I have an IQ of 300. That is if you combine all my childhood assessments tests that essentially told me I had the brain power of a moldy cantaloupe. And I was told, over and over to apply myself. Yet here I am doing what I want and sticking a middle finger at those haters that called me dumb. The nuns, my friends parents that thought I was a bad influence on their overly privileged children, the colleges that turned me down and a multitude of the "cool" kids in high school that never amounted to much, except living through someone else's dream...Read More

...I find a lot of similarities between the bands we are listening to and what we are trying to do. We're all being judged. Trust us guys, we get it. Then it hit me, in LaLa Land there are so many writers, so many connected types, and peeps so much cooler than me, that maybe they were right about me. Maybe I am an idiot., what was I thinking starting this Loudvine thing?  Yet on a daily basis I get emails from people and bands digging what we are doing at Loudvine. It brings a smile to my face. You see we could analyze my childhood, its memories, and its oddity for a lot of hidden meanings. But we won't. It comes down to willing to take risks and believing in yourself.
 
The moral is if you don't fit into a neat little box, you won't get anywhere. Right? According to a lot of people, they need to be able to label you, they need to drive a wedge down your creative spine, they need to dissect you and lastly, they need to compare you and condense you to a one line catch phrase. I say that is total BS.
 
So what do we say to all the creative kooks and the next generation of Iggy Pop's and Frank Zappa's that we are coming across?Just be you. Shatter the little box people put you and your music in. Just be true to yourself and forget the haters, the critics, those that review and those that secretly envy your creative force. Aspire to move people through the power of your music  and by just being you. You and your art will only flourish if you stay true. And yes, we know it will be hard. But it has to be that way. You, we, must all struggle for great art and to gather life's lessons.
 
The music revival is amongst us and most nights it is free and so inspiring that it just makes me wonder what pill concoction and sex induced ravaged broken heart was as the core that caused some band to come up with the ukulele and polka DJ band doing post pop...but you got to luv the creativity, don't you? I know we do.
 
Don't hate, let it flow, let yourself immerse into the universe just being you. So many times, bands, you will fight the urge to be anything but you. But stay the course. Forget the "deal" and just make music the way you want to make music. Like you, we are building something truly our own and organic. But it takes time. We do it because we luv it. We keep at it and are motivated by those sounds you make that keep us going into the early hours as we keep building what we are working on. And while my IQ might not be that high, I know that what I am experiencing with live music right now makes me feel like a genius since I am actually participating in it and not just hating or tearing it apart. True genius is that innate belief in yourself when so many others doubt you. We know a thing or too about doubt. We also know how great it is to just be ourselves and try to  be the best we can. Without your music, we would cease to be. Keep creating. Keep inspiring the rest of us to find our inner, and dynamic creative juices as we all connect through the power of your music.