My name is, my name is, my name is...

Ron Rodriguez

I live life now instead of trying to control it.

It's a perspective I wish I had had before I got laid off back in April of 2008. It would have made the shock of it all a little easier. I had worked in television for 11 years including five years at CNN and Headline News. Locally, I had worked for WJXT for three years and for FOX30 and CBS47 the last five. Now, music is my full-time career and I spend my days booking gigs, working on music, and promoting and selling my music on the internet. As I document in this blog the ups and downs of living "freewise", I'll share more about what life is like as a working musician. No, I am not a rockstar… I am a musician and thankful for that.

One of the things I am most grateful for from this past year is that my music is selling on iTunes and myspace. Check it out here:

The Repeat Offenders on ITunes

Thank you to Ezra for the invitation to blog and be a freewiser. It's interesting how people come into your life. We actually met online. Seriously… on craigslist. My then-fiancée Melissa and I were looking for a photographer for our wedding and came across Ezra's post. As many of you know, Ezra's images speak for themselves and as soon as we saw his work, we knew this boy had talent! You can check out our wedding pics here:

Rodriguez Wedding Pics on Myspace

Ezra's freewisefotography.com

Throughout the process of planning the wedding, Ezra soon became a good friend to us. Coincidentally, I've had many close Hispanic friends throughout my life. Two of my closest friends are Puerto Rican. It only made sense that Ezra and I would share our love for art, music and NFL football (except when he reminds me of how my New England Patriots went 18-1 and lost in the Super Bowl or makes jokes about Tom Brady's striking good looks and manliness)


Going deep - Randy Moss (81) & Tom Brady (12)




Ezra Ayala... not as handsome as Tom Brady. ;)


As 2009 is upon us I avoid trying to make any sort of resolutions (which in fact might be it's own resolution) since I believe any day is a good for positive change. So I'll share with you the things I pray most about and wish many blessings for you and your families in the new year.

1. Deeper connection with God
2. Closer, more loving marriage and relationship with my wife Melissa
3. Health and prosperity for me, my family and friends
4. Prosperity for my music and my business

Feliz Anonuevo!!

Who is Ezra?

ezra:

Who am I?

This can be complex, butI'll try to keep it simple.  Basically, I'm a free spirit who loves an adventure. I'm not a fan of monotony...I like everyday to be different...and FUN!  

In 2000 I completed my degree in Social Work...I chose Social Work because I thought that if I had to spend 40 hours a week away from home, I might as well do something that helps others...yup...that was my moral philosophy.

Well, about 3 years into this type of work, I started telling my wife that I couldn't do this forever and that I need to start looking to do something else...something FUN and with some Freedom...

So after a lot of thinking and some research, I told my wife that I wanted to open a little coffee/tea shop that would also sell music, musical instruments, and have an open mic...catch this...I even had name for the place....Freewise...

My wife wisely recognized this probably wouldn't work...and Boese (Marc) has confirmed it...maybe he'll blog about one of his current adventures!

So I continued in the field...changed a few jobs hoping to find the Promise Land...but the grass was never Greener!

This endless search took me back to college...I ended up choosing to study Video Production.  I have a minor in Communication, so this seemed to be the obvious choice.  I also was inspired by this documentary by Michael Franti -   I Know I'm Not Alone.

So I started taking classes...and the first class was mainly a photography course...yes, and Boese was the professor.  That class got me hooked...I was up late hours doing my assignments...I was "super driven"...and Boese was very supportive of my work...he gave me the confidence that I needed to seriously pursue photography as a career choice...and so that's the path I'm taking...

Right now I do wedding, lifestyle, and music related photography...yeah...I still have my one Social Work job....but witness me break free from my 9-5!

Side note:  I completed my certificate in Video Production and will soon like to incorporate video into freewise fotography.