Sometimes, though, it goes the other way. I'm thinking about last month, when Jason reached out to me, as he had done in prior years, to ask whether I was going to write music reviews. As you can see on this page, I am now listed in the Alumni section at the bottom of the page. Below is the redacted email conversation, but I'll offer a summary first not nearly as long as the email thread. Here it is:
I don't have a passion for writing music reviews. I used to, I want to have it, but I don't. Given the choice between writing a music review or pretty much anything else, I am likely to choose "anything else." It makes me very sad because I experienced a lot of great things as a music reviewer. My CD collection is likely 80% promo CDs, many that introduced me to bands I cherish. I would not have been introduced to Count the Stars, Bigwig, or my beloved Bayside if I had not wrote music reviews for the years that I did. That said, I don't have the juice. I fully recognize that actions speak louder than words and promising to Jason that I will find time to write music reviews when the passion for doing so is unfair and disrespectful, in a way, to the years I actively wrote and had music reviews published on the website.
This is the email thread:
From: Me
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2019 1:59 PM
To: Jason
Subject: RE: Reviews 'n' stuff
Well, I think it’s finally time to put me on the alumni list. I was actually thinking about it the other day so it’s funny that you sent your query. I have had opportunities to write reviews
of the Bayside albums I haven’t reviewed
of the Shinedown / Godsmack concert last July
of the Papa Roach / Chevelle concert last August
of the Breaking Benjamin / 5FDP concert in November
of the Bayside show on January 30th, 2019
of the Shinedown / Papa Roach / Asking Alexandria concert in March
and…. Where are they?
Exactly.
It seems as though my ambition & drive to write music reviews has evaporated entirely. I also think I’ve put you off at least a couple of times, saying, “Oh yeah! I’m going to write soon!” … and that’s not fair.
In other news, there’s this going on in my life, plus my wife turns 50 in May, my daughter graduates from college in May, as do two of my nephews from high school. Somehow, I want to find time to play drums in a band. Our first gig was last night and it was the 2nd time we ever played together… so be gentle: https://www.facebook.com/koopandcompany/videos/454104305333182
Me
My blog: http://prhmusic.blogspot.com
Me Playing Drums: http://prhmusic.blogspot.com/p/videos-of-me-playing-drums.html
My Favorite Band: Bayside Gabes Iowa City 2019-01-30
Twitter: @prhmusic
From: Jason
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2019 5:45 PM
To: Me
Subject: FW: Reviews 'n' stuff
[snip]
So, I’m taking this opportunity to check in with a number of our writers… How are things? Any reviews cooking? Still on board for contributing writer status? Etc. Thanks for catching me up!
Best,
Jason
From: Jason
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2019 12:09 PM
To: dvstaff
Subject: Reviews 'n' stuff
Hi folks,
Hope everyone is well – or at least feeling better than I am after a bout with bronchitis… right now I feel like a two-year-old could probably pin me while pounding a sippy cup full of milk with the other hand. But enough about me (and my grandson).
I’m writing to all of you – yes, all – with two requests:
1. If you’ve been thinking about writing and/or finishing a review, it would be fantastic if you could find some time to do that soon.
2. If you’ve been thinking “Hey, my friend/relative/acquaintance ______ is really into music and a good writer, I should really connect them with Jason and Melanie,” it would be fantastic if you could find some time to do that soon, also.
We’ve had a good run the last few years with a nice balance of prolific and not-as-prolific writers (I’m in the latter camp) keeping things humming along. I want to say in this context that everyone on staff has been very upfront with me about what their capacity is and when they will and won’t be able to produce in the near future. Thanks for that – it is super helpful to your editor.
It’s remarkable how things can turn, though. Pete is currently taking a well-deserved break of a few weeks, and Ben has decided he needs to back off to Contributing Writer status for the time being. The thing is, that was all it took to drop us to five new reviews a week, a schedule we’re now on for the third week in a row. Not to single anyone out, and no pressure, but, ahem, in case no one else has noticed, Tom is kind of carrying us right now. That’s awesome of him, but also not really the idea here… many voices and all the variety we can muster is kind of our gig.
So: step one is me making the above requests. Step two is me posting an invitation on social media for prospective new writers to apply. In the past writers have usually found their way to us, rather than us going out looking, and almost always with serendipitous timing. I’ll continue to hope that will be the case here, but in the meantime, I’m taking these steps and will definitely appreciate any help you can offer. Take care --
Best,
Jason
I shouldn't do a word count comparison between the number of words in my summary paragraph and the email thread because I don't want to know that the above summary is longer than the emails below.
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