Krystal ROCKS!!!

Free WiFi. What more can I say?

Vacation Starts Tomorrow

We leave for Atlanta in the morning with my wifes new Mac Book air and our new iPod touch.

Check This Out

I now have a del.icio.us account. I just added a very interesting article on why we still, in this country, use sandbags to stop flooding.

It's Finally Over

Yesterday marks the end of a year long battle with a client to pay me money that I was rightfully owed. Things didn't go exactly as I had hoped in terms of money... but I won the most important part of the battle. The integrity part.

One thing I've learned from this whole process is to always trust my gut. Trust that little voice in my head that says run... or whatever it tells me to do. None of this would have ever happened if last year I would have only listened I would never have taken on this client. I've learned not to take on clients that are not of like mind with me. In other word clients that don't share a similar (for lack of a better term) moral compass.

I'm not in business for myself to rip anyone off or to be ripped off by anyone. This client, from the beginning, was out for herself. She wanted something for nothing and then tried to say she never hired me in the first place. That's part of the whole moral compass thing. My attorney told me the legal system works if both parties tell the truth. The system breaks down completely when one of the parties lies. Such was the case yesterday and why I didn't walk away with the full monetary value of my work.

What I did walk away with, what I did "win" is that I didn't lose my integrity nor my honor. Also, I didn't lose my dignity. It became very clear to me in trying to negotiate with said client that this whole thing was becoming about who was going to sink the lowest to make their point and I had no interest in sinking anywhere with this woman.

So she got some free work out of me. Big deal. What's worse is the time she stole from me. I can make more money. I can't make more time.

Me Backing Up Jay Hagee

Big Discovery!!!

This is so cool I just have to share it. I just tonight, discovered a songwriter named Andrew Osenga. I found him through another songwriter named Randall Goodgame. Randall is originally from Clearwater, FL (across the bay from where I live) but now resides in Nashville. I found Andrew in the links section of Randall's web site.

I really like what I have heard of Andrew so far... which is much, only 6 songs so far. Aside from the fact that Andrew is a great writer and has an awesome guitar collection, one that includes a McPherson... here's the really cool part. On the home page to his web site (which is really more of an extended blog really) is a link to download a 6 song EP entitled Letters to the Editor, Vol. 1. The really, really cool part... it's FREE!!! He's giving it away. I don't know if it's only for a limited amount of time or what the deal is. I guess I should actually read the information on his web site... anyway... the 6 songs are really good.

These tunes are not your standard radio friendly, bubble gum, crap. There's some depth here. One more cool thing about the download... along with the six songs there is a .pdf file. It contains what would be essentially the "album" artwork. Photos, lyrics, etc. Plus there is a whole bunch more. On page 3 Andrew explains that he gave himself 3 rules for recording this EP.

1. Only one guitar, an acoustic, per song. However, there is no limit to how many track I can use of that guitar.
2. The only other instrument will be my voice, and again, I can use as many tracks as I want.
3. No picks

There are 6 songs and he used 5 guitars. There are pictures of each guitar plus a story about each guitar towards the end of the .pdf file. Also there are the stories of inspiration regarding each song. Get this... each of these songs were inspired by fans that wrote in to him via comments on his blog or emailed him directly. He lists some names and what they contributed to the creative process. He also talks about what he used to record the EP, which, incidentally, was recorded in his basement. He calls his basement studio The Velvet Eagle. Unfortunately he gives no explanation for the name but he talks about every other aspect of this project.

Andrew Osenga is not the first musician to give his stuff away I realize but this feels... somehow, more genuine. Not like it's just some marketing ploy or a way to get back at the big bad record labels. I don't know... it feels real and I think that is one of the best things about this whole free download thing. Plus it's awesome music... and he has a McPherson (the bastard!).

Here's some linkage for you to check out Randall Goodgame and Andrew Osenga.

A Day Or Two In The Life...

Well, I've finished part of the job for Michael Ripoll. He has the business cards I designed for him and his personal manager got the posters produced for an upcoming show in Nashville. It's been cool working for him and picking his brain about the music business. One of the coolest things about Michael is how down to earth he is. He's just a regular guy. I've still got some more work to do for him over the next month or two. He's easy to work with and likes when I just do my thing and try to dazzle him.

The kids are out of school... I'm waiting for them to say "I'm bored...!!!!" At which point I will give them a new invention I have come up with; an ice wedgie. It's really simple yet totally ingenious... if I do say so myself. What the ice wedgie is is pretty much a standard power wedgie with the addition of ice cubes down the underwear and some water added to intensify the cold effect.

Sylvia is teaching some train the trainer classes this summer and will be plenty busy. We are planning on getting away for a couple of weeks to the Atlanta area the end of June/beginning of July. I'm going to try to hook up with my good friend David Keenum up in Woodstock, GA and play a coffee house or 2. He's liked the idea and is going to see what he can come up with. I'll post the gig dates here and on the my space page if and when the materialize. I hope we can do something... it would be a blast to do. David is an awesome keyboard player, producer, and writer. We're planning on spending time with Brian and Kelly Keaton, maybe go up to Dalton, GA to see Matt and Joy Goss, and who knows who else. Matt even offered to bring a snare drum and some brushes to the coffee house gig(s). This deal just get better and better. I hope we can pull it off.

Ciao for now,
Mark.