Hello again, everyone. For the latest Blogger Spotlight we’ve decided to turn our focus from the world of writing to the world video. There are many great video teams creating content, and starting today we are going to do a better job of highlighting their efforts.
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
We spend a lot of time focusing our efforts on highlighting the best writers the world of music journalism has to offer, but we would be outdated dinosaurs if we did not acknowledge the fact there are some incredibly skilled media people who are also making their mark in the industry today. One such team of individuals, Real Feels TV, hails from Michigan. Today, in text form, we share their incredible story.
Thought I too call the mitten state home, my knowledge of the Real Feels team prior to setting up this feature was based largely on their work and the correspondence I read in promotion emails. Their talent was never in question, but to be honest I was a little worried I didn’t understand their multimedia efforts well enough to craft an interesting feature. I soon realized that the fact I didn’t fully understand what they did was the perfect reason to feature them, as they as managing to separate themselves from a very flooded marketplace, and they are doing it with content of the highest quality. I sent a few tweets, then an email, and just last week were finally able to connect. What follows are highlights from that conversation:
H: Hey there, thanks for joining us. Before we dive in, please take a moment and introduce yourself to our readers. Most only know your site, so why not let them know who you are:
RF: Hey, Haulix! My name is Jesse Speelman. I run Real Feels with my friend Todd. I’m 23 and live in Detroit. We’re a music outlet dedicated to sharing great music, whether it be local or national acts. We film live performances and interviews, write articles and album reviews, photograph concerts, and more.
H: It’s great to have you with us, Jesse. I know we have been hoping to make this happen for a bit, but the holidays derailed our initial plans. How has the holiday season treated you?
RF: The holiday season has been great. We’ve had a handful of filming projects and have a nice amount of work to edit and release, so we’ve kept ourselves busy.
H: Real Feels is based out of Michigan, or at least it seems that way based on the venues most frequently featured on your site. Are you a native resident?
RF: Our team right now lives in the Metro Detroit area, but we have done a little bit of work in other states as well. Venues like The Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac have been so helpful in giving us a place to film. We don’t want Real Feels to be just a Michigan thing. We’d love to have some people across the country in the future.
H: I’m from Michigan as well, but now live in Boston. I do miss the mitten state. Have you given any thought to one day leaving the area, or do you think you’ll call the great lakes state your home for life?
RF: I’m personally running a wedding photography business here and don’t have any plans to leave. Detroit has a fantastic music scene, amazing history, delicious food, and just something special about it. The weather can be rough, and the roads are atrocious, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
H: Before we get to the site, I’d like to know a bit about your history with music. Can you pinpoint a time in your life when you realized your interest in the arts was a bit more, shall we say, passionate than others?
RF: I think I just realized it recently. So many albums in the past few years have affected me in a way I’ve never felt before. I’ve been surrounded by amazing music since the time I was born, and until now I’ve taken it for granted.
I can’t help but show my friends and family the music that has done so much for me. I’m that kid that steals your AUX cord and turns your volume up.
H: What was your first concert?
RF: Music has been as important to my parents as it is for me, and I’m very thankful for that. The first concert experience I can recall is seeing Pat Benetar. I was young, so unfortunately there is no story to go along with that.
H: I typically do a lot of research for these interviews, but finding information on you has admittedly been a bit difficult up to this point. Have you sought out any formal education beyond high school? If so, what did you study and where did you study at?
RF: I took a semester at a community college, and realized early that it wasn’t for me. I learned photography and video from just doing it. If you come up against any problems, search YouTube or Flickr forums. Someone is bound to have had the same problem. Show your friends and family. Ask them to critique your work. Make yourself better.
H: You are stilling making your name known in the music business, but based on what you have seen and accomplished do you feel pursuing a college degree is or even useful in the hunt for permanent work in the music business?
RF: That all depends on what field you’re interested in. It might be beneficial if you’re working for a label or doing PR or something like that, but as a photographer / videographer, I think it’s more detrimental than helpful.
The only way you’re going to learn to take pictures is to take them. You can read every book there is, take every class, get every degree, but if you haven’t put in the 10,000 hours with your camera, you’re still going to suck. Save yourself years of paying off student loans, buy a camera, and just start shooting.
H: Okay, let’s get to the site. When did Real Feels launch, and what initially inspired you to step out on your own?
RF: We started up Real Feels at the end of 2013. I had done work for a few local outlets in the past that were starting to fizzle, and I wanted to dive in a little deeper.
H: The name ‘Real Feels’ is one that rolls off the tongue rather easily, but the meaning behind the name has remained a mystery. Can you please share with us the origin story of the name ‘Real Feels’?
RF: We consciously chose a name that was easy and fun to say, but we wanted it to mean something too. We’re chasing music that makes you feel something real. Whether that’s happy, sad, silly, serious: it doesn’t matter. We just want to feel something.
H: I should say that the proper name is ‘Real Feels TV.’ Do you get upset when people shorten it?
RF: The proper name is Real Feels. We’ve just been releasing our video work under the name Real Feels TV. We’re working on getting ahold of the Twitter handle, etc..
H: How would you define the content found on your site to someone who has never visited your URL in the past? What sets your efforts apart from other sites in the alternative music realm?
RF: The first thing that sets Real Feels apart from other music outlets is we’re working with bands that we really believe in. If a band has a lot of buzz and isn’t good, we don’t have any interest in working with them. If a band is fantastic, but somehow hasn’t caught a break, you better believe we ARE going to work with them.
Secondly, in our interviews we’re asking bands the questions that no one else asks. We’re tired of hearing questions like “What is your craziest tour story?”. YouTube has created this world where every 16 year old girl with a camera thinks she should interview a band, and for some reasons publicists APPROVE THEM. We’re asking questions that make the artists think, and that give you an idea of what they are like.
Real Feels is a passion project. We’re not trying to get rich from this. Every cent we’ve earned in the past year has been reinvested directly into what we’re doing. We want to grow and become a bigger platform for people to find great music.
H: Video is obviously a big part of the Real Feels TV, and I’m curious what initially attracted you to that area of media creation. Have you always had a strong interest in video?
RF: I began in music photography when I was 12 (more than 10 years ago now), and just recently started getting serious about video. The two seem to go hand-in-hand, but in reality each is its own entirely different world. Audio is its own third world, but I leave that up to our sound guy Jan Calo.
H: What was the first video you shot for your site, and how did you go about setting up the shoot?
RF: The first video we did for Real Feels was with my close friend Joshua Waldorf. Josh used to play guitar and sing in the band Strange Vacation (previously The Boys Of Summer). After leaving the band, he continued to write music but kept it to himself. When he played some of his songs for me, I was blown away and knew I that people had to hear it.
H: Do you have a video segment you’re most proud of? I’ve personally watched your acoustic session with Emarosa roughly two dozen times since its initial release. In fact, I’ll probably include it with this post.
RF: Circa Survive has been very important to me through my youth, so having such an intimate conversation with Anthony Green meant a lot to me. We had a lot of time to prepare the set, and we managed to stretch the 10 minutes we were given with him to 20. It helps to care about the music you’re covering, because you know which questions to ask. Anthony was very candid and honest in the interview, and it was a pleasure to talk with him.
H: You have featured a number of smaller bands on your site, as well as plenty of headliners. Do you plan to continue trying to maintain this balance, or do you have your sites set on working with bigger and bigger talent as time goes on?
RF: I think we’ll try and keep the balance. I love being able to pick the brains of artists that have already made a name for themselves, but there is just SO MUCH incredible local music that people need to hear.
H: At the end of the day, what are the main goals of Real Feels?
RF: Our goal is simply to share the music that we love. We want to keep improving the content and growing our viewership.
H: You mentioned this on Twitter not long ago, but aren’t you currently working on a new website?
RF: Yep, we’re currently in process of developing our first custom website. The site is launching at the beginning of March, and along with it will come some more content, merchandise, and announcements.
H: You’ve been on Tumblr up to this point. Will you still be using that platform as the backbone to your site, or are you launching a standalone effort?
RF: We’ll continue to use Tumblr but the custom website will take over as HQ for us. We wanted something that sets us apart and gives viewers a place to find out exactly what Real Feels is about, and Cemah Creativeis doing a beautiful job designing that for us.
H: What are the biggest lessons you have learned running your site over the last year? We’d love to have some fresh advice/perspective to share with our readers?
RF: If you want something, make it happen. This year I toured with one of my favorite bands (Conditions), interviewed another one of my favorites (Circa Survive), and photographed another (The 1975). The industry is smaller than it looks, and you can work with the bands that you love.
H Where do you hope the site is at this point in 2015? Go on, dream a little:
RF: We have big plans for the year. Like we talked about, the website is launching in March. I don’t want to give too much away, but we’re in the planning stages for a full-length documentary film. The third FeelDay is planned, and we’ve assembled some of Michigan’s best musicians to perform for us at The Warehouse in Marine City. We want to continue growing our team and working with as many new, great artists as we can.
H: What are the biggest obstacles standing between you and these goals?
RF: Absolutely nothing. We’re so fortunate for the opportunities we have, and plan to make the best out of them.
H: I thank you for taking so much time to speak with us and share your view of the industry. Before I let you go, are there any closing thoughts/comments you would like to share with our readers?
RF: If you’re in a band that is interested in working with us, e-mail us!If you’re interested in writing, photographing, videographing, designing, or just spreading the word with us, e-mail us!
