post brought to you by: calmstock
I’ve been MIA for a while. Getting a new EP recorded, CDs and vinyl pressed (one-sided white vinyl!), gigs and radio appearances booked, promo packages together– it’s a ton of work as you all know. But I think I’m coming out of the woods a bit and want to get some thoughts down on the exciting re-emergence of patronage via new, arts-focused, micro-funding platforms.
Perhaps best known as a driving force behind the European Renaissance, arts patronage has played a vital role in advancing culture for centuries. And beyond the visual arts, patronage has impacted the work of some of the greatest writers, scientists, and composers we’ve ever known. Nowadays, however, there’s a lot less in the way of direct-to-artist patronage. But since I’ve only taken one art history course, I’ll stop there and leave the history lesson to others.
The control that record labels have is no new news. It’s been a fight that’s been going on for years and we continue to reach that breaking point of making some sort of shift with it.
I’m not one to promote new music. (and this music isn’t really new) Everything I find is because of fellow music bloggers and friends who just go nuts over music. So I’ll let them continue on with what they do best and occasionally I may chime in (kinda like now).
There are more genres of music than I can count on 20+ hands. But one that seems to have gotten lost in the mix (but desperately needs a revival) is 
Am I claiming that I am hip? Hell yes! Many people might disagree with that statement… But I stand by it proudly. Call me a hipster, call me indie, call me a geek. I will stand by any name you want to throw at me. I’d like to be called chief or holmes though at least a few more times in my life…
As most of you are aware, we are quickly approaching 2010, with the general (and I would say correct) consensus being that this is the end of the decade. For me, this is a rather dire situation, because unless something changes in the next week or two, this will be the first decade in a long time to not carry with it a signature holiday song. Although the creation of Christmas music has drastically fallen off as a viable art form since its heyday in the 40’s and 50’s, we can still find in each decade at least one or two representatives to take with us through the subsequent holidays. 
This past week, I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta, to do a pre-Christmas Christmas with my girlfriend’s family. They are a wonderful group of people, rich with Southern hospitality and warmth, as well as stroke-inducingly brilliant cooking skills. However, visiting them at this time of year brings with it one minor caveat: they love the holiday season, and when it comes to holiday radio, they like their airwaves like they like their stockings: stuffed and brimming with Christmas joy. 
I am one man who writes (pretty poorly) about music because I love it. I study, play, produce, engineer, analyze, and obsess about music. Enjoy all the topics I can muster up to write about.
