#how is jay the collective favorite on tumblr?? I’ve been on all the platforms and people somehow treat him better on like reddit

[chebyshevptera]

well then. in light of recent events

if rogue jay does not have the most well thought out, intricate, beautiful, mind blowing, epiphany making, character developing, PERFECT ARC of ALL TIME that FINALLY gets the community to understand him during seasons 3-4 of ninjago dragons rising

… im not gonna do anything . but i’ll be upset

[notesonnotes]

Notes On: Dustin Phillips

We’re taking a bit of a different approach today! We’re talking with Dustin Phillips, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the current drummer for The Ataris (https://www.facebook.com/theataris/). He is also the Owner, producer and music instructor at Dustin Phillips Music (http://www.dustinphillipsmusic.com) He has done other projects not only playing drums, but guitar, and singing as well. He is multi-talented, and likes to engage his followers. If you haven’t taken the time to check him out, do it!

Dustin took the time to answer some questions we had for him. Take a few minutes and get to know a little about him.

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NON: What got you started on your musical journey?

DP: My music career began with a pair of un-sharpened No 2 pencils and a counter-top. And while I can attest to the incredible support of my family since the beginning, the constant tapping drove everyone around me crazy. In December of 1990, my stepfather (Pete) was coming off the road from touring with Phil Collins. He had told the crew that he was looking forward to a nice, quiet holiday. Phil’s crew, knowing he had a son that made beats and noises with everything within arms reach, decided to play a bit of a prank. On our doorstep, arrived a box with a note “Pete, enjoy your quiet Christmas.” Inside was a set of shiny, red Reno Junior Pro drums — from Phil and his crew, to me. My family, as amazing as they are, enrolled me in drum lessons at the age of 5 and have supported me every day since. NON: Who are some of your influences? DP: Over the years, I’ve realized that inspiration and influence tend to come and go unexpectedly. While I admire and believe that there is incredible talent that rightfully gets attention, there are millions of people who possess passion and talent that are immensely underrated. That being said, there are absolutely people whose talent and style I find myself incorporating into my own art. Drummers like George Daniel (The 1975), LP (Yellowcard), Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews); Songwriters like Josh Ramsay (Marianas Trench), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters/Nirvana), Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World). Additionally, I am constantly inspired and influenced by my incredibly talented friends Kris Roe (The Ataris), Jay Ness (filmmaker), Claudio Rivera (drummer), Rob Freeman (producer/songwriter), Kat Perkins (musician). NON: You've had projects outside of The Ataris. Thru The Static; You Jump, i Jump; a solo, and more. What has been your favorite project so far? DP: Generally speaking, if you ask any artist/musician what their favorite or best project is, it’s almost always going to be their current or most recent. Each project I’ve been a part of in the past holds a special place for its own set of reasons. The most creatively rewarding was the You Jump, i Jump “Reckless” album.(I’m making a plug for this, I have the album, if you wanna check it out, which I think you should, message Dustin on Twitter!) My buddy Braden, who had also been in All the Right moves, and I wanted to put out an album with the sole purpose of satisfying a creative itch. We had no intention to sell a million copies, or an unreasonable dream to take over the world. We simply wanted to release a collection of music that we get didn’t fit our current projects. It was completely self-produced, a little bit all over the place, but exactly what we wanted. NON: You also produce and photograph. What other projects have you done or taken on? DP: While I wish I could get myself to just focus on one thing at a time, I’m constantly looking for different creative outlets to explore. Whether that be producing an artist of a different genre, shooting video, creating social content, I just enjoy the process. NON: How long have you been doing this? DP: I’ve been with The Ataris for 3 years, but playing drums for nearly 30. Oh dear lord, I’m getting old. NON: What advice do you have for anyone trying to break out in the industry? DP: So much of this industry has always been about who you know, but now we have this thing called the internet. My biggest piece of advice would be to document and share content, grow your own following, while also trying to reach out and network with other creatives in your field. It can be a slow, daunting process, but if you bring value and entertainment to your platform, people will follow you on your journey. And that attention can manifest into incredible possibilities. NON: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? DP: I’d like to say drumming for Taylor Swift... but ultimately, continuing to live life in a way that brings happiness not only to me, but to those around me. I don’t need “fancy.” I don’t need to keep up with “the Jones.” Every fiber in my being just longs to live a life where I can create and be happy. And whether that’s on stage, in the studio, or starting a new business — who knows? I’m always ready to allow new experiences or circumstances into my life. Never be so sure of what you want that you wouldn’t accept something better.

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You Jump, i Jump: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeYkCQAeoKa3daK-fpzITHA

Dustin Phillips: https://twitter.com/dustinphillips

Tumblr: http://dustinphillips.tumblr.com/

Thru The Static: https://www.facebook.com/Thru-the-Static-211152845567919/

The Ataris: https://www.facebook.com/theataris/

The Ataris are on tour now! A few dates have already been done, but here are some upcoming ones! (* w/ Smoking Popes)

6/11-Phoenix, AZ-Pub Rock

6/12- Las Vegas, NV- 172 Music Club at The Rio

6/13- Salt Lake City, UT- Urban Lounge

6/14-Denver, CO- Streets of London

6/15-Kansas City, MO- Riot Room 

6/17- Des Moines, IA- Gas Lamp

6/18- Chicago, IL- Bottom Lounge

6/19- Indianapolis, IN- The H-Fi

6/20- Cincinnati, OH- Northside Yacht Club

6/21- Pisstburgh, PA- Smiling Moose*

6/22- Asbury Park, NJ- Asbusry Park Brewery*

6/24-Somerville, MA- Once Ballroom*

6/25-Brooklyn, NY- Knitting Factory*

6/26-Philadelphia, PA- Milkboy*

6/27-Baltimore, MD-Metro Gallery*

6/28-Cleveland, OH- Grog Shop*

[farylslair]

questionMark Review Copies Now Available!

An energy vampire struggles with its own sentience as it falls in love for the first time. When Jason's younger sister claims she talks to fairies, he assumes her imagination is running wild. However, he soon finds out that her fantasy is about to become his reality. Marion runs a soup kitchen with an unlimited supply of food, but he soon discovers that nothing in life is truly free. Eric's parents have been sick and quarantined in his home for almost a year, but no one believes him. Jay Windsor wants to take back his country from the Rebels, but their unconventional method of torture turns his own mind against him. A mysterious traveler with a haunting song is found guilty of murdering an old innkeeper. Six bizarre stories: grotesque, enchanting, and everything in between. The experience is unpredictable, so what will happen when you read?

*

Do you like psychological horror? Dark fantasy?

Do you like short stories? How ‘bout reading six of them?

More importantly, do you like writing reviews of books given to you by complete strangers?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these (or, y’know, all of these), I’ve got just the offer for you.

For those of you just tuning in, questionMark is a short collection of six psychological horror and dark fantasy short stories/novelettes written and perfected over a period of three years. It was released for Kindle and paperback about a month and a half ago, and so far, it’s gotten a full five stars on Amazon. I emphasize “so far” because there’s only been a handful of reviews, even though I’ve heard that a lot of people have enjoyed it. 

Which is why I’m going to do what I should have done a long time ago: give out review copies. 

Because, like I said in my earlier posts, I’m stupid.

Project 89 Media (which you should totally check out, by the way) has allowed me to give out 25 digital copies of questionMark to interested reviewers and bloggers. It’s on a first-come-first-serve basis, and it’s open to anyone, including my Tumblr and Twitter followers and my Facebook friends/followers. So if you’re interested, feel free to message me on your favorite social media platform and I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can.

If you’re on the fence about it, I’ve posted a brief excerpt from each story on this blog, so you can follow the links below and judge for yourself whether or not you would enjoy the book:

The Gadabout

I Saw the Fairies

Food

Eric Manchester Takes His Medicine

Dreams

The Judgment Day to Come

Also, sorry to kind of throw this in out of nowhere (well, not really out of nowhere, since I warned you about this in the back-to-school update), but I’m going to be really strict about these. I’m not going to be shy about saying that the beta reading process for this book went horribly (so an even bigger thank you to those of you who actually followed through with it), and I don’t want this to turn into just as big of a waste of time. 

Therefore, I’m going to be really blunt here: PLEASE don’t ask for a review copy unless you’re actually going to review the book. I repeat: PLEASE don’t ask for a review copy unless you’re actually going to review the book.

“I’m really busy right now, but I’ll review it at some point!”

Then don’t get a review copy. Buy it, and then you can read and review it whenever the flippity flapjack you want.

I understand you’re busy (believe me, I do--I’m taking 5 classes in a row two days a week, and I’m already burned out at week 2), but notice how nowhere on this post did I say that the review copies were “FREE”. I’m giving them out, yes, but that only means that they don’t cost money. They still cost something, though, and that something is effort. 

I’m sorry if I’m preaching to the choir with some of you, but there are seriously people out there who do not get this concept. 

So if you ask about a review copy, please tell me (if I don’t ask you first) where you plan to review it because I will be following up on you if I don’t hear anything for, say, six months.

Seriously, it doesn’t even have to be an Amazon review. If you have a blog (a book blog, a horror blog, a fantasy blog, a music blog, a cat blog, the sky’s the limit), you can write a review on there. If you have social media (which you probably do, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this), you can post about it on there (and if you can, tag me in the post so I can share it!). Pretty much anything you can do to spread the word about the book counts here.

I just want to point out that I really, really don’t want to be this strict with the review copies, since having people breathing down your neck really isn’t fun, and I want this process to be as fun as possible. However, if the beta reading process has shown me anything, it’s that I really do need to be this strict with people, especially since this is a finished product with a good amount of time and money invested into it, and I highly doubt my publisher would be very happy with me giving ��review” copies and getting absolutely nothing in return. Trust me, if I could afford to give away free copies, I absolutely would, and if you want to help me get to that point, great! You want to know how? By reviewing the book. See? Full circle.

So, yeah, I hope that little rant didn’t intimidate you too much. As long as you do what you say you’re going to do, we’ll be fine. And we might even be friends, who knows? 

And that’s it for now. Again, sorry about that little rant, but hopefully, there’ll be even more exciting news soon!

[royal-nation-empire]

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FLAPO!

http://soundcloud.com/flapo http://instagram.com/flapomusic https://twitter.com/flapomusic Snapchat Me! @Flapomusic http://sptfy.com/7zr Inquiries & General Information please contact: contact@iamflapo.com

Interviewed by, Monica P Brice

Q&A:

1. Is there someone specific who has inspired you musically?

To be honest, I’m constantly inspired by people and feelings, but no one specifically at the moment. There’s people that have inspired me in the past for songs like Promise Me, Dear Neighbor and Ghost. As of now, I’m really inspired by the idea of love, I think it’s such a strong feeling, that anyone can relate to it and I want people to relate to my music. And when I say love I mean every part of it, the real one, the heartbreak, the impossible, the long distance, etc.

2. Who are some of your favorite artists?

At the moment I’m really into Odesza, Jai Wolf, Rufus, Gryffin, Whethan, Louis The Child, Pham, Bearson, Big Wild, etc. That’s talking about my current influences, but talking about all time favorites I would have to mention Notorious B.I.G, Tupac, Mobb Deep, Eminem, NWA, Dre, Common, Nas, Daft Punk, Justice, etc.  

3. During my research I saw that you have been featured by many large record labels. What prompted you to start your own label?

It started as a platform to sign and promote other artists, but then it became a good platform for me to be free, release anything I feel like releasing and run my own promotion. I'm kind of set in my ways and sometimes I like doing everything by myself; that’s how I started A-sonora Records which then became Born Creative, the Label/Collective we have now. But today I feel very thankful and fortunate for the team I have around me.

4. How did you come up with your brand name "Flapo" & what does it mean?

That’s actually how people called me in high school hahaha, it has no meaning whatsoever. It started as a nickname for no apparent reason and later on I took it and made it my artist name. My friends still call me that though.    

5. What do you personally think about music charts and how do you assume that they have helped your music career progress?

I think charting is very important, that’s usually how people get discovered I guess. It all depends on where you chart though, there are charts more influential than others, like Hype Machine for example. Charts have definitely helped my career progress, the more you chart, the more people are able to discover you and potentially become fans.

6. What has been your favorite collaboration?

I personally love every single one of them, they are all different; but if I had to choose one, I would have to say the Dear Neighbor EP I built together with Jenni Potts and Pham on the official remix. Both are beautiful tracks and both are still doing amazingly great even though it was released back in March 2016.  

7. Any advice you would like to share with up and coming DJs?

Just work your ass off and be original. It’s ok to get influenced and inspired by other artists you admire, but don’t try to be them. Don’t try to be anyone but yourself and people will love you for that. Be unique and believe in yourself, it will happen.  

8. Your EP "Dear Neighbor" has gotten a lot of attention in the last 8 months., with 1M+ plays on Soundcloud and has been featured on multiple music streaming channels like Trap Nation, Cloudkid, ElectroPose, Heroic Music, Hour King, Saafeest, Trap & Bass, and more. Do you expect the same attention on your latest EP “Ghost?”.

Yes, we are very proud of how the Dear Neighbor EP was received and of course we are hoping for a similar outcome for Ghost. We have gotten some great support already and we are definitely looking forward to get some more love, it’s a beautiful song!

9. Tell us about “Ghost.”

Ghost was actually written around this time last year with Layna, but it was a whole process before it became what it is right now. When I met Layna, I was working on the instrumental and I thought about sending it to her to see if she was interested in writing it with me. I remember she answered almost immediately and we had the lyrics in no time, it was just meant to be. It took almost a year before Layna and I were happy enough to release it. Naming it Ghost was mutual. 10. What is something that you get asked frequently about producing music or playing live?

I get asked questions regarding sound design and mixing techniques mostly, also questions about the singers/songwriters I work with. In terms of playing live I get asked a lot “Why don’t you play some techno?” hahahaha. But seriously, I get asked mostly about songs I play during my sets.

11. Your music feels very emotionally driven. Do you find it difficult to open yourself up like that when writing and producing?

Actually no. Turning my feelings into music comes naturally to me, it’s just unconscious, it’s how I blow off steam. I like that my music is noticed as emotionally driven, because it actually is and I want people to relate to that.  

12. What new music are you working on? Is there something you are particularly excited about?

I’m excited about a couple of releases that are already finished and waiting for a release date. But honestly, nothing’s confirmed yet so I can’t give you any exclusives about that. But I’m very excited because of all the music that’s coming out very soon, I’m sure you guys will love it.  

13. What message do you want to convey with your music? How do you hope that your audience will connect with you?

As I mentioned before, I hope my audience will connect with me through feelings and emotions. My music is a representation of what I feel and how I deal with it, so I hope my audience can relate to that and connect instantly with my music and its emotion.  

14. What’s your goal for the next year? Touring? New Album?

To be honest I’m not working on a full album at the moment, we are just trying to release as much music as possible, but who knows, may be all these singles will end up being part of an album sometime. And touring is definitely a goal for next year. My team and I are trying to wrap up some amazing shows for 2017 but again, nothing I can share with you guys just yet. But expect great shows for sure! 15. How do you stay focused on your music career?

I try to listen to as much music as possible when I’m not in the studio, discovering new music, new sounds and new influences. That way I stay inspired and motivated all the time. But sometimes it’s really hard, you get writers block and nothing works. How I deal with it is I take some free time to do something else, take a break, go out and relax a little bit. Soon enough I get that creative wave again.  

16. What is the most interesting part of the music business side of this? Do you get involved with that part of your own progression?

I like being involved in everything Flapo related, but to be honest, my management is in charge of most of the business side of things. I’m fortunate enough to have a degree in Business, so I like to be on top of things and kind of oversee everything and make sure its working. I’m also fortunate enough to have a great team around me so that takes a lot of weight out of my shoulders, but in general, I care so much that I have to be involved in everything. My favorite part is booking of course, I love playing shows.  

17. What is something that you’ve learned that would help another aspiring artist?

The most important thing I’ve learned is PATIENCE. And I learned that from my parents. I also learned timing, timing is everything but timing’s a bitch, and I learned that from ‘How I Met Your Mother’ hahahahaha. With a little patience and hard work (if the timing is right), everything will click.

TUMBLR: http://royal-nation-empire.tumblr.com/ INSTAGRAM: Its_MonicaB TWITTER: Its_MonicaB & RoyalNationEmpire

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