Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqcwmbWwaKI&list=PLOQvdw7d0cd9RZZkd2lZy2hmrnJv-cfLI&index=65
Evan:"So we are back here on the choose nine five four podcast episode 36 with local creative Basilio's trippin s ii from his live work studio space in clo been Fort Lauderdale.If you didn’t know about choose 9 5 4 we started a social movement its cultivate culture community here re can be wrong from then Africa keep people know with all the great things that are going on and make this a better place to live and not just go to places vacation.Point of the podcast is to connect you with incredible people like in doing amazing things in the community.This podcast is brought to you by the thousand mermaids artificial reef project which is creating locally creating artistically crafted artificial reef modules that we're going to deploy locally off the coast of for Laura Beach don't flee help save the natural reefs our oceans and our planet.For more information you can log on to WWE and mermaids calm or email info at 1,000 remains calm but without much further ado once you tell us a little bit about this silly dos first four words."
Basilio:"Thank you for having me on your podcast I do appreciate it I have been at a Fort Lauderdale for about five years now I am moved from Kansas City Kansas I came down here I've got time to get into yoga and do music so I was a piano player and I wanted to play piano why for yoga studios and so I came down here really with bestop the Hat business plan you know in my head and I came down to see if the yoga Sun was about see what music was about continue to compose write and connect with as many people as possible damn from that time and five years ago it's morphed into me being a little bit more some great in the community and more spokesman or you know social justice a little bit more accountability with people I interact with and that's that's basically propelled me and to do many things more full-time for videography photography from painting music basically all the ways that we express ourselves I've really tried to put myself accountable or saying that this is a good way to get out of motion feelings and really challenge people and then how can I communicate that better with the people that I see the most."
Evan:"Multi-faceted creatives I've come across how how did you get your start as a creative maybe when this creative process start that you recall?"
Basilio:"Again multi-faceted is a good term because I've done so many different creative things from like a very young age so you know from doing music I started playing piano when I was like 17 years old 18 I've been into drawing from a young age I did some art classes like I wanted to be 3d computer animation and when I was in college I didn't complete college but I did a few years and I kind of toggle between you an architecture for a year no no it's a 3d computer animation so I kind of understood different way to kind of understand color and composition and these different things and when I was in Kansas I wanted to get a business off the ground there and I it was very difficult at times but even back in Kansas when I was younger my business wanted to center around how do I encourage people to follow their own dreams and that led to a lot of times because of me being maybe well-spoken understanding you know social media web design these different types of things I found that my niche back then was kind of producing content for people whether that I be writing blogs for people helping them with websites getting into photo and video and that type of thing and it was I found out that through that process I was good at you know just helping people better explain why and what their passion was and getting it to a point of being able to monetize and saying you know you went a hundred ten percent of this you could not be working for somebody and really making a true impact in a world that would be and now your follow my own dreams and so as that grew from helping people I continue to develop my talents and my mission or you know my conviction is still trying to get people to hear their own passionate voice inside their own head and a conversation that you have with God or whoever you know it's created everything more just themselves and through the developing of my own talents it has fine-tuned to me really producing my own content in hopes that it sparks a intimate conversation with other people and so I went to me to be sitting now somebody like you and say hey what are your passenger in dreams helping develop like a plan and get that off the ground to me saying you know what I'm good at writing music you know doing the phone on video painting you know whatever I choose to do out of these creative ways like how can I use all these talents and create something that is useful for everyone else and so that's why I veered towards doing things where people will pay me for a specific talent that I just introducing getting paid to help people kind of develop their own talents and so that's really what pushed me to do more art was pushing to do more of my own music produce you know push me to produce like my own like you know podcast and video series and that type of thing and we appreciate you and having me a true senpai for on the podcast definitely good dialogue and conversation different different type of conversation than this."
Evan:"Alright we went pretty deep yeah that's not a bunch of important things so we'll like that in the comments here so you touched on a few of those mediums but for those that don't know you watch you I guess at a high level go over you know the mediums that you are involved in in the creative world."
Basilio:"So anybody is an entrepreneur work anybody is committed to living their dreams what you learn is that there's gotta be multiple ways for you to turn money that's just the truth of it so as much as I made love piano I you know I had to develop into something else to help these multiple financial streams come in because one stream doesn't never was enough to really pay all the bills and so basically where I'm at now well I just give this piece here but an example this piece is for sale but one way that I counted myself is that I wrote a complete song to this piece which is awesome you know not only for sale but it again it helps me show people the different times I have but kind of like in a very nice neat package understanding that I do write music for people for their YouTube videos and this and that and some I'm expressing a lot for me to intertwine it into you know doing a painting and then the photo or video of allows me to do like a music video do time lapse of a piece and again it expresses like all the different facets that I enjoy doing and so one very like concise a message where you can say like wow who did this like I was a I did part of every single thing and these are my talents support me in any way that you want it understand that it is that at a high level where you like wow this musics really awesome this is badass I wonder what website he got from oh man this thing is great where can I pick it up you know oh man this video head it means very good like these are things that I spent years years and years developing these different talents and do it at a high level to be comfortable enough to wait if you were to visit my website you can you know pick a flavor of the month you wherever you're currently at and understand that I'm trying to build any bigger group where it touches on these different areas and how I can help people through you're helping people there are messages."
Evan:"Why don't you tell us a little bit that you just keep me an on may be aware of the quotes that are in your artwork and for those that are watching care I'd like to pan it to the Beauty and the Beast piece that one actually struck me so I'm gonna hand it over there but tell us a little bit about your."
Basilio:"Yeah of course yeah so if you look at my artwork and this is something that Evan and I were actually just talking about you can say that it's mainstream that it's you know possibly pop art it's a little bit easier to digest because I painting a lot of things that people know whether that be you know a well-known rappers or amused musicians or well no movie is like buting the beast or Pocahontas or Aladdin or a lot of drugs this painting up here and Hathaway but I wanted to say true to myself meaning that I love cinema I love watching movies but I do try to Cheerilee myself to watch movies that I think are gonna have an impact and sometimes when you think of a movie or like it's a blockbuster but it's just making money like is there really offering anything you know these these actors make millions of dollars is there really anything of depth that can be found in you know these mainstream films but for me because I know what it is to be an artist I know the process it takes to write music for a movie I know what it takes to write a script I know it and it's all an introspective process so when no matter who really makes a 1.2 billion dollars like a vendor's did this weekend or if you're talking about indie film will recall it more artistic and you know it's a little bit more of a grind there's something to be found in each one of those films and I love what a lot of mainstream directors and actors have done for themselves and that's why I love doing the pop art because I grew up on so many of these films but it's not just like oh it's beating be some fun don't like you know music was so fun and stuff but there are powerful moments in each one of these films that if you open yourself and you travel yourself on a daily it comes in it hits you right in the heart when you hear a quote or you see a scene and I'm like it pulls the heartstrings just like you can take that with you if you want and actually apply that to your life and so there's a cold war disease beating beasts there's a quote you know where gas on sock in the belly and she's reading like she's obviously her character loves to read and he goes like women shouldn't be reading because that started to think and produce ideas or something to that effect and again I mean if I told you that was in the movie here young me my hapa YouTube might not even confirm that it is a movie but it is but if you were to be a young girl watching that film that could be something that really propels you to be like oh you know reading leets the knowledge knowledge this ideas okay idea change the world so the movie at a very superficial level is a fun film obviously and we all love it for a million different reasons making a piece of art that has that quote on it you buy that piece of art and having that in your house or your kid's room something that they can see on the daily can allow for you to hold yourself accountable on a consistent basis that challenge yourself and say maybe it's just to remind yourself that readings important and I should do it on the regular if you don't have a piece of art if you don't tell you something that just doesn't come to your mind you read like the majority of us do which is what once every few months we might open up something you don't ever read anymore in today's society but it's something that's very important that pain reminds me as long as it's in this house I do we need to read and needs to be on a consistent basis and that leads to my personal growth pick any pieces of my heart yes a movie that meant a lot to me movie film musician and there's a song where a quote that if you really read it apply to your life it could change the way that you look disgusting for better or worse."
Evan:"Some of the artists that I see happy commercial artists commercial artist meaning their artwork is pop art right here relates to anyway it's not so introspective it's it's not pieces that are having people create discourse and dialogue and thought-provoking or of the times or what not nothing not that it needs to be it's they're great about them but it's interesting that your work is kind of there are references to popular people and characters and obviously you have the Nipsey Hussle views behind me rest in peace and a lot of other people that would recognize but it is stop provoking and when you really dive into it I I didn't recognize that about unity so I'm glad that you keep me in on that and that you know changed my way of thinking today so with that being said and it's crazy that you want the painting for four or five months yeah it's about five months that crazy."
Basilio:"What are your thoughts about the local 95 for art scene as an artist?"
Evan:"The art scene down in Fort Lauderdale and I think globally I think that's been wrong but he'll keep it here in the community just like I told you I've only been painting literally painting for five months I got to develop my skills as an artist over the years but painting over the last five months and you personally have introduced me to a bunch of different areas where I've been in front of more people and been able to see like a little bit of the different outlets for people who I've done this for a long period of time but for me it's just recently trying to turn an income trying to accumulate some money doing something that I really enjoyed doing you know but I've had friends been been an artist for years down here you know there's two different things that I think about it one I'm glad that it's growing and that there are people like you wanting to bring light to what we do and that it's a viable way to express like oneself and I love the different things going on from being a yellow before being at the Art Walks there's like bunch of awesome things that go on where it's like this is awesome that I get to hang out of the artist and get to be a part of the community that's the one side so basically I'm saying I'm grateful for that."
Basilio:"The other side and the challenging part is I want to use these different ways to express to really open up that dialogue and challenge people and I'm a yoga instructor as well, and I do a variety of different things.What I've noticed is that if these different activities aren't all coming together, meaning that they don't properly reflect our community—like we are in our community—then you're sold out. Like we're down here on Sistrunk doing the Art Walk, but it doesn't really reflect the community as a whole.What I mean by that is, like, there are two frames: there aren't a lot of Black people, there aren't a lot of African-Americans at anything that has to do with art or music or anything in the scene when we're talking about cultural events.And so that's like the part that I have started doing any of these things—to help it really allow for people to express themselves, and that includes Black people.So when I started doing yoga, or even when I started doing painting, I wanted to be an example to my community, talking about Black people, saying even though this isn't something we normally do, this is a great way to express your emotions and feelings, and you should consider it a viable option for you to get out what you're feeling inside.Which is very—I mean, it was just not something a lot of African-Americans consider to be a good outlet, and it kind of tackles their masculinity. It doesn’t fit the cultural mindset, and so that makes it difficult to have those conversations, but it's something that I prefer and want to challenge people with, especially my community, you know?So I love being able to get inside the community and be trusted by the people that are in it."
Host:"So then you can have the real conversations."
Basilio:"Exactly, so if I can get into the yoga studio that has predominantly white people there, and I'm there for a few months, a year, and I'm becoming a reliable part of the community, that lets me know that I’m helping in their growth, but it allows me to eventually have the real conversations about how we can uplift the world as a whole or uplift our community as a whole and move it forward.Not be like, 'These people are the most valuable, so we need to listen to them the most, care about their money the most, and care about their comfort the most.'And the other side of the tracks, you know, we have our preconceived notions and stereotypes, and usually, we put them at a lower tier, which means we don’t care what they think."
Evan:"Yeah, it’s about treating everybody just like everybody else, as a human being.One of the things that we’ve talked about is the juxtaposition between, we have our greatest community event of the month recurring on one side of the tracks, which is predominantly attended by, you know, white folks, right?And literally just a few feet on the other side of the tracks is our historically African-American neighborhood that doesn’t engage.And it’s not our job, or it’s not this conversation to, you know, growth-hack and reverse-engineer how we’re going to do that, but it’s something to consider, especially considering the fact that gentrification is a real thing."
Basilio:"Right."
Evan:"And, you know, as we talked about on the last podcast, we had on your podcast, everybody loves 'Toth, the developer,' isn't it? He's doing such a great job for the city that we have all these new buildings, and that’s good in a certain regard, but as we’ve seen—"
Basilio:"Well, as we've seen time and time again—"
Evan:"In many cities throughout history—"
Basilio:"Yeah."
Evan:"—in our lifetime, unfortunately, you know, if you don’t know, it was Overtown, right? Let’s call it what it is.And Overtown—if you don’t know what Overtown is, you can watch the first couple of seasons of The First 48 and they’ll tell you about what happens in Overtown.And unfortunately, a lot of those folks have gotten priced out of their historical African-American neighborhood.Where do they go next?And once it’s Little Haiti, Little River, now who’s going to get priced out of Little Haiti, Little River? My friend who volunteers at Yo Space Miami, he can tell you about what’s going on with the Magic City Innovation District, and sure, it’s great that yes, they will be creating businesses and jobs, but at the expense of the people that have lived there their whole life and built that community to make it desirable enough that a developer could come in and redevelop it.And then where do they go after that?Now they’re going to Fort Lauderdale, but guess who can’t afford to live in Fort Lauderdale? I mean, the average rent in downtown Fort Lauderdale is more than in downtown Miami, which is just mind-blowing to me, right?That it’s more than Brickell, it’s crazy.But you know, these are things that we have to consider."
Basilio:"Exactly, Manuel and George, one of the creators of the Sistrunk Affair, Huggins, brought up the point in conversation the other day.There was a developer that just bought, I want to say, six acres in Sistrunk for twenty-four million dollars.And he said, not calling them out, not saying it’s their fault, but if our elders, if the real estate owners, shareholders in the community, don’t take heed, don’t have these conversations—if we turn our head and look the other way, as so many people do on so many different topics—we’re going to look around and nobody's going to be able to afford to live in Fort Lauderdale except affluent folks.I mean, I say it like it is because the funny thing is, it’s all fun and games when you see things being redeveloped, and it doesn’t necessarily affect you right now, but—"
Evan:"You're 100% right."
Basilio:"—if it’s Black people now, it will be lower-income, everybody in middle class, everybody, the 99%. The 99%, in another ten years. So it’s something that we need to be aware of."
Evan:"Yeah."
Basilio:"And again, because we're talking about the people being affected right now. And something that weighs heavy on me is seeing a lot of my people just pushed out.And I always wonder, where do they go? Like, it’s just like they disappear from the face of the earth as they continue to be pushed up north or out west or wherever it’s affordable.And they sell what they've worked for because, you know, they’re tight on money, and you know the developers, like, how much can you put on them, as they are wanting cheap property and they know the way to get it?And as a businessman myself, you’re not actually going to get much of an argument from me. You're just not. My economy would do the same thing if I were in their shoes.So don’t listen to this podcast thinking I am against developers because it’s just not the case, but I know what it is, I know what it takes to grow a business, I know what it is to get money.That being said, I am a spokesman for the African-American community. And I have been living in Kansas and anywhere I go, and what I try to do is not speak to white people and say, 'Hear us or value us.'What I try to do is let Black people understand you get value yourself, and from there, you will have a better conversation with everyone around you."
Evan:"Right."
Basilio:"So these are the reasons why doing different artistic endeavors like painting and other ways to express yourself are so important.And why I try to employ Black people to do these types of things because it allows them to have an introspective conversation with themselves, where they can be real about what their passions are, what they feel they are put on this earth to do.And that creates value where they feel comfortable going, literally, over to the artistic event, being like, 'What is my community doing tonight that I can have fun and meet some people?'Which they don’t say; they say the tracks are the dividing line.This is the same thing back in Kansas; it was the state line. Literally, funny history, it was just divided between Blacks and whites.And it's just amazing how it is visually there where you see Black people on one side, Black people on the other.But again, that all has to do with Black people valuing themselves, and how do you value yourself? It's having a passion about what you do."
Evan:"Exactly."
Basilio:"So if you're working at Walmart or McDonald’s or Five Below or Dollar General, I don't know how much value you have. It’s not discounting those jobs as we need people to work them, but we understand what it is to get paid minimum wage and not enjoy life.Like I’m speaking from experience, it sucks, it’s not fun, and I’m looking like, 'What am I really supposed to be doing? There is something I was put on this earth to do. How do I figure out what it is?'But we already have given talents, right? I can ask anybody, 'What were you good at when you were young? What did you enjoy doing when you were young?'And when I look back, I was like, I drew when I was young. I loved it when I was there.I had an affinity towards photography and video when I was young, and that now has developed into a thriving business—just yet by the business, where I can pay the majority of my bills.And that means something to me, and I hold myself very high.I walk into Yolo, where you have millionaires and billionaires, and I say, 'You know what? I can display my art and say this has as much value as anything you guys do at your 9-5.'"
Basilio:"Now that takes a certain amount of confidence that has been developed over years of working for $9 an hour at a job that doesn’t respect who you are as your community continues to get pushed out. And then you wonder, how are you going to survive? How are you going to make that transition?People will just look at Black people and say, 'Pull yourself up,' but I don’t look at it as that easy. I’m saying let me get them to have a real conversation with themselves.And then after that real conversation takes place, if they don’t want to take accountability, then it is what it is, right?You know, mow it all down, take it all away, because everyone is faced with the knowledge. And if you do not want to take it and better yourself, then that’s it, we’re done with the conversation.But so many people have not had that opportunity.Like who you’re talking to, you can talk to anyone and say, 'When’s the last time you sat down for five minutes and actually had a real conversation with yourself where you're challenging where you're currently at, what you’re currently doing, and is it for the betterment of yourself and the community that you live in?'I can ask anybody that—white, Black, Hispanic, Asian—and they would say, 'I haven’t done that,' or 'I haven’t done that since I was at church and was forced to pray for confirmation,' or, 'You know, it’s just never done.'But I have found that through those silent moments is where you get the answers. You get the confidence, you get the security in your mind like, 'I was made to do this, I’m good at it, I’m my biggest fan, I’m going to hype myself up because so much of the world tears you down.'But I’m not going to say, 'I don’t need anybody else.'From there, you can start to produce things, you know? You can start to develop your talents. You can be like, 'Five months ago, yeah, I’ve been doing art, but five months ago, I had never even held a paintbrush.'But that didn’t stop me from exploring the desire to do it and wanting to see where it would lead.And you and I made the connection, I met so many cool people, and it’s been five months. Right, six years ago."
Evan:"And if you want to consider that pulling yourself up, I know this gentleman—"
Basilio:"Rest in peace—"
Evan:"Rest in peace—was a big component of that, as this gentleman, and we live in America, anything’s possible."
Basilio:"Exactly, you know, to the point where, not all developers or redevelopment are bad, but it’s unfortunate the artists—the people that made the art districts, Wynwood what it was, and made Fat Village what it was—the artists, you know, are we going to be able to create protective income zones? To zone that as artists' live-work studio spaces in our lifetime? Maybe not.But if we don’t have the conversation, if we don’t bring it up, then it’s never going to even be an option."
Evan:"Exactly."
Basilio:"That’s the whole point. And those conversations only ever happen if people are challenging themselves like us. They will never happen if we don’t do the introspective processes.Is there more to life than working until you’re 70 and then dying?That is the current plan we have and have accepted in this country, but don’t know that that’s not even the way it’s supposed to be.But you will never ever hear anything outside of that unless people have sat down with themselves, sat there with other people and leaders and movers, and said, 'Hey, this isn’t exactly the way it was supposed to be.'There’s a better way to do things. You can have more fun, and now, if you're listening to this podcast, if you’re hearing it, you’ve got to start to take the steps to be like, 'What is my part in it?'"
Evan:"Correct."
Basilio:"And not everybody’s an entrepreneur, and not everybody is an artist, and not everybody is going to have to contribute to growing their dream or doing anything."
Evan:"But even if you are sadly a nine-to-five worker, you know, we aren't—we're social creatures. We're not born to go to work, come home, go to sleep, rinse, repeat. Nobody lives here in downtown Fort Lauderdale or even in Broward County really, you know, to just have a boring life.There's so much more that can give you whatever level of fulfillment. That's why I and Andrew try to highlight these things that are going on and support them and grow them, because once again, from the world-class communities I've seen—the Austin's, Nashville's, Williamsburg's—it’s the arts and the culture that make them great, not the real estate development, and not the gentrification, and all those other things that go along with it.If you want to discuss some more, you can feel free to reach out, and we’ll definitely be glad to have a conversation about it. But it really comes at a very important time because you want to continue pursuing your craft, you want to pursue your calling as a full-time creative. You should be able to live in a space where you are supported by the community, not marginalized or minimalized."
Basilio:"And you know, I want to say that because, you know, since we're being pretty real and transparent about it, this place—not my term—was considered a cultural wasteland, and I've had very high-level city and county executives say that to me. That should not even be part of the conversation anymore.Those things are long gone, and whoever thought that that was a good idea, we can have a conversation another time too.But, you know, I feel really encouraged. I think we're at a peak right now, especially in Fort Lauderdale and in the 954. You know, Andrew and I are working very hard through our Fort Lauderdale Florida Art Design Week and all the other initiatives we have to put Fort Lauderdale on the map as an international destination to view and interact with art—not just for that one week of the year.Obviously, we’re doing stuff throughout the year at Yolo and so on and so forth. So I’m glad that we connected at Raw Storytelling through our mutual friend Jessica. And, you know, it’s led to not only you getting into the Choose 954 Local Artist Discovery Series Library Pop-Up at Yolo, it got you into Circle House Coffee, was leading to Thomas Barnard Walk, and I’m glad to be able to connect and pass along opportunities for deserving creatives that are working hard at their craft and passion."
Evan:"I want to support you guys. You guys shouldn’t have to go live somewhere else to be yourself.Yeah, so that’s the point I’d like to drive home: support local artists, support local creatives. That’s what’s going to make our community a world-class community and make our community great.So, with that being said, as an involved and talented creative, what are some things that somebody listening could hire you for?"
Basilio:"So, I can do a number of different things. The areas that I major in and put a lot of effort into is, one, painting.So I do commissions—everything you see here, obviously, is for sale. So the most recent thing is artwork and painting, and that's developing and growing. So, again, you can for sure reach out if you want to commission or purchase a piece you enjoy.I have been doing music for a long time, and I write music for, you know, YouTube videos, Facebook videos, anything. I recommend it for anything that you need—a piano player, guitar player, a little bit of violin, singing lyrics, the whole nine yards.And so you can reach out if you need original music for something, which a lot of people, I think, are going to start to need as Facebook and YouTube start to crack down on copyrights. I see a lot of music being regurgitated through websites that allow people to download stuff for free. I see the same songs recycled quite a bit.Again, just a side note, please, anybody—if you get a song for free, please just shout out the artist. Like, I see that frequently—songs being used and I’m just like, you never tagged the artist. And I know you got it for free. Just, like, please, let me give it to you for free, just tag your website or whatever video you use it for to let them know where you got that."
Evan:"Not just for musicians or artists. One of the things that I understand that people don’t understand is that if you have an event and a videographer makes a recap video, and maybe you are part of this organization, and you didn’t pay the videographer, and you weren’t privy to that conversation, but the recap video is amazing—I mean, it would only make sense that you would want to give credit or a shout-out or thanks to, you know, 'video produced by Interrupt Studios.'You’ll only see on any video I post, if we paid for it or our client or sponsor paid for it, whatever it took our videographer time to shoot it, edit it, learn how to use his equipment and gear, buy equipment and gear, practice the craft, travel time—the least you can do is give that person credit when you’re posting it on social media or telling a friend, 'You know who made that video? It was Interrupt Studios.'So, yeah, really awesome, and that’s another way that we can help support local artists and creatives."
Basilio:"For sure."
Evan:"Just to add to that, like, it's a minimum requirement—a minimum—and a lot of people just don’t do it.So, again, as they crack down on copyright issues and all that stuff, you know, you can use any other source to send a video, or have me write some original music, have it produced and everything for you."
Basilio:"Something that I’ve been getting into more, I do photo and video for businesses. I’ve been doing that—that’s been the majority of my income over the last five years or so. So, you know, businesses coming in here and from wherever they are, just for people, you know, photoshoots.I’ve been scaling back a little bit more because I’ve been put in positions to, kind of like, edit videos that I haven’t been super passionate about, or alter photos.Like, again, we’re going to be real and won’t get too in-depth, but being in the 21st century and social media, people want them to look a certain way.And being an editor, I get frequent requests saying, 'Hey, can you make me look thinner?' or 'Make me look younger?' and all this stuff, and hey, don’t do that.And I actually have that in my contract—don't alter photos and stuff like that because I believe it’s detrimental to our mind state.And so I have actually scaled back a lot of my photo and video jobs, which has hurt my, you know, if I’m being realistic, it has hurt my financial income because I haven’t taken as many jobs, because I’m just not going to be a part of what I believe is going to be, like, the downfall of a lot of our social interactions and what we expect from life because of the unrealistic standard that we hold people to because of very well-edited videos and very well-Photoshopped pictures."
Evan:"Right."
Basilio:"So, again, I do that work, I enjoy doing it, I love coming to people’s businesses, but I’ve had to scale back because of the requests.The last part is, like, so the way you can support me is through the original content that I do that has to do with music. So I’ll be producing piano music, so you may see an album where I release, like, a piano album of original art. I’m working on a novel as well."
Basilio:"As I taught yoga, I would write original words for every class—every single class that I taught. I would sit down, write what I was challenged with that week, the meditation, what I wanted to challenge my students with.Sometimes I would read a short story that I wrote, sometimes just encouraging words. I would read it during the meditation and at the end of the class.One of the frequent questions I got was, 'Where are you reading that from? Who’s the author? Who wrote that?' which is very kind. I would always say, 'It’s me, I’m the author, thank you very much.'And they’d ask, 'Oh, where can we buy your book?' And I’d say, 'I don’t have that.'So that led me to start compiling all the words that I’ve spoken before and after classes.Hopefully, it will be a great resource for people to start that introspective process that I always preach, which I believe will be the foundation of actual lifelong change. When we talk about making a difference, I believe it starts with some introspective process where you tell yourself, 'What is my part in changing my community? What is my part in living my passion and dream?'Hopefully, that book will be released later this summer. It will include encouraging words and be structured like a journal. One page will be the challenge of the day, and the other page will be open for you to write your thoughts—what you learned from your meditation that day.So that’s coming soon.Those are basically my four different creative outlets right now—from art, music, photo and video, to this yoga venture.I’ll just be producing this book and encouraging people to get into the practice of yoga—more so meditation—and using this book as a kind of jumping-off pad to start that conversation.What does it mean to have an introspective process, and what are the benefits of doing so?So those are the four main things, and I’m trying to be ready from actually producing content for other people to saying, 'Hey, this is the content that I’ve developed over the years that I think will be beneficial, not just for myself and my own financial gain, but for you as a consumer, to have the art with the quotes, to have the music—the soulful music or piano music.'Also, to have a photo or videographer who will capture who you are but also pull your passion and dream from your heart and soul and portray that in a photo or video.And then, hopefully, a novel that will be a good sounding board and the beginning of a conversation."
Evan:"People give you a lot of credit for that. I’ve never had a photographer or videographer mention that to me, so that kind of opened my eyes.It goes back to our conversation on your podcast about, you know, what are my guiding principles, and they're, you know: be genuine, be authentic, pursue your passions."
Basilio:"Correct."
Evan:"So often, unfortunately, people have to 'sell out,' quote-unquote, to do that, and it shouldn’t always be the case.So I give you a lot of credit for taking a stand on what you feel is right."
Basilio:"Thank you."
Evan:"And one of the things that my partner Ernest and I are working on for the mermaids project is shifting consciousness. If we can make incremental changes in people’s consciousness, like, sure, we’re not going to take all the plastic out of the ocean tomorrow.But if we can shift people’s consciousness about what they’re putting on their boat and hopefully what they’re not putting in the ocean, that will be a step.And if that can have a groundswell effect, grassroots or otherwise, I think that’s really powerful.So I give you a lot of credit for that.Where can people find you on social media? And if you could, maybe spell it out."
Basilio:"Yeah, so I have my personal page where I post the majority of my art, which is 'Basilio8500,' spelled B-A-S-I-L-I-O 8500. You’ll see the majority of my art there.I have a business page where I promote the majority of my photo and video work—that’s 'Trippinas,' my last name, T-R-I-P-P-I-N-A-S.Those are the two main ways that you’re going to be able to contact me. I have a Facebook page as well—a business page—same name, 'Trippinas.'That’s where a lot of people leave reviews and have a chance to contact me.I’m working on my website right now, just continuing to accumulate all of my content over the years and develop my artwork, novel, and everything else.Once I’ve developed a nice package, I’m hoping to have a release party where I stand in the moment as a brand.One day you may hire me to come speak at a school, come into your church, and these are things I used to do—going to places and talking about diversity, bridging the gap over the tracks, over the state line, and how to empower the community, specifically African-Americans.As my brand grows, people will hopefully see the words that I have to offer, and that will allow me to share with more people.And that’s what we are always trying to do—always trying to figure out with our convictions. Once you have that introspective process, you know that what you’re speaking on is true, and it needs to be heard.That’s the confidence that needs to be had for people—to know what I’m saying is accurate, what I’m saying is true, and it needs to be heard by more people."
Evan:"Absolutely."
Basilio:"So I’m grateful for every single person that reaches out, likes, comments, buys a piece of work, buys a novel, buys music—it means the world to me.I do not take it lightly, and I’m grateful for the people who have had the conversation."
Evan:"And now we’re able to support you when you do have your launch. Obviously, needless to say, you know we’ll be glad to promote you."
Basilio:"Absolutely."
Evan:"And just as a reminder, my consulting group behind Choose 954 and Florida Miami, we’re getting ready to launch United Artists Representation, and I’d be glad to help hook you up with our resources to help support your creative process."
Basilio:"Yeah, yeah, really powerful stuff."
Evan:"A few things to follow and look out for coming up here. We are bringing back an annual conversation for the third annual installment that ties into a lot of what we’re talking about at a much bigger-picture level.The title of the conversation and the event you can look up is Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy in Fort Lauderdale: A Panel Discussion. Over the last two years, it’s created very, very meaningful, important dialogue, and it’s connected a lot of people to the conversation.It’s literally changed one person’s life—Dr. Jenny, who was on the podcast previously. She didn’t know about any of what was going on, her own mission, and by attending the panel in Fort Lauderdale, she got connected to that 954 Action Club and so many other things.She’s doing so many new things now, and we’re super happy for her. She’s one of the nicest people.We’re going to have this conversation on June 10th, which is a Monday, at Pipeline Fort Lauderdale, which is a co-working space in downtown Fort Lauderdale in the Regions Bank building—the same building as the Tower Club.It’s going to be a free event. We’ll have myself moderating, my partner Andrew Martineau as one of the panelists. We’ll also have our dear friend and one of our biggest supporters, Jodie Tanner of Las Olas Capital Arts, who is also the chair of the Broward County Cultural Council, joining us again.We’re excited to have a new panelist this year—Commissioner Steve Glassman, the District 2 City Commissioner for Fort Lauderdale, who was previously an arts administrator in his career.Tickets are available online. We encourage you to look that up. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out."
Host:"This is also leading to another initiative that we’re very excited to move forward with, and it ties into what we’ve discussed previously about the affordability element for artists.We’re very, very close to launching a new initiative that Andrew and I have created called Zero Empty Spaces. We’re working with property owners, commercial real estate developers, and anybody who has a vacant storefront, warehouse, retail space, whatever the case may be.Whether it’s blighted, a buy-and-hold, or stuck in the permitting process, we view art as a problem solver. And we hope to activate these spaces with affordable, accessible, and safe artist studio spaces.We’re going to program these spaces with artists, do tours, new art walk events, installations, and a lot of good programming.We’re very excited that the first spaces we’ve been given are a lot nicer than we were expecting. Mr. Mike Weymouth, the owner of the Las Olas Company, has given us a few spaces to start with on Las Olas."
Evan:"You tell any artist that they can have studio space for $2 per square foot on Las Olas, and they’ll tell you that’s unheard of.So we’re really excited to move that forward. You can find out more at zeroemptyspaces.com, or you can reach out to us.We’re proud to still host and produce AF Creative Zen, which is a multi-purpose lecture series—mini TED talks, as we say—for the creative community. But everybody’s welcome; everybody’s creative. It’s a free event with breakfast provided by Circle House Coffee."
Evan:"This next Creative Zen speaker is Flip Aguilera, the founder of Sweat Nation, who has a very introspective, brilliant mind.That’s going to be at the original General Provision co-working space in FATVillage.It’s actually going to be our one-year anniversary event, which we’re very proud of. I won’t be there—I’ll be in Europe—but I definitely encourage you to attend, and I’ll be hosting when I get back."
Evan:"The way we connected, another great event—Raw Storytelling—which is always the second Thursday night of the month.Creative Zen is the second Friday morning of the month.Raw Storytelling, second Thursday night of the month—true stories, untold.It’s a great event that our good friend Ethan Velasco started. It’s served a really great purpose for the community, not just because we connect today, but also because it’s where people go to share their true stories.That’s another form of creative outlet, so I definitely encourage you to check that out."
Evan:"We are very excited that another anniversary event is coming up—SoFar Sounds.It’s an intimate listening experience where they reward music fans with intimate performances at non-traditional venues.You either request access to RSVP or you’re invited. They don’t release the name of the venue except to those granted access.It has kind of a 'boiler room' effect.The next one is on May 13th for the two-year anniversary event.You can find out more at sofar.com. Sign up for the newsletter—it’s not spammy—and you can RSVP."
Evan:"Lastly, we are still doing the Choose 954 Local Artist Discovery Series library pop-up at Yolo.We’re going into week 115 of consecutive local artists live painting in the heart of Las Olas, downtown, at Yolo. It’s a beautiful thing.If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m available at @andrewmartineau on Instagram and @Choose954 across platforms.And one thing I wanted to give you, I guess we’ll just do it now.You’ve been a supporter, and I appreciate you having us on the podcast. I wanted to give you a lovely Thousand Mermaids shirt here."
Basilio:"Man, thank you."
Evan:"I know you’ll rep it. I know you’ll rep it proudly."
Basilio:"For sure, man. Of course."
Evan:
"That’s the support—love artists, support your local creatives, support your local community.
That’s what’s going to make this place a better place to live, not just a better place to vacation.
Save the reef, save the ocean, save the planet.
Until next time."
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