- Julie Christmas, "July 31st"
I started 2010 off with something resembling a plan, and had begun to implement a system, which worked for a time, but was then derailed.
part of this was the result of my inability to manage my time. the combination of work and school and the chaotic nature of my schedule (12 hour shifts on the weekends, class on mondays and thursdays, and chaotic idle days in between), for some reason ended up hobbling me. this isn't much of an excuse, but the trouble encountered was also due to the fact that i make very little money and as the year drew to a close, i was unable to juggle my various personal expenses along with the expenses necessary for producing releases and shipping them in a timely fashion. the preorder concept had been advented to handle this, but certain releases still required a significant personal investment, so while the system worked in some ways, it wasn't sustainable in others.
finally, i still have not recovered financially from the expenses of my brief 5 date tour in november, as it required me to take two weeks off from work, and in the month and a half since, i've been unable to get back to label business, which meant several releases that i've been working on have fallen by the wayside, in deference to my personal life.
With a new year, it is my plan to get back to work on the numerous projects that are currently in progress, but i'm still held back by financial and time management issues, especially since the holidays have left me with absolutely no money whatsoever, and as a result of the expenses of the holiday season coupled with having the last two weekends off from work, my bank account is currently overdrawn. this means it's still going to be a while before i'm up and running.
but, i want to assure you that i will be forging ahead in the coming weeks and months, and i am determined to put the lessons i learned in 2010 to good use.
Also of note is the fact that i have a job interview this thursday (tomorrow), and i have no doubt that i will get the job. working two jobs will allow me additional income, which i can put toward moving ahead with my life and new releases.
I'm also working on setting up a kickstarter.com fundraiser to generate some cash to put toward the next batch of releases.
I have a few friends who have raised money using kickstarter to produce new albums, and it seems to work quite well. i'm still unsure exactly how to make this work, but it's definitely something i want to do.
I have struggled for thirteen years to make this label work, with varying degrees of success and failure, but i will never let the obstacles stop me from forging ahead. i'm determined to make 2011 my best year so far, both personally and artistically... and if it isn't, i'll just kill myself. i think 40 years of being alive is probably good enough.
But, all is not doom and gloom, although that is my specialty. obviously, the love is nothing. release WITHOUT ME was neither completed nor shipped by the end of 2010, but it's the first priority for the new year to get this wrapped up immediately. i've been recording vocal tracks over the past couple of days and my good friend Kevin Reilly has been working on the final mixes. we'll continue this process through the month of january, and after that it will be time to hand the tracks over to John Lamacchia for mastering.
I've submitted a request for a quote on cassette duplication and am awaiting a response. the first professionally-produced cassette will be the THEOLOGIAN+ADERLATING collaboration, and i hope to get this taken care of as quickly as possible.
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VITAL WEEKLY has given the debut full length by THEOLOGIAN a favourable review:
A decade ago I received a brutal power electronics album from an artist called Navicon Torture Technologies. It was the album "Scenes from the next millennium" released on Malignant Records in 2001. Behind the NTT-project was Lee M. Bartow ...alias Leech from the New York Power Electronics scene. Genre-wise, NTT, had elements of many industrial-noise sub-genres such as power electronics, death industrial, harsh noise, and powernoise. Now Leech has shipped another project from the dark world of crushing electronics, this time under the flag Theologian. Present album "The Further I Get From Your Star, The Less Light I Feel On My Face" released on the Crucial Blast label is the debut of Theologian. Compared to the ultra-violence of the "Scenes from the next millennium"-album this new project/album more likely operates in the subtle expressions of harsh electronics. The crushing symphonies operates in the sub-levels with utter black ambience delivering some dark and sinister atmospheres.
Everyone interested in noise and experimental ambient should take a listen this excellent piece of rumbling darkness. (NM)
Address: http://www.www.crucialblast.net
MORE REVIEWS:
THE AQUARIAN
DOOMMANTIA
SONIC ABUSE
METAL ARMY AMERICA
COLLECTIVE ZINE
DEFECATION ON THE DIVINE RADIO
TO ELEVEN
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BLEAK NOVEMBER was my return to organising live events, and with the general success of the Brooklyn date, i made a decision to revive that aspect of my activities, on a somewhat limited basis.
Pete Hyde, frontman for the amazing Australian doom act WHITEHORSE, will be touring the states with his harsh noise band OCCULT BLOOD, joined by fellow Aussie noisemaker IVENS. i've set up a show for them in Brooklyn, at The Acheron, which will take place on February 3, 2011.
(WHITEHORSE will be touring the US with THE BODY this Spring!)
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2011
ANNIHILVS POWER ELECTRONIX
presents
BLEAK FEBRUARY
featuring performances by
OCCULT BLOOD
occultblood.blogspot.com
IVENS
eco-tonerecords.blogspot.com
THE VOMIT ARSONIST
danversstaterecordings.blogspot.com
LUSSURIA
lussuria.cjb.net
DOORS 8PM • ALL AGES • $8
THE ACHERON
57 WATERBURY STREET • BROOKLYN, NY
theacheron.blogspot.com
annihilvs.org
Flyer coming soon
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Up-and-coming (huh huh) porn starlet INDIGO AUGUSTINE shows her NTT pride, while doing a session for my friend's company, VSEX EAST.
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That's all for now.
Your support and patience, as always, are appreciated. Happy new year!
