Some People See, But I Don't

A Single & Workshop With My Favorite Person Ever

Today, for Disability Awareness Month, we release the final new single from August’s Positive Energy! (The Music of Doctor Noize) album. Some People See, But I Don’t immerses you in the perspective of the strongest and most beautiful person I’ve ever met, my wife Janette. It shows why I love and admire this woman so much — an unstoppable force of nature who achieves great things personally and professionally through her relentless positive energy, intellect, self-belief, and heavy dose of well-placed obstinacy. Janette is blind, but don’t tell her she can’t do something because of that. It won’t go well for you. I like that.

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The Boss Tells Me We’re Writin’ A Song

Like the last two singles, this video celebrates diversity in its own way, highlighting those among us who make their way in a world that still presents many accessibility obstacles. You’ll see some of those folks in the final jam section at the end. In the video, again directed by our oldest daughter Sidney, you’ll feel the joy and love Sidney has for the video’s subjects, Janette in particular.* Living with their mother has helped shape my daughters into the resilient and accomplished young women they both now are on the East Coast. I chose their role model well.

When Janette first informed me that we were making Some People See, But I Don’t — she had the title chosen and locked in — I went down to the studio and emerged a few days later with a profoundly serious minor-key stadium rock anthem for her to sing her epic words of triumph over. My wife, who has never minced words with me,** took one listen and basically said: “What is this? I’m not looking for a lecture. I want my lyrics draped in a joyfully sugary Scritti Politti dance party.”*** So…

I went back down to the studio, and a few days later presented her with the funky fun foundation of the song you hear today… which she liked much better. I play most of the instruments, but it also features the Grammy-nominated Quartet San Francisco violinist Jeremy Cohen,**** Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra founder Art Bouton on tenor sax, me on alto sax, a trombonist and trumpeter filling out our horn section, and my Stanford Recording Arts Workshop student Isaac Moore (son of my childhood bud Kelly) on bass. Janette was right to take it in this direction. It’s slammin’ and expresses what a joy it is to live life with her and see the world from her perspective.

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About That Set…

In honor of the upcoming Doctor Noize retro album, we’ve just finished construction on a Retro Room at my in-house production facility Reach Studios. The video for Some People See, But I Don’t is the first to feature this party pad, which used to be the studio’s indoor soccer turf field***** and has references to its former identity all over the room. With 16 ins and outs to the Control Room, double walls for isolation, and impeccable sound treatment, it also serves as our Retro Lounge for anyone recording here — with a fully functioning disco ball, usable wall-mounted lightsabers, vintage tabletop arcade game with 412 of the most beloved 80s games, record player, CD and cassette boombox, plush retro furniture, and a TV/VHS unit with only three movies to choose from: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. Happy you are.

I’ll be recording my upcoming big band album The Bad News and my upcoming underwater disco album****** in this room, as well as all strings and horns for all future recordings.

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Tune Your Team

We’re also debuting our new corporate and team training workshop Tune Your Team, available for booking as of today. In Janette’s corporate speak…

“Are you looking for an in-person event that sparks creativity and insight about how your team works? Cory and I are bringing together our energy and expertise to facilitate a half day workshop for teams of all shapes and sizes. My expertise in leadership skills assessments and teamwork will provide the foundation for understanding and leveraging the full portfolio of your team’s strengths, while Cory guides and supports your group through the process of writing a song. We’ll customize the level of deep tissue team optimization to your need. You decide whether the song serves an organizational purpose or simply challenges the team to work together and think differently.”
— Janette Cullinan

Our wife-and-husband workshop combines Janette’s Fortune Five corporate leadership and coaching expertise with my production and program-building experience. Janette was a Senior Leader at UnitedHealth Group, is an ICF Associate Certified Coach certified in both Hogan and Clifton Strengths assessments, and is the Principal of Cullinan Coaching. She has a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Education from Stanford, where I earned my Music degree and teach every summer.

I’ve produced songs in songwriting and recording workshops with and for over 75 different groups and organizations from colleges to Carnegie Hall, produced #1 chart hits and songs in major movies, and built and run programs at Pinewood School, Regis University, and Stanford University. I’m Chairman of the Board at the Pikes Peak State College Recording Arts & Technology program, whose curriculum is based on my program at Stanford, and I’ve performed to audiences of thousands nationwide.

Together we create an unforgettable and fun creativity, leadership and team-building experience for your company, organization or group… and you get to go home with your own personalized recording. We’re two people who have inspired each other and our teams, classrooms and audiences for decades. We’d like to do the same for your organization. But we’re also two people who simply like to get to know and spend time with organizations and teams who strive for excellence, leadership and creativity.

Thanks for your time. Share positive energy. Go make the world you live in.

— Cory Cullinan / Doctor Noize

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*Sidney created both closed captions for the deaf and audio description for the blind for this video — you can select either in the settings of the YouTube video. Our family watches movies and TV shows together with audio description on for Mom.
**Janette is my toughest audience and music critic, and always has been, and that’s not just a PR thing I say. Ask our girls. It bugs the sh#t out of me… but it makes me a better artist.
***Look… on the one hand, admittedly this comment really dates her and makes her seem like someone who indeed needs a Retro Lounge. On the other hand, Miles Davis DID record his own version of a Scritti Politti song, thus validating her artistic request as legit to me.
****True story: Jeremy played all the fiddle parts on the original Dukes Of Hazzard TV show. Talk about retro…
*****No, that is not a typo… longtime readers know Reach Studios had an indoor soccer turf field for years, complete with 16 ins and outs to the Control Room to record large ensembles in a crazy creative space. But mostly we used it to have fun between takes.
******If you’ve never heard underwater disco, first of all, shame on you, and second of all, I’ve got you covered.