What are you guys up to the rest of this month? I'm about to hop and with Drew and record some conversations about writing, recording, and production. It feels good to start diving back into the podcast with shorter episodes. It also feels good to be writing so much again. I've sketched out about 50 songs, knowing that I'm only keeps 15 to 20 of them at most. I'm also finishing up my part in the new Rock Singing Mastery program soon, then turning our focus on ramping this place up.

This is the introductions thread. Say hi, tell us where you’re from and what you’re all about! In your introduction, answer these 3 questions: ➡️ What is your current music project and vision? ➡️ What moment made you want to pursue being a rock singer? ➡️ What's the main thing holding you back? We can’t wait to meet you!

Now that we're two weeks in and things are starting to settle, I feel like I can finally wish you a Happy New Year! I plan on slowly going through the quotes we've posted on YouTube and Instagram to dive a bit deeper than a quick post can do. Since the year is still relatively new, and people are still trying to get their New Year's Resolutions in order (something Amidei and I go into in our January 1st podcast episode), I thought the most recent quote card to be very relevant: "Life owes you nothing. You owe yourself everything." Corey Taylor, Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good. Everything. Stop waiting for a handout, a savior, or to be discovered and then finally have the freedom you want. It’s not worth living in the endless circle of “if only” and going nowhere. You can do this. You can reach for the stars and bring a few back with you. There’s a way. You don’t have to go it alone. Many have gone before you and shined a light on their path. And many would love to join you and support you on your journey. This is especially true for your music career aspirations; it also rings true for anything you hope you could do… if only… Do you really want to model those who have gone before? Allow me to play my own Devil's advocate for a moment. My son, Ender, is a reader. At 18, he's probably read more book than I ever have outside of my 10-year doctorate studies in religion and Middle-Eastern History (a story for another day). Ender, Nadine, and I often talk about what he's reading, sometimes all getting excited to find a life-changing book. when he shared with us Morgan Housel's Psychology of Money Nadine and I ate it up. Nadine even printed out most of his blog. I finally felt like someone was able to sum up my ever-looming question of "why would somebody do that?" You know the question. Humanity being sheeple, being human, seeming to disregard others, or making decisions that are simply dumbfounding. When Housel's book, Same As Ever came out, the answer to that question became even more clear. And I now know why I make so many dumb decisions! Haha!

I spent a few hours today wrestling with Suno as a songwriting assistant. I got some great ideas, but no string of good luck on complete ideas this time. I have a process of spending a long time coaxing Suno into the style I want, then doing multiple iterations of lyrics until I have a decent framework to rewrite, and lastly having it create a ton of songs while slightly adjusting the style. Usually, that will give me a pretty solid song or two within a couple of hours. Tonight, all it really did was inspire me to write on my own. So, on a whim, I opened up Facebook and just started writing. Here is the product of hours of being lost in my thoughts, culminating in a few shorts minutes of being in a flow-state for writing: I'm a silent army of my own thoughts A not so gentle reminder of what I ought and ought not I am a bird soaring into the sun Son of a Daedalus, I get burned But I look to the stars and hope Knowing they're too far from my front porch So I just sit here in my thoughts And the demons scream of what I'm not So here I go in my own pain An arrow with no aim But at least I dare to feign Being dry in the pouring rain And I still dare to dream of The person I wish I was I hate you I love you But sometimes I just hurt And on the edge of this reality I often dare to dream But I dream too big, too far And then I can't find my car But I look to the stars to guide me Knowing I'm too far for them to find me So I sit here in my imagination Taking a vacation from the accusations So here I go on my own path A product of my own wrath But at least I dare to feign Perhaps to smile again And I still dare to dream of The person I wish I was I hate you I love you But sometimes I just hurt What if I love? What if I hate? What if I hurt? What if I laugh? What if I stand? Stand on my feet? What if I cry? What if I fall? Fall apart

Success in the YouTube channel business doesn't typically come to dilettantes. To take a two year break and somehow not think that would wreck your channel...that level of naiveté is staggering. What that does, is it attracts a low level audience. Heck, just look at the leaderboards here. I hadn't looked in about two months, but now Chuck Wood is Draven's new "leader" with a whopping score of 18. Some leader. What an inspired group you've managed to attract, Draven. Chuck, I had 151 (no, that isn't a typo, it's 151 just like the Bacardi) on the leader boards and that was three and a half months ago! Realize that a certain termite made it impossible for me to be part of this place after I helped build it. He has such an utter lack of backbone that he couldn't summon the fortitude to talk to me face and tell me "This is why I'm banning you." He didn't have the guts to do that, yet somehow, he thought I'd let him keep all the articles I'd posted to build the foundation for this place! No, that wasn't gonna happen. I took almost all of them down. This place had four pages of content in early January. Now it doesn't have a full three pages. Draven, the level of person you attract has no ambition to contribute anything of substance to this place. They're pitiful in their lack of artistry and ambition. They're not enthusiastic. I left just enough of my posts up so you'd be continually reminded of the difference between what you had here and what little you now have left. Draven, you put people to sleep with your bullsh*t podcasts. You can see it in the number of views they get. Even your "community" doesn't have anything complimentary to say about them! You've got podcasts that last for over an hour and they get 51 views or 64 views. What that is, is reality speaking to you. Reality is telling you: "Quit. You don't have what it takes. You have never had what it takes. Even you, on some level, realized it when you relegated yourself to Christian rock because there is so little competition there."