Nominations ballot will be available soon via Lexi's web-site, blog, and FB page.
Nominees will be announced next month, along with announcements for MCs, performers, and celebrity presenters.
Stay tuned for more details.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Lexi Awards set for January 31
Nominations ballot will be available soon via Lexi's web-site, blog, and FB page.
Nominees will be announced next month, along with announcements for MCs, performers, and celebrity presenters.
Stay tuned for more details.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Failure, Fear and The Future
by Paulie Felice
Staring at a blank page.
But in writing just that one little line... poof!
It's no longer a blank page.
I see this in my guitar students all the time; arms poised, eyes slightly glazed over with a nervous half-smile, frozen before me. I've just asked them to "play something," just as my new editor here has asked me to "write something."
"Write what??"
Anything.
"Play what??"
Anything.
The blank slates intimidate us. The impossible vastness of nearly infinite possibilities can be paradoxically paralyzing. In writing as in playing, it's that very first step that is the most difficult. I suppose most things are that way. We fear the unknown, and what is more 'unknown' than The Future? The immediate future of notes unplayed and words unwritten; it's right in your face, daunting, infusing you with irrational terror over the simplest of actions.
We usually really want a plan, first. If we can just have some vision, some picture of the future, we can be less fearful. Tell me what to write about. What key should I play in? What's this post going to be about? What's this song going to feel like? How am I going to make a living if I live my dreams? Where will I live and what will I eat and what if I... fail?
The future intimidates us because it is unknown, but what we fear about the unknown is the possibility that we will fail when we get there. And right here, right now in the present, we have not failed yet because we have not embarked on the endeavor. That's the paralyzing aspect, because we're hardwired to protect ourselves from harm. But I think that we have a misunderstanding of what failure is and our fear of it is exceedingly amplified and irrational because of this.
Failure is not the worst-case scenario.
The worst thing that can happen is... nothing.
Stagnancy, perpetual limbo and indecision, being stationary and allowing the paralysis to consume you; these are the things to legitimately fear because they always result in the only true, absolute failure, and that's the failure to move. Motion is what makes all things in the universe matter. It is the only way to affect change and create progress, and the only reason to have goals. If you have goals you MUST MOVE in order to achieve them. The potential for failure is always preferable to the guarantee of failure. If you do not move, you absolutely WILL FAIL.
So move.
Just go.
No plan.
Embrace the fear and in doing so, convert the nothingness of stagnancy into the awesome power of movement through infinite possibilities in infinite combinations. Swing your arm and strike those chords. Move your fingers and write those words. Walk out the door and into the expanse of your new life.
Stop stopping. Get going. Do something.
"Do what??"
Anything.
Staring at a blank page.
But in writing just that one little line... poof!
It's no longer a blank page.
I see this in my guitar students all the time; arms poised, eyes slightly glazed over with a nervous half-smile, frozen before me. I've just asked them to "play something," just as my new editor here has asked me to "write something."
"Write what??"
Anything.
"Play what??"
Anything.
The blank slates intimidate us. The impossible vastness of nearly infinite possibilities can be paradoxically paralyzing. In writing as in playing, it's that very first step that is the most difficult. I suppose most things are that way. We fear the unknown, and what is more 'unknown' than The Future? The immediate future of notes unplayed and words unwritten; it's right in your face, daunting, infusing you with irrational terror over the simplest of actions.
We usually really want a plan, first. If we can just have some vision, some picture of the future, we can be less fearful. Tell me what to write about. What key should I play in? What's this post going to be about? What's this song going to feel like? How am I going to make a living if I live my dreams? Where will I live and what will I eat and what if I... fail?
The future intimidates us because it is unknown, but what we fear about the unknown is the possibility that we will fail when we get there. And right here, right now in the present, we have not failed yet because we have not embarked on the endeavor. That's the paralyzing aspect, because we're hardwired to protect ourselves from harm. But I think that we have a misunderstanding of what failure is and our fear of it is exceedingly amplified and irrational because of this.
Failure is not the worst-case scenario.
The worst thing that can happen is... nothing.
Stagnancy, perpetual limbo and indecision, being stationary and allowing the paralysis to consume you; these are the things to legitimately fear because they always result in the only true, absolute failure, and that's the failure to move. Motion is what makes all things in the universe matter. It is the only way to affect change and create progress, and the only reason to have goals. If you have goals you MUST MOVE in order to achieve them. The potential for failure is always preferable to the guarantee of failure. If you do not move, you absolutely WILL FAIL.
So move.
Just go.
No plan.
Embrace the fear and in doing so, convert the nothingness of stagnancy into the awesome power of movement through infinite possibilities in infinite combinations. Swing your arm and strike those chords. Move your fingers and write those words. Walk out the door and into the expanse of your new life.
Stop stopping. Get going. Do something.
"Do what??"
Anything.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Lexi Music Awards press release
Howdy!
David McLean here - local guitarist & guitar instructor...and creator of the Lexington Music Awards. We're presenting the 2nd Annual Lexington Music Awards show on Sunday, January 31 at the historic Lyric Theatre!
The awards, unlike other awards shows across the country, don't just honor musicians, but the entire music community....with categories for best live venue, best DJ, best music store....best song, best vocalist....plus specialty categories like "community music award" and "lifetime achievement award" (over 30 categories in all).
As many of you recall from the first show, this event was to be hosted at a small venue here in Lexington with the assumption the first year we'd be lucky to put 50-75 people in the room, but that we'd demonstrate we could build a viable program and grow it from there.
The project quickly grew out of control (haha!), and we nearly sold out the Lyric Theatre back in February amid all that snow!
We're about to launch the nominations ballot, and official nominees should be announced by late November or early December.
I'd love to chat with you further about this event! Please feel free to contact me at this email address or call/text me at 859-420-2007.
Also, feel free to check in at the FB page or look at our blog. The new web-site will be on-line soon!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1505077303105177/
http://lexingtonmusicawards.blogspot.com/
Thanx!
--
--
David M. McLean
Skinny Devil Music Lab
http://www.skinnydevil.com
859.420.2007
"....embrace your fear..."
Saturday, October 10, 2015
EFF says "The Final Leaked TPP Text is All That We Feared"
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF):
"Today's release by Wikileaks of what is believed to be the current and essentially final version of the intellectual property (IP) chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) confirms our worst fears about the agreement, and dashes the few hopes that we held out that its most onerous provisions wouldn't survive to the end of the negotiations...."
Read it here.
"Today's release by Wikileaks of what is believed to be the current and essentially final version of the intellectual property (IP) chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) confirms our worst fears about the agreement, and dashes the few hopes that we held out that its most onerous provisions wouldn't survive to the end of the negotiations...."
Read it here.
Friday, February 20, 2015
LEXI Awards (the Lexington Music Awards)
"The LEXINGTON MUSIC AWARDS are designed to add cohesion and a true sense of community to the local & regional music scene; to help raise the "quality" bar; to educate artists and fans alike on what's going on in the whole music community; integrate Lexington into the wider (national) music scene; and much more."
 |
| supermodel Laura Kirkpatrick |
The inaugural show will take place Sunday, February 22 at the historic Lyric Theatre in downtown Lexington, KY. The show features 30 categories in 4 broad sections (industry, style, performance, & special)....from best live venue & best music retailer to best guitarist & best vocalist to best country artist & best rock band to community service & lifetime achievement awards.
MCed by Kristen Pflum and Bill Meck .....with special guest presenters that include supermodel Laura Kirkpatrick to Dan Wu (of Master Chef) to local DJ legend Max Corona....,with music performances by jazz legend Miles Osland, guitar wizard Ben Lacy, The Stick Men (featuring Tripp Bratton & David Farris), and more!
The organizer(s) have big plans, though starting locally. Keep up with plans, media (TV spots, radio interviews, newspaper stories, and more), and more for this year and beyond at the Lexington Music Awards.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
My Own Life - Oliver Sacks on Learning He Has Terminal Cancer
A MONTH ago, I felt that I was in good health, even robust health. At 81, I still swim a mile a day. But my luck has run out — a few weeks ago I learned that I have multiple metastases in the liver. Nine years ago it was discovered that I had a rare tumor of the eye, an ocular melanoma. Although the radiation and lasering to remove the tumor ultimately left me blind in that eye, only in very rare cases do such tumors metastasize. I am among the unlucky 2 percent.
I feel grateful that I have been granted nine years of good health and productivity since the original diagnosis, but now I am face to face with dying.....(see the rest at the link below)
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/opinion/oliver-sacks-on-learning-he-has-terminal-cancer.html
Thursday, October 23, 2014
SD Magazine Publisher/Editor Releases Music Catalogue
Howdy, y'all! David McLean here, publisher & editor of Skinny Devil Magazine, as well as guitarist, guitar teacher, gun for hire, and all things musical. Today marks my 50th birthday. I wrote about it in my personal blog Skinny Devil Universe.
There, I mention that I have been, and continue to, release my life's catalogue of music (at least that which is release-able) all at only $1 per album. To celebrate my birthday, I released Aur'a-Sen's only studio album "Innova Mode" and volume 2 of my corporate work, "The Games".
I will also create a page for all the albums I've engineered, produced, or on which I've played. It will likely be an incomplete list, as I've lost most of the old studio notes from when I was working as a studio musician, an engineer, and a producer (note: I still produce and I still do studio work for hire), but it should still have quite a bit of music for anyone interested.
Music will be available via BandCamp, Reverbnation, CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes, the streaming/radio sites, and more. Must be my bid for digital immortality (haha!). But for now, you can see what's been released so far at my BANDCAMP page.
Hope y'all enjoy it!
There, I mention that I have been, and continue to, release my life's catalogue of music (at least that which is release-able) all at only $1 per album. To celebrate my birthday, I released Aur'a-Sen's only studio album "Innova Mode" and volume 2 of my corporate work, "The Games".
I will also create a page for all the albums I've engineered, produced, or on which I've played. It will likely be an incomplete list, as I've lost most of the old studio notes from when I was working as a studio musician, an engineer, and a producer (note: I still produce and I still do studio work for hire), but it should still have quite a bit of music for anyone interested.Music will be available via BandCamp, Reverbnation, CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes, the streaming/radio sites, and more. Must be my bid for digital immortality (haha!). But for now, you can see what's been released so far at my BANDCAMP page.
Hope y'all enjoy it!
Friday, October 3, 2014
Review: "The Life of Kid Grayson"
Barry Miller debut novel "The Life of Kid Grayson" is the best indie debut I've ever read.
Chock full of history and music, Barry brings the story to life with his expert use of the pen, weaving words into images, transporting the reader like few writers can really do. In the case of this book, through the backwoods of Kentucky to the jungles of Viet Nam, from the bright lights of Nashville to the long American highways....kills a man before his 18th year, fights side by side with his fellow soldiers, plays guitar from hollers to bar stages & backrooms, and has his share of run-ins with those on both sides of the law.
Music is woven through this novel like a living pulse. And our own cultural history.
This is a must-read for all music lovers AND book lovers.
Get it at Smashwords HERE.
(ed note: October 2014, you can download it FREE)
Chock full of history and music, Barry brings the story to life with his expert use of the pen, weaving words into images, transporting the reader like few writers can really do. In the case of this book, through the backwoods of Kentucky to the jungles of Viet Nam, from the bright lights of Nashville to the long American highways....kills a man before his 18th year, fights side by side with his fellow soldiers, plays guitar from hollers to bar stages & backrooms, and has his share of run-ins with those on both sides of the law.
Music is woven through this novel like a living pulse. And our own cultural history.
This is a must-read for all music lovers AND book lovers.
Get it at Smashwords HERE.
(ed note: October 2014, you can download it FREE)
Monday, August 25, 2014
Diana Chittester "Find My Way Home"
Diana Chittester is a one woman music machine. With multiple albums to her credit and shows all over the eastern US (and Canada), she's been burning up the concert stage, the speakers, the ear-buds....and clawing her way to the top of the heap by shear force of her formidable musical will.
She's also been featured right here at Skinny Devil Magazine: both Guitar Gods and Guitar Gods: LIVE.
Now, she has released a new album. Her first that features her as she performs: One woman, one guitar, and no gimmicks.
The album is "Find My Way Home" (Fighting Chance Records), and on it, Diana is on fire!
She's also been featured right here at Skinny Devil Magazine: both Guitar Gods and Guitar Gods: LIVE.
Now, she has released a new album. Her first that features her as she performs: One woman, one guitar, and no gimmicks.
The album is "Find My Way Home" (Fighting Chance Records), and on it, Diana is on fire!
Friday, August 8, 2014
Gregory: "...in a matter of days"
The new album is 9 songs that are primarily contemplative, introverted, and will likely transport the listener to lost inner worlds.
A mix of electronic and acoustic instruments, the shortest song clocks in at just under 5 minutes. The longest at over 14 minutes! With titles like "the sacrifice of pawns", "after the fall", and "the perfect emotion", this is a meditative collection that will not only sooth and transport, but also likely bring up images and poetic fragments from your mind.
GET IT.
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