I Bust It

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One of my older tracks has been released in the U.S. Finally! Search DJ Flint "IBust It" for your favorite download site.

Back in the saddle again....

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So now I'm in Chicago and a lot of the people I knew are in the business. Makes me wonder how far into the business I would have been had I not left. Time will tell whether these connections are true insider connections or "that guy used to be a top DJ but look at him now." I say screw that! Start as if I'm a new guy but with old guy knowledge!

Back In the Chi!

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I'm am officially back in Chicago. Now that I'm back I've been catching up on things and putting music together. "I Bust It" is being distributed via RecordUnion.com and has been added to iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and PeoplesMusicStore.com plus music from the Dance Mania release "I Owe Some People Money" (DM 256) is being re-released and repackaged soon with remixes and new music. Yes, a lot is happening and it is happening fast. More news to follow.

Prepping for the trip home to Chicago. I wish I didn't have to make this trip in the dead of Winter but I've no choice in the matter. OH well

Evolution

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Now before any of you send me ugly emails regarding the title of this entry read the whole thing. The evolution I am writing about is of the love of music. Almost everyone on the planet loves music in some form. There is only a small portion of the population who find music unappealing.

Every DJ can trace their evolution into a DJ from their love of music. If you were to survey any DJ you know he would say that it was their love of music that inspired them to become a DJ. For most of them being the guy that plays the music that makes people dance is enough.

For me it was different. My love for the music was my inspiration to become a DJ. The rush you get when people are caught up into the mood is like no other drug you can take. The problem was when I realized that being a DJ is expensive. If I was to continue as a DJ I would need to make money doing it. I then realized that I was one out of thousands and we all had the same music sources. Some of us had hard to find remixes and they were the ones that stood out and commanded the highest fees. If I wanted to make money I had to get away from the pack.

Enter producing my own songs. It became the logical next step if I wanted to make a living at something I loved. Ask any producer and he/she will likely tell you how they started as a DJ. Now remember how I stated that you get a high while DJing. It's like mass hypnosis and you are the leader. Well you get a different high when you enter a party and the DJ plays your track and the crowd goes wild. The problem is the type of high. While DJing you get a smooth mellow high that lasts the evening and into the next day. The high you get when your music is played is fast, hard and fleeting. It leaves you wanting another hit. You become an addict and you have to get more. And the sad part is there is no detoxt for this type of high.

Masterbeat

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Whenever I find new stuff I try to share it. This time I found Masterbeat.com where you can get remixes of the popular dance tracks out there. If you are a DJ like me this can come in handy especially when it comes time to stand out from your peers with the new music. Don't say I never did anything for you.

DJ Funk is not dead

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Twitter, Twitter , Twitter. Remember when gossip took weeks to get started and circulate? Now it takes a day. I'm checking my Twitter account and I see an update from DJ Gantman exclaiming "For everybody's info. DJ FUNK IS NOT DEAD! I talked to him yesterday. He's at home. He was asleep!! Stop spreading fucked up rumors!" Hell, I didn't even know the rumor was going around.

Blip!

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So I was on last.fm listening to some classic House music and I was thinking to myself that I would have loved to program the song list. Then It hit me that I could do that on Blip.fm and broadcast what I wanted to hear. These are the songs that inspired me to become a DJ.

Last FM

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You can now find me on Last FM and broadcast my tracks!

When your hand is forced

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I've been putting together a lot of things over the past few months so that I can go home to Chicago. I thought that I had a few months left to get things together but one my roommates has moved up the timetable. This is a valuable lesson. You either have someone holding your plans back or you have someone rushing your plans. You are rarely on the same timetable even if you discuss it with them. Sometimes I regret even taking this on.

WTF

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So I'm checking my Twitter account to see what nonsense Diddy has said today and I see that Beatportal (a side project for Beatport) has a new remix contest and I'm thinking "Great! Here's an opportunity to flex my skills!" I'm searching the rules to see what I can win and what is being offered. The first part is some piece of equipment that I'm sure I can use that I've never heard of and a $200 gift card to Beatport which would come in handy for my next 5 mixes. The winning remix also gets released by the label which means possible future remix work that will also fame within the industry. I then check the article for the song sample to see how it sounds and what I have to work with. I don't notice a link but what I DO notice is that, in order to enter the contest, I would be required to download the parts of the song I need for the remix and PAY for it at $3.99. Way to go, Beatportal!

Looking for my muse...

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My frustration with making music has always been trying to cater to the general public's music taste.  I have worked on some songs for months where the nuances and structure where tweaked until I was satisfied but the track would get mediocre response.  Cut to my garbage tracks where I would spend all of 10 minutes composing it and recording took the track length and people would go nuts over them.  I just don't get it sometimes.

The Present and Future Of Music or "In Search Of Beatport"

Record Union

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|I was attempting to sell my music on Beatport.com which is arguably the premier site for purchasing House and Dance online.  Needless to say I was not successful as they were not open to adding new content unless you belonged to one of the labels that already existed on the site.  As I researched how to get my music on the site I found that online music has gone to the distribution model that the music industry had adopted with records, tapes and CDs long ago.  At first I was disappointed and thought that I would have to go with one of the labels.  I did not have a good experience with the last time I was on a label as I was left to accept what news I received on sales as true.  This is sometimes the standard with Indie labels and when I asked about royalties I would always get the standard number of sales that everyone got even though my independent numbers on my mixes where 5 times that number.  Granted the record sales represented what the DJs in the world purchased versus the number of mix sales which represented the fans.  Since I was making money doing what I loved I was not too upset with the process.

Forward to the present  where I have my own publishing, Halsted Street Entertainment (ASCAP), and several people who write songs that I publish.  Records still get pressed but only after a strong showing on digital sales unless the company that is maunfacturing feels that the music will justify a pressing .  This is fine but there has been a resurgence of record pressings by the industry and a number of DJs who refuse to use digital files or CDs to ply their trade.  Ever since there were record players that played all three formats (33 1/3, 45 and 78 RPMs.  You have to be older to remember these), Music has been sold in multiple formats and House producers should get used to this.  The lucky few that have been assimilated into the mainstream got there because somebody responsible for putting music on a soundtrack or commercial stumbled upon the track and thought it was cool.  Since the newcomer will unwittingly work for cheap, the process has become a good way to fill a soundtrack and still have money for the big name act or producer to legitimize the soundtrack and assure exposure and sales.

More and more producers are going the way of independently putting out music for a chance at signing with a big company while building their fan base.  In my search for a way to get onto the elusive Beatport roster I stumbled upon the new trend in music which is digital distribution.  Like the original idea of distribution, a central organization would represent multiple labels and distribute the music to multiple outlets.  This is beneficial to both the labels and the outlet channels normally but at the advent of this "new" aspect of music distribution it has become advantageous to the independent artist like House and Dance producers like me.  Not only did I join bt I became an A&R for the company which provides distibutiion as well as UPC codes which are necessary to sell your music to the outlets and to count your sales towards RIAA certification.  One of the sites that allow this is Record Union.  You can sign up and get started immediately.  Use code DF1aa94e72 for two free UPC codes so you can post and distribute your music immediately.


P.S.  If you are unfamiliar with publishing your music with a music society like ASCAP or BMI please contact me and I will point your towards a society.  It is very important to be published as many companies won't consider your music for things such as movie soundtracks and commercial use without it.

Been a long time....

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Well how do I start?  After a long absence from the music scene I get a message from my partner, DJ OpM of Halsted Street  Entertainment.  He tells me that our small two man crew which has seen plenty of people come and go including the other two founders and the crew that made our names is now populated with people I don't even know.  All of a sudden I have people promoting the name of HSE all over the USA.  The only problem being that I don't have direct access to these hew DJs and anything that I want to do has to go through my buddy and is left up to him if the messages will be communicated.  Should I abandon the project that I've given nearly 15 years and start over or do I come back not unlike the King of Stormwind and take over things sight unseen?

Taking Responsibility for my .....

I used to credit my exit from the House community on my Ex wanting me to "go legit" and get a 9 to 5 and I resented her for it for a long time. I now realize that it's all on me as I didn't have to listen to her considering we ended up breaking up anyway. Ironically she now calls me asking for info and assistance with her forays into the music field. If her new husband has any misgivings about her contacting me for anything other than the welfare of my son he has not voiced it aloud. Good way to keep the peace (something I never learned with her) although many points of contention I had with her I now share as he has the same outlook (she told me that most of the things I said to her he now says). It's like she married my clone without the anger and outspoken nature. At first I resented him for taking my family from me but now I look at it as.... well I'll keep that one to myself as I know her and she would take offense.

The point is that a lot of things you do to please someone end up as wasted time, energy and emotion as you still end up in the same place you would have if you did what you wanted or if you never met that person at all. Don't get me wrong. I miss my son every day and I never truly got over her and even her new daughter feels as if she should be my daughter. Now I'm not one of those guys that go all obsessive (even though I'm not too far gone not to recognize that I am getting obsessive). I'm the type that feels my success proves my position in any conflict meaning the more successful I become, the more it proves the other person made a wrong choice. I don't know if that is healthy but it gets me through the day until I find a better way to live. One of the most profound things I've heard recently would be: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” - Bill Cosby

I wish I had been wise enough to know that on my own rather than hearing it from someone else 12 years after the fact. C'est la guerre.

Opportunities lost and found...

As I stew in my own misery over lost chances and wrong paths, I'm occasionally reminded of opportunities lost. I hear Rap versions of House songs done 10 years ago by forgotten DJ's whose importance is lost on those outside of the music style. We as House DJ's and Producers rarely justify our choice of music by sometimes getting a bone thrown our way with a Madonna remix or a Janet Jackson import single dance mix but when I hear Bubba Sparxxx's "Nu Booty" on the radio with a blatant lifting of a hook from Soundmaster T's "2 Much Booty" I wonder if he gets more than a cameo in the video. Hopefully he gets a partial songwriting credit and some royalties. But what happens to DJ Skip's "Let 'em Hang" which is obviously the precursor to Jibbs "Chain Hang Low" or DJ Chip's "Chickenheads" that was taken by 36 Mafia..... You know what? Most people don't care who did what as long as they can dance to it truthfully. DJ Deeon (Deebo G) has yet to see money from the his now infamous "Uh Oh" that has been everywhere from radio "beds" (songs radio jocks play under their talking in between songs and commercials) to commercials for VH1 workout shows which when contacted regarding royalties was unceremoniously yanked from airplay once VH1 realized someone owned publishing on it.

The only guy seemingly cashing in on House is DJ Funk with an occasional minimix in some forsaken cheerleader movie. Now don't get me wrong, I love watching "barelies" doing acrobatics with gratuitous kicks and splits like any other dude but our music form is more than an edit mix reserved for loud chicks with spirit. Whomever told you lied, Disco never died! Madonna's whole career is a looooooooonnnngggg Disco mix and I could swear I see visions of glow sticks on Justine Timberlake's last two videos. 30 years ago that Spears chick would be a Disco Diva and K-Fed would be wearing wide-collar open shirts and gold chains!

Now when you see me on some Rap video doing the fatman twist while the rapper of the moment is redoing one of my old songs and making it platinum, don't think that I have "sold out" or something. I'm just getting some cash so I can produce more House music and get my "babymomma" off my back about my son's college fund. It is called the music business, not the music hobby! We do need to make some money.

One last thing, everyone song that has a dance beat to it is not "Techno", ok? A tape with your favorite songs is not a "mixtape" unless the songs are blended together and Madonna is a Disco Diva no matter what her record label says. Anyone who hates Dance music just can't dance.

Mixtapes

Just finished a new rap mix that is getting some good reviews. Now when I say mix I mean a blended mix like you would hear in a club, not a compilation of songs put together by your average ipod user. Any true DJ will tell you a "mixtape" is a labor of love and showcase of your talents as a DJ so don't take it wrong if you catch ugly looks when you refer to your "compilation" of songs you put together last Friday night to listen to while you jog or vacuum your livingroom as a "mixtape" but it happens too often. People try to categorize and box in things and often mis-label things based on popular terms they have heard. If you think I'm not being fair to the masses, ask a DJ what a mix is and then come back later and we will discuss it.

What happened to business cards?

I just finished making changes on myspace.com. I have two accounts for music and a personal account. While editing I happened upon a bunch of people I knew from DJing in Chicago. WTF! It's like an advertising frenzy in there. Soon it will all look like so much junk mail. You do remember mail, don't you?

Who's your daddy?

As I shake the dust and cobwebs from my brain and begin my journey ("don't stop be-lievin'......Hold on to that fee-a-ee-a-a-lin'") back to the core of my being, I begin to remember that I am a semi-talented artist and start putting ideas together. I see a picture of Darth Vader (duh duh duh dum de duh dum de duh)on a black t-shirt staring down upon the viewer menacingly saying "Who's your daddy?" and hear the voice of James Earl Jones thunder through the ether. Then I realize that George Lucas is staring at me from his satellite and begin to feel the burn of the Deathstar's planet killing ray as it fries what is left of my brain stem. I then think that maybe it's time for me to come up with something more original....

"You are not alone"

I chuckle every time I hear Eminem say "nobody listens to techno" in his attack on Moby in a not so recent song. Truthfully, I am a fan of Eminem's. I like his music and sometimes I like what he is saying. I don't live my life according to Eminem but you will find his CD's in my collection. The problem with being a music lover is that not everyone loves the music you love. I consider myself a music lover and I will listen to any music and try to give it a chance. My collection is eclectic and includes everything from hard rock to disco. So when one of the artists I have in my collection says that the music I like is irrelevant I want to re-evaluate my collection. Hmmm. Nah, I still like Eminem. Now what is really funny about this is how many techno tracks with his words looped into them have come out since then. You won't find them in wale-Mart or Best Buy but your local music sharing community **ahem** might overflow with examples.

I DJ house, disco , reggae, r&b and rap. I listen to classical, rock, rap, house, disco, world and I will admit to some pop. I play three instruments and read sheet music. I produce dance, rap and reggae music. music that was considered rock back in the seventies would be light pop now. They say disco is dead. Tell that to Madonna (Esther) and Cher whose entire careers have been wrapped around dance music. Rap's first recorded radio friendly hit was by the Sugarhill Gang who sampled, no, lifted the entire baseline from Chic's "Good Times", a disco hit a few years earlier. P Diddy recently made a song with a restructured sampling of "Kashmir" by rock legends Led Zepplin. The song in which Eminem dissed Moby was a dance oriented song which could be considered disco in an open-minded conversation about music.

My point is that no one should diss anyone who has the balls to express themselves. Self expression is a right of life. Live life and love it. Many people out there in the world are not as fortunate to even have a music collection or go to concerts to hear their favorite artist. Some people cannot even hear. These people still have music in their hearts. Now before all of you internet vigilantes pick up your keyboards in rage and start a campaign against me the comments you see here is just a personal opinion. We all have them. That is for certain. I also know that all house music has fans. I have fans. There are sites dedicated to house. Every party I do or go attend is filled with people like me that loves the music. I'm more partial to ghetto house, drum and bass and disco but it's all good to me and I am not alone in this. If I was then I would be the only one at the party. House and Dance music lovers of the world, do not hide your love of the music. Just because it is popular to be a fan of Rap and Pop means just that. It's popular to like it. The same artists you love listen to more than what they sing or perform. You should try it, too.