Take the leap

i was told at a very young age how important it is to set goals for yourself. mentally, written out, however you prefer, but set goals and work for them. as i get older, i realize my dreams are based entirely around my goals.they're one in the same, and i can't help but notice how much and how often they change. as i grow and change and learn, life sends me spiraling down winding, infinite roads that seem to never end. i'm ok with this. i've accepted and even embraced that life is a journey and not a destination. that i should enjoy and learn from whatever life offers me. i've learned that if i'm ever unhappy with something in life, if there's a problem - it's me. i control your happiness, my success, my life.
in order to taste success, find happiness and experience true achievement, risks must be taken. risks and change are scary, but i thrive on this. everyone is different and everyone handles stresses differently. i thrive in high pressure scenarios. i perform best in times of dire need. when success is imperative. others may panic, back down, or never even take a risk. they just sit and wallow in their own sadness, filling their heads with "what-ifs" and "could be's"of negative outcomes that don't exist. if you think negatively, and dream negatively, then you live a negative life and you'll never do anything. you can't do if you don't try. i don't expect everyone to sell everything they own and leave tomorrow, but start small. take control of your life, of your own happiness. live life without regrets. take that leap. sit back, research, make a plan if you're a planner, but then - after all that, CHASE YOUR DREAMS. i can't emphasize enough how much happiness is internal. dream impossible. work hard to achieve those dreams. no matter what anyone else thinks. if that's what you want, then do it. it's the holidays. spread some love. and hold/call/visit your loved ones. a strong support group is key to chasing dreams, there will be lots of hard times. dig in and get ready. it's worth it in the end. take the leap, and during this journey of life, remember to laugh, learn, love and LIVE. 

Real People Problems

it's impossible to not let the happenings of yesterday effect my writing today. the massacre that took place in Newtown will forever be one of the darkest days of my life. the amount of opinions, press, coverage and social media postings is overwhelming. i'm trying to remain positive. it's hard to have faith in mankind at times like this. so many people use happening like this as a strength of agenda. to preach their opinions and their "answers". i think i'll do the same - gun control, school security, religion, video game restrictions... none of these are the answer. the inhuman, beasts who commit these crimes are the problems. they don't follow the rules/laws (gun control). they don't care about "the fear of god" or going to "hell", they don't care what's on TV. they have a mental disconnect from reality. i also don't think people are "born evil". something went wrong somewhere. maybe they weren't loved enough, they were never held, no one ever believed in them, no one ever told them "you can be whatever you want, if you just work hard for it". we as a race are to blame, not guns, religion, music, or TV. those are weak excuses to cope with reality. REAL LIFE. things that are happening in our day to day.
i'm not a father, so i have no way to even pretend i know how parents throughout the world feel today. i can only try to imagine how difficult coping with such an event must be. i wish there was any way i could help. that we could all get together and just talk about our problems. people need to vent. everyone has problems, and a lot of us aren't necessarily looking for a solution, we just want someone to listen to us. be there for each other. no matter how trivial it may seem to you, when someone needs a friend, be that friend. support each other. everyone's problems are different and cary a different amount of significance to each of us as individuals.
this is a sad day. i hope we all learn from this... remind yourselves and teach your kids how important is to take everyday to Laugh, Learn, Love and Live.

Rock n Roll

the music industry is forever changing. growing, evolving and becoming more and more competitive. but is that really a bad thing? and if not, why are so many musicians struggling? did iTunes ruin the industry... here's what i think about the new age of music, what might be to come and where rock and roll stands. 

today, more and more musician "complain" about how hard it is to survive playing music, especially signed bands. they say, "20 years ago, it would have been like this..." but the reality is, 20 years ago, there were a LOT fewer bands. signed and not. so yeah, the bands made more money, but you there were only 100 BIG bands. today, there's 10 BIG bands, 10,000 signed medium bands, and then even more "small, signed" bands. so it may be harder to get RICH and wealthy off music, but it's actually much easier to make "a living". with that said, we look at how this happened... equipment and technology started taking exponential leaps and bounds. now everyone can afford to make a "Decent" sounding demo or EP and that used to be something only "famous" bands could do. we're on a much more even playing field. which in a way, makes it harder for everyone. think of it compared to sports, the league itself now has 1,000 teams playing for the super bowl (or #1 single) versus the league when there was only 100 teams. it's much harder to "win" today. 

iTunes has had obvious effects on the business. it's allowed users to purchase singles. it may have decreased ALBUM sales, but i don't think IT has lowered "sales". in the past, you may not have purchased a bands album only knowing/liking one song, now, you can go buy that ONE song. that's a sale the band would have lost out on. so it's not all bad, labels and bands need to learn and adapt, like every other business. as far as illegal downloads - i'll save for another blog. 

now onto rock music... why is it struggling so much right now? well here's my take... 

rock has been an always changing, always evolving genre. beatles - zepplin - motley crue - stone temple pilots - nickelback... and now mumford and sons. this seems to have created a void in "active rock". but it's ACTIVE ROCK'S FAULT. rock* isn't dead. it's changing, just like it always had. active rock is a sub-genre that has excluded itself. alt rock bands (today) like mumford n sons, Fun., and gaslight anthem receive radio on multiple stations. top 40, alt rock, mainstream rock, active rock and hot a/c. (this may be complete news to some of the listeners, understand, these are different categories of stations found on the radio today). country artists have country and top 40 play. hip hop reieves hot a/c, top 40, hot 100, top 40, and so on... however, active rock bands have limited and pigeon holed themselves to JUST active rock. we need to diversify to survive. staying the same ensures extinction. think of evolution and darwin's theory. we as rock bands need to keep growing and changing, or just keep hoping and praying top 40 picks "us" back up. we haven't created a new "sound" or a new "look" in over a decade. we're boring people. and the one HUGE core that was always rock, partying and going crazy, has been squashed as the industry has become such a "business". that behavior is no longer tolerated or encouraged. it's a tough day for these rock bands... 

people playing music today, for the MOST part, make very little money, and do this strictly to play music, the love of art and travel, and the camaraderie of meeting new people. there's many lonely, BROKE, discouraging days we all have to remind ourselves and each other to Laugh, Learn, Love and Live.