I'm just someone who likes diverse types of music, be it drone-ish ambient (Steve Roach, Stars Of The Lid, William Basinski), facemelting metal (Symphony X, Dream Theater, Yngwie Malmsteen), classical music (Tchaikovsky, Bach), or straight ahead jazz (Jim Hall, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis). And everything in between. I chose to do this as a hobby, just to put together some things that I listened to at night time, or when I read or study, or even when I'm driving and the traffic is stressing me out. I like music that tells a story, or has some melodic morsel that I pick up on. I don't care if it's super quiet and melodic, or if it's being screamed in my face. Art is art; not everyone likes everything.I like to make mixes. It's like building a cool little structure from pieces that might or might not fit together perfectly. I'm not in this to make money, or anything. My reward has been hearing some good comments here and there, making musical connections with like-minded people (the best part), and being stoked about creating my next offering. I enjoy hosting mixes from others, as they might not have the disposable time that I do to get things up and running, pay for hosting, or anything like that (I lose lots of sleep at times, but I manage for the most part). Lots of people can create something, but aren't sure what to do after that. I mostly contact people about gathering their mixes and providing a flattering narrative (meeting a lot of individuals on Mixcloud in the past). I have had a few people turn me onto things that I've really dug that I think deserves a bit of promotion. That said, I only host what I really, really like. And I try to stay with what's at least pretty consistent (for the most part) with what I do.
I'm also all about people sending me original music to use in mixes (I find this to be absolutely flattering). I try to get what I can mostly from Bandcamp, or listening to Amazon, iTunes, what-have-you and so on and so forth. I mostly try to buy separate tracks, if I can. Buying full releases gets a bit expensive, so I try to whittle it down a bit. If you are an artist that has music on Bandcamp, I'd really appreciate it if you could provide me a bit of a break when buying your music. I will definitely stream the music, and if I'm REALLY feeling it, I'll pay for the full release. The thing is that there is so much there for free, and that makes doing this sort of thing convenient (and affordable) for me. Take that how you want.
Let's see, what else...... I used tour as a professional guitarist. I've travelled the world holding my guitar, and have seen (and heard) some amazing things along the way. I lived in Germany for 10 years as a musician, and got to see so much of Europe (I miss it, but I'll get back one day) through the eyes of a traveling musician. I have memories of sleeping on the train station benches, clutching my guitar and waiting for a way to the next gig. All the while being hungry, surrounded by sketchy people thinking 'this sucks'. But I wouldn't trade that experience now for anything as it made me realize how much I appreciated having music drive my ambitions and dreams. I have, along the way, made a very good living through music, and have quite a comfortable life now. What I play on guitar is not what I mix, not even close, so I enjoy the 'left field' aspect of mixing. Music is my hobby, and my profession; it never gets tiring. Other than that, I like playing frisbee and baseball with my kids, riding my bike, and drinking tasty coffee. And sleeping!For those interested, I've released some of my own ambient compositions, which you can find under the names HARMONY & DECAY, INFINITE_COIL, and more recently as TONEPOET (with my website HERE). The music is all free, and I'll continue making it until someone tells me to stop. And I'll probably make some more after that.
Last thing, I owe a super-huge shoutout and thanks to Dave Michuda at LOW LIGHT MIXES that gave me tons of advice how to get things up and running. Super respectable guy, great music aficionado, and invaluable resource. Dave pretty much sets the standard for the rest of us. Thanks, Dave!
BTW, if you want to get in contact with me for whatever, you can do so at tonepoetry(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm sure that you can figure all of that out. I'd love to hear from you.
Turn on, tune in, sleep...
//tonepoet//