STEPHEN TO ANNE MARIE:

SB: What is your favorite song?

AM: And the award for January goes to…FACTS by DLYN!

SB: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

AM: I Need Therapy 2.4!

SB: Any musical resolutions in 2024?

AM: My musical resolution is to work with a composer on a movie. I saw LET THE RIGHT ONE IN recently (the original), and it just reminded me how crucial a great score is to a breakout movie. It isn’t something I’ve had the luxury of doing yet on indie movies but I really want to make it happen and see what that process is like from the inside on the next one.

ANNE MARIE TO STEPHEN:

AM: What is your favorite song?

SB: Tequila by Arin Ray

AM: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

SB: Just Pink Dress by Humble the Great. Also, Trampled by Turtles was one of those “wait, we hadn’t burned them yet…nooo” moments.

AM: Let’s start this new year off with a high stakes question. I’ve been thinking about the concept of success a lot recently. What does it mean for me? What do I truly want?

I think it shapeshifts a little for me. If you’d asked me that question 10 or 15 years ago, I would have said to make money doing a job I love and have creative control and an audience that keeps me in business. I think that remains the same to this day, but the concept of the “other piece” — the home life — has always been a little blurry. Will I live in LA? NYC? Someplace else? I guess, the truth is, that has never been as important as the work, the calling, and having enough money outside of it for a small but good life.

Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to make money and see the world. The “will I have a house?” of it all — or kids — everything else was an anecdote. I think the concept of “family” and community where you live is so important, but I also think it looks different for all of us. Same with success. I’m thrilled to be en route to mine... My custom life. The things that matter. None of the things I don’t. The ability to recalibrate if those things change and go after something different instead.

So, Stephen, what does “success” look like for you?

SB: Haha wow yeah I might need a few years to answer this as well. Well an easy part of the answer isn’t “retirement” because let’s face it, we’re Boidocks, so that was never in the cards, but it is something similar in that I would like to have enough money saved up to embark on my own endeavors without the pressure of needing them to make a ton of money. Basically as long as they don’t bleed money and can self-sustain, great. Especially because my business motto has always been “experience over scale” which is why I love things like speakeasies and small hotels. Truth be told the things I’m aiming to build won’t make a lot of money, but I think they’ll make a lot of people a lot of happy - and that’s one thing I’ve learned over the years - that I’m happiest when making experiences for others to enjoy. Success for me looks something like hopping in my restored Datsun, cruising to check on my tiny boutique hotel, then heading to my tiny coffee shop, then off to the speakeasy to help the crew get ready for the night. Then sitting there in the back and watch folks laugh so hard they cry, freeze in awe of a musical act they weren’t expecting or leave talking about how they can’t wait to return.