i don’t like myself very much and would rather not waste any time on the “self” to indulge in. what i do like is music without words. music like that speaks to me. i listen differently than many people, i listen for the nuances of the instruments and how they fit together and how their composition, tone and arrangement make me feel. words, more often than not just get in the way.

also, i have asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. what this has to do with music is that i don’t know how to manage human relationships very well, and that subtle contexts and the unspoken language that happens when communicating verbally are often lost on me, so my music tries to mimic how i interpret the world. it doesn’t always work, and it doesn’t always make sense, and many “neuro-typical” individuals find that there is often something “missing” from my music (as well as my method of communicating period.)

does this mean that my music will always not have a vocal component? no, not at all. i have a dear friend who is a splendid vocalist and she and i have been talking about working together, and she understands where i’m coming from so she wants to an instrument another component of the music.

i’ve found freedom through post rock, i’ve found support and a musical vocabulary that agrees with my aesthetic. i’d rather spend my time making sounds than pleasing a crowd, or delivering a verbal message through music. i’ll let others do that.

ok, on the surface, not a bad idea, but not a great one either. i signed up not to, like their name and mission says, to get “famous” but to just share music. that was cool for the past few months but now its getting really really annoying. to the point where i may just drop using the site all together.

lately the site has seen a rash of wanna-be-famous “artists” spamming other artists on the site to say “yer awsum, chek me out i’m da baddest!”

now, i usually just delete those messages (and if i could some how refund the points is “earned” from their attention, i would gladly do-so) but now, as the site seems to be catching on, the game mentality mixed with the rush to “get famous” has made for a ridiculously annoying experience for at least me. i’m sure its only me, and everyone is just perfectly happy, but it just seems that the site is just one big, pardon the phraseology here, circle jerk. i’m not into it.

i’ve written in other places how i think the notion of sharing music as a game is actually pretty silly, but now it seems that its approaching “dumb” pretty quickly. i guess this is why i’m starting to really like Virb. provide good tools, a clean interface and a dynamic environment, there. done. good job. yeah i’d like to be able to spend 2 days in avatar studios (one of the “prizes” you can “auction” for in stereo fame — but the going “price” is well over 500k points, and i just don’t have the time and tolerance to accumulate those kinds of points — also in all honesty, my music is NOT what your typical stereo fame user is looking for) but holy dear god, it isn’t worth the pain of “gaming” this system.

to be a neuro-typical would mean, i think, that that wouldn’t be such a jarring experience. one where i curl up in the corner of the room and grab my iphone and play a video game because its the only way i know how to cope with a world that doesn’t make sense. i just want to be home.

stop. stop everything you are doing, and get back to what you really do, and that’s make your art. i think it was an ad for the website called Taxi that did it for me (no I’m not linking to it, you can find it on your own). This site probably has thousands upon thousands of artists signed up, jumping through hoops all in the hopes that their craft will be heard by a Someone, and that Someone will want to hear more, and maybe start writing checks (which will inevitably come with a huge cost attached) out to your name. The concept of this site offends me, it offends me deeply in that why I, or any artist with even just the smallest bit of self respect, spend a considerable sum of money in the infinitesimally small odds that “something happens?”

allow me to expand on my advice. stop spending that money, your hard earned resources on what is actually a gamble with considerably worse odds than a Las Vegas casino, and instead invest that money on you and your art?

what in the hell do you need a record label for? why do you need to be part of an industry that doesn’t like you and would figure new and creative ways to separate you from your money?

You don’t need them. Any of them. Look, you want to have your art published, right? I mean, that’s pretty much the point, yes? Well, get it done, do it yourself for crying out loud! There are places like Lulu which will manufacture your CD free-of-charge in an on-demand basis (which goes a long way in cutting out waste). Need merch? Try Spreadshirt. Need a record pressed, well there’s always United and Pirates Press. Look, it takes a bit of work on your end, and I may be off my rocker, but I consider that work fun, I mean, look at it this way, you are in control, in the driver’s seat. You call the shots, you are getting the job done.

I’m a big proponent of DIY, hell I’ve been active in the community for close to 20 years, and I run this other web site called DIYSearch, so I drank the kool aid long ago, but for love of all that is holy, stop giving these jackasses your money and you invest it with yourself.

So, let me repeat myself, stop wasting your time, money and resources on ridiculous scams, schemes and “promotional avenues” to get your name/art out there, and start actually producing something. Yeah that’s right, this is a challenge. I dare you. I dare you to stop with the Taxis of the world, and turn that time and money into a real product. Make something!