Persistence Equals Perspiration

DIY film-making is a beat down. It is a profession fit only for fools and dreamers and I'm pretty sure which of those two categories I fit in to.  
Two weeks ago I spent five hours uploading Teen A Go Go into the createaspace system to be posted on Amazon. Today they tell me my graphics don't 'fit their guidelines.' Back to square one.
The best thing about working in this day and age is it is possible, in theory, to reach millions across the globe. The flip side is getting your film in front of the right viewers is an arduous and time consuming process.
The mantra of the independent filmmaker is persistence equals perspiration. Chip away a little bit every day.

Every film is a collaborative process. Teen A Go Go could not have been made without the talent and cooperation of hundreds of people and dozens of bands. One of the coolest people I have met in this process is Dick Schalk of The WAYDS. Dick is a fabulous musician and an all around good guy. He graciously let us use footage of The WAYDS, which is some of the only archival footage from the period with sound.

I am posting a portion of an interview with Dick below.
You can read the entire interview on their website:  http://thewayds.com. You can also find links to their music and view their film footage by clicking around the site.

Q: Who named the band? Is there any special significance?

I (Dick) named the band The WAYDS. I remember my dad bought a new naugahide couch, and I decided to lay down on it and take a nap. I don't know if it was because I was breathing the outgassing fumes from the naugahide while I slept or if it's just a coincidence, but the name came to me in a dream while I napped on the new couch. I woke up with the name still running through my head, and decided to us it as a name our new band. True story.
Q: Did The WAYDS write many original songs?

A: Actually, it was pretty unusual for most bands from the '60s to write original music, but we did write a few. My most favorite original was named "Mr. Foster loves us all", which is kind of a sugary-sweet sounding name, but it was really about a ghost in a "haunted" house in our area. I can remember all of us sneaking up to the house one evening, peering through the windows, looking for the ghost of Mr. Foster. We were all scared to death! We didn't see any ghosts, but it left an indelible impression on us… to the extent of writing a song about it! I think this was the first song we ever wrote. We literally wrote the song too (notes on a treble and bass clef); after we finished it, my dad took it to the post office and mailed it to our house by certified mail. We were told by an old country western musician that if we did this and didn't open it, it was "as good" as copyrighting it. I've still got the unopened letter at home.

Check out The WAYDS. They are great guys and a great band.
I'm going back to redo my graphics and resubmit to Amazon. Wish me luck.
Visit www.teen-a-go-go.com to purchase DVDs and learn more about the film.