Monthly Archives September 2011

Hope this doesn’t come across smug and boastful but…
I have a really good life right now
I live in an incredible 1200 sq ft apartment inside a rehearsal studio complex My cost of living is ridiculously low
I only work 12 hours a week driving around in an air conditioned car listening to my entire music collection and yet make the same amount of money as I did busting my knuckles under a car hood in the sun
I have relaxed my musical sphincter and started to audition for various bands of different styles
This has taught me that I am still going to fail more than succeed.
Not only that but the failures are more like opportunities that I didn’t want to explore any further, which is a lot easier to take and a lot less personal
The concept of one concentrated push of all of my abilities has sh...

This September 11th, you will be innundated with stories of courage and bravery and the American spirit in the face of tragedy etc…..
In addition, you will hear the stories about how our lives changed forever because we now realized that “THEY” could get to us now and we needed to be vigilant against those who hate us for our freedoms
ETC……..
What you won’t hear too much of are the people like me who didn’t see Islamic terrorism as the greatest threat to our liberty
What people like me saw was a wide open opportunity for the owners of this country (a George Carlin expression) to use this new paranoia to encroach upon our liberties in the name of National Security

These statements came out of my mouth that very day
Many people were offended by my cynicism and questioned how I could be so bi...

I have always been very smug and took it personally when being rejected for someone else’s musical project
Most of the time, it is because I see ways that my talents can improve the product
The person trying to recruit me to help produce their project gets threatened and goes for someone with less ideas and more ability to do what they’re told
Nevermind that they have a mediocre visionand inferior product
As long as they dumb it down and dress the idea with the appropriate genre specific clothing, they will be sure to get lots of local gigs
They might even go on tour and play for the exact same people in different cities all over the country (if their day jobs will be waiting for them when they get back)
But all they will ever be is a mediocre entity feeding with mediocre aspirations
Seldo...

October is an excuse to try to work as much as possible
My focus has moved from PyroPlasticFlow to other outside interests
Halloween is perfrct for the video DJ thing so I thought I’d do that for a while
The experience with the metal band, although I ended up getting screwed, was a good excercise in playing for other people instead of just for myself
I have several bands on deck and am looking to see what sticks
I have been giving these bands my best so far and it makes me think back on the way I have felt for a very long time

Playing for yourself is the one answer you always get from musicians and artists when they’re asked the inevitable “What’s the secret of success?” question during the interview
It appears that I have been taking that advice a little too far
I have given my best to ev...