Chowderhawk.com blog

Hey everyone,

A bit of a long post here but I’ll do my best to keep it brief. The main change we’ve had to the features of chowderhawk.com is the integration with Facebook Connect. While at the moment I don’t plan to have the whole full blown user system via facebook (as there’s really no need) that window is open. But, at the moment I’ve added in those nice little Facebook Like buttons to the photo galleries, home page, design page and music page. So click them if you like the pages/if you want to make me feel better. As you should know the first thing I do when I get home from school is to check if anyone new has liked stuff, it makes my day. No really…

Next change is the new photoset CA Brumbies vs Cheetahs – April 2010 which I took in conjunction with the ARU (Australian Rugby Union) as part of their EdRugby Junior Reporter program which I was lucky enough to be a part of. My article and images should be coming up soon but I’m waiting for them to be all ready on their end as everything has been submitted on my end. I’m really happy with how that all turned out and I can’t wait to have my first published article and photos.

I’ve got some photo shoots coming up with a local Canberra fashion designer and a new-ish local Canberra DJ. There’s something else too but nothing has been set in stone yet, so I’m not gonna talk about it like it’s fact. But I’m really happy with doing some more work and I really hope that you all enjoy it as well.

Finally, I was lucky enough to go to Groovin’ The Moo at the University of Canberra last weekend (Without a Press Pass though, and not for lack of trying). The standout of the show was not the headliners Silverchair, Vampire Weekend or even the DJs such as Ajax or Yacht Club DJs. Ajax and Yacht Club DJs were really good despite Gaz Harrison from the Yacht Club DJs being in hospital and having a very very drunk and semi-naked Guy Chappell-Lawrence do his part as well has his own. But the standout would easily have to be ‘The Only’.

The Only were amazing, their live performance was amazingly intense, agressive and they got so into it. And you know what, they mixed really really well, had some amazing visual effects on the screen behind them (Used it more as a 3rd member than a place for the band name). But most of all they looked like they were really enjoying themselves and getting into it. It came through with the crowd and everyone had an awesome time that I knew who saw them. I liked them before this, but now I will DEFINITELY be keeping an eye out for any releases and future tours through Canberra.

So check The Only out if you can, they’re not too well known now but I can see them getting very popular in the Australian DJ/Club Scene. Mark my words.

Thanks,
Ross

Hey everyone!

I’ve had some people wanting to get a copy of Digital Translation, my EP released in late 2008. Apparently I mentioned that the physical product was “Limited Edition” and people got interested in it. Firstly I’ll tell you how you can get one and how sales have been so far.

How to get a copy:
If you want to get a copy the first thing you should do is either drop me a message via facebook or send me an email at sales@chowderhawk.com. However you choose to contact me about it I don’t really mind. The price of a CD is $7 (Australian) plus any shipping if I can’t give the CD to you personally.

Physical over Digital:
I had a discussion with a friend of mine where he bought up the fact that with 5 songs on the CD it comes to around $1.40 a song. As much as I’d wish I was making $1.40 profit from each song, I’m really not. With everything included the CD came to $602.80 for 100 copies. So for manufacturing the CD and packaging it comes to around $6.03 leaving roughly just 14 cents a song. When I look at the work I put into the music selling it for 14 cents a song with a maximum possible profit of $97.20 it seems rather idiotic for me to have got the physical product made at all.

I’m not naive, I know people weren’t gonna just run up to me and throw money at me to get these CD’s. But if you want to know why I did it then read the next few sentences very closely. I did it for you and I. I’m not doing this for the money, I’m not doing this so that women and men alike will throw off their clothing in admiration me and I’m not doing this because I like losing money. The fact that I put my music up for free download on www.chowderhawk.com and The Pirate Bay was so that anyone in the entire world could hear my music for free.

So, after reading that I’m making a gob smacking profit of 97 cents and that I’m not forcing you to buy the music in order to hear it, I guess that you’ll want to know why you should even bother thinking about buying the physical product. I personally believe that holding a CD in your hands is infinitely better than just pirating/downloading it. If you really enjoy an artist then having a physical product that you can proudly say “I own this, here it is” about is the greatest complement you can make. My motivation for making music isn’t driven by getting that 97 cents from someone buying a CD, it’s from people saying that they enjoy listening to the music. So buy a CD, give that ultimate gesture to me that says “I want you to make more”.

That gesture is the thing that keeps me going.

To sum everything up:
If you have $7 and want a CD then contact me any way you can and just ask to buy one. I might be holding some more giveaways in the future. Also, if you enjoy the music I make, don’t want to buy a CD and want to help me feel motivated to make some more music, then invite more people to become fans. Just click that “Suggest to friends” button and go nuts.

Thank you so very much,
Ross

Hello all, this is one of those rant things that people type out, enjoy.

I was sharing some music with a friend and I linked him to this video:

111108 from blindoldfreak on Vimeo.
www.blindoldfreak.com

I had my usual thoughts of ‘He’s not gonna like this’, ‘It’s not his thing’, ‘In before shitstorm’ and so on. And so we discussed what we thought about it and we eventually got onto the topic of “real instruments” vs instruments like the one above (which is the Buchla 200e series). Specifically we were arguing about that vs the guitar. My friend took the opinion that the above instrument is a waste and I took the opinion that it’s innovation and implied that it’s more versatile than the guitar. Eventually the conversation ended with this statement from my friend:

All the notees seemingly pleaseing to the ear have been found and the ones that are still out there are either squealing noises that make the other people in the room playing real instruments to shutt up or fuck up synth masses that no one has used before because it sounds like shit.

I was shocked, mouth open, jaw dopped, speachless. How could someone actually think that? Had that been the view of everyone back in the 1800s we’d be nowhere musically. So, how does this link to the future of music? Well, think of it this way. If people are content with the music that is made now and they don’t innovate and experiment, then progress is not made. Normally that would change as newer generations have different ideas about what music is. As the 80s gave way to the 90s, and the 90s gave way to the 2000s, progress comes roughly every 10 years. But, and I’m sure there are people like my friend in every musical era, what if everyone believed that? As I said before, no change would come. What scares me even more is that my friend is the same age as me, he’s not some 60 year old who dispises new music and prefers the music of the 50s  and 60s, this is a 15 year old who is the future of music. I surely hope that not everyone my age believes that, as if the future of music doesn’t believe there should be change, there will be no change.

Though I have some faith that people aren’t all like my friend above and that change will come. Hopefully to something like the video above. If that’s the future of music, bring on the future.

Until next time,
Ross