When I began this project back in the autumn of 2007 I had only one real goal and that was to finally record some of my songs in a form that I could be proud of, in a way that resembled them as they played in that crazy little radio in my head. I wasn't sure at that time what I would actually do with them when they were done, but as time went on I realized that a good old-fashioned self-titled album would be a good start. For me, as a musician, this was a bit of a milestone because I had never made it that far with any other project before. There had been several demo recordings and a few E.P.s but never a proper album and that bothered me for some reason. It soon became clear that to reach this milestone in a reasonable space of time I would have to forego many of the other things I had been caught up in before, i.e. finding a band and playing live, but these were things I was prepared to do without - at least for a while.
A lot had happened in my life before all this began, both on a personal and artistic level which had led to some life altering decisions. As with all big decisions they had severe consequences which left me far outside the situation I had come to accept as my fate. Even though this was the only choice I had to regain my sanity, it also led to a long period of loneliness and isolation. During this time I obsessed a bit over this feeling of isolation, of being an outcast (perhaps of my own choosing to be fair) and the name developed from that. At that time I felt that I was a pariah, but somehow had always been one and had simply never been told. I had obviously neglected to read the fine print in my life's great plan! And so the name came to be... I was a Fine Print Pariah! Having finally found a name for the project it became easier to find a general tone for the music and work began setting up the studio and demoing the songs one last time before creating the definitive versions. The demo process took about a year and included 28 songs, 10 of which were chosen to be re-recorded for the album. The final recording process took about 6 months and by the end of the summer of 2009 the recording, mixing and mastering were completed. I officially released the album through my own newly established imprint 5th Estate Music on Nov. 2, 2009, approximately two years after beginning the project. A long road for sure, but well worth it.
Three years on I have achieved my original goal and a bit more. But I have also grown as a person and, yet again, much has happened in my personal and artisitic life. I have lately spent quite some time debating with myself about what the next step should be for Fine Print Pariah. In some ways I feel that it has served its purpose, that I can't really identify with it anymore, that it should be laid to rest in peace. After all, in the past year I have developed a new musical alter ego that makes a lot more sense in my current psychological state. I am no longer that lonely, isolated, fearful person that I was three years ago and I have other new ideas and plans for new projects that will take me even further into this new, confident territory.
But I also can't help feeling that part of me will always be Fine Print Pariah, and judging by the way things have gone in the past few years I can't be certain that circumstances won't lead me back to a situation similar to the one that created that entity. Because it was not all as bad as it might sound. Fine Print Pariah may represent a time of loneliness and isolation, but it also represents the reason for it which was to finally stop listening to other people tell me what I was supposed to do and how and by what means music should be made and to simply let my art out in the way I saw fit. It represents my letting go of all these preconceived notions of what popular music should be and just getting on with it instead of letting the industry dictate the terms. When I look at it that way, I am very proud of what I have achieved and no matter what happens next, this spirit will be present in everything I do from now on.
All I know right at this moment is that I must move forward and let inspiration takes it's course and the only way to do that is to shed the skin of this Fine Print Pariah and become someone or something else. This process has already begun and will continue and I am just as excited about that as I was when I started all of this. It is not an ending, just a pause to re-evaluate, to grow, to put myself in a place where I can catch my breath and be comfortable, at least for a little while.
And so, for now, I'll leave it at that.
Thanks for reading and enjoy what is here and know that whatever happens, part of me will always be a Fine Print Pariah.
P.S. You can check out my current project here.
A lot had happened in my life before all this began, both on a personal and artistic level which had led to some life altering decisions. As with all big decisions they had severe consequences which left me far outside the situation I had come to accept as my fate. Even though this was the only choice I had to regain my sanity, it also led to a long period of loneliness and isolation. During this time I obsessed a bit over this feeling of isolation, of being an outcast (perhaps of my own choosing to be fair) and the name developed from that. At that time I felt that I was a pariah, but somehow had always been one and had simply never been told. I had obviously neglected to read the fine print in my life's great plan! And so the name came to be... I was a Fine Print Pariah! Having finally found a name for the project it became easier to find a general tone for the music and work began setting up the studio and demoing the songs one last time before creating the definitive versions. The demo process took about a year and included 28 songs, 10 of which were chosen to be re-recorded for the album. The final recording process took about 6 months and by the end of the summer of 2009 the recording, mixing and mastering were completed. I officially released the album through my own newly established imprint 5th Estate Music on Nov. 2, 2009, approximately two years after beginning the project. A long road for sure, but well worth it.
Three years on I have achieved my original goal and a bit more. But I have also grown as a person and, yet again, much has happened in my personal and artisitic life. I have lately spent quite some time debating with myself about what the next step should be for Fine Print Pariah. In some ways I feel that it has served its purpose, that I can't really identify with it anymore, that it should be laid to rest in peace. After all, in the past year I have developed a new musical alter ego that makes a lot more sense in my current psychological state. I am no longer that lonely, isolated, fearful person that I was three years ago and I have other new ideas and plans for new projects that will take me even further into this new, confident territory.
But I also can't help feeling that part of me will always be Fine Print Pariah, and judging by the way things have gone in the past few years I can't be certain that circumstances won't lead me back to a situation similar to the one that created that entity. Because it was not all as bad as it might sound. Fine Print Pariah may represent a time of loneliness and isolation, but it also represents the reason for it which was to finally stop listening to other people tell me what I was supposed to do and how and by what means music should be made and to simply let my art out in the way I saw fit. It represents my letting go of all these preconceived notions of what popular music should be and just getting on with it instead of letting the industry dictate the terms. When I look at it that way, I am very proud of what I have achieved and no matter what happens next, this spirit will be present in everything I do from now on.
All I know right at this moment is that I must move forward and let inspiration takes it's course and the only way to do that is to shed the skin of this Fine Print Pariah and become someone or something else. This process has already begun and will continue and I am just as excited about that as I was when I started all of this. It is not an ending, just a pause to re-evaluate, to grow, to put myself in a place where I can catch my breath and be comfortable, at least for a little while.
And so, for now, I'll leave it at that.
Thanks for reading and enjoy what is here and know that whatever happens, part of me will always be a Fine Print Pariah.
P.S. You can check out my current project here.
