You can hear it in the latest music: I've succumbed to my downtempo ways and am cranking out songs rife with /*nerd*/ (chill)^100 /*end nerd*/.  As I continue to read everything I can about local music, the west coast electronic music culture, and input all sorts of stuff into my brain by way of my ears, I'm feeling pretty good about opportunities to share my music with the world. I admit, previously (say, 10 years ago), I was very nervous and bashful of the music I made. *I* understood it, *I* loved it, and I had a few people close to me who also made claims of adoring my adventures in sound, yet I found myself continually shying away from broadcasting it to the world that I make music.

To say that "I make music", though, is an understatement. Ask any of the self-proclaimed musicians, producers, and DJs out there who have a portfolio of tunes available: They will tell you that they eat, sleep, breathe, and are consumed by all things music.

It has taken a lot of encouragement from friends and family, paired with a lot of 'figuring it out' on my own that brings me to where I am today.  I feel great about everything I'm doing and I can't wait for the next few projects to be ready for display.

My wife has been instrumental in keeping me in check as I continually have all of these ideas for projects (some which aren't music related). I can only do so much that I need to ensure those projects/ideas most important to me are taken care of first.  Having things-to-do on the peripheral is fine and dandy, but if I dick around too much I won't realize my visions related to my music.

Enough of the introspective crud! (for now)

It's been a low-key and relaxing holiday. Just in time to build up to a crazy start for 2011. Moving (staying in King County though), music, day job, performances, a big hiking season (hopefully!). To the joys and successes of 2010, I bid you farewell.

On to 2011!

Amy and I had a great birthday weekend. Here are some snaps from the phone until I get my lazy bum to go through the camera pictures.

Welcome to November, Mr. Armstrong.

10 days in and I feel some of my bones aching from the lack of hiking this year. Not a single trip to Mt. Rainier! On the other hand, quite an epic close to one chapter of my life and an even more legendary start to another; getting married and going to Europe for the honeymoon took such a large chunk of my mental, physical (not to mention economical) resources that I think I'm still in "recovery phase".

Sidenote: This picture is from my phone while visiting the Microsoft campus in the evening hours. I was bummed that I had forgot the camera at home when I had left for work that morning, but at least I had *something* to grab these with and made the most of it. 

Fall has been filled with delicious home made cappuccinos with Monin Pumpkin Syrup and cinnamon on top. It's been rife with delicious home made food.  It's been chill in meeting various folks around the area for fits of hanging out (usually involving some form of tasty beer or coffee).  I'm definitely enjoying the season as we move swiftly into winter.

I've been all over the place in musical diet lately.  It's been a good thing as I've had positive results in writing and producing music for the Sliptide side of things. I'm also trying to get ideas down for the new Silver Standard music, plus another entirely different project with another friend of mine that will exude a lot of tribal and industrial feeling.

With everything that I want to accomplish in life it's hard to keep in mind we have to pick our battles wisely. We can't be everywhere at once. If you multi-task too much then you aren't contributing enough to each involvement to be moving forward. It seems that there are only so many things you can be doing at once. While I've become better at having more on my plate, there are times that require me to have less going on so I can dedicate myself to important tasks.  I digress.

I admit I've been having problems writing lately. I just can't seem to get the motivation or the appropriate mindset to sit down and write anything (journal, lyrics, etc). What does come out ends up being fractured and in pieces, much like the topic-to-topic post you're reading now that really doesn't have much weight or substance to it. Ah well, at least I'm doing it!

So, what's the skinny on the music, huh? I clearly don't spend *enough* time doing what I want, but with the time I have been working with I've produced some great stuff. Think broken-beat meets grooves meets abstract music-- in line with things you might find on any of Ghostly International, Brainfeeder, or Warped. Bold statement, I know, but that's what's driving me right now. Infusing my downtempo and chill soul with my mantra from mid year: "Emotion, texture, ambiance, and passion." I'll have some better examples beyond the first, "Getting Into Position", coming out later this month.

Wow, November. It's my birthday on Friday. I'm 28. Twenty Eight. Two in the tens, eight in the ones.

I wish I were making music right now because life is so god damned beautiful today. I look forward to seeing my wife later tonight.. we're doing some heavy grocery shopping this evening (and contrary to popular belief, even before we were married we liked doing that together. We love food).

I need to add some widgets and additional information to my blogs. Stuff like, songs I'm into, albums I'm listening to habitually, or random thoughts/ideas about any old subject... maybe even quick snippets of tracks I've worked on in a given week.. ohh that's a good one!

onward!

Here's a new song that really brought me back into downtempo dwellings. I've put some "indie" spins on a lot of the new music that's in line with this one, while other works are definitely some deep trip-hop.