Hello there friends! SPJ here and welcome to my new website. It truly feels like a new chapter of my career. But what exactly does that mean? Allow me to explain...
It was back in August that I knew I NEEDED a break. Not a long one, just enough to get some rest and re-center myself to make videos again. But I also needed to do something that I've put off for a while: build a website!
Why a website? Well, for one thing, a website is MY HOME on the internet. It's a one-stop shop for all the content I create. It will make it MUCH EASIER for me to deliver the work that I do to all of you. It doesn't show videos based on an algorithm...it's just there! Anyone can come here and watch whatever videos I've posted, view photos, read articles and get in touch with my directly. TL;DR: NO MIDDLE MAN BETWEEN YOU AND ME.
So what can you expect as this site grows? My current plan for this website is to build it and treat it as a central hub for all the guitar and music related content I produce. This will include my YouTube videos, my musical projects, and articles on a variety of subjects. Once this basic set-up is in place, I want to be able to offer you all a way to directly support my content creation. This could be done either via merch sales OR a monthly "Patreon-style" support system. TL;DR: NO MIDDLE MAN BETWEEN YOU AND ME.
ARE YOU SEEING A PATTERN HERE???
When I made my first YouTube video over a decade ago, I had no intention of being famous or making a living. I just wanted to help guitar players like me. If I had a piece of gear that I didn't see a video of, I made it. My hope was that other guitarists would use these videos as a resource to help them make informed purchases of their own.
But that was before "influencer culture" existed...
As tech companies place more emphasis on their advertisers' interests "the algorithm" dictates the flow of information and content. It's like the "spice melange" in Frank Herbert's DUNE: you control the flow, you have the power. So this website is a little bit of me taking some of that control back for myself. (if you haven't read DUNE yet I highly recommend it)
So with that in mind, I want to say I'm REALLY excited to have a website! My own little corner of the internet where we can have a good time and you all can find everything I do. Even though the site is public I see it a lot like Walt Disney saw Disneyland: it may never be finished and always be growing. But I see that as a good thing.
Stay tuned my friends! Lots more to come.
Wishing you Great Tone & Happy Stomping!
SPJ