BACK UP AND RUNNING

February 2008… Where to begin…

First of all, I have a new domain. My last provider neglected to send out a reminder that markplati.net was set to expire (as if I can remember such things without a reminder) and so I lost it. They admitted this mistake on their part, and were willing to sell it back to me - for an exorbitant fee! So, I bailed.

That was last August, and I’ve had zero time to deal with it until now. A very busy ’07 combined with a new baby made for the back burner as far as this website was concerned. Though it’s now back online, I’ve not had it modified much - I’ve left all the pictures and news from the early ‘00’s up as people seem to like that stuff, but bagged the outdated links and a couple of other dead-ends, and had my discography put up in .pdf format so it’s an easy download for those interested.

I’ve been far more proactive on my MySpace page - given that it’s such a no-brainer to update, I tend to it pretty regularly. I put up new music every so often – usually independent or unsigned artists, without copyright issues - so if you’re interested in what’s been cooking, cruise on over (the ‘Music’ button on the home page redirects there). I also have a separate MySpace page for my studio, Alice’s Restaurant. It’s in the Links section.

I’ve had a personal website for almost ten years now, and clearly there are spurts of interest (on my part) and then long lapses of not dealing with it … which is sort of a drag. I just haven’t the time to do a news piece on every project I undertake, or keep an online journal or anything that involved (I wish). I know some people who do, and hats off to ‘em for having the focus. I just don’t have that many hours in the day - I’m either too busy in the lab, or changing diapers, or trying to practice my instrument, to keep up with everything.

So here’s a small attempt …

Life’s been good, crazy, turbulent, jubilant. Unpredictable. I can’t (rather, won’t) complain. I still get to make good music with good people. My efforts are usually appreciated, and I get paid for them. Can you really ask for much more than that? Oh, and I have three gorgeous kids, and still ride my bike a lot. All of that pretty much makes me a lucky duck.

Sure, our business is pretty much over as we knew it - who knows what record companies are going to look like in a year, given the slide due to poor long-term strategies, the public’s embrace of digital files both legal and illegal, and the general economic downturn in the US. Where do we go from here? Who knows, and who can tell? Sales figures don’t lie - given the trend of the past few years the CD seems to be a doomed format, and the public at large sure seems content with less-than-stellar mp3’s played on less-than-satisfactory playback systems. When Tower Records closed down – in particular, the iconic store on 4th and Broadway, MY Tower Records, dammit! - it was like a bucket of ice water thrown in your face. You couldn’t deny or ignore it anymore.

A telling moment came when my fourteen-year-old was at my studio, looking at my Beatles CD’s (the Fab bug has bitten her). She asked me to burn her some mp3’s for her iPod. Her and her friends just don’t buy CD’s, and if they do they rip them into their iPods or iTunes and that’s where it ends. So, I couldn’t help but break out my 45’s of ‘Lady Madonna’ and ‘Hey Jude,’ which knocked her out. Then I had to up the ante by showing her my copy of the ‘White’ album, explaining that it came with such goodies as a wall poster and the four famous portraits. ‘That is so cool,’ she said …

Yes, it was cool. A trip to the record store used to be such an event in my pre-teen life. Hearing a song you love on the radio, ponying up the 89 cents, bringing it home, and playing it incessantly. Some, I wore out. Buying an album was an experience – a tangible one in many ways. Vinyl albums were large and fragile - you basically had to sit still to listen to it, you couldn’t be driving or doing much else. The artwork made an impression, especially double albums. My first? I bought ‘Let It Be’ on my very first trip to Manhattan -December 23, 1972. Though that was the final album release of the Beatles, it was only the beginning for me.

But that’s nostalgia, and it’s not healthy to get too sucked into it. Showing off my records made me feel like Grandpa in the attic, and I had to shake it off. The world has changed, and you either go with it or you get left behind. There’s music to be made … and though the traditional methods, formats, and institutions may be on their way out or morphing beyond recognition, people are figuring out new and interesting ways to do it every day. Perhaps we won’t have album length opuses anymore - I’ve been doing a number of six track EP’s as of late, which seems to be a good size as far as what can fit into a budget, as well as suit the attention spans of our YouTube universe.

As creative people, we shouldn’t be worried. We practice a craft and have a viable skill set. I’m fortunate to also have a pile of gear, instruments, and experience to go with it. Most importantly, I’m still as obsessed as I was at 22. (In some ways I still feel 22 - thank you, bike). I’ve been doing this for over two decades - some years great, some not so much - so I suppose at this point it’s in my blood. I wouldn’t know how to stop.