Until I get other distribution options set up, the best way to get the disc into your hands right now is to use this link. It will direct you to PayPal (a very stable and secure form of online payment…they take credit/debit cards and can even accept transfers from a bank account).
Enjoy!
The CD release party went great! In spite of a blackout covering much of downtown Akron, people still made their way out to see us in all our eclectic glory.
The evening had quite a variety, from my ukelele to Jeff on piano, to a crazy audience improv song. Yes, you can watch that here. In all it’s silly glory.
Major props to everyone who helped out. 122 people showed up for a CD and great show. 122 people walked out with a CD and great memories. I went home and fell asleep.
Thanks!
Jonathan
The countdown has begun. It’s been 6 years since I’ve put more songs to disc. Alas, it’s not because I’ve been slaving away on new material. No, I’ve been living life. The complicated kind of life. Like everyone else.
But while that complicated life may be overwhelming, or just merely confusing, it makes great material for an artist to work with. So now, I am proud to present a new collection of songs (and a live oldie).
If you’re in the Akron area, you can come to the CD release party at Musica on November 13th. It will be a great show with Andy Dolson opening and helping out during my set, and Jeff Kirk will make a splash with his hybrid percussion/kit sweetness. The admission price of $10 gets you both the CD and the show. A great deal if I may humbly say so myself.
Alas, if you’re not in the Akron area you may be able to pick up the webcast of the concert if someone who does great video work with more than one camera would be kind enough to donate their time (hint! hint!). But seriously, the album will be available for purchase online AND for download as high quality unprotected MP3s. Down with DRM I say.
It’s been a loooong project. And it would have been longer if not for my pending fatherhood pushing me to finish. Deadlines, you know. They hurt, but they’re good for people like me. Besides, I’ve been bugged for years for hard copies of new stuff. You think I’d care about my fans, no?
More details will be coming soon. I’m mastering my CD today at Studio B. It’s almost in my hands!!!
You can keep up to date by reading this blog or checking out a special spot on my website:
I just watched a marvelously balanced panel discussion (complete with Q & A) on what the future of music business could look like in the face of changing technology and social dynamics. I’d highly recommend it. The founder of Pandora and the Music Genome Project is one of the panelists.
This is also interesting because of Radiohead’s upcoming album release.
For those who missed it, Radiohead is releasing their new album through their website without the help of a music label. But the unusual part is that YOU choose the price you pay for the download. No strings attached. I’m curious to see how it goes. As a web programmer, I’ll be very impressed if their web server doesn’t drop to it’s knees begging for mercy on the 10th when the downloads will begin. I hope they have a load balancing setup! I guess we’ll see what we get when we mess with them…
In the meantime, I’d recommend checking out the entire library of videos over at Fora TV (where the video is hosted). It’s kind of like NPR but with video and discussion boards. Two of my other favorites I’ve seen so far are here and here.
For a minute there, I lost myself. I lost myseeeeelf…
A quote from Hunter S. Thompson:
The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.
Classic. Just classic.
Originally brought to my attention by the amazing John Gruber.
I’ve made my thoughts about copyright elsewhere on here. Here’s a study that makes an interesting case for limiting the powers of copyright because of the economic factors involved. Interesting…we make more money with proper fair use.
“As the United States economy becomes increasingly knowledge-based, the concept of fair use can no longer be discussed and legislated in the abstract. It is the very foundation of the digital age and a cornerstone of our economy,” said Ed Black, President and CEO of CCIA. “Much of the unprecedented economic growth of the past ten years can actually be credited to the doctrine of fair use, as the Internet itself depends on the ability to use content in a limited and nonlicensed manner. To stay on the edge of innovation and productivity, we must keep fair use as one of the cornerstones for creativity, innovation and, as today’s study indicates, an engine for growth for our country.”
Here’s the article.
This bugs me…
One idea is to create more word-of-mouth buzz around new bands, since that’s apparently how the kids find their rock and roll these days. Unfortunately, this will be manufactured buzz courtesy of the “word-of-mouth” department at Columbia. It sounds as though the label wants to hire college students to spread “commissioned buzz through chat rooms across the planet and through old-fashioned human interaction” though, so far as I know, most of my “old-fashioned” friends have not been paid by a record label to tell me about bands that the label wants to push.
…from this ArsTechnica article.
Wow. Soon we can be *paid* to be PR whores for big business. Now, I wouldn’t mind at all if someone wanted to pay me to tell others that I like Radiohead…since I already do. :-) But I can smell the this turning sour quickly.
Yesterday, my little brother told me to listen to the disc “The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me” by the band Brand New. He said it was one of his fav albums. So I gave it a listen. But in the near future, will I have to ask him if he’s being paid to tell me this? I suspect that this will only last as long as our cynicism is naive.
Out of curiosity, though, how will they track this? Do I have to push a button every time I say the name of the artist they want me to push? :-)
We are so psyched! I’m going to have a son!
It’s all finally sinking in now, too. Up to this point the whole experience has been rather surreal. It’s hard to imagine what parenting will be like, but now my imagination is taking shape. Not that I’m planning my child’s life out or anything. Simply, that I can start to see what could unfold.
But within all the excitement, I’ve been perplexed by some reactions…
Before finding out the gender, I can’t count how many times I was asked, “So what do you want to have?” Hey, I appreciate people’s curiosity and all, but that seemed odd. It is only me? I wasn’t quite sure how to answer except, “Uh, whatever comes out?”
Even after finding out, a friend asked, “So is it what you wanted?”
“Uh, sure, since I wanted whatever I got, I guess so.”
Now, I’m a science fiction buff and read my fair share of modern apocalyptic literature. I know that it’s fully possible that we will be capable of tailoring our children anyway we want…from the gender to the eye color. Not that I think that’s a good idea (or brave), but I could imagine these questions making sense in that kind of a world.
But in the here and now, it’s got me thinking about the unknown and watching life unfold with the same enthusiasm of watching a good movie. You know, the kind that isn’t so cheesy that you know how it will end in the first five minutes.
I have no control over this child. We didn’t have control over when he would be conceived (well we did, but didn’t want to :-)). We don’t have control over his fetal development (other than keeping Colleen healthy). And we certainly won’t be able to control him when he’s born. This is a wild card in our life. We may have input and influence, but we take what we get. And I’m content with that.
Bring him on!
Last year, David Plotz (a writer for Slate) decided to read the Bible. He has a Jewish background and observes the customs he was raised in because they are part of his heritage. But he’s never read the book on which that heritage (and it’s close cousin, Christianity) is based.
So rather than keep this experience to himself, he’s decided to blog his way through the entire Bible from cover to cover. Here’s a snippet of his first post from early last year:
The founding fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel lie, breach a contract, encourage pagans to convert to Judaism only in order to incapacitate them for slaughter, murder some innocents and enslave others, pillage and profiteer, and then justify it all with an appeal to their sister [Dinah]’s defiled honor.
…
So, the tale of Dinah unsettled me, to say the least. If this story was strutting cheerfully through the back half of Genesis, what else had I forgotten or never learned? I decided I would, for the first time as an adult, read the Bible. And I would blog about it as I went along. For the millions of Jews and Christians who know the Bible intimately, this may seem obscene: Why should an ignoramus write about the stories and lessons that you know by heart and understand well? I don’t intend any kind of insult. My goal is not to find contradictions, mock impossible events, or scoff at hypocrisy.
As of my post, he’s up to the book of Job. I would heartily recommend reading his work. Especially Christians who live in the USA. Most of us don’t know what we’re talking about.
Take the phrase “Bible Study”. What does that really mean? Here’s what it tends to look like:
If it’s a bunch of men, they gather around and talk about men things, read a book by some popular Christian author, go do something “rugged” like paintball and talk about how tough Jesus was. Oh, and food is always involved. If it’s a bunch of women, they sit around and talk about women things, read a book by some popular Christian author, share about each others problems and talk about how sensitive Jesus was. And food is always involved here, too.
(This stereotype is amazingly true. If you don’t believe me and you’re not involved in the American church culture, just go down to you local church community and ask to join a Bible Study. Let me know if I’m wrong.)
Now, nothing is wrong with this. It’s fun to chill with friends. But why do we call it “Bible Study”? There’s nothing uniquely “Bible” about it. You can have this same kind of interaction with a room full of Shakespeare buffs. I know from experience. In fact, I’ve had much deeper discussions with Shakespeare buffs!
Back to David’s article. I love his raw reaction to these scriptures. He is shocked, amused, relieved, pissed, and excited. He doesn’t want someone to relay the cliche, “God has a perfect plan for you”. He sees first hand that God’s story was messy from the start. He calls out messy people to help other messy people. He chooses spokespeople that no one would dare put on the cover of Time Magazine. He seems so patient with some, and angry from the start with others. He sets up patterns and festivals and then says they don’t matter as much any more. It’s a mess!
But isn’t that what’s being spoken in the back of our minds all the time? Life is messy. It isn’t linear or easily cleaned up. And we individually contribute to that mess much more than we realize. I’m anxious to see what David thinks when he gets to the new testament. I’ll be there to read it, and I would encourage you to read it, too.
Here’s the article.
I had an interesting conversation with a friend of a friend last night. It got me thinking of wealth, and distribution or wealth, and personal responsibility, and all that. My wife and I are on a “strip-away-unecessary-stuff” kick. It’s so easy to slip into a consumer dreamland in this county while the rest of the world is in squalor supporting our lifestyle. Not to mention the debt we rack up to support our dreamlike state.
But working this out in practice is pretty complicated. Is it wrong to spend money on “entertainment”? What is entertainment? Is it the same for everyone? If someone loves nature, is it wrong to invest in a nice bike to ride around the trails in the Cuyahoga Valley (responsibly, of course). If someone loves independent films, is it wrong to spend the money and time trekking up to the Cleveland film festival? Is entertainment better if it’s social? Is it better if it’s personally enriching even if isolated? The answers are definitely situational, but last night I realized that we talk more than we need to.
Country clubs. Who needs them? Some see social value. Some see relaxation value. Some see networking value. To a person like me who doesn’t enjoy golf, it seems like a total waste.
Back to last night. Picture five people sitting in a really nice restaurant in downtown Cleveland after a great meal and getting ready for a concert at the House of Blues. Country Clubs become the topic. “What a waste of money! That money can be spent on so many other things to help people. How can anyone join those with a clear conscience?”
Indeed. I could not help but notice the irony of the situation. I asked everyone if they have cable or satellite TV? There was a long pause. Then one interjected, “Well, we only have the basic $12.95 plan!” Does that make it better? Or put another way, does having the $80 plan make it worse?
And then I realized…talk is cheap. It’s so easy to feign interest in helping other people by criticizing that “other guy” who we *THINK* isn’t doing enough. And far too often, it’s about money. But neither money nor most of what it can buy will solve any human problems in this world.
Real solutions take real work. I have a friend who worked faithfully at an insurance company as a manager. Because of his diligence and integrity he had everyone’s respect. He led his team well, and earned a nice compensation for the value he gave to his company. But, he lived very modestly with his wife. And he had a strong leadership role at a church that was known for it’s ministry to down-and-out people; not the white collar kind of church that builds moats around it’s already huge parking lot. (please note my heavy sarcasm, many of these large churches do very good things).
So this guy buys a *REALLY* nice guitar made out of Hawaiian koa wood. He’s not a master musician by any means, but he knows his way around the instrument and he enjoys it. Was he wrong to buy the guitar? Was it a guilty pleasure he should have avoided for the betterment of mankind? No.
It’s not what we do with our money that makes or breaks our integrity or good will–although that is part of it. There are much deeper issues at work in each of us that dictate what we do with anything we have charge of, whether it’s people, money, or anything!
It’s those deeper issues that make this whole mess so complicated. Just because someone drives a BMW or an SUV doesn’t mean they are rich jerks with no care in the world for the starving guy in downtown. (And just because the guy is starving downtown doesn’t mean that tossing him money or food will solve his problem, either!) Delving into those deeper issues is a time-consuming process that must happen on an individual level. It’s real work! If I am truly bugged about someone’s spending behavior, why am I griping about it to someone else? Shouldn’t I befriend them and learn more about them and then maybe offer a different point of view? Who knows? Maybe the best way to befriend this fictitious person is by joining his country club. Irony, anyone?
So today, I learned that talk is indeed cheap. It’s cheaper than actually doing something.
I just read an interesting article by the prolific Paul Graham. If you’ve never heard of him, you might like a lot of his essays. He’s a programmer by trade, but that doesn’t make him an out of touch geek. He is thoughtful and creative and often compares the works of computer hackers to painters and other artists. He has now turned his attention to the differences between wisdom and intelligence. Here’s a quote from the article:
Recipes for wisdom, particularly ancient ones, tend to have a remedial character. To achieve wisdom one must cut away all the debris that fills one’s head on emergence from childhood, leaving only the important stuff. Both self-control and experience have this effect: to eliminate the random biases that come from your own nature and from the circumstances of your upbringing respectively. That’s not all wisdom is, but it’s a large part of it. Much of what’s in the sage’s head is also in the head of every twelve year old. The difference is that in the head of the twelve year old it’s mixed together with a lot of random junk.
The path to intelligence seems to be through working on hard problems. You develop intelligence as you might develop muscles, through exercise. But there can’t be too much compulsion here. No amount of discipline can replace genuine curiosity. So cultivating intelligence seems to be a matter of identifying some bias in one’s character—some tendency to be interested in certain types of things—and nurturing it. Instead of obliterating your idiosyncrasies in an effort to make yourself a neutral vessel for the truth, you select one and try to grow it from a seedling into a tree.
That’s just a taste. Read the whole article here. He’s not saying that wisdom is bad, necessarily. He’s just exploring the implications for teaching wisdom and intelligence. Thoughtful guy. I’d call him wise AND intelligent. :-)
I’m not making my title’s statement lightly. I’ve been very impressed with Apple’s ability to keep focused on the consumers in the world of digital media purchases. There’s a lot of talk of DRM (Digital Rights Management) and how to use it to make sure people get paid for their artwork. Do some quick research on Wikipedia about DRM if you don’t know the details. Let’s look at some facts…
I’m talking about the political-educational-religious movement sweeping through the USA when I say “Intelligent Design” is a joke. Over the past few years a feud has been brewing between hyper-rationalistic pseudo-scientists and hyper-rationalistic pseudo-christians where each side tries to outdo the other in their rhetoric. It’s unfortunate and downright funny at times. And apparently, Muslims want in on the fun.
(more…)
Malcom Gladwell is kind of like a modern day sage/prophet. His books are not necessarily groundbreaking in and of themselves, but he is really good and connecting seemingly unrelated dots and pointing out the picture that emerges. THAT is what he is good at. He has recently wrote a blog entry on racisim and the watering down of the word. Here’s a summary quote…
Sex is often misunderstood…kinda like my post title. :-) I just read a fascinating first hand