Windhamearl's Black Lodge

SEO - Scam Exploiting Obfuscation

2011-06-24T09:46:00.006-04:00

In order for an Internet auction site (or any E-Commerce site) to grow and thrive, it has to have web-presence in the field of its commercial endeavor. The site must come up in online searches for the type of site that it is, and the merchandise that is sold there. This is no easy task as there are so many competing sites with established online presence that will always outrank niche sites in general searches.

Just for example, Google the words “book auction” and you will not be getting any niche site results on the first page. You will have to go deeper than that to get any niche site results, but eventually you will get them. Critical to a site’s web presence is what is known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), a process of enhancing the substructure of a website for searchers who are seeking the type of things said website has to offer.

SEO has many technical complexities that I can’t even begin to go into here. There is plenty of info about it already on the web (good, bad, and otherwise) if you’re interested in particulars. It does have to be done though, and done properly. Unless one is a “web-wiz” it is a task better left to professionals, which will cost of course, but if done properly, be well worth it. A caveat – the shyster percentage is high among those advertising their SEO ability. It is one of the most frequent service offered by scam artists. Rule of Thumb: The more bodacious their claims are, the more likely the SEO organization is just a scam.

Nobody can get you a Google #1 page ranking in 48 hours in the organic listings. Touting your site’s submission to 1,000 search engines is useless. Who even uses HotBot, AltaVista and Lycos anymore? Not many I would think. Ever heard of Trexy? I didn’t think so (unless you’re the ultimate web-nerd). No point in this practice and, it is unverifiable in the result department. Besides that, you could easily do it yourself if you wanted to. Just a couple of blatant examples; the clever scammers are much more insidious.

In order to find the best SEO professional to hire, research on SEO (what it is, what it does, how it works, what the current trends are) is an absolute requirement. You also need to know your site’s technical weaknesses and strengths regarding SEO before you even attempt making contact with anyone in the SEO business. A budget and a marketing plan is also a necessary prerequisite. You need to have a set of realist expectations and answers from a prospective SEO company on exactly how those expectations will be met. You also need references from the company on their success, not in general, but specific, verifiable examples of their work in your field of commerce. That last part is key: IN YOUR FIELD OF COMMERCE. Just because a company had some success boosting the presence of a dentist from Oshkosh doesn’t mean they’ll be able to do the same for your online store or auction site.

All this answers only part of the question I posed at the end of my previous post - “So why doesn’t this awesome little site have significant prominence on the web, and what can be done to change that?” It is obvious that not enough has been done in the SEO department on Mynotera, yet still I continue to get bids on my items and sell consistently. When you are good at what you do, and you build up a dedicated clientele over time, repeat business will happen. But there is much more that can and should be done to increase business on a potential “golden nugget” like Mynotera, and in the next post, I’ll delve into a little more. SEO is very important, but it isn’t everything.

The Best Kept Secret Collectibles Auction Site

2011-06-09T10:32:00.009-04:00

In the previous post I went into some detail about some selected Internet market venues for buying and selling collectible merchandise of value in an online auction environment, and that for this type of merchandise, a niche site is much better than a general merchandise site. So what is this niche site I’ve chosen to do most of my business on? It is called MYNOTERA. You’ve probably never heard of it, but some people have. It has only been in existence since late 2009. Since then I have sold over 1000 items there and have a good amount of repeat business. It may well be the best kept secret on the Internet, but depending on who is reading this post and other factors, it may not stay that way for long.

The thing about Mynotera is that they have an “Antique and Vintage Only” policy. You won’t be able to list those Sue Grafton and Stephen King books you couldn’t get rid of at a yard sale (signed First Editions exempted of course). Mynotera charges no registration fees, no buyer’s premiums, and no basic listing fees. You get to upload a maximum of 8 photos for free too. The site looks like nothing else out there. There are NO ADS. It is uncluttered and features a mysterious piece of artwork in the upper left corner of the homepage, and a picture of a single item largely displayed front and center, with other featured items pictured below it. There are only 10 Categories to browse – BOOKS; CATALOGS; PRINTS MAPS & PAPER; STAMPS; POSTCARDS; TREASURE HUNT; UNCOMMON VINYL; HISTORIC PAMPHLETS AND DOCUMENTS; PHOTOGRAPHICA; THREE AND BELOW BOOKS. Currently no category has more than 1500 items. This is a paltry amount of merchandise when compared with those other sites I spoke of previously. But this is quality vintage merchandise- perhaps not the most valuable and expensive things ever, but certainly items out of the ordinary; collectible and very often hard to find.

One recent item of interest listed on Mynotera was a 1940 Batman #1 comic book. It didn’t sell because that book might potentially be worth over $20,000, and Mynotera currently doesn’t have the traffic currently to get the exposure this item requires for that type of sale. It will likely end up on Heritage where it could potentially fetch a huge amount of money, and make Heritage a tidy profit of 25% of its price. The fact remains though that it was listed on Mynotera first. Rare and valuable collectibles DO make their appearance on this site. In fact, if a lot of collectors out there knew about it, they’d be picking Mynotera clean in a matter of months. Compared to everywhere else, prices are very reasonable for these items. Where else are you going to find say, an 1837 First Edition of “The Pirate’s Own Book” ?. Not many places I’d venture to say.

Here is another one: 1876 SLAVERY DAYS, Sheet Music by Edward Harrigan. Do you know how rare this is? VERY, VERY. How about “The Annual Register for 1781” with lots of content about the American Revolutionary War while it was happening. That certainly isn’t common. If you’re looking for something vintage and pretty, perhaps not worth a fortune but still highly collectible and somewhat scarce, there’s Harrison Fisher’s 1908 “Bachelor Belles,” a beautiful book of beautiful ladies of the early 20th century. Want a real bargain? 1881 “The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments or, The Thousand and One Nights” Illustrated for $2.75 and No Reserve. Or, 1938 “Don Winslow of the U. S. Navy” Whitman “Penny Book” based on the famous comic strip for $3.00. (These things are plenty scare and worth a LOT more than 3 bucks; multiply it by 10 and you have a price closer to the mark.)

These are just a few items I picked at random, not necessarily the best, or the most valuable, or the most unusual items on the site. You should go there and explore it for yourself than take my word for it; you’d be astounded. As far as what I’ve actually sold on Mynotera, here are a few recent examples- 1920’s Roy Brothers Croquet Set catalog ($112.99); 1938 Cahiers d’Art Bound Magazine ($100.00); Egg- The Polite Force LP ($50.00); 1764 History of the Colony and Province of Massachusetts by Thomas Hutchinson ($200).

There are three things Mynotera lacks though – a lot of Buyers, a lot of Sellers and a lot of Traffic. Those are three pretty big things. If the amount of the buyers were to suddenly boom, the site could be shortly be wiped out of merchandise. If it got an increase in only sellers (without a proportionate increase in buyers), many might be discouraged and pack up their tents and go home after a short while. BUT, if the site experienced a huge increase of traffic, both buyers and sellers would increase and the site’s Internet presence would be greatly enhanced. So why doesn’t this awesome little site have significant prominence on the web, and what can be done to change that? I will let you know in my next post.

E-Commerce and the Great Online Auction Rip-off

2011-06-08T10:11:00.008-04:00

For those that may have thought this blog died with my rant on the banning of imported clove cigarettes, you’re wrong. The cloves didn’t die, they just morphed into “little cigars”; cigarettes with a cigar-paper type outer wrapping. The govt will probably try and find a way to ban them too, further torpedoing the Indonesian small business export economy, but that’s another topic for another time.

The main reason I haven’t been posting is that I’ve been busy, very busy with business. If you’ve read previous posts here from awhile back, you know that my business is online selling. At the time, a site called Bonanzle (rechristened Bonanza) was poised to be my major outlet, replacing the top dog,- eBay. Now I can no longer consider it to be the major outlet for my purposes. For the type of merchandise I deal in – scarce and often rare, antiquarian books, vintage magazines, ephemera, stamps, comics, uncommon vinyl and 78s, photographs, postcards, etc., the auction environment is the best choice for getting top dollar, and not have your stuff sit around doing nothing but look good on display in an e-Store. There are hundreds of sites that do this with fixed price listings. Bonanza is one of them. Now I’m not saying that’s bad; for some, this works out very well. Bonanza has some very positive things going for it- lots of items on display on their front page, no commercial ads, a Google and Bing tie-ins, the ability to import your listings from eBay and Etsy, no listing fees, low final value fees for sellers and no fees to buyers, free picture hosting for up to 4 photos, the list goes on and on. However, as the site has grown, with nearly 3.5 million items listed and over 300,000 users currently ( including buyer members and sellers), there is a greater likelihood for sellers and their items to get “lost in the sauce,” especially if they don’t have the metrics in place for optimization in Google and Bing searches. Also, outside promotion (a lot of work, often accompanied by spending money) and networking is a requirement if a seller is looking to do well on this site.

Most sellers on Bonanza have what I would call a handful of items in their booth- 500 or less. (Even my booth, Windhamearl’s Black Lodge, falls into this category.) These are part-time dilettantes for the most part; people who sell for a little bit of extra cash now and then. I imagine that few of them put in the self-promotion effort required to sustain a business operation on a day to day basis. They may have tried this ‘n that in spurts, but have resigned themselves to occasional sales. The site also tends to have a proliferation of “garage-sale merchandise”. In randomly visiting a booth, I found 6 Danielle Steele HC novels for 4 bucks, a set of 8 vintage animal salt and pepper shakers for $4.76, and an 1893 Harper’s Bazaar magazine in poor condition for $4.76. Seems like a garage sale to me. That’s not to say that there aren’t sellers who have rare and valuable items. There certainly are. I would hazard a guess though that these sellers are not using Bonanza as their primary outlet, and have their fingers in a number of other sales pies. Overall, for a site whose motto is “Everything but the Ordinary,” there sure is a lot of ordinary merchandise there.

So the major thing that Bonanza lacks (for me) is an online auction environment. If there ever were any aspirations of Bonanza entering the online auction trade, I think that ship has sailed now that they are very comfortable with their business model. If you don’t like it, go sell somewhere else. But where? eBay? From a “been there, done that” seller’s standpoint, you probably know that eBay ain’t what it used to be. Not only has eBay’s new policies driven sellers away in droves by de-fanging the feedback system and cowing sellers with their DSR ratings, but now they have also employed new tactics to “fee to death” the small to medium seller. True, for insertion fees, one gets 50 free listings per month (that’s not much except for the merely casual seller), but after that, it’s full charge. eBay keeps this money whether you sell or not. But that’s not where the real money is anyway. eBay makes money on the “add-ons” to insertion fees, listing upgrades (subtitle, bold, listing designer, etc.), picture hosting fees (anything after the first one will cost you), and reserves (the optional price you set that your item can’t be sold under). This is all before “Final Value” fees, or what you have to pay eBay when your item sells. For auctions, it is a flat 9% with an upper limit of $100. In order to decrease eBay’s percentage, your item needs to sell for a good deal more than $1112.00. The average seller isn’t selling high ticket items in the $1200 - $12,000 range. But wait, it gets better!! (For them, not you).

eBay now also charges you a 9% fee on your shipping charge. eBay’s rationale for this according to eBay Selling Experience VP Todd Lutwak (now there’s a name for ya) is "The key takeaway here is, buyers tell us they love free shipping. And we wanted to put a system in place that rewards sellers who offer free and low-cost shipping, and we think that this change aligns the incentives among the selling community." So Todd, what you are saying in essence is, that you’re now going to penalize sellers who charge for shipping by tasking a cut of said shipping charge across the board because your market research shows that buyers luuuvvv free shipping. Do you have any fucking clue that shipping costs sellers money? Wasn’t free the last time I went to the post office. Do you think that by taking a % of the shipping cost you’re going to encourage sellers to hand out free shipping to engender more sales? I seriously doubt it. Where is a seller going to make up that money, in the cost of the item? That’s money back to eBay again. In this same article, Lutwak also said “eBay research suggests that sellers who move from a model of charging shipping & handling to a free-shipping model will find it easier to qualify for eBay Top Rated Seller, making them eligible for a 20% discount on their fees.”

What Toddy-boy isn’t mentioning is that in order to qualify as a Top Rated Seller on eBay, one has to be a PowerSeller with a minimum of 100 transactions and $3,000 in sales from U. S. buyers over a 12 month period, PLUS meet their convoluted DSR standards. So now, a seller has to eat the shipping cost to jump through the eBay system hoops in order to qualify for your blue-ribbon “Top Rated Seller” logo and a fee discount? If this isn’t elitism I don’t know what is. Look, I’ve been a “Top Rated Seller” and a Powerseller on eBay, and that didn’t do jack-squat for my sales, nor for a number of other eBay sellers I’ve spoken with over the course of the last few years. If a buyer cares about anything, it’s your feedback. Most buyers aren’t so stupid as to think they’re getting something for nothing with free shipping. What buyers want is “fair shipping”; a reasonable cost with items shipped in a reasonable amount of time, and packaged well enough so whatever you buy isn’t damaged. Charging $25 for shipping a small item is not reasonable (unless it’s overnight express), any idiot knows that, and who would fool enough to buy from someone who charged that? What you’re doing here my friend is double-dipping. You’re gouging the seller on a cost she has little control over. Then, you’re doing it again with your financial arm, Pay Pal. Pay Pal doesn’t deduct shipping cost, or even sales tax from the fees they charge to receive money. That’s quadruple-dipping. eBay keeps saying that they’re listening to their buyers, but it is obvious they don’t give a flying fuck about their sellers, and that’s why sellers keep leaving in droves. The quality of buyers too has severely depreciated in the categories of merchandise that I sell. Selling on eBay now is a cutthroat business, and the throat that is getting cut is likely your own.

Let’s look at another “Big Dog” for online auctions – Heritage Auctions. This site specializes in Art, Antiques, Rare Books, Comics, Coins, Entertainment Memorabilia, Fine Wines, Jewelry, etc., etc. These guys sell a lot of stuff for a lot of money. They’re the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer and the third largest auction house with over $700 million in annual sales and well over half a billion online bidder members. They are both a Live and Internet auction house; have been around since 1976 and online since 1999 or so. WOW! Right up my alley! With that kind of presence, who would want to buy or sell collectible stuff anywhere else? Well, there is a catch- their fees. A Buyer’s Premium is 15% to 19.5% of the items you win in their actions. Yes, on top of the money you spend on buying stuff there you’re paying Heritage a kickback for the privilege of bidding and winning. Zowza! Plowing through Heritage’s Terms and Condition of Auction agreement might be best done with the aid of a lawyer, but the impression I got is that their Sellers fee is 10%. So Heritage makes at least 25% on everything they sell. Unless you’ve got some really, really valuable stuff to sell, it just isn’t worth it. And if it is that valuable, you might need it appraised in order to get top dollar. Heritage does that too, for a fee of course. They don’t tell you exactly how much that is upfront but they will give you an estimate if you contact them with the information on what you want appraised. Actually, I did see their Standard Appraisal Fee Schedule. Minimum Appraisal Fee on a written appraisal is $500, or $350 per hour per appraiser, plus travel expenses (if necessary) to the tune of $175 an hour after the first hour of travel, plus airfare, hotel, car rental, etc. You really need something or somethings that are very, very valuable in order to afford this. Grandma’s silverware isn’t going to cut it. On the plus side, they will rebate some of your dough if you choose to list items they appraise through Heritage, and informal appraisals (verbal, with no documentation) are free but limited to three items, and you might have to bring it to them in Dallas where they’re located.

Compared to the eBay format, navigating Heritage is awful. It is a pain in the ass to find anything, description information is minimal in most cases and so is the pictorial content- for most items, only one photo. There are also additional complexities. In the Coin category for example, Buy (It) Now items are mixed in with ongoing auctions and Sold items. You have to look closely. Plus, there are current and future Live auctions to consider. This is no casual buyer or seller site. You really need to know what the hell you’re doing before you get involved with Heritage. For most people this is just out of their league. Still, like on eBay, people do a lot of buying and selling there because they are very well-known (high web presence) and attract a lot of people.

After that come a slew of sites that are eBay wannabes – WebStore, eBid, OnlineAuction, bidStart, WeBidz, etc. Most of these are free to list on for basic listings, and charge low (or even no) Final Value fees. On the downside, what they’re not making in fees they make up for in ad revenue, a sure killer of site aesthetics. When auction sites like the aforementioned don’t charge fees and don’t limit what can be listed (within the bounds of standard legality, of course), there ends up being an awful lot of junk listed on them. You might get lucky if you spent enough time there, but who’s got time to spend browsing categories of mostly crap? Yes, there are some dealers putting up rarities and valuables mostly at high starting bid prices because they have nothing to lose if it’s free or uber-cheap to list. Trouble is, very few items on these sites seem to be getting any bids. Searching on some of these sites can be problematic. Also, the majority of them look like eBay clones without the eBay traffic. “Without the eBay traffic,” that’s the key. They are trying to do too much instead of concentrating on certain niches they can build a reputation and following with. It’s like a Dollar Store trying to go head-to-head with Wal-Mart. What is the point of wasting time listing at large general merchandise auction sites that don’t get a whole lot of traffic? None really, except that it’s just another outlet. Remember that you will be tying up merchandise that more than likely won’t get any bids, and if you’re selling unique items, listing them on multiple sites at the same time can be risky business.

So what IS the answer? For my money (or yours, if you’re buying from me), the obvious choice is a small niche-market auction site that caters to the type of merchandise I deal in - antiquarian and scarce books, vintage magazines, ephemera, stamps, comics, pictures, postcards, etc., So what site is that? Well, stay tuned, I’ll tell you in the next post. (Note: as I was composing this post four new bids just came in on items I have listed there.

The King of Cloves

2009-09-22T19:01:00.014-04:00

Well, it has finally come to pass- thanks to Obama and the Congressional minions, it is now illegal to sell clove cigarettes in the United States. Smoke 'em if you got 'em...and I've got a few... for now. I've been smoking clove cigarettes ever since I went to Bali eight years ago, and have been a long-time smoker way before then. I don't even remember what brand I smoked prior to cloves (also known as Kreteks, in the Indonesian), and I can't, I WON'T go back to regular cigarettes. To me, they don't taste very good, and for me, it's definitely a matter of taste.

Even though I knew this ridiculous legislation was inevitable, I kept postponing stockpiling a large purchase of the now-banned product figuring I could wait until a couple of weeks before the ban deadline (Sept. 22nd) and still have a sizble amount of smokes before the product disappeared. I got a shocking wake-up call when the place I buy from in Pennsylvania decided to remove clove cigarettes from inventory a couple of weeks early, leaving me virtually cloveless. Panic ensued- I bought up all the clove cigarettes I could find locally, whatever brand I could find. (My preferred brand is Djarum, the Vanilla, or Gold, as you see in the photo.) I looked into online sources for purchase, but the ones from Indonesia (where clove kretek cigarettes are manufactured) didn't seem so reliable. Sure they were cheaper, but they take a long time to get delivered and I could see them being confiscated in customs. That would be a LOT of money up in smoke. Eventually, I found a domestic source, and also enlisted a friend from the South to purchase for me whatever he can find. With any luck, I will satsfied until the first snowfall. It's going to be an ugly winter though.

Back to the whole legislative aspect of banning cloves (and other flavored cigarettes) ...what the hell were these clowns thinking? The rationale is suposed to be discouraging young people from smoking, as if clove and flavored cigarettes are THE gateway to developing a smoking habit. That's just plain ludicrous. Teenagers smoke the most heavily advertised brands- Marlboro, Camel and Newport. After that, it's the generics and a few other name brands like Parliment, Kool, Doral and Virginia Slims. Cloves and other flavored cigarettes hardly factor in at all, and just aren't easy to find. Also, they're a bit more expensive than your average cigarette. In fact, the only kids who smoke clove cigarettes are usually Goth kids, and the percentage is fairly low. The brand of choice is Djarum Black, a pretty strong cigarette. Personally, I can't smoke more than one occassionally, and it is not my kretek of choice. Considering that 99% of clove cigarettes are manufactured in Indonesia, and cloves account for the largest percent of the flavored cigarette market outside of menthol, the part of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that bans them is a direct embargo on Indonesian cigarette exports.

Under the FSPTCA, methol cigarettes are NOT banned. Why? Because the American tobacoo industry has too big a stake in them. Set up the little guy to take the fall, that's what it amounts to. Clove cigarettes account for only .09% of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. Less then a tenth of a percent! So does this look like an effective move in curbing teen smoking? Obviously not. It's just symptomatic of the empty-gesture ineffective legislation that has become a hallmark of the American political system.

Whether Barack Obama still smokes cigarettes or not is a still a bone of contention among some people. I think as recently as June he's admitted to puffing a few. As for his brand, no one knows for sure. Most seem to think it's Marlboro. I'm pretty sure it's not cloves. If he was a clove addict, he might not have been so quick to support banning them. Maybe he'd just have them imported under the radar. I'll bet Clinton found a way to get his hands on a good Cuban cigar now and then. Obama is classified as an ex-smoker, and I'm sure he'll keep it that way in the media. I think he's a closet smoker; only his wife and the Secret Service may know for sure. Still, the legislation is a bit hypoctitical from that perpective. Ex-smokers are notoriously the worst in their zeal against smokers.

So guberment has taken away my kreteks, or will, when I run out of them. Serves you right, you say. Time to quit. Well maybe, but it's forced cessation, not on my own terms. I think if some (tobacco) cigarettes are illegal, they all should be. If the people in government are so anxious to prohibit individual lifestyle choices (and they are), then pull the rug all the way out. Cigarette smokers have been made the pariahs of society; you can't smoke in restaurants, bars, public buildings, airplanes, movie theaters or any numer of other places. I remember a time when you could light up anywhere. Those days are gone, gone gone. That's fine, I'm not going to argue ETS with anyone. I'm not going to even defend smoking at all, but I believe I have the right to make up my own mind if and when I want to quit.

Just remember though, that banning clove cigarettes is ineffectual as a preventative measure to teen smoking and just pisses people like me off. And it won't stop here. Cap & Trade, Health Care, Bank and Corporate Bailouts and so many other situations where legislation will miss the mark, screw the little guy and allow the Corporatocracy to reap the rewards is the modus operandi of how things work in this country now. You can count on it, unless you're willing to do something about it.

For now, I may be "The King of Cloves," one of the few with the last remaining supply of those tasty cigarettes. But my days are numbered. When they run out, I guess I join the ranks of the ex-smokers. I can guarantee I won't be intolerent of smokers as most ex-smokers are. I respect your freedom of choice. I only wish mine was respected as well.

What I Didn't Do on My Summer Vacation/Summer Music

2009-09-06T14:03:00.006-04:00

Here it is, Labor Day weekend, the summer swirling to a gurgling finish as the last droplets of good weather are sucked down the drain by the inevitable seasonality of the region I live in. What didn't I do on my summer vacation? WHAT vacation, I ask. By conventional definition, I didn't do anything. I worked, sort of, albeit leisurely and without a whole lot of enthusiasm. Vacation by definition is "to vacate" implying one is leaving something, a job, a building, whatever in order to be somewhere else, do something else...usually for set period of time allotted by an employer or, if you're self-employed like me, whatever and whenever you can afford to get away.

This year, there has been no money to spend on the sort of vacation that allows one to get away to sunny climes, idling on beaches, sipping cool, tall alcoholic beverages, visiting interesting places, doing cool things. And that's really a shame because the weather around here has SUCKED big-time for the most part- rainy, cold (or at least very cool for summer) making it the most non-summer I've experienced in years. So enough bitching about summer. It's over. Autumn is moving in and soon there will be a yard full of leaves to rake and dispose of. Maybe I'll get nostalgic and wistful this Fall. I could use a change of perspective.

Not having done a blog post since the middle of June, I pondered what topic might be worth diving into to wave farewell to the season of sun. Business surely isn't it; the sales climate for me has been as depressing as this summer's weather. Economy? Well, surely you know where that's at by now, and regardless of the pundits' call for the end of the "Recession", the real world indicates otherwise. This is just the beginning in my estimation, and you ain't seen nothin' yet. Politics? Politics is a sucker's game; it's rigged and rotten. A speech given by an idiot full of sound and fury...signifying nothing. Sure, I went to a Town Hall Meeting to listen to my Congressman (Eric Massa) take questions (mostly on the ineffective Health Care Bill), but in the end, even HE said it wouldn't pass. There is no doubt we could use some positive change, but too many elected Representatives are bought and paid for by the Corporatocracy, and the only change you're going to get is the "spare change" thrown to the sidewalk for the populace like 'Cash for Clunkers' and Government stimulus rebate checks. And don't get me started on the Oba-man's "Education Speech". It's been botched in the handling and compromised my the media and Administration before it's even been given. Here's a lesson plan for ya- have every school kid write a paper on what Obama promised in his campaign vs. what he's delivered. What's he done right? What has he done wrong? What would YOU do if you were the President of the United States to make the country more prosperous, efficient, and harmonious, without resorting to fascism. You might find some surprisingly good answers among young minds.

Okay, business, the economy and politics are off the table as far topics I'd care to write about without getting apoplexy. What's left? Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll? Sex- finally getting some but need a whole lot more. That's always a touchy topic for me anyway. I suppose I might be inclined to be more open about it if I wasn't married...but as I am, I'll hold my tongue on that topic. Keeps me out of trouble. Drugs? Once again, touchy subject, at least on a personal level. Unless I'm in Amsterdam where there is some level of legal tolerance, personal anecdotes and experiences are off the table. Besides, I don't have a sweet dealer like on 'Weeds', so there is nothing happening there....unless you count salvia, but that, my friend, is a topic for another discussion. So that leaves 'rock 'n roll'.

Okay, I'll sub-out music in general for the rock 'n roll tag. I can't ever just listen to one genre anyway. At least here I've made some interesting discoveries (with the help of friends, acquaintances and other sources) this summer...some new, some revisited, and some just weird and out of the blue. As a musician, music-seller, music-reviewer and just someone who loves hearing eclectic music, I have strong desire to always seek out something new. With the proliferation of music outlets on the Internet, there is no lack of availability of cool music. With MySpace, ReverbNation, YouTube and a slew of other places out there you can find a gamut of music ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime. There are only things that you haven't heard or don't know about yet. So let me tell you about some of my recent finds.

First, there is a project called The Division, and the CD called "Mantras". The Division is a solo project by Matthew Schultz of Lab Report and Pigface. Schultz is noted for his weird "Anti Tank Guitar" instrument, but it is the profundity of world instruments used on "Mantras" that makes this album a standout. I discovered it in the last batch of CDs I reviewed for Chain D.L.K ., and it was really the best in the bunch. Conceptually, "Mantras" is supposed to be about Ritual Magick (not something unfamiliar to me) but the music is a pastiche of exotic Middle Eastern motifs, intoxicating rhythms and sweeping ambiences that will blow you away. Highly recommended. Make sure you have your hookah at hand and your girl is dressed in a Princess Leia slave girl outfit, or at least a belly dancing costume.

Next up is Bat For Lashes. They were introduced to me by way of a friend who sent me the same link of the Letterman show performance you just saw if you clicked on their name. I don't care for every song they do, but the Letterman performance was pretty good. A little Bjork-ish, a bit like Kate Bush, a does of the 80's. You don't find a lot of new artists sounding like this these days. Along the same lines is Sol Seppy, and her "Slo Fuzz" song is worth a listen- very psych/shoegazer influenced. Speaking of shoegazer bands, got me to thinking, how come you don't hear new bands doing that kind of music anymore, and whatever happened to Lush, the premier female-fronted Brit shoegazer (if you don't count the Cocteau Twins). Well, Lush expired in 1966 when flame-topped lead singer/guitarist Miki Berenyi decided to go full-time into the publishing business. Little did I know (or hear) that Emma Anderson, Miki's counterpart vocalist/guitarist in Lush had put her own group together called Sing-Sing with a gal by the name of Lisa O'Neill. Okay, so this wasn't Lush revived, but they managed to squeeze out a couple of pretty good albums when I wasn't looking and disband too before I even heard them. In the world of pop music, you just can't get enough good stuff like this, so I'll take what I can get, even after the fact.

The ISB, who I've rambled about enough in another post were also on my playlist this summer due to receiving a 9 CD bootleg compilation called "God's Holiday, Part 2." It's mostly their later stuff when the band was in decline, and probably only interesting to a "String-Bean" like me, but there are some cool gems amidst the clunkers and too many versions of "Black Jack Davy". Finding a copy of this massive set would be a daunting task for most anyway.

So what else have we got? My friend in Florida made me copies of albums I didn't have on CD- Eno's "Another Green World"; the first UK album (prog-rock supergroup, Bruford, Holdsworth, Jobson, Wetton); John Foxx's "Metamatic"; Kraftwerk's "Ralf and Florian" and the Supreme Beings of Leisure (first album). But this is more nostalgia than anything new, and if you like eclectic and/or electronic music, you probably already own them, or should.

Let's delve into the DIY category briefly, and an artist who came to my attention via Internet sell-mart Bonanzle, and a visit to my little corner there, Windhamearl's Black Lodge. Out of the Blue I get a request to review the music of someone who calls himself Modartist. In order to formally do a music review (for Chain D.L.K., the only site I formally review for) I need a copy of the product (usually CD) and the music needs to fall somewhere in Chain D.L.K.'s area of genres- Goth, Industrial,Electronic, Ambient, Synth-pop, Experimental, Avant-garde, etc. Since the music of Eric Scott Bloom (Modartist) doesn't fall into the aforementioned genres, I couldn't do a formal review, but that doesn't stop me from telling you about it here. My initial exposure to Modartist was a track called "Real Bad Acid Trip". It's Bob Dylan on windowpane positively cruising down 4th Street. Plenty of psychedelic influence and Pynchonesque lyrics. "Nature of the Beast" is a pretty cool track too. He does sound a bit too much like the rolling stone that followed Bob home on these tracks but further exposure to some of his other songs shows that he's attempted to expand his horizons. I heard hints of Blue Oyster Cult(lite), the Who, Mott the Hoople, Bowie, and a style of music that was predominant in the 70's. I think this guy should get out and tour. Who else is doing this kind of music but the has-beens, and do you really want to pay to see a bunch of overweight, saggy-jowled once-weres crank out the same stale stuff that dominated the radio for so many years? I don't. As for Modartist, I don't think everything he does is great, but there are enough good nuggets amidst the heap that it's worth your while digging into. ESB is a visual artist too, but I'll let you make up your own mind about that.

So what's left? My friend Rob sends me a ton of links, and I think I'm still trying to catch up on a lot of them. Wounded Violets is sort of an odd and interesting duo; experimental dark folk collaboration of a Parisian chanteuse and a musician dud from Colorado. Kind of Current 93 meets Mazzy Star. Probably too weird for most, but worth a listen for the adventurous. This kind of stuff is most prone to attracting a cult following, especially if you have a number of limited releases that are nearly impossible to find, and expensive when you can find them. I don't think that's the case with Wounded Violets, but it does appear to be the case with In Gowan Ring. Rob also did the legwork on their music and I wasn't initially impressed with their latest musical offerings. Reminded me of Edward KaSpel's lesser solo efforts with a hint of Chad & Jeremy. I think they'd make a competent Renaissance Faire band. However, in digging back through their catalogue, I found them to be much more musically adventurous and interesting on their older material, which of course, is difficult to find. There Oregonians have been touring Europe most of the summer, so they must have something going for them.

The real music of summer though, has emanated from the ice cream truck that tours the neighborhood. We must have the only ice cream truck that plays a variety of tunes ranging from "Old MacDonald" to "Swan Lake". (Most seem to play the same annoying song over and over again.) Christmas songs too. What's up with that???

As for me, creatively I've spent what little time I can scrape together working on a piece of music with the working title of "I'd Walk a Camel for a Mile", something radically different than what I've previously done in my Serious Black project. The track has a Middle-Eastern flavor with mostly genre-appropriate instrumentation. So far, it's nearly 15 minutes long and instrumental. That though, is bound to change as I have some vocal ideas floating around in my head and the repetition spanning 15 minutes seems not as good an idea as it was when first started. It's just a sketch anyway, and if Rob and I can find a way to collaborate long distance on it (he's a ways away in Montreal), it may tun out to be something quite special. But I wouldn't hold my breath; I'm a computer recording Luddite, stuck by choice (and $$) and the world of hardware/outboard gear that nearly everyone regards as passé.

So that's it for the blog post. I encourage everyone to go out and listen to something new today. Yes, even buy something new. If you're stuck for ideas, please feel free to visit Windhamearl's Black Lodge . I've got a lot of great stuff just sitting there doing nothing, and to be honest, I could use the money.

Managing the Malaise

2009-06-14T14:16:00.007-04:00

It seems like everything I'm doing or not doing lately hinges on my level of inspiration. On one hand, this is a pretty cool way to operate. On the other, it can be extremely unproductive when not inspired. As I'm not trading dollars for hours, and the only boss I really have to please is myself (and my wife, who enlists me for household tasks that simply MUST be done) I can often while away the hours preoccupied with endeavors of little real substance or accomplishment. Somehow I justify that anything worth doing must come from and inspired perspective and not from self-reproach of "what must be done". Since this winter past, little inspiration has been forthcoming. This motivation constipation, or 'the malaise' as I call it has infected my creativity, income and general happiness to some degree. Yeah, there's no one to blame but myself for this but still I feel it's better than doing things you don't want to do when you don't want to do them. I know that in the past, pushing myself to work when I wasn't motivated did not produce significantly better results, especially on the creative end of things. Then again, being uninspired to step beyond the bounds of the hum-drum sometimes requires a catalyst. Such a catalyst took form by the recent renewal of acquaintanceship with a dear old friend.

My friend, who I will refer to as Bob, posted a comment on my blog that was like getting a wake-up call with a silken feather. I was tickled pink! It had been 20 years since our last contact with each other, and my previous (although admittedly half-hearted) attempts to track him down in the interim were met with no success. Being ever the wanderer, I though he had moved to some distant country and and become enmeshed in a foreign culture and lifestyle. Not so distant though was he I soon found out, after now having a way to contact him, and all at once it seemed like old times again.

Our friendship really began at the beginning of our senior year of high school, and although we had known each other a few years prior, I ended up attending a Catholic HS, largely at the whim of my parents, who (Mistakenly) thought it would be an advantage to getting into a better college. Meanwhile, Bob soldiered on in public school, having a blast, no doubt. In my junior year, I knew that my ideas were turning too radical for the stricture, scripture and structure of the Jesus-driven educational system. I wanted to grow my hair long, wear flowered shirts and bell-bottom pants. I wanted a girlfriend who wore miniskirts instead of a frumpy uniform, I wanted to smoke pot, take L.S.D., spew forth my radical philosophy, make music and hang out with the 'hippies'. None of this was happening in the cloistered world of the parochial school. So I finally rebelled, my folks relented and I spent my last, and best year even in public high school.

From the first day he wandered into my basement playing a flute back then, Bob and I became fast friends. He introduced me to J. R. R. Tolkien, and I introduced him to the Incredible String Band. (Only the latter would end up being "literally".) Our love of eclectic and exotic music was the glue that cemented our friendship and actually forged a vehicle for mutual creativity. At the time, there was no more eclectic and exotic ensemble in pop music at large than the Incredible String Band. The ISB have been described as a psychedelic folk band by those who know little or could care less about their music; they are no easy outfit to pigeon-hole, and most attempts fail to do justice. From their Scottish/Celtic roots, the instrumentation and form reaches into Asian, Afghan, Moroccan, Indian (India), Tibetan, and even American Blues and Rock. It was "World Music" of a sort before the term as such was even coined. Yes, for a period of time their lyrics may have seemed psychedelic, but their songs carried tales mythic import, and bespoke of wisdom well beyond anything else being done in the rock/pop genre at the time. Cryptic, yet seductive and inviting.

"O second self, o gate of the soft mystery
I'll love you if you'll love me;
O guide me with the gold of Gabriel's wing
Grant me the tongue
That all the earth does sing-
Vibrating light, forever one the sun
The book of life is open to us
There'll be no secrets left between us..." - Three Is A Green Crown, Robin Williamson

And yet, they were often very whimsical too. That was a big part of their unique charm, which did not carry over very well into the decidedly non-whimsical '70's, at least as far as the critics and the general record-buying public were concerned. But I digress too much. Suffice it to say that the ISB was the core influence of the musical collaboration (along with other folky acoustic oddities like Dr. Strangely Strange, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Forest, etc.), the not-so-incredible string band, that Bob and I embarked on which we eventually named Pilgrim Quiggle. As such a collaboration, it was founded on inspiration rather than perspiration, or any illusions of working toward a goal of fame, critical or public acclaim, or even monetary compensation for our efforts. Unlike previous 'band' efforts (on my part at least), we never had any set rehearsal schedule, disciplined practices, or truly public performances. We got together and improvised when we felt like it, played for our small circle of friends, and had a jolly good time of it.

Bob had no formal musical training. I had some, which helped a bit with the structure, but was only enough to get by. Bob was good at percussion; he had a natural ability for rhythm and a knack to be able to pick up unusual instruments and make them sound interesting. My guitar and mandolin formed the base, while Bob dabbled in various hand drums and bongos, whistle, flute, jew's harp, ocarina, shakuhachi, bowed gimbri (primitive Moroccan string instrument), shenai, or chanter (Indian reed instrument), castanets, finger cymbals and whatever else he could get his hands on to make interesting sounds. Eventually, a sitar even crept into the mix, but I could not wrap my head around it and gain enough skill to make a good go of it, so I sold it to another friend.

We actually did write enough songs in our own ramshackle fashion that were nearly an album's worth of material but we had no Joe Boyd (ISB producer) to take us into a legitimate studio and refine our sound. Even if we did, I'm sure we would have come off as Incredible Wannabes and would have quickly sold our way into the cut-out bin had any record label been foolish enough to sponsor our 'act'. Had we gotten serious, stuck with it and gained some discipline, who knows? We might have gotten good enough to at least play Renaissance Festivals, and would have been prouder of it than the Free-Credit-Report.com band guys.

The important thing here though is INSPIRATION. It is what fueled our little collaboration in spite of its deficiencies. We might occasionally play an ISB song, or a T-Rex song but the overwhelming majority of our material was original, and often bizarre, but it had a magical and whimsical quality to it. Hearing some of those songs now, as ambivalent as the listening experience can be, I hear glimmerings of brilliance amidst the averageness of amateurism. We had a lot of fun, and I'm sure we both learned something about inspiration and creativity along the way.

Our association continued into college where we were roomates. Perhaps that was a mistake, as familiarity tends to breed contempt, and our lifestyles were not necessarily compatible in the long run, or the small room. Although we saw each other occasionally over the years following, with the exception of the DNA Theatre project (another coll-abort-ive effort we experimented with), there was little in the way of co-conspiratorial creative efforts between us. I had gone the way of rock musician, being involved with one band or another. Bob would pop us as an actor in a play, a musician in a gamelan orchestra, a juggler, and likely a whole lot of other roles I don't know anything about. When I finally moved away from our local area, we lost touch. For 20 years. Until he looked me up again.

That contact was both nostalgic and inspirational. I discovered that his interest in eclectic music had not dissipated but expanded. He's collected more exotic instruments, and learned how to play the fiddle. Through our correspondence I've had sort of an awakening and renaissance of ideas that I've been meaning to put into practice, but never could seem to get the motivation to realize. Now, a bit of synergy from afar has wakened a desire in me to attempt to truly syncretize my influences. Possibly, the answer to the malaise, which is where this post all began. I know it won't happen overnight, and Bob and I may never get the opportunity to collaborate on another Pilgrim Quiggle, or any such musical squiggle, but the seeds have been sown.

"...You know what you could be.
Tell me my friend,
Why you worry all the time
What you should be..." -You Know What You Could Be, Mike Heron

It's all about ME and you and US

2009-05-24T19:29:00.000-04:00

This post is spurred on by Bill Maher's most recent Real Time HBO show, in which the guests were female rapper M.I.A., former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson, Nobel Peace Prize winner and 'Banker to the poor' Mohammad Yunus, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Newsweek magazine editor, Jon Meacham. When the "easy target" Bush administration was in power, Maher was a formidible political satirist. His barbs were usually well-place and right on, although he often overlooked the deeper issues in favor of the popular ones. It has become clear that in the presence of the Obama administration, Maher is comedy first, political issues second (or maybe even third), passing up few opportunities to cheap-shot the easy targets, which include religion, the American public at large, and his audience in part.

That much was clear from the get-go, during his interview with Tamil Sri Lankan female visual and rap music artist M.I.A. , when Bill made stupid remarks about Maya's (M.I.A.) pregnant condition during the Grammys, gave an impromptu geography lesson for the dumb American public on Sri Lanka's location, and incorrectly assumed the conflict in Sri Lanka between the Tamal minority and the Sinhalese majority was a religious (Hinduism vs. Buddhism) one. I'm not religious, but I've noticed that Maher won't pass up an opportunity to crucify religion any chance he gets. (He would have made a great Roman Centurion in Jerusalem back in 33 A.D.) The conflict is not religion-based, but rather ethnic and majority-over minority based, the hegemony of the Sinhalese over the Tamil and the Tamil's refusal to docilely accept their role as second class citizens. MI.A.'s purpose for being on the show was to enlighten the American public on the truth of the situation since recent the end of the civil war and defeat of the rebel Tamil Tigers in that country. The Sinhalese oppression now goes unchecked, and rather than make issue of that, Bill chose to make fun of MI.A.'s British accent and even blame the Brits for spawning the conflict.

So with that bit of embarrassment out of the way, Maher moved on to the panel- Simon Johnson, Mohammad Yunus and Jon Meacham. Bill lobbed the initial topic, a nice & easy one that posed the question- "It looks like things are getting better but economically speaking, are we out of the woods now?" Johnson swung and connected limply on a pitch he should have been able to hit out of the park by saying that there has been some recovery as "No drama Obama" pulled the banks away from falling off the edge of the cliff, but for the "real economy" (the general public), things still look a bit shakey. Simon, Simon, Simon....what the hell are you doing? Following Maher's lead dumbing-down the economic situation for the Joe 3-pack public? Jeez, you wouldn't ever say anthing so shallow and simplisitc in your Baseline Scenario blog, so why would you boil all the water out of the pan on a highly rated TV show? You know that the Banksters have been sucking up all the goodies out of Obama & Tiny Tim's Santa bag they can, you know the market is being manipulated, and you know that the Gen Public is fucked with a capital "F". At least you could have strongly pointed out where the guv'ment was going wrong, and how Obama's wuss handling of the Banksters and his lack of forward planning was just hastening the inevitable doomsday scenario.

Maher, in one of his rare moments of brilliance, used something Johnson said about "Banana Republics" to make comment on the infectious avarice of the financial sector, and the American public at large, equating unfettered markets with the religion of material greed. (Gotta get that religious snipe in.) Smiling Buddha Mohammad Yunus said that the economic crisis was actually an opportunity for real positive change in the financial sector, and that it was overlooked in favor of the status quo, and failed to be capitalized on. He said "We have selfishness in us and we have selflessness in us...but the way the economic market is designed... it's all about selfishness, and I have no chance about looking out for anybody else." Maher follows up with a comment about how there are no plans for redesigning the financial system, and Obama is still giving money way to the corrupt Wall Street executives he went to Harvard with. Meacham (P.J. O'Rourke light) finally got a comment in about the economic and social disparity of the United States today, citing how the Great Depression brought the nation together as one enabling social and economic change, while now it's all rhetoric and business as usual.

There rest of the show was consumed with Cheney vs. Obama on the terrorist issue, and Maher's favorite pincushion, religion. Now I'm no religious supporter, but gee Bill, give it a rest already. How about some constructive economic solutions? How about what needs to be done to make things better for Americans who are losing their jobs, their meager savings, their freedoms and being forced to eat Genetically Mutated Organisms? Out of all his "New Rules", the only one worthy of mentioning was his last- Stop thinking that electing a Superhero is going to be the answer to our problems. Rather than zeroing in on he puts it, "Chocolate Jesus" (Obama), he turned his attention to California and Schwarzenegger. Saying that it was impossible for the Gubenator to solve California's problems because it's "illeagal" to govern in this state. Maher said "We only govern by ballot initiatives, and there are only two types of those - things I like, and don't raise my taxes. We votes YES on gain and NO on pain. This is why America's founders established a representative democracy, because they knew if the average joe had the chance, he'd vote for a fantasy world with no taxes, free beer and vagina trees." A little broad-based humor, but in essence, Maher's right. The pressure exerted by special interest groups and "political correctness" has fostered the oiling of the squeaky wheel over what makes common sense, and is really in the public good.

This brings us back to the first part of the topic title - All about ME, or perhaps even the collective "WE". The WE being those that can exert the most power and influence over legislation, who gets the breaks, who gets the money, and who gets the shaft. It seems as though it will always be the ME/WE minority that gets the two former boons, while the bane of the shaft falls on the collective "you" majority. Like a good feudal lord, the Prez throws bones to his hounds like the "Credit Card Bill of Rights" which bans retroactive interest rate increases and minimum payment time disclosure among other things, but fails to cap outrageous and usurious interest rates at a percent that's reasonable. He says he's going to close Gitmo, but can't deliver on an exit strategy. He finger-wags at the Wall Street culprits that caused the financial debacle, but does nothing to punish the wrongdoers. And those are only a few issues. Pretty unbelievable for change we're supposed to believe in.

So it seems as though it's still all about ME, only the "ME" here isn't you or I. It's them. The people with the power and the gold still making the rules to serve the people with the power and the gold to make the rules. It doesn't take an IMF economist to know that the robber-barons of Wall Street, Goldman Sachs is manipulating the stock market to their advantage, and yet nothing gets done about it. Gee, could that have anything to do with former T-Sec Hanky-Panky's and current T-Sec Tiny Tim's relationship with GS cronies?

It's time we stopped thinking about ME, and started thinking about US. Instead of focusing on the big score, beating down the competition and amassing as much personal gain at any cost to our ethics and values, we need to develop a mindset that will benefit the majority of the people in this country over our own individual little island worlds. The gap between the HAVES and the HAVE-NOTS is widening; people who lose their jobs and homes now are finding that it sucks to be on the other side of the chasm. What happens when if the dollar truly tanks? (And don't think that it isn't a possibility, because a large part of this nation's economic stability depends on who buys our debt, and other countries ain't buying like they used to.) Maybe then they'll realize we're all in this together, or if you have the biggest guns, you can still get your own way.

As Simon Johnson pointed out in his "What I Didn't Get To Say on Bill Maher Last Night" post on The Baseline Scenario, Mohammad Yunus's idea of the "Social Business" model over a "Strictly-for-Profit" business model is something that needs to be addressed NOW, before it becomes too late. In a country you're doing business in, there has to be a certain social responsibity, otherwise the propensity to suck the citizens dry becomes too great. Whether it's Big Oil, the Pharmaceutical Industry, Insurance, Banking, Tech, etc., whatever, the idea of taking huge amounts of money in profits and not contributing socially (and I don't mean charitable tax write-offs, scholarship funds and grants stamped with the corporate logo) is repugnant. How can a mega-business justify its right to exist in a community, when it has allowed that community to go bankrupt by manipulating the tax laws to not pay its fair share? How can you have a gainfully employed America if you keep shipping jobs overseas for a few tax breaks? How can you have a healthy America if your business pollutes the environment, genetically alters the food supply with unknown and potentially disastrous consequences or drive health care costs through the roof? How can you have a wealthy America when you rig the casino games of Wall Street with under the table financial mechanisms no one understands, that enrich YOU rather than any sucker investors bold or stupid enough to play you game of chance? How can you have a future for America when you keep the wheels of energy stuck in the muck and mire of fossil fuels with cost-prohibitive roadblocks and aggressive lobbying?

It's time we stated thinking about US, the collective "us", and begin to change the mindset about what it all means to co-exist harmoniously in this country, on this planet together. Anyone can be the harbinger of a doomsday scenario (just check the best seller's list) , but it takes courage and forward thinking to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Maybe we need an even worse plight to make us al pull together. I'm not suggesting socialism, but I AM advocating social consciousness. Yeah, you can be a naysayer and trumpet the glory of unfettered free-market capitalism. So how's that been working for you of late? All I'm saying is that it's time to employ a little common sense, get off the high horse and do what's right for US as a whole, not what you think is right for just your little world. Because if you're only out for 'ME', you're going to find out soon enough just how small your own little world really is.

That Which Must Not Be Named...Yet

2009-04-13T17:44:00.000-04:00

Man, it's been a long time since I've done a blog post. Too long, I guess. Truth be told, I have been busy, and I guess that's the point of this post- what I've been busy with. But to explain that, I have to explain the post title. "That Which Must Not Be Named.." has nothing to do with a Harry Potter adversary, nor a story by H.P. Lovecraft, but rather an online auction site which isn't online yet that I've been sworn to secrecy about. In order to explain that, I guess we have to take it back a little further.

I had been selling on eBay for about five years by 2005 when I was contacted by someone who asked me if I'd be interested in peddling some of their merchandise. To make a long story short, I agreed and over the years have sold some very interesting and lucrative stuff for them. In fact, as time went by, I was selling A LOT of their stuff, even more than my own. Things seemed to be tooling along fine, until eBay turned to shit about a year or more ago. Even the really good stuff wasn't selling like it used to. To make matters worse, eBay turned into FEEBAY, and every listing was becoming a losing proposition in some way or other. I became discouraged and disgusted listing anything with eBay. Yeah, it might sell quickly better than elsewhere but I was getting garage sale prices on things that were way beyond any garage sales.

I told the guy I was selling for that I was becoming disenchanted with eBay, and I was thinking of throwing in the towel there. (That's about the time I discovered Bonanzle.) He told me to hang on, he was working on something. Meanwhile, I opened up a Bonanzle store, and since it didn't cost me anything to list my stuff there I really had nothing to loose but the time. I decided to get back into selling merchandise I really liked (CDs & records) with the Bonanzle setup, and with a somewhat dark theme to the booth. But selling on Bonanzle is a whole different deal than eBay auctions- much easier to list but harder to sell. Even with the promotional tools they have in place, you really need to work your butt off promotion-wise to make any money there. In the beginning, I did. I really did, and some of my efforts paid off. But in the long run, it's not enough to live on, at least for me.

So let's get back to the guy I had been selling for, who I'll call "Mr. X" in the spirit of his desire for anonymity and secrecy, at least for now. Mr. X decides that he's going to build an online auction site, something that although small-scale, will be better than eBay in numerous ways. Mr. X has some GREAT collectible merchandise in the antiquarian book, vintage magazine, ephemera, photographic and art print categories. Mr. X also has good business savvy, and even though I still don't know a whole lot about him even after our nearly four year business relationship, but I don't think he'd be "sinking it all" into this auction site if he wasn't confident that it was going to make a LOT of money.

Yeah, I have to admit I was skeptical when I first heard about it. Compete with eBay? NO WAY DUDE! That's a recipe for disaster...or at least for a lot of wasted time and money. But, as Mr. X pointed out to me, the big mistake that wannabe eBay competitors make is trying to cover a lot of categories of merchandise and trying to be too big. It's the niche markets that are the key. Smaller is better. Still, with this economic downturn (who am I kidding? It's not a downturn, it;'s a mudslide) I personally don't think that it's a good time to be sinking your life savings into a new online enterprise. But hey, it ain't MY money. It IS however, my time, and that's where I get back to what I've been doing lately, and why I haven't been much with the tweeting, message- boarding, music-making, or even blog posts.

SOooooo...for lack of better option, I've decided to trust that Mr. X's auction site will become a fruitful enterprise (soon I hope) and have been doing merchandise pre-listings so that the site will have some great stuff when it opens. Just some of the things I've been working with - Mark Twain First Editions; 1853 Mississippi- Pacific Railroad Surveys; George Cruikshank 'Comic Almanacs from the mid 1800's; 1864 Travel to the Holy Land; 1829 Edgar Allen Poe Poetry & Reviews; Etchings of Rembrandt; 1798 Duties of the Female Sex; A. A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh author) First Editions; 1885 Elizabeth Custer's 'Boots & Saddles'; 'The Jazz Singer' Al Jolson Photoplay edition 1927; 'Wind In the Willows' 1st Tasha Tudor Illustrated; 1930's Havana Cuba Travel Brochures; 1969 Avant-Garde Art Magazine with Picasso Erotic Gravures; 1854 Patent Report with Smith & Wesson Volcanic Pistol and Isaac Singer's Sewing Machine in it; a Stereoview from the 1920's with 4 guys in a vintage Cadillac who would years later become top General Motors executives; a 1949 French art magazine with Victor Vasarely "OP Art" lithographs in it; signed rare David Levine caricature book; 1793 History of King Charles by Voltaire; 1916 Witchcraft in Salem Village; 1799 Settlement of Genesee Country w/ engravings; 1832 Six Months in the West Indies by Coleridge; 1836 Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper; 1810 Life & Actions of Napoleon Bonaparte, and so many, many more. Some of these are worth a LOT of money.

So here I am with all this great stuff just waiting for this auction site to open (and yeah, I can't even hint at the name of it, under pain of betrayal) , adding more all the time, yet not making any money in the meanwhile. Maybe I'm an idiot to put my hope and trust in the designs and machinations of someone I don't know all that well but have done alright by in the past. Maybe I'm just too skeptical for my own good. It's hard to have faith in a new (somewhat risky) business enterprise after all I've been through with the Wall Street debacles and the stock market casino where Goldman Sachs and J. P. Morgan, et al. fix the tables with their derivative-loaded dice, their rigged roulette wheels of rewardless risk, and credit default swap card games of wealth destruction.

Still, Mr. X assures me has a method for driving the right kind of traffic to this auction site quickly, and hasn't told me that I'll have to be doing any promotion on it. Whenever the subject is broached, the response is, "Don't worry. I've got it covered." Well, I hope so. I really do. I hope that it isn't long that I can come back here and post that the site is open for business and we're doing fabulous. In the meanwhile, all I can do is keep a positive attitude, work on doing constructive things and hope I get some good news from somewhere. Maybe when the weather gets warmer. Maybe when I finally get inspired enough to get back into my music studio again...

We got BOTH kinds of Music..Goth AND Industrial

2009-02-26T12:32:00.000-05:00

We got BOTH kinds of music...Country AND Western... so the old joke goes. Although they're not that far apart, Country music evolved out of Appalachian folk, or hillbilly music and Western music evolved out of cowboy songs and Western Swing. Add to the mixed genre Bluegrass and Gospel and you get pretty much most of the elements of Country/Western

If there ever was a genre of music that is the polar opposite of Country/Western it would have to be Goth/Industrial. Like C&W, Goth/Industrial is a mixed genre that evolved over time adding elements of other compatible musical forms. Like C&W, G&I is somewhat removed now from what it was back 25 or so years ago. In fact, 30 years ago neither the Goth nor Industrial music genres technically even existed, although there were groups and artists that preceded both and paved the way for them.

In order to understand the evolution, there needs to be definition of what makes 'Goth' goth and 'Industrial' industrial. Goth music is dark in tone, has elements of horror, morbidity or moroseness and is often melodramatic. Industrial music evolved out of the avant-garde musique concrete but stylistically couples jarring sounds to cadent rhythms. Or at least that's the basic elements of the genres. Owing to its somber nature, Goth music is good for moping. Owing to its rhythmic impetus, Industrial music is good for dancing. There were crossovers however, even before the genres came into their own way back in the 1980's.

Likely the first 'Goth' bands before there was even such a genre were Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath. Both were rather dark, tackled maudlin themes (nightmares, suicide, murder, witchcraft, demonism, the occult, insanity, etc.) and were vilified by televangelists. Both owe their concept to horror movies. Alice Cooper was 'glam-goth' where Black Sabbath was more your dressed in black leather sort of goth. And then there was KISS, which was just rock n' roll with a 'makeup goth' veneer. These certainly weren't the only dark bands in the pre-Goth period, but most of the others never achieved any critical or commercial success, so you probably aren't aware of their existence.

In the early 70's, I was in a band called Leviathan (no relation to any known band by that name) that described itself as a Gothic Rock Orchestra. Our original music was a dark form of progressive rock, not dissimilar to the more tenebrous aspects of bands like Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator. Some of what we did would be considered 'Goth' by today's standards. Then there was Otto Von Ruggins. He was the first REAL Goth I ever met. In fact, the first time I ever saw him, he was wearing a velvet frock coat. (Now THAT'S a Goth!) Von Ruggins became part of the mid-70's New York 'No-Wave' scene which was the short-lived genre that was partially responsible for spawning Industrial music. Although artists like Lydia Lunch, James Chance and The Contortions, Theoretical Girls, Swans, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and others you may have peripherally heard of are credited with defining the No Wave genre, Von Ruggins and his band music. and Kongress were the closest thing to Goth-Industrial there was at the time. Kongress often used the trappings of the occult in their shows and to advertise them. They also had (for a period of time) 'mad magician' Geoff (Jeff) Crozier as their lead singer. Their music was a combination of avant-garde industrial rock and minimal synth with gothic theatrics. Very cutting-edge stuff for the time, but of course, you never heard of 'em. Another 2 man minimal-synth group called Suicide (Alan Vega & Martin Rev) was another No-Wave band that had a very Industrial music sound.

The bands most often credited with the spawning of Goth-rock out of the post-punk music scene are Bauhaus, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy and Southern Death Cult. Like any music subculture, the scene has to start someplace, and for Goth it was The Batcave in London, though local (Elder) Goths elsewhere would probably argue that it was THEIR club that really started Goth music. Like any good music genre with a full head of steam, the fashion that defined it changed from the ripped jeans, T-shirts and leather jackets of punkdom to an all-black clothing concept that grew more fetishistic as the genre progressed. Some fashion statements like piercings, tattoos and bizarrely coloured hair

Funny that the founders of Goth now cringe at the label. There were plenty of bands to follow that were more than willing to revel in their gothiness. The Mission (U.K.), Alien Sex Fiend, Sex Gang Children, Christian Death, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Fields of the Nephilim, Inkubus Sukkubus, Kommunity FK, Skeletal Family, Xmal Deutschland and a slew of others jumped on the Goth-rock bandwagon. And of course, these band begot other Goth bands in the 1990's which we'll get to in a bit.

But what of Industrial? The acknowledged founders of Industrial music came from the Industrial Records label (mid-late 70's) founded by Throbbing Gristle. Early composer/performer Monte Cazazza is credited with coining the Industrial music genre name, but like OVR and Kongress, his contributions to the genre are largely forgotten and his defining early recordings nearly impossible to come by. Other early Industrial music artists included Test Dept., Boyd Rice (NON), Clock DVA, SPK, Whitehouse, Einstürzende Neubauten, Esplendor Geométrico, Severed Heads, and Laibach. The music was often defined by noise, harsh dissonant tones, mechanical beats, repetitive tape loops or sound samples and shouted, distorted vocals. It was meant to be a reaction to the de-humanizing of society, which in its most artistic, non-commercial form at least made a statement. Themes were often fatalistic, fascistic and transgressive - painting scenarios of doom and a dystopian society, alienation, the tyranny of technology and shock tactics. While Goth music embraced Stoker's Dracula remain to this day. vampire, Industrial music embraced Shelley's Frankenstein monster. Just like a Universal horror movie (not to mention The Munsters), it was only natural that the two would eventually come together.

Some bands that weren't really considered Gothic at the onset of the genre but were later embraced by Goths included the Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, This Mortal Coil (all from the 4A.D. label at the time), Depeche Mode, And Also The Trees, The Cranes, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Gary Numan, The Cramps, Swans (including Jarboe & Gira side-projects), and undoubtedly many others that I've left out. The broader 'Alternative' umbrella included bands that were in the 'Shoegazer', 'Neoclassical', 'Indie', 'Synthpop', 'Death Rock', 'Psychobilly', 'Post Punk' and other sub-genres.

The change in Industrial music came about with the birth of EBM (Electronic Body Music), a term first coined by German minimal synth band Kraftwerk. A solid 4/4 drum machine beat, and a synthesizer-driven sound made EBM ideally suitable for the dance floor. A few early EBM bands were Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, Klinik, X Marks the Pedwalk, Die Form, Die Krupps, and Leæther Strip. Industrial music was becoming more accessible by virtue of its dancability, and the common ground it would share with Gothic music was to be found in the 'Goth clubs'. The Batcave spawned many Goth-Industrial clubs (or at least, Goth-Industrial nights at larger venues where there wasn't enough of a scene to support it all the time) throughout the world. DJs played not only what the scenesters wanted to hear, but also what would get them up on the floor to DANCE. This is where Goth & Industrial became intertwined as a hybrid genre, much like Country/Western. And as they did, fashion became more extreme (leather, latex, PVC, Victorian dress, platform boots, corsets, fishnet striped stockings, duster coats, bondage pants, hair extensions, etc.) and creative. Record labels like Cleopatra, Projekt, Zoth-Ommog, 21st Circuitry and Metropolis were quick to sign on an ever-growing and evolving stable of Goth-Industrial bands. New sub-genres such as Electro-Industrial with bands including Frontline Assembly, Das Ich, Skinny Puppy, Haujobb, Wumpscut and others; Aggrotech bands like Hocico, Funker Vogt, Suicide Commando; guitar-infused Industrial rock like KMFDM, Ministry, Stabbing Westward, 16 Volt, Pigface, Chemlab, Godflesh and others; and the uncategorizable- Coil, Controlled Bleeding, Legendary Pink Dots, Oneiroid Psychosis, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Shinjuku Thief, Sleep Chamber and many more.

So too was Goth music expanding, or at least the sub-genres of music Goths were listening to. Etherial, Neo-Folk, Neoclassical, Medieval, Gothabilly, Electro-Goth, Gothic Metal, Darkwave, Horror-Goth and more. Some of the bands that came about in this next wave of Gothic groups were Astrovamps, Attrition, The Prophetess, Mephisto Walz, Chandeen, Lycia, Black Tape For A Blue Girl, The Marionettes, Love Is Colder Than Death, Ordo Equitum Solis, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, The Shroud, Love Like Blood, Qntal, Current 93, Sol Invictus, The Wake, Sunshine Blind, Faith & the Muse, Death In June, Lacrimosa, My Dying Bride, Nosferatu, Cradle of Filth, London After Midnight, Miranda Sex Garden, Mors Syphilitica, Type O Negative and many more.

The proliferation of so many new bands made sub-genres became nearly impossible to keep track of. As the demand for this type of music increased, many indie record stores specializing in it also sprang up too. So did print publications like Propaganda, Outburn, Carpe Noctem, Industrial Nation, Music From the Empty Quarter, Side-Line and numerous other and small "indies" dedicated to the Goth-Industrial music genre, fashion and lifestyle. (More recently, Gothic Beauty in the U.S., Meltdown in the U.K. have carried the torch while others have either gone to an online format, or have just gone out of business. I don't know much about the non-English zines. I've seen them but that's about it.)

The Anne Rice Vampire Chronicle novels also contributed to the popularity of the Gothic subculture and her Vampire Lestat Fan Club in New Orleans held annual Halloween parties that attracted Goths from around the globe. There was also a television series in the 1990's called Forever Knight about an 800 year old vampire police detective had a large cult following. (One of its notable haunt was a Toronto Goth Club called The Raven, which was actually based on a real Toronto Goth club called Sanctuary Vampire Sex Bar. The Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV show also helped keep interest going. But perhaps one of the most widespread de-facto contributors to the Goth subculture was the fantasy roleplaying game, Vampire: The Masquerade.
With the Goth-Industrial genre expanding at such a rapid pace, it was inevitable that some artists associated with the genre would break out big. Nine Inch Nails was the first. Evanescence was next. Then there was Marilyn Manson. As far as I'm concerned, none of these three are truly Goth-Industrial acts, but somehow they always end up being lumped into the genre. At least NIN's early stuff was worthy of being associated with Industrial (and still gets a lot of play at the Goth clubs). As for the other two, I guess it's a matter of taste, or the lack of it.

One other act that had crossover popularity with the scene was Enigma. Their use of Gregorian chants and atmospheric world music over a dance beat certainly had Goth club appeal. On a similar track, Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Frontline Assembly had a side-project called Delirium that incorporated atmospheric elements similar to Enigma. They would eventually eclipse Enigma (artisitcally but not commercially) in their 1994 album, 'Semantic Spaces'. They also had projects under the names of Intermix and Synaesthesia that explored similar territory. Delirium eventally went on to be wore of a Pop-Worldbeat sort of thing as it shed its Goth-Industrial attributes.

Many other acts that developed during the late 90's and finally came into popularity in the 21st century further blurred the genres and seemed to add new ones as well. With the development and popularity of the Internet as a musical resource, the floodgates were open and host of band and artists came pouring through- Apoptygma Berserk, The Azoic, Battery, Battery Cage, Collide, The Cruxshadows, Stone 588, C-Tec, Claire Voyant, Cubanate, Crocodile Shop, Covenant, Mindless Faith, Mindless Self Indulgence, Hanzel und Gretyl, VNV Nation, Assemblage 23, In Strict Confidence, Icon of Coil, Velvet Acid Christ, Combichrist, Decoded Feedback, Machine in the Garden, The Last Dance, The Birthday Massacre, The Razor Skyline, Kiss The Blade, Dead Voices On Air, Imperative Reaction, Project Pitchfork, Gridlock, Black Lung, Snog, The Newlydeads, My Chemical Romance, My Ruin, The 69 Eyes, Paralysed Age, Switchblade Symphony, Razed in Black, Hate Dept., Xorcist, Spahn Ranch, Electric Hellfire Club, Download, Killing Miranda, H.I.M., Second Skin, Lights of Euphoria, Mira, L'Ame Imortelle, Beborn Beton, Written In Ashes, Unto Ashes, Rhea's Obsession, The Genitorturers, Women of Sodom and so many many more.

And still, there are projects out there like Anders Manga, James D. Stark, Lamia Cross, Luna in Caelo, Mind Confusion, Ophelia's Garden, Psychophile, Pulcher Femina, Serious Black, Synthetic Dream Foundation, that are either self-produced with no label or on small labels that get little to no promotion in spite of how good they are. Undoubtedly there are many, many others. You may even have your own project in the genre that hasn't gotten its due. (If you do, you might want to contact me.)

The whole point of this post is to say, that over the years, the Goth-Industrial genre at large has grown HUGE. With so many off-shoots and so much variety, and so many artists still active in it it, it is far from dead. Sure, some labels dealing in this type of music have gone out of business. Sure, a lot of bands have broken up and their albums and CDs have gone out of print. That's what a place like Windhamearl's Black Lodge is for- not as some museum of dark faddery, but a place where you can find a lot of the aforementioned artists at a fair and reasonable price. (Hey, nobody's got everything.)

Regardless of what your preconceptions may be about the genre, remember this- as weird, macabre and menacing as the music may sound to you, as deviant, decadent and outlandish some of its devotees dress, you're more likely to find intelligent conversation with those that listen to Goth-Industrial music, and less likely to get your ass kicked at a Goth-Industrial Club than you are at a Country/Western bar. So the next time somebody trots out that old joke, "We got BOTH kinds of music here..." be sure to add quickly "Oh, you mean Goth AND Industrial!"

NOTE: I'm sure there are many worthy bands and artists of note in the genre I've failed to mention here. (Hey, this ain't Wikipedia.) I didn't even touch on Dark Ambient music, but that deserves a post of it's own at some future date. Stay tuned...

Celebration of the Lizard or...When The Music's Over

2009-02-16T13:14:00.000-05:00

"When I was back there in seminary school..."

If you were to ask me now what my favorite band/music artist is, I'd probably be hard-pressed to come up with just one. If you really pressed me on it, I might say Frontline Assembly, because I really admire their skill in crafting the kind of electro-industrial music that they do so well. But my all-time favorite? Probably not. I might say Van der Graaf Generator because there is just so much history there for me as a musician, prog-rock devotee and music writer. But- if you were to ask "What band do you think has been most influential on your life?" undoubtedly, it would be The Doors. Of all the bands that shaped my 'formative years' as a musician, a person and freak in general, why The Doors? Well, I really owe facets of my musical development, my influences if you will, to a number of other bands/artists from Alice Cooper to Zappa, with a whole lot in-between. But The Doors? They were different. And let me tell you why. Just like most kids who grew up in the 60's, I started out with the typical pop music of the time. I listened to AM radio, had my faves of top hits (those songs that just stuck in your head) but never really got attached to any artist in particular. When Beatlemania struck the U.S. I sort of jumped on the bandwagon, and got my Mom to buy a few of their records for me, like Meet The Beatles. I also collected Beatles trading cards (the kind that came a few to a pack with a flat piece of inedible gum, man I wish I still had them now) and may have even gotten a Beatle wig as a gag gift. Still, they weren't really influential on me, just a fad more or less. Nice catchy songs that got stuck in your head. The "influence" part came with Dylan. Bob that is. A buddy of mine in high school turned me on to Bob Dylan. He was an enigma. Actually, they BOTH were enigmas- my buddy and Dylan. My friend gave the impresson of being an arch-conservative, which was weird for someone who was so into Bob Dylan. He always took right-wing positions on ploticial issues and absolutely looked the part. Yet, when it came to music, his tastes were certainly left of center. Before long, I became embroiled in trying to decipher the meaning of Dylan's arcane lyrics, like-
"He sits in your room, his tomb, with a fist full of tacks
Preoccupied with his vengeance
Cursing the dead that can't answer him back
I'm sure that he has no intentions
Of looking your way, unless it's to say
That he needs you to test his inventions..."

And before long, I started writing ones of my own. Yeah, they pretty much all suck now, the product of too much inspiration and influence and too little originality and talent. But at least I was trying. I was beginning to go beyond just being your average teenager and developing something that had to to with creativity. My infatuation with Dylan's music didn't last long. In spite of making me realize that you didn't have to have a great voice to make an impact in rock music, I moved on to other music. The burgeoning music scene of San Francisco was exploding, and before I knew it, there was TONS of great music. Oddly enough, my entry into this new scene didn't begin with the tripped out flower-power psychedelic hippie bands of Haight-Ashbury, but rather a band from L.A. - The Doors. The Doors self-titled debut LP was released in January 1967. I remember I bought it in February 1967. This was the FIRST album I ever purchased completely on my own. (Previously I had bought some 45's, and I'd been given a couple of record albums as gifts.) To me, The Doors were mind-blowing. They seemed to embody everything I had ever been looking for in music- kind of dark and dangerous, musically adventurous while still maintaining a good pop music sensibility, and absolutely charismatic. I was hooked. Although many fine bands and record purchases came afterwards, there was nothing that had a hold on my psyche like Jim Morrison and company. Of course, the history of The Doors has been well documented elsewhere, most notably in the 1991 Oliver Stone movie of the same title. (Best role Val Kilmer ever had, or probably ever will have.) But there was nothing, absolutely nothing, like being there yourself. I got my chance in the summer of 1968. Their third album, Waiting For The Sun, had just been released. The band was at their peak. This was before the shit hit the fan in Miami a little more than half a year later; before Morrison became a subdued, fat bearded drunk. This was prime Doors. I can only say I remember a few things about that concert- Jimbo constantly telling the light man to "turn down the lights" (setting a mood, or fooling around in the dark?); the amplifier reverb crashing and Morrison's extended scream in "When the Music's Over"; the exchange of expletives between Morrison and a female (who was likely very high) in the audience who wasn't sitting very far from me; Morrison's threats to just leave if the audience wouldn't stop shouting stuff (it worked, they stayed); "The Celebration of the Lizard" performed in its entirety which I had only heard part of from "Not To Touch The Earth", and a band that seemed larger than life in so many ways. I also remember Jim Morrison wearing leather pants, and wanting to own a pair myself, but that wish wasn't fullfilled until much later. When I hear live recordings of The Doors, I get a sense of what I experienced. Just a taste. They set a mood that could be simultaneouly the ultimate rock & roll party and the deepest journey into darkness experienced in a concert hall.

"Your ballroom days are over, baby
Night is drawing near
Shadows of the evening
crawl across the years
Ya walk across the floor
with a flower in your hand
Trying to tell me no one understands
Trade in your hours for a handful dimes
Gonna make it, baby, in our prime...
Get together one more time!"

Considering how the band eventually collapsed after a mere six studio albums and one live double LP (I don't count the albums without Morrison or Morrison's An American Prayer as real Doors albums), they're STILL an iconic band to be reckoned with in the history of rock music. Of course, this is in no small part due to Morrison's mysterious early demise in Paris, July of 1971.(Visited Paris a couple of years ago, made a pilgrimage to Père Lachaise Cemetery and Jim's little grave is still there.) If somehow he had lived, and somehow ended up getting back together with Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore, I don't think the fire would have been there. I think events had to play out as they did for the legend to live on. As good as the musicians of The Doors are or were individually, and they most definitely ARE superb musicians in my estimation, there is no comparison for what they were collectively. And that can't be put back together again, not with Ian Astbury, not with Eddie Vedder, not even with someone out of the blue who looks and sounds like a Jim Morrison clone. There ain't no substitute for the original. "So when the music's over When the music's over, yeah When the music's over Turn out the lights Turn out the lights Turn out the lights Well, the music is your special friend Dance on fire as it intends Music is your only friend Until the end Until the end, Until the end" Yeah, I have to credit The Doors with opening the door for to the dark side. I have to credit them with making me really want to play, and write songs that aren't happy pop tunes. For me, the music's never over. It's a never-ending stream or force, that in spite of creative lapses and moments of ennui, nourishes my psyche and galvanizes my being. To this end, I make it, buy it, sell it and immerse myself in the experience of it. As a 'Celebration of the Lizard', I've decided to offer three more Doors-related items in Windhamearl's Black Lodge to replace 3 other items I just sold. They're more relevant to getting a feeling of what The Doors were like than they are rare. One is their 1970 double LP, Absolutely Live. Another is the 2 CD set, The Doors: In Concert. The last is Riders On The Storm: My Life With Jim Morrison and The Doors by John Densmore. In time, I'm sure these items will end up being highly collectible, but for now they're as close to the real untainted experience as you'll ever get. Only a band like The Doors could play the garage rock standard "Gloria" for over six minutes and still make it riveting. Yeah Jim, you were the Lizard King. You could do anything.

Why So Serious?

2009-02-11T01:35:00.000-05:00

I was reading comments on my last blog post and also pleasantly surprised that I have followers now that I installed some gadget to allow followers (show you how much I know about blogging). So far my followers are all good people- People from Bonanzle. They, like me have stuff to sell and are doing their very best to get the word out in any way they can to entice potential buyers to visit their little shops (we call 'em booths) at 'The Ranch' (a euphemism for Bonanzle.)

This post isn't a promo post about The Ranch...been there done that for this week. It's more about me by way of stepping out of my comfort zone and talking about myself, something I don't ordinarily like to do. It happened quite accidentally that I decided to do that; if fact, I was just thinking of going to bed after reading some email digests of some other groups I'm in that will remain nameless. Anyway, I decided to click on 'the next blog' just to see what some random someone-else had to say, and I was surprised at what I found. There at the top of the blog was a picture of the Heath Ledger Joker from the BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT movie with the caption "Why So Serious ?" scrawled in blood or lipstick, not sure which. The blog was in Spanish and I didn't understand a word of it, so it wasn't the blog that had anything to say to me, just the picture and the caption. It made me think, Why AM I so serious?

Really, I usually am. Oh, I can make a joke now and then...but I rarely crack a smile. Most of my day is consumed with efforts to be productive. I tend to be reactive and hard on myself when things aren't going right or when I don't get all the things done I set out to do. I can't remember the last time I took a day just to 'goof off', and I don't even know if I'd enjoy goofing off since I'm so out of practice. Why so serious?

I hear a lot about what's going on politically and financially. From what I know, I think that throwing debt after debt is no solution, only the inevitable losing scenario for all but the very, very wealthy. Going to hell in a handbasket, yet there is nothing I personally can do about it. It's almost comedic really, when you see all these supposedly knowledgeable people heading in a direction that inevitably leads off a cliff. P. J. O’Rourke said, "A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them."Bob Dylan said, "Don't follow leaders...watch the parking meters..."and we shake our heads and laugh at the mini-wisdom of these lines. Why so serious?

It's winter. I hate winter and in spite of the temperature notching up a few degrees giving the illusion of spring, I still know it's winter out there. It tends to foster a sense of misanthropy in me and dashes any daydreams I might have about basking in the sun, or at least taking a long walk. (Oh, that would be goofing off, wouldn't it? Better scratch that idea.) But there's nothing I can do about winter but wait it out, listen to some music I enjoy and try and have decent time working. Hey, work can even be FUN if you do it creatively. Why so serious?

Fact is, I don't know. I was serious as a child, pretty serious as a teenager, and definitely serious as a young adult. For all my seriousness, I never gravitated towards a 'serious profession', like accountant, lawyer, doctor, etc. I was much more motivated towards endeavors that favored the FUN side - music, writing, sales, game design, things that allowed some creativity. (My current music project being appropriately named, 'Serious Black'.) Still, they didn't make me any less serious. Oh, I've had my fun in those occupations, but innately, my personality wasn't altered by them. Astrologically, I'm a Taurus. Does that make me serious? Don Rickles, Jay Leno and George Carlin are Taureans. Would you call them serious comedians?

I guess I just have a different perspective; a different ethic on life. Maybe it's a way of keeping my sanity. Maybe if I wasn't serious, I might end up going off the deep end like Daffy Duck and just be a candidate for the looney bin. Serious is the way I deal with things. It's my anchor, the way I trust myself that I don't expect anyone to understand. I still enjoy the company of people who aren't serious, and find humor in the ironic, which certainly helps in these troubled times. Don't confuse seriousness with depression. It's not. I'm NOT depressed and I'm not in denial. But please don't ask me, "Why so serious?" I just may have to slap you silly.

My Bloody Valentine

2009-02-08T11:56:00.000-05:00

Nope. This isn't a post about the late 80's/early 90's shoegazer/noise band, My Bloody Valentine, nor is it about the 1981 slasher movie, My Bloody Valentine (probably where the band got its name from in the first place) but the "bloody" greeting card 'holiday' known as Valentine's Day. Although named after an early Christian martyr named Valentine (of course), it has about as much to do with him as Christmas has to do with Christ. Thank the Victorians for putting both of these 'holidays' on the calendar and making them obligatory gifting occasions befitting retailers more than either recipients or givers.

This post is obviously from a guy's point of view. Men don't usually talk about 'the bloody holiday'. We either fall in line and acquiesce to tradition and bestow the customary love tokens on the object of our affection, or we ignore it completely. (And run the risk of landing in the doghouse.) Personally, I think it's unfair to guys to have to toe the line and submit to the traditional gifting ritual. But this is NOT a holiday for guys, and any benefit a guy is going to get out of it is purely coincidental.

Valentine's Day has its traditional gifting protocol tied to the Roman child-god Cupid, with his bow and arrow of love, and the (target) heart(s) so associated with the holiday. Traditional gifting is usually limited to greeting cards, flowers (usually a dozen red roses), a box of chocolates, or jewelry. All eligible items are intended to elicit a positive sentimental response from the recipient, in fond affection of the giver. The protocol can be expanded to include intimate clothing, a fine dinner, a romantic escape, cute stuffed animals, perfume, a gift basket, mink coat, taking in a(chic flick) movie or nearly anything that has romantic connotations. The appropriateness of the gift is proportionate to the relationship of the parties involved; that little juvenile card worked just fine for you in fourth grade, but a pearl necklace would have been way out of line, unless you were in schools like Page in Beverly Hills or Dalton in New York. Then again, just try giving one of those 'paper dandies' as an adult to the object of your desire and you're in a heap o' trouble.

By far and large, Valentine's Day is a day for females, more than males. Although the gifting is supposed to be mutual, the gifting protocol is heavily biased towards women and the kind of things they're supposed to like. (Sorry ladies, the boxer shorts with the hearts on 'em just don't do anything for us guys.) Unlike Christmas, all practicality is thrown out the window and if you're planning on getting her a gift you think she needs, it's probably the wrong thing. (Be sure to consider the weight of such a practical gifting item before purchase; it could have a serious impact on your skull when she hurls it back at you.) So it's easy enough for guys to select something within the protocol; consider what might elicit the best emotional response for a bit more than what you would normally spend.

Women actually have it a little harder in the gifting process on Valentine's Day. Although we'll accept your cards, boxer shorts (grudgingly), new watch, new tie, cuff links or whatever silly little trinket you want to bestow on us, there is only one thing we really want, and unless you're clueless, you've already guess it. Funny thing is, it doesn't cost you a dime, unless you want to 'dress it up a little'. Short of this, we don't need any tokens to let us know you love us, the physical expression is quite sufficient. Of course, the extent of physical expression is dependent on the depth of the relationship; from a kiss for a friendly admirer to wild passionate sex for the deeply involved. Of course, the appropriate reciprocation is usually left up to the ladies- you're probably not going to screw some guy you've been casually dating just because he gave you a bunch of flowers. But you might soften up a bit and allow the physical romantic expression to linger a little longer. If this doesn't feel comfortable, you shouldn't be accepting Valentines gifts from this person anyway. It's supposed to be a romantic holiday.

You can't really call Valentine's Day a real 'holiday' anyway, unless you make it one. The very concept of a holiday implies a day off of work. Businesses and government offices don't close on Valentine's Day. If you're a working stiff, your boss isn't going to give you the day off, unless you might be meeting him or her for a torrid affair. A housewife (or house-husband) might be given the day off by a generous spouse, but this is purely optional. the holiday aspect only has to do with the date appearing on the calendar, and the parties involved hopefully spending some time with each other.

If you're married or in a committed relationship, the celebration of Valentine's Day's is usually MANDATORY, unless you BOTH consider the concept of Valentine's Day a ridiculous commercial tradition. (Guys, don't second-guess women on this; you either know how she feels about V-Day for a fact, or you don't. If in doubt, err on the side of gifting. If you don't, there could be hell to pay, and it's a small price to keep the peace.) Most couples don't have that cynical attitude, although guys are more prone towards resenting being manipulated by V-Day's commercial aspects. Guys, don't expect any reciprocation either. V-Day is about HER, not about YOU. This holds no matter what the depth of your relationship is, and no matter what the size of the gift is. Although you might think it should, giving her a pair of diamond earrings doesn't necessarily guarantee an intimate liaison. It could help, but your best bet is to 'go with the flow' and see what happens. Expect nothing and you might even be pleasantly surprised.

Of course, if you want to double you chances of getting some Valentine's Day action, lingerie might be the best way to go. After all, women wear boudoir garb mostly for men (perhaps in some cases, other women) and unless she's not the type who enjoys this most feminine of apparel, it's a good bet she might want to try it on and try it out. A few caveats though: you need to know her size (guessing is the #1 downfall in this department, with the potential to turn a dream into a disaster), her preference (perhaps romantic over risque, but the better you know her, the more elastic this rule becomes), make it a 'supplementary gift' (in addition to one of the more traditional gifting items) because in a sense, it's more for you than it is her, no matter how much a woman enjoys wearing intimate apparel. The final caveat: if you haven't already been (or aren't yet close to being) intimate with the object of your affection, chances are that a gift of this nature isn't going to prompt that fantasy scenario you've been imagining. If fact, you are more likely to be shut down quicker than a porn website in Saudi Arabia.

So what if your relationship hasn't progressed to the stage of intimacy yet, you're unsure what to get her and you don't want to subscribe to the traditional gifting items? Well, there are quite a number other options at your disposal- a bottle of champagne; a smart-looking handbag; a good book; a romantic DVD; her favorite music CD she doesn't have in her collection; a nice figurine; an object 'd art; some scented soaps; a cool candle; a gold cigarette case (only if she smokes); a fancy journal; a photograph of her pet; or any other item that carries a sentimental attachment. Avoid gift certificates and items lacking that personal touch unless you're giving from afar. A cute teapot may seem like a good idea but it won't inspire any romance. Whatever you do, choose wisely, grasshopper, you don't want to end up playing the fool over an ill-conceived valentine gift.

So back to the 'Bloody Valentine' theme I started with, personally, I think the 'hearts' have got to go. I don't care for the card game, in romance it has absolutely nothing to do with the organ in the body by the same name (unless you count anticipatory palpitations, or cardiac arrest due to exertion from love requited) and it has a silly shape that only ever reminds me of "I Love Lucy". For guys, our concession to the lady in our life is to honor you with a token of our affection on Valentine's Day. Please honor us by eschewing the bloody valentine heart that is the silliest symbol of love ever conceived, the hallmark of crass commercialism.

Black Lodge...White Lodge.. - The Twin Peaks connection

2009-02-03T17:27:00.001-05:00

Well, sooner or later I guess I have to explain the blog name, and I suppose it might as well be now. For those that aren't familiar with Twin Peaks, eccentric director David Lynch's masterful foray into TV-land back in the early 1990's, this will probably be lost on you. (Might as well fast-forward to the next blog, or go watch a YouTube video.) One little corner of the Lynch-world oddity that was Twin Peaks was The Black Lodge. It is an extradimensional place that includes the "Red Room" (aka, 'The Waiting Room' as you can see in logo. The Black Lodge can only be accessed via certain "secret portals", and then in conjunction with the performance of certain "dark deeds", an emotional condition (fear), or a specific time of astrological significance ("....when Jupiter and Saturn meet..."). One of the show's characters with the strongest connection to The Black Lodge was Windom Earle, a renegade FBI agent who became evil and twisted through the study of black magick. Every good drama needs a great villain, and Windom Earle certainly fit the bill of an "evil genius".

As opposed to the Black Lodge, there is also a White Lodge, a place of pure goodness, the polar opposite of The Black Lodge. As Windom Earle relates in a past-tense story in the show's second season:
"Once upon a time, there was a place of great goodness, called the White Lodge. Gentle fawns gamboled there amidst happy, laughing spirits. The sounds of innocence and joy filled the air. And when it rained, it rained sweet nectar that infused one's heart with a desire to live life in truth and beauty. Generally speaking, a ghastly place, reeking of virtue's sour smell. Engorged with the whispered prayers of kneeling mothers, mewling newborns, and fools, young and old, compelled to do good without reason ... But, I am happy to point out that our story does not end in this wretched place of saccharine excess. For there's another place, its opposite..."

We're not much concerned with The White Lodge here. It's enough just to know that it exists. (Maybe somebody can start an 'Annie's White Lodge' blog, or something to that effect, and sell Snuggies and Smurfies.) Earle continues with a description of The Black Lodge:
" A place of almost unimaginable power, chock full of dark forces and vicious secrets. No prayers dare enter this frightful maw. The spirits there care not for good deeds or priestly invocations, they're as like to rip the flesh from your bone as greet you with a happy "good day." And if harnessed, these spirits in this hidden land of unmuffled screams and broken hearts would offer up a power so vast that its bearer might reorder the Earth itself to his liking."

Oooohhh...scary. And just what kind of denizens haunt The Black Lodge? Well, there's BOB, a demonic entity who possesses human beings and causes them to do vile and unspeakable acts. ("He is Bob, eager for fun. He wears a smile. Everybody run!") There is also Mike, the one-armed man. Then we have the dancing dwarf aka The Man From Another Place; a typical weird, enigmatic Lynchian character. Also the Giant...another Lynchian enigma. Others are "visitors"; (the Doppelgangers of) Laura Palmer, her father Leland Palmer, her cousin Maddy Ferguson, Annie Blackburn, Caroline (Windom Earle's wife, murdered by her husband) FBI Agent Dale Cooper and of course, Windom Earle. But the visitors may be shades, or alternate reality versions of the individuals from the "real world". Or are they?

There are many theories about what really goes on in The Black Lodge. Time seems to operate differently. Some see it as a metaphor for the afterlife, Hell, the "world between worlds" and so forth. The final episode's title, Beyond Life And Death, would indicate something more than just a place of evil. There is an unfathomable aspect to the Black Lodge that is not meant to be known. In fact, it may even be sentient, acting through those who pass through it. No one knows its true purpose, and those (like Windom Earle) who try to master it only find themselves a slave to its esoteric scheme. Nefarious? Perhaps...

In the shrouded, clouded world of Theosophy (of which so much has been written about elsewhere and will not be recounted here) there is said to have existed (and still exist) a Great White Brotherhood of supernatural beings of great power who spread their enlightened religious teachings through selected humans. This has sometimes been referred to as The White Lodge. Famous occultists like H.P. Blavatsky, Dion Fortune and Alice Bailey seem to have a connection with the early concepts of The White Lodge. It's ultimate purpose is to free Man spiritually. For every Yin there is a Yang, and to that end was created the concept of The Black Lodge. The Black Lodge stood against everything The White Lodge stood for; its purpose being to enslave man through the domination of its institution. Many 'wayward occultists' from Crowley to Haushofer, and even L. Ron Hubbard have been cited as having Black Lodge associations by White Lodge believers. The fact behind the accusations is dubious at best, more of an analysis of their writings and deeds than proof of any connection. If such a Black Lodge does exist, it would certainly be a mystery cloaked beyond the ability of occult witch hunters to penetrate. Of course, occultists steeped in their world of mysticism where good and evil, heaven and hell spill over into the spiritual are bound to disagree with me. (Yeah...and there are terrorists lurking in the shadows just waiting to strike too...)

As I see it, the concept of a Black Lodge is a metaphor for darkness, the absence of light. A place of secrets and mysteries, as opposed to openness and disclosure. A shadow world that exists alongside the world we know. A place not full of shiny happy people and things, but of strange, eldritch influences that can inspire genius or madness with fantastical or frightening imagination. So in Windhamearl's Black Lodge (purposeful misspelling of the name for obvious copyright reasons), the majority of what is to be found there is from the dark side. Dark music and dark literature. Oh, sure there are some foolish 'innocents' that have found their way into the BL by mistake...or was it by design... I encourage who seek to penetrate its mysteries to visit. One word of warning though, don't mess with THE EYES. The owls wouldn't like that.

Faith

2009-01-28T16:42:00.000-05:00

What is "faith" and what's it good for ?...I asked myself recently. Without getting bogged down in semantics and/or embroiled in religion, I pondered the question, because sooner or later it seems to come up in so many of life's situations. Granted, the usual context the word connected with involves a belief system revolving around a "higher power". That belief system is nearly always connected with a religion, and more often than not, a hierarchy of an entity or entities that are better than YOU. So too is "worship", the act of paying homage to such an entity, or entities (referred to as a deity, or deities) to acknowledge their greatness as a God, and your shortcomings as a mortal human. But how do you know, how do you really ever know that the system of belief a religion is predicated upon isn't just some sort of scam? Simple - FAITH. Or so it would seem. But let's examine "faith" a little more closely.

In order to do that, we need to have a constant, something that is held to be TRUE. That would be "belief". If I say (in all truthfulness) that I believe something, it means that through what I've gathered in my experience, and corroborated with the experience of others, through all of the data that has been presented and documented , that the statement, condition, situation, occurrence, existence of, or whatever is TRUE, and evidently FACT. That the sun will 'rise' tomorrow is a fact. That I live in a house is a fact. That I have a cat is a fact. That I have eaten, will eat, sleep, drink, etc., etc. are all facts. I believe them as true because they are constantly happening. But do I have faith that the sun will rise? No, I don't need to. No faith required. Yes, it is possible I could die, and not live to see another sunrise, but death eliminates all doubt. Without DOUBT, you cannot have FAITH.

So since faith and doubt are symbiotic, but opposite counterparts (if there was no doubt, there would be no need for faith), what place has doubt in faith's nature and value? A very important one. "Eh, I don't think that car is gonna start" is doubt. There is a (sizable) chance the car won't start. "I have faith that the car will start," is an indication that perhaps in spite of the odds or conditions, there is a positive desire for the car to start. In fact, the one with faith actually believes that the car WILL start! One has to have some basis of belief to have faith. One does not have to have faith to have a system of belief. In this example, the odds are that some condition (the age or care of the car, the weather, etc.) possibly affects whether the car will start or not. So faith (or doubt) comes in when there is a possibility that something contrary to belief may happen, result or exist. It could be your belief, it could be someone else's. In a way, faith is "sticking to your guns".

Although at some time or other most all of us have professed belief in something we didn't sincerely believe in ("Yeah, I believe you're telling the truth"), when you say you have faith, you're declaring your belief come hell or high water. Even though there could be some doubt. No matter how hard you try, you can't prove the existence of GOD (you can make some compelling cases, quote scripture, point out how many other people believe in a god through religion, etc.) but you can't present any concrete evidence that there is one of more deities running the show. You need to have faith to make this particular belief system work- for the belief is unsupported by tangible evidence of its truth. Does that mean that faith could be delusional? Perhaps. But faith is also an integral part of a core belief system that aspires towards something positive rather than something negative, such as doubt.

Phrases like "faith in our fellow man", "he was a man of faith", "faithful until the end", and "his faith was strong", bespeak of faith as a positive attribute. "Oh yee of little faith", "She was a faithless hussy" indicate that lacking faith is necessarily a bad thing. So is faith "blind belief"? Again, not necessarily. In order to have faith, there has to be some underlying reason WHY. (Here's where things get tricky.) It could be one's upbringing (tradition), a personal experience or occurance that affects, alters or enhances one's belief system, a yearining for certain things to be true, or simply a desire to view life in a certain way. It also happens to be a lot easier to to have faith in someone or something that is in some way "unknowable", being that there is a lot more leeway for unexpected or unwanted circumstances and conditions. ("It was God's will.")

But what about faith in yourself? Do you have to believe in a higher power for that? No, not really. Faith in one's self is simply knowing your capabilities and believing you will "do the right thing" or "perform in a certain way" because you think you know yourself best. But on the other hand, there still has to be some doubt, some possibility you will fail at whatever prompted you to even think about having faith in yourself. It is faith in one's self that permits triumph over adversity (winning a scholarship, athletic contest, surviving a catastrophe) discipline over temptation ("He was a faithful husband") and acceptable quality work ("She rendered a faithful adaptation"). Of course, you could always pass the credit to the deity ("It was my faith in God that made me what I am today"), but that's kind of like thanking the Academy after you won the Oscar. If you didn't have the drive, determination and faith in yourself, you wouldn't even be there.

So why does it seem like I'm a bit cynical when it comes to faith? Perhaps because it is an unquantifiable quality that has been put on a pedestal and revered as an ideal while being used as a shield (and often, a sword as history bears out) against unbelievers, doubters and those considered to be lacking in virtue. You know, you can still be an optomist and not have faith. I feel optomisitc at times that this new administration will be somewhat better than the past one. I don't have any faith in politicians though. Is that just contradictory, or am I reserving a little room for some good, healthy doubt?

Best CD you NEVER Heard!

2009-01-23T18:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was listing a CD in my store, Windhamearl's Black Lodge, one I wasn't completely familiar with. Usually, there is some frame of reference for even the most obscure CD albums but not this one. The name of the band is MUSEUM and the album's title is 'LOST'. It was originally released in 2000 on an obscure label called Noria. The only description/review I could find of it was on Amazon, and that brief little paragraph just wasn't enough for me. The CD is out of print now, and difficult to find. Apparently any reviews or discussion of it on the net have long since evaporated or have been relegated to 'lost' discussions on message boards buried deep in archives where even the web spiders fear to tread.

After listening to it, I gave Museum's Lost CD a brief but reasonable item description in Windhamearl's Black Lodge, but I still feel that I didn't do it justice. Besides the Nine Inch Nails (musical) and David Sylvian (vocal and musical) comparisions, there is also an element of David Bowie in the vocals. The first six tracks are on the raucus side, driving and hard-edged. The second half of the CD is more laid back, but still as dark as the first half. You can't call this Goth, or Industrial, or really even Alternative, when consider what most 'Alternative Rock' is these days. It might fall vaguely into the 'Art Rock' category, or even slightly 'Progressive'. The music is totally eclectic, the kind that just isn't being made anymore.

The band consists of Michael Danke (lead vocals, programming), Toshi Yanagi (guitars & violin), Chad Rafferty (keyboards & backing vocals) and Tim Santen (bass guitar). The band has a Museum website where there is hardly any information about them at all, except for the mention of a forthcoming album. This is really odd; you'd think a band that was this good (and possibly still active) would have at least some kind of following or condsidering all the musical cheezos out there who have TONs of people writing about them.

Be that as it may, this is one of those CDs that if you have an ounce of ecletic taste in your musical soul, you're going to fall in love with. Danke's vocals are deep, powerful and achingly emotional. The music is extremely well done and the songs are in a word, FANTASTIC! I tend to be somewhat jaded about new music I haven't heard, since I buy and sell so much, and also write music reviews. A lot of crap passes my way. But Museum's 'Lost' is the very exceptional 'once in a great while' album that defies convention. Not a single bad track on it. I strongly recommend you buy it ASAP. You won't be diaappointed. Even if you don't buy it from me (and I only have ONE copy), this is one you defineitely need to add to your collection.

And it makes me wonder, how many other CDs are there that I've never heard, that could be this good, but never got the push they deserved...

Bonanzle- Heir-Apparent to the eBay Throne?

2009-01-19T13:10:00.000-05:00

Today, a friend forwarded me post from The Digital Daily by John Paczkowski titled "eBay Q4: Letting Go of a Very Successful Past" that prompted me to the topic of why I believe Bonanzle is the "Heir Apparent" to eBay. World-wide household name that it is, eBay's crown as the king of online auctions and a global community marketplace has tarnished considerably over the last year, creating a mass-exodus of sellers, powersellers, and buyers. The spurious new policies of the colossus are plethoric- increased seller's fees; censorship of seller feedback on buyers; weak fraud protection; impossibly stringent regulation of seller ratings; arbitrary enforcement of certain listing policies; unfair limitations on shipping charges in certain categories; preferential treatment for large business entities and corporations; strictly limited payment options; an numerous other changes that have spawned nicknames including Feebay, Greedbay and Fleabay.

This disenchantment with eBay prompted a seller's revolt of sorts, beginning with the boycott of 2005 leading to the creation of 'Powersellers Unite', a site dedicated to eBay alternatives. While there is no clear major victor in the crusade to wrest the mantle and scepter of the Auction Titan, Bonanzle is poised to become the 'Next Big Thing' in the small to medium seller online marketplace, and it isn't even an auction site!

Why Bonanzle?, you may ask. It has a kind of funny name, a similar front page look to eBay, and a site motto that might allude to 'mostly weird stuff' ("FIND EVERYTHING BUT THE ORDINARY"). Well, to quote Bonanzle founder Bill Harding's Mission statement: "Bonanzle's goal is to be the simplest marketplace online, with an upbeat community that makes buying and selling fun again." That simple statement, along with Feebay's blatant disregard for those who have made them so much money has been the reason why so many ex-sellers of the titan have migrated over to Bonanzle.

I first heard of Bonanzle after reading the response to an article by investment mavens The Motley Fool titled "5 Stocks You May Be Thankful For" where they foolishly touted eBay as a good buy back on November 6, 2008. (Later on toward the end of December, the Motley ones reversed course with a much gloomier outlook for eBay in "The Fall and Fall of eBay".) It wasn't the article but the response to the article that piqued my interest; it was the very first time I heard of this Bonanzle place (with a direct link to the site no less), but certainly not the last. I decided to check it out myself, and after reviewing the site's policies, and scouring their community forums (where many ex-eBayers held sway), I decided that Bonanzle had a lot of potential and I had nothing to lose. My eBay sales had been steadily declining and their policies were putting a stranglehold on my financial future. With the economic downturn being such as it is, to go down with a sinking ship seemed the least prudent of all my options.

Bonanzle bases their marketplace concept on on 'stores', or 'booths' as they call it, where individual sellers set up shop for the items they sell. Booths can be merchandise-uniform (similarly themed and /or typed merchandise) or as varied as stuff you might find in an eclectic garage sale. Some booths have only a handful of items, while others have thousands. Bonanzle has some significant advantages for both buyers and sellers- no listing fees; payment options that include the acceptance of Google Checkout, money order, Paypal, or cash; the ability for a seller to import their items to offers a Bonanzle from eBay or Craigs List; simple 'One Page' item listing; a built-in realtime chat feature where you can talk to sellers live in their stores; the ability to display four separate pictures for each item listing for free (with a cropping tool included); the ability for buyers to haggle over prices by process of offer and counter-offer; a simple structure of final value fees far less than eBay; GREAT, EFFICIENT and TIMELY technical support, and a community of welcoming and caring people who aren't too self-absorbed with their own enterprises to offer assistance, praise and encouragement.

Bonanzle has only been in existence since June, 2008, a relatively short period of time for any major online enterprise. (How long did it take eBay and Craigs List to reach any degree of popularity ?) When I first came aboard in November 2008, Bonanzle had in the vicinity of 10,000 registered members. As of this writing, Bonanzle has over 20,000 registered member and is poised this week to break the million mark in the amount of items listed. These listings are NOT of "test' or bogus origins either, a practice that eBay was notorious for in order to inflate their listing statistics. Granted, some of the Bonanzle items may be "freebies' (some item you can get from a seller if you buy something from them for a price), but this accounts for a very small percentage of items overall, and is still real.

One unique concept Bonanzle has implemented is the use of a short-term sale event called a BONANZA. Kind of like a 'Blue Light Special', Bonanzle booth owners schedule a sale where many of their items are marked way down for only a few hours. If done correctly, this can generate a lot of excitement and a huge buying frenzy. Since Bonanzas are scheduled well in advance, you can always peruse the Bonanza list and time your visit to the booth of your choice appropriately. You can also be assured that a seller will actually be present in the booth to answer any questions you have in real time during a Bonanza.

Some Bonanzle sellers have also begun to experiment with holding their own auctions. Unlike the eBay auction, an impromptu Bonanzle auction doesn't last a week, and is usually a fast and furious affair. Depending on attendance and preparation, a Bonanzle auction can either be a riot or a dud. It is unclear whether Bonanzle will ever incorporate any permanent auction feature on the site. Right now, the trend seems to be geared towards downward pricing rather than upward pricing, and a number of members are opposed to the auction format taking over, fearing another 'Greedbay'.

To its credit, Bonanzle's marketing plan does not involve throwing huge sums of moolah into conventional advertising channels. Rather, they use a grassroots, word-of-mouth growth strategy. Bonanzle reward incentive for the top six or so members who invite the most users. (I was the recipient of one of those awards last month, and I'm still deciding how I'm going to spend my gift certificate.) Also, the Bonanzle team has been very effective at getting media coverage in such places as CNN and the like. Members are encouraged to do their own promotion, and Bonanzle's advice and assistance in this helps facilitate a seller's booth being listed with Google Products Search, and other promotional ideas involving social network sites and blogs that are investments of time as opposed to money. The Bonanzle community also offers promotional advice in their forums, and the forums can also be used as a way to promote one's business within the site.
Still, Bonanzle is not quite 'there' yet. In the uncertaintity of the economic climate, sellers struggle to sell, and buyers are hesitant to buy. No new enterprises have any assured sustainabilty and growth (except for maybe repo services, storage facilities and pawn shops) and the ability to 'hold on' while a new enterprise grows will put many to the test.

In the long run, nobody really knows what the future holds for Bonanzle, or other online marketplaces. As long as eBay continues their trend of seller alienation and buyer confustication as promoted by the current regime, their future remains dubious. While Bonanzle continues to experience exponential growth with a shopping environment that's really pretty cool, there is a lot of potential as long as it stays fun and a good, no hassle place to buy and sell. Granted, it won't satisfy everyone's needs, but then again, what ever does?

Serious Black at Windhamearl's Black Lodge

2009-01-18T15:57:00.000-05:00

This is my first-ever post at Blogger, and I'm feeling a little intimidated. Kind of like the comedy club heckler who's been pulled up into the spotlight on stage and handed the microphone. I've resisted the blog thing for some time, but since necessity is the 'Mother(s) of Invention' (great band, eh?) I'm here, spouting my little heart out in the firmament of the masses.

So, a little about me- I'm a musician with a dark electronic music project called Serious Black. I also have an online store specializing in 'fringe music' (Goth, Industrial, EBM, Techno, Dark Ambient, Psychedelic, Experimental, Electronic, Noise, Exotica, Renaissance, etc.) and also eclectic books, magazines, catalogs, and other curious items. This strange emporium is oddly enough called Windhamearl's Black Lodge. I suppose those in the know will appreciate the Twin Peaks reference in the name, and the duality of 'Black' ("Black as midnight on a moonless night.")

I have to admit that I've been much more tied up with store business than making any new music lately myself. It has become a priority to promote Windhamearl's Black Lodge not only because I need the money (and who doesn't?), but also because I retailing/distributing new product by artists in the fringe/dark music categories. Recently added to the inventory of WBL are some excellent releases by Conure and 15 Degrees Below Zero, both projects of Mark Wilson from San Francisco. Wilson has a rich background in the world of experimental/electronic/ambient/ noise music and I've recently reviewed his latest release, 'STREAM' at grey-area music site, Chain D.L. K. Yes, did I mention that I happened to be a music reviewer too?

Well, I think that's enough for now. I'm still trying to get the hang of things here, but I'm sure I'll be back again soon, spouting more stuff.