finally, a new blog post

i haven't written a blog in ages and that is mostly to do with my depression. it's sad. i get in a funk and no matter what i write i just feel like it's a waste and i sound like a dick. i know it's lame but true. that is until today. i read a facebook post by an old friend, ed from taking back sunday. first he complained about how many shitty bands were out there and then he apologized for his band getting so big and spawning so many wannabe's that just kind of suck. granted he isn't wrong but we must always remember when we started out all we did was play the music of our idols. the difference being between then and now is that these days it's too easy to record and get released. back when i was a kid we were happy to maybe get a 7" out, if that. a demo tape sufficed. people like me always wanted more but for many, that was not the case. they were just happy to play stuff that sort sounded like the bands they loved. ed and i being a perfect example, luckily for us not that many people heard the mind over matter demo. but that is how you learn. thing is these days, your training time is in public. especially with the way most labels operate by signing very young bands who live at home and have parental support. thus enabling the label to have to spend as little as possible on the front end. smart business really. unfortunately for the musician and consequently the listening public, the quality of what they produce will not be up to snuff, but will be heard by ears that are not musically developed enough to understand a poorly written song or a trite lyric.

i remember taking back sunday from the very very beginning. to think back then that they would be where they are now...well that is impossible. thing is they got better, a lot better and the timing was perfect. not a lot of people get that opportunity. they not only got it but seized it!! when ever a scene gets big or goes more mainstream, you have to deal with the ton of bands that follow in its wake. happened with grunge but again this is a different time. the internet rules now and that is wholly a youth based culture (not unlike most "scenes"). so what you get is more crap than one can handle, at least to my ears. ed and i are the same age. we know better. we say things like "why do people like this?". thing is i'm not sure i will ever know, maybe ed has more insight. malcom gladwell wrote a book recently about the idea of mastering your skill. it's called "outliers: the story of success". he claims that in order for a person to master their craft, they need 10,000 hours of practice and experience. song writing fits right into that realm. sure you have your phenom's but for most, experience is a must. if you're thrown right onto the warped tour at 18, does that give time to develop or a warped sense of ego? most guys i know in their 30's who have stuck with it are better than ever but they will never get that label push (or a label at all) because it's a young man's game. the youth buys into youth. look at most of the pro songwriters, you know those people actually write top 40 stuff for kelly clarkson (she might be a bad example) or avril lavigne or ashlee simpson. all older, all pros who would never be excepted to be pop stars. smart move. nothing like a young, cute catalyst. my point? i really thought the internet would change the rules to everything being about a song and nothing to do with image or age. i was wrong. maybe it's jsut taking a while. to my friend ed, this is the way it's always been and maybe 20 years a go, burn were saying the same thing about us. luckily for us there was no internet and we were allowed to get better and test the waters locally and not on an international level. blame the labels, blame the internet, blame the watering down of what is excepted as talent. most of all, keep getting better.

so, the errortype11 reunion went off amazingly. it is a big mindfuck to play shows like that but i took it for what it was and gave the best show i could. this week has been a bit emotional but inspiring none the less. it was great to see everyone who came out. we wanted it to be a party and it was better than expected because of all of you!!!! now, start coming to see god fires man. it's better for all the reasons listed above.

arty