Hi all,
Some of you probably thought I dropped off the face of the earth, but quite the contrary.  randombeats.com has been busier than ever and is bursting at the seams with new content.  Check out what's hot lately:

Modify Your Mind: The Existential Funk B-Sides and Remixes EP  - contains 2 brand-new tracks and 3 remixes of songs from Existential Funk;

a subway or car ride sized Dubstep mix containing some heavy reggae and dub flavor;

and of course, the random beats series continues, bringing lots of free new music all the time. 

Check it out if you haven't lately! 

Karl

So I sent one of my CDs to URB, and to my surprise they have profiled me in the "Next 1000". 
http://www.urb.com/promotions/next1000/profiles/1221-Karl+D.php

The review is mostly good, although there's a comple issues of minor contention I have: 

"Funny looking dude with a computer - Thank you Justin for the unfortunate moniker which looks like it will stick in the industry.  OK, it's my fault for featuring it in the band info. 

Second, of all the pictures they chose to use, they use the picture of me wearing the stupid wig at Anna's house.  Frankly I'm not sure how he found it.  This likely put the nail in the coffin of being "the Funny Looking Dude".  To their defense, its one of the only ones available anywhere on the net.  I guess I should take that as a sign. 

Anyway, a pretty good review overall, I'm pleased with the result.  Thanks Dan Vidal of URB.com! 

PS, if you want to, please create an account and vote for me at URB.com!  Who knows what could happen given enough votes! 

Just a quick note, I upgraded the software on Randombeats.com.  The site now has a different technical format and layout as well as a new content format.  I will no longer posting DJ mixes, but all original content.  You can read more about it on the site.  Feel free to become a member and part of the community!  

I've been wanting to write this for some time, but I haven't had the chance.  This will likely get wordy - but bear with me. 

I'll start by relating a story.  I guarantee that it will make sense later. 

I work in the IT field, which basically means that for about 4 hours a day, my job is to keep people from asking me their problems with their personal computers so that I have time to get my work done.  Lately, it's gotten worse:  9 times out of ten, when people come in to my office, they either want to know how to clean a virus off a home computer or advice on buying a new laptop.  Neither one has a short answer. 

The expectation is, for most people, that I'm there for them - which is true in terms of their work-related problems.   Many people expect, conciously  or not, that this means that I'm there for their personal problems as well.  If you've ever had to take your computer to Best Buy or anywhere else, you know that computer services are far from free.  If you can't clean your own virii(that's plural of Virus for you non-techies), you know you're about to drop a couple hundred to the black-rimmed glasses-adorned gentleman behind the counter. 

To me, the corporate IT guy, this is a problem, because all the time I spend helping people pick out a new PC is time I'm not doing my job.  I try my best to be cordial and polite, but with a building of 300 people, this can become frustrating. 

I read an article some time ago on a tech site that was something like "Top ten reasons not to offer free tech support."  It was actually a fascinating read - some of the reasons were obvious(Takes time out of your day, not your job, etc).  but the one that caught my attention the most was that it devalues your services.  This means that people are coming to me for help because it's free to them.  However, there's a philisophical problem with fufilling their request - I am paid fairly by the company for my expertise.  Taking your computer to Best Buy is no different.  Giving free PC support and advice is essentially like saying you don't respect yourself enough to put a price tag on your expertise. 

OK, back on track here.  I promised that I'd get to the point, and your'e probably wondering at this point what I'm getting at.  Here goes.

So I've been a music producer in some capacity for almost 8 years.  For a long time, I offered my music willingly to freinds and anyone who would listen to it free of charge.  I had no problem with it, and my personal philosophy was that music should be free.

So here I am, now charging  people for my music?  How absurd! 

As it turned out, Existential Funk was one of the most time-consuming projects I've ever worked on in my life.  I put a lot of work into making it sound exactly how I wanted.  I wanted to show everyone that my music was really worth listening to - and along the way, I discovered through my professional life, that I was setting myself up for disaster all those years I gleefully gave my CDs away.
Here it comes - the moment of truth:

!!! Look out, critical meaning and thesis below !!!
People don't assign value to things they get for free.


For me not to assign a value to my services as a musician, people disregard it quickly.  It may not even be a concious decision.  Think about things you've recieved for free(NOT gifts), and how they compare to things you've paid for and may have saved up to buy.  How do those things compare in personal value? 

My point is that Existential Funk, this CD I made almost all myself(except for the valuable help of Anna), is a product that I believe I offer at a reasonable, value based price.  Furthermore, in order to make a reputable, professional product, it costs money.(Guess what, the CD manufacturers aren't interested in devaluing their services either).

I've had people say to me "If you have an extra copy, I'd love to listen to it.."  I don't have any extras, I have exactly the amount I ordered from the manufacturing company.  Point being, don't expect a handout unless you've already got one(If you did, there was a good reason).  I wish I could give everyone a free copy, but that could get to be an expensive habit quickly.  If I give out many more, I will struggle to break even on my investment. 

I'm not whining, I'm just saying that it's not unreasonable to expect the exchange of currency for goods and services.  This is called capitalism.

Holy Crap!  I'm now ruler of the Internet. 

Ok, so it may not be a HUGE deal(since millions of people have technically done it), but several MP3 sites have now officially made "Existential Funk" available for purchase and download. 

This is a pretty huge deal for me, anyway.  Growing up I thought I never thought that being a musician was something I wanted to do.  Even within the last few years, I never thought it was something to take very seriously - more of a hobby.  Recently I guess I've had a swell of pride in my music and a feeling that perhaps it should not be kept to myself. 

I guess I see being on ITunes as a pretty big achievement.  Perhaps some may see it as an easy thing to do, but now I can say I did it. 

ITunes - Existential Funk
EMusic - Existential Funk
AmazonMP3 - Existential Funk

CD's are coming soon.  They should have started shipping(to me) yesterday. Stay tuned!

Hi all,
I'm re-joining the human race here on MySpace.  I know, I was gone for a while becuase I....don't have a good reason.  I'm happy to say I got some work done while I was gone - The final steps are in place for releasing my first full-length album, "Existential Funk".  Soon, the album will be available via Amazon(mp3), Emusic, Itunes, and Amazon again for hard copies.  I think this album is minimal in such a beautiful way. There's some new favorites as well as some older classics from the library.  Look out for guest rap skillz from Anna(who also did art direction and illustration for the album)!

If you're interested, I hope you check it out.  Enjoy the songs I have posted here for now, and i know one link is up.....
Amazon MP3

Album officially launches August 1st....MODIFY YOUR MIND!!!