I'll be performing at The Elbo Room in Chicago this Tuesday, July 8th at 9 PM.  I'll be performing with my band for a 45 minute set.  If you're in Chicago come on out!

The Elbo Room is located at 2871 N Lincoln Ave in Chicago.

I'll see you there!

Hey!

I'm excited to announce that I will be peforming live in Chicago on June 12th at Silvie's Lounge.  I will be performing an hour long set of music that will feature songs from both my first CD, Light and my upcoming CD Wave.  Here's the info:

June, 12 2008 at Silvies Lounge
1902 W. Irving Park Rd, Chicago, 60613
Cost : $7.00
9 PM

If you're in the Chicago area come on out!

Artist X

I'm now hosting a weekly podcast where I'll be playing a different Artist X song each week and also discussing the spiritual concepts that inspire the songs I write. You can check out the first episode here!

Hey There,
Guess what.  I have a new website!  It's for members only and it's free to join.  And when you do, as my way of saying thanks you'll get to download three Artist X songs for free!  Two of them are from my debut CD and one is from my forthcoming CD, Wave.  So, if you're in the mood for some great free music go to www.artistxmusic.com today and sign up!

Or, if you prefer to go straight to the music, just click here!

Namaste,
Artist X

I'm currently being featured on the Zaadz pod, MFA.  Get a free three song Artist X sampler by visiting MFA today!

http://pods.zaadz.com/mfa_on_zaadz

As many of you already know my account was deactived recently for several complaints as a response to my friend request.  Apparently I had unintentionally sent a few people duplicate friend requests which resulted in their flagging my message as spam.  Mathew had notified me of a few complaints several months ago and although I did my best to comply, I'm not always sure who I have and haven't invited into my network.  Zaadz now has over 100,000 + members and I have sent out thousands of friend requests during the course of my time here at Zaadz and sometimes I just accidentally hit up the same person more than once.

The good news is that I'm back and I'm going to make every effort not to send anyone messages that could be construed as spam.  Thanks to everyone who spoke up and helped me get my account reinstated.  I really appreciate the support. 

A philosophy and belief that I've been developing is that there is ALWAYS an upside to EVERY situation. There is always a lesson and an opportunity to grow from everything that happens in life.  I really believe this and this experience with Zaadz  has been no exception.

When I initially had my account deactivated I was absolutely LIVID, to say the least.  I've spent MANY hours here at Zaadz networking and building up my friends list and pod list.  To have my account abruptly frozen was quite unsettling.  My initial reaction was one of anger and hurt.  I couldn't believe that something as seemingly innocent as inviting people into my friends network could get me banned from Zaadz.  But it seemed it had.

So I calmed down a bit before I reacted.  I waited until the end of the day and sent a letter to the Zaadz team explaining pretty much what I'm explaining here.  Several days went by and nothing happened.  I considered simply not returning to Zaadz even if I was invited back and at one point was pretty convinced that was my position.  Another person who had been banned from Zaadz wrote me and suggested I should never return and that if I did this would be a sign of lack of integrity and low character.  At first he seemed to make sense. 

But the more I thought about the situation the clearer it became.  Not returning to Zaadz out of anger over the way I was treated would really not help me accomplish my objectives at all.   Zaadz is a powerful networking tool and has so many great people with great visions and it really is a very unique place on the web.  The majority of CDs that I've sold has been through Zaadz.  To give that resource up just because I was pissed over what happened to my account would accomplish nothing and would in fact be rather childish and lacking in character.  To me having integrity means not letting minor obstacles get in the way of accomplishing our goals and visions in life.  Character is having the perseverence and will to keep going no matter what life throws at you.  This is what character is all about.  Not returning out of anger, in an effort to make some sort of point about how "fascist" Zaadz is supposedly becoming (as some have suggested) would not demonstrate character.  Leaving Zaadz would simply not help me accomplish anything worthwhile.

And so I will remain here at Zaadz for as long as I am welcome. I value the community here and I hope everyone I interact with can sense that.  I truly feel better as a result of the lessons I've learned as a result of all of this.  There is always a lesson.  Oh, and one other thing I've learned:  DON"T SPAM!

Artist X

Hey Everybody,
I'm participating in a songwriting contest on Our Stage Music.com throughout the month of December.  I actually forget that I entered this but I checked the results today and my song "All Things Subside" is currently ranked 66 out of 772 songs.   Not bad considering I haven't promoted this at all!  So, if you want to help push my song up even further then head on over to Our Stage.com and vote for me today!


Thanks for your support.

Artist X

Artist X is currently featured in the Cafe section of the Secret Gratitude Rock.Com.  Visit http://www.thesecretgratituderock.com/ to check out the site.

My whole adult life I have been struggling to maintain a balance between making enough money to live and to also find time to pursue making music.  Making music is the one thing I am most passionate and excited about.  I feel that it's the greatest gift I have to offer humanity.  I believe in the power of music to heal and inspire others and I'm grateful for being given this gift and passion for music.

At times I get so caught up in the game of trying to simply support myself and survive that I find myself struggling to find the time and energy to create music.  Although when I eventually do, the inspiration and passion is always there, waiting for my return.  

The time has come for me to take Artist X and my music to another level.  In the near future I plan to quit my day job and begin making music on a full time basis.  This is both scary and completely exhilirating.  I know that if I ever hope to reach a significant number of people with my music and turn this into a full time endeavor that I need to take this step. 

So, I've come up with a plan to make this a reality.  It's a far from perfect plan, but yet inside I know that it's the right thing to do.  Part of this plan involves you.  Like any business endeavor, I cannot survive without customers, for lack of a better word.  All artists are dependent on their fans if they hope to make a living from their art. 

As I was falling asleep a couple nights ago, an idea came to me that was so simple and so elegant that I immediately got out of bed and wrote it down.  The idea was to create a community of people who like my music and believe in my cause.  Everyone who joins my community will be charged a nominal fee of only $1.00 a month. For this nominal fee everyone who joins will receive access to all of my recordings and will also help guide my career by voting on different decisions that I have to make.  Additionally once I reach a membership level that is sufficient for me to live off of  (which won't take much as I've grown accustomed to a very simple life style) I plan to write and release a new song on a weekly basis, which all the community members will also have access to.  

So for what amounts to about three cents a day everyone who joins my "community" will get at least one official Artist X release a year, 52 acoustic songs a year, the ability to help shape my career and you'll also get an inside look behind the scenes of what I do in a special blog I'm creating just for the Artist X community.  I will be working for you and will wake up each day excited about how I can contribute in my own unique way.

If you like my music then please go join my community.  Everyone who joins will be doing their own small part to help make one person's dream a reality.  What's so incredibly powerful about the internet is that it really doesn't take that many people to create a sustainable community like the one I am building.  Just several thousand members contributing three cents a day will help me get to a place where I can live more and more in my bliss....and inspire others to do the same.  

Thanks for reading. I appreciate your support.  Here's the link to join the Artist X Community:

 http://www.artistxmusic.com/community.html

Namaste,
Artist X
 

I'm writing all of my Zaadster friends today because I am pleased to announce that I will be releasing my debut CD, "Light", on January 23rd!  The songs on "Light" are a sort of musical documentation of my ongoing spiritual development.  As many of you know I've decided to devote my musical energies to exploring spirituality and attempting to express and communicate the joy and peace this path has brought me via the wonderful language of music.  I've also decided, at least for now, to release my music anonymously to keep the focus where I think it should be - on the music!

I've received lots of very encouraging feedback from those who have heard my music, especially from the Zaadz community.  My debut CD is an EP containing seven songs.  My plan is to release a full length CD this Spring that will be funded by the sale of "Light".   So if you like my music and appreciate what I do please purchase a copy of "Light".  My promise to you is that as long as their is interest in what I'm doing I will keep digging deeper and writing songs that are inspired and reflect the oneness of humanity.   Life truly is beautiful!

Everyone who Pre-Orders Light will receive a number of free bonuses including two great ebooks (by fellow Zaadsters) as well as two other free downloads.  To Pre Order "Light" today visit:

www.artistxmusic.com/preorder.html

To hear samples of my music visit:   www.myspace.com/artistxsongs

Namaste,
Artist X