EXCLUSIVE: Jon Polk discusses the creation of the Lennon Box of Vision (video)

This article is my interview with Jon Polk, creator of the Lennon Box of Vision  , which will  house the Lennon remasters that are due out for John's 70th birthday celebration this October. (see video tour below to see what it will have in it.)

Last week we reported on this multi-faceted tribute to John Lennon, (see our prior articles) which includes this Box of Vision as well as a special time capsule project that fans are being asked to participate it. 

The Lennon Time Capsule project will be sponsored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on October 8.

Jon's answers illuminate his thinking process behind the whole idea and how it all came together to create what will be one of the most intimate and memorable contributions to John's future legacy.

Lennon Examiner: Jon, I was completely enamored with the Beatles Box of Vision when I received it last September. Should I say nearly weak in the knees it was so beautifully done. By the looks of it, the Lennon Box of Vision will have the same impact; I'd like to ask you some questions about how this all came about.

LE: How did you come up with the idea to do the BOV projects?

Jon: It really came from being a fan and having a huge music collection, but being really frustrated with CDs. I always felt there was never a really satisfying way to store and organize my CDs, and hated that the album art was reduced to little hard-to-read booklets. First I had the idea about doing an artist-specific storage booklet, and of course, the Beatles had to be first.

It had never made sense to me that CD storage books made you separate the booklet from the CD itself. So I designed a way to store 4 CDs on a page with the booklet on top of, but not touching, the CD... and since I had never seen that before I decided to file for a patent-- and lo and behold I got the patent! Then I thought, if I am going to create a book for storing CDs, wouldn' t it be great to have the LP size artwork in there...so thats how the idea developed.

LE: What kind of artistic background do you have, that enabled you to design these amazing boxes?

Jon: Strictly amateur! But my biggest asset is knowing when to trust my own opinion and when to get help from others. I found a great art director and designer (a guy named Eric Roinestad), and some great graphic designers; I tell them what I'm looking for; they tell me I'm wrong and we go through different ideas. I then pool people whose aestheticsI trust, and we don't stop until we have something that is worthy of the artist.

LE: How did you come up with the name, "Box of Vision"?

Jon: The name is from a song (Box of Visions) by a great songwriter named Tom Russell. Its a song I have always interpreted as his song to his daughter telling her he wishes he could give her a box that contained all the lessons he learned and all the experiences he had. I thought that was a great extension for what this was: giving my son the box with all the Beatles music and artwork (and now John Lennon, and soon Bob Dylan), hoping he could experience even some of what i learned and felt from that music...

(note from Shelley: This is positively an AMAZING coincidence--at this very moment I happen to be working on a memory book for my brother, Tom Russell, who, like John, is also about to turn 70. After listening to the song (see link I included above),i realize that the memory book I'm doing for him (Heritage Makers) is also very much a "box of visions" or box of memories or time capsule about our lives, to be passed down to the next generation. This is also in memory of our father who died in 1968, and his father was also Tom Russell. Talk about synchronicity.)

LE: How did you interact with Apple and the Beatles to get permission to do this, etc?

Jon: My first contact was directly with Apple to show them the idea. They liked it and put me in touch with their licensing agents at Signatures (now part of Live Nation) who helped me get the approvals and permissions.

Apple has always been great about this. I was lucky that I had a product that worked in connection with the release of the remasters last year, so it just made sense at the time. I had been in the music business for 20 years (including 5 years at Capitol Records), and had some relationships with people at Apple, so I think they knew they could trust i would do this right.... and their trust put the pressure on me to make sure I did!

LE: You wrote me from China where the Box of Vision is being manufactured. What can you tell us about the process, who is doing it, how long it will take, and what you are doing to oversee things?

The process is about a nine month process that begins with some talented "pre-press" people in the US. I work with a great company called Color Incorporated in Glendale, California who have some really talented people working there (in particular a guy named Alan Forney) and who really care about the artwork and artists.

We work closely together on the LP artwork, restoring it with the latest digital technology, color correcting and reprinting everything as art prints. Then we manufacture in China at a very high quality printer through a company called Integrated Communications. I go to China to be there while they manufacture to make sure nothing gets "lost in translation."

The truth is it's a very fine art, printing quality art books, and you need to oversee every page that is printed. Luckily I found that I have a good eye for it, and I have good people resources to help me navigate it and get it right. I dont leave until I see all the elements go through the assembly line and know its all good. Now they are manufacturing and we should have the first finished sample in time for me to premiere the Lennon Box at the Fest For Beatles Fans in Chicago next weekend. (The actual boat loads of product will start arriving here in mid September, in time for October 9).

LE: In regards to the Time Capsule – how did you get the idea to do this time capsule, and who did you consult with to make this happen?

With John's 70th birthday coming up, and 30th anniversary of his senseless murder, I knew there would be a lot of focus on his life this year. I was looking for a way to put some focus on his legacy. As I was working on the artwork, from Two Virgins, Life WIth the Lions, and the Wedding Album, all the way through Double Fantasy, Milk and Honey and beyond, I realized i was looking at his whole life through the artwork. Something that is really unique-- he really lived his life in his music and artwork, and it seemed like his journey was right there. It was all about the 1960s and 1970s, a time that really defined our generation's values and who we are. It seemed his life and work were a time capsule...so that was the genesis of it.

LE: How did you think up the idea to involve the fans in their own personal video for the Time Capsule? It is amazing that you are doing this, and I think it will have a dramatic impact on fans’ heartfelt desire to send John a message.

Jon: As I said above, I come at all of this as a fan. With the Beatles Box of Vision I got to meet hundreds (maybe thousands, who can count) of Beatles fans at various conventions, and was really affected by it. I suggest that anyone who is cynical at all spend Beatles week in Liverpool, or come to any Fest For Beatles Fans conventions in the US, and meet all these people who get such joy from connecting with the music and messages of the Beatles. I knew that whatever I did would need to have a fan element. And I thought, in this age of YouTube, who better to speak to the people of 2040 (when the Time Capsules will be opened) about what John Lennon's legacy means, than the fan themselves?

LE:  I’m sure John’s spirit is aware of what you are doing to preserve his memory. What would your message to him be?

Jon: There is a video from me on the Time Capsule site. Look close and you will find it (i hate the way I look and sound on film, so I avoid it myself) but I share my feelings about why John is a hero to me, and my hope that my son, who is 2 and half years old now, but will be 32 in 2040, will have the opportunity to appreciate John's music and message. (And by the way, I have a daughter who is due to be born on John's birthday this year...so thats a great connection right there). By the way, I was touched by the obvious legitimate emotion in your video...you rocked it!

LE: Oh ok, you are the one talking about your two year old son. I saw that video; and thanks for the compliment! I would love to know a little history about your love of the Beatles and specifically John Lennon.

Jon: I was born in 1961, so although I lived through the 1960's, i did not live through the 60s.But I have a vivid memory of watching the Beatles the first time they were on Ed Sullivan (really-- it was the weekend of my third birthday, so a lot of strong memories around it). My older sister is only a year older than me, so i really discovered and connected with the Beatles on my own.

I remember She Loves You as one of the first songs I fell in love with. My real love for the Beatles blossomed when I bought the Red and Blue albums as LPs in the 70s. I listened to those records a few thousand times in my early teens, and that formed the foundation for my love of music.

I was a little too young, again, to really connect with John's solo music on a level where I could understand it when it first came out. But i caught up in the late 70's, only to be crushed in 1980.... As a teen I was always someone who read lyrics and felt that honesty in art and music was all that mattered. So of course I gravitated to John-- who became a hero to me. I was 19 when he was killed and it took a long time for me to recover from the shock. But I realize now that it is a shame to let that part of his story distract from the most important part of his story, which is the music and words and ideals (and that amazing voice).

So thats why I hope the John Lennon Box of Vision and the John Lennon Time Capsule will help nudge the focus to where it should be, and help sustain John's legacy for future generations to appreciate, learn from and share the joy.

LE: Thank you so much, Jon, for your interview. We are looking forward to the Time Capsule and the Box of Vision, and thank you VERY MUCH for your devotion to John's legacy through this project. It will provide an eternal "box of vision" for John Lennon's fans. And it is much appreciated.