The sub-line of this blog, “Vinyl Shuffle”, says:
“A fearless selection of songs for one nation under a groove”.

Why “fearless”?

This adjective was inspired by a conversation I had with Overton Loyd. I have a lot of inspiring conversations with that guy, but this one was about “fear” and “art” and “music” and “looking cool”. I won’t go into the details, but in essence, most of us withhold when it comes to expressing ourselves through art and music. It’s silly. We ALL do — Though, Overton pointed out to me that there are a few exceptions — several great artists, like George Clinton (Do I need to give examples?) or Miles Davis (Stan Getz once commented, “That music is worthless. It means nothing. There is no form, no content, and it barely swings.”, or Michael Jackson (think about it…), etc… I don’t think any of them ever gave a flip about what people thought of them or their music. They just expressed what they wanted.  In doing so, they all took turns receiving horrible criticisms, but that didn’t stop them from putting stuff out there. And, in doing so, they created countless possibilities for other artists inspired by their work (and so on goes that cycle). So, our conversation wrapped by acknowledging that the more you put stuff out there, without fear of how it will be perceived (or, better yet, without any real caring or expectations at all… other than just to “share”), the more you affect a community at large, and the more is returned back to you.

Some of the mixes you’ll encounter here might be HORRIBLE, but that’s OK.  It’s connected me with some really cool artists and musicians I hadn’t known about until starting this blog.

Fear has probably turned away more opportunities than I care to remember. I’ve turned down way more gigs than I’ve performed. I’ve deleted and destroyed more mix-tapes than I’ve ever released. Always because I had a fear that something (no matter how small) wasn’t quite perfect – and at the end of the day, what is “perfect”, really.

Well, with the purposefully random nature of the mixes in this blog, it’d be silly to do anything else other than just to hit “record” and “save” and “upload”. After all, this blog is meant merely as a place to share music and ideas with my friends and random strangers.

No expections. If you enjoy the music (or hate it), or if it triggers a memory, or inspires you in some way, don’t let fear stop you from jumping into the conversation.  Leave your thoughts behind; You never know who you might end up connecting with, here.  Do it fearlessly… After all, “fearlessness” is the true theme behind this blog.

Thanks, Overton. And thanks, George

Tis