was outlining my work as combining what I call “ToyBoxTech™” with very highly skilled, high quality projects – so my work falls into a unique category.

We weren’t “high finance” enough for the big distributions – but we were not amateurs, we are pros – so there was no thought of simply dumping the project onto YouTube for free – that wasn’t the point.

The idea was to be TruliIndie™ without corporate over-lords.

The idea was about the “working class” in the entertainment world speaking to the “working class” in the audience’s world. After all – we really ARE experiencing the world together.

We don’t live in mansions, but we are hollywood professionals.

As I blogged during the making of this project, I realized that the TruliIndie™ artist / artisan ( especially in the entertainment world) was, like much of our wildlife, and like the independent thinker – an “Endangered Species.”

We are all : “Makin’ a Livin’ Not a Killin'” ™©

I refused to give up on my TinyMultiMedia™ and I forged ahead with making them as AquaCultureZ™ : like pearls, they would be formed slowly with tender loving care, as though they were grown in a ” pearl farm .”

Flash Forward :

The movie and album are complete, the graphic novel is on the way, and the next album and movie are in pre-production !

We invite audiences to “Sip TheOysterZ SavorThePearlZ™ “ © :

This first of many “FarmToTableFables™” was made with up-cycled wardrobe and film sets – in fact, several farmers, including female farmers from the farmers market, contributed produce and flowers for the film’s “Garden Of eVe ™ ” set dressing along with crew lunches !

So why am I bothering you with all this ?

Now that I made an authentically indie feature motion picture completely OUTSIDE ” the system ” – along with the Soundtrack / Debut Album – also as a rebel / renegade indie artist –

Now that we did get a tiny theatrical release in Downtown Los Angeles at the Downtown Independent Cinema

Now that the movie can be seen on Apple TV / iTunes, Google Play, and Vimeo World-Wide … and the Album / Soundtrack can be heard on Apple / iTunes and EVERYWHERE ELSE music is streamed / downloaded –

and now that our baby steps have somehow brought this little girl into the arena as an Oscars 2020 Contender – “though she may be little, she is fierce” – running with the Goliaths –

We need YOU

and YOU

and YOU –

and YOU TOO PLEASE …

How can you support us without us submitting to a somewhat “corporate” model at IndieGoGo and Patreon ?

Here’s How :

In addition to adding my album/soundtrack and singles – to all your playlists, whether it be Apple 🍎 or Spotify, YouTube or GooglePlay, Boomplay – Everywhere music streams –

🍎 iTunes / Apple TV Movie : https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/eve-n-god-thi…

🍎 iTunes Soundtrack Apple Music

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/cali-lili/14…

After viewing and listening, please consider leaving us positive ratings / reviews – this is not only a supportive action toward our NEXT movie and album – it’s ALSO a push-back against sexist, homophobic, racist and climate-denying trolls who go out of their way to leave negative comments.

On Apple TV 🍎 🎬 iTunes 🎬 🍎

https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/eve-n-god-this-female-is-not-yet/umc.cmc.2yxdyr5yqcmhr1y1hn195e3sm

And Also at

YouTube Movies 🎬 and Music 🎶 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxgf1AeeWw4&list=PLOo3oJVjWZYTKa092ES4_ncFupWbjCKnt&index=3&t=0s

Google Play Movies and Music 🎬 🎶

https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Eve_N_God_This_Female_is_Not_Yet_Rated?id=Mxgf1AeeWw4&hl=en_US

and

Vimeo WorldWide 🎬

Shopping our tee-shirts and swag at the store link 👕👚🧢

https://shop.spreadshirt.com/CaliLiliCiti/

And :

You can ALSO : add any TIPS 💸 you can afford —

to our virtual “tip jar” at my Bandcamp page –

🎶 💸 🎶 https://calililiindies.bandcamp.com/

The Bandcamp page is where you can “pay more” for each track available there ( we are adding more tracks there ! my schedule was full before Covid-19 and – it’s been overwhelming, as you already know from your own life ) –

The “tips” added at Bandcamp go directly to my studio and – they go toward my next social justice / environmental justice themed projects – all of which lean towards women’s rights, lgbtq rights, black lives matter, and – ocean conservancy / sea-life.

Those “tips” are the very same one might add toward any service for a job well done – but they are also “wrighting a wrong” done to artists by a culture that favors “corporate art” over the same kind of art one might find in a painters’ private studio.

SEE the movie – if you enjoy it – please leave a heart-felt and descriptive positive review – then share it with ten or more people

HEAR the Soundtrack / Album – if you enjoyed it – please add to your playlists everywhere – leave a positive descriptive review – share it with ten or more –

We Need YOU –

to Help Us Get this project out there – to DISTRIBUTE IT – without those power broker distributors who literally boast about never working with anybody not recommended by cronies –

Aside from aspiring to entertain and inspire with this piece – my aim was to “nourish” – it really was made from the heart – in order to share ideas and solace with those who may need to hear the message of love, acceptance, diversity, inclusivity, interracial unity, kindness, and hope …

Culture should not be “gentrified” – exclusive by the 1 % – or it will turn sour and harm the very people consuming it.

Culture must be made “of the people, by the people, for the people.”

That is what this movie and album are literally “made from.”

If we can get this movie and album OUT THERE with your help :

” For the People” – “distributed” not by means of hollywood dominance but in the same grassroots manner in which it was : “ Hand-Made-To-Make-A-Difference™ “ – by the people – for the people – of the people.

and WE HAVE SWAG !

Band Tees / Movie Tees featuring lyrics from the songs and mottos / themes from the studio are also available in high quality, fairly made ( some are organic ) SWAG !

Please Join My Movement :

Some “Bits About Me” :

QUOTE :

“I’m still that teenage runaway with a scholarship … I earned a Masters’ Degree from NYU, but no high school diploma … “

It’s true ! I got skipped several grades and – then scholarships, so I found myself as a kid – in Graduate School with fellow “peers” / “students” who were already university professors in other countries, studying at NYU ! Surreal !

I survived an abusive childhood mainly because I ADORE the ARTS … all I ever wanted to do – was create beauty in order to make the world a better place.

My teachers were angels and I am eternally grateful. I am not sure I was quite “conscious” of all the “grade-skipping” … I just knew that I needed to arrive – here and NOW.

I “caught a wave” for Cali – because I figured my name was a good hint and having been born on the water – I needed to be – water. My “temple” is my daily time surfing the Pacific before going to work at my tiny, hand-built, sustainable, biodegradable, green studio.

A note about my studio :

I designed this eco-structure in high-school, never really knowing if it would ever get built. I was lucky to have connected with my partner and long story short – it was built and i was up and running – on my “half a shoestring budget” from my baby-sitting money, yoga-teacher earnings and actress earnings. I found my first few team members, and went to work.

I’m enclosing a bit of my formal professional bio below, since it’s the most comprehensive way I could think of, to introduce myself :

2019 Interview https://medium.com/@mondofilm/interview-with-ca…

2017 Interview http://www.wearemovingstories.com/we-are-moving…

Twitter https://twitter.com/CaliLiliIndies

Official Website CaliLiliIndies.com https://calililiindies.com/

iTunes / Apple TV Movie : https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/eve-n-god-thi…

iTunes Soundtrack

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/cali-lili/14…

IG https://www.instagram.com/calililiindies/

Facebook Movie page https://www.facebook.com/EVEnGodThisFemaleIsNot…

Facebook Band page

https://www.facebook.com/calililiband/

Cali Lili :

Professional Biography by GTA Management :

” Actress-Director / Singer-Songwriter Cali Lili skipped several grades (having been tested as reading at college level in grade school) took her first college course in the entire works of Shakespeare, at age 13, never graduated high-school, never even went to a prom, was swooped up, landing at NYU, then completed her Masters’ Degree on full scholarship with awards / stellar reviews for early works.

The Cali Lili ™ Band recorded a completely original stand-alone “Urban / World / Rock © ” styled Singer-Songwriter Debut Album which forms the core of the soundtrack for her debut feature film :

‘eVe N’god(TM) this female is not yet rated ™’

She made the feature length narrative motion picture with an ALL FEMALE production team.

‘eVe N’god this female is not yet rated ™ ‘ is perhaps, the first ( or one of the first ) production of it’s kind : a theatrical feature length motion picture, in which the technical production roles employed only women during principal photography.

Born of multi-cultural heritage, Cali is keenly aware and concerned with what she sees as a form of “tribalism” too often employed as “nationalism.” Cali writes about these issues and acts accordingly when it comes to her public image.

Cali adores being an actor and takes that craft very seriously, but found herself turning down 3 acting offers, that she felt were disempowering to women especially in the MeToo environment, in order to “turn up” what she calls fempower™ by scraping together “half a shoestring budget” to build her “green” “off-grid,” upcycled “floating” “surfshack” feMt0™ studi0 at the Venice Beach Canals in Los Angeles, California where she makes “Signature” Sustainable, Green Auteur Artisanal Motion Pictures, Albums and Books, “HandMade2MakeADifference™”

Cali’s degree included extensive studies in anthropology as well as performance techniques from all over the globe. She holds an added background of intense New York studies in dance / choreography.

Cali is proud to share her deep connection with “Mother Africa” + “Mother Ocean.” She is greatly inspired by African culture, the cultures of Oceania, and that of her other diverse intercultural studies.

Cali’s quote :

“We all originate from one mother in Africa, the Ocean is our collective unconscious, so let us honor each other, our mutual mother, our waters, and our blue mothership, earth. In doing so, we save ourselves “©

Cali’s films are inclusive of lgbtq characters and the authentic real lives of these characters. She also delves into the reality of “being female” and a “multi-cultural blend” who “appears to be white,” in a biased “MeToo” world.

Cali’s career in movies began as a teenager, flying back and forth from NY to LA, while working as an “au pair.”

As a kid, she “raised herself” in spite of an abusive childhood

With legendary ‘Edward G. Robinson (I)’ (qv) as one of the distinguished members of her ancestry, Cali dedicates herself to honoring a tradition of excellence and earning her “place” as an up-and-coming young artist.

She has been granted the rights to the favorite novel of legendary ‘Zane Grey (I)’ (qv) by Grey’s son Loren Grey ( writer and educator) for a film adaptation in which she will co-star.

Zane Grey was a very outspoken novelist – who cared deeply about wildlife and culture. Cali has much in common with Mr. Grey’s concerns for our planet, which is why she is aligned with this project.

Cali works with her proprietary methodologies as described in her book “The Declaration of IndiePenDance”™

In the past, Cali previously worked in a collaboration agreement deal with Academy Award winning Dutch producer, ‘Hans de Weers’ (qv) (Antonia’s Line) which ended when Cali realized it was time to build her own tiny studio, in order to make projects that empower Women, LGBTQIA , Civil Rights and Climate Science communities.

Her wish is to continue sharing her heart with the hearts of the beautiful fans she hears from, daily.

We here at GTA Management, hope you will take some time to support her works.

( GTA Management Biographies )

***

Cali’s band page statement :

“Inventing new worlds with my art, saved my childhood.

Dancin’ pavement on NYC streets, I learned my craft comforted by the shelter of my Pictures, Words Music In Motion™

I’m a Multi-Cultural “Island Child Wild ™ In The City ” so I caught a wave 4 Cali.

My music?

It’s eclectic, island child wild™

@CaliLiliCiti™

SurF Tribe, Indigenous City RockVibe™

VenusBeach™

Cutting Edge Of The Pacific™”

***

The Cali Lili Indies™ Brand is a “Destination” ;

Aspiring to Inspire + Empower™

***

Cali Lili Indies™™

Pictures

Words

Music

In Motion ™

femt0™studi0‍♀️

VenusBeach™

c.lili.IslandGirlZCulturePearlZ™ CuttingEdgeOfThePacific™

IslandChildWild™

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WARNING :

These Intellectual Properties / MultiMedia / Written Documents are Signature © Copyright Trademark Proprietary Intellectual Properties belonging to © Cali Lili™ and Cali Lili Indies ™ Pictures Words Music In Motion™ feMt0™studi0 etc All Rights Reserved Artist Rights and Intellectual Properties are Rigorously Documented and Rabidly Enforced by Representatives of Cali Lili™

Truli*CaliLili™

Cali Lili Indies™

Pictures

Words

Music

Motion™

feMt0™studi0

VenusBeach™

Cutting Edge Of the Pacific™

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