I’d like to give a quick update regarding:
A) Why I’ve skipped two weeks of blogging
and
B) What the hell I’ve been up to in the meantime
So, for those who don’t subscribe to my monthly newsletter (if you want to, go to my HOME page or the SHOWS page and put your email into the form so you can also be in the know of what’s going on in the Wonderful World of Bradley Wik), here’s the latest and greatest.
1) NEW T-SHIRTS!!!
I’ve designed a few new t-shirts that I’ve been wanting to make for a while. Finally had the time to get them done and ready for you. The badass thing is that these designs are made to order through TeePublic, which means you can select your shirt style, color, etc. You can even order the designs on hoodies, mugs, cell phone cases, notebooks and a bunch of other shit. Click on one of the designs to see all the options. It’s a fucking awesome platform that allows you to custom order shit however you want it. I love it and I think you will too.
And, I know, the first design (the one that’s not one of my songs) doesn’t make a whole lot of sense until you read the description on the site. So, if you want to know what inspired this shirt, click on it to find out.
2) NEW MUSIC!!!
In case you aren’t an avid reader of this blog, I'd like to inform you that Bradley has Asperger's. For those who aren't quite sure what that is, Asperger's is basically high-functioning Autism. Or not-quite-as-far-out-on-the-spectrum Autism. If you'd like to read more about my journey in learning about and growing up with Asperger's, CLICK HERE.
Why am I telling you this, you might ask? Well, because April is Autism Awareness Month and, in honor of that, I will be releasing an EP of songs (if you're wondering, an EP is an "extended play" music single, which means it has usually 3-6 songs but isn't a full-length album) I wrote about having/dealing with Asperger's.
I've spent the past couple years really learning about my Asperger's, how it's affected my life and relationships, and how it has been both a positive and a negative in my life (read more about that HERE). In doing so, I've written a number of songs about it, about the accompanying depression, my struggles with drugs and alcohol that may or may not be related, my recurring nightmares, etc. I haven't decided yet which songs will be on the initial EP, but there will likely be more than a couple of music releases about this topic as it's something near and dear to my heart, and I really hope to help educate people about this so they can better understand those in their lives who may be affected by it. Asperger's affects both the individual and those around them (just ask my wife). Hopefully, this music will help those affected by making them feel less alone in their struggles and by helping those around them hear what it's like to deal with Asperger's.
So, in April (haven't locked in a date yet, but it's coming) there will be some new music for y'all to check out. It will likely be a digital-only release, so, I'll be sending out links and where/how to listen once I have the details, launch date, etc. Stay tuned as this will likely be the first of 2-3 EP’s I will be releasing this year.
Since recording the last album with the band, I’ve been recording at my home studio (read: my “studio” in my bedroom so my wife can work/watch TV/etc. in the living room) and I have a number of songs that I’d like to put out in the near future. They range from folky/sad bastard/singer-songwriter type stuff to acoustic synth pop to noise pop to noise folk. Some of it is pretty fucking weird, but beautiful. As I also have Meniere’s disease (an inner ear disorder affecting hearing, balance, sight, etc.), I wanted to capture how music can sometimes sound to me and how disorienting the Meniere’s induced vertigo, hearing loss, headaches and nausea can be; but musically, if that makes any sense. It’ll make more sense once you hear the songs. But, suffice to say, I’ve been busy and I’m fucking sick of just sitting on these songs. There’s nearly 30 songs I’ll be releasing over the next year or so in different iterations that all are sonically unique. There’s even a new band/project I’ve been working on that actually makes fun, poppy music. You might not see that one until next year but who knows. But, I was going back through all the recordings I’ve done over the past two years and I realized there were too many of them that I really like to just keep them on a hard drive at home. The music is mostly somewhere between Elliott Smith, Sun Kil Moon/Red House Painters, Wilco, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Cocteau Twins, with some old folk thrown in for good measure. Some of the songs I don’t even remember writing/recording (likely a mix of the depression, alcohol, and the fact that I write/record in clusters so I usually forget about a few of the tunes here and there) but they’re fucking fun to hear back.
I’ll keep you updated as I get these tunes ready for release over the coming year or so. Rest assured, it’ll be a barrage of sad songs. But, like I mentioned, if anyone is wondering what it’s like to be a depressed, kind of alcoholic, Asperger’s and Meniere’s disease affected person, than these records will be for you…
3) SOMETIMES I FEEL THE WORLD IS CONSPIRING AGAINST ME
Look, I know that I’m (probably) not in the Truman Show, but sometimes it really feels like it. Sometimes the dumbest shit comes up just to fuck with me, I feel like. The latest thing that seems so stupid but has take up way more of my time that it should is Pandora. My music is on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Napster, Rhapsody, Tidal and a bunch of other digital sites but for some reason was not on Pandora though they were sent my music years ago. Apparently, they use a different reporting platform so even though my music is sort of on there, I haven’t been getting paid for it. I’ve been working with them for over three weeks to resolve this and am still no closer to getting my music available to stream on their services and being able to get paid from them. Why the fuck does every music platform work so hard to not pay artists? It’s not like it would be some enormous amount. I’m sure Pandora owes me like $10 but they still make me spend hours and hours to get it. It’s not even worth it apart from the principle of the thing. I’d be better off designing new t-shirts, releasing new music, booking new shows, etc. but instead I’m fighting their dumbass customer service who is now blaming someone else as to why I still am not getting paid for my music. It’s not like musicians are fucking rolling and don’t need the money. I’m currently waiting for the stock market to turn around (fucking Coronavirus and Trump pretending it’s not a real crisis) so I can cash in my 401K from my last job so I can pay fucking rent. So, even if it’s $10, I fucking want that shit. We already only make like a 1/10th of a penny per stream or whatever, so why can’t we at least get paid that?
But, this is like the twentieth thing that has gone wrong with the release of my latest album. Someday, I might tell the whole story but for now I’ll say there were nearly lawsuits, phantom mix issues, the band breaking up, misprinted CDs, faulty vinyl test pressings, etc. I could go on but it isn’t worth my time. Needless to say, I feel like God/Karma and the world have been telling me to give up music for years now. But, fuck that. If there’s one thing you should know about people with Asperger’s, it’s that we always do the opposite of what we’re told. If you haven’t watched “The Grinder” you should as Rob Lowe’s character is the epitome of Asperger’s. He can only complete a task if he’s told he can’t or it’s impossible. It’s hilarious and sad as I felt so akin to his made up character. I feel like all of this has been either the universe telling me to quit making music or a challenge to see if I will keep going. Since I have Asperger’s, I see everything as a challenge and will likely never give up. It’s crazy how many things have tried to conspire against me but I’ll never give in. I got too much shit that the world needs to hear to give up now. Just the amount of love that “This Old House” has gotten over the years is enough to keep me going. Who knows… Now, I feel like I’m just rambling and I should probably eat dinner tonight eventually. Anyways…
(dictated but not read)