After reevaluating my F.O.C.U.S. Goals and priorities since the passing of my mom (see the newly created Now Page Archives for more info on this), I decided it was time to take another stab at my Patreon page.

I figured if I want to really make a living as an artist, I needed to give it another try. So I've completely redone and relaunched my Patreon page. The rewards tiers are much more focused and organized. I trimmed them down quite a bit so I can focus on creating content that brings me joy.

One of my favorite projects I'm focusing on during this re-vision of my Patreon page is creating tablature for various licks, solos, and performances (like my "Metal Crush" video seen below). I'm currently working on tabbing tons of licks from one of my most popular videos of all-time: my jam session and interview with Kenneth Burris. This series started this month, so don't miss out, consider becoming a Patron of my art.

Hard on the heels of my latest single "Metal Crush," I'm hard at work putting the finishing touches on a brand new single from the album I've been working on for a while now. Both the album and the single are entitled "Revival in the Air."

I've had a few setbacks with my DAW of choice, but I'm back on track in hopes of releasing the song within the next couple of weeks. It's actually been fun working against a deadline. I've been setting the deadline to mixing one song per month since "Metal Crush," and even though I've been late most of the time, it hasn't been by much.

I decided if I ever wanted to finish this album and release it, I needed to get on the ball and finish the individual tracks. And from the research I've found on various YouTube channels about mixing (as shown below), a month is a decent deadline for beginner/intermediate levels, which is where I am.

So keep your eyes posted to my official Music page and look for the new song to release in the next few weeks.

Finally, last year I decided to take up a new hobby—skateboarding. I recorded several videos of me unboxing, setting up, and riding my new board. Then, several falls, bails, and scrapes later, I hurt my shoulder after a hard landing directly on it.

Well, by now I had all but given up ever skateboarding again...until I went to the local skate park. Back in August, our city's first-ever skate park was built. I had been meaning to go visit and check out the scene, but never had the time. Then, about a week or two ago, my wife and I went there.

And just like that, I was hooked on skateboarding again.

Since then, I visited the skate park with my board, talked to a skateboarder who has been skating for 40+ years, worked up the nerve for 20 minutes on a bench to try out the skate park on my board, walked to the other side of the skate park and stood there for another 15 minutes working up the nerve, then finally pushed my board around a couple times before moving to the parking lot due to an increase in more people deciding it was the perfect time to come to skateboard.

After pushing myself on the board back and forth several times—and still too scared to put my back foot on the board—I left. I haven't been back to the park yet, but I have relocated my board from the garage (where it's sat for nearly a year collecting cobwebs) to the living room where I can get on it and practice balancing whenever I want.

I plan on going taking my board with me in my truck more often and looking for smoother spots to skate than my subdivision's tar-and-chip road, which is rough on the wheels and hard to roll long enough to actually ride my board. I hope this time all my efforts amount to something.

I know I'm likely to bang myself up some more, but I would love to just be able to ride the board fluidly much less do any tricks, just like those people at the skate park do. Like anything else, all it takes is consistent practice.

If you'd like to see my skateboarding vids and some pics of my falls, bails, and scrapes, scroll down.