Editor's note: Last week at Startup Grind LA, Sam and I had the pleasure of interviewing Christian Jacobs, the creator and founder of Yo Gabba Gabba as well as the Aquabats. David Stavis was copiously note taking through the entire event. I asked him to share those with the community and here they are. Video will be up later this week. It's not a "tech" related interview, but it's extremely inspiring and I highly recommend checking it out.
*There is a pathway for each and everyone of us and tapping into that is useful.
*Rejection was a huge part of his life every day from a young age. Get picked up from school, go to auditions. From age 5 to 19. How many auditions has he attended? On average 2 or 3 a day, 5 days a week, for more than a dozen years.
*Learned a ton abour production. Knowing that you can't win every time, you have to just keep trying, and every now and then things work out.
*Stuff was messed up out in the world, so he got back into family with his mom, and found that it was about being a team. Went on a church mission to Sendai Japan for two years. Spoke japanese, learned a different culture,learned to look outside of himself and help other people.
*Ended up mostly just helping people. Taught english for free. Cleaned hospitals. Learned empathy, how to be inclusive. A skateboard teenager is only thinking about how to party.
*Became a tour guide for japanese tourists, using his in-knowledge to show them fun.
Taught english at a college. What unique experiences can you capitalize on?
*Just for fun, he started a band with a friend. Made one giant band out of every band his friends had Aquabats was the dumbest name they could think of.
*The Aquabats reminded him of surf bands and 60 vibes wore matching shirts and random buck rogers hats their random friend made for laughs playing kinda ska music.
*No Doubt and Sublime ska were blowingf up in OC. They didnt know how to play horns, but they got a bunch of horns and everyone played a different instrument. They just made it fun, got really creative with their costumes.
*Batman, Ultraman, Impossibles came into the lore. Every time someone asked why they had costumes, they would make something up, and that became the truth. 12 guys in the band, each with 3 or so friends who want to see them, so they brought people in. Did antics like lighting themselves on fire tomake up for bad music. Very superhero-y.
*Made up a superhero stage show based on getting their friends in for free- would make stff up for their friends to do on stage so they cold get in to see tem for free. Friend would bring a griddle and flip pancakes during songs for no reason, throw them out during songs.
*Lack of focus on being the best band ever- it was just fun, which everyone can tap into. Everyone likes having fun. Really gravitated toward open, fun ska scene over punk scene.
"Making 'fun' is one of the hardest things you can possily do." Derek
*Being able to accept that you are probably insignificant, but you really want to make a difference.
Q: How do you test? How do you know once you're funny?
A: It helps to have a committee- to be able to bounce things off people. Would rather find the thing that everybody in the room loves. The "Yes, and" principle. "No" ends it. Brings in the subjective naure of fun. But if you can build on it, you know youve got something good.
Q: Can you get a natural yes, and from whoever you're connecting with?
A: Created a cult following. Then he said "I grew up in the industry" I know acting and production, lets make a show out of this band. 1997-98
*Travis Barker was in the Aquabats before he was a giant rockstar!
*Passed MTV, with 50 cent's "In The Club" on. The BEAT made his daughter look at the screen. Pulled out 80's dance music with a simple, repetitive beat. Noticed that good music was lacking from kid's shows. His daughter really loved it, and he got the idea. Called up scott, use hip hop beats, get kiddy dances going on.
*Yo Gabba sprang out of moment of pure genius. Wanted something a lil different for their kids. Started with music, and with something for their kids. Put in life lessons, how to treat your neighbor, how to eat well- put it over good music. Simple idea.
*Everything came from 70-80-90's era culture. Knew that going through networks was a bad idea, because they went through it with the Aquabats.
*Knew that they had to go independent with yo gabba. Started pitching to people they knew had money. Right at that time, youtube happened. Shot a little demo, and started taking it to people.
*Got a friend from high school who went to business school. Made 2 episodes for $125,000. Got costumes made. Did all the music. Somehow Biz Marquee was in town, and the magic lined up. Shot the pilot, and sent the demo to all the networks.
*Went grassroots internet marketing instead- went viral. All the blogs picked it up. Friend did Napoleon Dynamite, working on Nacho Libre, sent it to Nickelodeon, and went with them in the end.
*Asked to license it instead of acquiring it. SHe didnt want the network to screw with the creativity of the show. Has done great since then.
*And now finally they got to bring out the Aquabats. On The HUB network, a network partnership between Discovery and Hasbro. "Transformers, GI Joe, and the Aquabats."
*You gotta gauge the landscape. Read the tipping point by Malcolm Gladwell. How things catch fire- using connectors and connections to help things go. Gauge where you're at, and what your passion is, and just go at it.
*Was the marketing director at a clothing company- had to go tocoachella with boxes of free clothes and give them to celebrities. Quit his job, decided to go for it, gotta be able to face the music if it doesnt work. Gotta be ready to move to new mexico and face the failure if you have to.
*Be ready to face the failure, and how to be pragmatic enough and resilient enough to keep moving.
*Put it all on Yo Gabba's first two episodes. They were all ready to move somewhere else and give up the lifestyle. Believe in something so much that you're ready to give up everything else.
*How do you push away adult thoughts?
*Can't. Have to find a way to balance it. Becoming an adult can help you take some things more seriously and take care of them, so you can utterly devote yourself to the fun and think clearly and freely about the fun stuff. Need a committee to bring it back around to.
*Adult responsbilities will find you. Finding the yes,and moments will carry you, and allow you to bring out the young ideas and feelings. Gotta grow up, but you can't let go of the fun.
*Because his childhood was serious, his favorite things to do now are be a kid.
*The AB and YGG are so authentic. "It's you." Had a chicken song, where they would throw chicken into the crowd. Like, food. "People are hungry!" If they ruined a club, they would always just pay to fix it up.
*If you're doing something for an ulteruor motiv- just cuz you want to be rich, etc, it's not gonna work. Have to be genuinely passionate, or people will tell.
*Put a high priority on variety and fun. Timing had to be right. When it';s time it's time.
Q: DJ Lance Rock - How did you know him?
A: Scott had another band called Majestic. Scott met him as a Dj in the Rainmakers, kinda like chemical bros. Scott knew Lance, and as they were thinking about who should be the host. Knew a guy two years ago who always had great energy in this band. Was actually DJ Lance Rock, working at amoeba. His energy, the light comedian, they knew this was the guy "Yes, and" Lance Rock.
Q: How do you introduce something novel in a system that's very set in its ways?