Web Spinning

Emails about the Redline Project have been rolling in from the second degree of separation. As this experiment rolls along, I must tip my hat to the wily wordsmith(s) that furnished the internet with a pet name of 'world wide web.' Since the premise of this project appeared in article form on the Gordon College blog, I have receive word from several old friends that they reposted the article or tacked up a link to their Facebook pages, Google accounts, and Twitter feeds in support of this effort.

It is a painless 30 second proposition to post a link on such social networking sites, and doing so yields marvelous results. I am tickled silly that friends of friends have started to connect with the goals of the Redline Project and its greater purpose of encouraging like-minded artists of all genres.

Jon, my college roommate during freshman year with whom I have not communicated for a decade, dropped me a line. Here's an excerpt:

I have been reading through your blog. It is awesome. I am rooting for you and will pass your information along to eveyone I know. I wish we lived closer together. I just built a mini recording studio in my church (at my expense so the equipment is mine). I would have loved to work on this with you. I am learning as I go too, it is fun and so frustrating all at once.

Agreed, roomie. So much about the process of recording music surges pure excitement through my veins. Every success comes after a bouquet of dead ends, which have a way of poking my most sensitive nerves. As Dr. Greene would often encourage, let's keep our feet to the fire and press on.

Jon did as he said he would, linking his Facebook page to the Redline Project. One of his friends bit the hook and navigated his way over for a gander. He took the time to write as well. The note sent was a precious gift; I hope you enjoy this excerpt.

What you had to say [in the blog] was so encouraging to me. I am a musician as well and am pretty much in the same boat you were/are in with regards to having such an unquenchable passion to create great music for others to benefit from, but for the past several years, have pretty much just worked in different office jobs. But I'll end up creating music in my head while I'm at the office and then go home and try to recreate it all on my guitar. I'm constantly hitting upon subject matter in life that needs to be put into song in new and fresh ways.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you and I are a lot alike. I'm 29 years old, married, and my wife and I are expecting our first child through the process of adoption. We live in inner city Philadelphia. I was seriously bummed when I read that you live in Atlanta because I have been searching for years for a musical partner, someone who shares the undying need to let the music bleed out, not for money or fame, but to fulfill what is so naturally ingrained in my being for the benefit of others. I've written several songs myself but always feel so much more creative when collaborating with others. I've played in a number of bands since my teens, with a bunch of talented people, but have not yet met that kindred spirit with whom to write, record, and perform the music that I still have yet to truly let out of myself.

This blog details my personal journey from the land of the daily grind back back to the world of music. Its deeper and perhaps more important purpose is to encourage artists camouflaged as insurance salespeople, accountants, construction workers, and the like to return to their creative bents with vigor and courage. I believe concerted effort will lead me back to music, and I am confident my readers could all make the choice to do the same. If you find yourself on the brink of creative expression but are waiting for a little motivation, consider this blog a digital fire under your seat.

If anyone is interested in making my day and giving the Redline Project a bump in the right direction, please take 30 seconds to pin a link on your digital walls. Do not underestimate how great a help this is, and know you have my sincere gratitude.

I sliced my left index finger on an open can of soup during today's lunchtime. This means no guitar for at least a couple of days, but I promise productivity in the composing and arranging departments.

Bit of Press

I am thankful to Tony Papia of Gordon College, who recently featured the Redline Project on the school's blog. Tony is employed by Gordon to scour the web for Alumni-related efforts, activities, and projects. I was shocked when he first contacted me about writing the article, mostly because my full name does not yet appear on this blog. Clearly the Google web crawlers are scurrying along, landing searchers in the thick of this content.

Occasionally friends will ask me why I choose to keep this project mostly anonymous. Simply stated, I want the developing timeline of the Redline Project to be relatable. Instead of readers thinking of this musical adventure as my material alone, I hope every artist and creative that lands here will reflect the story onto themselves, considering how they may ignite new efforts and rekindle old ones. May my anonymity foster in you the courage to try something daring, adventurous, risky.

If you choose to link over to the Gordon College blog to peruse the article, please do not let the name and face posted there distance you from your next creative venture. As we look toward those who are already a few steps down the road, our tendency is to see the space between. Be encouraged instead as you have a look around. I am as average as average gets - nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. Any progress you see in these posts should ready you for action on your next initiative. As the worn but true saying goes, if I can do it, surely you can too.

View the Gordon College blog article here.

Out of the Woodwork

At present, the Redline Project in its entirety consists of a few patchy blog posts, a Facebook group, and a Twitter account. You can imagine my surprise and great delight to find out that several people from around the country, and yes even a couple from across the pond, have chosen to connect to this idea. It seems the social networking services are living up to their claims.

I am somewhat bewildered and deeply encouraged by comments submitted from people remembering me from the high school and college days. I assumed I was long forgotten; what a treat it is to receive kind remembrances of my then-budding musicianship from many with whom I have performed, studied, and composed.

One of the greatest hopes I have for this humble, strange project is that it will strike a chord (as it were) with other artists - musical and otherwise. If you are someone with an artistic talent that never made it into the stratosphere of fame, please drop me a line and tell the story. Just as I am hoping to wiggle out of the woodwork, it will be a pleasure to bring our common sentiments into the light.

On that note (again, as it were - apparently it is pun day), I am thankful for the two contacts I received with offers to borrow recording gear. $1000 is not much of a budget, but it is still a lot of money, and borrowed-for-free is a concept much more in line with the spirit of the Redline Project. If anyone has an audio interface (firewire/usb), decent microphones, XLR or quarter-inch cables, a midi-controller keyboard, or anything else even remotely useful that is in a corner getting dusty, please send me a note. I will give credit where credit is due.