Back in 1967 Mark Wiens,
the President and founder,
wrote
and recorded a song called "The Eye and I" which was a rather etheric song
about a young man and his invisible companion. In 1969 a three piece group
was formed called EYE and I which was re-formed several times and recorded
& performed thruout the early 70's.
Creativity flowed extensively then in Santa Cruz, California,
in fact most of the group as well as accompanying friends held a keen interest
in metaphysics and "higher
consciousness" endeavors. However, with the need to pay the bills he went
on to designing printed circuit boards and hybrid chips in the Silicon Valley
which he did up until the company formed which you see now. In 1976 he
established the
name
EYE & I Productions as an electronics design and consulting service,
as well as a music production company. He produced several record projects,
performed in groups and even a performed as a strolling minstrel for
a Ronald Reagan campaign dinner, as well as recording his own material and
designing special circuits including a guitar synthesizer and pitch transposer.
He also worked on one of the first transcontinental solar cars called Opec's
Nemesis.
Needless to say, with so many interests and such a creative
appetite, actually producing a product and getting it marketed were two different
things. This is where Paul came in.
Back in the 70's, Paul
Chasteen, our Vice President, was working for a tour company overseeing
stage setups for the likes of Dan Fogelberg, Marshall Tucker, Almond Brothers,
Leonard Skynard, The Outlaws and The Doobie Brothers. A Kentucky born,
man-of-his-word sort of guy, he traveled west and settled in the Bay
area.
Paul Chasteen with Jay
Oliver
In 1981, Paul was introduced to Mark by a mutual musician friend.
Mark had his 4 track studio set up at the time and Paul thought it sounded
good. Mark mentioned that what he really needed was an 8 track and Paul said
"I'll go in on it with you" and that, my friends, was where it began. Paul
and Mark went in on the 8 track system. Paul wrote country music on guitar,
Mark did the arranging & engineering and Paul did the vocals and
harmonies.
Some notes on creating a successful partnership;
1> 50/50 appears to be the best. In this way you both agree
to work your butts off (or not), but you never have to argue about who's
getting more of the profits. If you don't work nobody wins.
2> Agree to disagree at times, but also... agree to discuss
your disagreements until things are worked out.
3> Set your sights on a goal, then go for it, and always
remember the human-nature tendency to sabatoge our accomplishments with negative
posturing, especially just before a major breakthru... always try to create
a win-win situation.
That's it !
Well... actually, now there is more.
With a heavy heart, I must be the bearer of sad news.
And, even though it is with much gladness that I was
counted worthy of the friendship of this good man,
I must report our friend Paul is no longer with us.
Journey on Paul... my dear, good friend!
