I Got Rejected Today

March 31, 2014May 2, 2024 C.P.Leave a comment

Hello everyone, how’s it going?

As you read from the title, I got rejected today. Don’t worry, though. This is not a mopey-type blog post, nor one rife with complaining, nor anything to deal with love. I didn’t get rejected by a job or romantic pursuit. I got rejected by Century Media Records. Well, more specifically, my music did.

If you didn’t know, I’ve dabbed in the composition and making of metal music, namely the sub-genres of folk and industrial metal. Such dabbling over the past four years has led to three full-length albums of varying degrees of compositional and technical skill. (My first two albums were made entirely of computer sounds. Fuck yeah. \m/)

All musicians, artists, or just creative people trying to make content face roadblocks and loads of rejection. That is simply how it is. I’m no stranger to this, nor the bewilderment that comes along with people when I show them my works. One administrator of an online folk-metal forum took a look at my computer-midi band and said “I don’t know what to think… .” Let’s just say I made him speechless.

Despite this history of confusion and rejection, I was (and still am) feeling pretty good about my newest batch of industrial metal songs, the second half of what will be Fadenfreude’s second album. After recording them this last February, and liking what I was hearing, I decided that maybe, when the record is all done and whatever, I should totally mail it off to record companies and see if I could nab a record deal. I mean why not at least try it? You never know, right?

steve-jobs-steve-wosniak-garage — Humble beginnings, yo

After looking up a couple labels of some bands I like, I stumbled upon Century Media Records’ website, and noticed that their USA office was in walking distance from my apartment/recording studio/film studio/place I pass out in. Can you fucking believe it? Not only was their office in the USA within walking distance, but their only office in this here western hemisphere! Right down the fucking street. So how could I NOT submit my demo? And hey, since they are so close, why not submit it in person?

The website instructs to mail the demos, but because I don’t like following instructions, and because I live like right there, I decided to just turn the thing over in person. After asking if they had any open positions and hearing they had none, I returned the next week with five copies of my 4-track demo. I don’t know why I made five copies. I guess I was just excited to share some music, so I thought “why not give it out to as many people there as possible?!” Free metal! Free metal for everyone!

Oprah-winfrey-radio-city-taping — Everyone in the audience is getting one!

So I waited two weeks before returning, which was today. Their website states they will contact anyone if they love said person’s music. They didn’t call me, so I decided to wait outside the locked door until some dude came in. I got that dude to get a hold of the two guys I’d given the metal to and it was with seemingly great reluctance that we had a little discussion about my demo.

The guy to my right told me that the recording was “just so rough” and that he couldn’t even hear if the music was good or not. He expressed to me to get the free audio-mixing program Audacity (I already have it). The guy to my left said that the fact the metal is in another language, like, having that whole language barrier, could be a problem. (I never listen to metal for the lyrics, but some people do. . .apparently?) He also told me that, next time when I submit, I shouldn’t just write on a blank disc with a Sharpie. (Cost efficient but no profesional).

With head held pretty much the same way as when I went in (level, not up nor down), I departed, and returned to my home/recording studio/messy room/messy recording studio and wrote this. Sure, I was rejected (like no duh), but in that short little talk, they did tell me some things, like “get better recording”, “get a better mixer”, and “print out your CDs”, which basically translates to “make more money, make more money,” and “make more money.” Which kinda sucks, but oh well. At least they didn’t say anything about the music sucking, but rather the quality of the recording.

Looking back, (well, not that I even have much to look back on. It has been like less than an hour,) I’m still happy with the result. Of course I was going to get rejected. It’s very-roughly-recorded metal. It’s in German. It’s not even a real band. I’ve never performed live. It’s just me diddling around in my room. Even the bands with high production value, and tons of gigs, and tons of fans get turned away.

But at least I tried, which is essentially the theme of this little piece, and which, I think is something you have to do when you’re a budding creative person. Record stuff in your room and then take it in to an international record label. Why not? Wait outside until someone walks out and then slip inside to be heard. This is how George Lazenby got to be James fucking Bond. Don’t endanger anyone, for sure, but if you won’t go to silly and ridiculous lengths for your own works, no one else will. At least that’s what I’ve heard from all the successful artists I admire today. Sure, I might make people shake their heads in confusion, but now I can say that I have submitted a demo to a record label, which is pretty damn cool.

The guy to my right told me that I should get Audacity and save up some money. Money is always a struggle, but audacity? If anything, I have too much!

-Casey of the (roughly-recorded) Fadenfreude

P.S. Now that Century Media won’t be putting out my record (like no duh), I’ll be doing it myself. So be prepared for the marketing blitz I’m going to bombard you all with when these 11 (or 12?) tracks are finished! It’s gonna be pretty great, I think. I might even throw a launch party. It might be BYOBW (Bring Your Own Box-Wine), though, just saying.

Follow me on Twitter!: https://twitter.com/CaseyPoma

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So, I Was Messing Around With Book Cover Ideas. . .
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Vollmond_demo_on top of car — Rest in peace, demos!

Women Who Inspire Me – International Women’s Day 2014

March 8, 2014March 12, 2014 C.P.Leave a comment

Hey everyone, it’s International Women’s Day! In light of the holiday, I’ll share with you some women that I personally look up to and find inspiring. Remember though, we should celebrate women every day!

Anita Sarkeesian

The woman behind Feminist Frequency, a critical vlog about women’s representation in media, is Anita Sarkeesian. For years, she has been fighting for equal representation of women in media, most currently video games, where she wishes female characters weren’t simply damsels in distress or there to be a “Smurfette”. In videos not related to her “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games” series, she analyses films and marketing, uncovering how companies reinforce the idea of bogus gender roles. Her work has garnered an unprecedented amount of ludicrous sexual harassment, but she is brave enough to keep on going. Check out her video about LEGO and marketing, and then watch all of her other videos! Seriously, you need to watch all of them!

Caprice Crane

I first encountered Caprice Crane through a friend who recommended I read her debut novel Stupid and Contagious. I immediately loved her book, and have since read everything she’s done, even attending book signings for the last two. Ms. Crane’s comedic voice doesn’t only appear in books, for she has also written for television and movies. If you haven’t read Stupid and Contagious, what are you doing?! Get it from your local independent bookstore and read it now!

Alyssa White-Gluz

Metal is a place you don’t often find women. And even when you do, they might just be used in sexualizing promotional materials (which is dumb). But Alyssa White-Gluz, lead singer of The Agonist, refuses to be one of those women. With her amazing blend of clean and growling vocals, Alyssa has astonished everyone I’ve shown her to. People are often skeptical that it is her doing both types of vocals, but I’ve seen her live and she is indeed doing both, and excellently so. You’d think that after all that growling, her voice would be shot, but after listening to her a capella version of Swan Lake, you can see just how talented she is. Amazing! Keep up the good work, Alyssa!

Sandra van Eldik (Née Völkl)

As stated before, there sadly aren’t too many women in metal. While Alyssa White-Gluz and other females front bands (like Simone Simons of Epica and Floor Jansen of Nightwish), Sandra van Eldik absolutely rocks it as the bassist for German folk-metal band Eqililbrium. See her in this video for “Der Ewige Sieg” (English: “The eternal victory”) and then get excited about the upcoming album!

Netta Skog

I cannot even tell you how sad I was the day I that Netta Skog, the accordionist of Finnish Viking metal band Turisas, was leaving. Only 16 when she jumped in to do some summer gigs (the other accordionist, like, totally disappeared), Netta officially joined the band soon after. In the four times I saw them with Netta, she was always smiling and rocking out harder than anyone, bringing a level of fun that has not since returned. Check out her accordion playing below during a song called “Sahti-Waari”. So great! We miss you, Netta!

Emmi Silvonoinen

Wow, I must really like metal! Emmi Silvenoinen, who joined the folk/viking metal band Ensiferum in 2007 after the departure of Meiju Enho (honourable mention, Meiju!), continues to rock as Ensiferum’s keyboardist. Unfortunately during live shows, her keyboard is stuffed in back with the drummer, but she is often elevated so that all can see her spinning hair. I don’t know how she does it! See her fast-moving fingers in this video for their amazing song “Twilight Tavern”!

Joan of Arc

After a while of someone knowing me, I’ll eventually tell them I am huge “Joan of Arc fan”. I’m often greeted with curious looks, because, well, who is really a “fan” of historical figures? Jehanne d’Arc has always been an influence on me and her story never ceases to interest, amaze, and inspire me (a picture of her is even currently my cell phone background!).

I wish there was a perfect Joan of Arc movie to recommend to you, but I honestly don’t think it’s been made yet. So I’m going to suggest you just simply watch as many as you can. If you don’t have time to watch a bunch of Joan of Arc movies (which you should make the time to do!), might I recommend one of my all-time favorite books, Joan of Arc by Mark Twain. When you’re done with that, read The Maid by Kimberly Cutter and An Army of Angels by Pamela Marcantel. Just saying, we should all know Joan of Arc’s amazing story of adversity and devotion. So get on it!

Of course, there are many more women who are inspiring and awesome. If you have a woman who inspires you, comment below, and if you are an amazing woman, don’t keep it to yourself!

-Casey

The First Cat cat Awards

February 23, 2014 C.P.Leave a comment

Cat_cat-awards_Promo — Promotional Poster

The First Cat cat Awards is a comedic short video created by Cat cat Productions. The video is presented as an awards show (a la the Oscars), where awards are given to films released in 2013. The video was filmed during February 2014 and premiered on YouTube Sunday, February 23, 2014. It can be viewed by clicking HERE or scrolling below.

Download the official Cat cat Awards theme HERE!: https://518records.bandcamp.com/track/the-cat-cat-awards-theme

~CREDITS~

Produced by:
Casey Poma (@Caseypoma) and Ralph Blanchard (@Ralphiki)

Edited by:
Casey Poma & Ralph Blanchard

Music Composed by:
Casey Poma

Sound Mixing:
Ralph Blanchard

Coloring:
Casey Poma & Ralph Blanchard

Graphics & Animation
Casey Poma

Sound Effects:
All sounds obtained from http://www.freesound.org and are used under the creative commons public domain dedication, courtesy:
Pagancow
Minigunfiend
Tamerursavas

FAIR USE
The multimedia clips included in this video constitute a ‘fair use’ of any copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of U.S. Copyright law which allows for criticism, comment and scholarship.

Go to Cat cat’s YouTube channel by clicking HERE.

OTHER GREAT VIDEOS FROM CAT cAT:

HOnTed DOG
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So, I Was Messing Around With Book Cover Ideas. . .

January 27, 2014May 6, 2014 C.P.Leave a comment

Hello there, everyone. I’m back with a quasi-update about how things are going with my debut novel, y’know, editing and all that. Last year, I wrote about the trials of editing, and this year, I’ll have even more editing to talk (complain) about. In fact, I just posted something about how I was exited to jump into the next draft and how it (hopefully) won’t take as long. (Seriously, I hope it won’t take as long. But who am I kidding, really?)

Filled with the giddy excitement that this thing might actually be done soon, I was brainstorming about the cover. They tell people not to judge a book by its cover, but people TOTALLY DO. I mean, I do it. We all do it. There’s nothing wrong with that, either. In the past, I never really thought about my posters or covers for albums and stuff, but recently noticed that the projects with better covers went more places than those projects whose covers sucked. So really, your cover, which is really like a poster for your book/cd, etc, is HELLA IMPORTANT.

As with anything, I first try to think about what I like. So, what covers do I like of fantasy books? I don’t know why, but I’m more into the retro/adventure type covers. It might be because this is the first epic fantasy book I ever read, but the original cover for the The Elfstones of Shannara is awesome. And so is the one for The Sword of Shannara. Just three people on the front during some cool scene of the book. They even did this for the original cover of The Crystal Shard. Take a look:

covers_theee_people standing — I like that old-school text, too.

They also did this for some of Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis’ Dragonlance: Chronicles books, but for these, instead of looking heroic, the people were just STANDING THERE. They’re not even adventuring. They’re literally just posing for a picture. That’s great (and kinda hilarious).

covers_Dragonlance_retro — Fine Christmas card photos.

Modern covers are all right, although the trend right now seems to be just like one person in the center, with a weapon, or a hood, turned away from us or toward us. Modern covers of Dragonlance are more or less the same, except now urr’body’s GOT THEIR KNEES BENT:

covers_Dragonlance_KNEESjpg — See? Even the horse is doing it.

Why is that? Something about having your knee up that evokes power or strength? Or do they just really love Captain Morgan? I’m going with the latter theory.

Going back to retro designs, take a look at these old Redwall covers, which are BADASS. In all honesty, has there ever been a bad Redwall cover? They are all so cool. Of course, I could spend an entire blog post just going over the Redwall covers, so I’ll restrain myself. But really:

So, all right, we’ve gone over what I like, but what does this mean for the cover of my book? I’ve said in previous posts that I was going to self-publish this thing, and in doing so, would need a badass cover to break out of the trend of self-pub books having ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE covers. But before I think too hard about a cover for a self-pub, I’m also thinking of trying to get a small press to pick this up. In that case, I don’t really have much choice (I think), but we’ll see. (I’m back and forth on this, I’ll probably write something on this in the future).

So what should the cover of my book be? To give you a little taste of what the book is, it’s heroic fantasy that is both whimsical and adult. Think The Princess Bride or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy with a bit more curse words. It’s intended to be read like a fairy tale, with silly, magical creatures and high points of adventure! It’ll have those flowery block letters to start off chapters and etc, etc, etc. So what kind of cover would this book need?

It would no doubt be fun to do something that calls back to those old times, but, unfortunately, I need a cover that will both POP AND SELL. No one’s going to appreciate your homage-cover if the only person getting the joke is you, y’know? Since my book is adventure comedy, I might be able to lampoon any style I want, modern or old. But will a girl in a t-shirt with a goofy wizard and either a knight or archer standing there be enough to get people to check it out? Or should they be staring at something off-screen, with bent knees and swords at the ready? Or should they be like Drizzt do’Urden and be fighting on the cover?

Covers_drizztfighting — Seriously, this guy fights a lot.

I’ve thought about it this a bunch, and while I go back and forth about it, this hasn’t stopped me from doodling out concepts. There’s just so many ways to go, and in my never-ending pursuit to be a masochist and TRY EVERY AVENUE EVER, I GIMP’ed this little proof of concept picture, which is a hack-job from at least six different sources:

The sky, ground, and rock are random Google searches. The city back there is made from a picture of Oia, Greece and a clock tower from some other city. The girl in front is from a Hildebrandt Brothers’ painting of Eowyn and the Witch-king. The bald part of the wizard’s head is Bruce Willis’ head, and so on.

And sure, this does look interesting, and DOES kind of look like a fantasy cover. And since I apparently had nothing to do the other today, I spent a bunch of hours drawing over it and creating this. Another proof-of-concept test, trying to turn it into something a little more comedic/funny:

ADH_COVER_DOOLE_with_outline — The rock looks pretty great. . .

Of course, the scary creature looks absolutely not scary and some of the drawing is off. That’s all right, this was just a test. I have a dude who I’ve contacted about the art who is way better than me and might be able to make something like this really stand out.

But be honest book fans, would this cover be interesting to you? If it were drawn a little more cartoony and better?

I understand that book covers should do a couple things. Explain your whole novel in one image. In essence, it’s about a group of heroes trying to get to a city, but they’re being stopped by deadly shit on the way. (But does the cover convey they’re trying to GET to the city? Maybe a road leading to it would help?) Does it say anything about the characters? Hmm…their facial expressions could probably say more. Does the city in the back at peak interest? I noticed that almost every cover of “The Wizard of Oz” has the Emerald City in the background, because it’s so damn important. Not to say that my book is like “The Wizard of Oz”, but. . .holy shit, guys, it might be just a little bit. O___O

So what do you think? Please once again note that this is a ROUGH DRAFT and not the final thing, but is this design interesting? What would you like to see in a book cover for a story like this? What do you like on book covers in general?

If all else fails, I’ll just have them all bend their knees.

Stay tuned for more updates!

-Casey

Follow me on Twitter for more goodies!

OTHER GREAT LINKS TO THIS TOPIC:

Debut Novel Editing Update: January 25, 2014 (01.25.2014)
“A Distant Horn” Novel Editing Update: September 26, 2013 (09.26.2013)
“A Distant Horn” Novel Editing Update: July 20, 2013 (07.21.2013)
“A Distant Horn” Update: May 9, 2013 (03.09.2013)

Debut Novel Editing Update – January 25, 2014

January 25, 2014January 25, 2014 C.P.Leave a comment

*written very late, posted later during regular human hours*

Hey there everyone, how are you all doing? I was just laying in bed, yawning my ass off and flipping through a draft of my debut novel when the genius idea to write a novel editing update came to me. Inspiration sure does have a way of calling upon you whenever it likes, even if you’re comfortably snuggled under some heavy blankets and feeling just fine. Anyway, I’ll make this quick so I can get back to said bed and finally get some shut-eye.

So, updates, all right. I have to say I’m a little embarrassed to be coming here, especially since I announced so grandly that I would release this book November 1 of last year. And, well, that didn’t happen. So I guess I’m here to tell you that there is a new release date, but I have no idea when that will be. I’m guessing sometime before 2099. Perhaps I will, I don’t know, FINISH IT COMPLETELY before I go off spouting when it will come out, because, with leading such a busy life full of projects, I cannot properly forecast any releases.

What I DO know, however, is that I am just about ready to go in for the third pass. I wrote this beast way back in 2010, and then last year, I read it, then probably read it again, the WENT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING and changed a bunch, read it again, and then again, and, seriously, AGAIN. After so much reading and editing, I was quite honestly knackered and couldn’t come back to it. I’ve explained before that how unanticipated the amount of work was, sending me through the editorial wringer. Editing this book is probably more epic of an undertaking than my characters’ crazy adventure. I’d take a quest through dangerous territory any day. At least then I’d be outside, instead of holed up in the corner, fearing for life from the huge stacks of papers around me.

Update_pic_1 — I knew I shoulda gone paperless!

So as I said, I’ve had my space and am ready to come back (seriously, book, you were smothering me!), and this time, which a BUNCH of notes. In my mess of files, there is one that has EIGHTEEN notes about what needs to be changed or altered. Some things need to be reiterated a little bit. One minor character has to have her personality completely changed (which will, of course, alter fucking EVERYTHING). Another little scene has to be added that will serve multiple purposes. (I’ll tell you now that all those new scenes I wrote for the second draft I’m going to cut out again, which is fucking GREAT). One scene will be glossed over, and so on. It’s going to be a lot of work, but maybe not as much to freaking kill me like last time.

What’s good is that I finally, FINALLY, found out a way to rid of the tonal problems in the middle. (Remember the tonal graph I made?) So yay for that! Just took a year of hard thinking. Funny thing is, the solution to the problem came about when I was spacing out at my old market job. But really, once those tonal issues are fixed, this thing’ll be tonally consistent, which means that I will finally have the confidence to hand it off to some beta readers and see what they think!

Update_pic_2 — Confirmed to be one of my betas.

Anyway, it’s very exciting to have everything kind of falling into place. Sometimes I feel stories are like gears, or, like, multiple thingies that have those gear-like teeth (this is the sleep deprivation talking). And for whatever reason, the teeth won’t fit together and they don’t lock. But then, after a while, they DO lock, and perhaps you didn’t know what you were exactly looking for but when you see it you recognize it. And I always had reservations about that middle part. In every single draft, even when my friends who’d read it already said it wasn’t a big deal, that middle part had always bugged me. It just didn’t MESH with the rest of it, y’know? BUT NOW IT DOES, BAY-BEE, and once that’s done, then I can give it off and then get it one step closer to getting it to ALL OF YOU GALS AND GUYS, which is, really, the most exciting part. (And the scariest, too).

Of course, there’s the whole “self-publish” or “small press” discussion in my mind, too, but that is really a whole blog post in itself. So more on that later maybe.

I guess all I wanted to say is that I am getting closer and closer to making this thing as best as it can be. Making it its purest self that it can be. And that I’m excited to get it all out to you sometime. If not later this year, then the next year, but hopefully no longer than that (seriously, the book ITSELF seems excited to get out there!)

But for now, sleepy time. Maybe I’ll work on it tomorrow. Or just nap. Yeah, a nap sounds better. Better books are written when you’re sleeping, right?

Until next time,

-Casey

Follow me on Twitter for more goodies!

OTHER GREAT LINKS RELATED TO THIS TOPIC:

“A Distant Horn” Novel Editing Update: September 26, 2013 (09.26.2013)
“A Distant Horn” Novel Editing Update: July 20, 2013 (07.21.2013)
“A Distant Horn” Update: May 9, 2013 (03.09.2013)

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