Coachel-Leah Rocks!

Here’s another story in which my personal life and work life have come together in the most creative and fun ways possible.

Last month, my sister’s daughter Leah sent me an email. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Music Department, over the past few years she’s become the family’s rockstar, doing a world tour opening and performing with Sofi Tucker, and performing on her own using the stage name, LP Giobbi. Remember that name!! 

So, her email opened with a “Hey Uncle Bill, I think you make logos don’t you? Can you help me update mine?” Music to my ears. I’ve worked with other musicians in the past, but none of them named Giobbi. Not only have I known her since birth, and love her dearly, but hey, a logo with GIOBBI in it. How could I pass on that?! So we spent a week or two going through the first round of my concepts, and narrowed it down to two versions of one design, one for promotion/merchandising, a second version for the backdrop behind her during performances.

And, the grand unveiling was to be Coachella. When Leah asked me if I did animation and motion graphics, and could I whip something up for her Coachella stage wall, I was already rolling. She loved what I created and it was on her visual backdrop for the performance. I wish I had been there. Her parents sure were there enjoying their daughter’s growing success. As two lifelong passionate music lovers, they gave Leah lots of input from birth. My sister was in charge of the KLCC music booth next to the stage at the Oregon Country Fair so Leah had the 24/7 music experience at the fair all through her youth. 

I showed her some other creative directions we could go in, and we’re talking about another collaboration later this summer. Leah and I are a generation apart in age, but music binds our whole family together in a very powerful way. She has always liked my musical tastes and I love her performances. We’ll see what develops.

A while back, my friend/collaborator Jeff Sherwin and I developed an IOS game app called Mage Life. I created over 100 special effects and dynamics imagery to use as spells in the game. The software I used for the game was the perfect platform to create trippy concert backdrops for Leah. And work of pure creativity is a rare and delightful task. I’m loving the results, and tying it to original music like Leah’s makes it even better. 

Once again, I’m astounded in the various directions I’ve been able to take and how the skills layer on top of each of in unanticipated ways. So thanks, Leah. What fun. And kudos to my sister Gayle and her husband Mike for laying Leah’s musical foundation, and Jeff, as well, for first asking me to join him in creating an online magical multi-player game experience, pushing me to explore the special effects side of Maya. It’s a pleasure to work and play with creative tools every day. I’m always ready for more. How cool is that!