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XXwines's Featured Winemaker: Tony Coturri

Coturri Winery, Glen Ellen, CA

The Hidden Gem:

Over the last number of years, we have been honored to work in different capacities with winemaker Tony Coturri of Coturri Winery. The family-owned winery in nestled far up in the hills outside of Sonoma, CA. The wine tourist would have to go to the Coturri website and make an appointment for a tasting, but it would be a life-changing experience. Tony, like his father before him and his young and talented son Niccolo, makes a bold portfolio of wines that have no peers.

"Just Grapes"

Aside from their taste, Coturri wines are both organic and sulfite-free. Tony describes his wines as "just grapes". Natural fermentation and no chemical additives are Coturri signatures. Paul Gleason of E Environmental Magazine described it well when he wrote:
"Tony Coturri has certified organic vineyards and uses no chemicals at any point in his winemaking. But he doesn't use the word "organic" on the Coturri Winery labels. "In all honesty, wine consumers have not embraced quality and organic in the same line yet. They still have the attitude that organic wine is a lower quality than what you can get in a conventional wine. It's a stigma," he explains. But his reasoning for not carrying an organic label goes beyond market prejudice. In his view, organic practices are the means to a great wine, and a wine's quality, not a USDA symbol on the label, should capture the attention. "If you're strictly looking for organically grown, no-sulfite wine, then you're looking at what I consider a lesser-quality product. These wines have to stand on their own merits," says Coturri."

Tony in His Own Words:

To hear about Coturri Wines in his own voice, click on the video below. This is on of the first videos in his popular video blog on his winery web page.




Cap'n Bill Bones says, "Coturri grog be not t' be missed"

Try some of the Coturri wines for yourself, their certain to amaze!
click here.

If you're already on Facebook, you can join the Coturri Fan Page by clicking on the Facebook link below.

30proof partners to launch Double Crossed Wines

After many months of close collaboration with the wine distribution company, Double Crossed Wines, 30proof is launching a new online wine store. The new store will feature wines that are not available around the country because they come from small, boutique wineries that don't have the "reach" of the big wineries.
Small-batch, hand-crafted wines being sold for amazing prices- something to beat those recessionary blues. 30proof has helped many clients launch their own online stores, but now we launch one of our own. The store goes live March 2009!
Cheers!

Making a difference in Uganda with the web

Two weeks ago, the mother of two of our founding partners and soon-to-be mother-in-law of our managing partner called us from Kampala, Uganda. Susan Evans is there for a 5 week professional trip to help one of the main hospitals there in the capital of Uganda set up a Social Work program. She will be returning later this week and opening up her private practice after many years working for public schools in Illinois.

She is a humanitarian at heart and saw a chance to help an individual directly. One girl she came across is 13 years-old and suffering from a lethal yet treatable bone cancer for which her family has no chance of being able to pay for chemo treatments. The entire set of treatments would only cost $600 and have a good chance of saving her life. 3oproof set up a donation site and information and the response was overwhelming. In under a week, we raised more than $1500 in small donations. This money will help several other patients directly. The amount keeps growing. Susan has set up an account with the social work program in which the money will continue to be sent after she leaves late this week. For now, the information is available at her web page.


After this week, Susan's progress will be available on her main page at SusanEvansLCSW.com.

Good Job Susan!

-30proof team

Here is the current amount raised:

30proof Releases GravityBrew.com!

Whew! It's been a long ride.

After quite a lot of organizing, planning, research, and beer, we're happy to be the proud parents of GravityBrew.com.

Gravity Brew is an internet TV show dedicated to the art of beer. We'll be speaking to the most influential and greatest brewers in the world. Starting in our own backyard, we visited San Francisco's legendary brewery, Anchor Brewing to speak with owner and brewmaster, Fritz Maytag. Our newest shows involve Linden St. Brewing in Oakland, CA and beer legend Dean Biersch. More to come!

In the meantime, read about us at the Oakland Tribune beer column written by William Brand.

If you like beer, you'll love us.

GravityBrew.com

Quick Note!: Innovative Grocer

30proof has officially renamed its grocery product to Innovative Grocer. You can visit the web page at InnovativeGrocer.com. Keep checking back for updates. Or watch our intro video below.

Happy Shopping!

The "WineFather" movies

Artisan winemaker and natural wines guru, Tony Coturri, has used the power of family and the internet to start gathering attention for his Glen Ellen winery, Coturri Winery. We redesigned the old website of the winery and brought it more within the aesthetic of the winery. Mr. Coturri provided the rest. With the help of his daughter, he is launching a string of videos as a "video-blog". Every day or so, he will be posting a new video and each video will deal with an element of natural wines and the process of making them. He will also display some of the high-end library wines that the winery has stored away in its hillside wine cellar. The winery does not have public tastings and are available by appointment only. So even if you can not make your way up into the hills of rural northern California, you can still sit down and discuss wine with Tony Coturri. He will discuss topics such as food and wine pairings, organic wine growing, biodynamic principles and the joy of wine.

This is one of our favorite things that a client has ever done with the technology that we helped them create.

Keep checking back each day at www.CoturriWinery.com.

Home Town Stores Online is the newest entity of 30proof

The newest effort from 30proof is a company that creates websites for independent grocers. We are striving to have all of the same features in these sites that the largest grocery chains offer their customers.


The biggest change in online usage has been for the age group 54-60. 77% of these adults have internet access at home and 79% of them are making buying decisions or looking up information about weather or other information. We are now creating convenient, affordable way for grocery stores to have their own community-focused web site. Each site is full of information and benefits just for local people. Local events are automatically updated on your site along with local news, weather, and even a ‘Gas Price Watch’ which finds the cheapest fuel in town for the benefit of loyal customers.

The design of these web sites make sure that no effort is required on the part the store or its employees. It gives customers access to over 80 manufacturers coupons daily, a recipe search with over 1.5 million recipes.

If you want to know more about Hometown Stores Online, call us at (510) 922-9885 or visit HomeTownStoresOnline.com.

The Eddie Van Halen of Winemaking!

This is a documentary about Tony Coturri, the maverick winemaker and owner of Coturri Winery, and his mission to sell sulfite-free, organic natural wines to the New York Market. Tony is one of our cherished clients at 30proof. Enjoy!

Our Client on NPR

Our Client, Bernie Krause, was on the recent episode of the NPR program, Living on Earth. He was being interviewed about his album, A Wild Christmas. This is no regular holiday album, it is made exclusively from the sounds of animals. Collected from one of the largest collection of natural sounds, it is an amazingly intricate piece of music that was completed in 1991. Although it sold many albums in the 1990's, it has been out of print for several years. Now it is available for electronic download on the Wild Sanctuary website due to their partnership with 30proof. Happy Holidays!

Just in Time for the Holidays...

30proof has just completed a website for an IGA in Robinson, Illinois. It is owned by father and son, Rick and Bob Rynke. It is one of those special hometown stores that caters to the community. Rick Rynke won the IGA Retailer of the Year in 2007, not a small accomplishment since there are over 2500 IGA stores around the world. This honor was also bestowed upon our client Kirby Foods. Right now it is the holidays, so they are busy selling turkeys and stuffing, but we hope they enjoy their new web site. The site will go live the day after Thanksgiving at RobinsonIGA.com

(The site also has many new design features that are also reflected on the Kirby Food's store's webpage at RoundBarnIGA.com)

Making Mexican Wine Better

The Robledo Family Winery in Napa, California has been working with 30proof for the last 6 months creating a new look for their growing website. The finished product was launched today and the full online store will be launched later. The image above is the new site and the image below was the website they have had since early 2001. They are now selling over 20,000 cases per year and we are honored to be part of their growth. Visit them and see what they are all about!

Community Involment, Aisle 5

After months of working with the grocery company Kirby Foods to create websites for each of their 18 stores, the project is finally accomplished. Kirby Foods operates IGA stores and they previously only had a corporate website, but nothing for the individual stores. Early this year, they asked us to come up with a new concept for them. We presented "Community Sites". The idea would be to make a "portal" or information source that was specific for that town. Local news, weather, gas prices, events, and, of course, the deals in the stores were the first things placed on each of the sites.

Since then, they are now offering web-only coupons and other promotional items. Customers can see the weekly as soon as they are public (Saturday night at midnight) and beat the other shoppers who have to wait for their Sunday morning paper. Kirby foods has begun advertising their new store websites on radio, TV and print. We are excited to continue working with Kirby Foods.

John Lamkin, co-owner of Kirby Foods had this to say about the new websites:
"Several years ago we knew we needed a web site for our
customers but had no idea what it should look like. We hired another company, before 30proof, that gave us a web site about as interesting as watching grass grow. 30proof knew what we wanted with us telling them. We have been very happy with the work they have done and the direction that are taking us."

30proof's New Home

This is our new land of residence. Since we have spend the last few years operating from two separate parts of the country, being united in San Francisco is a great opportunity for us. Sam made the drive across the country earlier this month and I moved about an hour's drive south from Sonoma. We are enjoying living in the city and working with our clients throughout Northern California, the Midwest and the rest of the country. Don't forget that our contact information has also changed:
30proof San Francisco
P.O. Box 7775
San Francisco, CA 94120
800.915.7834
415.839.9987
hello@30proof.com

Go ahead, give us a call.
-Jesse

30proof on BBC International Radio

30proof was mentioned on this week's BBC International Radio by Wild Sanctuary's Bernie Krause.
Bernie Krause was asked to be on to talk about 30proof's newest project: sound on Google Earth. See more at: http://earth.wildsanctuary.com.

Click here to listen to the interview.

30proof starts a partnership with Kirby Foods

30proof has recently launched a partnership with Kirby Foods of Champaign, Il. Kirby owns 13 IGA grocery stores in Illinois and Indiana. We will be making an individual webpage for each store. Check back as we keep developing it.

Jennell ran 12 miles!

Jennell Haynes, a 30proof founding partner, has reached the 12 mile mark in her training for her first marathon. She is running for the Team in Training program. To read more about it go to her website.

New site launches!!! Coming in July.

We are proud to announce a new line of websites coming this July! We are beginning the process of individual websites for a large chain of IGA grocery stores throughout Illinois and Indiana, a new layer of Natural Sound for Google Earth (commissioned by Wild Sanctuary, the largest collection of nature sounds in private hands), a destination travel website for Odyssey Travel in Sonoma CA, an e-commerce website for Coturri Winery in Glen Ellen CA, and a portfolio site for the talented architect Robert Baumann based in Sonoma CA.

Keep checking back with us as we develop and launch these sites... Happy Fourth of July!

- Jesse Evans

You need to get away!

Today we signed on to do a new website for Stephanie Shackelford, owner of Odyssey Travel in Sonoma, CA. She has lots of experience in her field of helping people find their perfect vacation get-aways. She also organizes tour groups for wineries and radio stations. Her current site is at Team Odyssey. Our new remake of her site should be live by late July, but don't wait that long to look her up and book a trip!
- Jesse Evans

Keva announces its 2008 collections

Just before their website created for Keva jewelry is released, Keva announced today that their 2008 collection will contain pure platinum bangles. The work is already becoming a sought after collection in LA. On a personal level, Lead Designer, Keva Clements, shies away from attention and prefers to keep grounded and focused on creating classic work.

- Jesse Evans

Jennell Haynes tops the 10 mile mark!

She ran 10 miles today!
Our partner Jennell Haynes, as we have mentioned before, is training for the Team in Training program to run the LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon this October. Team in Training is an organization that helps people and families suffering from Leukemia and Lymphoma. The deal is that the participants agree to raise a certain amount of money in exchange for the training to do their first marathon.

Just today, Jennell ran 10 miles along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. This is her farthest distance so far. Each week the mileage gets upped as she trains.

Read more about it on her blog, RunJennellRun.
Please donate to her effort!
She needs to reach a goal of raising $1400. You can help her by going to her Team in Training site by clicking here.

New Images from Trevor Meeks!

Intrepid photographer and wunderkind Trevor Meeks recently returned from shooting a destination wedding in western Mexico. These are two of the images he brought back. 30proof has been tasked with creating a new website for Meeks which will be released later this summer.
As Meeks says, "OMG".

- Jesse Evans

Two new sites are launched

Our long-time client Vance Sharp has commissioned us to recreate the websites for his two companies, Sharp Cellars Wines and Sonoma Sausage. Both sites went live today.
-Jesse Evans

Check out USA Today...

The Christian Science Monitor story written by Ray Sikorski has been reprinted in today's edition of USA Today. You can read it here.
-Jesse Evans

30proof on the O'Reilly Radar

According to Brady Forest of the O'Reilly Radar: "Relevant sound is something that we don't often experience when researching a location on the web. Whether it be by Flickr, Google Earth, Virtual Earth or 43Places it is a silent experience. Bernie Krause of Wild Sanctuary (turn down your speakers) has the largest private collection of soundscapes in the world. Each one is date-stamped and geotagged. At the Where 2.0 conference on Tuesday he released KML files that can be consumed via Google Maps and Google Earth. The KML hacking was done by 30Proof.

Bernie and his wife, Katherine Krause have traveled the world and have used their collections and skills for research projects. A project from 2003 is An Analysis of Snowmobile Noise in Yellowstone National Park. During his talk he demonstrated the damage that logging had done to a wilderness area. The difference wasn't apparent on the map, but was very evident when listening to the soundscape."

Thanks for the great mention, Brady!
-Jesse Evans

30proof in the Christian Science Monitor

Freelance writer Ray Sikorski just finished a great piece about Wild Sanctuary, the KML layer and 30proof's programming. It was published today in the Christian Science Monitor in the Technology Section.

'"You can immediately hear a difference between the places," says 30proof Media creative director Jesse Evans, explaining that police sirens and even just the traffic set the cities apart. "Once you start paying attention to it, you hear it immediately," says Mr. Evans, who with his brother/partner, Sam Evans, created the sound-embedding program.

Any programmer can add a layer of data, known as a KML layer, to the Google Earth program; in the case of The Wild Soundscape Tour, Google was impressed enough to give 30proof access to one of its developers to assist the project.

"When we see such truly spectacular KML layers, we do reach out with advice and support," says Megan Quinn, a Google spokesperson.'

Thanks for your great work Ray!
- Jesse Evans

Delta and Dawn going home.

Finally! The whales are going home.

Our Ignite Talk at Where 2.0

Jesse Evans and Samuel Evans on stage during Ignite Where 2.0 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California.

Photograph copyright James Duncan Davidson. Photograph is licensed for use under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. When using on the web in compliance with the CC BY-NC-ND license, please link the photograph back to its Flickr page, give credit as "James Duncan Davidson", and don't remove the watermark. For all other uses, or to order prints of this photograph, please contact james@duncandavidson.com.

Sam and Jesse Speaking at Where 2.0

Sorry for the lack of 'focus' in our image. Better video coming soon.
Jesse

Where 2.0

It's official- We will be releasing our Wild Sanctuary KML layer at the Where 2.0 Conference this coming week. The KML layer will be available for download on May, 29 at www.wildsanctuary.com

"Whale Whisperer" Did It Once - Can He Do It Again?

This is a big day for us at 30proof and Wild Sanctuary. Our clients, Katherine and Bernie Krause, are on a coast guard cutter, Pike, in the Port of Sacramento hoping to lure the whales back to sea. This morning while they were meeting with Lt. Gov. Garamendi, they were informed that they have been dubbed the "Whale Whisperers" by the media...

This From News 10 Sacramento:

Marine scientists say time is absolutely critical if two humpback whales floundering in the Sacramento deep water channel are to survive. A rescue team assembled Wednesday evening to launch a full scale rescue attempt at dawn.

To get the job done organizers of the rescue are bringing in the same man who came up with the successful plan that saved Humphrey the humpback whale when he go stuck in the Sacramento delta 22 years ago.

Dr. Bernie Krause says there is a positive difference this time in that it won't take three weeks to figure out what to do. "We’re going to try one thing rather than 50 or 60 different things," said Krause.

The primary strategy is to lure the whales out of the deep water channel instead of driving them down river. There will be no banging of pipes from a boat at one end while whale songs are played from a boat at the other. The new technique will be to suspend an underwater speaker which will play whale feeding sounds recorded by Krause in Alaskan waters.

But, Dr. Krause says this is not Alaska and the situation is far more challenging than it was with Humphrey. "It's a much narrower channel for a much longer distance and we don't know how the sounds are going to play so, one never knows," said Dr. Krause.

Still, he believes the job can be done in 10 hours. Dr. Krause says Humphrey swam easily at seven miles an hour. If he can get the mother and her calf to swim at the same speed, Krause says the whales could be in the San Francisco Bay by the evening and on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge by Friday.

"Watch what happens tomorrow," said Krause. "It's either going to be a big surprise, and everything's going to be great, or I'm going to be crying."


Copyright 2007
News10/KXTV

Bernie Krause's 2nd Time Saving the Whales

Oh, by the way...

We are in the process of launching our new website, but it will not be until after all of our work is finished for Where 2.o.
Clients first, always, clients first....

Dept. Of Buzz focuses on Wild Sanctuary

Our dearly beloved clients at Wild Sanctuary have received an incredible amount of press over the last week following an article in New Scientist written by author Celeste Biever. When the story was published on the morning of May 9th, it was quickly picked up by the BBC. The attention from the BBC has lead to the story being picked up in many newspapers, websites and blogs from around the world. Cleveland, Mumbai, Borneo, Bangladesh, Edinburgh, London, San Francisco and Bangalore are just some of the places that are pubishing stories. Other U.S.-based tech websites such as SlashDot and Digg have had discussions. We also want to send out a thank you to Sara Ford of the Visual Studio wing of Microsoft for recognizing us on her blog.

Many of the stories published have been slightly bent from the original truth. The first story published in New Scientist is the accurate one. First, we are releasing a KML layer that highlights 26 spots around the globe were users can hear the nature recordings created by the Wild Sanctuary team lead by Dr. Bernie Krause and Katherine Krause. We will be also releasing various sundry of APIs, etc. The release date will be May 29, the opening day of Where 2.0 in San Jose, CA. Next, all of the sound with this KML layer and all future ones released by Wild Sanctuary all relate to sounds that have complete scientific metadata. The metadata contains geographic locations, weather, date, time, terrestrial habitat and much more. They are meant, above all, to be useful to scientific study. We will not be adding sound to all parts of Google Earth as some stories suggest, that is for another day.

Here are some of the links being published:
Gizmodo UK
The Daily Mirror
Tech Spot
SlashDot
The Cleveland Leader
CrunchGear
and the BBC
(The complete list can be found here.)

More information can be had by contacting the VP of Wild Sanctuary, Inc., Katherine Krause.

Okay, here is a better view of the SafeHouse

Diego Emir Garcia

We recently completed a photo shoot with a longtime client, conductor, singer and actor Diego Emir Garcia.

Gallery Wrapping...

Trevor Meeks of MeeksDigital Photography is now offering full gallery wrap canvas photography prints. This is a 3x4 foot print from a recent wedding photo shoot. These large prints must be seen to be believed. Click on the photo to the right to see a larger version. The canvas was created by Roxanne Benton, of Pixel2Canvas.com. The rubber duck, like the one on Trevor's shoulder is shipped with every shipment. Why? Don't question genius.

Big News from Wild Sanctuary!

Big News from Wild Sanctuary! Wild Sanctuary VP, Katherine Krause has just informed us that they've scheduled the second week in June to be on-site in Alaska for The Katmai Soundscape Project, a continuation of The World Soundscape Project begun last June in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This phase, obtaining baseline recordings of 3 sites within Alaska's Katmai National Park, is an exciting continuation of our global project work and will add significant material to the archive from that amazing location. Known as the 'land of 10,000 smokes', the Katmai is a spectacular 40 square mile, 100-700 ft. deep ash flow deposit from Novarupta Volcano. Also known for it's brown bears, robust waterways, rich salmon habitat, remote wilderness, and rugged coastlines, this area is still recovering from 1989's Valdez oil spill, although it was over 250 miles away! If you'd like to help them accomplish the baseline soundscape study of this region please make your contribution today -- just click on the MAKE A DONATION button on the Wild Sanctuary Blog under The Murie Center information. And thank you. We're grateful for your support!

Sonoma Biofuels Steps It Up

Joe Barratta of Sonoma BioFuels recently joined Sonoma Valley High School Earth Club students in a rally warming up for the Step It Up action taking place on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m.
Step It Up is a grassroots, nationwide effort involving hundreds of communities across America to get the attention of the U.S. Congress to “step it up” with effective legislation to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050. “Come join Sonoma Valley High School students and your community on the sidewalk in front of the historic Sonoma Plaza. Bring signs, wear costumes, ride your bikes, walk, but be there and let’s do Sonoma proud on behalf of our planet and the future of our children,” said a statement issued by the organizers of Sonoma’s event.
To get more information, see the Step It Up Web site at stepitup2007.org, then go to “Find Action” for Sonoma’s action information. -- SonomaSun.com

Bernie Krause's Works

Before devoting his life to preservation of the natural world, our client Bernie Krause, had a long creative musical career. He was an early adopter of the synthesizer and an ardent composer of cutting edge music. At right is his album Gandharva, composed and recorded with his late musical partner, Paul Beaver.

According to Wikipedia: Bernie Krause (born December 8, 1938 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American musician, was a member of The Weavers, and was one of the first players of the Moog Synthesizer in the 1960s. He formed Beaver & Krause with fellow synthesist Paul Beaver (who had played the instrument on a Monkees recording, "Star Collector"), to make electronic music featuring the Moog and other instruments.
Late in 1968, Krause demonstrated the Moog for Beatle George Harrison, who was visiting California; a recording of the session became the basis of "No Time Or Space", a track featured on Harrison's Electronic Sound album the next year. Krause also provided soundtrack music for Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, Dr. Doolittle, and Apocalypse Now.
Krause holds a Ph.D. in bioacoustics from Union Institute in Cincinnati, and is also remembered as the "Pied Piper" who lured a stray humpback whale from the Sacramento River Delta back to the Pacific Ocean, through the use of sounds.
Krause's 1970 album In a Wild Sanctuary was the first to employ the sounds of nature on a large scale, as a source of musical tones and rhythms, and to make a statement about the environment. Krause continues to compose and produce electronic and environmentally-themed music, including a popular series of albums for The Nature Company.

A quick look inside the SafeHouse

We are only going to show you a low-res image QTVR for security purposes. This is of the main office at the new facility. Anything more is on a need-to-know basis. If you need to know more you can access it here.

A Rebel Winemaker: Tony Coturri

"When famed wine critic Robert Parker, Jr. issues a declaration like this, wine lovers in search of the unusual rejoice. Located in Sonoma Mountain’s Volcanic Valley of the Moon region - where the vines send deep roots into rocky red clay-based soil - Coturri Winery is renowned for it's organic, unfiltered, unrefined & unsulphured wines; in particular, their distinctive Zinfandels which have been characterized as 'dark and forbidding' and 'hedonistic.'

Typically Coturri incites either passionate loyalty or intense outrage. 'For every reader who writes to thank me for turning them on to these organically made, unfined, unfiltered, unsulfured wines,' notes Parker, Jr., 'there are others who have accused me of consuming excessive amounts of illegal substances before tasting Coturri's wines, or, even worse, just incompetence.” Counter Restaurant - April Newsletter

Congratulations Tony!

-30proof

We were visited by a Multi-Purpose Person

We can't think of a better way to put it, but Cheryl Itamura calls herself a multi-purpose person. She defines it as such :

Cheryl Itamura, n. 1. Stage Manager. 2. Production Manager. 3. Talking Head. 4. Director. 5. Graphic Artist. 6. Coordinator of Reality. 7. Creator of Dreams. 8. Soothsayer. 9. Writer. 10. Actor. 11. Poet. 12. Muse. 13. Umberto Eco Fan. 14. Woody Allen Fan. 15. Ray Sikorski Fan. 16. J.M. Berry Fan. 17. Daedalus Howell Fan. 18. Baker of Tasty Chocolate and Cranberry Bread Pudding. 19. Cyro Baptista Fan. 20. Stomp Fan. 21. Paleo Music Fan. 22. San Francisco Taiko Dojo Fan. 23. Flesh and Blood. 24. Orange Calcite. 25. Chez Panisse Fan. 26. Cafe Beaujolais Fan. 27. Kokkari Fan. 28. Artist. 29. Patron. 30. Lover. 31. Gertrude Stein Fan. 32. Charles Bukowski Fan. 33. Basho Fan. 34. Rumi Fan. 35. Queen of a Small European Nation, the Universe and a piece of dust. 36. Wearer of One-Thousand One-Hundred and One Hats. 37. Balance. 38. Dance. 39. Joy. 40. Zen. 41. Gei. 42. The Puppetmaker's Daughter. 43. Multi-purpose Person. You can read more about her at her website. Or see one of her short film partnerships along with Daedalus Howell.



We hope to add a #44. A valuable partner to 30proof Media.

Matthew Coddington, A new voice talent

We are in the process of creating a new identity for voice over actor, Matthew Coddington. He has been training quite some time with well-known vocal coach Madeline Wild of Radio Magic.
Our job has been to create an identity and make all the necessary pieces for a portfolio. We really welcome the opportunity to work with Matthew. By the way, it is his birthday today. Happy Birthday! To hear some of his work click here.

Go! Go! Go!

30proof Media has had lots of inquiries from people who are setting up websites for the first time or are thinking about finally depending on them as a necessary part of their business. For those people, we have created a free white paper to explain the ins and outs that someone should know when they are starting the process of making a website. You can see the information by clicking here.

If you have any further questions, call one of us directly at 415.738.8766 or email us at hello@30proof.com.

Flying with MeeksDigital Photography

Sam and I spent the day with Trevor Meeks of MeeksDigital Photography in his 1950 Cessna 170 to fly down to Concord, CA. On the way back, we flew over the new office of 30proof Media in Sonoma, CA. To us it is called the SafeHouse. It is called the SafeHouse because we aren't going to tell you where it is (unless you have to come by and drop off a check...) We are going to show you an aerial photo of the facility, we are working from a rehabbed warehouse. Here is Sam's photo of the facility:

Sioni has opened!

Come read about one of our newest clients in a feature story completed by a local newspaper, the Sonoma Sun. Owner Kristi Kelly has a fascinating history having been trained as an environmental scientist and oceanographer.

Now, she is opening her third business on the Sonoma Plaza, Sioni. It has modern collections including iconic brands like Citizens of Humanity jeans, Nation T-shirts, Ashley Morgan, Park Vogel, Sunner collection and the Fleur Wood collection.

A brand new website is coming very soon at www.sionilife.com

A Message to John Stossel

I once saw a small piece of graffiti on a wall in an alley of the French Quarter in New Orleans that read, "It ain't funny and I not laughing".

Well, it ain't funny and I not laughing, John.

- Sam

The Honest Value of Customer Service

I believe the true gauge of company is how well it separates itself from the competition.

That being said, I found a perfect parallel to that thought. I am going to compare two web hosting companies of which I have done a great deal of business with (Hostway and GoDaddy).

I picked these two companies years ago when price determined my buying decision. That is not the case anymore. "The Honest Value of Customer Service" clearly comes into play.

I recorded two calls; one with Hostway and one with GoDaddy. I want you to take a few moments to listen to the recording. Price aside, and from the quality of the customer service alone, decide who you would want to supply you with service.

I will think about this recording and act accordingly with every experience I encounter with a client, because the true gauge of a company is how well it separates itself from the competition.

- Sam

Click to play.
(Since the hold time was an hour, it has been edited down for time constraints.)

Run Jennell Run

Our very own Jennell Haynes is training to run in the LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon on Oct. 7, 2007. Chicago, Illinois is going to be the future home of 30proof Media and I think its a great way to start out the transition.

It's great to see a healthy face in a sea of caffeinated, self-medicated, workaholic 30proofers. Quite inspiring.

Visit Jennell's blog over at runjennellrun.blogspot.com.

- Sam

Making noise for Google Earth

This just in from the blog Ogle Earth.

"Excellent: Bernie Krause's biophony recordings, soundscapes of nature, look like they'll be turned into a KML layer soon, reports O'reilly Radar. Until then, try Freesound, a site with georeferenced ambient sounds that comes with its own KML layer. Still one of my favorites. (More about the possibilities for navigating using sound for the sight impaired here.)"

We are working on some great things with our partnership with Wild Sanctuary. Don't forget to check us out at Where 2.0 this May.

Ogle Earth brings you news about virtual globes, with a special focus on Google Earth. By Stefan Geens in Stockholm.

Albums and Artwork Now Available!

We now have album artwork available at the Wild Sanctuary WildStore! Full-length nature albums are available as MP3 downloads. Also don't forget the podcasts available through iTunes by clicking here.

30proof at the Where 2.0 conference

30proof Media will have a booth at the WHERE 2.0 Conference.
If you've ever wondered where in the world 'that sound' is coming from inside your computer, here is your chance to find out! The intrepid Bernie Krause will be speaking at the 3rd annual O-Reily WHERE 2.0 CONFERENCE, May 29-30, 2007, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, CA. Come hear him address 'The Value of Soundscape in Location Mapping Technology' and put some 'green' into your scene!

We're on the Radar Now!

Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media, Inc of Sebastapol, CA. Posted a nice piece about the work of Bernie Krause and a response to the NYTimes article from this last Sunday. You Can read more about it at his O'Reilly Radar Blog
Tim O'Reilly is the founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, Inc, thought by many to be the best computer book publisher in the world. O'Reilly also publishes online through the O'Reilly Network and hosts conferences on technology topics. Tim is an activist for open source and open standards, and an opponent of software patents and other incursions of new intellectual property laws into the public domain. Tim's long term vision for his company is to help change the world by capturing and transmitting the knowledge of innovators. For everything Tim, see tim.oreilly.com

Don't forget our new website

Launched Feb. 16, 2007-- On our Anniversary!

Our Clients in the News: Wild Sanctuary

Ari Marcus of Rivet Magazine gave Wild Sanctuary a nice response to our recent article in this week's New York Times Magazine in their blog. Stop by and read the post and his reminder that we all need to get out and experience the natural world.

Also check out the great work being done by Rivet Magazine.


Thanks for the great mention by Non-Human Communications. Their Mission is to enhance communications and deepen understanding among humans and sentient non-human species, with the goal of positively motivating all beings to cherish and defend the planet, Mother Earth, closest thing to Heaven we've got.

Also thanks to Mark Carwardine' for his mention in his blog, Another Chance to See.
In the late 1980s, Douglas Adams, creator of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", and broadcaster and zoologist Mark Carwardine travelled around the world, visiting endangered animals, hoping it would not be their "Last Chance To See". A BBC radio series and very funny book followed, and this website brings the stories of these animals into the 21st century... Thanks Mark! (Douglas sadly passed away in 2001)

30proof (LLC) turns 1!

We became incorporated one year ago today in the great state of California after moving all operations from Chicago and Central Illinois.

It feels amazing to know that we have been this successful. We are definitely looking forward to many, many more years in the industry. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

I wish I had the stamina in me to celebrate in the right manner, but our team has been up for 20 hours; working straight. It's dedication like that that gets us where we need to go (and the reason at least one of us already has a 30proof tattoo).

So here's the self-congratulatory pat on our backs for our first anniversary.

- Samuel

30proof Media's World-Wide Fame Department recognizes Bernie Krause

A little paper called the New York Times published an article today in its Magazine profiling the work of our client Bernie Krause of Wild Sanctuary. Bernie is the founder of Wild Sanctuary and has been recording nature sounds since 1968. He has been patiently collecting the largest natural sound recording collection in the world in private hands. All the while, he has been doing this as a scientific study of our environment.

Well, enough from me, read the article for yourself.
Bernie Krause in the New York Times Magazine

Congratulations Bernie!

We have joined Technocrati!

Technorati Profile

See us now at Technorati Blogs

GoDaddyGo.

Recently we have found some inspiration in some interesting places. There have been multiple places out there on the internet that have kept us going as we started this venture. Here are a few:

Bob Parson's Blog
The founder of GoDaddy.com has quite a few items of interest to entrepreneurs working to develop their business. Our favorite is here.

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish"
The 2005 Commencement address at Stanford University by Steve Jobs.



Just a few ideas for you folks from us folks.

-The folks at 30proof

A tiger close to our hearts

We recently came across an insert in a 2007 Far Side cartoon calander that talked about the plight of certain threatened species of wildlife. The cartoonist Gary Larson has dedicated all of the proceeds from the calendar to help out Conservation International.
The piece read as so:

"On the black market, a whole tiger is worth less than the sum of its parts. In some countries, a poacher can earn more than the average annual salary from the kill of a single tiger.

There are few tigers left in the wild, but remnants of the cat are sold in pharmacies across Asia. Though their medicinal value remains unproven, tiger bones are sold as pain relievers, tails for skin treatment, and genitals to boost virility. In what other ways do people use the parts of this threatened cat? How can this practice be stopped?

Learn the answers and more @ Conservation International"

-Jesse Edwin

EcoCasts are on iTunes!

Even more nature sounds have been posted on iTunes! Check out the most exciting thing out of the natural world to find its way into your iPod.

Use iTunes or any podcast software and subscribe to this link: http://www.wildsanctuary.com/ecocast/ecocast.xml

Don't forget to stop by www.WildSanctuary.com, our new site where all of these sounds are available for download for only $9.99 per album.

Enjoy,
Jesse Edwin

Shout out to MeeksDigital

MeeksDigital photographer, Trevor Meeks (also an associate of 30proof) helped us out on a last minute shoot this week. For that and being our most dedicated blog fan, we present him with our highest award, the "You Saved our Behinds" Award. I am sure that if Trevor was present to accept this award, he would also mention that as a special offer to all of his clients (and their event guests too) he is offering FREE SHIPPING on all print orders over $150 placed using his Client Ordering System between now and February 28th! Also, he would remind everyone to make sure to inquire about his new line of products, including Gallery Wrapped Canvas prints and Press Printed postcards & note cards. But... since he is not, I don't want to put words in his mouth. Go to his site to see his work.

- The folks at 30proof

Haute Hot Home Products: Sioni

Here at 30proof, we have just begun work with an exciting new store on the Sonoma Plaza called Sioni. It is a creation of Kristi Kelly, the person behind the creation of the current store, The Loop. Sioni, which will open its doors on Feb. 1 will be selling high-end home furnishings, leather goods designed by Kelley and the gold jewlery by Keva.

Yes, Keva. Our clients are connecting! Some of our best jobs come by word of mouth and referrals from existing clients. We have Keva to thank for introducing us to Kelly. We have Chip Allen to thank for introducing us to Sonoma BioFuels. We have Wild Sanctuary to thank for introducing us to many people concerned with the environment. And the list goes on.

To all that have referred us, we say... THANK YOU, THANK YOU. It is that support that allows our humble business to continue. It is our clients that make it all possible.

So if you know anyone who is starting off in a business venture, is remaking an existing identity, or just wants to spruce up their website, drop them our number.

- Jesse

The Best Podcast on the Net is live: EcoCasts

We've just released, through a partnership with Wild Sanctuary, the best new podcast on the net.

EcoCast is a weekly podcast that features some of the best soundscapes from all over the world.

If you have iTunes or some other podcast viewer, subscribe to this feed:

http://www.wildsanctuary.com/ecocast/ecocast.xml

- Samuel

They're on their way

This week has been a big one for 30proof. We have signed three new, exciting clients from diverse backgrounds to create a web presences. The read like the list of those up and coming in 2007, the ones to watch...

First is the veteran winemaker, Tony Coturri, founder of Coturri Winery. Tony has been making wine alongside his late father Harry "Red" Coturri since he was a young boy. Today Tony is producing some of the most bold, quality wines coming out of the Sonoma Valley. He does it simply by making wine the way it has been done for centuries: taking quality grapes and not using chemical interference. The Wall Street Journal has called him the "Eddie Van Halen of Winemaking" and Robert Parker said "... if wine is meant to be appreciated for its individuality, as well as for pleasure, then who cannot admire what this winery has achieved?" For Coturri, we will be completely overhauling their entire website and creating up-to-date online wine store and Wine Club membership program.

Next is Keva Clements, of keva gold. Keva is a talented designer who is making 100% solid gold bangles, earrings, and necklaces. She works in a vast array of gold colors and creates quality pieces of jewlery. The product prices are in the range that means you need to go out and get a second job. They are beautiful, beautiful pieces and are being recieved very highly in LA fashion markets and among select celebrities. Keva has charged us with creating an identity for her to carry into the market. We are also creating a website, promotional materials and packaging for this exclusive retailer.

Finally, is the Valley of The Moon Teen Center. The center is in the tough process of reinventing itself and preparing for its future and felt that a website should be part of that process. Incoming Executive Director Celeste Winders has big plans for the Boyes Hot Springs facility and a great sense of mission for the population the center will be serving. Winders hopes to address the issues of Chicano teens, open the doors to more people, and increase donations to the Center. Part of her plans involve creating a digital photography program with help from the Sonoma Index Tribune and us at 30proof. If you are interested in helping this program, let us know and we can connect you.

-- The 30proof team

In the Field with Wild Sanctuary

On this last Sunday and Monday, Jennell and I accompanied sound recordists Kat and Bernie Krause on a field mission to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge in California's Central Valley near Sacramento.

The day also was an excuse for PBS producer, Craig Miller (VoxTerra, KVIE TV) , to film Bernie out in the field recording. The shoot will be part of an upcoming PBS documentary about California before it was settled -- before the Gold Rush. A camera crew out of Sacramento arrived in the pre-dawn hours as thousands of Snow Geese, Blue Herons, Egrets and more birds did circles in the sky. The sound was beautiful.

We were along as guests as part of our further partnership to bring downloadable nature sounds and ringtones at www.WildSanctuary.com.

-Jesse

CLIENTS IN THE NEWS: Sonoma BioDiesel

Joe Baratta drives a 310 horsepower, five-liter, V-10 Volkswagen Touareg SUV that generates a stump- pulling 553 pound-feet of torque while burning what amounts to refined soybeans. VW recently demonstrated the V-10 Touareg’s massive power by using it to tow a 155-ton Boeing 747 down a runway.

At highway speeds, that monster motor can deliver over 28 miles a gallon and Joe says it averages around 22. The Touareg (the most commonly accepted pronunciation is “tour-egg”) is capable of an unusual combination of power, economy and low emissions because it diesel engine runs on vegetable oil tha spews only half the particulate matter, and half the carbon monoxide of regu- lar diesel, as well as 100 percent less black soot. It’s also sulfur-free.

Matt Coddington’s VW Passat four- cylinder TDi does even better, deliv- ering up to 38 miles a gallon on the highway and 27 around town. Number like those aren’t unique to Volkswagen diesels. There are numerous second- and third-generation diesel cars on the road delivering a level of clean fuel efficiency that calls into question the highly touted advantages of hybrid cars which combine small gasoline engines with electric motors. Combine the diesel motor with biodiesel fuel and you have, say, biodiesel proponents, an unparalleled automotive power system...

We created the logo, promotional materials, postcards, business cards and a website for these fuel pioneers. Check out the website we made for them at www.SonomaBiofuels.com. Or you can just click on the small image to the right to read the story. >>>

-Jesse

Whatever It Is, I'm Buying It

Tomorrow night is the keynote from Steve Jobs at MacWorld. You can tell you're a fanboy if you don't even know what's being released but you want it anyway...

- Samuel

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Wild Sanctuary, Inc of Glen Ellen, CA and 30proof have teamed up to create something wild! This is one of those projects that we are very proud of and has been a long time in the making.

Wild Sanctuary, lead by famed sound recordist, Bernie Krause, has collected the largest library of natural sound recordings in private hands. The rainstorms of Borneo, the animals in Zimbabwe and the howl of wind across the arctic tundra are just a few of the sounds gathered in this collection. The site has lots of information about the company and a place to easily purchase the recordings as downloads. Imagine- the wilds of the world following you in your iPod.

The first version of the site was posted today. Many new developments are on their way, so check back soon.

Thanks for listening to our pitch!
Click here to listen to the wild sounds.

-Jesse

Get Started on a Website-- Affordably!

Many organizations and business that serve the community also have to fight for their very existences. Money is hard to come by, volunteers are always needed and there is just not always enough money to stretch from fundraiser to fundraiser. So when it comes to putting up a webpage, putting together marketing or creating advertising, price is always an issue.

At 30proof, we care about those organizations that work to make a difference and we strive to help them. That is why we are happy to announce low cost web and marketing ideas for non-profits. We use certain approaches to create professional, powerful and easy to use webpages.

Imagine your organization putting up a more professional front to target new clients or donors. Imagine the ability to have a powerful website that is easy to use. And imagine it all being able to fit inside your budget.

Many organizations feel that they should not spend money on marketing and websites. Maybe they feel that the money is not well spent. Yet, just consider that your organization depends on donations, good will and trust from your clients. All this can be accomplished through marketing and web presences.

So if you are interested in talking with 30proof about how this can fit inside your organizations budget, then just give us a call.

- Jesse

Comedy Central comedian Marianne Sierk on the HopCast

Sam Evans and Trevis Overrocker hosted Comedy Central comedian Marianne Sierk on the one and only HopCast on HouseofPaign.com. You can listen to it here at http://www.houseofpaign.com/hopcast/.
Go, NOW.

Or you can subscribe at the iTunes store for free and never miss a new episode. HopCast on iTunes

-Jesse

Happy New Year!

From everybody at 30proof,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

$10 Bottles of IPA & Michigan Avenue

We've just returned to the office after a long, well-deserved Christmas vacation today. We wrapped it up with a trip into Chicago.

We were partially there for the pizza, Goose Island beers, and shopping. It also gave us a chance to scout out the best neighborhoods to open an office.

More than any of our endeavors planned for 30proof, the Chicago office is the top on my list.

Here's a photo from one of those rare moments when all three partners are in the same place (sitting in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art, downtown Chicago).

- Sam

We Keep a Running Clock

We keep ourselves responsibly-caffeinated a good portion of our work day at 30proof. The beautiful part of working in the high-paced internet market is the general consensus that long days are good for the company. Very few alarm clocks out there do the trick anymore.

I saw this clock and found it intriguing. This one has us slapping our heads in amazement. When Clocky goes off, you've got one chance to wake up. If you go for the snooze, Clocky fires up its wheels and rolls off your night stand to go hide. Yep, it runs away. It's a design choice that can only be described as "bold."

- Samuel

Our Superstar Photographer and his Airplane

Trevor Meeks, our superstar photographer, just purchased a beautiful vintage Cessna airplane on the east coast and completed an epic journey back to California. Read all about it at his blog.

Now it is time for Trevor to get back to work for 30proof. You can see his work at Meeks Digital

-Jesse

EcoCasts are coming!

I can't tell you much yet, but a brand new product is being brought to life by 30proof in partnership with Wild Sanctuary. Wild Sanctuary is the leader in natural sound recording, sound design and custom field recording.

Look for something exciting coming soon...

-Jesse

HouseofPaign.com in the news

The Daily Illini (www.dailyillini.com) recently completed an article about the origins of our first solo project, House of Paign (HoP). You can read about it here. HoP is a free online classified website created for the students of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (hence the "paign" spelling).

It is full of much more content than just free classifieds (you could go to that other site for that!). There are profiles of local musicians, fun features, the ability to "Ask an Expert" your questions about home improvement, fitness and relationships and best of all, the HoPcast.

The HoPcast is a podcast created by Sam and one of our graphic designers, Trevis Overocker. It is a monthly release that contains timely news pieces of interest to the university students and interviews with newsmakers, comedians, and musicians.

Check out the newest HoPcast with Comedy Central comedian, Tommy Johnigan. Johnigan is a southern Illinois native who's hit it big time. He talks about his ride to the top. Listen to the HoPcast here. Drop Sam and Trevis a comment while you are there.

- Jesse

Our Little Anna Graduates

We were lucky enough to spend the evening at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois to see our sister Anna Evans graduate mid-year with a bachelors in Liberal Arts.

We would like to share a few photos of the night.

- Samuel

A Glossy New Look for Sonoma

We have just completed the Art Direction for the brand new publication in Sonoma, California, the S0noma Magazine! Produced by the Index-Tribune and under the leadership of Manuel Mejia and his team, this glossy, beautiful magazine hit the newsstands on December 8, 2006. The goal of the magazine is to present the finest that Sonoma has to offer, both to its residents and those who decide to visit that beautiful section of wine country.

The publication will be seasonal with four issues per year. It has caused a big stir in Sonoma so far and the copies are rapidly disappearing. We have worked very hard to bring you this publication and we hope that the people of Sonoma enjoy it.

-Jesse

We'd like you to meet our new associates ...

An associate is a word that we toss around that means quite a lot to us. We try to surround ourselves with industry leaders, and if nothing else those that understand, think, practice, and develop the way we do.

We've been fortunate enough to become associated with these great people. We're always looking for more people with more ideas.

Laurence Campling, Videographer
Based in Sonoma, California, Laurence Campling specializes in the production of high-quality broadband video content for the region's wine tourism and hospitality industries. He has over 20 years experience in television and video productions as a producer, videographer and editor. His works ranges from CNet to TechTV to Eye on the Bay.

Trevor Meeks, Photographer
Trevor Meeks is a Sonoma, CA based photographer specializing in portraits, weddings and commercial photography. His work has been featured in the Sonoma Sun newspaper, and many aviation publications. Trevor now works from his studio in the Sonoma Valley.
Martin Rivarola, Language TranslatorMartin draws on his heritage from Argentina and his many years in California to create some of the most professional Spanish/English translation available.

Trevis Overocker, Graphic Designer
Trevis Overocker brings his unique art of urban realism to the table. With over 7 years of graphic design under his belt, Overocker works from the offices at 30proof Midwest in Illinois. Overocker also consults many different segments of the market from automotive design and planning to industrial design for musical instrument manufacturers.

Holly C. Bertsch, Marketing Specialist
Based in 30proof Midwest, Holly C. Bertsch combines her entrepreneurial strategies with years of marketing experience, specifically guerilla marketing. Bertsch has over 10 years experience in video, radio, and other media outlets.

Give us a call if you are a forward-thinking business in need of a new approach.

- Sam, Jesse, and Jennell