1988-2008?
as is the usual, this post is primarily for the benefit of my own memory. i don't expect anyone to read anything i say on here... but posting on here has been a big help to me since i started this blog on my 30th birthday.
anyway... i've been pondering something for a few months that i may or may not act upon. i think it might be time to step away sometime soon. this summer marks 20 years since i started my first band. i started playing snare in school in 1985. i started playing drums in 1987. my first band's first and only performance... a talent show... was in my hometown in november of 1988. i was barely 14. i've been in the following bands listed below:
the first phase was in high school... followed by a period of several years when i did demos and learned how to play various instruments and use production tools. after college, a few years later i played in a band in phoenix, which was where i transitioned from a drummer to a bassist. upon moving to birmingham i've become seriously active as a musician. a few years ago i started playing drums again at shows and for various studio sessions.
high school / florida:
1988-1989 - eternal rage
1989-1991 - endeavor
1990-1991 - nevermore
1991-1991 - (aborted summer project)
1991-1993 - ten29
college / florida:
1993-1998 - various solo demos
post college / phoenix:
2000-2000 - 'til seven
2000-2000 - improv free jazz recording trio
2001-2001 - (aborted summer project)
birmingham:
2002-2005 - the ashes
2004-2005 - jesse payne
2006-2008 - wiseblood
2006-2008 - the spots
2006-2007 - duquette johnston (tour drummer)
2007-2007 - loose stone (cover band)
2006-2007 - john strohm (tour drummer)
2007-2008 - through the sparks (tour aux musician)
2008-2008 - ten29 dj set (dj + video)
as of one week from now... i'll release my first record as a producer, on a vanity label i helped to create. 20 years after making my first band recordings, i'm very seriously considering hanging it up.
weownthesky is an interesting experiment-record label-thing... which will probably evolve into licensing, film, conceptual art, minor publishing efforts... ten29 dj set continues to attract interest and i find it conceptually satisfying... wiseblood will be on ice as of this fall... for at least a year... or forever... i continue to adore and admire the music i make with the spots... which i honestly consider some of the best music i've ever been a part of... along with wiseblood and through the sparks.
there are still some fun, low-profile projects in the oven. the next spots ep... weownthesky's licensing efforts... and a long desired ambition of producing a record as ten29, entirely by myself... which i would then sell and license exclusively to retail stores as background music. its weird, i know... but then again, so is recorded music in general.
so that begs the question... what to let go, and what to keep? i'll keep myself informed as i get more clarity on the subject. i'll always enjoy playing and recording, but i'm no longer interested in attaining anything, at least not in music. design... film... that might be another story. i'll be 34 in a few months. 35 is a few exits further down the interstate. i'll make some sort of decision by my birthday i suppose, but most likely, i'll be putting a lot of things aside. i make more money playing music than i used to, but there are more lucrative directions to follow. i think the cosmos, as it were, has been telling me this for a while.