"In most every office, I noticed stacks of brown envelopes that were submissions from different artists. "When I first came to the states, I visited with a bunch of record companies," he said. As Rockliff shared, sometimes doing something different from what everyone else is doing is the key to standing out. Throughout his career, Rockliff has maintained steady growth and success by emphasizing quality delivery and innovation. I eventually sold Cybertown in 2002 and relocated to Clearwater. At one point, we were one of the top 2,500 websites in the world, in terms of traffic. Over the next seven years, we grew that community to 1.3 million members from 155 different countries. In 1995, I created an online social networking community called Cybertown.
I also learned about Internet marketing and how to promote businesses on the web.
Almost everything I learned was self-taught. "After I moved to LA, I got into video production and around the same time started building websites, in addition to still doing music production work and giving seminars. On the way to LA, he landed in New York for a layover and remembers having an "overwhelming sensation of coming home." After the conference, Rockliff flew home and immediately put the wheels in motion to move to the United States. In 1978, he got invited to speak at a conference in Los Angeles. Rockliff spent the next ten years producing music in London. A few weeks later I had my first record deal and my first international hit record as a record producer." I was in the middle of editing it and they asked if they could have a copy. A few months later, a couple of very successful record producers came into the studio and heard a song I'd been working on. Everything went well and thus I started my career as a recording engineer. He finally agreed and, after a month of quietly watching and learning, I did my first session. He thought I was nuts, but I asked again. I also asked if I picked up enough within one month if he would hire me. After the session, I spoke with the studio manager and asked if I could hang around and just watch and learn for the next few months. Rockliff remembers walking into the studio for the first time and feeling like the proverbial kid in a candy store. Upon returning to London, the band's manager booked a session in a local studio for them to create a record.
The flight that was supposed to be five hours took four days and, after six months of adventures, including confiscated equipment and passports, a bombed airport, a midnight raid on a police station, bribes and finding ourselves in the center of the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, we were ready to come home." We found a manager who booked us a gig in Beirut, Lebanon. After a few months, I formed another band, this time with my roommates, who turned out to be members of Scottish and Irish street gangs.
I ended up hitching a ride to London and, after voluntarily spending the night in a detention facility for free room and board, I gave a bit of a sob story to the warden who took pity on me and sent me to a hostel in Earl's Court. Long story short, the band didn't last long when I decided to 'break out' of boarding school.
"Much of what we did was heavily influenced by the Beatles after seeing their first ever TV appearance.
"My journey started as a young kid when I decided I wasn't the nine to five office guy and I made the decision to start a band," Rockliff said.
His story emphasizes how one's journey, and not necessarily the final destination, truly dictates and shapes how we spend our time, what are passions are and where we end up in life. Rockliff is a true creative who enjoys collaborating with clients to generate ideas and bring those visions to life. Originally from Liverpool, England, Tony Rockliff is a videographer, music producer, web designer and Internet marketing consultant whose passion is to inspire and help artists and entrepreneurs do better.