AME Studios | Art.Media.Web

Network | Projects | Blog

2010-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Hi! With our new web network officially online (see below), this site will now function as our "backup" solution in case of unlikely server interruptions or other network difficulties. If you are a client, please bookmark this site as a communication alternative with AME.

Network Status: Servers currently online for all AME sites.

Updates posted here...

The AME Network
AME Online Hub, Communications & Support Center
www.theamenetwork.com
online/

AME Studios Online
Creative development in Art, Music, Media & Web since 1998
www.amestudios.com
online/

AME WebXpress
Fast, easy domain registration, hosting & management
www.amestudios.shopco.com
online/

Comments and questions are welcome

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About The Publisher

2009-05-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Dale 'deej' Lafayette grew up during the turbulent 1960's in East Oakland. Showing an early aptitude for art, he won a countywide school art contest, and one of his paintings was installed by school staff over the entrance to his former classroom. His hand-drawn book covers and comics were in demand and popular among family, friends and students.

Early influences included comic artists Jack Kirby, John Romita, Jim Steranko, Barry Smith and John Byrne, music artists The Beatles, James Brown, The Temptations, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zepplin, surrealist Salvador Dali, pop artists Peter Max and Andy Warhol, thinker/philosophers Buckminster Fuller and Tim Leary, and author Allen Michael.

In the 1970s and early days of Berkeley street-art vending, Dale's unique 'flow art' paintings and natural mobiles (using materials collected at Stinson Beach) could often be found on Telegraph Avenue. Publishing efforts included posters and promotions for rock concerts, a book of poems, and a publication about UFOs which featured the Bay Area's only-ever UFO reporting service.

In 1980, Dale opened Signs & Graphics, a small art studio next to Berkeley's People's Park, and his work could soon be found all over the SF Bay Area. He expanded his focus from 1988-1991, helping friend and accomplished jazz musician Art Maxwell create the Tonal Gravity Records label, working on graphics and set design for the world premier of John Kaye's 'Cherry Terry' at Theatre 6470 in Hollywood, and producing a series of illustrations for Ellen Sebastian's stage production of 'Face' at SF's Theatre Artaud.

Dale followed this with his one-man art show, 'Kozmik Thang' – a hit at local art galleries, cafes and coffee houses. He was then quickly recruited into co-producing several editions of the cable TV series '30 Minutes: Television With A Vision' for BayCable, and managing a local Karaoke club scene newspaper.

Co-founding ad agency/publishers VisionMagik Multimedia Group (1992-97), Dale created, produced and published the award-winning music trade magazine 'Karaoke & DJ USA' – regularly collaborating with noted author and music authority, Ben Fong-Torres. A favorite among industry professionals, the slick, in-depth color magazine reached an estimated 100,000 readers annually, and effectively raised the bar for similar publications nationwide.

Following a difficult partnership dispute, Dale took a needed break from publishing and advertising to indulge his lifelong musical aspirations and spend time as a popular Bay Area DJ and entertainer, regularly booking gigs at some of the most sought-after parties, events and venues.

During this same period Advanced Marketing & Entertainment emerged, a natural fusion of three decades of creativity, skills and experience. AME quickly found a project in working with documentary filmmaker Ben Thum on the production of the acclaimed 2000 sports documentary, ‘Alley Cracker: The Story Of Handball’ (broadcast on ESPN), followed by several outstanding and successful marketing packages for clients.

In 2001, AME Studios announced expanded online media services, moving forward in scope and developing innovative new in-house and client projects. Today, AME continues to grow an impressive portfolio of media services, online assets and client networks.

Needless to say, 'deej' is a fairly busy guy. •

Links: DaleLafayette.com | AME Studios | Flickr | Facebook

Now's The Time . . .

2008-12-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

From The Publisher

What, Me Happy?

This gem came to us via a web design template* I happened upon:

“We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then perhaps another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges.

It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza.

‘...so stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again... to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy!

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.’

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special...

And remember that time waits for no one.”

•

All the best to our friends, clients and associates in 2009!

deej

__________________________________________

*gordon mackay/used with permission

Hiring A Professional Web Designer

2008-08-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

If you are running a small business or just getting started, hiring a professional to create and manage your website may seem unnecessary – but this couldn’t be further from the truth. We’ve highlighted a few of the more common arguments below, and invite your questions and comments.

To get your own domain name plus FREE full-service hosting setup,

contact page and first month, sign up with AME Studios today!

“I have a website - I made it in 10 minutes...”

Most web sites that are generated by do-it-yourself software use templates, which are stored in a database for any and everyone to use. If you want an online identity of your own, do-it-yourself software can’t provide it. A professional web design company knows how to translate your overall business objective into a visual, functional solution, using current web design trends; whereas, a template can be used by anyone, at any time – and can easily become obsolete almost overnight.

“I don’t have the budget to hire a designer...”

You may not want to admit it, but you just don’t want to have a budget to hire a designer. One appealing thing about web sites is that you can build onto them as needed. Most reputable web design companies understand this. As long as you have a well–designed web site with valuable content about your company, it doesn’t matter if your web site has ten pages or a thousand. This means that you can start with a reasonable budget if necessary. The most important fact to consider is that, in today’s technology driven world, you need to have an online image to stand out. There’s only one way to be available 24/7, and that’s via your web site.

They know what they’re doing.

Not to mention, a professional web design company has more resources. When you hire a professional web design company, you have a team of professionals that make web sites day in and day out, working to create the best possible web site for your business. Design, programming/development, and optimizing your site to rank higher in search engines, are generally each handled by qualified individuals. Would you rather have a web site created in this manner, or by yourself—learning as you go, and hoping that you’re doing things the right way?

Do what you do best!

Just as you know your business better than anyone else, a professional web design company knows what type of web site your business needs. Essentially, a web designer applies all the principles of graphic design to the web—only they know how these principles need to be re-thought so they do apply to the web. Trying to learn web design on your own will be way too time consuming, and will test the limits of your patience to the fullest possible extent. Running your business is busy enough. As they say, “Keep your eye on the prize.”

Thanks to: Jeffrey Heiserman