Hi! and I hope you are having a great week.
Autumn has arrived here in New York and the leaves are turning. This is my favorite time of year and the fall always comes as a quiet surprise.
I have been working on a drum and bass remix. I’m playing the music production DJ on this one by mixing dance loops and samples of some gritty reggae boy MCs.
This has a techno feel in some sections and then gets atmospheric at some points in the track. I’ll add the instrumental version to my collections on the home page eventually:
Free Drum n Bass Vocal Sample MP3 Remix:
DublinForever.mp3 - CC Licensed - More
You have my permission to download and use this song for free and royalty free on YouTube, games, slideshows, photo galleries, Websites, etc.
Just check the creative commons music license out for details.
Flamenco Dancer by Wendy Starland
Pop Star and Starmaker Interviews
I really enjoy getting to know other artists and people in the music industry.
Recently I had the chance to connect with a real up an coming pop star - Universal Records Recording Artist Wendy Starland. Check out my interview with her, she has a really awe-inspiring international pop sound, and I could not help but be impressed that Donald Trump chose her to sing on the Apprentice.
I also got to ask the ever-elusive behind the scenes mega-star Music Manager Jason Davis, CEO of Fahrenheit Media Group about what it takes to match up talent like Kelly Clarkson and hit songwriter Jimmy Messer. In the interview Davis also talks about what he thinks about the current state of the music industry.
This was a rare chance for me to get the inside scoop about what is really going with the “music business” right now. Pretty cool.
Listening to Books and Thoughts
Virtual loot…virtual music…virtual me
I just finished listening to “Play Money: or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot” by Julian Dibbell also a writer for Wired Magazine. This book is an in depth year long personal journal of how he became a trader of virtual gold and real estate in several massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) like Second Life. During his best month he made over $4,000 in real U.S. dollars trading…nothing real at all. It’s true.
This book made me realize that everything we do online is really just a virtual representation of our actual selves and that even having some unreal fun - has real value. Some of the non-fictional characters in the book take the simple act of mining “virtual gold” with automated game characters called “bots” and develop an offline multi-million dollar business selling the virtual gold on eBay. Wow, and I thought I had heard it all.
Derek Sivers, Founder of CDBaby reminded me in his post Not happy with existing venues? Make a new one that my new exclusive largest venue for my music is no longer the local coffee shop, art gallery or open mic. It’s this Website and blog. So as of this month, one year after starting danosongs.com, the “virtual me” has touched at least 10,000 times more people all around the world than I did in 20 years of playing live. All this playing around online actually does have real value!
Why I am Pronoiad on my Birthday
First off, Pronoia is the not the same as “paranoid”.
This week my 3 year old son Kalen and I shared a birthday. I am not normally a fan of horoscopes but for those of you that know me, and listen to my lyrics, I still believe in things we can’t see. Could be God, ghosts, aliens, or other dimensions… I’m open.
That being said, Rob Brezsny is the one astrologer that just blows my mind with his horoscopes. You can check him out at Free Will Astrology.com.
Well Rob has a book called “PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.” and it is every bit as challenging to the current workings of my mind as his horoscopes. I got the book for my birthday and this is my favorite quote:
1. If the game is rigged so you can’t win, find another game or invent your own.
2. If you’re not winning because you don’t know the rules, learn the rules.
3. If you know the rules but aren’t willing to follow them, there’s either something wrong with the game or you need to change something in yourself.
4. Don’t play the game in a half-baked way. Either get all the way in or all the way out.
5. It shouldn’t be necessary for others to lose in order for you to win. If others have to lose, re-evaluate the game’s goals.- Garry Hamilton
Did that make you think? That quote immediately put a few areas of my life in check.
Podcast and YouTube Props
Here are a few choice YouTube videos and podcasts using my music this week.
Tales From the Old City - Machinima - View on YouTube - a dark professional animated love story.
An Empty Sun - Is Gravity being Induced? - View on YouTube - mad professor rethinks gravity!
DJ Alan Music Hare at BRCFP - Listen on Live365 - cool dude with great music taste found me on myspace.
Pirates Week Podcast - Listen at PiratesWeek.info (I love anything having to do with Pirates, plus they have a deadly hip looking site.)
This Weeks Creative Commons Photo
Kelburn Castle attributed to sarahandiain at Flickr
Why? I was looking for a Dublin or Irish castle with graffiti on it to go with the song name.
Peace,
Dan-O
P.S. Forgot to mention my new wacky banners gallery you can use instead of a text link.
P.P.S. Oh yeah, I have been playing Big Head Boy lately.
