It’s funny how time goes by.

I went about creating my Patreon just over 5 years ago. The first and only post I made read “I imagine that we’re going to pick up steam slowly.”

Well, that’s certainly one way to put it!

Here’s what’s changed during that time:

-Released an album and 3 mini-albums

-Went through a handful of mix/master engineers

-Mixed/mastered the final EP from our live lineup myself

-Released our second-ever proper LP re-debuting Atlas & Oracle as a fully electronic ska band

-Rekindled the relationship that started it all: me and myself

All throughout that time, I’ve been building quietly behind the scenes. I probably crammed 10 years of marketing research into the 5 years that have passed since the first post was made. 

So I figured hey, if I’m going to have all this knowledge, I might as well put it to good use– both through marketing my own music as well as the music of the artists closest to me.

Here’s what you have seen from Atlas & Oracle Phase Two so far:

-The introduction of Ünity Club Records (check)

-Releases of side projects I’ve been meaning to get to for months or years (check)

-A total overhaul of our website as a combination merch store, digital download service, and Patreon (check)

-Casting off former anxieties and perfectionism to deliver you raw authenticity (check?)

-Making public everything I’ve learned, both what’s worked and what has certainly not, filtered through my unique voice (we’ve only just begun 😎)

So hey, if the world is making you feel all mixed up inside– if you’ve been feeling like what you do and say will never matter– maybe you’ve found the right place.

WHO SHOULD SUBSCRIBE?

-Fans of our music who want a peek behind the curtain

-Philosophical minds who are tired of pretending that growth needs to follow a rigid path

-Forward thinkers who are done playing by the established rules

As a little incentive, in these posts I’m going to write some extra tidbits underneath the access barrier. The intro tier is free, so go ahead and give it a shot if you think this sounds like what you’ve been looking for.

Sometimes, though, you’ll need to have a paid membership to see the extras. For some posts, you’ll need a paid membership just to read it.

Because look, I hate paywalls as much as anyone. 

But there’s this insidious idea that anyone looking to make a buck is a grifter who just wants to lie to and manipulate people so they can deliver a half-assed, AI-generated product.

Even artists themselves feel this way. Do they stop selling? No, they just complain about it.

“I hate that I have to sell merch to support my tour, but it’s reality, so buy buy buy!”

What if there was a way that you could stop adding a disclaimer to everything you do?

(Ignore for a moment that I started this very section with a disclaimer…)

People say they hate seedy sales tactics, but when it comes time to actually sell something– it turns out that’s actually all they know how to do.

“I hate that I have to do X, Y, and Z, it feels gross! But I have to do it, so… buy buy buy!”

I just can’t accept that as the only option. Especially when we all want the same thing:

TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE MAKING ART.

That’s why the idea mentioned above is insidious. Like ok, the starving artist has been a trope for as long as I can remember. We all need to have jobs outside of our music, because that’s where the “real money” is. 

We apply to work for companies that employ people who do their marketing. Their marketing may use the same seedy sales tactics we say we hate. Then we go home and complain about other artists trying to make money on their own.

Because we can’t envision what it would be like to survive on our art, we decide that anyone trying to do so must be some kind of poser.

“Social media is full of scams and inauthentic entrepreneurs!”

Sure, but aren’t some people just trying to spread new ideas and receive the funds to CONTINUE spreading ideas?

“It should just be for entertainment! I just want to see funny and cool things for free!”

Sure, but doesn’t that mean that you want the people entertaining you to not be able to survive on the content you claim to enjoy? Should entertainers just be… struggling?

“Everything costs too much, I don’t want to have to pay or see advertisements!”

Ok, but the platforms you’re using also have actual ads. You don’t want to see individuals pay for ads for their own content, but you also don’t want to see them able to support themselves organically?

How can we hate our jobs, and enjoy art, but also hate people trying to make art their job?

How can musicians complain about not having the energy for creation after a long day, but then also hate musicians who are trying to break themselves out of that cycle?

It all sounds like “Everything I see should be perfect for me me me!!!”

Doesn’t the whole thing feel a bit… circular? Like crabs in a bucket?

We have this illusory notion that things will “just happen”. If they deserve it, they’ll just get it somehow. The people who’ve already got it, they must have just deserved it…. somehow.

What’s missing is the steps between the people who’ve made it and where they started.

Someone has a great idea that works to get them attention. Others hop on the trend. Eventually, the trend is saturated, and people are complaining that they “have to” do it to get any attention.

What if that wasn’t true?

Somewhere down the line, we forget that there was, at one point, an individual with an idea. They saw what was available to them, and they used that– plus their own unique perspective– to create something new. By the time we see it, though, that chain of influence has vanished.

So what if there was a way to divest ourselves from the modern tactics?

What if we, the artists– unbeholden to the shareholders who own the companies that we work within– could make the most of our limited free time not by imitating, but by innovating?

What if we could BE the one to come up with the great idea?

So, without further ado, 

Here’s what’s to come at A&O//ÜCR HQ:

For musicians: it all starts with the Outsider’s Almanac.

It’s been years in the making. It’s constantly expanding. But as of now, it’s fully functional.

It’s mostly free, although to my knowledge only a handful of people have seen it.

Those who’ve seen it, though– they’ve already been able to put it to good use.

What is the Outsider’s Almanac? 

It’s a collection of every piece of knowledge I’ve found useful in thinking about how I’m going to eventually end up somewhere better than where I am right now.

In some ways it’s a resource hub– it includes links to playlists of videos that I have personally found helpful in developing the way I think about music, marketing, and general promotion.

In other ways it’s a brain-dump– beyond sharing resources from others, I’ve written a series of essays that break down everything I’ve been doing behind the scenes to organize my thoughts from the past 5 years and (finally) get to the point of having figured my shit out.

It’s philosophy, it’s mindset, it’s methods. It’s kind of like a self-service starter guide.

And so far, it’s working. When I can find the time to put it to good use.

It’s also free. Mostly.

Find it here: https://vault.astralocale.com/

If you’re wondering where I’m coming from and where I intend to go, it pretty much says it all.

For better or for worse, we live in the information age, and the ideas economy. So, it’s information on how to have better ideas– or, more accurately, how to put the ideas you already have to good use.

Half of it is meant to trick your brain into finally valuing your own thoughts. The other half is how to process the data you receive from doing so and turn it into even more ideas.

The point is to remind you that you are more than a consumer; you’re also a creator.

When we trap ourselves in feeling beholden to the trends around us, we forget how they start.

When we create out of a sense of obligation, we burn energy and overwhelm ourselves.

When we instead redirect our energy towards becoming what we want to see, we remember who we are, and who we always have been, and we realize that that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Effortless whelm. 

For fans: more music is on its way.

Now that I’ve got the back-end sorted, it’s only a matter of time before the promo machine starts moving again.

Every song is a potential avenue for connection. Not for profit– for human connection.

I want to connect with as many people as I can. I want to touch their hearts and remind them of how their emotions work. I put out beautiful music that speaks directly to my soul, under the assumption that I will eventually connect with other souls who speak the same language.

I have no delusions that I deserve success more than other bands. I’ve just woken up to the fact that success has never been about who deserves what. It’s about commitment and intention. And yes, in the world we live in, sometimes it’s about manipulation. But who will break that trend if not us?

Everything I do is made with the intention of charting a path that works for me. 

If I can chart that path, maybe the same path will work for others. But what’s more important to me is that everything I do shows that charting ONE’S OWN path is the best way forward.

When you make art, the only person you need to impress is yourself. 

If you’re trying to make art that impresses others, you’ve lost the plot. It’s no longer art.

That’s how I’ve been thinking recently, anyway. People can disagree.

For deep thinkers: what even is experimental ska?