When it comes to music, I always used to love being involved with it. I still do but now I have more... standards and I can't find the people to meet them. Because of my experiences I feel like it's been better to have some. My expectations are a lot lower now than what they used to be. I used to want to make it big, maybe not too big but as big as bands like A Day To Remember, All Time Low, and the headliners at Warped Tour. I used to want to travel around the country and maybe even the world. After realizing the enormous amount of touring some of those bands do kind of makes me fret a little bit. When it came to shows I always felt more comfortable on stage. I was allowed to act a fool because all anyone wanted was a good show. I often took out my emotions in my performances which is why I sort of exploded. I'm really disappointed though that To Dine With Kings, (and damn, I still really hate that name), only played one show. We were just about to rerecord and release new songs and work on an album/EP. I just wish they guys would have stayed as dedicated as I was.
I would still like to work in a band but next time, (meaning if there even is a next time), it would have to be an equal effort. Everyone would have to have a job and put in their fair share. I think I invested $500+ into TDWK because I was one of the two people with a job. David was the other one but he could barely pitch in any. We all pitched in for recording but I of course did the most.
Secondly, if the people are inexperienced or newer then I suggest they'd have to listen to my advise instead of blowing it off every time. I had so many tips for David that he just ignored. I was pretty close to my boss at work who is an extremely experienced drummer and extremely talented at that. He gave me so many tips to pass onto David, (which I did), that he just didn't... care about. I mean sure, you can give it a try and if you don't like it then whatever but he didn't even try. None of the guys really did. The only one that really listened to my advise was Jeremy. I suggested that he'd get a better half stack and what brands were the best, (at the time I was researching stuff like crazy and Bird also advise me on even guitar equipment as well), and he followed through in tax season and got a beautiful cab and head that sounded amazing. Of course it's not all about what I say which brings me to my next point..
It'd have to be a team effort. No leaders. Isaac and I always clashed heads because our ideas on what to do would always clash. Him and I were always fighting for the throne and it got to the point where we all would just kinda shut down because of it. Jeremy never pitched in his ideas when we asked for them and David was always, "I don't care". I'd have to make him pick something. Although I admire Cody's ambition, dedication, and how he always had ideas his biggest flaw is that he doesn't know when to stop. He's not always right and what he wants isn't always what we all want. When it came to bands it was always like he wanted to take over and it's what makes them just, fail. He always got to anxious and timing is very important when it comes to scheduling recording, shows, practices, and well basically everything. We can't rush perfection.
In the mean time, I think I want to pursue a solo acoustic path. I have plenty of songs to get me started, I'm just not sure how I feel about my singing, though. I've been working on it. Another part to that is I don't have any lyrics. It's kind of hard to sing and play guitar at the same time as opposed to just listening and writing words to match the melodies. I'm not really hoping for a big response but enough to do some shows with random people that like my stuff. The name for my acoustic project for now is "The Great September". Just an idea.
I really think I want to do another metal or maybe a heavier Pop Punk band. I have for a while now. I even think Nick might be involved. The name for that one will be "Vacancy". But again, I.... don't know. I'm not sure how my band names sound to other people but I used to be TERRIBLE at it. For example, "Tuesday Tragedies" or something awful. Damn, I hate youth me.
Designing is another thing I want to do. I've always thought about becoming a freelancer. Of course not as a main thing, but just something on the side to make extra money. I'm not the greatest but I think I can do decent work when I put my mind to it. I just hate doing anything on this laptop because it just doesn't flow right and it's kind of too small of a screen to do it on. I mean I guess I could hook it up to my TV but that's so tedious. I've also wanted to make T-Shirt designs which is probably something I'll definitely do here soon. It's easy money really depending on how many people want to buy some. I'll market it out to bands mostly and see if they'll sell other shirts at their shows. Anyone else can buy some maybe online or something. I would just need another responsible person to help me manage so I don't get behind on deadlines, don't get screwed out of money, etc. Basically I'll make the design and get them printed somewhere else like Berner for like $5 and I can easily sell them for $10-$15. I'll also probably start to brand other things like hoodies, sweatpants, etc. Then my partner and I could split the profits or something fair depending on the amount of work each of us do. Until I get a screen printer (if I even want to) so I can do it all myself, going to print shops would be my best bet starting out. I think before I start with designs and what not, I want to get a macbook or an iMac because designing things on those from my experience is just 10x better.
Another thing I've always loved doing is photography. My problem right now is that I don't have a camera. I think I can take alright pictures and decently edit photos. I mean, I did for my senior pictures. I try not to edit too much because it takes away from the original art. Not all pictures need edited either, and I know that. I think this is something that can coexist with my designing. But again it's all just up in the air. The equipment is stupidly expensive too, depending on what it is.
