Alright, the hell with it.
I’ve been looking at this great new layout and losing my mind. I see such quality design and I find myself driven to create content that matches the quality of the outlet. Then I realized I have never created “quality” content…just poorly edited, half-formed ideas that very few people read. So fuck it, its business as usual here, new design notwithstanding. If you want quality content go read Salon or…something.
Welcome everyone to the new Name Drop Acid. What started as an experiment in blogging 3 years ago has finally taken the next step. In the interim, those who have read this trash heap of a blog have seen me start in the music business as a bright eyed and eager go-getter fresh out of college, and watched me move through story after story of semi-exceptional business encounters, drinking adventures, skirt chasing (people still say that?), promotions, bad music recommendations, and zombie fiction, to end up here.
Where is here?
Now I know the tone and content of this blog has changed a lot. But that’s always been the idea, for this blog to change with me. OK, that’s a bunch of shit. I never had any other idea for this thing other than, “write this shit down so you don’t forget it.” And that’s what I’ve done.
I also want to say, that, where I was more than willing to “tell-all” about my early days here, I have become a bit more…whats the word…reticent about my adventures here. Mainly because I am self-conscious about blathering on and on about stories that don’t involve boobies or binge drinking. I’ve convinced myself that no one wants to hear anything but. At least when it comes to this blog. I feel that because of my early writing here, I painted myself into a corner with the tone of this thing.
The fact of the matter is that I am not the “single dude industry scrub drunk” that I was when I started Name Drop Acid. This is a fact that I have always been afraid to admit here, because in my delusional brain, I felt like I was writing as a “persona”, that needed to be pretty strictly defined. But who says personas can’t change? Anyway, I’ve changed. A lot. I’m sure this is clear to anyone who has been reading for awhile, even though I’ve never said it outright.
But now that I’ve cleared the air (I always was late to the honesty game) I feel better. That’s a good thing about re designing this damn blog. Its a new start.
A new start. Ahhh.
Lets get up to speed a bit.
So here is where I am at: I still work in the music business, in the digital marketing end of things. On the corporate side of the company. Gone are the days of the celebrity gladhanding, the champagne listening parties with Diddy, and the daily drama of running, screaming record label types. I miss it, but I also realize that this industry is in bad shape, and that the decadent music-biz lifestyle has gone the way of the dinosaur. Even Diddy takes fewer helicopter rides. Yup, things are a little tighter, and I’ve been fortunate to grab hold of a job where I am comfortable, I am needed, and I am busy even if I’m not listening to Jim Jones and Cam’Ron fight all day.
On the personal side, I have a girlfriend, who I love. She puts up with my bullshit and I put up with hers. We live together in Queens and I have happily become a “I live with my girlfriend” guy. Man we had it rough in the beginning though. I will spare you the details, but lets just say I fought the idea of having a girlfriend at every turn. I clung to my stupid single ways and found myself unable to commit to her. But, after a lot of kicking and screaming we made it on to the same page, and I am glad for it. She is one of the few good ones, and if I was too dumb to realize that in the past, I damn sure realize it now.
We started a bit of a business around lightpainting. I’ve posted about it here. I saw lightpainting online the week I started dating her, and I asked her how we could do it. She’s a hell of a photographer so she set it up and we got some great results. I usually come up with all the crazy ideas, and she makes them real. Since then, we’ve found a way to market it, get clients, get press, and make a little money, all on the strength of our work. I am very proud of this stuff, and I devote a lot of energy to it at our blog.
I also still write, but not as much as I would like. I’m trying to beef up that end of my creative output because when it is working, and when I am really into it, I forget where I am. The greatest experiences for me take me out of place and time. Not bugging out about the future, not regretting the past. I feel that way when my writing is going well. So I still write bios for money, I am working on getting more magazine assignments, I still write the odd review for Metropop, I still write zombie fiction, and of course there is this damn blog.
I’m getting a lot out here, but I feel like I’m leaving something out. Maybe we will get that pinned down in the future but I want to say that for anyone reading consistently over the last few years, thanks. And thanks for not calling me up and saying “hey man, you’re stories suck now that you’ve calmed down”, because the truth is, I was really self-conscious about it for a long time. I didn’t want to let anyone down. If I did, I’m sorry. But this is me now and its really not about letting anyone down. The only person I need to take care of is me. As awkward as this whole post is, its necessary. I’m not afraid to be honest anymore.
So lets get back to the poorly written half-formed ideas. Its business as usual here at Name Drop Acid… with a few small changes.
Talk to you soon.
