The state of [U-D-R]:
2011 has been an interesting year. I spent the majority of it in Korea with my last year in the US army. In a few days I'll be a full civilian again. I fired up a new version of the [U-D-R] website and released some new, previously unreleased and updated material. I had some great aspirations to have a new album fully underway by now and to have some live shows set up. The shows are too far off, though the next album from [U-D-R] is going to be further in the future than I'd anticipated. There will be a little more of the revamped "classic" material now and again in the meantime.
I'm planning to have something put together as a freebie by Christmas. Which will probably have a few select tracks from Cantonment, further remixed most likely. I'll keep in touch with the progress of that.
I started a second artistic project, although non musical. 'Altbears' They're a collection of ever expanding teddy bears with weapons of some kind. The selection is limited at the moment, though it grows as the muse strikes me.
In addition, I started writing some (very) short stories set in the universe I created over the past 20 years. That universe is a backdrop for a paper and pencil RPG I created in the mid 90s. I've dabbled in the mechanics now and again over the years, but I always was more interested in the world I'd created.
Lastly. Now that I'm back in Seattle, I'm going to try to land a DJ gig somewhere. I have set up a facebook page for my DJ alter ego with a mix I did. I had hoped to have more up by now, except things have been going slow.
I have some splash pages for my studio/label and future business. Though they remain window dressing for now.
Perhaps I'm trying to do too much at once... though, it's not a sense of being overwhelmed by my different project so much as a need to get away from them for a while. With periods of focusing on one or all of them for a while as well. September - December has been away time, with October (2010) - July being crazy creativity time.
I'm going to say this up front. I've always been a tech guy more than an artist / musician. So I'm more comfortable running a sound board than I am on stage. This is one of the hurdles of my musical aspirations.
I've also been aware of a feeling that I haven't been able to get over. Having been a former DJ, Live Sound Tech and having worked at clubs. I always felt like I was inside looking out. After I left Tucson, for the most part, things reversed. I remember being at a club in Germany, sitting there drinking and watching people dance. I felt a fairly profound sense of loss. I wasn't a DJ, I didn't know the DJ, I didn't work at the club and if not for my job with the USAREUR Band & Chorus, I would have been completely out of the entertainment / service industry.
It made me realize though, what a fan is. I remember in high school, thinking how cool it would be to meet my favorite musicians. Someone once asked me, "Would the world be a better place if Trent Reznor was President?" I thought about it for a minute and responded, "Probably not, he's just a person like you or I and wouldn't do a better job than any of us." From that point on, I more or less felt that people are all the same, famous or otherwise.
So back to the concept of the "fan." I know people who travel around the US to see their favorite bands several times. There are those who go out to clubs when they can't afford it, just to support the scene and their favorite DJs. Others buy merchandise and music online. "Fans" are the lifeblood of music and clubs. They are considerably more important than the artists, DJ and venue owners in a way. A musician for instance, needs hundreds if not thousands of "fans" to support themselves.
So, I've begun to completely ramble. To the "fans" out there, you rock! I live in a weird la-la land of half musician, half fan. So I'm equally awkward when dealing with other musicians as well as what fans I may have. Thanks for understanding ; )
Someday I can bury myself behind a mixer and make a living off of it and I won't have to deal with people anymore. A guy can dream, can't he? I leave an open invitation to smack me if I ever ignore the bands I'm mixing for. I hate it when I see sound guys who act like they're working at 7-11 and just don't give a shit.
As 2011 draws to a close, along with this blog post, I wish everyone a happy holiday season and a rockin' new year. I'll be around the internet when I'm able.
Egg-nog and Jaeger-bombs,
-Anthony
No comments:
Post a Comment