What’s the deal with Indyish anyway??

I mean, really. What are these people trying to do here?

Me, I came on board in June after reading an ad on craigslist looking for a marketing intern. I know nothing about marketing beyond the occasional trip to jean talon (get it? market-ing? jean talon market? somebody stop me.)

But luckily Risa was welcoming and was willing to hear what I thought I could bring to Indyish. Which was, quite frankly, close to nothing. But I was enthusistic (in my usual monotone way) and quickly became wrapped up in preparing for the launch.

My first task was to get in touch with local clothing designers Clayton Evans of complexgeometries, Jen Gilpin of Re-Gen, and Maryanne of Hastings and Main which was definitely intimidating. But I bit the bullet and called them, fingers nervously twisting the indyish business card with their numbers on it.

Of course, all three designers were extremely friendly and helpful. And for some reason that was surprising. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but there’s something about the aura of a “scene” that puts people out of reach of us short-armed pawns.

The other thing I’ve noticed about scenes is how quickly they become just a bunch of friends doing stuff with each other as soon as you know one or two people involved. Because really, that’s where it all starts. A great example of this is Chickfactor Magazine which inspired the Belle and Sebastian song of the same name. I mean these guys are all just friends who did projects together and now they’re in their 30s and 40s and established in their various fields and have only famous friends.

Ok, so famous shmamous. But it takes me back to high school (man, way back when) when a friend and I started Asymptote Productions, our filmmaking company and general scheming umbrella. We would plot and then rope all our friends into our projects in any way possible. “Oh, you have a camera? Bring it. Green pants? You’ll be wearing them.” And I know this is how most people started. So it was amazing for me to realize that I could continue to live this way, even outside of the safety of Halifax’s artist community, pooling the skills of friends to create ridiculous pieces of work.

I guess that’s the beauty of indyish. It’s not just a string of transactions: i help with the lighting in your movie. you owe me. you lend me your camera. i owe you…..It’s all about the mutually beneficial potential in each situation: Telefauna lets fans use one of their songs in the 24 Hr Music Video Making Competition, they get tons of cool video art and can choose to work with contestant filmmakers in the future, filmmakers get their video screened at the Acting Studio of Montreal and winning submissions screened at our launch weekend and will be available on dvd after the launch, contestants meet each other and make connections for other projects (or as is often the case, find out they live nextdoor to each other), audiences mingle with artists, learn new skills, and a billion other simultaneous happenings.

As a network, the Indyish bring new friends to their parties and let them meet their old friends and watch the connections fly. And help by facilitating those connections before, during, and after. So for me, Indyish has been my cool older sister who doesn’t condescend, but occasionally takes me out to the bar with her band friends and I end up moving in with them. Or something.

If nothing else, it’s been a great excuse to talk to people I might feel nervous around and to force me out of a weird self-imposed isolation I’ve found myself in this past year. Montreal can be a pretty lonely city. And if you’re trying to support yourself on art-making, it definitely helps to have other people who want your support and are willing to support you in the process. So it’s never one or the other, it’s both and neither. It’s Indyish. Write that one down…