I finally had to insist that my designer show me some basics so I could refine the content without bugging him too much. It worked. I've been doing well and the site is looking good enough to compete with some of the bigger labels of this field--whatever they are. ,'-) Considering the type of sub sub sub sub genres this label will carry, I'm not exactly sure if we will be associated with any field in particular.
I want to thank those particular friends-and-fans who have shown undying support and sympathy during this label relaunch, and the painstaking development of it's website this year. I will never forget that. The people I speak of didn't chastise me one bit for being negative, they just thanked me for sharing everything. For that, you have my truest appreciation.
My opinion on the topic: they say you don't have to love the artist, just the art; but if more people expected less perfection from the lives and behavior of their heroes, and remembered that most of those heroes are fellow human beings, I think they would probably love them far more often and honestly. There would be far less disillusionment in the world.
So, anyway, I'm very glad that things are well on the way, but it has still been a hard year's endeavor. On top of all of the logistical online obstacles, I've had to maintain a certain pace with the music projects themselves, sometimes to their detriment. I even had a falling out with my latest band over a radio gig misunderstanding, partly occurring because the stress makes it difficult for me to focus and communicate. So sure, I will take some of the blame for things, but no matter. I go through projects and ensembles like hot cakes because that's what you have to do to grow and survive as an artist. No stranger to it.
However, I do think the news I just got last week is where seeming hardship goes from being considered a learning experience strait into comedy. ,'-) As I got ready to enter the finishing stages of the website, last week my older-aunt Henny became deathly ill, and I also found out that we have to move from our present living quarters.
My aunt Henny: we'll see what happens. She's in the hospital now, so I'm helping slightly with her affairs. Wish I could afford more time, but I'm trying to save my own life just like everyone else on this planet.
The move: long story, but we don't have long, and it will be a major downgrade, so that will interrupt production this year. Also, a few weeks ago I had planned a two week vacation in Europe with my girlfriend (because I've been working on this so much that we've only seen each other like 4 days out of a two month period), and we basically bought the plane tickets before news of the move. So that will cut the move time down even more. Onward with the relaunch saga/struggle...
But I'm okay. I had an initial emotional reaction to everything last week, but I'm past it, and still laughing somewhat.
It's interesting watching the many emotional phases of a hard-work project. First you have the beginning, which is always exciting and inspirational; then you have the processes, which make you very focused; then you have the big obstacles, which make you very serious, sometimes for far too long; but then, on rare occasions, you have the bottom dropping out at the end before you can finish, which becomes shear entertainment and makes you laugh at the impossibility of it. That's where I was at early last week.
My overall thought: I actually took this year off from my road project so I could have a break. LOL!!!!
You can't write this stuff. Knowing all of the details of this story makes me the biggest and loudest laughing audience member in the front row sometimes. ,'-)
But also, I find that many of these processes are very hard for people to understand who have not undergone tackling their own large projects. It gets to the point where you basically have to tell them to try doing something big themselves, and they always take offense to that. Honestly, there is no other way to put it when you get to the breaking point, and I've gained more sympathy for directors and celebrities who are world famous for being jerks. ,'-) Some sympathy anyway.
The relaunch: but yeah, regardless, things are looking up somehow. As originally planned, and aside from the musicians involved, I have now successfully formed a small visual-artist collective for Fateless Flows Records. It was a lot of internet communication to make that happen, but it has happened, and this will help the overall aesthetic direction of our company and website. Not only that, but in order to get some of these artists interested, I had to show them some good material so that they could justify being involved; so I had to step up my own visual work to win them over. My own visual art has improved ten fold because of that, and I will now fit in well as one of the artists in the collective. Again, it was a lot of work to juggle with the website, but it obviously needed to get done before the website could get done.
Also, and even more importantly, I now have some truly incredible music artists who are on board to be a part of Fateless Flows Records as soon as it is launched. They were a little bit of work to secure, too, but I'm very grateful to have them now. If there is any reason for me to feel at all serious about everything unfolding, and/or our obstacles, it's simply that I don't want to let any of these recording artists down. I think I might have done that too much in the past, and I want to turn over a new leaf. I don't want to disappoint artists ; they are all great at what they do and they believe in me. Honoring them is basically the drive in back of my mind more than ever before, which was already pretty high.
But whatever, right? Onward. I've got nowhere else to go--but forward.
Also, I'd like to thank my web designer, JB Web Builders, for sticking it through with me and making up for my poor experiences with freelance designers before him. JB is the MAN/MEN!!!!
I think this should do it for now on this blog. Will probably move back over to the Travels Rendered blog for a while because it's far overdue for updating and reflecting. I did a lot with that project so far, so I will be filling in those blanks soon.
Dean
By the way: if you see the Fateless Flows site posted up, don't be too excited. That is the beta/prototype that we've been using to get a few artists involved who needed to see something.
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