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So, since I realized that this week (tomorrow actually) marks the ninth anniversary of E2TG, I have been thinking quite a bit about the blog, how it started, how things have changed, where I am now, and where I see things going.
Without a doubt, E2TG has changed my life. So many important people in my life today are only there because I started writing E2TG in May 2011. Some of them may not even know that E2TG is the reason we know each other - but it is.
I have been getting some memories on Facebook and Instagram about my visit to the Cash Cabin on May 13, 2015. That would never have happened if it was not for E2TG. I likely would not be a DJ on WXNA if not for E2TG.
It all started because I had been making daily posts on Facebook with my morning shuffle - usually three or four songs that I listened to on my walk from the parking lot to my office. I had been doing that for at least a year, and I started adding some commentary. Someone, suggested a do something more than just social media posts and that something became E2TG. A big change was that I suddenly had a reason and motivation to start seeking out new music. At first, obviously, no one knew who I was and so no one was sending me music - that took time - so I went out and found bands that were following me on Twitter.
Pretty early on, I began thinking of any band or artist that I featured as part of the E2TG "family". Sometimes they didn't know they were part of this family and sometimes they might not have cared, but I did.
At that point in my life, I didn't go out to shows much and I was out of touch with a lot of local music, and then I made some friends from the New York and New Jersey area and suddenly a large percentage of the music I wrote about was from those two Northeastern States. It was kind of funny, but kind of cool - then came Connecticut. Of course eventually, I got in touch with Nashville's incredible community, but the Northeastern influence is still alive and well.
Honestly, I didn't have a master plan when I created E2TG, and I still tend to just go where the muse and the shuffle function take me. I always wish for more time and sometimes I really want to give more attention to an artist or album than I do, and sometimes, I miss opportunities. But, it is just what it is, and for every missed opportunity there have been so many blessings to come my way. I use the word blessing because that is what it feels like. I don't necessarily assign any specific theological meaning to the term nor I know what it all means.
About the E2TG avatar.
This was a drawing I did for a novel I was (and still am writing). I did a few drawings (I originally envisioned a multi-media book), but this one - it is supposed to be a self-portrait of a character named Kevin who is an artist - is the only one that stuck. At some point, I used this as my profile pic on-line and when I needed an image for E2TG I just grabbed this one because it was handy. So, yeah. I don't fancy myself any sort of visual artist, but I always kind of dug this drawling.
As for the future... it is unwritten. Now more than ever, there is a lot of uncertainty. I know some of the people I have grown to know and love are hurting financially and missing playing shows, and I and missing going to shows and seeing friends. So, I will just keep going until I stop. For today, I am not stopping.
Featured Friday Playlist
