Tag: 2013

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Adventure Bicycle Travel Interviews Philosophy

Vague Direction People: Sierra Noble [music maker]

‘Sup from Winnipeg!

“I guess I went through a little bit of a period when I was younger of wishing that I could have had a normal teenage life. Which I didn’t have at all because I was on tour all the time. But that was my normal, and looking back on it, I wouldn’t trade a single thing to go to one party on a weekend.”

Sierra Noble is a singer-songwriter from Winnipeg and one of Canada’s leading fiddle players. On Saturday in the city centre, she was headlining the Concert For Peace – which is based around the UN’s International Day of Peace.

We caught up on the streets of her hometown before the show (and during) to record a live gritty session and chat about her path into music, growing up on the road, finding inspiration, ignoring haters, and the lessons she’s picked up along the way. Wicked fun. Got 5 minutes? It was a blast to make.

Here’s the direct YouTube link. You can keep up with Sierra and listen to more at www.sierranoble.ca.

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Adventure Interviews

Vague Direction People: Leon Logothetis

Amazing Adventures of a Nobody is the creation of Leon Logothetis. He starts the day with 5 quid / dollars / euros, and travels across the UK / US / Europe making a documentary along the way. That cash has to cover food, accommodation and transport – and inevitably such a challenge has put Leon into some quite bizarre, sometimes scary and often inspiring situations which shine a light on the kindness of strangers. It’s a great watch and in each series there’s some hilarious moments. Also, I’ve just found out that in literally a few hours, he’s embarking on a new adventure called Kindness One which involves a round the world motorcycle ride, a very brightly coloured motorbike and a sidecar.

Ages ago now, I chatted with Leon back in California about his shift from his secure life as a broker in The City, the catalyst for change, dealing with risk and his Amazing Adventures project.

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Adventure Bicycle Travel Interviews Philosophy

Vague Direction People: Ruben Fleischer [video]

Ruben Fleischer is the director of Gangster Squad, 30 Minutes Or Less & Zombieland. We met up back in California to chat carving a path, demolishing barriers to entry, and coping with the struggle. And cycling too.

“The one talent I think I have more than anything else is persistence. I just won’t give up. So when I was trying to be a director, I put myself 35 thousand dollars in debt, but I was determined that it was going to work out. I wasn’t going to stop until I figured it out. It just was unfathomable.”

Meeting Ruben was something I’d been looking forward to, partly because I dig his work, but also because he questioned the traditional path and carved a unique route to get to where he wanted to be. It takes guts, determination and a belief in what you’re doing to commit so much, financially and otherwise, in chasing where you think you should be, especially when at the time it was such an untested path.

“I used to dub my reel onto VHS, and send it to production companies, and it was expensive to make the tapes, to buy the tapes, to send them to the companies, so I just started putting videos on my website, and this was before Youtube, so I would just host them all. And then I also had a news site on my website, which was kind of like an early blog type thing, where I would, in HTML, type the date and write stuff like ‘this is what I did today’ and ‘this video just fell through’. Just trying to figure out how to make it as a director.”

Here’s just a very quick and rough snippet of the interview – there’s more footage to come later down the line. Maybe even footage of a controlled explosion. (Click here to watch the video if you’re reading this in your email browser).

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Thanks to homie Samira for her camera handiwork on this one.

Categories
Interviews Philosophy

Vague Direction People: Martha Higareda, Actress [video]

Quick little video interview before the weekend.

One of the most fun and rewarding things about this project is just the range of people who are stoked to tell their story and the lessons they’ve picked up along the way. People from all walks of life. This time it’s the turn of Martha Higareda, an actress from Tabasco, Mexico – who tells a story about how persistence can pay off in unusual ways.

“That burning desire is what you need to keep having. If that’s your passion, and you’re sure about it, keep doing it.  You can be working at something else. Fine. That’ll give you your food, and pay the bills. But if you are passionate, just keep doing it.”