books everywhere...

i dig going out. there are those who might suggest i've been on the planet too long to still enjoy such things. i can't relate...

Saturday i returned to Shakedown. missing 2 events in April wasn't planned. i'd like to go to most of the events i seem to get invited to on facebook, but that's like me copping every piece of vinyl that i want when i want it...

unrealistic...

back in reality i was introduced to an unusually refreshing new venue/space thanks to Shakedown.

imagine a space filled w/books...

obviously you're going to have shelves. it's probably reasonable to expect some tables & a few boxes. now take that & throw in a couple of full sized cars, several sofas/chairs, art, toys, & some other odd but interesting objects. how about i didn't have to imagine this place? i actually experienced it. it was like having a jam at the library.

how dope is that?

click on the image above or the following link to learn more about Bookspace...

there are only 2 other things i can readily think of that i dig on the level of sounds & books. eating...

PEACE
...be calm...

creation building...

last night i hit Dowling's Palace for Jus' Words. i almost didn't go & got out of the rest far later than what i would have liked. by the time i hit the sub it was already 11P. i was mildly concerned that i would arrive & everything would be wrapping up. i got off the sub at Girard & was pleasantly proven wrong upon my arrival at the venue.

this was my 1st visit to Jus' Words, so i did not have any particular expectations. the energy of the crowd & the vibe of the venue were mega solid. the crowd was thick by the time i came in, so i posted at the bar & prepared to absorb the + vibes i was sensing.

as always, creation inspires. the performances were excellent. the house band was catching grooves w/the artists & the crowd was clearly feeling it. performers were coming off stage & getting their mingle on while the crowd would still be singing the last groove. the perfromances varied from spoken word to vocalization to comedy. it was a beautiful thing to see/feel/experience.

i was particularly moved by the spoken word performance of special guest Taalam Acey. this creative gets the words out w/a force that is unmistaken. i copped his current CD titled Optix. i highly suggest getting familiar w/this creative's expression.

Jus' Words is also highly recommended. every Thursday at 9P w/a $5 cover. congratulations & continued success to Reynald Williams for being 8 years strong. i will clearly be returning to Dowling's Palace in the future...

PEACE
...be calm...

the pursuit...

it's been over 2 decades since i decided to begin to pursue what i wanted to do creatively. in that time frame i have had to deal w/a lot of bullshit. as i am an extremely honest human being, the majority of that bullshit has admittedly resulted from user error. in many cases, such error has resulted in the pursuit of my creative goals being obscured.

the greatest challenge for me has always been to create & maintain a source of reliable funding. i never thought it was a solid idea to try to make a living solely as a creative. it isn't that it can't be done so much as it is extremely rare. i was not interested in becoming a bitter old creative who gave up because the $$$ never came to embrace the creative energy/output. i was similarly disinterested in having to either sell my creative soul &/or dilute my expression in order to attract those who had $$$, but no respect for the creator, the creations, &/or the creative process.

these ideas are still part of my pursuit, but so is the lack of funding. for various reasons, i have yet to establish consistent non-creative oriented funding to the extent that it fosters greater creative functioning of self. for a few years i stepped away from being creative because i thought it might benefit me to work more on establishing said funding. this has not proven to be beneficial overall. the funding continues to be an issue & it would appear to some that i have just recently begun to pursue something that i have been working at for years.

is it frustrating? hells to yup! but itiswatitis...

i don't have time to be mad or complain. i have too much work to do. 1 of the user errors that i have been profoundly guilty of is not P-R-A-C-T-I-C-I-N-G. this lack of practice is partially due to being preoccupied w/the effort to establish/maintain funding, & primarily due to user error.

imagine that...

1of the things i have continued to do throughout everything is write. i have also continued to indulge my creative essence when/however it seeks to be released. what i have to do now is be more mindful of the people & things that do not contribute to the + pursuit of the intended goal(s). these matters are far too costly to be ignored...

more user error...

the most important thing about user error is learning from it. in some cases it has taken a while, but i'd rather take a while than not learn at all. i've seen way too many cats do the same things repeatedly & hold all parties responsible like the party in the mirror is a non-event.

no thank you to that invitation...

PEACE
...be calm...

creating some freedom for the mind...

i hopped on the C earlier today to clear the dome. it wasn't really in the budget, but i thought i might hit a grub spot on South. i decided i'd head to the Percy Street Barbecue & see watwaswat...

i got off the bus at South & walked all the way to the South St. bridge w/o stopping for any vittles. i figured to just chill there & enjoy the view for a few. there were a number of creatives on & around the bridge working to move their respective crafts. after standing there for a couple of minutes i recognized 1 of them as 1 of the cats i knew from Job Corps.

Darryl is 1 of the few Job Corps alumni from the Illadelph that i maintained some contact w/after we all graduated. i hadn't seen him for several years before today. it turns out it was his born day today. i thought it was kind of bugged that i never knew all these years that he was also a Taurus.

he was working his craft creating portraits for those who found his skills to their liking. we had a solid conversation between clientele. i showed him some of the Refinery's visual expressions & he put me on to some ideas that may help them move. as is often the case when i spend time around other creatives, i felt energized & pleasantly inspired.

sometimes it just takes a change of scenery...

2 tokens & no vittles: not too much of a hit on the budget...

PEACE 

...be calm...

scarcity is the budget...

yesterday afternoon i found out that Black Sheep would be performing later in the evening at a local venue named Cheerleaders. i was kind of surprised. i didn't know this spot hosted shows like this. i wanted to check it out, but i had to consider Tastytreats ft. Pete Rock at Fluid tomorrow night.

having already planned to catch Tastytreats made the decision a little less difficult. the nature of the dilemma reminded me of the definition of economics as it was explained when i took micro at Temple.

as a student at TU i decided that i would take at least 1 business oriented class each semester. econ was 1 of the 1st. it was like learning a foreign language in many ways. i did well enough w/it. 1 of the concepts that stuck w/me from micro was that econ is primarily the study of decision making based on the scarcity of resources.

this would seem to be an everyday thing for most of us, but very few people appear to actually have a solid comprehension/awareness of econ. i've had to deal w/scarcity quite a bit as an independent creative, so it's hard to ignore such things.

as it is, i'm looking forward to Tastytreats...

PEACE

...be calm...

just to be clear...

Deep Crates - Documentary Film Dedicated to the Art of Beatdiggin'

i am a hip-hop head. it has never been & never will be a passing phase for me. the culture is a very significant part of my way of expression as a creative.

IMO the commercial aspects of hip-hop are not reflective of many of the cultural aspects that make me proud to support the culture. there is really nothing that i can do about this except not actively feed into it. as w/most things in life, it's an ongoing process.

part of the process is studying history. last week i peeped Deep Crates 1 & 2. the content was not what i expected, but this was a good thing. i learned quite a bit from a number of cats that i have a great respect for. overall, Deep Crates 2 was a little more powerful to me than 1. it was really interesting to see/hear these cats express some of their frustrations as creatives.

Deep Crates 2

the biggest thing i came away w/is the importance of establishing your own creative voice/presence. copping the same gear &/or vinyl as whoever is not going to put you in a position to emulate what they do. that's a mentality i can't relate to for at least 2 reasons:

1. you're not that person
2. it's not what you use, it's how you use it

studying the technique of the greats can be helpful, but ultimately they are considered great because their sounds &/or contributions have been unique/innovative in various ways.

being unique/different isn't something i have to work at. it seems to just be a part of how i function. that likely has a lot to do w/why Refinery fuel does not sound like hip-hop. it sounds like what it sounds like. it is heavily influenced by hip-hop, but for the most part, i would not classify it sonically as hip-hop. genre classification is not really something that i focus on as a creator anyway.

what do i focus on?

creating fuel that sounds interesting. improving my ability to create fuel that is sonically proficient. creating fuel that expresses whatever it is the universe presents me w/as inspiration in ways that will inspire others.

i'm not trying to be like this guy or that guy. i'm working to be the best guy that i am & there is always room for improvement. for me it is not enough to just experience the creative energy of others. i have energy of my own that i have to get out. creating + ways to do this is my goal. that's what i have to work at!

it's definitely not easy, but in the end what is easy that is worth having/doing?

PEACE

...be calm...

the mediafeast...

the effort to maintain the creative flow in the Refinery continues...

you will now find a banner just below the blog title for the mediafeast!

watisit?

the mediafeast is a store where you can find various media that is recommended by the Refinery. the store is powered by Amazon. this means that Amazon handles the transactions & maintains the store stock. the Refinery receives a small percentage of the sales revenue generated by any purchases from the store. the better the store does, the more time i can spend focusing on the creative output of the Refinery.

for the moment there is audio & video media. more will be added as time passes, if the interest is there. [UPDATE] paper media has been added as well.

so, check out the store & cop some media!

as always any support of the Refinery is greatly appreciated...

NOTE: some of the media in the store may be hard to find or rare. the prices on such media may be high, or no price will appear. in any case, please be aware that ALL PRICE POINTS ARE SET BY AMAZON!

PEACE
...be calm...

back in the lab...

the Refinery system is up. it still needs some work, but at least it is functional enough to perform many of the tasks it was designed to perform.

the last few weeks were spent cleaning & rearranging some of the hardware inside the system to get rid of what appeared to be overheating issues. it's beginning to look like the issues w/the recording function(s) of the audio interface will require that it be replaced. the search for a solution will continue, but being unable to record is not working for where i am creatively. that means some alternatives will be getting explored.

the challenges of making creative ideas physical & productive are not to be minimized.

the work continues...

PEACE
...be calm...

i was there, where were you?

there was supposed to be another meetup this month...

i am the only 1 who showed up! i went to Percy Street Barbecue for what was supposed to be a 9P meetup. upon arrival, i discover that the dining room closes at 10P & nobody called to let the venue know a group was going to be coming.

uh-oh...

since i said i would be at the venue, i grabbed a squat at the bar to see watitdo w/any potential stragglers. this gave me the opportunity to try some vegan chili, guacamole salad, & a few brews. the vittles were mega solid. the Dock Street Bubbly Wit & Abita Turbo Dog were as well.

after a while it became quite clear the meetup was no haps. while i was waiting i ended meeting this cat named Tony who was unfamiliar w/South St. he said he was from Cali. since he was looking for something to eat i showed him where Ishkabibbles & Copabanana were. i hung out for a few then i called it a mission.

all considered, it worked out great because i met some new peeps & hung out a bit on the "new" South St. being in the Illadelph for 20+ has allowed me to witness some interesting changes to the cityscape. the effort to change the social patterns on South St. seems to have worked.

PEACE
...be calm...

who killed the liner notes?

Black Sheep - From The Black Pool Of Genius

i don't consider self a purist. however, i do dig certain things a certain way. for example, i value album art & liner notes.

i like what digital media has done to favor the artist's ability to get themselves an audience w/o being encumbered by the various leechy intermediate entities that have historically made this relationship difficult to establish/maintain. this seems most beneficial to new &/or independent artists, but in terms of earning for your work IMO it benefits all artists.

w/digital audio i have had a fear that album art & liner notes would take an L (loss) as digital media became more acceptable. i like physical media. my preference is still vinyl when it exists & CD's for physical portability. what now often happens is artists are completely skipping physical releases. this is extremely cost effective. i can't complain about that, because cost is a constant issue for me as an independent creator. what is kind of salty is when there is the option to cop a physical copy of a digital release. it would appear there are no liner notes created for such releases.

i can't say this happens for all physical versions of digital releases. thus far, this is the only 1 that i have in the collection. if this is to be standard procedure, i'm going to miss reading the liner notes. at least there is still Discogs...

R.I.P. liner notes...

PEACE
...be calm...