Since 2008 has essentially run 26 hours a day for me, there has been a lot less blogging. However, I feel its important to talk about the total madness, as it helps to make some sense of it.
For the past 5 months, my life has been filled with some of the most intense work I have ever done. 99.9% of it is music I’m very involved in making, and it truly has been both backbreaking and testing of my wills and wants. It has also been very hard on my ability to have any sort of life outside of work, basically cause I’m always working. But, its also precisely the type of rewarding work I always wanted to do. Every day I think about what my motivation is to work and get ahead in this world, and while it is very complex, it is also very simple.
I think its safe to say that the world we live in now is very different than the world we were told about and were a part of when we were younger. I am 27 years old, and even the world of my not-so-long-ago childhood was immensely different than it is now. Within my 20’s a technological revolution has allowed me to be a self-sufficient music producer. Before I graduated high school in 1999, most of the things that I do every day as an engineer or even as a creative person were barely possible, especially in the professional capacity that I currently employ. In high school I knew that what I do now was what I wanted to do, but the path to getting here has been long. However, this path wasn’t even possible in the previous generation unless you had oooooodles of money or worked with someone who had many years of experience. This is definitely not the case now, as you can build a studio and make music for pennies on the dollar, and there are only a few very experienced people in this industry due to this change. No longer are engineers working as assistants or learning their craft over years with the masters of their craft. Now they build their own studios and do what they can. I am no exception.
I have done this for a few reasons, the most important one being that I enjoy it immensely. But a lot of it is also based in the fact that I would never want to rely on someone to provide me with a steady income. And what I guess I’m really trying to say is that I can’t really work for someone…not in the proper sense anyway. I am a freelancer. Music is a freelance biz. Now some would say that its crazy to be a part of it, but its the opposite for me. I couldn’t NOT do music. So with that in mind, my business path is chosen. But its not all driven by fun. I happen to believe that being a freelance engineer and musician is no less secure than any other job I could hold. I doubt my parents would agree, however.
But I will tell you that the path of overworking is at least partially driven by fear. I have many fears for the near future of this world we are a part of, and for that, I am motivated to work. And by work I mean build a more secure future, and even more specifically, make more money.
Now, don’t take this the wrong way. I am not a greedy man, and if I were, I would steer FAR away from music. This drive is essentially fueled by the desire to build a home for myself and my lady, and furthermore, my family and close friends. I believe that building a life around a community of committed individuals is a great life for a creative person, because unlike most entrepreneurial ventures, being a creative businessperson means you most likely have your heart very involved in your work. Its not really about the money. Its about continuing to live the dream for as long as possible, hopefully forever, hopefully with your friends close by or deeply integrated into your existence.
But with that dream, The American Dream™, if you will, comes with new challenges. Firstly, I don’t have health insurance. I’m not even sure I could afford it if it was presented to me in an “affordable” situation. In the short term, I can tell you its not worth it for me, because I have upgrades to the studio I’d like to do, and I might need new brakes soon, and well….you see my point. The new american dream is more expensive than ever. And if you’ve been paying attention lately, its getting more expensive by the second.
But, in the past 8 years of my life, I have relentlessly fought the good fight in New York, doing my best to do the things that I do well in this world and use those things to allow me to make a living and enjoy my daily existence, hoping that these efforts will ultimately lead me to a place in my life where I can feel safe. Within these efforts, I have managed to build a network of like-minded and loving people, many of which have similar goals and aspirations. We battle in this city together, forging our own paths but helping each other out to stay alive and get ahead. This not only makes it tolerable, but, I believe its the only thing that makes it possible.
It has become very apparent to me in the past couple months that I am a very very fortunate man to do what I do at this time and place in history and make a living. Many would argue that this might be the worst time to be making music of all time…..no great talent pool, no money, etc etc. The old way is over. Even the people way out of the loop will tell you that. Music Industry v1.0 has certainly run its course, and to be perfectly honest with you, those that I know that are deeply involved in music and the industry would agree with me and say it couldn’t be better. Sure, we all lament a little bit about the inability to truly “be big” the way that we grew up knowing it, but we also all know that this is for the better. Furthermore, if music ever truly had a place in the modern world, it will flourish in a way far beyond what we have known. I believe that this is happening now….the beginnings of a new musical renaissance if you will. This new renaissance will be highly dependent on two things: people skills and technology. I know many VERY motivated young people who are doing their best to build a new way, which is much like the very old way. Forging lasting relationships, creating quality product, and propagating that product and ideal via word of mouth, the best and only viable advertising method left. Working on their craft, having something to offer to a bigger picture, and becoming truly great at something.
Right now I am deeply involved in the sort of world I hoped I’d be able to build, a tightly knit group of hard working and amazingly talented people, with great visions of how to make things better. And, as best as young people can, to organize our efforts and build really great things together, hoping to further the cause of goodness within our small community. Now more than ever, I believe these sorts of things are happening on their own, subconsciously aware of each other’s efforts and actions to move it all forward together. BUT…something else is happening as well.
There is a dialog present in the world right now in which everyone who knows that we need it is calling for change of all kinds. The way we eat, the way our world is powered, the way we throw things away, the way we get from point A to point B, the way that we look at each other. It is a time of great social uneasiness and uncertainty. It is also a great time to be alive. Never has mankind had so much potential to do so good. Never has the individual had such power to create and bring good to the world via their actions. Never has the individual been more empowered in history. But that means nothing to me at this point. Its not about saving your own skin anymore. Its about moving past that. Hell, its about not even bringing that into the equation. There won’t be anything left for anyone if that mentality continues. We’ve already done so much damage to what we have been given that its time to step back from yourself and define your place in this world. Find some great people and build something together. Save something. Redefine something.
The thing that has brought me to all of this thinking at 5am was analyzing the music business. It is indeed a microcosm of what is happening politically and socially in this world, and the solutions that are being created to deal with the drastic change required to make music survive as a viable piece of the zeitgeist. When music was getting notoriously bad, and the business behind it even worse, music got free. It shattered the old way forever, and has left everyone looking for the next viable solution to make music worth something again. I believe that this carries over to our lives in a way that doesn’t relate to a product at all. And certainly, I’m short changing music to call it a product….it is anything but. However, we are capitalists and therefore we attach a value to it numerically.
Now I’m not here to tell you what music is worth, but I will say that I am doing my best to try to return value to it. And its not by fancy marketing or awesome web sites (neither of which I have for my “products”, mind you), it is instead accomplished by employing a new set of values to the business/creative force. There have been a handful of geniuses in the past 40 years who have practiced what I’m insinuating, and they are massively successful to this day, while maintaining a creative integrity and edge. But in practice, the thing you can do is to be good at what you do and help to build a community around you by being helpful, positive, and most of all, innovative. There is tons of technology out there, although I think its safe to say that there are many people who use computers and such every day who don’t have the first clue about what’s actually going on in there. So if you don’t know, get learning. Our world is plugged in, and more importantly, plugged into each other. I think the monetary value of music will exist if there is something worth buying. I think that the world will change if people think its worth trying for.
Over the next few coming months, the culmination of my entire childhood’s driving force will be making some great announcements and be a part of some of the best music I’ve ever heard, let alone had the pleasure to be a part of. Part of what I am going to do is expand on what this blog is, by way of more content, and expand on our websites to include a ton more music to be available. Tomorrow I will provide what will become the regular studio report.
For now, check out our new webiste at www.casanovastudios.com which is being expanded on daily. There are now plenty of new photos, chronicling the build of our current situation and many many more. I now must sleep.