In a move that’s long overdue, I decided to make myself a blog and website, and join the rest of the 21st century, as it looks like “this whole Internet thing” is not going to blow over. I’ve made websites for other projects and groups I’ve worked with, but have never taken the time to make one for my own endeavors — the task seemed huge and forbidding, and I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of content I really wanted to offer and put out there.

One of the main reasons I hesitated to publish anything on the internet is that I despise static content; I didn’t want a monolithic website that merely served as an electronic business card, with a bio and some recordings. I myself only really go to websites like that once, as they don’t really tend to give you much of a reason to return. I also didn’t see myself as much of a blogger — although I frequent several blogs online, I always thought that any effort I made in that direction would be pretty self-indulgent, unless I figured out a lot of meaningful and prescient things to say. And, as you’re quickly discovering, I’m not exactly the world’s most thrilling writer.

I’m also not a big social media dork. I never really got the point of Twitter or Facebook, pretty shy, not terribly comfortable with self promotion, and quite recalcitrant about following trends…especially ones that I (then) mistakenly saw as frivolous and self-aggrandizing. As I saw it, “I play the piano, I compose, I make computer music, I teach. That’s all the realm of the real, non-internet world.” (RL, for those of you who have completely fallen off. I thought I would be the last person to ever make a website. The plot thinnens….

Over the past year, many people have asked why I don’t have a website — they want to come to a show, but don’t know when I’m playing, or they don’t know how to hear recordings, or they don’t know the best way to contact me, or perhaps they just wanted to make fun of whatever website I had, and were disappointed to have missed the opportunity. The badgering of two excellent pianists (and good friends!), Jeremy Siskind and Emmet Cohen, was relentless. I was feeling like perhaps the only musician in the world who didn’t have a website. I was running into musicians who could not tie their shoes, had no electricity in their homes, and had never used a computer before — and they all had websites. Well, the internet can finally collectively exhale their bated breath. Here it is.

As I see it, a my site will serve multiple purposes — one is promotional: my site will document my music making, keep people up to date on all of the shows, albums, and projects that I am involved with, and make my music more available, all in one location. With more avenues to distribute my music, I’m interested in making more music, creating more projects, and taking more creative chances.

And that’s where the other purpose of the site comes in — sharing information. I try to discover and listen avidly to as much as I can, and I’d like to discuss it and share it. I also do some transcriptions, arrangements, and analysis of music, and I’d greatly enjoy an avenue to share that with anybody interested. Since I also do a lot of music synthesis programming in SuperCollider, I’ll also do a lot of writing about that. I’ve also kept comments enabled because this site is a blog, and I’d love the discussion and interaction to go in both directions.

What’s coming up:

• New Bands — In the past month, I’ve worked to get all kinds of new groups together. I have a new trio, a new incarnation of my electro-acoustic ensemble, and a new duo with Sophie Faught, all of which I’m really enjoying writing for…which brings me to the next category:
• Shows Calendar — I’m just getting the site off the ground, and I’m adding new shows, one by one, to the site. I’m planning to book a bunch of new shows, some in Indianapolis, Louisville, Bloomington, and environs. Because this site is so new, I won’t have everything updated for a few days. I’m only going to add shows that you can actually attend, so there’ll be none of that lame business where people add private parties and such to their event calendar.
• Show and Workshop at Midwest Electro-Music Experience — Marauder Octobot will be performing at MEME this year, and I’ll also be giving a workshop on SuperCollider, synthesis programming, and algorithmic music. There is a lot of very interesting music coming from all over the country slated to perform. More details will follow.
• Teaching at Indy Arts and Music Festival — Put on by the Suzuki Institute in Indianapolis, I will be teaching daily classes on improvisation, from July 28th through August 3rd.

And that’s long enough that I’ve talked your ear off. Thanks for visiting.