The Stick Has Been Secured

Shortly after moving to Richmond, Virginia in 1993, I started a sales job with a sign company. One of my key accounts was the local East Coast Hockey League team, the Richmond Renegades - who back then were part of the Hartford Whalers farm system (1994 to 1997).

Part of the account was handled in trade for tickets, so I was fortunate enough to have fantastic center ice seats and went to the majority of home games.

The 1994-95 season was a stellar one for the Renegades. They played strong hockey all season, and made their way through the playoffs to the championship where they defeated Greensboro in 5 games to win the Riley Cup (now the Kelly Cup). There were a number of standouts on that team, but the guy who put the puck in the back of the net most often was Scott Gruhl - who played in 49 games and scored 31 goals. As a gesture of appreciation for vendor partners of the Renegades that season - a number of hockey sticks were distributed. I was lucky enough to get one of Scott Gruhl's.

Fast forward 17 years, and I'm hanging out with Joe Mueller - one of my oldest and closest friends. He sees the Gruhl stick sitting in the corner my living room and says, "Hey - I'm good friends with Jay Murphy, one of Gruhl's teammates on that championship team. I'll bet he can get that signed for you... Gruhl is still in the Richmond area." I gladly handed it over to him, and promptly forgot about it.

Time went by, and I didn't think about it much. I figured - if it happens, it happens. One day, Joe calls me up, and tells me Jay Murphy managed to get the stick signed. When presented for signature, Scott Gruhl looked at it and immediately realized he didn't have one like it himself and offered to buy it! However, Joe knows me well - and told Jay Murphy... nope - not for sale.

A hockey stick is an oddly shaped item to ship (since I no longer live in Richmond), so we decided to delay the handoff until it was convenient... meaning: one of us wasn't going to have to try to carry a hockey stick onto an airplane. So - more time went by...but a few days ago I was driving through Richmond after visiting family in Virginia. I met Joe for lunch, and the 5 year mission came to an end. I finally got the stick back with Scott Gruhl's signature on it.

Scott Gruhl had a storied hockey career over almost 20 years in the NHL, IHL, and ECHL, and retired as one of the most productive IHL scorers of all-time. I personally have a 20+ year relationship with this hockey stick, and am really stoked to have it back.

Later, Starbucks

Ahhhh….Starbucks.

You sold me my first cup of Starbucks coffee at your Willow Lawn Mall store in Richmond, VA…around 1996 or 97 when there were only about 1,000 stores.  Before that day, my coffee purchases were not unlike the way I buy sugar: whatever’s cheap, in bulk, and on sale.  But my first cup of the bucks transformed my relationship with coffee from one purely of utilitarian purpose into that of coffee enthusiast. The Willow Lawn store wasn’t in the path of my daily travels - but it was the only Starbucks in town back then, and soon I went out of my way to go there to get a cup of the hallowed Starbucks joe.

If you have a description of your model loyal customer, it’s likely close to describing the way I was (until recently).  You’ve sold me swag like coasters and tumblers.  You’ve sold me beans.  You’ve sold me coffee, espresso, latte, iced tea, and snacks. A number of your baristas got to know me by name, and I’ve taught many of them how to make a proper cortado. For years I’ve been “checking in” at your stores via different social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook – which, of course, is great for your brand awareness.

When I first heard about the Gold Card rewards program, I joined immediately.  My card is dated 2011.  It made me feel like Starbucks really appreciated my business. I felt like I spent a fair amount of my money in your stores, and the program felt like SBX saying, “thanks”.  I loved earning a free drink, and getting a freebie on my birthday.  I was initially nervous about putting the Starbucks app on my phone and using it to pay – but I eventually did, and found it to be quite convenient.

Your first major offense was the Single Origin Ethiopian.  Coffees from that part of the world, and specifically from that country, are some of my favorites.  Ethiopian coffees often have natural flavor notes of citrus and berries. However, all of that can be overwritten if you over-roast…which you did.

Then you changed the rewards program, and I became soured.  It became more complicated – with some drinks worth more points than others, and stars that expire.  I don’t want my rewards program to be complicated – I’ve got too much other complicated stuff in life occupying my limited bandwidth.  

Consequently, the frequency of my visits to your stores tapered off.  Then there was that day you sent me an email stating I’ve been demoted to Green level from Gold…which for some reason soured me even more.

The majority of people probably didn’t react like me when you changed the program, and successful sales organizations know – you have to play the percentages. Now with over 25,000 stores - the numbers certainly are in your favor, making my business insignificant.  I get that. However, while you’re playing to the percentages – if I’m irked by the changes, there’s a solid chance I’m not alone.

I used to go out of my way to get coffee from you.  Now I go out of my way to get coffee from local independent roasters instead. The metro Atlanta area has some great ones…Rev, Octane, Dancing Goats, and the mighty Cool Beans.

So I’m going to say thanks – it’s been a good run.  I’m not going to need my Gold card anymore.  I know being demoted in rewards program status doesn’t require I send my gold card back, but I’m not interested in giving you real estate in my wallet any longer.  

Ciao.

The (Graphic) World is Flat

I went on a graphic design job interview back in 2008…maybe 2009.  I met in a conference room with four people, all roughly 10 years younger than me. After answering a barrage of their questions, reviewing my portfolio, and asking a few questions of my own (always a good idea), they gave me some homework to do. They described one of the company’s software products to me, and asked me to come up with branding for it…a test, if you will. We scheduled a meeting a few days later to review my branding idea, and off I went. 

When I returned, I had what I felt was one of the best logo/branding ideas I’d ever done. During my presentation, I explained my design philosophy…how I designed in black and white to show the strength of the design itself without being dependent on color. Then I showed them how the design can be enhanced by color.  

The group then showed me some of the other branding and design they currently use for other products. It was all very photo rich, and used a lot of 3D looking things. They explained to me that my flat design style wasn’t what they were looking for.

Those 3D gizmos were nicely done, and very popular at the time…but they were trendy. However, most of it never had any purpose to me.  It was almost as if a given company was saying, “Look - we have the wherewithal to hire the very best photoshop talent.” Sadly, as cool as many of those designs were - they didn’t mean anything, or say anything about the product or service they represented. No message. They were just….cool.

Spring forward to 2016, and shortly 2017, and let’s look at hot design trends. The glassy looking buttons - passé. The horizon in the background with the reflection in the front - old shoe. The glassy 3D rendered gizmos - obsolete. 

That's nice, Jay - but what does all that mean besides you need to update your website? What’s hot?  

Flat.

That same design style I was trying to push years ago - is now officially in. The latest design trends are that of modern-retro and minimalism. Nothing needs to be transparent, or dimensional, or have a drop shadow. I’ve also noticed quite a bit of design that has a simplistic hand-drawn vibe.  

Not sure?  Let’s make an example out of one of the world’s biggest brands: Google.  Remember not all that long ago, Google’s wordmark had letters with a dimensional look and a drop shadow? Guess what? Flat. Google rebranded about a year ago, and now it’s all flat. Still multi-colored letters…but flat - like my holiday card design.

The world is flat! So, embrace it - or your brand will look dated…and you don’t want your brand to look like the world has passed it by. Talk to a graphic designer about it. Chances are you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but rather just tweak things a little. In addition, if it’s simplified a little and flat - it’s easier to make it responsive…but responsive logos are a separate discussion. In the mean time, evaluate you brand, and don’t be so…2010.

John Stabb's Legacy

I went to a punk show at the Masquerade – a live music venue in Atlanta.  The headlining act was called “Flag”, and was the original members of the punk rock band Black Flag playing Black Flag tunes, but they have to roll under the name “Flag” for some kind of legal reason – probably an absurd one.  Flag put on a great show.  I love Keith Morris, and he was in his normal stellar form. 

There were a few opening acts, but War on Women from Baltimore was the band that played just prior to Flag.  I’d seen War on Women before, and made sure to arrive at the show in time to catch them.  I’d seen them in that same building a few months before, opening for Government Issue on what would be the final G.I. tour.  A few months after that tour, G.I. singer John Stabb was taken from us by cancer.  War on Women singer Shawna Potter introduced a song about half-way through their set by talking about that tour with Government Issue, and about the death of Stabb.  Then they broke into one of my favorite Government Issue songs, “They Know”.

As the band tore through a very well-executed cover of the classic DC hardcore tune, I started to get kinda choked up.  I’m not sure if it was because of Stabb’s passing, or the fact that I’ll never get to hear him sing that song again, or maybe it was because I was witnessing something I’d not seen first hand before; the influence of Stabb and Government Issue on punk rock moving forward…carrying on his legacy.

One thing was clear to me in that moment: Stabb’s passing had a much more profound effect on me than I figured.  I hope to see other performers give tribute to Government Issue…but it’s evident to me that Stabb’s absence is substantial.  There’s a hole in the scene, where Stabb used to be.

Photo from Stabb's Facebook page.

The Green Crack

A friend of mine posted a picture of a restaurant menu page showing a description of a sauce they called Green Crack.  With curiosity, I began to search the internet for answers.

The first recipe I found was basically a cilantro puree.  It had some vinegar, salt, mayo, and olive oil.  We found this recipe delicious - but I later found out the original sauce posted by my friend had avocado...so I went back to the drawing board.

I like to think of sauce recipes as living documents...but here's where I am with the Green Crack today:

1 bunch Cilantro - washed, patted dry
1 avocado - diced
2 garlic cloves - minced
2 tbs cider vinegar
3 tbs mayo
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cajun seasoning
2 tsp lime juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend smooth.

Dip grilled chicken in it, dip veggies in it, schmear it on steak, spoon into tacos...enjoy!

That Smell

Driving to work this morning, I found myself at a traffic light behind a (probably) 20-year old Jeep Cherokee.

As I'm waiting for the light to change, I started to look over the old girl.  She's got one of those off-road roof rack baskets with a full-size spare in it, and a big red fuel tank.  The body is dark green, and the paint has been applied via rattle can - and applied whimsically in places. I can see overspray on the license plate and a few other places. There's a cargo strap wrapped around the tailgate, and it's attached to the rear set of side door handles - presumably holding the tailgate closed.  The wheels are a bit oversized, and the suspension's been lifted a few inches.

All that said - it's idling nicely...has a good exhaust note.

When the light changes, a pretty good amount of smoke emerges from the vehicle.  My first thought is; well - it's an old Jeep...probably has some formidable ring wear and is burning some oil.  But then the smell of the smoke makes it's way through the vents of my trusty Crown Vic, and I realize it's running rich - because I also smell the distinctive odor of excessive fuel burning.  The amount of smoke producing this combination smell isn't overwhelming - but certainly noticeable...especially when trying to make it up a large hill and the driver gives it more throttle.

But that's when the truth hits me: I like that smell.

Tom Brady Should Ask the NFL to Follow the Rules

I'm no Brady apologist, and I don't like the New England Patriots...but for the life of me - I don't understand the four game suspension, the $1 million fine, and the loss of draft picks.

Yes - I'm aware of the fact that he lied.  Yes - I'm aware of the fact that his actions may have provided him (and his team) an unfair advantage.  Furthermore, I'm aware of the fact that he deserves to be punished.  He broke a rule, and for that - there are consequences.

You may ask, "What's your problem, Jay? Dude got what he deserved!"

Well...no - he didn't.

According to the NFL rule book, the penalty for tampering with a football is a $25,000 fine.  There's no fine print underneath that provides stiffer punishment for playoff games, or high profile players.  There's no addendum with a $1 million fine if there's suspicion of prior ball tampering.  None of this penalty is in the rule book.  It's arbitrary, and nonsensical.

I'm just glad the NFL's jurisdiction starts and end with the NFL.  Can you imagine if Roger Goodell was a police chief?  He'd be like, "Yes, Mr. Brady.  It appears you were speeding...32 in a 25.  Now the normal fine for that is $115 plus court fees - but since it's you, we'll just make the fine $1,750.  Have a nice day, Mr. Brady.