Let Me Explain...No, There Is Too Much: Let Me Sum Up...
Okay, so it's been almost a couple years since I've posted anything on LJ. It's not that I've left - I've actually been keeping tabs on all y'all still left over from the ol' days...
I've just been WAAAAAAAY too busy to post anything...Facebook and Twitter have been good for the short bursts - but sometimes, a larger narrative is necessary...
So, for those of you playing at home, let me sum up the last year and a half:
I got a dayjob at Allianz in the Desktop Support team last March. Been a good steady job and intellectually stimulating without being extremely taxing...
Last May, my band, Orkestar Bez Ime (OBI), won the McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians. We won a grant for $25,000. We've been reeling since then. With the money, we redid our website and, most importantly, made plans for all six band members to attend Amala School, a cultural immersion school in Serbia that focuses on music, language and dance.
We found that we needed some more money for tuition, so we created a Kickstarter project last month and got our projected goal within three weeks. Amala School is located in Valjevo, Serbia and we will be there July 16th - August 1st. Which means we leave the weekend after CONvergence.
Which means we leave in two weeks.
EEEEK!
Anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself...
Also last May, I fell in love...with the lead singer from OBI, Natalie Nowytski...Fortunately, it was reciprocated...Now, we're a living cliche: the singer and the guitarist in the band are dating...But you know, I think I can live with that - In fact, I am: As of this March, I moved in with Natalie and am now a proud citizen of NE Minneapolis...I think I like it here...Very much so...
Last July, an old band reformed into something new: Pirates of Dreamtime, with Dayna Jean Wolter and Keith Spears, came back into my life and I've been very thankful...It's been going great for the past year - our first formal audience debut two months ago was amazing...We plan on doing an album later this year, so we'll see what happens...
My electronic solo stuff has been getting stronger over the last year...Honestly, until this past year, I've been fumbling, trying to figure how to create a stage act or stage presence with what I do...I've made some significant equipment changes and performance choices that have helped streamline my performance...So I think it's getting better...In fact, I finally got to have my CD Release Party last month at Club Jager and, despite some pre-show glitches, it was a really great experience...
I haven't been doing much composing over the last year, except for the occasional commercial project...I'd like to focus more on writing, but it seems my focus is very strongly on performance, especially on my acoustic guitar...In fact, I would also like to produce an acoustic guitar album very soon, so I'm trying to keep my chops up to prepare for that...I'm also trying to keep my chops up, to prepare for Serbia...Although, really, nothing will prepare me for Serbia...except building my tolerance for slivovitz (Serbian plum brandy)...
So yeah, the last month has been crazy and hectic: Michael Matheny passed away and his passing affected me greatly, even though I know I wasn't that close to him, though his musicianship was a surprisingly large part of my life...With that, plus a podcast theme project, plus preparing for performances at CONvergence PLUS preparing for Serbia, this life hasn't slowed down...
However, I *have* noticed over the last year and a half, because I got so focused on the band, and the music, and even my new relationship, that I lost track of my friends...Recently, I've been trying to reconnect and making more time to see and be seen, but it's not always easy...It's cool that, this coming weekend, I'll get to see a large percentage of my peeps at CONvergence, but I'd like to make time for smaller, more personal connections...After Serbia, of course, though...
Anyways, that's all for now...There are more details, I'm sure, but that'll have to do for now...We're fine...here...Thanks...How are you?
I've just been WAAAAAAAY too busy to post anything...Facebook and Twitter have been good for the short bursts - but sometimes, a larger narrative is necessary...
So, for those of you playing at home, let me sum up the last year and a half:
I got a dayjob at Allianz in the Desktop Support team last March. Been a good steady job and intellectually stimulating without being extremely taxing...
Last May, my band, Orkestar Bez Ime (OBI), won the McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians. We won a grant for $25,000. We've been reeling since then. With the money, we redid our website and, most importantly, made plans for all six band members to attend Amala School, a cultural immersion school in Serbia that focuses on music, language and dance.
We found that we needed some more money for tuition, so we created a Kickstarter project last month and got our projected goal within three weeks. Amala School is located in Valjevo, Serbia and we will be there July 16th - August 1st. Which means we leave the weekend after CONvergence.
Which means we leave in two weeks.
EEEEK!
Anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself...
Also last May, I fell in love...with the lead singer from OBI, Natalie Nowytski...Fortunately, it was reciprocated...Now, we're a living cliche: the singer and the guitarist in the band are dating...But you know, I think I can live with that - In fact, I am: As of this March, I moved in with Natalie and am now a proud citizen of NE Minneapolis...I think I like it here...Very much so...
Last July, an old band reformed into something new: Pirates of Dreamtime, with Dayna Jean Wolter and Keith Spears, came back into my life and I've been very thankful...It's been going great for the past year - our first formal audience debut two months ago was amazing...We plan on doing an album later this year, so we'll see what happens...
My electronic solo stuff has been getting stronger over the last year...Honestly, until this past year, I've been fumbling, trying to figure how to create a stage act or stage presence with what I do...I've made some significant equipment changes and performance choices that have helped streamline my performance...So I think it's getting better...In fact, I finally got to have my CD Release Party last month at Club Jager and, despite some pre-show glitches, it was a really great experience...
I haven't been doing much composing over the last year, except for the occasional commercial project...I'd like to focus more on writing, but it seems my focus is very strongly on performance, especially on my acoustic guitar...In fact, I would also like to produce an acoustic guitar album very soon, so I'm trying to keep my chops up to prepare for that...I'm also trying to keep my chops up, to prepare for Serbia...Although, really, nothing will prepare me for Serbia...except building my tolerance for slivovitz (Serbian plum brandy)...
So yeah, the last month has been crazy and hectic: Michael Matheny passed away and his passing affected me greatly, even though I know I wasn't that close to him, though his musicianship was a surprisingly large part of my life...With that, plus a podcast theme project, plus preparing for performances at CONvergence PLUS preparing for Serbia, this life hasn't slowed down...
However, I *have* noticed over the last year and a half, because I got so focused on the band, and the music, and even my new relationship, that I lost track of my friends...Recently, I've been trying to reconnect and making more time to see and be seen, but it's not always easy...It's cool that, this coming weekend, I'll get to see a large percentage of my peeps at CONvergence, but I'd like to make time for smaller, more personal connections...After Serbia, of course, though...
Anyways, that's all for now...There are more details, I'm sure, but that'll have to do for now...We're fine...here...Thanks...How are you?