Well, it was an interesting year. Mostly highpoints, but also some things that gave me pause and made me think. I’ll take them in random order.

Splitting up Witnesses

I decided enough is enough with doing multi-genre. Is it a compromise? Yes. However, have I enjoyed the confusion this causes? Absolutely not. I’m not relishing managing multiple accounts for projects, but I’m over this. I’m glad I tried it, but no more. I certainly learned a lot.

Joy vinyl

Joy got a beautiful vinyl edition on These Hands Melt out of Italy. It really brought the artwork to life and had a very classy look. Great design work, and I love the transparent green color. Thank you to everyone who has picked up a copy!

Reviews

What a ride. Lots of positive sentiment, but some definitely negative. That’s OK and expected, but it did reinforce my view that the best reviews take a work on its own terms and wrestle with its themes and concepts. I wish I saw more of this. There’s too much discussion of where things fit in the genre landscape. 

Ampwall

It was great to use this platform (this one!) in 2024. The features are truly coming along, the community remains healthy, and I did a chunk of sales that mattered. That’s a great sign. Hoping they have a big 2025.

Shipping

Shipping still sucks, though Ampwall has made some big improvements. But Ampwall can’t do anything about how expensive it is, even US to Canada! I doubt we’ll see improvements here, which is unfortunate. We kept the price of the Joy vinyl down, but it still bums me out what we have to charge for shipping to avoid taking a bath.

Collaborators

Just over the moon about the partners who contributed to Joy. Truly invested and excited about the material. Makes all the difference. You know who you are. Thank you.

Debating Spotify

No thanks. It sucks. Streaming is a terrible business, and nothing will change in terms of them doing shitty stuff to be profitable. That’s it. 

Prog

Witnesses isn’t prog, lol. But call it what you want. This is just weird to me. 

2025 look ahead

Lots of new music being written, but none of it will be Witnesses. It’s time for a bit of a break so that fresh ideas can bloom.

Release day for Joy has come and gone. It’s always a strange feeling to release an album. This might have been the strangest for me, and I’ll explain why.

There’s a line by Camus somewhere (boy, we really need Camus right now) comparing the time required to create a work compared to the time a critic might spend on it. I think it’s something any artist can relate to. But, you put something out in the world, and then it’s instantly out of your control! That’s the deal. With Joy, I’ve never felt better about a release. I really love the songs and I love how it sounds. And I’m thrilled that the reviews have skewed positive, and every social media post / share with supportive words has been truly humbling. But this hasn’t been the norm for me. In the past, I’ve put too much emphasis on what others think; this is the first time I really felt able to say “fuck it” no matter what happens. Progress!

Otherwise, it’s been really neat to see how people interpret the lyrics! I hate talking about what they mean to me because of this exact thing: it’s more fun to see what your listeners take away!

Anyway, thanks again. We’ll have updates on physical editions in just a few weeks!!

Joy is done, and I'm shopping it to labels to see if there is any interest in a license. I'm keeping expectations hyper-realistic, but also pushing it hard.

If nothing comes to pass, a DIY plan is ready to go.

I hope some of ya'll Doom II freaks are ready for a new favorite.

To disappear and to be nothing turned 5 last week. I still have a small number of the CDs around, just for 5 bucks. (I still like CDs but don't think I'll ever do them DIY ever again.)

One fun thing about that album is all the lyrical homage that goes on. There are references to The Sandman, 2001: A Space Odyssey, No Country for Old Men, and Twin Peaks (probably others, too). Interestingly, only a few have ever been caught by listeners. The album was originally supposed to be called A Game of You, but I walked that back as though I believe it constitutes fair use, it felt a bit much. So it just became the title of the first track instead. That feels less weird and is hopefully a much clearer statement of love and affection.

My favorite track remains the closer, "When a dark age comes, hold the light inside". And while what I mostly hear listening back is immaturity, missed opportunities, and mistakes, I do still like these songs. But I'm happy with how far the project has come, as well.

Doom or post, whatever.