Times they are a changin'

The recent stay-at-home orders have given us the opportunity to review our lives, what works and what doesn't, and implement the necessary changes.

Traditionally I have related with fans through social media networks, however this is no longer working.

I and many others are waking up to the fact that these companies are harvesting our data, spying on us, mining for our money and attention, controlling what people think, what types of content they can share, and what they can and can't speak about.

Many a silicon valley insider has confessed the truth of how these things work, so I'll refrain from deep diving into the evils of the technocracy, but needless to say, they feed on our attention and data, and have used it to amass more wealth and control than your average king, queen or country. 

“People just submitted it. I don't know why. They trust me. Dumb fucks” -- Mark Zuckerberg

As I progressed through my career, social media became increasingly distracting, an enemy of peace, clear thought and honest self expression. I also felt it was stifling my business and creativity, and causing me to spend way to much time thinking about other peoples thoughts, and way too much money trying to get noticed. 

Now don't misunderstand me, it's not about the people, it's about the platform. Most of the people I am connected to, I have enjoyed their company in real life, and would consider a friend or at least a friendly acquaintance. 

But relating in physical reality, with smiles and body language, tone of voice, perhaps at a pub, club or festival, out in nature, at work or school, these kinds of interactions create a "social fabric" which is tangible and builds strong relationships like muscle.

It is this fabric which has been undermined and torn apart by social media, to where now people live in their own little filter bubbles, separate in space, split into subcultures based on common interests, scrolling through an endless feed of random thoughts, fake news and virtue signalling. 

Coasting post to post, each new item triggering a different response; envy, judgement, lust, anger, despair, hilarity ... it's like a never ending tabloid newspaper featuring everybody you ever met. 

From a musicians perspective, fan/follower counts mean absolutely nothing since you can't reach even 10% of them with a single post, and if you make more than 1 post in a day, you can expect the ominous 'algorithm' to demote you for spamming. 

These days social media is a breeding ground for identity politics, spreading division and polarising people along every conceivable axis, left/right, rich/poor, black/white, male/female, tearing shreds out of peoples relationships due to differences in perspective or preference. 

What promised to bring us together, is now being used to turn us against each other. 

For these reasons and many more, I no longer wish to share knowledge and document my life on those platforms, and I don't want my business to depend on them. 

I'm bringing it all home, to this website right here.   

My life is pretty set now, I work on music and I read and learn every single day, and you can be a part of that through this site. 

I've never been much motivated by fame and money, but I do strive to be fiercely independent, true to my heart, and to always honour my commitment to the art.

I'm not part of any group, organisation, cult, corporation or religion, I have no affiliations or associations, I'm in no secret or magical societies. 

I don't belong to one particular scene, sound or subculture. I don't have a boss, or a sponsor, or anybody telling me what I can or can't say. 

My team consists of my booking agent, my wife, and my 3 beautiful children. 

My heart is my compass. 

If you are a fan and want to be part of my life, my inner circle, to support me and access music before anyone else, to receive writings and videos, or to pick my brain and learn what I know, then join the site, it's cheap as chips too :)

~S