Sleepwalker Showcase: Lee Peterkin

It was my first year as a Resident Advisor at the University of South Carolina. I had been through the training, and the day arrived for students to come. As students poured in over the course of the day, the night greeted me with my first hall meeting. There were a lot of great guys there, many who I still keep in touch with to this day, but one who stood out was Lee Peterkin. The “American Pie” series was hot at the time, and if you know me…you know I like to dub nicknames for people, and I called Lee “Biggs”. (short for the main character’s real name, Jason Biggs) It was obvious to me that he was a leader from the jump. Maybe it was his charisma, but I watched as many of the guys on the floor were drawn to him. (I’ve noticed all the people I’m showcasing seem to have the “It” factor. I think most Sleepwalkers have the “It” factor in which they are a force that without words is admired or respected.) Although he was a year behind me, we had a couple of classes together and I was able to see his talent and drive for acting and film. (I’ve added one of our student films to this blog.) It’s been seven years since we first met, and Lee is still working hard in the entertainment arena. The writer, actor, director is making things happen and isn’t waiting or asking for hand outs, which makes him a Sleepwalker to watch!

Lee has had an interest in film since as far back as he can remember. Born in Sleepy Hollow, New York, he grew up in one of the film capitals of the US. His interest in film grew enormously with each viewing. He loved everything about it from the cinematography, the stories, to the acting, it was all intriguing. He wanted in, and quickly.

He started out as a small child performing in his first grade class’ version of Aesop’s fable, “The Lion and The Mouse.” By the time he got to middle school he began learning the art of movie making by attending a filmmaking summer camp. After that experience he’d pull friends and family in to create short skits, using the family video camera while continuing performing in school plays and musicals.

Taking his interest to college he enrolled in the film school at the University of South Carolina. There, he majored in Filmmaking and minored in Theater. He made several short films while attending the university, performed in South Carolina’s theater productions, and on TV while residing in the state. If you live in South Carolina, you may have watched a commercial for the South Carolina Education Lottery that he wrote.

After school down south, he returned to NYC and started working as an actor. Since then, Lee has starred in many short independent films, commercials, and has been featured as a day role on the television shows Rescue Me, All My Children, and Damages. For Lee, his work as a Sleepwalker never stops, as he is currently working on a web series called "Stupendous League", writing a feature film, and working as an actor and producer on a feature to be shot in NYC this summer.

Sleepwalkers Unite posed our 5 “Walk with Me” questions to Lee, and this is what he had to say:

When did you first start sleepwalking? (chasing after your dream)
I really started "sleepwalking" way back as far as I can remember. All I know is that ever since I saw my first movies on TV or in the theater I wanted in. My family had no idea how to help, so I really found everything our on my own as I created my path.

What motivates you to keep going after your dream?
What motivates me is my passion to tell stories and deliver messages to an audience. I do this in hopes that my audience will one day be the world. I have always had the desire to reach as many peoples lives as possible and be able to teach them something or bring out something inside of them, whether that is an emotion, a memory, or an argument. I am motivated daily by seeing others succeed, as well as watching others fail. I have a lot of things that I believe in and motion pictures is my medium to expressing myself and give the world a piece of me. I truly feel that making movies is my place on earth.

Wake up: What have been some of the biggest challenges in going after your dream?
My biggest challenges were/are time and money. If I had the money, I could create the time to work on all the projects I have wanted to put together. If you want to know what my biggest challenges growing up were, then I'd say that they were people believing that dreams can't come true. My parents never truly believed that I could achieve my dreams, because that's all they thought they were - dreams. So I had to figure out how to go about it all on my own.

Don’t sleep on this: What’s one thing you have learned in your craft that fellow sleepwalkers shouldn’t sleep on?
Go to where your passion takes you. For me I have found so may opportunities in NYC, where there a lot of people like me who want to do the same things I want to do. This allows all of us to feed off each other and help each other work on our own projects. You can't expect anybody to do the work for you so you really need to find the right people to help you create the work together.

Top 5 accomplished Sleepwalkers you admire in your craft and why?
1. Jon Favreau - wrote, directed and acted his way into success. He wrote and starred in the cult classic "Swingers" beside Vince Vaughn.
2. Matt Damon is another guy who did the same exact thing. Although he started out acting professionally as a kid, he wasn't noticed until "Good Will Hunting" was produced.
3. Lupe Fiasco - His music is inspiring and exciting to listen to. As an art that seems to be dying, rap is an elusive creature that has been tamed by this young prodigy. When I listen to his music my mind wanders and images consume my brain. When that happens a movie is waiting to be born.
4. Paul Rudd - Paul has been actor that I have watched since I saw him in "Clueless" (don't judge, I have seen it). I have always loved his characters and the fact that he had been so successful and stayed under the RADAR, until recently of course.
5. Martin Scorsese - From NY, Scorsese wrote and produced his first films himself and truly made an impact on his own accord. I admire his way of doing what he wanted to do and coming out on top.

Sleepwalking is hard to do! One thing I’ve learned in life is that if you keep working at your craft and opening doors for yourself rather than waiting on them to open, other people will start to notice. With Lee, people are definitely noticing! If you’d like to contact this Sleepwalker, you can find him at the following:

www.leepeterkin.com

Don't Sleep on This: They are Watching!

Now I know as Sleepwalkers we all want to grind. We want to work hard to achieve our goals. Sometimes starting from the ground up with our business and/or dreams makes us feel that we must reach out to people on our social networking sites in whatever way we can…but please, don’t be stupid! The Bible, The Art of War, any gangster movie, they all tell you to watch what you say and that too many words are never a good thing.

Be careful what you say on Twitter, Facebook, and really just in life in general…especially when you have a paper trail. I’ll give you a few articles to read up on, like this one about the boy who got fired from Cisco before he even got the job all because he wanted to express himself on Twitter. He made the mistake of revealing his cards all too soon. Yet, at the same time…maybe he should have been honest with himself from the get go.

If you truly want to build your brand or just your social network online this article is perfect: six reasons why no one likes you online. This was a great informational for me to think about and I’m sure if you’re trying to build a network you will agree. Here's a great article on leaders to learn from on Twitter entitled "The Leadership Playlist".

At the end of the day, I try to remember that if I’m trying to make a dream come true where I have eyes on me, then I need to put my best foot forward. That doesn’t mean I can’t joke with friends online, but that does mean that if a potential client or employer can see me…I’m not going to be as silly as I may be in person. Does that mean be fake or lie? Of course not! Just be wise! There’s a time and a place for everything. I just wanted to share some nuggets I learned, feel free to share some you've learned.

Kevin

The MPC won't work by Itself!

What up Sleepwalkers? So last weekend I was riding with my wife to good ol’ South Carolina to visit our family. We rented a SUV that happened to have Sirius satellite radio in it. I was listening to “DJ Premier: Live From HeadQCourterz” to try and keep myself awake in the early morning hours. I can’t quite remember the overall topic at hand in specifics, but obviously it dealt with producing. Premier said something that was quite profound to me. It was one of those things that I’ve heard before, but some time later…new situation in life, etc…it stood out to me.

He was talking about making beats on a drum pad with someone and he said “Like I always tell people, you make the machine work for you. The MPC won’t work by itself!” He went on further in discussion to talk about how great producers work with the machine they have and make great music regardless of if it is or isn’t “the best drum pad out”. He said you have to press the pad and work the machine to create. If that scene were a movie though- time slows as the radio becomes ambiguous chatter and we push in on Kevin’s face. “You make the machine work for you.” How true indeed. In life, things don’t just happen. You can’t just think I have to clean my house and “WHALA”…the house is clean. You can’t just think I want to open the door and “WHALA” …the door is opened. No, you have to take action. Just like a producer can’t make the beat he/she hears in his/her head, but instead he/she has to take the keyboard/MPC and slowly build the composition. I can’t just see the film in my head, I have to get a crew, the equipment and execute it. Not only that, I can’t think that a Red camera is going to make my film hot…no, I have to storyboard the shots and let my creative juices flow so that I use the machine and get the most out of it. So I guess the same would stand true for my dreams and your dreams right?

Who ever had a dream and didn’t have to put in work to make it happen? Oprah didn’t become the greatest personal brand overnight. Obama didn’t become the President overnight. Spielberg didn’t start making blockbusters overnight! In fact, I watched his first directing film debut (after he did tv shows) recently. It was a made for TV movie entitled “Duel”. Besides it being an old film, it definitely wasn’t the Spielberg we know now…but the creative shots and good storytelling was there.

My point is that from that moment in the car I decided I was going to do at least one thing every day towards reaching my dreams and achieving my goals using what I have. I can’t put time into making my dreams happen every once and a while. It has to be consistent DAILY effort. Whether it’s writing in my blog, writing pages in a script, writing new music, recording, and you fill in the blank for yourself…I have to do something! I have to work with what I have and make the machine work for me. I have to make beautiful music on the level I’m on so I can take it to the next level. I challenge you to do the same. Every day, do at least one thing to bring you closer to your ultimate goal. The dream isn’t going to come to you or me. We have to go after it. As Diddy says “Lock In!” Tunnel vision, heat seeking missile on that dream! That’s what I’m doing now and that’s my focus. That's what all true Sleepwalkers do. What’s yours? How are you systematically chasing your dream? No for real…comment…tell me…let’s inspire one another!

Sleepwalker Showcase: Likwuid

The first time I became acquainted with Likwuid was on the cover of her “Likwuidation” album back in 2003. So like any guy I was thinking…“She’s cute. She raps? I doubt she’s any good.” (I’m sure being a woman in the Hip Hop industry is tough, because we look at them first and scrutinize them the hardest!) Likwuid is one of my favorite female rap artists to this day because when I heard her talent, her heart, and her passion come through the speakers for the first time…I haven’t doubted her since. In fact I respected her for dispelling any stereotypes I had by letting her talent speak instead of femininity (while she still embraced it wholesomely) and even more so as a person when we first officially met. Years later she’s still demanding respect and dispelling stereotypes through one simple word: action. To me, she is an inspiration as a Sleepwalker chasing and living her dreams that you shouldn’t sleep on!

Born in the suburbs of Columbia, South Carolina, entrepreneur, activist and hip hop artist, LaShanna Mickens, better known by friends and fellow music makers as “Likwuid”, has made a commitment to change the negative portrayal of women in the entertainment industry. Upon moving to New York City, Likwuid along with two childhood friends decided to form a company, Royalty Media Group, with the aim of empowering women by promoting progressive ideas and images for women of color. “For women to attain the respect that we deserve, we must celebrate our champions and give support to our weakest links. Misogyny is another plague that, unfortunately, has poisoned our society, our minds, and our music. Instead of TALKING about the problem, we at Royalty Media Group decided to offer a SOLUTION. This website is about getting our voices heard and celebrating our champions as business minded and artistic spirits.”

Likwuid is currently a member of the group Rebel Starr. “When she raps, you can hear her love for the music in her voice,” says nationally syndicated radio personality Charlemagne the God, “Likwuid let’s her mind and soul, not her body, dictate her destiny.” She has received countless awards and recognition for her music to include Disc Makers/Taxi Top Artist in the Southeast (IMWS) award, JumpOff.TV Battle Winner, EOW Challenge Winner, Power 94.3 Freestyle Battle Champion, Charleston Idol Award, and numerous showcase winnings. Likwuid has been featured on MTV Asia, H20 on Demand, BK Magazine, WACH 57, Hot 103.9, Rise Up Radio, Rago Magazine and countless other mediums.

Sleepwalkers Unite posed our 5 “Walk with Me” questions to Likwuid, and this is what she had to say:

When did you first start Sleepwalking? (chasing after your dream)
I've always been a writer and a lyricist for as long as I can remember. I wrote my first rhyme when I was 8. However I didn't actually start pursuing my goal until around 2002.

What motivates you to keep going after your dream?
What motivates me is my sincere love for music. I was drum captain in high school and it's something about a snare pattern and bass kicks that gets me amped. I grew up listening to Motown and gospel while other kids my age where listening to ONLY hip hop. I loved hip hop then, but I also loved and respected writers and composers in other genres. I want to be that person that creates that song the generations can sing together...timeless music. My motivation is my love for music and my passion to want to bring all races, all ages, and all genders together through my words.

Wake up: What have been some of the biggest challenges in going after your dream?
The hip hop culture is entirely too misogynist and it's becoming disgusting. I can't stomach half of the rappers/emcees that I truly respect as artists. It's challenging to love and respect a culture that boldly HATES and DISCRIMINATES against you.
So it's like a double standard...sometimes I want to be known as one of the most talented women in hip hop and then sometimes I don't even want to be associated with it. Right now I'm on my W.E.B Dubois Double Conscious tip...the gender version. Lol.

Don’t sleep on this: What’s one thing you have learned in your craft that fellow Sleepwalkers shouldn’t sleep on?
You HAVE to know your music and you HAVE to know your music BUSINESS. ALL contracts have fine print and EVERYONE is trying to get over. Don't trust anybody...well, I would say, don't put anything past anybody. My best friend even hustled me for a measly $200.
Also be ready to love unconditionally. There are going to be a lot of people that LOVE you and there will be a few that despise you because of what you do. You have to keep focused and not be swayed by either. Just make love to the globe...one person at a time!

Top 5 accomplished Sleepwalkers you admire in your craft and why?
HMMMMM, that's a toughie being that I admire so many folks for so many different reason. Unlike most emcees, I'm not a complete egoist, so I can give respect when it's due regardless how I personally feel about a person:

1. Homeboy Sandman: This guy is the hardest working man in the NY hip hop scene. He reminds me of what one of my coaches used to say...HEART will take you further than TALENT. Are there doper emcees out there, of course, do they have as much heart as this guy...DOUBT IT!

2. Nina B: This woman has created a woman from the ground up. I don't understand how she hasn't received the Unsigned Hype title in the Source. Like most emcees, that happen to be female, Nina B is not only lyrically sound, but also business savvy. I dig her a lot.

3. Rebel Starr: Yep, I said it! My group has had so many doors close and open it feels like we are on a revolving door trajectory. First we get on 3 tours one with Bow Wow, one with Talib and one with Lyfe Jennings. Then we landed a slot on MTV TRL just to get slighted by 50 Cent. Then we got our song placed in an MTV Networks indie film only to have our video release party canceled due to a murder at the venue (a week before our event). To add we finally get offered a record deal, only to find out it's a single deal and they want 90% of our publishing. THANKS, but no thanks.
So after ALL that, we had to start all over and WE ARE STILL here. We got the URB NEXT 1000, we are rocking every stage in NYC (finally getting paid shows) and we are almost done with the album. All those ups and downs just made us stronger!

4. Midi Marc: We share the same birthday with Rakim...which automatically makes us awesome! Midi is not only a true lover of music, but he is also a wise business man. Midi has not only worked the web, but has found a way to make the web work for him. Every time I hear a beat from Midi, his growth shows. He's also taken the time to brand himself and I think he's going to definitely make it as a music professional.

5. Peace: I can honestly say that I have the pleasure of being a fan of such a really good friend of mine. Her music is soothing and if you've spent any time with her you know that music is her true and only passion. I think that she is industry ready and she will make her mark as a musician and songstress.

Sleepwalking is hard to do! I'm sure you'll agree that Likwuid has had her share of trials, but she continues to push forward! The amazing thing is...because she hasn't given up, things are working for the best and she's living her dreams! I'll keep you updated on her progress, but I think soon enough she'll be a household name. If you’d like to contact this Sleepwalker, you can find her at the following:

www.myspace.com/likwuidstylez
www.myspace.com/rebelstarrmusic
www.royaltymedia.net

First Showcase about to drop!

Alright folks, it looks like my first Sleepwalker Showcase is about to drop soon! Again, this blog is about positive people going after their dreams. It's about being inspired to not give up, and to keep chasing and living whatever dream you have in your heart. I hope to do one showcase every two weeks,(twice a month)and in between I'll keep you informed on what I'm doing to accomplish my dreams, interesting thoughts, and nuggets of wisdom/information you shouldn't sleep on!

This is a collaborative blog, so please leave follow up nuggets or positive comments for the showcased Sleepwalkers. As time moves on, feel free to give me suggestions on people or topics to cover. Thanks for reading, and keep living your dream!

Kevin

Don't Sleep On This!

I don’t know what life is teaching you, but one thing I’ve learned is that I want to stay on top of my craft! I like to know what’s going on in the media. (Not the lame gossip of when Brad Pitt blew his nose, but business stuff!) I want to know the trends of the film and music industries, entrepreneurship skills, management, and so forth to grow as a Sleepwalker. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to rummage around the internet for all this information and I probably wouldn’t know where to start in some aspects. Last week I learned about SmartBrief in my Executive Suite course with Russell Williams.

SmartBrief is a media company with a mission to save you time and keep you well-informed. Using their proprietary technology, their editors become your personal research assistants: handpicking, distilling and disseminating the best and most important news stories from a wide range of sources. You pick from a variety of topics that you want to stay up to date on and they send you an e-mail with a concise list of articles with new information in that industry. It’s great! The subscription is free and all you have to do is sign up using your e-mail.

If you want to stay on top of things as an entrepreneur, manager, leader, and/or in your industry…DON’T SLEEP ON THIS! =)

www.smartbrief.com