2009. This has shaped up to be a tremendous year for me so far. Let’s recap. January I was promoted to Third Party Logistics Manager at work. April our new pool was completed. May my band, Disciples of Prime, won the battle of the bands finals. September Tammy and I got married. October our dog Hercules passed. That’s a lot to happen in 1 year … Less than a year actually.

My best friend, Hercules. You were there for the last 12 years. I’ll miss you, buddy. Rest in peace my friend!

Hercules 1997-2009

So I’m up to almost 1 week of not being able to log into my facebook. Some bullshit site issue. I don’t care as much about the facebook as I do the mafia wars. Dammit!

Check out what these MIT students did.  Way cool.

Eye am Sofa King. We Todd did.

Can you help me decide if my dogs like to swim?

So I’m into mafia wars on facebook. It’s a fun game requiring very little time. That’s all I got. Also, this is my first iPhone post.

Bryan

I am updating the website slowly.  I’m adding in the information from the previous site, starting with the music stuff.  I’ll add in the new section material and a few of the links (many are dead anyway).  Keep checking back as I am doing a little bit each day.

Check out an interview I did for a local paper; The Tucson Citizen.

Has the internet ruined the chance for artists to become as big as the rock gods of past and present?  The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, ACDC, U2, Metallica – just a handful of bands that have revolutionized rock-n-roll music and attained rock god status. Is it over?  Who, in today’s music age, would fit this bill? This is an interesting question because these are the times where the little guy can finally compete.  For$35 and the cost to make a home recording, anyone can release an album and have similiar world-wide online distribution as a signed artist.  This is great for the small, independent artists as it evens the playing field with national acts.  But is it dirtying up the gene pool by letting poor recordings and poor bands be sold along side with professionally recorded artists?  Are we, the listeners, in a state of overstimulation with too many choices?

Being one of the little guys, I love that I can sell my music worldwide online.  My cd, Bryan Snyder – Underbelly, is available for download through most major online retailers including iTunes, Rhapsody, Best Buy, and Amazon.  You can also buy the actual disc, shipped to your house from CD Baby.com (via Best Buy and Amazon as well). How could I, an unsigned artist, accomplish this? $35 and a recorded album.  I went to CD Baby.com, started an account, signed up for digital distribution and I was off and running.  Talk about one stop shopping.  You set it up and they deliver. It’s a must for any solo artist in need of distribution. And, for the record, I recorded my cd in a professional studio with professional musicians. Not that it matters and not that I am knocking home studios because some people get a great product from their home studio. 

As someone looking for new music, ther are many choices.  I listen to satelite radio and there are hundreds of channels I just don’t get to listen to.  There’s online networking via myspace, facebook etc. where artists are sending daily updates and music links.  Then, when I go searching on my own, one medium like iTunes literally has millions of options or choices.  It’s too much and I usually end up listening to something I already own because there is no effort in that and I just don’t have hours of free time to look for new music. 

Many feel this era is the last ride for major labels.  I don’t think so.  Like in any business during change and economic downtimes, only the strong and well-run will survive.  Bands will continue to get signed and labels will continue to sign them because there is still money to be made.   The contracts will look different than they do today, but good businesses evolve.  The only way labels will go away is when the money to be made goes away.

So, is there too much music accessible to today’s listener?  Did the major record companies from the 50’s through the early 2000’s actually do us a favor by acting as a filter for all the bands that just weren’t good enough?  How can you have a band like U2 in today’s industry when there are 200 other bands that sound just like them? If the business stays like it is, the era of the rock god could be a thing of the past. I don’t know the answers to these questions.  I just know that the music business landscape is changing and I can only hope it’s for the better.

-Bryan