I just watched Before The Music Dies, a great documentary, and I'm really inspired, which has resulted in me uploading a few new songs from the album and posting this blog.  Here are some of my thoughts and stuff I took away from watching that movie:

Give music away for free

Sell t-shirts and stuff if you're a band trying to make money, have hard copies of music available for people to buy if they really want to; burned cd's are fine; I'm sick of the whole system of trying to look professional and fit in with this fake music industry that has nothing to do with music anymore.

The system is a joke.  A&R people and the idea of having some middle man who decides if your music is good...that's a total joke.  If they knew music they'd be making it themselves and performing and writing. 

Who cares about being rich and famous...if that's what you're going for there are way faster ways to do that than by making music.  Art is what it's always been - People probably won't really appreciate it until after you die, maybe never.  Just be yourself, make music you love, be real & trust that someone else out there will be able to connect with that. 

If something is truly "new" it won't test well in radio station focus groups; people won't like it.  They won't know what it is.  People like what they're used to.  If you're really new they'll need time to catch up to you.  Artist development people knew that in the old way of things, and gave people time to develop and time to build an audience and time to be successful.  Today's labels run on quarterly profits and demand more money right now, so they can't wait that long and they take minimal risk and generally won't support what's new/good.  They are not the answer.  They are not part of music at all, not part of where it's headed.

So if I could figure out why the "allow users to download this song" button doesn't seem to be working, then I'd have our new stuff downloadable right now, but at least some of it is up now while we finish the album.   If anything i'm saying half makes sense or sounds appealing then watch that movie, Before the Music Dies, it's really good, I feel really inspired to just be myself after watching it

CLARIFICATION:  I am taking this band very seriously.  I want to make a living by playing music in this band if that becomes at all possible.  I just no longer think that that has anything at all to do with today's major music industry.  There are some great indie labels and indie radio stations that are still committed to music not money primarily, and those are great helps in the cause of an upstart band trying to "make it," but overall the music industry is not the future of good music.  And "making it" these days means something different; it's grass roots; it means getting your music out there with any resources available (including giving it away on the Internet), playing shows and building a real fan base starting where you live.  The money made from selling your music will never be significant until you win fans who buy it at your shows to support you, so until then, get it out to as many people as possible.  And once you build fans and have them coming to your shows, and you're making money from that and from merch, then all of a sudden the labels will think they can do something for you.  And at that point, you won't need them anymore.  Just to be clear, I am not implying that I am not serious about this music; I am more serious now than ever.