Finding Bronto

I REALLY wanted to work for Red Hat when I was a starry-eyed, job-searching senior at UNC in 2001/2002. I recall thinking that the company seemed "cool" and appreciating how it had built a business around the open source concept. (How does a company sell free software?!?)

After submitting my resume through the UNC career services office and, I presume, passing the initial resume screen, I interviewed with the company in February 2002. I was interviewed by a newly-minted Kenan-Flagler MBA, Chaz Felix. I don't remember much about the interview, other than feeling really nervous and Chaz asking me a question about Red Hat's competition:
2001 Chaz - Which of the following do you think competes with Red Hat - HP, Compaq, or IBM?

2001 Eric - Uhhh. IBM?

2001 Chaz - Why?

2001 Eric - Uhhh. Because they are a services-based company? They compete with Red Hat for large scale enterprise implementations?

2001 Chaz - Exactly. At Red Hat, we blah blah blah...

2001 Eric - (Sweet Jesus. I can't believe I was right...)

I managed to muddle my way through the conversation such that I felt pretty good leaving the interview. Per my Kenan-Flagler undergraduate brainwashing training, I emailed a "thank-you for the interview" note to Chaz after the interview. His reply:

Email from Red Hat Chaz


(Yes - this and the others are screenshots of the actual emails.)

Unfortunately, I didn't hear from the company after a few weeks, so I emailed Martha in HR. (Not sure why I didn't email Chaz.) She replied saying that Red Hat has decided against hiring for their MBA Associate Rotational Program. I remember thinking that it was not a good sign that they weren't hiring MBAs - surely they weren't hiring undegrads either. I replied saying that I wasn't an MBA student and that I was interested in the Analyst Rotational program. Sure enough, I got my ding.

(Based on the ~350% increase in share price between then and now, I should have just sunk my life savings in the company and left it at that. But I digress...)

Through a pretty funny set a circumstances that I'll perhaps detail later and (mostly) good luck, I ended up getting a gig working full-time for the Kenan-Flagler IT department as a Computer Consultant. However, I never gave up on my Red Hat ambitions.

After emailing a few folks in Red Hat HR and keeping tabs on their website, I got word of a career fair. I didn't qualify for any of the positions that they were trying to fill, but that didn't matter to me - I had an "in" with my "relationship" with Chaz Felix. So I took a half-day and rode over to Red Hat HQ in Raleigh to make something happen.

Unfortunately, it turned out that the career fair wasn't one of the "show up and work the room" type. They had a gatekeeper that screened your resume and asked you a few questions at the door. If you were legit, you made it in. If you weren't, you made the walk of shame back out the door.

Obviously, this was sub-optimal - my resume was a joke. (It actually listed that I was proficient in MS Office, among numerous other pedestrian software applications.) So I gave it my best shot:
2002 Eric - Hi. I'm Eric.

Red Hat Guy - Hi, Eric. Do you have a copy of your resume?

2002 Eric - (Clears throat.) I'm here to see Chaz Felix.

Red Hat Guy - (Smiles while scanning my resume.) Chaz doesn't work here any more.

2002 Eric - ...

Red Hat Guy - Thanks for your interest.

So that was pretty embarrassing, not to mention a waste of a half-day.

Once I figured out that I would be there for a while, it didn't take long for me to realize that I hated working at Kenan-Flagler. I loved my co-workers, but hated the job and the "state employee" mentality. So, I trolled the career listings daily in search of my escape.

One fateful afternoon in the Spring of 2003, I came upon a "Sales and Marketing Associate" position for BrontoMail, Inc. The hiring manager was none other than Chaz Felix. My email exchange with Chaz:

Eric Emails Chaz


I interviewed with BrontoMail that Friday. I showed up at their "offices" in Meridian Parkway and waited around until "they" showed up - I didn't know what to expect. After I had milled around in the lobby for a few minutes, Joe and Chaz popped out of the elevator - Chaz in shorts and a t-shirt and Joe in his trademark white-button down, jeans, black belt, black socks, and black shoes. (Some things never change...) Chaz says "Hey - there he is!" and away we went.

The interview went down at BrontoMail's "Headquarters", which was actually an over-sized utility closet. Seriously - it was an interior room with no windows and a few small desks. The first thing I remember thinking to myself was "Where am I going to sit?"

I don't remember very much from the interview. I recall trying to focus the conversation around my efforts to start Aerea Consulting, a home/small business technology "consulting" (read: home wireless router installation) company a few friends and I were trying to get off the ground. I quickly realized that extreme "start-up-iness" at BrontoMail, so I figured they would appreciate the experience. Plus, talking my way into after-hours home tech support gigs with Kenan-Flagler faculty and staff comprised the extent of my sales experience, so I had to let it ride.

It seemed to work. Later that day, I had the gig:

Bronto Hires Eric


We met that Monday and I joined the team. A few thoughts/memories:

- I knew I would accept the position when they offered to meet at Pepper's Pizza on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. Either we connected subconsciously such that they mysteriously knew that I loved Pepper's or they picked up a hint I must of dropped in the interview. Regardless, any friend of Pepper's was/is a friend of mine.

- They quick turnaround was a mistake on their part. For one, it scared me. "Are they desperate? Do they know what they're doing? Is this a real business? Am I going to get paid?" For two, it gave me a (small) sense of leverage in the "negotiation". Thus, I felt validated asking that they at least match my Kenan-Flagler salary - which they didn't at first, but did by the end of the first slice. Though the difference was only a few grand, it meant a lot to me because Kelly and I were going to married a few months later and had already booked a fairly pricey honeymoon in St. John, U.S.V.I.

- After a single interview, I had an offer to take a position for which I had very little relevant experience. I was lucky because Bronto doesn't hire like this any more. Having made a few (hilariously bad) mistakes with shake and bake hires in the past, Bronto now requires that applicants. interview with at least 3 or 4 people at least 3 times before we will even considering offering them a job.

- Deciding to work at Bronto turned out to be one of the smartest decisions I've ever made.

More about my time at Bronto later this week.

Sales Punishment

I spent my first ~2.5 years at Bronto as the company's only salesperson. I hawked our email marketing snake oil medicine to every marketing agency, law firm, health club, and university on the east coast - (at least it seemed like it at the time) - and learned a lot in the process, including how to motivate a sales team.

Bronto, unlike typical sales organizations, often set a sales "punishment" in addition to our sales goal and stretch goal. Obviously, the punishment kicked in if we didn't hit our number and was meant to spur us on to victory. As far as I remember, we only punished ourselves twice:

The first time, we met at Meridian Parkway corporate park in the middle of the night and swam our 9ft tall inflatable Bronto mascot across the disgusting office park pond.



From left - Joe, Chaz, Britney, and Eric swim Big Bronto across the pond. (Not pictured - Caroline)


The fun continued as we convened in the parking lot for a beer after the swim. As I recall, Meridian Parkway security showed up and we proceeded to have an awkward exchange in which we explained why we were wet and he essentially told us to never swim in the pond again. (The details are a little fuzzy on this one...)

The 2nd punishment we endured was more of the public humiliation type. Essentially, we set up shop at the front door of our office building - who's tenants included numerous stodgy business types - and accosted those entering and exiting the building with something like the following:

Hi - we're Bronto Software, a local technology start-up. We didn't hit our sales goal and would like for you to dole out the punishment by pelting us with water balloons or squirting us with a water gun. You can either roll the dice to punish a random victim or you can just pick the department you think blew it this month.

Don't you think it was the sales team's fault?

As you can tell from the photo below, it ended up being everyone's fault...but mostly mine:



Front row, from left - Brandon, Chaz, Eric, and Jack.
Back row, from left - Danielle, Brad, Joe, and Oliver.

Looking back, the punishments were just as fun - if not more so - than the rewards. That said, I'm glad that we avoided the following "punishments" as crafted by Chaz:

- November Halloween. All Brontos would have been required to dress up in outlandish Halloween costumes...on November 1.

- Carolina Wolfpack. The plan was to don the most obnoxious NC State gear we could find and then eat lunch at the UNC cafeteria.

Behind the Scenes at Bronto

As many of my loyal readers know, I only have a couple weeks left at Bronto Software before I embark upon The Summer of Eric (more on this later) and then 2 years of business school at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Considering my impending departure and my distinguished tenure with the company, the next few weeks at the Boggs Blog will carry a "Behind the Scenes at Bronto" theme. I'll reflect on some of the memorable moments and people from Bronto days past and, if the mood strikes, perhaps convey a portion of the immense admiration and gratitude I have for the company and the people with which I work.

For now, on with the comedy.

Eric
---

At Bronto, we fancy ourselves as a company with a soul. (The fact that we're named after a dinosaur should make it pretty obvious that we're not your typical software company.)

Our website showcases our quirkiness. For example, the copy on our site includes the following gems:
We ensure that the infrastructure remains incredibly secure (think Superman “Fortress of Solitude” secure) and performs at expected levels.

The Bronto team members are some of the finest individuals around (at least we think so). We're each like a snowflake - unique and beautiful. But when we marshal our efforts, we transform into an email marketing juggernaut the likes of which the world has never seen. However, we put our pants on just like everyone else - one leg at a time. Except, once our pants are on, we make and support the best email marketing software out there.

In particular, we take great pride in our employee bios on the web site, all of which are penned by Boggs Blog patron and UNC PhD candidate Ben Rogerson.

Here is a bio that Ben wrote for former Bronto Jon Norris:
Jon Norris
Web Designer

Jon Norris handles Bronto's custom template design program, designs
instructive demos for clients, and shares his wisdom on all things email
marketing design. Prior to joining the Bronto team, Jon worked as a web designer for Dialog. Jon received his BA in Spanish from Mississippi College.

Throughout the mid 1990s, Jon smuggled medical supplies, appliances, and used clothing south of the border to help churches, orphanages, and dental clinics. Considering his dashing good looks and devil-may-care attitude, "Che" Norris does not for one second regret his subversive past. He harnesses this same zestful iconoclasm to design outstanding email marketing messages.

And here is an honest-to-goodness, absolutely true, and absolutely hilarious email we received from a customer regarding Jon's bio:
Subject: Who is he? John Norris?

Dear Danielle,

This is confidential!!!

about JOHN NORRIS?
NO Disrespect, but, this man sounds
like a CRIMINAL from the description
you provide on line..

If his major is in SPANISH, that explains alot of why the new Website is so backwards.

What are you all thinking? Is this BRONTO's idea of Humor?

THis is my business...this is not a game.

Please pass my message on discretely.

Rod

More comedy from Bronto (and my old emails) coming soon...

Eric

How to Build a Customer Advisory Board

I've spent a fair amount of time over the past few weeks prepping for and following up on my April call with Bronto's Customer Advisory Board. We call it the "BCAB" for short.

While prepping for this call and previous calls with the board, I did a number web searches in an effort to learn more about building and managing a customer advisory board. (Bronto has never had one and I don't have any experience with this sort of thing.)

Though the Googles yielded some helpful resources, most of the results were press releases from companies announcing the formation of their customer advisory board, re-affirming their commitment to building a customer-focused business, blah, blah, blah.

So I did what I've done many times over during my Bronto career - I gave it my best shot and learned some lessons in the process. Hence, the following end-all, be-all post about building and managing Bronto's customer advisory board.

(I'm going to skip the "what"and "why" for customer advisory boards and jump right into the "how".)

What are you trying to do?

During our initial planning phase, we wrote a brief description of what we intend our board to become:

- An opportunity for Bronto customers to provide feedback and advice on the direction of our company and our product.
- A mechanism to ensure that our product direction aligns with customer needs as well as their current and future email marketing plans.
- A venue for customers and Bronto leadership to exchange ideas on the state and direction of the email marketing industry.
- An opportunity for board members to leverage the collective experience of Bronto and their fellow board members in an effort to further their email marketing initiatives.

It was important for us that the BCAB be a win/win, for Bronto and our board members. We knew what we wanted out of the program and quickly came to the conclusion that we were more likely to get the desired outcome if we made the experience worthwhile for our participants.

With these objectives in mind, we planned our first call. Prior to the call, we sent brief surveys to all of our members that asked our members a few simple questions:

- What would make the BCAB experience successful?
- List 3 driving forces that contribute to your success with Bronto.
- List 3 restraining forces that contribute to your success with Bronto.

(I got the driving/restraining forces questions from Pragmatic Marketing.)

The survey framed not only our first call, but subsequent calls as well. I spent a lot of time processing the results and then presented them to our board members in the first call. I felt like this was an effective means to get everyone "on the same page" and to set the tone for future meetings. Plus, our board members appreciated the opportunity to hear the email marketing perspectives and challenges of their fellow members.

Choose members carefully.

We recruited a fairly diverse set of board members. They range from CEOs to Marketing Specialists, E-Commerce sites to Non-Profits, high-power users to somewhat lessor power users. It is important to note that all are Top 50 customers in terms of annualized value to Bronto - so they all have a significant stake in email marketing and, more importantly, Bronto.

Also, most of the members already knew me very well, so gaining their trust and soliciting their honest opinions proved pretty easy.

The "all kinds of customers" approach was helpful initially. We were able to get a broad perspective of "what our customers are thinking" in very short order. However, it has since been somewhat of a limiting factor. We're not able to dig in on special topics as much as I would like precisely because our membership is so diverse.

I plan to recruit a few more members and form a couple "sub-committees" to rectify this problem. We'll have more sub-committee calls and fewer "all hands" calls. I suspect that we'll get better feedback and our board members will enjoy a richer experience.

We have 10 members and have thus far conducted all of our activities via phone and web conference. It has been challenging to keep 10 participants engaged on a call, but doable. 5 to 7 make for a better phone call - hence the "sub-committees" idea.

Don't talk. Just listen.

I would be lying if I didn't say that this is the hardest part.

While it was a strong start, Bronto's first customer summit devolved into a sales/entertainment event. (This is the risk you take when you put me in front of an audience.) We (read: I) have since gotten much better at asking the right questions and then listening for the answers.

Other articles I've read about CABs suggest hiring a facilitator. I suppose this would be a pretty good idea, though I think that we've done pretty well without one. As long as you can keep listening - and keep your cool! - when your members are brutally honest and as long as you're not afraid to walk right into situations in which you know that your members will be brutally honest, then you should be fine without one.

Extend the involvement.

For me, the most valuable asset of my board is knowing that I can call any of them out of the blue to bounce around an idea or to ask for an opinion on a very specific topic.

Though you'd have to ask them to be sure, I suspect that the members enjoy the high-touch approach and the satisfaction of knowing that they play a significant role in our product development process.

Make it happen.

It goes without saying that you can't talk the talk without walking the walk. Our board needs to know that their input drives change at Bronto. Thus, we make sure to discuss only the topics that we're honestly willing to change. We then take the appropriate action based on customer feedback and our best judgment.

I like to start our board calls with a quick rundown of our recent product initiatives - particularly those that involve BCAB feedback - in order to illustrate the board's impact.

---
So that's a lot. Hope it helps.

Eric

NBA = Liars

I'm sorry David Stern, but I'm going to have to call "shenanigans" on your latest announcement:
The NBA finished the 2006-07 regular season with the highest average attendance and the highest total attendance in league history, for the third consecutive season.

There is no way that the average NBA game drew more than 17K+ spectators. I've endured watched more than my fair share of NBA basketball games this season, none of which had more than a handful of fans in attendance.  (Perhaps I'm just not seeing the 15K silent fans tucked away in the upper level?)

Until you pack the house night in and night out, you're only setting "ticket revenue" records, not "attendance" records.

Experience Weekend Recap

A few quick observations from the event thus far:

- Deloitte sponsored a dinner last night and had a handful of recruiters working the crowd. I don't start classes until August, yet I'm already shaking hands with a recruiter from a major consulting firm. That's just funny.

- Johnson & Johnson sponsored breakfast this morning and had a small kiosk of bowls with Tylenol, Motrin, etc. A well-received remedy for my low-grade hangover headache and an economical branding experience for J&J.

- My plans to build an intramural basketball dynasty are slowly taking shape. I've already identified 2 key recruits from the incoming MBA class, one of which spent a brief term as a walk-on at Ole Miss. That, my friends, is the kind of ringer talent that wins championships.

- I'm really glad that I chose Kenan-Flagler.

All in all, its been great fun. The real party starts tonight with dinner, drinks, and bluegrass on the Latane Plaza and will end with beers at P-Bob's.

Kenan-Flagler Loves the Boggs Blog

Folks - Boggs Blog Fever is sweeping the nation. For example, consider this (roughly transcribed) conversation that I had with Sarah - whom I'm never met - tonight at the Kenan-Flagler Experience Weekend:

Eric - Hi. I'm Eric.

Sarah - Hi. I'm Sarah.

Eric - Nice to meet you. (Pleasantries, etc.)

Sarah - Umm. You might think this is strange, but I've read your blog.

Eric - (Uncontrollable laughter.) How did you find my blog?

Sarah - I Googled "Kenan-Flagler gay" because I was trying to get a sense of Kenan-Flagler's reputation as a gay-friendly school. You had just written a post about that NBA basketball player a day or two after you had written a post about being accepted at Kenan-Flagler. So I guess it made sense that it showed up in my search results.

Eric - (More uncontrollable laughter, followed by a 10 minute soliloquy on the virtues of blogging, the Long Tail, the Kenny George situation, and internet marketing - all of which was largely ignored by those around me.)

I'll post more about Experience Weekend tomorrow.

Snoop Sums It Up

America has waited and waited for insightful, intelligent commentary on the Don Imus issue and we finally got it from the D-O-Double-G:
It's a completely different scenario," said Snoop. "[Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about ho's that's in the 'hood that ain't doing sh--, that's trying to get a n---a for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them mutha----as say we in the same league as him.

New Records - Kings of Leon, The Drams

I downloaded 2 records from iTunes this weekend, both of which I highly recommend.

Because of the Times by Kings of Leon is a great follow-up to their previous 2 records. I haven't read any reviews, but I suspect that they'll all describe how their sound has "matured" and that this record illustrates a greater lyrical and musical depth than the previous adrenaline-driven records.

I like that much of Because is completely different than anything they've ever done. I've always preferred bands that recreate themselves to those that release the same record over and over and over. Plus - though the texture of the songs departs from their past - they all still contain the angular rhythms, sloppy guitar, and the raspy, screeching vocals that, in my opinion, make them great. Even better still - the record is named after an annual Pentecostal minister's convention.

You can hear a couple songs from the record on their MySpace page. Unfortunately, they don't include Charmer and Camaro on the page - they're my faves after listening through a few times.

If you were to take the members of Wilco, DBT, and Weezer and randomly shuffle the players to create a new 5-piece band, that band would probably sound a lot like The Drams. Their debut record Jubilee Dive is outstanding. They actually released it in 2006 - and I'm miffed that I just now bought it.

The tunes are all largely melodic, sing-able, and feature piano/keys prominently, but have the rough edge, raunchy guitar, and vocal quality that keeps 'em country and keeps 'em rawk. (It is no coincidence that they toured with DBT...and that three of their members were formerly of Slobberbone, a mid-90s alt country stalwart.)

Again - you can hear a handful of songs on their MySpace page. Check out You Won't Forget.

Orange Serpents Season Recap

The Orange Serpents capped off of an undefeated season with a rousing comeback against the Red Team this past Saturday.

We were down 4 to begin the 4th quarter. (For those of you that haven't seen a 7/8 year old basketball game recently, 4 points is a nearly insurmountable lead.) We made a couple buckets to tie the game with about 4 minutes left, one of which was a sweet put back in traffic by Liam. Once we tied the game, it was clear - considering the horrific shooting and scrambling defense - that the next team to score would win.

A couple minutes late, Isabelle - one of our best defenders, but not a consistent shooter - hoisted a 15 foot jump shoot that hit nothing but the bottom of the net. Her shot left us gave us a 2 point lead with about 2 minutes left. So, we only needed to make a few stops and we'd win the game.

The last 2 minutes were so exciting! The crowd was going nuts and the other team was playing very aggressively, but my players kept their poise. I called timeouts (yes - in a 7/8 year old game) after possession changes so that we could set our offense/defense. After each time out, the Serpents did exactly what they were supposed to do.

I was proudest of my team on our last defensive play. I warned Xavier - our toughest player and one of our point guards - that the other team was going to come to his side and try to screen him - which they did. He saw it coming, played it well and defended the shot. Liam snagged a tough rebound - just as he had the entire game - handed it off to Xavier once the defense cleared.

Xavier walked the ball to halfcourt and I called timeout before the defense could swarm him. We threw the ball inbounds in the backcourt without any problem. (My inbounds play was predicated on the "no pressing in the backcourt" rule.) We easily melted the clock and took the victory. My kids went nuts! They were so happy to finish 8-0.

I'm sad that the season is over. As we progressed, the games and practices became such fun. After the first 5 or 6 weeks, my kids had learned the basics - share the ball, play defense without fouling, spacing on offense, keep your spot on defense, etc. Thus, I spent our practices teaching them to set picks, block out, and hit the deck for loose balls. They loved the drills and games that I taught them and I loved feeling like I was coaching the greatest 7/8 year old basketball team every assembled. (This is an arguable point. The 1988 Gastonia YMCA Bucks with me, Joel, and Andy were pretty good, too.)

I hope that I have time to coach again next winter. I also hope that my career path meanders in such a way that I end up on a sideline coaching a high school basketball team. Considering the fun I had coaching children, I simply can't imagine how much fun I would have coaching players that can really play and that I could berate and run to death when they displease me.

Teams I Hope We Get A Chance To Beat

Assuming the Heels take care of business with Eastern Kentucky and the winner of the Michigan State/Marquette game - which is a big assumption considering last year's George 'Effing Mason debacle - I hope we see the following storyline unfold:
Texas

The 'Horns will be a tough out with Jesus Christ Kevin Durant on their team, but I think the 'Heels have the personnel to get it done. If we run Ginyard, Terry, and Wright at the Christ child, he'll have to contend with fresh legs and differing defensive styles throughout the game.

A Sweet 16 victory avenges our 2nd round loss to Texas in 2004, the 1995 Rick Barnes/Dean Smith fiasco, and my absolute disdain for Rick Barnes...and the stupid "Don't mess with Texas." attitude...and George W. Bush.

Georgetown

After seeing the SI.com "expert" bracket picks, I've decided that Georgetown is now my 3rd least favorite team in the field, behind the aforementioned Texas and Duke, who's irrelevance and overall suck-itude leaves them beyond the scope of this article.

We already beat Georgetown with John Thompson and Patrick Ewing in 1982. Surely we can beat them in the Elite 8 with John Thompson III and Patrick Ewing, Jr. Plus, does anyone honestly think a team running the Princeton offense has the juice to win a national championship?

Ohio State

I watched us beat the Greg Oden-less Buckeyes at the Dean Dome this past November. It was probably the most exciting game I watched all year. The Buckeyes made every single shot they heaved and the Heels matched them shot for shot throughout the game. We pulled it out in the end thanks a late run and a big effort from Tyler Hansbrough.

The in-game and post-game story, however, was all Oden. The talking heads just wouldn't shut-up about his greatness, how he would completely change the game if he were healthy, how he's developing his left hand while his right hand is injured, etc. The telecast cut to shots of Oden on the bench at least 25 times. (I know because I always record the game and then watch it again when I come home.) Read the post-game recap to get a sense of what I'm talking about. It was REALLY irritating to have an inactive player get so much attention.

So, Greg Oden has it coming to him. Like Durant, he's a media darling and must be broken. He'll get his in the Final Four.
Kansas

The only way we face the Jayhawks is if we both make the championship game. The story lines are endless! Dean! Roy! Larry Brown! Danny Manning! Danny Manning's father! Matt Doherty! "I could give a shit about North Carolina right now!"

In my ideal scenario, we clobber Kansas to take the title behind a man's effort by Tyler Mansbrough, a few timely jump shots from Wes Miller, and key defensive play by Marcus Ginyard. After the game, Roy weeps on national television and Bill Self remains a loser.

Please make it so.

(Yes, I realize that this will never happen now that I've taken the time to articulate the PERFECT scenario.)

Thoughts On The Tyler Incident

As if he already hadn't done so, Tyler Hansbrough DEFINITELY secured his place in the Carolina Basketball pantheon today.

Tyler Hansbrough and a bloody nose


For one, he put up 26 and 17 in a must win game against Dook. If we lose, we end up the #5 seed in the ACC Tournament and have to play in a dreaded Les Robinson Invitational game on Thursday night. Instead, as a direct result of Tyler's herculean effort, we share the regular season ACC title with UVA and get the #1 seed in the tournament.

For two, he now has his iconic moment. Just like Eric Montross' cut under the eye in 1992, Tyler's busted nose will be a holy act of bravery and sacrifice that Carolina fans talk about for years to come. It doesn't matter that it happened at the end of the game or that it was an accident. (I am one of the very few Heels fans that thinks that the elbow from Gerald Henderson was nothing more than the by-product of aggressive play.) 10 years from now, everyone - me included - will remember that Tyler ended up bloodied in a Duke game as a result of a "questionable" play by some nameless Dookie thug (that never amounted to anything in the NBA) and that Tyler's blood sacrifice rallied the team to victory.

My favorite part of the incident? After taking the blow, Tyler fell to the ground and lay still for a brief moment. He then gathered himself and stood up looking for a fight. He wasn't just mad - he was crying mad, with blood streaming down his face and tears welling in his eyes. For me, that will be the lasting image and the lasting emotion. I suspect that the tears were from the pain of a busted nose, but I like to think that they came in part from the competitive fire that burns in his gut.

When I was a kid, my dad always exhorted me to play the game with heart like Tar Heel legends Phil Ford and Bobby Jones. If I'm fortunate enough to have a son, I know that I will (attempt to) inspire him with tales of Tyler's grit, his whirling dervish effort, the fanatical gleam he gets in his eye when he's on the court, and, of course, his bloody nose.

The Maw Maw Sessions



This is my grandmother, Catherine Maude Rhyne Boggs Postell. (We just call her Maw Maw.) Among her many talents - which includes cooking macaroni and cheese, mowing her lawn, keeping her home oppressively warm, and exhorting me to wear warm clothes - music is the chief.

Maw Maw can't "play" the piano, per se. She's never had formal training and she can't read music. However, she can bang out hymns like nobody's business. She learned to play by ear as a child and has continued to play throughout her life. In addition to her work on the keys, Maw Maw also has a natural knack for singing the alto line that I've only recently come to appreciate.

In 2000 (?), I took my 4-track recorder to Maw Maw's house and had her lay down a few tracks. Naturally, she elected to perform a few gospel numbers. I had her record on her Lowry organ, both because of the churchy quality and because, as far back as I can remember, her piano has never been in tune.

After recording Maw Maw's vocal/organ tracks, I went back home and embellished the tracks with guitar, harmonica, percussion, and vocals. The finished - and admittedly humorous - recordings are below. I hope that you'll enjoy!

I'm Satisfied

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

More recently, I recorded some footage of Maw Maw playing at my parents' house. My wife Kelly, aunt Cathy, aunt Rhonda, and (unfortunately) I make up the choir. Check out the video on YouTube

.

Dave Holland Sextet

Ben and I saw the Dave Holland Sextet at Memorial Hall tonight. The concert was absolutely outstanding. A few observations:

1. Until today, I had never seen anyone play the upright bass shred-metal style. Seriously - some of Dave Holland's licks would have fit perfectly even in the most disgustingly metal of metal records. The numerous music/jazz students sitting around us continuously gasped during his solo turns, as did I.

I feel bad that I jokingly made reference to the numerous droning bass solos I would have to endure as I walked into the auditorium.  In retrospect, I would have preferred that Mr. Holland drop the horns (not that they weren't amazing talented in their own right) and play in a simple piano/bass/drums combo.  In this setup, it would have been much easier to appreciate the subtleties in his talent even when he was not soloing.

2. The drummer, Eric Harland, was the best I've ever seen.

3. Trombone is kinda boring, even when the player is supremely talented. Perhaps I don't have the finely tuned appreciation for the instrument, but to me it sounds like one big muddled mess.