HN2new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Donna Matthews from a band called Elastica in the early/mid '90s.

I was living on the streets as I turned 20, and a chance encounter led me to hang out with the band at one of their early gigs. Donna made me feel pretty welcome and off I went on tour with them.

During the tour I started a fanzine to make money and help keep me alive. That fanzine was assisted by her (providing material) and I sold it to the fans.

The bit where it became more was after the tour had finished. How now to find money for food? I still had the fanzine but Elastica were on the cover and Elastica were not playing. I removed the cover, and would make a new cover according to whoever was in town headlining that night. Having the band on the cover is the difference between selling 20 copies and selling 150 copies.

Something about that first transformation from being on the streets to earning a decent wage off my own back has pretty much influenced every action since: I won't go back to the street, and there are always new ways to approach existing problems.

I could cite many more that are related to what we do, are more recent, are more obvious, etc... but none provided an epiphany greater than that first one.



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: