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              | Welcome to the The
                Lowdown from DN Journal - your source for notable news
 and information from all corners of the global domain name
                industry!
 The Lowdown
                is compiled by DN Journal Editor & Publisher Ron Jackson.
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                                            | Music
                                              Loving Domain Pioneers Peter
                                              Maxymych, Michael Castello &
                                              David Castello Back in Spotlight
                                             |  
                                            |   | I've
                            lost track
                            of how many times I've noted that one trait
                            an extraordinary number of successful domain
                            investors and developers have in common is creativity.
                            Success with domains is just as much an art
                            as it is a science, if not more so (in noting
                            the difference between the two, 1996 Nobel Prize
                            winner Sir Harold Kroto said "In
                            science, the universe is in control. In art, you
                            are.").  Many
                            of the most familiar faces in our field are also
                            exceptionally talented artists, musicians, writers
                            (sometimes with skills in all of  those
                            areas). One of Canada's most prominent domain
                            pioneers, eMall.ca
                            Founder Peter Maxymych, is a good example.
                            Peter has a great .ca portfolio, filled with
                            thousands of top tier keyword domains, and has
                            posted some of the largest Canadian TLD sales ever
                            made. Just last week he was on our sales
                            charts again, this time with the
                            industry's #1 ccTLD sale of the week - SportsBet.ca
                            at USD $35,000. In addition to his skills
                            with domains, Maxymych, a talented accordionist who
                            has been playing since his teens, has produced some marvelous
                            jazz CD's featuring some of the world's best
                            musicians. |  
  | 
      
        |  |  
        | In
          2013, I told you about Maxymych
          producing the critically acclaimed major label jazz CD The
          Montreal Sessions by the North American Jazz Alliance
          on Challenge Records. Fast forward to today and Peter is
          celebrating the release of another new CD - When Lights
          Are Low featuring Kenny
          Kotwitz & the LA Jazz Quintet, on which Peter served
          as the Executive Producer.  I
          got a pre-release copy of the album a few weeks ago and was blown
          away by the tracks put down by the world class players Maxymych
          assembled for the project. In addition to
          Kotwitz (who is brilliant throughout) on accordian and celeste, the
          album has Nick Mancini on vibraphone, John Chiodini on
          guitar, Chuck  | 
 CD Cover
          for When Lights Are Low by the LA Jazz Quintet |  
        | Berghofer
          on bass and Kendall Kay on drums and percussion. These
          members of the LA Jazz Quintet have performed live, recorded and
          toured with artists including Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald,
          Mel Torme, Barbra Streisand, Joni Mitchell,
          Michael Buble, Tony Bennett, Celine Dion, Dr.
          John, Nina Simone, Nancy Wilson and countless
          others.  When
          Lights Are Low features
          13 standards and is dedicated to the late jazz accordian player Art
          Van Damme. The title track, along with "Cry Me a River",
          "When Sunny Gets Blue" and "Harlem Nocturne" are a
          few of my favorites but I love them all. It is the kind of soothing,
          tasteful music you could put on repeat play and enjoy listening to all
          evening long. While I like all genres of music (I used to be a radio
          DJ and also owned a series of record stores), some may say "I'm
          not into jazz or country" or fill in the blank. If you have any
          pre-conceived notions, I'm pretty sure they will disappear if you
          listen to When the Lights Are Low. It is just great music,
          period. You can learn more at the LA
          Jazz Quintet's website.  
            
              | Of course, it is impossible to talk
                about domains and music in the same conversation without talking
                about brothers Michael
                Castello and David Castello who spent their
                formative years playing together in rock and roll bands in New
                York and Los Angeles (Michael as lead singer and
                guitarist and David as the drummer). After taking a long break
                from to concentrate on domains, David returned to the stage and
                the recording studio a few years ago with bree, another
                terrific rock band fronted by his wife.  I
                shared Michael and David's life 
                                        
             | 
 Michael
                                          Castello and David Castello |  
              | story
                in a DNJournal
                Cover Story soon after we met for the first time
                back in 2006 and have written often about them (and their six
                and seven-figure domain sales) since then. Having become
                personal friends over the years, I was delighted to see that Giuseppe
                Graziano has published new back to back individual
                profiles of Michael and David on his blog
                at GGRG.com. That is a great approach because, while
                Michael and David have much in common (including great character
                qualities instilled by their parents), they also have their
                own unique personalities, lifestyles and innovative ideas.
                Giuseppe's informative and entertaining articles bring their
                stories completely up to date, so you won't want to miss
                these profiles of two of the best people in this business. You
                can read the piece on Michael
                here and the just published article about David
                is here.  |  |  |  
                                            | (Posted
                                              December 16, 2020) 
                                               *****
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