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John D. Lamb of Royal Oak, right, works on a song with Michael King, owner of The Mission Studio in Birmingham.Local spotlight
Creative entrepreneur juggles his priorities
John Lamb focuses on balancing moneymaking and nonprofit ventures in bid to refine his talent.
Lamb is able to turn a profit with his creative events, such as his Walloon Writer's Retreat.
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ROYAL OAK -- One night John D. Lamb is strumming his guitar with a backup band at Memphis Smoke, next night serenading vegetarians at the opening of a yoga studio and the next day assembling nationally known writers for a fall retreat.
"Every day I've got to remember who is paying me, what do I have to complete and how do I stay focused with everything I'm juggling," Lamb said.
Lamb is an entrepreneur who balances a nonprofit writing endeavor with for-profit guitar gigs for a steady income and a chance to do service for the creative community. Friends and clients say focus is what helps Lamb -- whose real name is D'Agnillo -- produce enormous amounts of appearances and events that reflect quality and forethought.
He recently celebrated 18 years as a singer-song writer in the vein of roots or rockabilly music. Enrollment already nears the 90-person capacity for his 7th annual Walloon Writer's Retreat in late September. People are signing up for the 11th annual songwriter's retreat in November.
Between ventures, he hosts poetry nights and songwriter showcases under the venue of his nonprofit organization, Springfed Arts, www.springfed.org.
"I've been to a lot of retreats but Walloon Writers has a definite flow, you feel warm and welcomed from the moment you get there till the moment you leave," said Rebecca Vlasic of Birmingham. Participants pay $360 to $600 for a four-day retreat with nationally known writers.
Vlasic plans to return for a fourth year in the fall to the rustic setting near Boyne City.
If Lamb hasn't generated a six-figure income yet, he has intersected with a national trend. Richard Florida, author of the "Rise of the Creative Class" (Basic Books, $15.95) said enterprising business people are a promising wave of today's economy:
"People are striving to be themselves, to find meaningful work and to live in communities that let them validate their identities and live as complete people," Florida said in the preface to his book.
For Lamb, it isn't enough to express creatively, he hopes to encourage students and volunteers to refine their own talent and spread it around.
"I not only learned more about the craft of poetry, I took on a poetry student," said Christine Rhein of Brighton, a two-time attendee of the Walloon Writer's Retreat.
Vlasic said she initiated a fund-raising team to help subsidize the retreat because many other writer classes are sponsored by universities. Filmmaker Michael Moore and his wife, Kathleen Glynn, are large contributors.
Lamb started out pursuing a journalism career. While attending Central Michigan University, he began playing gigs at a nightclub and found a natural talent as audiences grew. He met his wife there as well.
The bar band business flourished until the children arrived and he sought some ventures that would give him more family time. He produced a weekly variety show for several years at the Magic Bag Theater, then shifted to retreats.
"What I teach my song-writing students is what works best for me - writing and performing is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration," Lamb said. "You may be inspired to write but it isn't a gift from the heavens. You still have to put it aside, look at it again and again till it reflects your very best work."
Maureen McDonald is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.
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