I'm DJ Frontier, and it is now 2010. I've been DJ'ing as DJ Frontier for 17 years. I own DJFrontier.Com and the rights to the name DJ Frontier. I used to be known as DJ Wiz Kid, but I grew up and changed my DJ name in 1993, and in total, I've been a DJ for 20 years. Technology has finally caught up with my DJ ideas, which are 20 years old; ideas still way ahead of anything being used today. This is my continuing adventure as I prepare for a new era as a pioneer DJ. I'm different. I'm not like the other DJ's of the world, as you shall soon see. I'm educated, experienced, and creative. I'm a trained performer with a music background. I have some different ideas on DJ'ing and the future of the business, and I am looking forward to what the future holds.

To book a DJ or to plan your next event, please check out my Tampa event planning company, Eventi Events! I am busy with my Tampa photography business, and other projects right now, however, and will not be available to book as a DJ until 2011. Currently, my senior DJ, DJ Marlon Brown, is available for booking. He is the best wedding and event DJ in the Tampa Bay market, in my opinion, and is even better than I am with live sets.

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Friday, July 2, 2010 - 08:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Another Kind Of Release

I pretty much have the programming of the upcoming GEN 5 Digital Program Release (DPR) Party Zone 5 figured out (do what you can until you can do what you want to, is a good working motto as far as getting things done when you are finally able to. I may not have the hardware or the software at the moment, but I can still do prep work, so I’ll be ready to do it when I am able to), and it’s going to be the best Party Zone ever (as well as the longest), but yesterday I envisioned an idea for a new Party Zone. I was listening to some really good music from the early 80's (Duran Duran, The Tubes, The Human League, etc), and realized that, while it would not be compatible with the format, and the direction, of the Party Zone series, it would make a great Party Zone of another type. So, I will be putting together another Party Zone release, a dance mix with older dance music from the 70's and the 80's. This new kind of release, this new Party Zone, will be Party Zone RTR, and will be strictly retro. Party Zone RTR may even become a spin off series of its own, carrying on the Party Zone brand and defining a new generation of Party Zone well after my mainstream Party Zone series has ended. Party Zone RTR, of course, will be a really cool release, and I’m looking forward to creating it.
As for my main Party Zone brand, Party Zone 5 is going to be important, but there may be more. I am considering extending the series to Party Zone 6, Party Zone 7, Party Zone 8, and even Party Zone 9. So, what about the double digits? I’m not sure, yet.
Of course, with Party Zone 2 RMX, the remix of Party Zone 2, and now Party Zone RTR, which may be the start of a brand new line, there will be plenty of Party Zone’s for the foreseeable future.
Oh, and another thing about the upcoming Party Zones. I had stated that Party Zone 5, for example, could be as long as 240 minutes, which is a four hour program. While still possible, there may be the possibility of diminishing returns for the investment of effort on making any release too long. There has to be a proper balance between creative material (Monologues, Dialogues, Sample Sets, Theme, and Direction), and the music. Making the programs longer might enable the addition of more music, but this could be a case of too much of a good thing. I do not want my creative content spread too thin in a program, and don’t want the theme, or the direction, lost in a sea of music. This lack of balance could degrade programs which are too long into a music playlist, and it would hurt the overall program. Now, I could balance out a longer program, but it would be hard to justify the effort, as the original content would be equivalent to two or three standard length 140 minute releases.
Balance is the key in any creative effort, and it is the difference between the program being a failure and a success. Sure, there will be times that I will be creating 240 minute programs, as well as putting in all of the extra work into content to balance the program (such as 4 hour event support programs), but this will be the exception, rather than the rule. Party Zone 5, and the future Party Zones, will be great dance mixes, but they were never meant to be programs such as event support mixes. All of the upcoming Party Zone’s will be a standard 140 minute GEN 5 program length (as will be some other programs). 140 minutes is fine for 85% of any program that I will be doing. I also don’t want to kill myself over doing too much work on single release when I can use the time and the energy on other releases. As my friend, model and actress Roxanne Kowalska, once told me, I tend to overdo things. She was right. Sometimes, you get more with less.
Just because I can do something, doesn’t mean that I should.
Going with the Party Zone series and the kind of music that they will contain, here’s quick guide. Party Zone 5 to 9 will utilize recent to modern club and dance music, with a little techno here and there, which is traditional Party Zone material. Party Zone 2 RMX will contain dance music from 1990 up until 1994 (remember, to me, when I make Party Zone 2 RMX, I get to pretend that it’s 1994 again, but I’ll be using experience and production technology introduced from the future! It’ll be like time travel, in a sense). Party Zone RTR will have dance music from the 70's and 80's, and it does reserve the right to use a little music from the 90's, which will brush it a little into original Party Zone series territory here and there; the emphasis, however, will center on the 80's and the 70's.
There are some out there who may be wondering what will replace my original Party Zone line. Well, the next “Party Zone”, which will be my front line dance mix series, will be Revo. Revo, of course, will have a lot more techno and acid house music than the Party Zone releases, as well as a good amount of club music. As far as I am concerned, Revo is my official successor to Party Zone, but the transition will be a long one. The first Revo will be out around the same time as Party Zone 5, Party Zone 2 RMX, and Party Zone RTR. For a long time, both series will coexist, with the Party Zone line not being replaced, or phased out, by the Revo line. Around the time that the last of the main Party Zone’s is out, which will probably be Party Zone 9, the Revo line could be up to Revo 5, and the Party Zone RTR spinoff line, if it turns into its own line, would be up to around Party Zone RTR 4. Don’t worry. Although Revo will become the new front line standard for dance mix programs (Hmmmmm.... I just made a typo... DNCE, or DNC..... I’ll have to use that somewhere. I love how my creative mind obtains inspiration from the oddest sources as I write and jam out to music), the Party Zone series will be around for a long time to come!
So, there you have it. A new kind of release, and a new standard for programming in the era of GEN 5 Digital Program Releases.
There’s more, too. Some of you out there might notice that the GEN 5 MP3's will actually be quite a few minutes longer, and be larger, than the stated 140 minutes, or 150 MEGS, respectively. There is a reason for this. You may recall that the GEN 3 Cassette Program Releases were designed to include secrets, or secret programming, in the few minutes of blank tape at the end of each side. Well, the new GEN 5 MP3 releases will also contain secrets, as well as bonus content which is not advertised. One standard feature of all of my GEN 5 releases will be short audio programs after the release program ends which will contain reflections on the release, production notes, interviews, secret information, and more. Expect at least ten minutes of additional programming to run at the end of every release, which could push the file size up to 175 MEGs per program, and the running time to around 150-155 minutes. Of course, the beauty of this “extra bonus content” feature is that the listener does not have to listen to the commentary program if they don’t want to, as the extra content is not, technically, in the main body of the program, or a part of it (although listening to the bonus content will enhance the overall program, and I expect a lot of fans to listen to it). So, I get to have my cake and eat it to. Balanced, tight programming, AND as much talking and information that I feel like adding. I finally figured it out! Oh, and that bonus programming / commentary program will also feature outtakes, and behind the scenes of the making of the program, with production information above and beyond the program note files. Hard core fans, too, can expect more behind the scenes coverage, outtakes, and the production process of their favorite programs to be featured in my Frontier View online television series, as well as in my other projects, such as the Horizons Podcast program series.
As you can see, this is all shaping up nicely. All that I need, though, is software and hardware to do this, and recently, I hit another snag. I had the money to buy a new computer, and to begin the digital conversion project for all of my GEN 1, 2, and 3 Cassette Program Releases, but my studio A/C died, and my money was spent on replacing it. Sometimes, life serves you a curveball.
At any rate, tonight, while I was writing this (and listening to Party Zone 2), I pondered what this all meant. When this all started, when I was only 20 years old, I stumbled onto something which was just, well, it was me. How many 20 years olds can say that? Over the years, things have evolved, and looking back, I can say that all the time that I spent on those releases was worth it. After I am gone from this world, these programs will live on. A part of me will live forever.
I figure that, if I’m lucky, that my life is about halfway over. You know what? What I am setting up now will define the remainder of my life. Creating, and this DJ Frontier alter ego, will be a big part of who I am for the rest of my life, and isn’t being who you are really the point of living life? This is what I’ll do. I will write, create, do indie films, do feature films, produce, photograph, design, do events, do stage productions, sing, perform, act, direct, and do what I was meant to do for the rest of my life. That, my friends, is worth it, and it’s my reason for existing.
And with that, I smile as I sign off on this latest entry on my Tampa DJ Blog. Have a good 4th of July, my friends! I will be hanging with my friends this weekend, and will be having fun.

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Friday, May 28, 2010 - 09:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

It's The Official Frontier Pop Podcast

With work on Frontier Pop progressing nicely (although this work will slow, somewhat, as I take at least four or five months to concentrate on writing two books, my Frontier 4 novel, and my modeling book. I will do this while working my photography business, updating modeling resource sites, and converting my DJ tapes to MP3 programs, which will leave me little time to update blogs or web sites), it was decided that it needed a regular podcast, too, just like Advanced Model would have. That decided, would I have three podcasts? Well, no, as I only have time for two. So, my “Horizons” DJ Frontier podcast series will also become the official Podcast for Frontier Pop, with the relevant formatting and content added. The good news, too, is that I do not have to shoehorn this into my existing podcast format, and it compliments it nicely. Frontier Pop, after all, has direct ties to my DJ Frontier alter ego, just like my Frontier Society underground subculture does.
The Frontier Pop podcast will be started around the same time that the Advanced Model podcast will begin, which is also around the time that my GEN 5 productions will start. This, of course, also depends upon my book-writing schedule. I have to finish two books this year, and it will take at least four months to do this. The first book, Frontier 4 (which has nothing to do with any of my other “Frontier” properties, seriously) is a science fiction novel which I have been working on since 1989. The story for Frontier 4 is complicated, and I spent years developing the backstory technology and other support material. Frontier 4 starts out a little cliche (It’s my Back To The Future, and it’s about time travel), but shortly after the first act, it spins off into new territory, intentionally misleading the reader in the exposition. It’s going to be a really cool novel, and I even have the more-straightforward storyline for the sequel done (don’t expect work on the sequel until the first one sells, because I have a ton of screenplays, stageplays, stories, and other books to write, too). Of course, I don’t have a book deal for Frontier 4, but I need to get it done. The second book, on the other hand, is a nonfiction book that I DO have a book deal for, It’s a modeling book, and that needs to get done, too; one of the reasons that my modeling resource sites have not been updated that much in the past couple of years. I had to sort out the information that I would be able to publish on the Internet for free, while making sure that it did not undermine my modeling book project. I solved it, and now have the proper balance to make everything work.
Why am I writing about my book projects on my DJ blog? Because I need everyone to understand the reason why if I don’t have much time to work on GEN 5 releases, or podcasts, this year. I understand, and I hope that you do, too.
There is an excerpt for Frontier 4 available on several of my web sites, and you can certainly check it out, and let me know what you think. Feel free to read that excerpt of my Frontier 4 novel, and give me feedback, if you wish.
Sigh. I wouldn’t be surprised if my past releases are converted to MP3 programs by the fall, and that GEN 5 releases don’t begin production until early 2011. Also, don’t be surprised if posts on this blog slow down, too. For once, this won’t be due to a lack of equipment or software, but rather time. Time travel, indeed.

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Friday, May 28, 2010 - 08:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

It's A Secret

I’ve always liked secrets. At least the good kind. From my earliest days as DJ Wiz Kid, I’ve done experiments with my projects, and have included some secret additions to my programs. In the GEN 1 And GEN 2 days (October 1990 to December 1991), I did all sorts of interesting things, more notably, the addition of subliminals in some of my programs.
Starting in 1994, with the start of GEN 3 releases as DJ Frontier, I continued working with subliminals, but also worked on more obvious secret additions. There was always a bit of empty tape at the need of each side of a tape, and what I would do would be to allow a minute or two of dead air at the end of the program on a side, and then drop in some random skit or group of samples as a “secret” addition not announced, or covered, in the scope of a program.
Secrets are a bit more sophisticated these days, in the era of the GEN 5 releases.
As a photographer, I often do side projects which are added to the scope of my main project as a secret addition. These secrets, though, are relevant to the project as a whole, and they add something which serves to enhance the overall package. This said, these extras are not required to complete the base project, but merely enhance it when added.
Such a philosophy will serve me well in my entertainment career, as well as the marketing and sales of the products and the services that I develop. My creative endeavors, especially the ones which I do not directly profit from, are useful as a testing, or proving, bed for the business endeavors.
As a graphic and a web designer, I’m even more devious. I often incorporate hidden message and extras with my design work. My web sites even include entire extra sections which reward the curious, the inquisitive, and the patient (although you will not find “secret”, or sensitive information in such sections. The idea is that, if it is a valuable concept or idea, you want as many people to see it as possible. This helps discourage plagiarists, as they find that their theft of my information backfires and destroys their credibility when their prospects often are aware of the true source of the information, and their prospects are aware that they stole it from me). I’ve caught a few people stealing from me. Not that this happens a lot, though. Not that many people out there steal things, and I work hard to make sure that a few bad, unethical people don’t undermine my faith in people.
(With that, I’m about to deviate from the subject matter a bit, just to add another dimension to the subject. Please do not accept the following as legal fact, or legal advice. I am not an attorney, and this blog post was not cleared though my attorney. This is merely my interpretation of copyright law, and fair usage. This is my opinion, and take it as you will.....)
This said, some may argue that, as an underground DJ, that I steal music and other material from the legitimate copyright owners; this would make me somewhat of a hypocrite if it were true. This is debatable, and I consider it to be a grey area. This is the remix generation, and doing programs with the content created by others is a legitimate art form; most DJ’s do it, too. Radio DJ’s play music, although it is licensed use of the music. Club DJ’s spin music, and people dance to that music, although technically, the use of that copyrighted material is not licensed for public performance, unless they paid for a license to use it commercially (and I do not know of a single DJ who has done this). Technically, this also means that the common mobile DJ playing music at your wedding or party is breaking the law, and “stealing: the music, because, although they have licensed use of copyrighted material for personal listening, acquired by paying for it, they do not own it, and do not buy the rights from the copyright owner. Unless they license the music that they already own for public performance, which is basically the same as using music as a content component of a creative production, it is technically illegal, and could be considered to be stealing, even if they bought the music. Buying a CD or downloading a purchased MP3 from a retailer only grants the party who purchased it the right for personal use (unless explicitly stated in a written agreement, which I've never seen in such a purchase), not the right to play it at a party or other uses of public performance. So, this is another grey area, and it is open to both interpretation, and debate. I suppose that the copyright owners could sue mobile and club DJ’s for the public performance and unlicensed use of their property, but it’s really up to what the copyright owner feels is worthwhile to pursue. If the offender is not making a lot of money through their efforts, and the damages cannot be proven, it’s hardly worthwhile to take action against them. Although, this is hardly a defense. Any DJ’ing without the appropriate license is taking a bit of a risk, although the irony is that, often, the appropriate license either doesn’t exist to begin with, or would be so expensive that you couldn’t afford to do anything legitimately. Do you think that the legal definition of being legitimate or not is going to deter a DJ who is determined to craft their art, and realizes that they can't afford to if they were 100% legal? I suppose that what is "legal", or "legit", is really up to interpretation of the parties involved. I sure as heel don't define a professional by legal requirements. You are either able to do it, or you can't, and legality has nothing to do when you're talking about ability, creativity, and skill.
I once talked to a modeling industry friend in Los Angeles about licensing and regulation. He told me a secret about business, in general. In his opinion (and I agree with this), licensing and regulation did not actually exist to make your efforts legal, but to provide a means to keep you in check if you go out of line; measures are in place as leverage to be used against you if the need ever arises. Most of the time, actual definitions of what was going on, and the benefits, are up to interpretation. Oh, how my eyes have been opened.
Also, could you imagine obtaining a license from every single copyright holder? It would not be cost-effective, as it would take a ton of time, and effort.
Regarding mix tapes and underground DJ’ing, I do not see it as stealing. I see it as fair use. It’s not like I am bootlegging the property of others in its original form, repackaging it, and selling it. I am not making money directly from the use of copyrighted material. I am not plagiarizing the material, and passing it off as my original work. I am not using the material as representative of the work that I do. I actively promote, and appropriately credit, the use of that material. My releases are an example of my creative skill as a DJ, and when I put together a program, it is a blend of copyrighted material from a variety of sources, creating something else entirely. To me, it’s an art, and I consider the primary duty of any DJ to first, and foremost, introduce their audience to new music. It’s called breaking music, and it is the first duty of any DJ, in my opinion. It is my main mission as a DJ; I like to promote new, cool music, and to educate my audience about what it is. As a result, they go out and buy the music that they were introduced to. Everyone wins.
Today, most of the DJ mix tape scene is in the hip hop music genre. There was a report of DJ’s putting together, and selling, hip hop DJ compilations, and some of the worst “offenders” were raided and arrested. What happened? They were making a lot of money, directly, from the use of the copyrighted material owned by others. I’m sure that the copyright owners wanted their fair cut, and going after these people was cost-effective, because damages could be proven, and there were assets which could be collected to cover those damages. In this instance, a grey area became a black and white one.
There are also reports of the widespread practice of record companies putting together, marketing, and selling compilations without the appropriate copyright clearance from the owners of the individual songs used in the compilation. It sounds like legal and financial suicide, but keep reading. Remember when I wrote that it is not cost effective to obtain the permission of each copyright owner in the production of a mix tape? Well, it applies here, too, especially when it can take a great deal of time, and effort, to locate, contact, and negotiate terms with the actual copyright owners. What happens with this practice, though, is that a deal is brokered after the material is used, and after the copyright owner finds out and contacts the company. They get their cut. Why does this happen? Well, although the terms agreed upon after the fact are even more favorable for the copyright owner, in the grand scheme of things it is a lot more cost effective to license the music after it is used. As long as everyone gets paid from their cut of the profit, things generally work out. Yes, I know that this is technically copyright infringement, but it happens all of the time (I really should cite sources, too, but this is only a blog, and I know this to be true from my research).
Also, promoting music this way is a lot like free marketing for the copyright owner. As long as people are discovering the music, and it increases sales, DJ’s are often tolerated, especially if they are not making money from it (please do not take this as advice. I am not encouraging anyone, or any DJ, to break the law, and I don’t want anyone pointing their finger at me and saying that I am encouraging DJ’s to break copyright laws. That is not the case at all. This is merely my opinion, my experience, and a few anecdotes from here-say, and if you intend to do any of this, you assume all risk and liability. I’m not telling you that it is ok, and to go out and do it. I’m only expressing my beliefs, and opinion, on the subject, and demonstrating that my creative projects are not a contradiction, and that the issues surrounding such projects can get... complicated. What you consider to be contradiction may, in fact, be complexity which you may not understand. I do not know all aspects of copyright law, and do not profess to be an expert in it. I am not an attorney. I’m still learning, just like you are. Also, because I don't know everything- and life would be really boring if I did, and there was nothing left to learn - I'm sure that there are aspects out there which I am not aware of. I talked to DJ Santana one day in the early 1990's after running into him at Tampa Bay Center, and we were talking about record pools at the time. I'm sure that Santana knows some aspects of this that I do not, and I intend to learn more about this from other DJ's, as well as attorneys who have experience in the industry).
It’s weird how the business world works sometimes.
Think of another example. Say you publish an online playlist, kind of like they do on Myspace profiles, which play programmed sets of music in an order. Other than technical specifics and licensed usage, is it really any more different than putting together a mix tape if you are not selling it? What’s the damage?
Anyone ever wonder how it was ever legal to sell tape recorders and blank tapes to begin with? How about modern MP3 encoding programs and rippers? Although it’s obvious that they weren’t used for purposes which are technically legal, they still were able to be sold. How are THOSE not gray areas?
I suppose that you also have to be able to prove circulation numbers, and damages, which is kind of hard to do when you’re not selling anything. I will go on record as stating that I do not sell my underground releases. I do not make them available to the general public, do not distribute them to everyone, do not play them on the Internet, or offer them as downloads. They are for promotional use only, and, as far as everyone is concerned, I use them for creative support in events, much like and club or mobile DJ does. To me, it’s fair use. To the copyright owners, they stand to gain, too, because I promote their material to an audience, and their sales benefit as a result.
Some have asked me why I split my event planning company into two different companies. Well, in short, the main reason was the usage of copyrighted material. Eventi Events may do public performances of copyrighted material, but when you start using copyrighted material as a component of a production where tickets are being sold, it’s entirely different. The licensing requirements are a lot different. Eventi Stage is also organized as a non-profit, and it is a stage production and event planning company which does original events.
Let’s go to the other side of the coin. You see, I AM a copyright owner myself. I own the copyrights to thousands of different properties, including photographs and written works. I often track how this work is used. There were time when my work was outright stolen and used to make money, as well as plagiarized, and that was not cool. As an example, a photographer in Bradenton took a paragraph of information from Independent Modeling and published it on his site as his work, and that was not cool; what made it worse is that he was a competitor! On another occasion, a photographer took ideas for composite card sales from my photography marketing site, passed off those ideas as his own, and then used them to bait another photographer into building an entire business around my ideas, only to later rip off that photographer, too. That, too, was not cool; I consider it to be outright theft.
There were other times, though, when my work was used without my permission, but it fell under fair use. For example, a New York photographer copied the entire content of a section of Independent Modeling, and published it on his web site as advice (don't do this. I look at these things on a case-by-case basis, and this is not a blanket policy). While that was in a gray area, what made it tolerable, for me, was that he cited the source, and linked back to the site. It was more free promotion than copyright infringement (I also took into account how much content was used, and how it was used. At the very least, we both benefited 50/50, and that was alright, for me). See how each situation is open to interpretation, even if it is in a gray area?
So, you see, it’s a gray area (I should have titled this post "secrets and gray areas"). The copyright issues, too exceed the scope of this blog post, and my general expertise, too, but I will revisit it soon, with the assistance of my attorney. Hopefully, this clarifies my opinions, views, and my stance on this subject, though, which was the point of addressing it on this blog.
Going back to my design work, I often incorporate secrets into it. When I put together complicated cover designs or graphics, you’ll often find secrets here and there. I like to put in extra features. For example, when I designed the cover image for my TFR 2008 film festival review on Tampa Bay Film, I added an image of Jesus, who represented the fictitious "indie film savior", hinting at ongoing issues in the Tampa indie film scene, in the black sky. If you look hard at the picture, you'll see him. Who is the indie film savior? The indie film savior is supposed to be a Tampa filmmaker who will come along and save the indie film scene in Tampa Bay, and lead it to the future. Some out there claim that I am the Tampa indie film savior, while others refer to me as the Tampa indie film antichrist. I'm neither, but I will make a difference for the best (oh, and just for fun, my Tampa indie film savior character will be a regular, ongoing feature on Frontier Pop!). I guess that I'll find out what sort of impact that I will have on the Tampa indie film scene once I start making films and doing indie film events. If they are truly the best in the Tampa indie film scene, and my efforts transform Tampa indie film, I suppose that this would make me the Tampa indie film savior by default, although I'm not claiming that right now. To be honest, with all of the morons that I've seen making films in this town, it wouldn't take much to become the Tampa indie film savior, and it wouldn't really be a title to brag about.
With DJ’ing, I still work with secret additions. With the GEN 3 releases, I often put secret sections at the end of each side of the program tape. With the conversion project this year for my GEN 3 releases, the MP3 programs will no longer have “sides”, so both secrets, if applicable, will be shuffled over to the end of the program.
With the GEN 5 Digital Program Releases, each release will have a secret “bonus” part of the program. While not technically a part fo the actual program, the secrets, after the program ends, will be relevant to the program, and will enhance it.
There’s more, though.
I’ve been going over my numbers, and since there are no longer any restrictions to how long a program can run, because I’m no longer limited by a physical medium, I can add additional content to the end, as well as secrets. Imagine a 140 minute GEN 5 Digital Program Release, 10 minutes of bonus content, such as an interview, a few minutes of dead air, and then a secret. The total running time would be 160 minutes, and the MP3 a little larger, but there are a lot of cool possibilities (Of course, not that it would matter much, especially since I would be the one who listened to it the most. After all, with the releases not being sold or distributed, my programs will be the coolest things never heard by most).
For now, though, it’s a secret.

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Wednesday, May 19, 2010 - 08:10 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Some CPR Scripts And Production Notes

I spent a lot of time yesterday digging out my old notebooks, and studying my production notes. I documented everything back then, and still do. I also looked up two of my final GEN 3 CPR scripts online (I had to use a search engine to find out which of my sites, and where, they were located). I located them, cleaned them up as best as I could, and moved them here to the Tampa DJ Blog. I may update them, again, and move them over to my DJ Frontier site, once it is officially launched and online.
Both of these scripts, Daytona and Rush Hour, are the original scripts, and are formatted for the original 90 minute, 2-sided GEN 3 cassette tapes. Both scripts will have a lot more added to them, and will see changes, when they are upgraded to GEN 5, MP3 Digital Program Releases (DPR). Rush Hour will also be increased to a program format with a running time of 240 minutes, which is 2 ½ hours longer than the original format. Daytona, on the other hand, will have the standard GEN 5 running time of 140 Minutes, at the time of this writing, which is still a lot more than the original 90 minute GEN 3 tape program.
The script for the original GEN 3 program Daytona is promising, and hints at what is to come. Daytona is a sequel, of sorts, to Waveform 3, the Waveform indie film, and Waveform RMX. Its sequel will be Waveform 4 (this could change, too, so be warned). Daytona is the release which has a story about Washout and his friend Tobey, who travel on Spring Break to Daytona Beach in search of adventure. Read the script to find out what happens in the original story (and, I might add, I just read my Daytona script for the first time in years, just now. I'm glad that it isn't taking itself too seriously. In my opinion, it's not as good as the script for Waveform 3 was. Washout is too over the top, and a lot dorky. The story and characterization is also not very deep. I'm going to have to rewrite most of this script when I upgrade it. It makes you chuckle in parts, but mostly because it gets ridiculous, and not because it is really all that funny. Not some of my best work. I'll fix it!).
The script for the original GEN 3 program Rush Hour was even better. It is the first of three “radio station” programs, and it is about a urban disaster in the Tampa Bay area in 1996 (which didn’t actually happen, but could have). The point with the Radio Trilogy GEN 3 programs were to put in a tape, and trick your friends into thinking that they were listening to actual events being played out over a radio broadcast (a polished production effort which was beyond what I could do on tape). Rush Hour was developed to the point where most of the monologues and dialogue were recorded, but it was only halfway done due to technical problems inherent with GEN 3 analog mastering. Rush Hour will be expanded for its GEN 5 release, will be increased in program running time from 90 minutes to 240 minutes, more commercials will be added, more Harry scenes will be added, and the original recorded performances of supporting British actress Charlotte Durnell and actor David Baker will be retained (I just read Rush Hour again, for the first time in a few years. Rush Hour, which was written around the same time as Daytona, is actually a good script; it's much better than Daytona. Funny stuff there. This said, some of the lines are a little dumb, and I do tend to rip off a few things - "pump you up", "I am the law", etc. I can, however, fix what hasn't been recorded, and the issues with the script are in the parts that have not been recorded, as well as add a ton of additional content!).
Read them now, and enjoy them!
In other notes, I found out that, in 1998, that I was actually planning on ending the GEN 3 line in preparation for “commercial” GEN 4 CD releases, so I didn’t just stop doing them after all. It was planned, I had an exit strategy, and I simply ran out of time (I was also annoyed with the technical problems with Rush Hour, and annoyed that doing CPR's was no longer cost-effective because few people had tape players, and couldn't listen to them). I will go into this more after I study more of my archived notes. I did keep a lot of them!

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Tuesday, May 18, 2010 - 08:30 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Production Issues Resolved

Finally, progress.
I’ve resolved the computer issue, the software issue, remaining programming issues, and have even come up with some new program ideas (putting on my nerd glasses and being objective about my past work while I research it does wonders).
I will be installing the more modern computer in the studio in a few weeks. This means that the digital conversion project for my library of analog tape programs will begin in June 2010.
Averaging one release every two days, the process should take, at least, two months. After polishing them, all 30 releases will be re-released in August 2010, exactly one year after the conversion project began.
Wait, though, there’s more!

1. Software Tools By June 2010
I will have my software tools in place by June 2010, which includes the Ableton Live 8 and Reason DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations). Ableton Live 8 will be the main DAW for my GEN 5 Digital Program Releases, my commercial releases, my podcasts, and audio work for my indie films and my record label. Reason will be my DAW of choice for the music that I will be writing and performing. I will even return to singing, writing music, and doing vocal performances.
Although I will be doing my own music, there is no way that I will be able to produce enough to support all of the program content that I will be producing. My primary mission as DJ Frontier will be to find, and break, new music to my audience and fans (and much of this effort will go into my commercial release line, as well as other sellable productions). Of course, my other mission as DJ Frontier will be to redefine what a DJ is, and what a DJ could be. I will be a DJ of all media, as well as life.
One thing that really makes me happy about digitally producing, and executing, the new GEN 5 releases and other audio production projects is that it finally gives me precise editing capabilities. Despite all the advancements of GEN 3 technology in the early 1990's, the GEN 3 releases had a lot of clipping on the samples, monologue issues, and loose programming. I can now do releases that are as perfect as I need them to be, and the technology can even be used for editing audio for my independent films. The glitches and quality issues with the analog programs are now a thing of the past. You can expect a hell of a lot more creativity, too, with the new tools. I know that programs such as Rush Hour and Generation 2 would not be possible with old GEN 3 technology. Generation 2 will take as much work as a short indie film, and will require the audio editing of a film!

2. Digital Conversion Process
I will be converting a lot more than just those old program tapes. I also have a library of samples and supporting content, such as the monologues recorded by professional actors back in 1998 for Rush Hour. Those will have to converted to digital MP3 files on the studio computer.
I will also be converting hundreds of CD’s from my library to WAV master files and MP3 files. I will be using a second computer for this work.

3. GEN 5 Releases by October 2010
With the GEN 5 tools in place next month, I will be able to work on my new GEN 5 releases this summer. I hope to have at least six or so done in the fall. This is good news!

4. GEN 5 Production Protocols Polished
If there was one thing that I really disliked about my past releases, it would be that I used to do a lot of announcements on them, and referenced current events. This served to date some of my programs.
In program such as the Waveform series, which is set around the mid 1990's (Waveform 3 is set in the summer of 1995, as is the Waveform indie film, and Waveform RMX, Daytona, and Waveform 4 are set in 1996), that’s fine, but for other releases, it was usually not appropriate. I should reference subjects and themes, and not current events (exception: My podcasts). The way that I dropped samples into program will be adopted into standard practice with my monologues and dialogue; with the longer running time on programs, I can not only fit in a lot more music, but can spread out the mono/ dialogue material into smaller snippits, snippits which wouldn’t be over 10 seconds on average. In 1996, I did testing with focus groups which were not in my normal fanbase, with Party Zone 3, Horizons RMX, Generation, and Waveform 3. The participants filled out rather detailed survey forms (which I will scan and post online). The feedback was interesting, with complaints that I talked too much, which, additionally, wasn’t the real issue. The main issue with me talking was that what I said often did not have enough of a point to be worth interrupting the music (which reminds me of those annoying “Jam Pony” mix tapes from the early 1990's that were everywhere, with this LOUD DJ jumping in over the music every few minutes, turning the music way down as they talked. That was more annoying than anything that I ever did, in my opinion). I also had some feedback from women complaining that there was too much of a sex subtext in Party Zone 3, which I tend to agree with now, as it should have been more about dancing (Party Zone 5 will focus on dancing, while the new Party Zone 2 RMX will focus on dancing as a constructive way of dealing with being pissed off, with the rage subtext retained). So, I’m taking the feedback and the criticism constructively. The way that the monologues and dialogue will be used is dependent upon the format and the theme of the program. Obviously, a dance mix is about faster-paced music, and you don’t want to kill it by interrupting the music. Radio-play formatted programs such as Waveform 4, Rush Hour, and Generation 2, on the other hand, would have longer “scenes” playing out between sets of music which support what is going on in the “story”. Generation 2, for example, will be a 140 minute program with at least 20 minutes of acted scenes, and a three act story. Generation 2 will be much, much more ambitious than the first Generation was, with several actors and an excellent science fiction plot. In Generation 2, myself and an actress playing my fiancé will use an advanced version of the subliminal VR machine to explore the past within my mind. Unlike the previous story, where my character explores the past in a semi-unattached state, and I described what was going on much like someone who is under hypnosis, we will literally become a part of the world within my mind. It would become another reality to us, and we would become unaware of the real world, although we would realize that we were existing within my memories. There is an unexpected problem when my memories become tainted from my original “trip”, and we get stuck in my head, and have to work together to figure out a solution and return to a conscious state. I wrote a short story back in the mid 1990's where I had to face my dark side, and some of this dynamic will play in the script for Generation 2.
Anyway, regarding monologues and dialogue, they will all have points, from now on. Basically, I will be dropping the announcements, the pitches, the predictions, and the preachy essays (I really hated the infomercial-like content in Vision, and Futura 2 was almost like that, too. I can also do without the poor delivery of the lines, and the whining, on Futura!), and will, instead, perform context-based performances and address situations and things that the listener may identify with. That’s one of the secrets of any entertainment media, whether it is an indie film or a an audio program. If the targeted audience can relate to the content, the story, or the characters, you’ve won half the battle. Some of my favorite movies and music have content which I can relate to.
That’s just a start. The complaining, and the whining, of the old releases will be gone, too. I’ll also stop talking about what we are going to do, which makes sense because we are already doing it.
Man, Futura, which I am listening to, now, really has some bad acting and poor delivery of lines (myself included). You could tell that we were reading, too. DJ Cricket (Nicole) and I are trying to show chemistry, and we are trying to interact, but it’s just not happening. We are also telling too much in our dialogue, and we should be showing; maybe we could have got our chemistry right if I had spent more alone time with her, and our interplay would have come about more natural as a result, because she certainly was no actress. I’ll get it right in the upcoming Futura 3 (it would have been better in Futura 2, but in most of my lines it seemed that I was trying to sell the audience on the future of entertainment, instead of just doing it. DJ Foxx (Samantha), also disrupted the production for Futura 2 because we were too involved personally, and what I went with was a shadow of its original ambition (Futura 2 would have been better, in my opinion, if she had been professional about it. As it happened, she and I got into a fight, and she tried to confiscate our recorded material. I ended up writing a new script, which was ultimately not as good as it could have been).
I’ll make up for it in Future RMX and in Futura 3. Futura 3 will have a new format, even though it will be compatible with the earlier releases, and Futura RMX, which will be based on all three Futura programs (although RMX will come well before 3, I will have access to near-final material and content for the upcoming 3... Remember, I’ve been working on these releases for the past 12 years, during my production down time!). Futura RMX will contain a lot of the music from the Futura series, as well as the best samples, although it will not sample much of the monologues and dialogue from the first two (I especially how love how I slam a local television stations news report on raves on Futura 2. Over a decade after creating Futura 2, I got a job at that same television news station, and even worked with some of the same people I slammed in the program. You know what? I found out that I was wrong about them!).
Ha ha.... What’s up with the “DJ Cricket in the jungle” monologue where she is delivering an essay about “dreams”? Could it be that I shoehorned a background track from the Sega CD game Jurassic Park as the background music for that monologue just for the Q Sound effects? I keep on hearing squawking crows and other nature noises! It sucks! What does all that jungle noise have to do with the theme? Well, at least the music which plays afterwards, and the sample sets, fit well. Reach for the sky, indeed!
Oh, it’s good, now. The sample set with Enigma’s “return to innocence” is brilliant. There are some things in Futura which are PERFECT, and I wouldn’t change them, even today.
God, why didn’t we rehearse our lines before recording them? Our delivery sucks!

5. Inexpensive Media
It’s well known that every GEN 1, GEN 2, and GEN 3 release that I’ve done, which is just over 30 releases, fills roughly 3 Gigs of hard drive / media storage space (about 100 Megs each). My new GEN 5 releases, because the are 140 minutes minimum, are about 150 Megs each (Party Zone 5, Party Zone 2 RMX, Resolution, and Revo, as well as most other dance mixes that I do, will clock in at around 250 Megs each, because they run 4 hours instead of the normal 2 hours 20 minutes, or the old GEN 1/2/3 running time of 90 minutes, which is 1.5 hours. Wow, my fans will be able to look forward to quarter Gig programs which run well over 2 ½ times longer than my old releases! Although I could go as long as I want to with GEN 5, expect my maximum limit of any release to be 4 hours, because any programs longer than that would not be cost-effective to do. At the minimum, however, standard program running times of 2 hours 20 minutes, or 140 minutes, are much better than the old 90 minute running times.)
Hmmmmmmm...... It seems like blank DVD’s only cost around 25 cents a piece, and they can hold around 5 Gigs or so. Seems like a cheap, plentiful storage option to me. I will be investing is several high speed DVD burners. I will also be investing in plastic DVD cases for 10 cents a piece, and printed CD case inserts (no pictures) for around 5 cents a piece. High tech calling cards for less than 50 cents a piece, and which can hold roughly 5 Gigs of file content? I love the future! I would never put just a single release on a single DVD and let 95% of the storage go to waste, and the insert cover would merely be a printed description of content with a design, so it would not be any sort of “cover”, but this is a great way to get all of my work out there. It sure as hell beats $3.70 for a single 90 minute cassette release, which, in comparison (and not including the layout and design / media overhead), is 318 times (318.2 times, precisely) more expensive than what I’ll be using now! It would cost me $111.00 to for a fan to obtain all 30 of my releases as cassette programs with printed covers (remember, they are promotional tools, and I cannot sell them). When you can fit all of that, digitally, plus at just over a dozen new GEN 5 releases (for 43 releases total) on a DVD-ROM for under 50 cents, it becomes a very cost-effective promotional and marketing tools, and will be almost viral in its potential to saturate the market. Our numbers indicate that every person will spread programs to at least three of their friends, so for a 50 cent piece of plastic, multiplied my the number of programs available compared to the cost of GEN 3 tapes (which would reach 318 fans for the same effort), I’ll be able to reach 1,272 potential fans, further multiplied exponentially if it goes viral. Realistically, though, I expect a single DVD to average 1,500 fans reached in a six month period (compared to 20 back in the GEN 1 days).
It was worth it in the past. It’s a LOT more cost-effective to use this for promotion and marketing, now. Again, I love the future!
If I thought that I had fans before, that’s nothing compared to what is coming (my numbers say that I would be over six times more effective if I were an attractive female DJ, which I’m not, but I have access to lots of models, actors, and talent to help me, so that’s not an issue; beautiful women are going to be very important to me in this new era as a DJ. I have plenty, now, and there will be no limits in the near future; I will routinely have several hundred beautiful women dancing away to my sets on a dance floor).
Compare that 50 cent piece of plastic to an 8 cent business card (my 14pt, 4/4 color, UV coated cards do cost this much, and I order 1,000 at a time), or a 3 cent paper marketing flier (my most brilliant marketing tool; I print hundreds at a time, with quick printing and turnaround time. They are cheap, professional, and effective- the DVD-ROM inserts would be made the same way). Sure, a DVD ROM is 6.25 times more expensive than a business card, but I’d only give one to one in ten people (who I would normally give cards to), for a much more profound impact; which, with all things considered, makes it much more cost-effective.
Ah, the DJ Frontier DVD-ROM: Over 42 program releases, each with iPod-optimized digital covers and support content. 4,380 minutes, or 73 hours, of programming. Can’t wait! Hmmmmm.... Volume 1 DJ Wiz Kid / DJ Frontier Releases. Volume 2 the DJ Frontier Releases the following year, and so on.
Ladies, fill your computers and your iPods, and prepare to be entertained!
Erm..... I just hope that no one out there copies my commercial releases, the ones that I sell, and leaks them to peer to peer networks.......

6. Upcoming Release Notes
Alrighty, I have written some content for both Party Zone 2 RMX and Party Zone 5. I’ve decided that I will do Party Zone 2 RMX before I tackle Party Zone 5. I will have to book an actress to redo Nicole’s lines and so monologue snippets and sample for the mix (it will mix in some of the banter of the early Party Zones, including 3, with new production formats, and will be the last Party Zone with a sequenced intro and outro. Expect sample sets from my actress, sequenced into the mix, where she asks me “When your friends abandoned you, did it piss you off?” and “When they betrayed you, did you dance to deal?”). Remember, that Party Zone 2 RMX is set in the year 1994, and it is about rage which fuels one to create (at that time, I was more pissed off than at any other time in my life, because of what happened in 1991 and 1992.). So, yes, you could say that the original Party Zone 2 had undertones of rage, and, keeping in line with history, so will Party Zone 2 RMX.
Party Zone 5, on the other hand, will be primarily about dancing, will be more positive, and will have a lot of samples where fans are getting down on the dance floor and scream my name in worship. Anyway..... I’ve also figured out how I’m going to do Sandbar, which is set in the Waveform universe, and will also set in the year 1996. Sandbar will be a beach party dance mix, where I, as DJ Frontier, and some female DJ’s tear up a set at a secluded beach. Expect some cameos from the characters of the Waveform series, as Washout and his friends will be there!

7. More About The End Of GEN 3
I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently. You know what? The end came when I realized that a lot of people no longer had cassette players to play my cassette program releases with. Most people in 1998 listened to CD’s and downloaded MP3's from Napster. The cassette format died, and that was the final straw. That’s the main reason that GEN 3 ended. There was no point working on releases when most people couldn’t listen to them.
Still, that does not excuse the meager output of GEN 3 Cassette Program Releases from 1994 to 1998. In that time, I completed 10 GEN 3 releases. I know that I use the expensive covers as an excuse for the limiting factor in my production output, but the truth is that more than half of those releases were released without covers! So, that taken into account, there is no excuse for not doing releases regularly in that four year period. I completed 10 (and all of them will require new covers, anyway, in their re-release). There should have been, at the very least, 50 GEN 3 releases instead of just 10 (doing a modest workload of one a month)! I shorted myself 80% of the potential production run. What a waste.
Oh, well. I’ll make up for it with the GEN 5 Digital Production Releases, which will be superior in every way, anyway, so, in the long run, it will be better!

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Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 11:00 PM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

GEN 5 Programming Format Finalized

One thing about making test MP3's of all of my releases is that I can constantly study them. I’ve been listening to them a lot. I’ve had lots of time to put on my nerd glasses, break out a notepad, listen to my releases, objectively, over and over again, and take lots of notes. I now know what works, and what did not.
One thing that I didn’t like about the last generation, the GEN 3 line, was that I had too much of a template based format across all of them. I’d usually start with “Geomedia Productions proudly presents..... a release by DJ Frontier........ whatever the title is!” with every program, regardless of what the theme and format was. This proved to be awkward at times, but it worked, somewhat. This is going to change.
Programs need to have their own optimized format, depending upon how the program is structured, and how it should be executed. The new GEN 5 programming format has now been finalized.
The remix of Party Zone 2, Party Zone 2 RMX, will emulate the old style of programming, with the intro and structure, with an intro of around 90 seconds. No music program will have long intros, like Party Zone 4 had, or excessive talking anymore. With Party Zone 2, I also threw in a diamix (dialogue mix segment), which would have been more appropriate for Horizons or Future, as the diamix broke up the flow of the dance mix. Party Zone 2 RMX will have a streamlined program of dance tracks. The re-release of the original Party Zone 2 will have the diamix crap edited out, which will cut 5 minutes from the program, and restore the flow of the program.
Flow is everything, especially with dance mixes.
Dance mix programs like Party Zone 5, Revo, and Resolution will have monologues/ dialogues more like sequenced samples sets, being short and sweet. This is an evolution of what worked before, and is a huge improvement over the earlier formats. The programs will flow appropriately for their format. Party Zone 5 alone will be a lot different from any of the previous Party Zone releases, as well as a lot longer. It will set a new standard, and I expect it to be the best Party Zone ever made.
I spent the morning driving around listening to some awesome dance music, and it inspired me about programming formats, not just for the GEN 5 Digital Program Releases, but all of my other DJ media projects, too. This one trippin’ track came on, and I could visualize how my DJ media programs could be sequenced. I took notes, and wrote everything down. It’s all about the flow. The CD that I had been listening too, a CD that I borrowed from my studio library, but which I had not really listened to before, had some great music on it. After parking my car, I looked at the CD jacket. It was a techno compilation from 1991! Cool...... I could use some of those tracks on Party Zone 2 RMX (I also plan on throwing in the “Is this Heaven” dance track that I ruined using as the background of Party Zone 4's too-long intro into the Party Zone 2 RMX program..... proper).
Another thing.... I don’t do drugs because I do not have to. I am musically inclined, and I find that good music tends to inspire my creativity. I literally get a rush, and a buzz, from good hooks in music. This is why I always jam music when I work on creative projects.
Oh, and another thing about the new formatting standards. The days where I am a lone DJ putting together a program are over. Although there will be some programs which I will do alone, most of my programs will require help. I’ll be working with a lot of voice actors, and talent, when putting together my programs, especially if they are high profile titles (expect to hear a LOT of new voices in the future; since I have tons of talent contacts, and am friends with a a lot of actors, talent, and models, I have plenty of possibilities). I listened to this one track during my morning music cruise, and I could imagine the smooth voice of a woman going “You’re listening to Party Zone 5 by DJ Frontier!”. At another point, I imagined another cool way of doing a monologue in a sample set format for a dance mix, with a quick one-sentence intro, and when I said “DJ Frontier”, I could mix in other voices saying the same thing, which would give it a cool multi-key layer effect (there are literally no limits to the creative ways that I can mix things up). Total time elapsed in my intro: 5 to 10 seconds. Sure as hell beats five to six minutes, which may be appropriate for some program formats, but not a dance mix!
I suppose that photography has taught me that you have to figure out what the subject is, and then do your composition around the subject. The subject is the focus. Weird. Photography made me a better DJ.
These new programs are going to be revolutionary, and will literally blow away my previous work. Guaranteed. I can’t wait!

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Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 8:12 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Then And Now

A lot has changed in my life, and in my DJ career. I would like to point out some comparisons of the way things were, and the way that they are now. My early years, I ws still trying to figure out who I was, and where I fit in. I was never a primitive, but I did tend to tolerate them in my late teens. I don’t have to do that anymore.
I don’t care what people say. Most young adults between the ages of 18 to 22, usually, which are college age kids, don’t really know what they are doing (which explains the mess caused by, and the success, of cell phone texting, twitter, myspace, and all of the other enablers of mass ignorance. Yes, I understand, and use, that technology. No, I do not depend upon it). As for myself, I may have an IQ of 200, and all these gifts, but when I was 18, 19, 20, and 21, I had an idea of who I was, but really didn’t have a clue about what I was doing. I made a lot of mistakes, and it is all a part of growing up.
Of course, too, the ages of 20 and 21, the ages where I started to figure things out, was the era of my reign as DJ Wiz Kid.
I meant well. I always did. It’s just that, back in those days, there were time when I was horribly misguided, and my opinions were not always backed up by a lot of facts. I also ran my mouth a lot, and fronted that I was a DJ from the hood. Of course, I didn’t believe in censorship (and I still don’t), but I had the idea that swearing a lot, and throwing wild parties, was not only cool, but a form of artistic expression, and free speech. Well, freedom of speech may protect the use of profanity (although there are lines where obscenity laws address), but there is also the issue of good judgement, and good taste.
There was a time where I thought that NOT swearing would be not being true to who I was, and would be selling out. I did not realize that ideas could be conveyed without the overkill of profanity and sick tactics. Indeed, one of my releases addressed this very subject.
In the summer of 1991, I released my 14th Cassette Program Release, “Back To The Streets”, a GEN 2 release which came out right after the original Waveform, which was my 13th releases, and the first GEN 2 release.
In Back To The Streets, the program starts with a skit where I am DJ Wiz Kid in three years in the future, in the summer of 1994 (it’s ironic that I returned to DJ’ing in the summer of 94 as DJ Frontier; during the summer of 91, I had no idea of the hell of late 91 and 92, which was coming. I did not know what the future would bring in reality), and where I was a rich, successful DJ working on a DAT (Digital Audio Tape) release called “Hard Hitter” (LOL... Funny title, and not one that I’ve ever done. DAT, which is a format which I have never worked with, was also a technology which never went mainstream, although it’s great for capturing audio in indie filmmaking!). As the future DJ Wiz Kid, with my “houses, cards, girls, and cold cash” (not that these things matter that much to me these days, although the cars and the women worked out well), I was doing this program, and this man gets past my studio security, and my “bodyguards” (with the stalkers that I seem to collect these days, which I have proof of, I may just have to get bodyguards in the future). With my opening “future” monologue, I was all professional and polite, with proper use of English, unlike the slang and profanity of the old days. Anyway, the man confronts me for “selling out to the establishment”, and then my “future” DJ Wiz Kid tells him that I am not a sellout, and then I revert to acting like I’m ghetto, that I’ll “F-ing prove” that I am not a sell-out, and that I’m going to go “back to the streets” (I guess to be reintroduced to my underground roots). It’s then that I begin a long, profanity filled program of gangster and explicit hip hop (don’t look for me to work with a lot of hip hop in the future, as the shocking gangster rap days were just a phase that I was going through. My musical tastes are more sophisticated, now; for the record, I still love the controversial group “The Lords Of Acid”, but not for the controversial explicit lyrics, but because the music is still awesome. The music itself is good stuff. Regarding hip hop, I still do like it, but most modern hip hop just sucks, and older hip hop which is defined mainly by its shock value no longer interests me if the music wasn’t really that great to begin with).
Wow. I was just listening to that release as I was writing this, and had to dump it and play Party Zone 2 instead (hearing heavy, loud breathing in a microphone followed by an explicit description of what I was going to do with a woman - an oral sex act followed by ingestion, referring to the woman as a Bitch on top of all that - was not entertaining, and I was scrambling to turn down the volume; to me, now, that’s obscene. Did I used to think that talking to women like that was cool? Would I even want to be with a woman who found that kind of talk to be acceptable? What kind of people now are going to be fans of this? Do I even want them as fans?). I’m sure that Back To The Streets is borderline obscene. Crazy program, and almost as crazy as my 18th release, Bitch, was. Yes, Back To The Streets is a creative, and good, program. I just don’t like some of the content, anymore. I’m not a fan (of something that I created 19 years ago!).
Man, I really have changed. I’ve grown up.
Don’t think that I’ve gone soft, either. It’s just that, now, with years of experience, and education, I see things a lot different. I have more sophisticated views and opinions. I still do have a twisted sense of humor, and do regret that I never had the opportunity to include my “jackin’ chipmunks” series of Alvin and the Chipmunks (Where the Chipmunks do drugs and do deviant activities) parody skits in my old releases (I will be doing skits like those, in good taste), but there is a difference between actual witty gutter humor and something shocking just for the sake of being shocking. The days of being shocking just to be shocking, making offensive material without tempering it with tact, or a point, are over.
Some of you may be asking, now, why I would want to re-release some of these old programs if they do not accurately represent my values, and who I am, today. Well, it’s because they accurately represent who I was back then! The music is still good, the programs are classic, and, if nothing more, they do demonstrate growth in my career as a DJ. Additionally, some of the content will be edited, as well; I don’t want to get too crazy. Hopefully, the evolution in my career, and in my life, which is played out with the releases will inspire my listeners to evaluate their own lives, and make the necessary changes, as well. There is nothing wrong with examining your past, flaws and all, and simply accepting it.
Anyway, with Back To The Streets, that intro skit is kind of funny, because I’m accused of selling out, and then return to gimmicks in an effort to “prove” that I have not sold out. It’s funny, because, now, in the future, I’m on the other side of the looking glass, looking back. My past self, as DJ Wiz Kid, would probably think that I was a sell-out today. If I were able to go back in time and meet my younger self, we probably wouldn’t get along.
It’s all about growing up, I suppose, and simply being yourself. While I was true to who I believed myself to be back then, in many ways, I was unsure of myself, insecure, and simply trying way too hard to be “cool”.
It’s just ironic that the theme of that ancient release plays out today. Is growing up selling out? I no longer think so.
I handle things differently now, too. In the old days, if I didn’t like someone, I’d run my mouth about them in my programs. I was always very, very good at ripping on people (see my Ripping Game post, also on the Tampa DJ Blog), if not one of the best at the art. These days, I may still make fun of people who I dislike, or have issues with, but it is done with a lot more tact. Sure, I will not personally attack or slander anyone, but parodying or criticizing what they do? I’m game for that, when appropriate!
I’ve recently come across characters who TRY their best to provoke me, embarrass me, spread rumors about me, and slander me. They are insanely jealous of what I do, are terrified of competing with me, and resort to low-blow credibility attacks in an attempt to discredit me. They also get frustrated, when their attempts at goading me into a response that I would not normally make, fail. They fail all of the time!
Please, people. Who do you think you are dealing with? Could it be that I am simply smarter than you are, not to mention a hell of a lot more experienced? I’m in the position on life where I know who I am, and where I am going, and I do not have any insecurities which will cause me to get emotional, have a lapse of judgement, and lower myself to the level of primitives; knuckle draggers who have no business calling me out in anything, especially when they are what they accuse me of being to begin with!
This one character makes disparaging remarks about my living arrangements, and mixes those remarks in with slander by accusing me of crimes which I am innocent of. Ok, well, the slander increases your legal liability, and eventually, legal action may be taken against you (at which point they will be crying, for sure, especially after a judgement is levied against them where their wages are garnished for the rest of their life). As far as the disparaging remarks about my humble living situation, well, whatever.
First, look at yourself. You’re hardly living any better- some might even say that you are living a lot worse.
Additionally, what I own does not define who I am. What I DO does. In my life, I’ve been able to do things with minimal tools that people who have massive resources have not been able to accomplish. Additionally, I do not have to go out and buy a fancy house to impress people with. Sure, I do have a nice car, but I bought that for me, and not to impress others with. My current situation works well, and the money that I save is used in my business investments. Eventually, I will have a really cool place, but it will never define who I am. I don’t need it.
Over the years, I’ve had a lot of friends who are prominent people, and models, stay with me. A few of them walked in, looked around, and told me that what I had done was smart. You know what? It is smart.
Hell, you know, I’d be more embarrassed, if I were someone who I had outdone, to admit that I was able to do what I did to them from my humble place. I’d hardly call that a credibility buster. Actually, being able to do what I do with so little is a credibility boost.
Now, in reflection, the materialistic insults are a bit of a curiosity, as is the anger behind those insults. First of all, superficial, shallow, stupid people are usually the ones who try to insult people with “have” and “have not” remarks. Secondly, and this is important, the one person who is making this an issue seems to be really angry about it. It’s almost like they feel as if I had misled them in some way. Hey, I never said that I was rich. I’m not (although, many say that I am wealthy in mind and soul. I will say, now, however, that I'm not broke, either!). Sure, I have some nice things, and conduct myself as a professional, but it doesn’t mean that every aspect of my personal life is what you imagine it to be, as defined by the limited facets that you can see. Sure, I’d be perfectly at home living in a mansion with lots of money. The way that I live, I belong in an upper-class, gate community. It’s just that I don’t need all of that to live that way. I have other priorities right now, and don’t let the perception that others have of my lifestyle, and what I own, define who I am. I’m real, and some of you are going to have to deal with that fact. Just because a few misguided people have misconceptions derived from their limited perceptions of who I am, and what I do, does not mean that it is my problem. It’s not my problem; it’s yours. Just because you convinced yourself that I am a certain way, or that I misled you in some way, does not make it true.
Someone accused me of being a fake, and phoney, and a fraud. Those are the last things that I would have expected to be accused of, especially since the most controversial aspects of my life are because of my strong sense of character, and my integrity. I have a backbone, I stay informed, and I stick to my guns when it comes to my opinions and beliefs. Of the people who hate me, most of them do so because I don’t put up with their B.S., and I call them as they are.
I’m real, and you know what? The people who are falsely accusing me of things know that. They are simply trying to bring me down any way that they can. If you look around, and go over all the information that there is on me, you’d have to be a total moron to state that I am not real, when all the facts indicate that I am. I also have real friends, unlike some people, and the friends that I have are the people who most people aspire to be friends with. I surround myself with quality people, like me, and all of you know this.
Most importantly, too, is that I know that I am real. I like myself, and take pride in my life. To hell what anyone else thinks. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs. I don’t steal. I’m not gay. I don’t have any weird, or illegal, fetishes. I do not misrepresent myself, or mislead people, either. I also do not infringe upon the rights of others (well, except for some fair use issues with copyrights in the creation of art, which do have honorable intentions). I’m also far from perfect, and make mistakes. I am, however, different. For a lot of people, being different is a crime. In my case, because I am different, they don’t bother to get to know me, and learn facts, and make assumptions about me which are not correct. In their minds, these assumptions become facts. Sometimes, despite the revulsion of the very thought of what it entails, I wish that I were gay. Why? Because society has been conditioned to accept gays, and being gay would make being different more acceptable. Gay people are different, too, for other reasons, as they allow their own beliefs about their sexuality to define who they are, and how they act. I do not agree with this, as, in my opinion, gay people are confused, and misguided. If you are gay, fine, be gay. I can respect that. Just don’t define who you are by your sexual preferences, and don’t infringe upon my rights by forcing your lifestyle, and your beliefs, on me. I have gay friends, and when I am around them, their sexuality doesn’t come into my mind, because they do not define themselves that way. That’s cool. At the risk of coming off as judgmental, however, I believe that a lot of gay people are people who are different, and convince themselves (with probably a little help from the people who are around them; people who are not really their friends and want to use them for their own purposes, or put them down to make themselves feel better), that the reason that they are different is that they are gay. In that case, it’s just an excuse, and a coping mechanism, and they are never truly happy (an irony, too, because the very word "gay" used to mean being happy. It is an oxymoron, and a contradiction, now).
So, do I think that being gay is a learned behavior, or do I think that being gay is natural? In my opinion, I think that being gay is a learned behavior. How can it be natural? If it were natural, then we would only have one gender, and would reproduce asexually; a condition which would make homosexuality moot. For the sake of argument (and I have had this debate before, and won it), let’s assume that homosexuality is natural. Ok, it’s natural, but guess what? Couldn’t it be natural selection at work, and nature’s way of aborting a genetic error? Think about it. If you are gay, you’re kind of discouraged from reproducing normally. As a result, your genes are not passed on. Homosexuality: Natural Selection At Work. Now, I can imagine that gay activists will point out that homosexuality is natural because even the animals do it. Well, ok. Animals do not have the cognitive ability, and the freedom of choice, that humans possess. Animals sometimes do what feels good, and, sometime, they get confused, too (we had a bird, once, who fell in love with one of her toys. I guess that was natural, eh?). What does that say to gay people who simply throw reason out the window because they are gay? Don’t you have a choice, or did you forfeit it, because of your compromises, in your attempt to rationalize the reasons that you do not quite fit in with others?
And, of course, once a person is convinced that they are gay, and start down that road, their preferences are learned, and become a real part of their behavior. It’s amazing how well human beings can adapt to their environments, whether real or imagined. Sometimes, what is imagined becomes reality, which happens though practice.
Sometime, I envy gay people. Through years of propaganda, society has been conditioned to be more accepting to gay people. It’s like “Hey that person is weird, but they are gay, so that explains it. It’s cool!”. Why can’t people be more open minded to others who are simply different because that is the way that they are? Why can’t people figure out who they really are, and think for themselves, too, instead of following others?
I suppose, that if I were a weak person, and required the acceptance of others to define me as an individual, that I could go around claiming that I was gay, just to make being different acceptable. I would be lying, though, and would be misleading people. I love women too much, also, so that wouldn't work. Being different than most people is something that I have to live with, too, but, in retrospect, we are all different in our own ways.
Listen, people, if you ever want to be happy with your life, and do what you were meant to do, you need to be honest with yourself, and figure out who you are. If you are different, figure out the real reason why, and then embrace being different, and just be yourself, while respecting the rights of others.
I’m different than most people are, and I’m happy.
I also like my place, although it is too small, and I’m always tripping over things. It works for me.
There is a saying that, in order to be insulted, you have to give consent. Well, I don’t give consent, especially when the people trying to insult me have a lot more issues than I do, or ever did. May I add that you also have to consider the source when it comes to any opinion. Am I annoyed at the feeble attacks? Yes. Am I insulted? Not hardly.
Would you be insulted if a drunk drug addict, or if some moron who doesn’t know who they are, tried to put you down? I didn’t think so.
It can be said that the pioneers take all the arrows. Thank God that I have thick skin. You know what, though? These insignificant detractors are followers with a pack animal mentality. If you were to achieve success at the level which is considered to be “success” by the majority of society, they would be the first to jump on board with what you have going on and support you. “Oh, I was wrong about you. I’m sorry. You’re so cool, now! What can I do for you?”. Yeah, whatever. I remember all. Too many people are clueless followers, and they can never be trusted.
Trust, after all, must be earned.
Then, and now?
In the old days, I used to rip on people. I was really good at it. Now, although I am much more mature, and tolerant, I can still appreciate the value of a good parody. I am also very opinionated, and like to have fun making light of things that I find wrong. Think what you will, but don't be a clueless, pathetic moron and go "limpin" through life.
So, don’t provoke me. Don’t slander me. Don’t attack me without a good reason. Don’t spread rumors about me. Don’t try to attack my credibility. Most importantly, however, never, ever start down the road of trying to insult me, and rip on me. You just may find out, the hard way, that I’m better at it than you are.
There are a few people who have inspired me. Some of those people will find themselves the subjects of being ripped on in my creative properties. Don’t ever find yourself in that situation. Once started, I tend to go on with it. Over, and over, and over again. Days, weeks, months, years, decades. Once I start ripping on people, they often find that things are never quite the same. My advice: Stop while you are ahead, because I have one hell of a skillset for this form on art.
Oh, and another thing. Some might look at my past DJ career and say that I am a “has been”, and allow me to head this off at the pass. I’m not a has-been. I’m a work in progress. As DJ Wiz Kid, I was a popular underground DJ with a lot of listeners. In my early days as DJ Frontier, I was also popular, and even more influential with my material. Has-been does not apply here. I was good back then, and I’m even better today. Now, I have more refined plans, created from experience, I have a more defined way of creating programs, and the technology has finally caught up with a lot of my already-proven concepts.
In many ways, my DJ career is about to enter a new era, and that era will be dramatically more effective than anything that I have done before. Sure, if I were to accept the “has-been” label, and convince myself that it is true, then I don’t have a chance. I know what I’m I am doing, however, and frankly, those who would have that opinion simply wouldn’t know what they are talking about. I’ll do what I was meant to do, regardless. It’s also obvious that I am passionate about what I do, and most importantly, I believe in what I am doing, and what I will do.
That’s good enough for me. I'm DJ Frontier, and, today, despite my views and opinions being a little different than what they once were, I am proud to say that I have not sold out, and that I never will, especially since I'll never have to. I am me, and my art is true to who I am.

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Thursday, May 6, 2010 - 8:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Conversion And Production Status

I have a saying, and it goes something like this.
Do what you can until you can do what you want to.
The first five months of 2010 has not been easy (my God... the year is half over!). I had money put aside for a new studio computer for January, but a series of emergencies has burned off a little more than $1,500.00 of my extra money. I’ve gone through a lot of money in the past few months. It’s not that I don’t make good money, I do (just a little less than usual because of the economy). It’s just that I have some major bills and other expenses, and that gives me little extra to work with. The money from some of my endeavors also support long-term plans which currently do not make me a dime, and I have overhead that most people, and most businesses, do not have (it could be said that my multi-faceted, polymath-like approach to business is great in the long term, as it gives me capabilities that the competition does not have, and will make almost everything much more cost-effective, but in the short term, it leads to more financial strain due to the overhead of investment into infrastructure, AND slows down my efforts and progress in each individual business/ industry. I have a LOT going on, and it takes up all of my time; my friends wonder why I have little time to hang out). My bills continue to go up, too, with everything from insurance, to expendables.
So, I have no new computer. I have no filmmaking gear. I have no new software. I have no new cameras. I don’t have a new laptop, and a new microphone (my original "DJ Wiz Kid" microphone, which I still have, may wind up in some future museum, and my original “DJ Frontier” professional Shur microphone is still a part of my DJ rig. The microphone that I need, now, will connect to a laptop, and will be stereo, unlike the other monoaural microphones), so that I can do releases on the go. This just sucks.
Well, maybe not.
I just caught up my bills, and am about to make a hell of a lot of additional money with some projects. That money will enable me to get the tools that I need, and to get back on track.
The irony, though, is that the tools that I need are cheap. Really, they are. Fortunately, though, because they are not expensive, it should not take long to acquire what I need.
Did you know that I’d be set for as little as $2,500.00? That’s not a lot of money. For $2,500.00, I’d be able to get two new computers, all of the software that I need, a microphone, a DV camera for indie filmmaking, a new Canon 50D SLR, and all of the support equipment that I need, to not only convert and re-release all of my releases as MP3 programs, but do my GEN 5 Digital Releases, too, as well as do my indie films, AND give me the photography capabilities that I will need! As you can see, it will only take time, and once my finances are moving along, it won’t take that much time, at all. $2,500.00 is not really that much money, and, to be honest, I can get all of that, and build my cybersuit, for a mere $3,500.00. The cool thing? My CPA told me that all of this is a write off, too.
I need tools. Ah, hopefully, I’ll be set this summer.
Regardless of any potential delays, such as new emergencies, of how fast I will be able to invest in new equipment, I need to do what I can with what I have, and that will be the challenge this summer.

Conversion Capers
Last August, I attempted to convert my CPR tapes to digital programs, and couldn’t do it because the main studio computer is really old, and too slow. So, I’ve converted just about all of my releases to test programs, where I can listen to them, flaws and all, and learn them enough to work on supporting content. It took me several months to do this; an indicator of how long it will take to do the official conversion this year.
Installing a new computer, converting the tapes, editing the digital programs, and then publishing the edited programs as official MP3 releases (I’ve taken the extra time to finalize, and perfect, the file support format) will be the last step in the process. For now, I’ll be listening to the test programs, noting where editing has to be done, writing support content, and designing the official covers (I am reformatting the cover templates now, which need to be compatible with what I’ve already made. I should be ready to go on with my cover designs next month). All of this should be ready when the conversion actually begins.
Even so, once the new computer is installed, and I am able to convert the releases, converting over 30 tapes, each running 90 minutes, is going to take a lot of time. The conversion project. Again, will take several months.
At this time, I’m hoping to have this done sometime this fall, and hopefully way before Thankgiving. This has been frustrating. I want to get this done so badly! Well, like everything else, it will, eventually, get done. We all just need to be patient, myself included (can you imagine how frustrating it is for with my years of investment into indie film support, and being at least a year and half behind schedule with my filmmaking agenda? I don’t have a single film done! I’ve been working toward making my own films for TEN years now, and not that the technology is finally here, and cheap, I still have to wait until I can invest in it, because I’m tied up with other things! Aggravating, for sure! I’m almost there, though, and I am confident that, within five years, that I will be the best indie filmmaker in west central Florida. Indie filmmaking also factors in strongly for my DJ career, too, in ways that I cannot disclose at this time.). Once this begins, it will proceed quickly. I’m at the point now that infrastructure is nearing completion, and I can now use investment money to fuel what I’m doing as well as staff-up and delegate. The next ten years will see a lot more progress than the last ten, and barring a massive disaster, or the end of the world, I can guarantee this. I will work hard in my career for the rest of my life, as art and entertainment is what I am meant to do.
Anyway, with the conversion program, I have at least 45 hours of programming to convert, edit, and finalize. It will take months, and thank God that only a few of my programs will require editing for content. It would take over a year if they all required editing.

GEN 5 Production
I’m falling behind on this agenda. I had wanted to get started this summer, and have at least 6 GEN 5 releases done (and released) by the end of 2010. That is going to be hard to do, now, because the year is almost half done. I’ll be lucky if I begin production on my first GEN 5 release, Era, in October 2010, which is the 20th anniversary of my first release!
I need to work hard to salvage my plans for 2010. As stated above, the delays have been very frustrating!
If I can get Era done in October, it is possible that I can have 6 new Gen 5 releases done by the end of the year. The key is preproduction prep work.
So, right now, I am beginning to write scripts, and plan out the programs. By this fall, I’ll be set up to produce new releases quickly, without compromising or cutting corners.
With 6 releases done by the end of the year, that means that Era (a program about what happened and what is to come), Revo (The next Party Zone, a dance mix focusing on techno, Revo is short for Revolution), Waveform RMX (A remix of the Waveforms, focusing on Waveform 3), Futura RMX (A remix of the best of the two Futura’s), Generation 2 (which will not be easy to do in less than a month, as this release is as complicated as doing a short film, with the plot of a feature film), and Lost Love (a sad program about lost love) should be done by the end of 2010. I have 16 GEN 5 releases on the schedule now, so this means that I will be in uncharted territory by mid 2011. The other releases, which would be done in the first half of 2011, would be Reverence (A sidekick release for my Reverence short indie film), Party Zone 5 (the best, and longest, Party Zone ever!), Neo Horizons (a new start for the Horizons series), Bitch 2 (this one will be cool, and controversial, I’m sure), Serenade (a program about falling in love), Noel (Christmas program which should have been done earlier), Resolution (New Years eve program/ dance mix), Futura 3 (with myself and two other DJ’s, based on the original Futura television treatment!), Rush Hour (a complicated Radio-themed radio play, which was recorded, but could not be finished, back in 98), and Daytona (the sequel to Waveform 3 and the Waveform indie film, story-wise). Other than those, the only programs that I can hint at for 2011 would be Waveform 4 (the official sequel to Waveform 3), Sandbar (a beach party program in the Waveform universe), Aurora 2 (a sequel to my popular GEN 3 new age program), Mako (A subliminal dating program), Hammerhead (another subliminal dating program, of sorts), and Party Zone 2 RMX (a remake/ remix/ reboot of Party Zone 2). Beyond that, expect a lot of revolutionary programs, fresh concepts, cool ideas, and brand new brands /series! Beyond the next 16 releases, which should clear out our production backlog of programs, it’s an open book, and new territory (a Bitch RMX? Generation 3? Party Zone 6? Neo Horizons 2? Revo 2? I know that they are sequels or remixes of existing properties, but I could have fun with those!). Also, let’s not forget the potential for other sidekick releases for my indie film projects. Although not confirmed at this time, the potential for releases based on Friendship, Composure, The Point, Twisted Puppet Show, Shelters, Quiet Place, and The Outcast cannot be ignored; all short films that I will be doing in my first two years as an indie filmmaker (from 2011 to 2013). Sorry, but I can’t divulge anything about these indie film projects right now, and have already divulged more here, with the titles, than I have on my Tampa Film Blog!
Also, keep in mind that the production order of these releases may change at any time, without warning. The only two releases locked into any particular order would be Era and Revo, which will be the first two GEN 5 releases done, and a working shakedown of the GEN 5 line. The only certain thing is that all of these releases would be done within a year of the start of GEN 5 production work, as 24 releases can cover a lot.
Gen 5 production protocols state that we should be able to turn out between 16 to 24 GEN 5 releases a year (24 being normal capacity), and each program being a minimum of 140 minutes (I wish that I had that size of canvas back in the 90 minute cassette days!). I’ll be scheduling 24 releases a year, which is 3,360 Minutes, or 56 hours, of programming a year (achievable because, for the most part, the music carries the programs, and takes up most of the running time. Although GEN 5 technology allows me to micromanage every second of every release, and even extend, or redo, music, I won’t have that kind of time to do that with most releases. The capability, and the ease of execution if the program needs it, however, are nice). I’m not spending months on a single release, or allowing months to pass between the production of releases, either. This time, I’m turning them out, and I have to balance the investment of time and resources with the return, for a cost-effective process (each release should only require two to three days of production time, with one of those days spent on the actual execution of a program with a minimum of a 140 minute run time, which is only 10 minutes shy of 2 ½ hours of program length. Some programs, which could include Party Zone 5 and Revo, as I love long dance mixes, could clock in at 240 minutes, which is a standard 4 hour DJ set! Rush Hour is another program which I am considering extending to a 240 minute format. Once the preproduction is completed, with the monologues / dialogues and sample sets arranged, it really isn’t much more work extending the program and making it a lot longer). I have other things to do, too, and will be able to get everything done with the plan that I have now.
I know that it’s been a slow start, but when this begins, I’ll be turning things out faster, over the calendar year, than I did back in the beginning, and with professional results (I did 18 releases from October 1990 to October 1991, which is the current record)! Despite a lot more work, and professional production standards, I should be able to output more work with GEN 5 releases than at any other time in my career as an underground DJ. Remember GEN 3? Despite massive efforts for the best quality possible with the analog cassette format, GEN 3 releases were hardly cost-effective. They were expensive to produce, and work went slowly. It took 4 years to produce 10 releases, which is one release every 5 months or so, rounding up from 4.8 months. I admit that this slow output was not cost effective, and there was no reason why I couldn’t have done at least one release a month for those four years. There should have been at least 48 GEN 3 releases, and not a mere 10.
By the end of 2011, if I can get 6 releases done this year, I should be up to a total of 30 GEN 5 releases, which should match the number of releases in my entire back catalog (Also, keep in mind that the programs are longer too, at a minimum of 140 minutes compared to the old standard of 90)!
You know, with everything else that I have going on, I wouldn’t be surprised that a proper balance would be 12 releases a year, 50% less than projected. I wouldn’t want it to be that slow, but it does depend upon juggling the GEN 5 productions with my plethora is other projects and business endeavors. I never skimp, or take short cuts, on anything. What could happen is 24 releases in the first year, and then production slowing to between 12 and 16 releases a year as other things take up more of my time (I would fight production dropping below 12 a year at any rate. Also, with only 12 a year, there would be much less room for sequels, and much more emphasis on original, creative properties. With 16 to 24 a year, I would have the luxury to do more, such as sequels... like I said, balance needs to be achieved, and maintained.). It may be difficult to maintain a rate of 24 a year, as it may not be responsible when I have other things going on. Remember that I won’t be making a dime from any GEN 5 releases, and that I do it more for the art, and for promotion.
Believe me, there is a purpose for these freebies, and it make perfect business sense, in the larger overall plan, as long as I do not go overboard.

Other Media Projects

You see, I will have a lot of other projects going on, too, and some of those will be making me money. Among them:

Commercial Releases
Made with the same GEN 5 production technology that the GEN 5 underground releases are made with, it could be said that the underground releases benefit from the production technology set-up for our professional commercial releases, and that’s exactly right. Commercial releases would be produced at a much slower rate, and more time would be spent on production. Additionally, because of the lower volume, we could not take as many creative risks as what is done with the underground line. It could also be said that the underground release line would be the proving, and test, ground for our commercial release line. The undergorund line would also serve a purpose with marketing and maintaining a fanbase for the commercial releases.
Commercial releases would essentially break new music to our fans, and would have full usage clearance and royalty payouts. These releases would sold.
Commercial releases, of course, because of the lower creative risks and the increased production work, would be consistently superior to the underground releases in every way. Over time, there would be more commercial releases and fewer underground releases, and that is the long-term plan.
I will also be creating, performing, producing, and breaking my own original music in my commercial releases.
Our underground release line is produced under our Neo Underground Studios underground label. Our commercial releases will be produced, and released, under our Dream Nine Studios music label.

Podcasts
I have two podcast series in the works, too. The weekly Advanced Model modeling industry podcast, which ties in with Advanced Model and my modeling resource sites, and the weekly Horizons DJ Frontier Podcast, which ties in with my Frontier Pop web site.
Production of the Advanced Model podcast will be done four episodes at a time, as will be the case for my Horizons podcasts (Don’t expect current news on these podcasts, due to the production process). Each episode of both series, released weekly, will clock in as a 30 minute program. Both series will be available, free of charge, in iTunes, and as downloads on our web sites.
Those fans who used to complain that I talked too much in my releases will certainly hate these. Expect a lot of talk, as well as the creative, original content and skits that made my past programs popular. Ha ha ha!
I hope to get both going as soon as our GEN 5 production technology and equipment are operational, All podcasts, of course, have full copyright clearance, limited musical content, and are available as free downloads (GEN 5 underground digital program releases will NOT be offered as downloads, although they are free, too, for promotional use only).

Frontier View online television series
This is going to be a huge, ongoing project. It will overlap with every single thing that I do, including my business work, my underground release productions, my commercial release productions, my podcasts, and anything else that I do.
Frontier View will become as much as a media extension of my DJ career as the Internet is an extension of everything else. It will touch every facet of my professional, and personal, life. With Frontier View, I will redefine what it means to me a DJ. I will not only be a DJ of music, but of media, as well as life itself. Everything will be a remix, and the lines will blur.
Frontier View will also take a lot of work. I will be shooting this series every single day, and producing a 30 minute episode each and every week (and this production work WILL affect the work that I am able to do with the underground releases, writing, and everything else. Frontier View will have priority, too).
And that it all that I can say for now, as much of Frontier View is classified as top secret. I will say that I’ll probably be the only person in America doing an ongoing media production like this, if not the world. It will be truly revolutionary. My life will never be the same again, as this will forever change who I am, how I am perceived, and what I do for the rest of my life. It will define every facet, and aspect, of who I am. Actually, it’s who I am, finally fulfilled. I will be living my life as I was always meant to.
Frontier View should start production in 2011, and will debut in 2012. Episodes will be available, free of charge, on my Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival, on the Frontier View web site, on my DJ Frontier web site, on Frontier Pop, on the Frontier Society web site, and will be shown at film festivals, including my own.
Free of charge? What’s with all of this free of charge crap, you may ask? Well, sometimes, you have to spend money to make money. Marketing and promotion usually entail an expense.
There is a point to all of this, after all, and indie filmmakers need to realize this, too. You HAVE to GET OUT THERE and get your work seen. If not, you’re going nowhere.
At any rate, I’ll be doing plenty, business-wise, which will make me plenty of money directly. It’s all about a proper balance, and career symbiosis. I certainly know what I am doing. I just wish that it didn’t take this long to set up.
Ah, it’s almost done. I’m almost there.

The DJ Frontier Cybersuit
Now THIS has been a long-term project, and will be another thing which will define who I am, and how I am perceived, for the rest of my life. Now, there is still a lot that I cannot disclose about my DJ cybersuit, and even after it is revealed, there will be a lot of things about it which will be classified. I can say that the cybersuit will be a lot like Iron Man without the external armor. I will literally be interfaced with an array of wearable tech. The cybersuit will be modular, of course, and can be configured hundreds of different ways to be appropriate for the relevant clothing, fashions, and social situations. In its most extreme, all-out version, I’ll look more like Iron Man than human (it does support integration with an exterior shell), certainly, but I couldn’t imagine a situation where that might be useful- well, unless it was some decked-out stage performance where it was required. In its most common configuration, the cybersuit will be able to conform with whatever I am wearing, enhancing my apparel as electronic augmented, enhanced clothing. One requirement that I do have for the cybersuit is that it can be set up, or tore down, in under five minutes, and that wearing it does not add more than 20 pounds, or restrict mobility in any way. I’m also working on making the cybersuit water resistant, as I have no desire to get electrocuted if caught in a rainstorm, or allow any of the components to get damaged when I am out and about. Although the power utilized by the cybersuit is not centralized, due to its modular nature, I do have plans to implement a central power network to augment the internal power of the assorted modules (and, I am looking into joint induction generators and solar panels to maintain a charge of the primary power network. The power usage of the cybersuit is not extreme, however, because most of the power is consumed by electronics, and not any sort of electro-mechanical actuators, servos, or motors- it is not a robotic, or motorized, system. The cybersuit is about wearable tech, not creating powered armor or some sort of mechanized power suit). While I cannot go into some of the best features of the cybersuit (everyone will find out, soon enough, when it is revealed), I can go into a few details. With the cybersuit, I would be able to run through a forest and access the Internet, doing both efficiently, without distraction, or without losing awareness of my surroundings. With the cybersuit, I’d be able to do any production project in an enhanced, and more productive, way. I’d even be able to do a keynote presentation, in a three piece business suit, wearing it. This suit will become an extension of me, and I’ll always be wearing it in one form or another.
I’ve been working on the cybersuit for 20 years now, and it started back before the technology was available to support it. I remember going through hardware stores with my best friend Greenwood in 1990, when I was DJ Wiz Kid, looking for materials for the first component of the cybersuit, the wrist web unit. The wrist web unit was a rubber lattice which covered my left forearm, replacing a conventional wristwatch. Different modules could be attached to it, including lights and transceivers, as well as a timepiece. By 1992, I had plans to attach one of the first PDA’s, the Apple Newton, to a wrist web unit, and conceived accessing other computers with it utilizing a modem transceiver module (this was before I knew much about the Internet, before the web, and way before Wi Fi. Today, this could be done easily with an iPod Touch, which has Wi Fi built in, and my Palm TX PDA can also do this well). I also worked on a module which was a high voltage oscillator, and it discharged an arc of electricity through electrodes in a glove. This was the first generation of defensive capabilities, a built in stun-gun glove!
The wrist web unit evolved to the modern wrist module which is the heart of the cybersuit. A wrist module can be worn on both arms, and the module can not only adjust to the size of the wearer, but it had the ability to support external forearm high-impact polycarbonate plating, which can withstand the impact of a metal baseball bat. The cybersuit does incorporate state of the art defensive technologies, too, which are based upon the defensive technology used in my THOR customized studio security system. This technology, which is classified, employs a zone projection system which is far more advanced than high voltage stun guns, and far more effective. Although most would be unable to comprehend how it works, it is legal, too, as it is non-lethal, and is not technically classified as a weapon.
Defensive technology is only a small part of the cybersuit, though, and the point is that it should never have to be used. It also incorporates modules which are worn all over the wearer. The main function of the cybersuit is to enhance lifestyles, convenience, and to support entertainment production work. The cybersuit would contain at least 64 Gigs of memory storage capacity, which could be scaled up and down as needed, and would be able to interface with any computer, and most gadgets and electronic devices.
And that, my friends, is all that I can reveal right now.
So, will I look like some nerd wandering around with a bunch of crazy electronics hanging off of me? No, not at all. The cybersuit is also stylish, and it will look cool. It will be the coolest thing that most will have seen, and it will certainly attract a lot of attention, and curiosity, wherever I go. I will be wearing this at all times in public, in various configurations. Over the years, I’ve seen lots of wearable tech that looks bad, or just plain nerdy. This cybersuit will look cool, trendy, and some of the people who will be most impressed will be the one who are into fashion and clothes. The models have taught me well over the years (especially fashion diva Diana, who would teach me about fashion and dress me like a Ken doll every weekend when she stayed over).
I won’t be the only one wearing my cybersuit tech, either. All of my people will also have cybersuits of their own, based on the standard which my prototype defines.

So, that’s it. I’m doing what I can. Like everything else that I do, though, and keeping in mind that I always have a lot going on, it’s never a question of “if”, but rather “when”.

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - 8:12 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Events And Projects Galore In 2011

I’m a bit busy with photography at the moment (as well as organizing hundreds of pages of blog content and writing reviews), and I’m prepping for a ton of modeling resource support updates, so it’s slow in dj and event land.
For now.
Although I will be doing a lot of photography, design, marketing, and writing for years to come, starting in 2011 I’ll be known more for my events than anything else. Back in the good old days, from 1990 to 1999, my event planning company was the core Passinault.Com services company. It’s going to be that way again, but in a much larger way.
I have a ton of film festivals in the works, which will also begin debuting in 2011, but those film festivals will only be a fraction of the events that I will be doing. While Eventi Events will be selling event planning and DJ party services to the consumer and corporate market, specializing in weddings and wedding receptions, of course, as a DJ I won’t be doing much work with Eventi Events. Eventi Stage, on the other hand, will be my main focus, as a performing DJ. Unlike Eventi Events, Eventi Stage will be organized as a non profit. All of my original events, film festivals, conferences, conventions, events, modeling events, photography events, stage plays, and stage productions will be produced through this company. Although both Eventi companies will comprise my “core company”, as a binary company, most of my event production work will be through Eventi Stage, which will prove to be the workhorse.
So, what’s the difference? The way that the events are marketed, set up, and organized.
With Eventi Events, a client will call us up and say “Hey, guys, I want a DJ for my wedding”, or something like that, and that’s what they will contract us for. That’s fine, but as a DJ, I’m not fond of those sorts of jobs. When an individual client contracts you, they often want to tell you what to do, what to play, etc. Additionally, with licensed content such as music, the music is played, and not a component of an intellectual property such as a production or stageplay.
With Eventi Stage, it’s different. We put together an event or a production, which is underwritten by sponsors. We have full creative control over how the event or production is done, and how the execution is handled. This is what I like to do. Additionally, the licensed use of intellectual property is handled a lot differently when it is a component of another intellectual property (such as music used as part of a stage production), for both legal and ethical reasons. This is a big reason why I had to split Eventi into two different companies.
People who know me know that I like to do my own thing. I was offered a job at a local radio station many years ago, and I turned it down because they would not give me creative control over my program (and, as idiotic as some of those DJ’s are on 93.3 every weekday night- Kid Leow excluded - I wonder who in the hell gives them creative freedom to babble and act like morons). I’d rather do an event or a production, with full creative control, than do some wedding with a Bridezilla whining about what I need to play. Hey, I have other DJ’s who can do that kind of job, and they love it. They are really good, too. I took a break from DJ’ing back in 2002 when I DJ’ed a wedding which, for me, was absolutely miserable. To me, that wedding, on December 7, 2002, was the wedding from hell. Toward the end of the reception, I remember playing some tracks, and sitting back in frustration, and wondering how in the hell I got into DJ’ing this way. It was not what I had signed up for, for sure. For me, my idea of DJ’ing is to create my own event or production, allow my moxy and my ego to shine, and to have total creative control over an event where the guests pay admission. I like to entertain, and play cool music, not become a glorified remote control for a pre-selected playlist.
And for those of you who think that I’ve gone crazy with film festivals, that’s nothing. I’m going to be doing a lot of events. A lot. You see, I also consider my event properties to be marketing platforms for my other companies. They will be important, in many ways.
Oh, and regarding my CPR conversion project, I should be able to get the old programs done by fall, but the GEN 5 programs will not be started until late. If I am able to start on those GEN 5 releases this year, there will not be a lot of them done.
I’m looking forward to all of this, of course, and I can’t wait.

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Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 8:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Introducing Frontier Pop

It’s out. The name of my new pop culture and entertainment web site / online magazine will be Frontier Pop (and, yes, it has a lot to do with my DJ Frontier/ Frontier Society/ Frontier View brands, and will directly tie into them all). As you can see, using it to also market Frontier Society solves the cybersquatter issue, too, and makes all that money that they are spending on Frontier Society domain names pointless. Frontier Pop is compatible with the Frontier Society brand, and it also can’t be confused with the other cybersquatted domain names if they are typed into a browser.
Game over for cybersquatter nerd. He’s now wasting money. Maybe now I can proceed with adding lots of content to the Frontier Society web site (which will have a much broader scope than Frontier Pop will, although I am going to have to be careful with publishing ideas for inventions which have not been patented, because the cybersquatter in question is an “inventor”, and I do not want any of my inventions exploited like my brand was. From experience, I don’t trust that character, at all).
Although Frontier Society will continue to be used to brand the Frontier Society subculture, it won’t be marketed under that name for the Internet. Frontier Society, which will remain at Frontier-Society.Com (note the hyphen), will be marketed under FrontierPop.Com.
The situation with Frontier Pop and Frontier Society will be exactly like the situation with Advanced Model and Independent Modeling. Two separate sites, with the same market, but different agendas, and formats. The Frontier Pop and Advanced Model sites are online magazines, updated regularly like a print publication. Advanced Model will be updated once a month. Frontier Pop will be updated once a week. Both sites will have regular features, articles, news, events, reviews, reader letters and feedback (the Advanced Model mail bag/ readers letters gave me an idea for Frontier Pop, a readers letters section which will be much better than a competitors “readers comments”, where their few readers can instantly post under false names and slander each other) , editorials, and regular columns which are written by writers who are experts in their field. Both sites also use the resource sites that they are interconnected with for a much larger reservoir of information. In depth articles, tutorials, features, and other information would be published on the resource web site. Content created for the Frontier Pop, for example, would be for lighter reading, and would not be as long, or as in-depth. That lighter, “magazine” style content would drive more in-depth content on Frontier Society, and referenced. Both sites will benefit. The fans, the readers, and the general public would be regulars on Frontier Pop. The doers, and the readers who are serious about learning more about the subject matter, will spend a lot of time on Frontier Society. The same dynamic will be happening with Advanced Model and Independent Modeling (as well as with Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career). Advanced Model will be a monthly magazine, and its content will inspire more content, which will be organized differently, by subject, on Independent Modeling.
Frontier Pop is going to become my most important web site, and I am serious about this. It will become my main web site because it will link to every web site that I own. I’ll be able to tell someone “go to FrontierPop.Com”, and I’ll be secure knowing that they will be able to easily find the information which they are looking for (Frontier Society will be referenced from the top-level main menu, but all of the other sites will be organized by categories in subdirectories. If I were to directly dump all of those external links to the other sites on the entire Frontier Pop site pages, it would be a mess; it would prove to be difficult to sort through the links, and there would be so many links that the search engine may mistakenly think that I am running a link farm). Frontier Pop will also contain my master blog, which will reference all of my other blogs.
So, you see, Frontier Pop will become my absolute top web site, and will also serve as a directory to everything else. As serious as I am about the Internet, and web sites, this means that success for Frontier Pop is ensured. The site will see far more updates than just the weekly publication; it will be my grand central station on the Internet.
I almost feel sorry for anyone out there who will be competing against Frontier Pop, regardless of how established their web site “magazine” is. On day one, Frontier Pop will defeat them in design, concept, content, and organization. Within a year, any other advantages that they may have had will be gone.
Well, it looks like I’m going to do it better, if not blow away the competition in every way. Frontier Pop is on the way, and it will be a genuine nightmare to compete against. This is the greatest fear of a small clique of people, and it now happening. The site where all of this hate and mayhem happened in the last year needs to be put in its proper place: last. The above examples are some of the reasons that I am publishing Frontier Pop. It's their last stand, as they have lost everything else due to their clique of hate; they will not stand before the might of what Frontier Pop will become. Their last holdout will not stand.
I have an announcement on the main index of FrontierPop.com right now (the domain name is working, and a single web page is “up”, but the site has not launched; I will not link to it until it launches, also, for several reasons that I will not go into here) which states that the site is launching in “fall 2010". Well, that’s not entirely accurate. You see, I’m designing the site right now, am writing core content, and am figuring out the main menu and sections, as well as fine-tuning the format and how the content will be organized.. What is going to happen, especially since I am already writing regular content for the site, is that I will put the site together with superb attention to detail, and the ability to be upgraded (for a clue on some of those content organizational ideas, look at the Frontier Society site, which this format will be based on). The site will launch with minimal content, and then will immediately be published weekly, with regular issues. The foundation will be rock solid, and the site will grow and evolve over time.
When will it launch? It looks like sooner. Right now, I am organizing blogs and am working on photography marketing web sites. In a month, Advanced Model will launch, and I’ll be updating modeling resource sites. Sometime in May, or June (I’m thinking June 2010), Frontier Pop will launch with its first issue, and then have a new issue online every week!
Oh, and other thing. Each issue will be published on the morning of every Tuesday. It says Monday, but that has already changed. Also, regarding reader letters, the letters will be published, and answered, from the previous issue, with more content added over the course of the week, until the next letters section is published in the new issue (back and forth letters and debates would be added throughout the week, but new letters would be pushed back until the next week’s issue). The Advanced Model reader letters section works the same way, but their letters are only published once a month, which means that their letters section would grow a bit before the next issue. A lot of thought has gone into this, and it will be great (as well as a lot better than an instant readers comments, as every letter can be addressed).
With that, I have to go and finish organizing the content on the Tampa Film Blog. Work is never done!

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 8:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Interesting Times

I don't have much time to post here today, as I will be editing, and organizing, content on my Tampa Film Blog; I need to get that finished. I'm also going to post on my photography blogs.
These are interesting times. I'm shopping for a new computer, now, so I can get the cassette program release digital conversion program underway. I'll be re-releasing them all by the fall. This summer, I won't have much time to do anything else than that, because I will be doing a lot of photography work. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the rest of my gear this summer, too.
At the moment, I am also renewing about 12 domain names, and I'll be buying a new one. The new one will be for a new pop culture, entertainment, fashion, and lifestyle web site blog/ online magazine which I will be launching this summer. What makes it significant is that this new site will become my main web site, linking to all of my sites in relevant categories. It will also primarily become a front end marketing site for my Frontier Society web site, which is great because it goes around the roadblocks that some jerk cybersquatters have put up around me marketing with the name of my own organization (I am happy to report that they regretted ripping off my Frontier Society name. Today, if anyone looks for them on the Internet, they will find their competitors instead. Never, ever mess with someone who is better at the Internet than you are. I'm at the top of my game, and idiots who spend a few dollars buying up every incarnation of Frontier Society that they can think of are certainly no match for me). At any rate, my Frontier Society site, which is found at Frontier-Society.Com, was never meant to be marketed, anyway, since it is an underground subculture which I founded on October 26, 1993. The Frontier Society is alive and well, and I have a lot of members who work with me, and work to support me. The Frontier-Society.Com web site will be overhauled shortly, will thrive, and will receive lots of content in the near future. Additionally, since the new site which I am investing in this morning will be used to market the Frontier Society (it's actually a better, and simpler, branding than "Frontier Society", and much more marketing-friendly), and I will never market the Frontier Society as "Frontier Society", with the new site serving as a front-end for the Frontier Society site, all those iterations of "Frontier Society" domain names are going to be worthless (I can't wait until they discover the marketing domain that I will be using for the site; it's also good for an operating domain name, too. They'll be mad that their scheme backfired!)! I get the last laugh, because I outsmarted the cybersquatters! Additionally, I have another nasty surprise for the jerk behind ripping off my brand. I will be putting lots of information on Frontier Society about his market, and will also reference his competitors. He may want to distance himself from Frontier Society, because I'm about to undermine the position of his business in his industry. I'm also educating my people about what happened, why it happened, and about alternatives to what this guy is trying to sell.
The new web site / online magazine will serve as a front-end for the Frontier Society, much like my Advanced Model online magazine is a front-end for Independent Modeling. It will drive content updates to Frontier-Society.Com. because it will reference content hosted on that site. I used to own FrontierSociety.Com back in 2003, but I messed up (I'm really good, but I made a mistake all those years ago) transferring it from Register.Com to Godaddy.Com. It lapsed as a result. When that happened, a cybersquatter took it, and then tried to sell it back to me for $1,600.00. I bought Frontier-Society.Com then, and that's when my problems with cybersquatters began over my property. This jerk bought up every iteration of Frontier Society that they could think of, to block me from marketing my brand, and because, I guess, that they reasoned that the members of my subculture were in their target market, and that they would accidentally type in the wrong domain name and be re-routed to their site. That won't happen, now, because I have a better domain name to market the Frontier Society with, now. This is my way of telling them to F... off, and I hope that they have fun paying for all of those domain names which are now, effectively, useless. What a schmuck! I'm not sorry that your investment, and your attempt to capitalize on my property, backfired. You deserve to lose business, and I hope that you fail. Peeps, once you buy a domain name, make sure that you keep it. If you lose it, there is a good chance that some unethical loser will buy it, and then try to to sell it back to you. If it happened to me, it can certainly happen to you. You know what, though? I'm 100% certain that every iteration of "Frontier Society" domain names would still be available, even today, if I had not originally bought it as a domain name, and then lost it. The jerk would not have come up with that name in a thousand years, and, in my opinion, he only bought all those domain names to capitalize on one of my brands. I think that this is wrong, and I would not do it to anyone else. There are jerks out there on the Internet who aren't that good using it, but know just enough to look around for the names of business and domain names, and then buy them if they lapse for whatever reason, or buy every iteration of the name that they can think of. I'm smarter than these people, and was able to address it. I can only imagine what other people go through when this sort of thing happens to them and they don't know how to handle it. I will be writing up some articles in the future which will help people avoid what happened to me.
The Frontier Society web site will also be marketed through my DJ sites, and this blog. As for that brand, and the jerks who try to capitalize on it, it's game over. I won, and I get the last laugh.

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - 8:10 PM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Party Zone 4 Intro Is..... Too Long

I'm laughing right now. The intro for Party Zone 2 was perfect-length. It was cool, did the job, and was only 90 seconds long. The intro for Party Zone 4 was cool, but waaaaaaaay to long. My intro monologue was boring, and my delivery was forced (I love the angry mob which I mixed into the background, though, which was supposed to be people at a party. It was funny for unintended reasons, because the peeps sound pissed off!). In total, the intro was six minutes and thirty seconds long, and it destroyed the cool "is this heaven" techno rave track in the background (although some of the samples from the movie PCU, even though they were low-quality mono samples, were funny at times). It'll stay for the re-release, as it works, but I won't make that mistake again. Most of the music in Party Zone 4 is awesome, however!

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Friday, April 2, 2010 - 7:24 PM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Eventi Events In 2011

I’ve decided to focus on my photography company, and my career as a photographer, as I need to get my company to where it needs to be. I have a lot of work to do, too. Because I will be focusing almost all of my business efforts on Aurora PhotoArts Tampa Photography and Design this year, which is my company, I will be too busy to do any DJ'ing or event planning. This, of course, is a necessary step. My senior DJ, Marlon Brown, will be dealing with all my event planning and DJ'ing business. I will also upgrade the Eventi Events web site this fall, and prepare it for business next year. This means, of course, that we will be getting service inquiries this year, and Marlon will handle those.
In 2011, I will be able to delegate more with my photography business, and will be able to return to event planning and DJ'ing then. I will still be working as a photographer, but I'll be able to invest the time and resources into Eventi Events at that time.
Additionally, this year, I will be launching the Eventi Stage web site, and my Tampa advertising web site, Eos MediaArts. Both of these companies will begin public operations next year. Eventi Stage, which will have a new Diana Class web site much like its sister Eventi Events, will be doing stage productions, interactive theme events, and events such as video game festivals, film festivals, beauty pageants, modeling and talent events, and more (although I will be doing some modeling events this year, as it ties in with my photography business; most of my photography work will be with models and talent). My advertising agency, Eos MediaArts, on the other hand, has been working on my projects for years. It will begin limited public operations next year, and then will go into full scale operations once my event planning and stage production companies are up to speed. The Eos MediaArts marketing web site, due online this year, will be a Venus Class site, much like the one which Aurora PhotoArts benefits from, so, in that way, it's much like the Event Events/ Stage arrangement, where old becomes new again.
Regarding my plans this year for my DJ Frontier projects, and my GEN 5 releases, I am open to getting some of that done, but there may be delays. I'm still having issues getting the hardware and software that I need (my photography and modeling industry efforts take up a lot of my resources at the moment...... This has been extremely frustrating, especially since most of these things are not difficult, or expensive, to obtain. I simply don't have the time or money right now; if you saw my overhead, and my schedule, you would understand; I have bigger fish to fry right now. This, however, could change in a matter of weeks, so stay tuned). If not this year, though, 2011 for sure. DJ'ing, and event planning, are very important to me. In a few years, I will be known more for my event planning, and my DJ work, than for photography, although my photography career will be strong, as well. Event planning and public performance will once again become my core business.
I have almost all of my cassette program releases converted to MP3's now, and I listen to them a lot, but the data drops and other glitches keep them from being final, releasable product. I may, however, edit some of these, and then do a limited beta release of the test programs for review among a group of my friends.

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010 - 8:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Listening To Waveform, And Web Plans

I’m just paying bills this morning, and listening to test MP3's of my releases. I started to listen to Waveform 3, and decided to compare it to the original Waveform, released four years prior. So, I’m listening to Waveform, from the summer of 1991, and although it did not intend to have a beach theme, the music does work when placed in the context established four years later with Waveform 3.
Man, Waveform 3 was groundbreaking. It really is good. So is the original Waveform, though, which has great music which could fit in with Waveform 3. Waveform 2, which was produced in December 1991, is good, too, once I edit out all my whining, and the stupid Star Trek skit, which was about some people crashing my event on November 2, 1991. Yes, people, I will never forget about this.
Kenda told me that people still talk about that night. As for myself, and my friends, we didn’t do anything wrong. I’m glad that I have real friends now, because back then, with “friends” like Mark and Sabrina, I certainly did not need enemies. I’ll forgive you morons, but I certainly will not forget (WOAH.... YOU SEE THAT DUDES..... WIPEOUT! Ha ha ha! When I made Waveform 3 in 1995, I must have still been mad at them, because my Washout character is really ripping on both of them, hard, in the opening monologue. Mark is a surfing poseur who wipes out in the surf, and Sabrina is a toothpick with a yellow mop who has been blowing chunks for desert. Funny stuff, and that's now I should have made fun of them in Waveform 2......... Whining about everything in Waveform 2 just made me the poseur!).
Anyway, I’ll re-release Waveform 2, also, once I edit it. Some of my releases will have to be edited for content before they are re-released as MP3 programs.
With Waveform RMX, Waveform 4, Daytona, Sandbar, Mako, and Hammerhead, the theme event, the indie film, and the other project, the Waveform universe will be well-established. All this, too, came about from what was started in Waveform 3. Those who listen to the first two programs in the series will just have to pretend that they belong, and since the first two were kind of “beachy”, I suppose that they will work.
Hey! The original Waveform had subliminals, too! I just heard some...... So, Waveform and Waveform 2 had subliminals, but Waveform 3 did not. Hmmmmmm.........
Ah, and on another subject, I shouldn’t have boasted about those search engine results the other day. The Tampa DJ Blog is still number one on Yahoo, but dropped lower in the first page of results on Google yesterday. Weird search engine, that Google, with search results that fluctuate every now and then. I’ll probably be number one again tomorrow.
Not to worry, though, as the main Diana Class (named after, and in honor of, my original muse, model and designer Diana Furka) web site for my event planning company, Eventi Events, is operational (and has been), and is on standby. The Eventi Events web site, which was commissioned on April 12, 2005, is almost five years old now, but is still a great, and solid, marketing platform; the only reason that it is not high up on the search engines now is that little content has been added since it launched. Although almost five years old, the design of the Eventi Events web site was so good, and so ahead of its time, that the sister site for Eventi Stage, which will be built this year, will share the design. So, the new site will use a design that is, essentially, five years old. I build them to last, that’s for sure; if it’s great, and works, why change it?
Another Diana Class site, which shares the overall design and layout with the Eventi Events site, is for my Dream Nine Studios web site. The Dream Nine Studios web site, which has received a lot of content updates over the years, and was recently updated for 2010, pulls some pretty good search engine performance, and ranks high on searches. That should be indicative of what can be expected in the near future with the Eventi Events and Eventi Stage web sites. The Eventi Events sites, although old, is still better than any other web site for any Tampa DJ or event planning company (in my qualified opinion). It just needs to be updated for 2010, now.
Diana Class sites, which were designed in 2004, used to be the main workhorse of my site classes, but the Venus, Huey, Scroll, Athena, and Raptor Classes came along and became more popular. Right now, I have more Raptors out there than any other site classes. Tampa Bay Modeling, Tampa Bay Acting, Tampa Bay Talent, and some others are Raptor Class sites (The latest Raptor 3's, to be exact). The Raptors, originally optimized for resource sites and to combat scams, all have superb search engine performance. I also have a total of eight Super Raptor class sites, which are enhanced upgrades, and are the latest in the series (the upcoming Raptor 4's will be next-generation, advanced site classes). At the moment, the Super Raptors are exclusive to my eight Tampa Bay Film sites, and feature double menus. The double menus were needed to interconnect all of the Tampa Bay Film sites.
I’m now working on the new Celebrity Class sites, which will be used for this blog and my DJ sites. Expect those this year, and they should be among the last of my current-generation web site design classes.
The Diana Class sites will be replaced by one of the next-generation, advanced technology site classes that are in development now (I will be deploying some advanced, experimental sites this year). First revealed on Dream Nine Studios in a recent news bulletin, the new site class will replace all current Diana Class sites in the next two years, and will utilize flash and PHP databasing technology. Expect the general layouts to be similar, though.
Yes, I will be investing a lot into my web site capabilities. My advertising agency, Eos MediaArts, will be doing a lot of web development work. I’m already quite good, though, and few can do what I can with web sites. The new Eos site, also due this year, will have a Venus Class site, just like Aurora PhotoArts has for its main site (some other Aurora PhotoArts sites will use the popular Huey Class site designs, which all have excellent search engine performance and ease-of-navigation). Both the Aurora and the Eos Venus Class sites will obtain flash and PHP upgrades soon; I’d build that into the upcoming Eos site, but since most of the work for that site was done in 2008 (I just never got around to launching it, as I have a lot going on), it’ll launch without the upgrade.
I have to go now and make some phone calls. Ugh! I just heard Samantha on Waveform 2. I’ll have to edit her out. I think that I’ll listen to some more of Waveform 3, now. It’s far more entertaining than listening to her.

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Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 4:13 PM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Wow! Am I Positioned For This So Soon?

On a whim, I did an SEO check for "Tampa DJ" this morning, and guess what came up #1 on both Google and Yahoo (paid links not counting)? This Tampa DJ Blog! Man, I wasn't even trying, and some parts of this blog are not even up, such as my contact information (that changes now). What happened is that I was rather inspired by a meeting with my senior DJ, Marlon Brown, last August, started researching more on the business (as I've been working as a photographer for the past eight years, and took a break from DJ'ing), and became more inspired. So, I began to write a lot about it, and this blog, which was already up, took on a life of its own. I've also been working on converting my old tapes to MP3's, as you can guess by reading this blog.
Although I have all of my event planning and DJ marketing/ business sites up, and we are doing business (at least, Marlon has been handling that for me), they are not doing great with the search engines. All that I have to do is add referral links to those sites from this one, and it's called instant business, though. It's just cool that we are already perfectly positioned for what we will be doing, and I didn't even realize it.
I'm sure that a lot of people have been reading this blog (and web traffic numbers have been impressive), and I'm sure that just about every DJ in Florida has been on here, read what's on it, and thought "WTF is this guy writing about?". Well, I can see why they would be wondering. I'm not exactly a conventional DJ, and some of this stuff is not the usual DJ material. This said, it is DJ'ing, and I am a DJ. Back in the day, I was also a popular underground DJ, too, with a large fanbase, and even radio DJ's back then listened to my programs. I began as DJ Wiz Kid, became DJ Frontier in 1993, and have roughly 30 releases under my belt (19 as DJ Wiz Kid, and 11 or so as DJ Frontier), done from late 1990 to 1998.
I suppose that I should take this as a sign (and also a hint on how I should be doing SEO with me other sites). Momentum is building for the return of DJ Frontier. I've just been writing, and sharing, about what I'm passionate about, and the next thing that I know, this blog is at the top.
This said, I'm rather busy right now with my modeling projects, and my photography career. I will not have time to be doing much mobile DJ'ing, at least as far as events and weddings, until next year, at the earliest. If you are looking for a wedding or an event DJ, though, I have one for you. His name is Marlon Brown, and unlike myself, he loves doing weddings, which is his specialty. Marlon, in my opinion, is the best wedding DJ in Tampa Bay. He will be doing these gigs, although I'll help out, as usual, if he needs me.
Also, keep in mind that, soon, my DJ career will be re established, and it will be much more than it was in the past (obvious from all of the updates here). My event planning company, Eventi Events, will also become extremely important in the near future, and will once again become the core Passinault.Com company. I will be doing a lot of event planning, will be producing a lot of events, and will be doing a lot of DJ'ing, too. Weddings? Marlon can have those (although I am making preparations to do those, too). Events? I'll do those. Club DJ'ing? Although I have zero experience in that area, I do have friends who are club DJ's, so I'll check that out.
I have a lot of event properties in the works, and producing my own events will be my speciality. I will have a series of film festivals, a video game event (the only one in the Tampa Bay region, as far as I can tell), a beauty pageant, modeling events, a monthly photography / modeling event, an indie film conference, and it goes on. It's possible that I'll make most of my money as an event planner one day. I do LOVE planning and doing my own events. And then we have my exclusive line of Interactive Theme Events, but that's for another post, soon. Those event properties are classified.
I suppose that this "forced" misanthrope will have to return to his roots (and I really do get along with most people once I get to know them. I suspect that most models and talent book me because of my personality, as well as my skills as a photographer. I've been quite the extrovert living an introvertive lifestyle these past few years, which could be seen as a contradiction, but, hey, I'm not a simple person. I'm very complex). It is bittersweet, though. I have all of these secret event diagrams and blueprints up on the studio walls, and I'm not currently doing any events or DJ'ing. I have this search engine positioning, and only Marlon is in the position to work it. I do occasionally look at that gold banner on the wall, however, which declares, written in nail polish, that "DJ Wiz Kid Rules!", and it makes me smile. Samantha made that back in 1991, and it's one of the few real things that she did; at least, once, she really was my number one fan, and we had something that was real. The past is alive and well, for now, and I'll always love her for that. For now, the future is already well on the way, like it or not. DJ Frontier, and a ton of events, are coming soon!
Alrighty. Time to, at least, add contact information and a business site lead-in to this blog. I will then deal with some models, do some work, and spend some time playing Castlevania 4. Cool game.

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Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 8:34 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Waveform 3, 3D Sound, and Waveform 4

I've been listening to my test MP3 program of Waveform 3, my 25th release from July 1995. It was done in the Geomedia 1 studio in Tampa, was the fourth GEN 3 program, and was the second program encoded in 3D SRS sound (the first was Horizons RMX, the release before Waveform 3). Ironically, I recently discovered that the first two GEN 3 releases, Futura and Party Zone 2, were not encoded in 3D SRS sound because I didn't get the AK-100 Sound Retrieval System encoder until 1995. Although 3D sound ultimately proved to be kind of gimmicky, it DID work. Horizons RMX and Waveform 3 both sounded incredible, and they still do. Going to Waveform 3, the program was one of my best of all time. It's funny, the music is awesome, and it's even sad toward the end. It was a true classic, and was programmed well. As I listened to it last night, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at some of the monologues by my "Washout" character, and how the samples fit the mix so well. The beach audio environment, complete with crashing waves, was well done, too. Oh, and there was this part on the program where I used samples from the movie "Fast Food" (the samples were average quality, though, as I had to use a mono VCR to obtain them, artificially convert the mono samples to stereo, and then render them into the 3D blend of the program), where a character (who is in college) is telling a girl that she forgot her panties, to be confronted by her father, who was not happy about seeing his daughter with the college guy (I think that the daughter saw a picture of her sister on the ceiling over the bed, as her sister was an earlier conquest, if I remember the movie right, and was running out on him when she ran into her father at the door. Just watch Fast Food, which had a cameo role by Tracy Lords. I liked that movie!); the perfect heterosexual college fling. The sample, of course, is used at the beginning of Latour's "the cure is found", which is a song about gay people and science finding the cure for Aids. The song did not fit either the sample or the program, although it did have a "beachy" riff to it, but oddly enough, it works. It also lends itself to some rather unintentional comedy, especially remembering someone commenting back in the day that the character of Washout, who I played in the program, and who progressed the "story" in a series of monologues, sounded gay. Could Waveform 3 been, secretly, about a young gay man who yearned to come out? Ha ha! Not hardly, but there are weird things in the program which may lead some to think that! In the sequels, it will be revealed that Washout is not gay (and neither am I). That should settle it; besides, there is a scene at the beach in Waveform 3 where Washout and the listener are using binoculars to look down the tops of women who are sunbathing on Clearwater beach (when you hear the program, you will understand this reference. Funny stuff). It is established, "firmly", in Waveform 3 that Washout is into women. That is, after all, why Washout had to "fluff out his trunks", because the women were "turning up the woodage".
Ha... I know for a fact that a group of coworkers at the bank, where I worked at during the time that I made this, obtained a copy and listened to it. They thought it was awesome, and we all became good friends. One girl told me that she loved my sense of humor, and they all thought that I was a fun guy after hearing the program. Then again, Waveform 3 could have been the reason that I was never really promoted. I'll never really know; although I must note that I often got to do things which other employees did not do. I was well-known for my creativity, and there were times where the bank paid me for writing skits and doing incentive programs for the bank while my supervisors covered for me and did my actual banking work for me. It was worth it for them, too, because my Flying Aces 96 incentive program made my team the leading team in the banking center. Fun times.
Waveform 3, by the way, was inspired by a movie titled "Under the boardwalk", another movie which I recommend checking out if you like the program. This is especially notable for trivia buffs, because not only was Waveform 3 a classic which redefined the series, but because it is going to inspire a whole lot of projects on its own merits. Daytona, Waveform RMX, Waveform 4, a Waveform indie film, a Waveform event series, and a Waveform beach party video series are among the results that can be looked forward to in the near future!
Waveform RMX, which is a remix scheduled for production in 2010, in mainly a remix of some of the best of the music of Waveform 3, but will include material from Daytona and Waveform 4. Waveform 4, the sequel to both Waveform 3 and Daytona, will have a story based on the story, and the characters, from the indie film. It's a sidekick production, with Waveform 4 and the Waveform indie film complimenting each other, and enhancing the experience of the other. It could also be said that the complete story of the film, and some additional character information, can only be found on Waveform 4, which follows the events depicted in the film. The only way that you'll be able to find out the true ending will be to listen to Waveform 4.
Waveform 4 is going to be awesome, too, and I had several ideas for the program after listening to Waveform 3. Washout's girlfriend, Seapony, will continue the relationship which was established in the Waveform indie film (Seapony was nowhere to be found in Waveform 3). There will be a story, of course, and other established characters, such as Tobey, Riptide, Mako, and the others, may be used, although the "scenes" will be shorter, and mixed into the music program a lot more than in the past to keep the flow of the program tight. Waveform 4 will also continue the virtual beach audio environment used in Waveform 3, although the environment will be rendered much better using GEN 5 digital tools; there will be a lot more depth and detail with the new release. I'm not sure, yet, if those GEN 5 tools will contain 3D sound. If there is a modern equivalent of SRS in my software tools, I may consider using it.
A "sequel" for Waveform 4 will be in the Sandbar GEN 5 release, which is beach party mix with Washout and his friends. Of course, Waveform 5 would follow Sandbar, and there might be two other GEN 5 releases which could be adopted into the Waveform universe. Here is where it gets interesting, too, and maybe a little weird.
Back in the ancient days, even before GEN 3, I did experiments with subliminals, and with other concepts. I'm always doing research and development, as well as experiments, even if it doesn’t directly result in a viable product. One such concept was a release programmed for dating, with encoded subliminals to enhance the dating experience (the program would have been designed to be played during a date, obviously). This program was Mako, which had that "shark theme", and was also short for "Makeout". Mako was one of my secret programs from the early 1990's, a "black ops" project which, while developed, never made it out of the lab, and Mako never became a release. Well, at least not then. Mako, of course, had a planned sequel of sorts, and that "sequel" was Hammerhead (which would have contained subliminals geared for another objective). Obviously, if Mako was about going on a date and making out, you can see what Hammerhead was geared for (and the shark theme was cool, too, you have to admit). Mako, and then Hammerhead. Anyone laughing about this out there? I could see it now. The date is over. The man takes out the tape, with the title "Mako", and winks at his girl while changing tapes. "That last tape was cool!" the girl sighs, "Can we listen to it again?". The man smiles, and shakes his head. "No, darling, you'll like this tape better. It's hammerhead!". The girl's eyes get wide. "It's called WHAT?!?!?".
The man, of course, puts in the tape, and hits play. The newly christened couple has a night which is the best in their lives. They fall in love, and marry. Mako and Hammerhead become the glue which keeps the fire going in their relationship. Happily ever after! Either that, or the guy plays the tapes for other women, and all of them swear that he's the best that they've ever been with!
I am seriously considering turning the Mako and Hammerhead concepts into releases, either in their original format, or as themed side-stories in the Waveform universe. In either format, though, both programs would contain subliminals to support the original concepts and "objectives".
So, are the subliminals as gimmicky as 3D sound? I don't think so. Do they really work? I would have to say "yes". I did experiments with subliminals with many of my programs (both the 1991 GEN 2 release Waveform 2 and the 1996 GEN 3 release Futura 2 had them, among others) to test certain theories. I would have to say that, yes, they certainly do work. At least, they did for me. When you program in certain test phrases and suggestions, and they appear in the behaviors in people who listen to certain programs, it's too much of a coincidence. Verifiable patterns did emerge, and it merits further study.
Mako and Hammerhead. I could be on to something. I'll be sure that women have access to my library.

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Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 8:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Podcasts And Other Media Projects

Well, my business agendas are gaining momentum, and soon some of the equipment and software issues that I’ve been having will be moot. I just hope that I can still make my deadlines this fall, although things will get done.
It’s ironic, though, that I started out in business as an event planner and a DJ, transitioned to working as a photographer, and that my photography and modeling endeavors will be what breathes life into my career as a DJ and an event planner. Full circle, indeed, and this time, I’ll make do business as all of the above.
Although I have written quite a bit here on the Tampa DJ Blog about my underground projects, I do have a few in the works that will be completely copyright free, and legal to sell if I want to sell them. A few I can talk about. A few others, I can’t. Some of these projects blend in with my modeling and my indie film work, too, and some of that work is classified (and not classified because I am doing anything wrong, but rather because it would not be smart of me to advertise some of my best ideas before I am in position to take advantage of those ideas, myself).
Anyway, here are some of the projects which I am at liberty to reveal at this time, although some of the information has been withheld because of the sensitive nature of the work. In a few years, all will be known, and you all can smile and agree that it is brilliant. Of course, I’ll be working on more things at that time, too, and will keep those things under wraps until the time is right.

1. DJ Frontier Podcast Series: “Horizons”
In honor of my first hit in my underground programs, and in honor of the vocal minority who complained that I talked to much on those programs (hey, you can’t please everyone, and I will not longer try to. You have to be true to yourself, and in this case, true to the format and theme of the project; if you’re going to be damned, be damned for what you are, and for sticking to your guns), I am working on an ongoing series of podcasts which will be primarily myself, and guests - you guessed it - talking. Talk, talk, talk, and more talking. We will discuss a variety of topics, and will voice our opinions, although most of the topics will center around art and entertainment. I don’t do sports and politics, don’t know much about those subjects, and don’t care about them, so don’t expect me to become another Rush. Politics and sports are the domain of the sheep, and I’m not a sheep. Politics, sports, country music, and coffee... keep them away from me. To me, a political rally at a sports game where they blast country music and drink lots of smelly coffee would be, literally, hell (and I am still annoyed about a political rally that I was tricked into going to recently. Had I known that wearing a shirt of a certain color was an open proclamation of certain political beliefs, I would have not wore the shirt. At least make me aware of what is going on, and allow me to make a choice! Someone owes me an apology- and you wonder why I’m not so eager to attend the events of others anymore. I get annoyed with many events, too, because I see too many things wrong with them, and it’s tough not to want to jump in and attend to the details).
The Horizons podcasts will not be boring talk programs, however. Expect a lot of satire, and the creative “skits” that made my underground releases both popular, and legends. These podcasts will be a lot like a series of underground releases, with more talking, and far less music. I like to talk, too, and have lots of qualified opinions, so this will be cool. I’ll like it.
Although I do love music, and breaking music to people, the podcasts will be another facet of my complex DJ career. I will be the most complex, and advanced, DJ in the world, and will educate while I entertain. As you are about to discover, reading on below, I will be DJ’ing at an entirely new level. I’ll be DJ’ing a lot more than music, and most conventional DJ’s will be stunned to see how I am going to expand the definition of the profession. The world will know my genius (I’m tempted to make that a slogan, but it sounds a little arrogant and self-indulgent, although it would be an accurate statement. The perception of arrogance is just that- a perception. While it may give a public relations person nightmares, I’m at least honest; I know plenty of idiots out there who are fake to the point where they feign humbleness, and it is annoying- especially when they are far from humble, in reality, and are untrustworthy. I may come off as arrogant, but I’m not. Arrogance is single mindedness, where someone always thinks that they are right, and is not open to listening to others. I’m not always right, and will be the first to admit it when I am wrong).

2. Advanced Model Podcast Series
This will be the podcast for my Advanced Model modeling resource web site and online modeling magazine. It will also be the official podcast for all of my modeling resource sites, which includes Independent Modeling, Tampa Bay Modeling, and Florida Modeling Career.
There is one other prominent modeling industry podcast on iTunes right now, and I have mixed feelings about it because it promotes the business as a hobby for amateurs (and I especially dislike their continuous promotion of freebie portfolio networking sites, which is not what being an independent professional in the modeling industry is all about; you have to INVEST in your careers!). They do a 15 to 30 minute podcast a week, and are now up to 40 podcast programs in their library.
The Advanced Model podcast series, once it begins, will overtake the other “modeling and photographer” podcast. We will do a two hour production block per week, and that will be turned into four 30 minute programs (my online television series will also have 30 minute programs; see below). The Advanced Model podcasts will have four programs a week, and that translates to sixteen a month. We’ll overtake them in mere months.
Oh, and don’t expect us to support portfolio networking sites, social networking sites, and those freebie web 2.0 career tools for amateurs.
The Advanced Model podcast will include audio from session recordings, video sources, skype, and other sources at my disposal.

3. Frontier View Online Television Series
My upcoming online television series, Frontier View, is where things get really interesting for my career as a DJ. You see, a DJ is also a personality, and that’s something that I don’t have any shortage of (people may love me or hate me, but they can never say that I am boring). There are aspects of this television series which I cannot reveal, yet, but a lot of it will be quite revolutionary, and some of it will be unlike anything seen before in the history of the entertainment industry.
What other level was I referring to above? Well, some DJ’s merely remix music. I’ll be the first to remix life itself, as well as the experience of living.
Once this series launches, a lot will be revealed, and it’s going to blow a lot of minds out there. Some of my close friends are already aware of exactly what it is that I will be doing (and since that are around me often, they have to be), and they are certainly both freaked out, and intrigued, by it. This will be the closest thing to immortality that any human being has ever achieved, and some who are in the loop are comparing it to the next generation of reality media. A few have even told me that they think that this will be the defining moment of the next generation of reality media.
This project will touch every part of my life, and will forever become a part of who I am, and what I do. I’ll be the only DJ in the world doing this, and the only person in Florida doing anything like it.
It could also prove to be a useful tool for lawsuits. It will prove to be very difficult to slander me and falsely accuse me of things in the near future. Don’t worry, this statement will make more sense once the series debuts. This just may be the future of society.
I do know that I’m just happy to find new uses for some of the concepts that were developed for the Futura Television series back in 1993. My ideas were way ahead of their time, and most of those ideas from 1993 are still way ahead of the game in 2010.
Oh, yes, and some aspects of the Futura television series are being adapted for the Horizons podcast series. Additionally, there is a possibility that the Futura television series will be done in the future. If done in the next five years, the television series, which was incredibly advanced back in 1993, can be done with few adjustments to the format, and it will still be ahead of just about anything else out there; the Futura television series may have been, quite literally, something from the future, and at least 25 to 30 years ahead of its time. I’ll be sure to make sure the audience knows that something so old is still cutting-edge.

4. Secret Project
What is this? Well, it comes after Frontier View, a few years down the road (2015, maybe?), and will be a stand-alone, ongoing project (although it does interconnect with my other DJ projects). This will also make me a ton of money (as will other things). Although it isn’t as revolutionary as Frontier View, and it’s been done before in various formats, it will never be done quite like this. It’s also never been quite as thought out and executed. I will be the DJ of life, as well as all media. Nothing will be beyond my touch.

Which brings us to my other media projects, which are mostly relevant to my DJ career.
Before I continue, however, please realize something.
I have people who support what I do, and I have a group of people who don’t. Some of the people who don’t seem to take the time to monitor my web sites and blogs. I know for a fact that my competitors, or those who aspire to compete with me, take the time to read my sites and blogs.
Some of the media projects which I will talk about here have little to do with DJ’ing. Sometimes, I’ll write about different subjects on sites and blogs which may not be that relevant (although I will be sure that there is some sort of connection). That’s because I am aware that certain people are reading my sites, and it is unlikely that they will read blogs which do not cover their industry of interest. Additionally, if they do happen to stumble upon the information, they will realize that they would have to read everything to get the entire picture of what I’m working on (if that), and that’s simply too much work. I don’t think anyone has that kind of time, no matter how determined that are (although a group of organized people could probably pull it off, but it’s improbable that someone would go through that kind of trouble..... at least, I hope not).
I’ll be working on other media projects, in closing. One such project will be media programs for my Independent Modeling sites. As some of you know, Independent Modeling has a ton of tutorials on the site. Well, in the near future, all tutorials will include video tutorials, where I’ll have models giving modeling tutorials covering the information in the written information of the tutorial.
I’d give more information, but I’m done for now.

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Monday, March 8, 2010 - 5:53 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

What Could Have Been

On the theme of going back in time (see the last post about doing a second take remake of Party Zone 2 below), I can’t help but look back and think that I could have done twice the number of releases that I did between 1990 and 1998.
Not that I could have done more in that first year. From October 1990, to December 1991, I did 19 releases, which was just over one a month. With a lot of my music reused from release to release, I just about took it to the limit with the limited resources that I had. If I had more money for music and tapes, however, I could have done one release per week (with the relaxed GEN 1 and GEN 2 production protocols used back then), which would have taken me to 56 in 14 months.
With GEN 5, I could do a run like that, without compromising quality, but it would take up too much of my time. I also couldn’t help but remember, despite the quick production process back then, that quite a few of my programs were forgettable “filler” programs, or experiments, meant to fill a catalogue. Although I will experiment, still, I will be putting a create deal of thought, creativity, planning, new music, and work into upcoming releases. Also, unlike the past, I have substantial resources now. I’ll be able to obtain more than enough CD’s to keep up with even a heavy workload of four releases a month; a workload that may be needed to catch up with my planned output, because, as of now, I’m still dead in the water. I don’t have the new computers, music, gear, and software that I need.
That directly effects the conversion program where I am converting my entire back catalog into MP3 programs. I have converted almost everything into test MP3 programs, but with the data drops and need for editing with some releases, those programs are for me to listen to in order to refresh my memory, and aid me in creating support material for the upcoming official MP3 releases.
This said, I have been listening to all of those releases. Most of them are excellent, and I’m even referring to the ones from the ancient days.
Which brings me to this.
In 1992 and 1993, I decided that my releases would have to be done with “professional” equipment. Wanting a full studio with great equipment was the right way to go, but I have to now admit that I should have continued the GEN 2 release line while building the new studio. I still had all of my music on tapes, and still had my famous microphone. There was never more of a cost-effective way to do these programs than with a boom box with two dubbing decks and a microphone jack. I’m even impressed by what I pulled off with my third release, Horizons, which was made on November 1, 1990, and released on November 2, 1990. It was way ahead of its time.
So, I have to think of what could have been. Because my life was in literal chaos for most of 1992 (thanks, you two......), it would have literally been the fall of 1992 before I could have obtained another boom box and continued. A year down would have been much better than taking over two years to rebuild and continue. Not only that, but had I continued in late 1992, I could have done at least another 30 or 40 releases before “GEN 3".
There would have been drawbacks to this, however. It must be noted, that, at the time, Futura was already being planned, as was Horizons RMX (announced in December 1991 on Waveform 2), and if I had continued with another boom box, that GEN 3 would have been started then, and the professional gear would have been GEN 4. Additionally, Futura, Party Zone 2, and Waveform 3 would have almost certainly been done with the boom box gear, and they would not have been as good as they were (I would not have been able to mix the tracks well, and the quality would not have been as good. Waveform 3, also, was one of the first releases to really push GEN 3 production technology to its limits, with 3D sound fields and sophisticated blending on acoustical elements; it could never have been done with a boom box, for sure. Waveform 3 was not a simple program, and it took all the advanced technology that I had at the time). Also, with all of my money going to more music on tapes, it would have taken a while longer to get the new CD players, mixer, and other gear that I did GEN 3 releases with.
Those points taken, I think that it would have been better had I continued with the same level of equipment in late 1992. By the time that I had put together Geomedia and began production of GEN 3 releases, I would have been more experienced, and they would have been even better.
I also have to consider the anemic output of those advanced GEN 3 releases. It’s true that, in that first year, from 1994 to 1995, I had to spend a lot of money buying CD’s to use, as I discouraged myself from using my tape library. I should have allowed myself to use both my CD and tape libraries.
Of course, history paints a different story. From 1994 to 1998, a 4 year period, I only did half of what I did in 1990-1991. The GEN 3 releases were better, in my opinion, but not by much. At the very least, I wish that I could have done more. I could have, at least, done one release a month, and in 4 years, I could have done 48 GEN 3 releases (and I should have not bothered with the covers until I actually did a large release of a program. Those expensive covers slowed me down, and they were not that great).
Ah, 40 more GEN 2 releases and 48 GEN 3 releases. That’s at least 97 releases, and I could have closed out GEN 3 with the 100th release. Could you imagine the conversion process on that many tapes? The programs are excellent, though, and it would have been worth it. For now, I’ll have to settle on my 30 or so releases, a third of what could have been.
I guess that we all have regrets when we look at the past. I’ll have to make up for it in the near future.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - 11:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

New Projects

Ah, another post. I’m on a roll today. I was listening to Party Zone 2 this morning, and I had a rather cool idea. I’m going to do it, but it’ll be sometime next year before I’ll be able to.
What am I going to do?
Remake Party Zone 2 as a 140 minute GEN 5 release!
This actually be a new dance mix based on the original Party Zone 2, with the rage theme and some of the material redone, and will not replace it. The original GEN 3 Party Zone 2 release will still be released, and this new Party Zone 2 will be a new release and an alternate version of a program that I like a lot.
Alternate version? Remake?
The new “old” program will be called Party Zone 2 RMX, and it will be released after the 50th release next year. It will be the only GEN 3 release specifically remade as an alternate sequel.
So, what about Party Zone RMX, Horizons RMX, Waveform RMX, and Futura RMX? Well, those are not remakes of a single release. All of those are remixes of the best of a series. Also, if Party Zone 2 RMX were a sequel to Party Zone RMX, it would be titled Party Zone RMX 2. I have no intentions of doing sequels to regular RMX releases, by the way, as RMX programs are designed to be a best of a series, usually. Party Zone 2 RMX is different. Understand now?
Party Zone 2 RMX is a remix of Party Zone 2 specifically, as an alternate version which stands alongside the original. It will be interesting, and I’ll be doing more creative things like this in the coming years. It should prove to be fun, and entertaining, to compare the two, and enjoy them both.
The original Party Zone 2 is a cool program with a lot of strong program elements. Although I have to cut five minutes of the program from the second side, it will be re-released as a digital program along with the other archived releases.
What’s cool about Party Zone 2 RMX is that I will take the strong elements of the original and move them into a new direction. I will also removed some of the parts that did not work, and will be adding a lot of new music, samples, and monologues. Since it is an “alternate” version which is a true stand-alone GEN 5 release, I’m going to do something interesting.
I will have fun with this project. I have a rule that I will follow in the remake.
What’s the rule? Well, since Party Zone 2 had a video gaming subtheme to it, I will take a page from the “Retro Evolved” video game development concept, where classic games are made with modern technology.
As far as I’m concerned, it will be 1994 all over again, but the program will be done with modern GEN 5 production technology. It’ll be like time traveling, to an extent.
How so?
The rule is that I can only use music from 1994 and before. No advanced music from the future can be used, no sir. It’ll be fun, although I will take a creative license with the monologues and the samples.
Party Zone 2 RMX will be another take on a classic. I’m going to create a darker mood than before, too, a mood for the program that will be a better fit for the theme. The original Party Zone 2 was more boppy and happy. This one will be more intense and emotional.
DJ Cricket, played by Nicole Angel, recorded the introduction for Party Zone 2 when we were working on Futura. Her voice is high and whiney. What I’ll do is refine the scripts that work, and re-record the monologues (mine could have been better, too). I’ll have a professional actress voice Nicole’s old parts, with changes. The voice will be deeper, and more sultry, delivered with a dark edge. Parts such as “Party Zone 2.0" in the opening monologue will be changed to “Party Zone 2 RMX”. As far as our characters are concerned, though, it’s still 1994. An alternate 1994, and an alternate Party Zone 2 done with future technology; we just won’t ask where it came from as we do our second take.
There are other cool things that I can do with this release, too. As an example, there is a Prodigy song from that era which I wanted to use, but couldn’t because it had issues. It starts out awesome, and then switches to some Reggae-sounding Island crap which made the song useless (It was “Out of Space” from their 1992 album “Experience”). I plan on using Abelton to extend the cool parts of the song and remix it. I can then add the song that I always wanted to the new mix.
Fun stuff.
In other news, I am now working on the official Celebrity Class DJ Frontier and DJ Wiz Kid sites this week. More on that later.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - 10:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Why Gen 3 Ended Like It Did

I walked around a lot today, and thought a lot about this subject. I’ve been listening to all of my programs with my test MP3's, and they are awesome. They were way ahead of their time, and it really seemed to be a shame that I came off the track and lost 12 years when I could have been doing releases while I worked on other things, too. There is no reason why I couldn’t have done this, or at least found some way to do it, until at least 2001. Well, actually, there were reasons.
What happened to the GEN 3 release schedule, and why did I quit doing underground cassette program releases 12 years ago?
It’s not like I woke up one day in 1998 and thought “gee, I think it’s time to stop DJ’ing these tapes.”. It didn’t go down like that.
What happened was gradual, and more of a transition. A number of factors, especially costs, and diminishing returns, contributed to me getting away from doing those programs.
In the good old days of 1990-1991, those releases were quick and cheap. I often did them in a night, dubbed off a few copies, and my fans, in turn, ran off more copies. The programs were easy to do, and they didn’t even have covers.
With GEN 3, starting in 1994, things got more complicated. The programs were not that much harder to do, but there were other things that they needed. I put a lot of effort into those cassette covers, and this was before computers and professional design software. I had to do them by hand at print shops, and it would cost me around $60.00 to set up the master template for a single release cover, and at least 8 hours of work with scissors, glue, and copy machines. Keep in mind, too, that I didn’t get my first real computer until 1998! I didn’t even have an easy way to type what had to be on the cover and in the Z card inserts.
With the cover requirement, some of the GEN 3 releases didn’t even get covers. I made good money at the bank, but also spent a lot of money (such as on my expanding photography career). I couldn’t release many of the GEN 3 release without covers, either.
Costs were bad, and it didn’t make sense to spend all that money on something that I could not sell. I couldn’t sell the tapes because much of the content was copyrighted. Thus, I couldn’t make my money back. As much as I loved to do the releases, it became too expensive.
Ok. Each release took at least two blank tapes ($5.00), 15 CD’s of music (Usually, I couldn’t use any more than 2 tracks per CD, and needed around 17 to 20 to do a release program. At an average price of $5.00 per CD at used CD stores like Vinyl Fever in south Tampa, figure $75.00- these costs are still the same today, and I’m cool with that). Each release took a lot of time to plan and do preproduction work, too, but that was something that didn’t matter to me- I would have done it anyway.
Ok, each release cost about $80.00 to make, and that’s cool. Then, it was a bit, but today, not a problem at all. To make the release ready for release, though, was the deal breaker. The cover cost $60.00 to set up the template. Because the releases has to have covers, I had to do all the copies, unlike the early days. Each tape would cost $2.50, and each color copy of the cover would ring in at $1.20. That’s $3.70 for a tape that I could not sell. For a good release run of 100 copies, I spent $370.00. See where this is going?
I loved doing those programs. I really did. But a total cost of $510.00 for each release of a GEN 3 release (X10 for the GEN 3 run), for something that I could only use for promotional marketing, and you can see why is was not cost effective.
So, I didn’t wake up one day in 1998 and decide to quit doing them. I just put off doing the releases until I was no longer doing them, and then became sidetracked with web sites work, DJ’ing events, and photography.
That was then, however. Now is now. The technology is finally here to make the releases more cost effective than they were, ever.
My tools are awesome. I’m also a professional designer, and get paid now for my design work (as you can see by all the new GEN 5 covers that I’ve been displaying). Material costs? Also gone!
The costs for the CD’s are still the same, but my event planning company has to have those, anyway, so that’s not an issue.
Another issue that I had was when I tried to finish Rush Hour. The program requirements exceeded that of the analog cassette format. I couldn’t get it done with analog tools, and that spelled the end of the line. Oh, and then I seem to recall what probably was the final straw. I'd make copies of my programs, and people would tell me that they had no way of listening to tapes. The format was outdated, and it was no longer worth it to make more programs on a cassette format which was long in the tooth. So, it ended.
Two years later, in 2000, I began tooling up for GEN 4 programs, which would be done on a computer and released on CD's. I began to tinker with cover formats, and started to plan for the new GEN 4 CD releases to be produced in 2001. This didn't happen, though, as hard drive storage was expensive, and burning CD's was not as easy to do as dubbing a tape. Additionally, although the CD format was cheap, it was limited to 70 minutes, 20 minutes less than the old programs were. The releases would have to be released on 2 CD's for a 90 minute program, and, of course, the 2 CD's would have brought it up to 140 Minutes. Still, 2 CD's were very inconvenient, as the fans could have lost one and only ended with half a program. With the prospect of spending a lot of money on a computer which have been required to handle these releases, GEN 4 was shelved in 2002.
It's sad, too. We played a lot of the GEN 3 releases during modeling shoots, and a few models even obtained copies of some of them around 2000 and 2001. They loved them, and I had new fans. Lowie loved Party Zone 3.
GEN 4 skipped, 8 years later, technology had finally caught up, with the widespread adoption of digital media players like the iPod, High quality MP3's, and powerful computers at low cost. In retrospect, I had never given up on the programs. I was merely waiting for the technology to improve so we could adopt a new format, and continue making releases. In 2008, I began adopting new productions standards for GEN 5, GEN 4 having been far enough along to count it as a production generation. GEN 5 is going to open up everything, and the programs will finally achieve, and surpass, their original potential. I'm excited about it. This is going to be a revolution, and there are no longer any limits to what can be done. So, what’s different about GEN 5?

1. Digital production enables me to create and execute professional-quality programs for the first time. No more limitations of analog editing and media.

2. No set-up costs for covers, as I am a professional designer now (as well as one of the best photographers in Florida), and I can design the covers digitally.

3. No material overheads. No tapes to buy, and no covers to print.
Thus, that $510.00 overhead becomes $80.00, if that. Also, the quality is superior, and professional.

Most importantly?
Unlimited distribution. I used to have a hit when I had a few hundred tapes floating around. Now, there are no limits. I could have literally millions of copies out at no cost, in theory.
My programs were way ahead of their time, limited by the technology of the 1990's. Now, with digital technology everywhere, the technology has finally caught up with the format.
Some of those GEN 3 programs which were planned, but never done, can now be done as GEN 5 programs. Now, I can also finally finish Rush Hour, too.
The bottom lime is that it’s worth doing now more than ever, and what’s about to happen is going to blow away anything that I’ve done in the past.
And that, my friends, is why GEN 3 ended like it did. What annoys me most about it, though, is that I felt that something great was about to happen with the programs, and I have a lot of unfinished business. Now, that something can finally happen.
I know that some of my greatest work as a DJ is just ahead. Welcome to the future.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - 9:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

DJ At Work

Although I don’t have the new studio computer yet, and am unable to start converting my Cassette Program Releases to digital files yet, I’m working on it. In the meantime, to speed up the process, I’ll do what I can, and there is plenty to do. I want to get these re-released by late spring 2010 at the earliest. I have to have a fanbase built up by October.
I could leak the test MP3 programs that I am using as guides right now, flaws and all, but it won’t come to that.
As of today, I’ve decided on the official release schedule for conversion. These programs will be converted into new digital program releases, complete with professionally designed, iPod-optimized covers.
All of the releases, with the exception of DJ Foxx:Smooth Love, DJ PJ: Party Mix 1, and DJ Wiz Kid: Eat Me, Bitch!, will be re-released, with new covers (if they had original covers), program notes, and more. That would be 30 out of 33 releases, and each release is 90 minutes (with the exception of the Bitch mini promo).
That’s a lot of work to do, especially when some of them need to be edited for content.
I can convert at least two releases a day once I get the new computer, which includes editing and finalizing the MP3 program from the original WAV file. Unable to do that on a daily basis, however (although, in contrast, my online television series, Frontier View, will film daily), expect that process to take at least two months for the conversion, editing, and final programs alone. This does NOT include covers, programs notes, and support files, but I can do all of that work while I wait for the conversion computer. Guided by all of my initial test MP3 programs, by the time the conversion process starts, I’ll have all of that support material mostly done; I'll start now.
If I obtain the computer in March, I should be able to, at the earliest, have all of the programs ready and released by May. Summer 2010 it is, I suppose.
I certainly hope that four months is enough time to generate a fanbase.
That said, I will be starting production on the new GEN 5 releases in the summer, completing about two per week and starting their release in October 2010 (I may have to rip CD’s as I need them, and build the digital library that way). With that rather optimistic, and tentative, schedule, I should have 24 new releases done this year. That’s optimistic, though, especially knowing that it took 12 months to do 18 releases in 1990-1991 with relaxed production standards. 24 releases in 6 months would be a record, by a mile (and I am not rushing out anything. I will put quality and care into every release). When you factor in the high standards for production with GEN 5 releases, and program times of 140 minutes compared to the original 90, however, that kind of run seems impossible. Yes, I would be able to do 2 releases a week, but I’m not sure if I could keep it up- it would cut into my writing time at the very least, and with two book projects and a ton of web sites to write content for, I wouldn’t be able to keep that up for long.
I want to get a ton of new material out as quickly as possible in order to clear out the backlog of releases scheduled, and to clear the ground for new material, but I will not rush out anything at the expense of quality, or other priorities.
1 release a week seems more reasonable, but I have a lot of other things going on. Therefor, I will set a schedule of 1 release every two weeks. I could do 2 a month, and maybe as many as 3 if I can find the time. That’s an average, of course, because complex programs like Rush Hour and Daytona, which are team efforts, will take longer to do.
So, if I start in June, you could expect 12 new GEN 5 Digital Program Releases completed by the end of the year (not all released by then, however, due to lead time), and an additional 24 in 2011 (with at least a ten year production run of the underground releases, that could be as many as 252 releases by 2020. Added with the original 30 that we re-released, that total would be 282. I’m thinking that there could be as many as 300 releases by 2020, and we could be at our 150th release by the 25th anniversary of when this all began.
As you can see, I’m setting up for a long term production project- I wouldn’t be doing all of this work to set up another meager run of 33 releases; 33 releases, that I might add, took eight years to do!. Hundreds of releases are possible with GEN 5 production standards, and I’m sure that technology would evolve over that time, too.
I have, at a minimum, 17 new GEN 5 releases scheduled before I can start anything really new, as some of those are sequels to existing properties or special programs from the backlog. It’s going to be spring 2011 before I can really get started with brand new, fresh GEN 5 properties, because I have to clear out this backlog, first.
The cool thing, however, is that you can expect to have at least 33 GEN 5 releases available and released by the holidays next year, matching the original release archive in number of releases. This Holiday, there will be about 6 available, with 27 more coming in the span of a year.
I can’t wait to give someone a thumb drive with 36 (6 new GEN 5 + the 30 original) releases on it this Christmas. That’s almost 4 Gigs of files with roughly 59 hours of listening time (I’ll buy a 4 Gig USB thumb drive for them now). Cool!
Can you tell that I used to work for a bank? I like numbers.
Alrighty. Here are some more production notes for my new GEN 5 releases.

1. No more announcements on the releases. News is cool, but nothing stated which has not been done yet.

2. Plan the flow better. Use Ableton’s features to make pitch, and beat, perfect mixes.

3. More music. I am budgeting at least 1,000 new CD’s this year. I have a lot more money and resources than I had in the old days, and am finally able to research music to make each investment count. That’s roughly 12,000 tracks (and each release would have an average of 30 tracks on the new 140 minute format, up from the 20 or so from the old 90 minute format. Longer programs, which could go 240 minutes, could have as many as 60 tracks! What programs would go 4 hours (240 minutes)? Programs which could serve as backups for event sets, and most of those would be dance mixes. I do have a few which would clock in at 240 minutes planned, as I am no longer limited by a 90 minute audio cassette). I’m happy to say that the practice of repeating music on different releases is pretty much over. Expect my programming to blow away the old programming, too, now that I can pick and choose the right music; each program will be strong, with no lame filler tracks.

With that, I’m done. At least for this post.

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 7:15 PM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Production Overlap

I’ll keep this short, as I have things to do. I did, however, want to include this information with the post this morning; after I finalized the post and filed it, though, it occurred to me that I missed something.
Regarding the production of several different ongoing media projects, I can confirm that I will be optimizing the cost-effectiveness of my efforts (bang for the buck, two birds with one stone, etc) by combining some projects. There will be overlap in some of these productions, where it is relevant.
This means that there will be things like a lot of behind the scenes coverage on my online television series, Frontier View, among other things. The cool thing is to get the entire picture, you’ll have to follow everything.
For example, let’s say that I am putting a lot of effort into a GEN 5 Digital Program Release, or a Podcast. I have guests there, and we’re recording our program. I’ll have cameras rolling, too, and will use the footage in Frontier View. I’ll cover some productions from more than one angle, and you’ll get more than if you were to settle just listening to a release or podcast. Oh, and of course, there will be a lot of photographs, too.
With Advanced Model having its own podcast, hosted and produced by me, the same production overlap will be used there, too. I believe that I haven’t announced this, yet, on my modeling resource sites, but we are going to do video tutorials, articles, and stories with various models starring in them. This will overlap with the podcast, among other things.
This multimedia production approach hasn’t been done in my history of doing production work, but it should prove to be both innovative and revolutionary. Luckily, I had the foresight to build support infrastructure for all of this, which took years, and I have all of the talent connections needed to maintain an ongoing, indefinite production effort, too. I have some of the best, and most talented, friends in the world. Don’t you wish that you had friends like mine?
Oh, and just wait until what you see me do with independent film and video games. I have some revolutionary work which has never been done before, and as I developed those concepts, again, over years, I tested each component of the overall virtual machine. I’m not only confident in the success of these efforts, but I’m sure that they will, at the very least, achieve everything that is planned. I have hard data to back up my educated predictions.
Revolution in entertainment is well underway. Your conception of what entertainment, and art, is will change in the coming years.

Could the following videos be a prelude to the upcoming Frontier View online television series, or is it just a friends and I having fun at the fair? I'm not saying. Find out soon.......

Featuring my friend, Tampa performer Ann Poonkasem (singer, model, actress, television host, dancer, national anthem singer for major sporting events, former Miss Tampa, Former Miss Gasparilla). I'm running my cheapie camera (you can hear me talking alot), and will be getting some serious production hardware soon.

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 8:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

I Can't Wait

I’m just getting started with my modeling industry project (I finished the marketing material Saturday), so it will be a while before I can do much.
I don’t have the gear for converting the CPR’s to official MP3 programs (I now have an almost-full set from my current outdated equipment, but the data drops make them flawed. Some of them will have to be edited, too), and I don’t have the gear for my online television series or my DJ video projects. This will change by spring.
I was going to begin production of my Frontier View television series this spring, but it will be summer or fall before that will happen. This means that the series will not debut until fall 2011 at the earliest. This is fine, too, because my film festivals have also been delayed a year. I won’t have my first one, Reverence, until fall 2011, and the Tampa Film Showcase will not begin until early 2012.
I will have all the Cassette Program Releases that I plan on releasing as MP3 programs out by summer (It will take at least three months to finish the conversion project), especially since the GEN 5 releases are scheduled to begin production around that time, with new GEN 5 MP3 releases (Era, Revo, Waveform RMX, etc) released regularly starting this fall. I have to make that October 6, 2010 20th anniversary date. With production protocols now solidified, I should be able to do two or three releases a week, regardless of what else I have going on.
I’m going to be investing in a ton of CD’s from Amazon and Sound Exchange this year. I plan on obtaining at least a thousand (Amazon makes it awesome researching music because it allows you to listen to tracks online. In the old days, finding music was a lot like Russian roulette, buying tapes that I couldn’t listen to until I bought them, and then I was stuck with them because they couldn’t be returned). There may be a bottleneck converting all of these CD’s to MP3's and WAV rips, and organizing those files, but the new studio computer will be humming along daily with this job. I’m going to need a lot of hard drive space. Ideally, what I’ll end up with is a new laptop as a portable production studio. Some of those releases will be done much like they were in the old days, on location in my spare time.
I think that I will be putting the GEN 5 underground releases, such as Era and Revo, together with more-portable MP3 files, which use high levels of file compression. The commercial releases, coming much later, will use the same production standards and tools, but will be done with WAV files in the studio, which are pure, uncompressed files for maximum quality. A laptop can only hold so many WAV files, and the MP3-sourcing makes sense. The jury is still out on this, though, so I have a little while to sort it out.
When the new studio computer is up and running, the conversion project for all of the CPR’s will begin. Raw master files will be created, and then edited for content (Bitch: The Major Release and Waveform 2 require editing. I went over the line on some of those releases, and there is some content which I do not want to get out. Additionally, I will be removing references of a negative nature concerning some people. I really don’t want to be violating any obscenity or other laws, either. When I returned my iPod Touch recently, I took great care in removing all of the test MP3 programs- yes, I am that serious about keeping substandard files from getting out).
When released this summer, I think that the new fans will enjoy what they will be getting. Each re-released CPR MP3 release will be released in a file folder. The file folder will contain an MP3 file just under 100 Megs in size (the GEN 5 files will be just under 150 Megs, or larger, because the programs are longer), an iPod-optimized cover image JPEG file (already tested on the iPod Touch!), Instructions (including instructions on importing the programs into iTunes, which was a nightmare for me, at first, to do since they don’t support any non-iTunes music with documentation. I suppose that they want to iPod owners to buy all of their music from iTunes instead of importing their own MP3's, and not telling them how to use their own music is one way to promote this, I suppose), program notes and dedication, HTML links to the worlds of DJ Frontier and DJ Wiz Kid, and the program listing itself (although some program listings will be incomplete due to lack of documentation on my part, and the long period of time). Regarding the support documentation, I am considering doing online support like I do with my business clients. This will enable me to keep everything updated and current. The support will be on the relevant DJ sites; all of the DJ Wiz Kid GEN 1 and 2 release support files will be hosted on DJWizKid.Com, and all of the DJ Frontier GEN 3 and 5 release support files will hosted on DJFrontier.Com. Note that I will not be offering any MP3 downloads or complete program packages on any web sites, so don’t even ask. Also, because copyrights are not cleared, these programs are not for sale. I will be using them for promotion only.
I’m done for now. I now have to work on Tampa Bay Modeling, and will be spending the rest of the week working on Independent Modeling. Next week, I will be working on Florida Modeling Career, and then get ready to launch Advanced Model in March. There is a lot to do, especially since aggressive modeling marketing rolls out this week..
At the moment, I am listening to a test MP3 program of Waveform 2, my last DJ Wiz Kid release from December 7, 1991. It’s pretty good, and has an excellent music program, despite the rants about the Lakeland gang who rioted my beach party on November 2, 1991. Some of this content will have to be edited out before re-release. The irony, however, is that Waveform 2 was never really released, because within a month after the riot, my underground distribution network was destroyed, and I was struggling to survive (and let’s not even go into the nightmare which was 1992. I was betrayed by my friends, lost everything, and left to die). The cool thing? I was out of the mess within a year, and was then developing a new production studio, Geomedia One, for the next generation of cassette program releases. 1993 saw me change my name to DJ Frontier, and in the summer of 1994, I was back at it. This would last until sometime in 1998.
In the summer of 2010, I’ll be at it again. A new era will begin.
Holy crap..... I just heard the end of Waveform 2, and in December of 1991 I announced upcoming releases such as Horizons RMX and Futura. I didn't remember that! That’s amazing........... I didn’t know that I planned that far ahead, and thought that those programs were conceived in 1994. I also declared Waveform 2 as the first of the GEN 3 releases, which wasn’t so (I had no idea how bad things would get in 1992. Luckily, no one heard Waveform 2, which meant that GEN 3 did not start there), and eventually forgotten as Futura, with its CD-sourced music and mult-track mixes, would become the first GEN 3 release in June 1994.
I now remember those the thought of those releases fueling my determination to rebuild and start over with more professional standards. I followed-through, but it took a few years.
I’m always surprising myself. It pays to document history. This, of course, is also why I converted all of my CPR's to test MP3 programs, so I could recall the past and work on documentation.

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Saturday, January 16, 2010 - 8:10 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Production Time Conversion, And My DJ Role.

Yawn... I'm tired. Spent the night listening to my MP3 test releases while I worked on marketing (man, Waveform 3 is cool). I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so I might stay in most of the weekend; I'm entitled to a working vacation, and once this modeling photography / resource site campaign begins next week, I am going to be incredibly busy.
Anyway, on to the subject at hand.
Yesterday, I wrote about production times in days. I didn't define how many hours were actually spent working a day. By default, that's eight hours. Just wanted to clear that up. GEN 1 and 2 releases under DJ Wiz Kid took less than eight hours to do. GEN 3 releases, on average, took between sixteen and twenty-four hours to do a 90 minute program. On average, I intend to invest twenty-four hours of production time into each GEN 5 release. Looks like I'm buying a brand new laptop with a huge hard drive loaded with MP3's of my CD library, Photoshop, Ableton Live, an image library, a sample library, and a microphone so I can work on the releases at any time from the laptop. I'll be able to turn out several releases and podcasts a month that way.
As many can tell, I'll be leaning more onto the production side of DJ'ing. To be honest, I do not like DJ'ing weddings, or DJ'ing someone's party. I do not like mobile DJ'ing at all; I do not like people feeling entitled to tell me what do do after paying me. Most of those people, although they mean well and really do want a cool party, don't know cool music from their ass, and when I play what they want me to, I get blamed for the poor programming. Sure, I'll do mobile DJ'ing, and even wedding DJ'ing, in an emergency, and I'll do a great job, but for most of the work, count me out. A basic four hour DJ party from my company, Eventi Events, runs roughly $750.00, and I have plenty of great mobile DJ's who can do those gigs. If you want me to DJ your party specifically, and I am not filling in an emergency, you will pay more. How much? For my time, expect to pay at least $5,000.00 for a four hour set. If it's a wedding, expect to pay, at least, $10,000.00 for me to DJ your reception. Yes, I dislike doing those gigs that much, and no, I don't expect any sane person to pay that no matter how famous I get (and, if you are insane, I won't work for you, anyway). I had a horrible wedding reception gig back in 2002, and I also had an ex girlfriend go insane and dare to call me up to DJ her wedding (proving that she was indeed a sociopath, and did not give a damn about me or my feelings. I later found out that she and her new husband, a con artist who pretty much bought her, scammed the DJ and photographer who did their wedding, and the DJ and photographer did not get paid. Was that their plan for me?). I'm also sick and tired of the drunk fathers of brides telling me to play the same lame songs ten times in a row (seriously, this happened to me at least TWICE, and pissed me off both times- and it pissed off the audience, who blamed me, of course, which led to the bride and groom complaining to said drunk father, who, of course, also blamed me without admitting that I was following his instructions. Neither incident really hurt the weddings, but they were not fun for anyone). I did not get into DJ'ing to kiss ass and cater to Bridezillas. People need to trust my instincts when it comes to programming music; I've had a long run of popular underground releases, and when I'm allowed to select the songs and do my thing, I keep the dance floor packed and the guests happy. I'm not above doing requests, mind you, but no one micro manages my sets. Delegate, don't dictate! I'm no one's employee.
I have worked weddings as both a professional DJ and a professional photographer for many years. With photography, I’m more in control of what’s going on, so I don’t mind so much, but with DJ’ing, it’s different. Not that I find weddings very romantic anymore. I tend to view weddings as anti-romantic, and as an artist and a true romantic, I don’t like them. Don’t agree with me? You work a billion weddings, and see for yourself how cookie cutter and fake that they are. Weddings are predictable events of people who simply go through the same motions over and over again. There is no creativity, or sincerity, with weddings anymore; it’s more pretense and showing up your peers than anything else.
Convince me that you truly love each other in a monogamous, heterosexual relationship, and be creative with your wedding, allowing me to do my thing, and I’ll be more than happy to consider DJ’ing your wedding for what my company normally charges- it would be my honor. If it really is genuine and cool, I'm into it! Do what everyone else does, and drag true love and romance through the mud with your rites of hypocrisy, and that’ll be $10,000.00, please, and don’t expect me to kiss ass or play the same song ten times in a row. Thank you very much.
I know that it’s taboo for a DJ to complain about what they don’t like in the business, but I don’t care anymore. I’m tired of feeling limited, and feeling like I’m selling out, every time I do one of these tragedies. I’m DJ Frontier! I’m an artist! The money was never the goal, and it shouldn’t be.
It doesn’t really matter, though. My senior DJ, Marlon Brown, is pretty much the best wedding DJ in the Tampa Bay market (ditto for my photographers in the Tampa Bay wedding photography market). I don’t have to do it (Marlon is a better mobile DJ than I am, anyway, and he loves doing that). I’d rather be an event planner when it comes to weddings, and DJ events that the client books. I have great people who are happy working those gigs. As far as my role as a DJ goes, I’d rather do my own thing and DJ my own events, where I have complete creative control and people pay for tickets. That’s my thing.

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Friday, January 15, 2010 - 6:45 PM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Diminishing Returns: Achieving A Balance.

I’ve been wrestling with some production protocol issues lately, mainly in formatting and the average amount of time to allocate to the production of the GEN 5 programs.
Here are the issues, and my solutions.

1. GEN 5 DPR Covers
With the original concept to format the covers for large printed alternate CD covers (for the fans who wished to convert DPR’s to CD’s), the original templates were optimized for CYMK printing, and had to be converted to RGB for the cover image files. With the abandonment of the CD option (it is for the best, especially for the new 140 minute baseline format and quality issues), the specs need to be adjusted, if not overhauled outright. I will be redoing the GEN 5 cover format, and although it will be roughly the same as the existing default layout and formatting, expect a few improvements and adjustments. This means that covers for GEN 1, 2, and 3 cassette program releases which have not been created yet may be a little different. I still intend to use the older covers, and may have to, especially since I lost the original templates for many of them in a recent computer crash (back up those files!). The irony is that the computer crash was a result of playing an E.T. video game on my computer via an Atari 2600 emulator (I actually like that game, although it is regarded as one of the worst video games ever made, and has often been made the scapegoat of the video game market crash of the early 1980's, wherein the irony lays. I still like it, although I haven’t messed with the emulator and that game since. I might just plug in my mint-condition Atari 7800 and an E.T. cart from my library and play it proper, on the home theater system). The emulator hung up, I hard-reset the computer, and it corrupted my boot on my hard drive. As a result, I had to completely redo my computer and reinstall all of the programs. I lost a lot of files.
I need to figure out how to recreate that cool Horizons cover font! Wah!
Anyway, the new GEN 5 templates will be done in RGB by default.

2. Program Format and Production Time
This is tricky. One complaint that I had (and still have) about Horizons 3 is that I sat back and played music. That’s too easy, and turns a program into a compilation, which is a mistake. I’d rather not slap a title and a weak theme on a program and just play music. On the other hand, it is possible to overdo it with production. With the new software tools such as Ableton, I can micromanage music and samples, and change things around. Spending too much time on any release, even the upcoming commercial releases, is not cost effective (to be fair, however, those commercial releases are copyright cleared, and are sold, so there will be a lot more work done on them than I could ever justify doing with a standard underground release, despite the software tools being the same and the production standards being identical). If you spend a ton of time adjusting every second of a release, regardless, I may as well spend that time working on a feature film. Feature film? Well, there is hardly a post-production difference when you are talking about time. The standard running time on a release is 140 minutes, and often even longer. An average feature indie film is 90 minutes. Editing is editing, timewise, regardless of if it is an indie film or an audio program, and I’m not spending the production time on an audio release that I can’t sell when I can spend roughly the same amount of time editing an indie film that I can sell.
An independent film is tedious editing-wise, with every single second in need of being managed, and audio and video elements. With a DJ program, the music carries it most of the time, with some creative elements blended in.
I have a lot going on. Obtaining a balance to the production schedule, and adhering to that balance, is critical. For the traditional underground program releases, I’m not doing it for the money. I’m doing it for promotional material, event support material, and the art. That’s it. The commercial releases, on the other hand, are for sale, and more work will be applied to them, but the above reasons still apply, too. The commercial releases are still a long way off, and it is important to realize that getting the underground releases going is necessary to pave the way for commercial releases.
In the old days, with my GEN 1 and 2 DJ Wiz Kid cassette program releases, I used to do most of them in a few hours, and the results were good. They were very cost effective. The DJ Frontier GEN 3 releases took longer, and were not nearly as cost effective, with an average production time of three days. GEN 5 releases should take between two to four days to do, depending upon the complexity of the program. Commercial releases, which share the same GEN 5 production technology, will take a week, or more.

It’s time to go. I’m converting my 8th release from February 1991 under DJ Wiz Kid, Dance Floor Express, to an MP3 test program. Not bad- and I have the perfect picture for the cover (I took a dance floor-level picture of people dancing at one of our events back in 2001 with a 35MM film camera, and almost was trampled getting the shot. It's very cool). I’m converting more releases this weekend.
Speaking of this weekend, I have some photography and modeling marketing to do. I also have to get in touch with Tampa DJ Nicole 1111, who texted me a Merry Christmas a few weeks ago. Sorry. I’ve been busy (and I don’t do text). I do, however, want to talk to you. You’re cool, as well as a talented DJ. I still listen to your CD.

Oh, and before I do go, I have some more news. As soon as my photography marketing and modeling agendas are underway, which will be within the next week, and my new contracts are done, which will be in the next two weeks, I will be working on my DJ Frontier and DJ Wiz Kid sites. This Tampa DJ Blog will be reformatted to match, and the content will be properly organized and references at that time. Expect it all online by spring 2010!

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Saturday, January 2, 2010 - 8:22 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Production Lines Revealed.

Ah, yes, and before I forget.... the main reason why I wanted to post on the Tampa DJ Blog.
Here is some information that some of you will find interesting. It is a big reason that my future as DJ Frontier will eclipse everything that I’ve done in the past.
I’ve stated before that I will become a new type of DJ, a DJ of all media, and in some respects what I’ll be doing will invite controversy regarding whether I am a “real” DJ or not. Well, I will certainly be doing my own thing.
In the past, I was only know for a series of underground DJ programs. That underground release line will continue, of course, but it won’t be the only thing that I will be doing. Until now, I’ve only really gone into one production project which I’ve been working on, those GEN 1, 2, 3, and 5 releases.
There are five more production projects at the present time, for a total of six. I have a massive strategy planned which will be far more sophisticated, and effective, than any DJ in the world has ever done (as it should be, as I am the DJ of the future). My DJ Frontier brand is going to become huge!

Commercial Releases (GEN 5)
Coming in 2011.
Released under the Dream Nine Studios label.
This was hinted on before. This is a separate line from the underground releases, and it’s new. These releases will break new music, will have full copyright clearance, and will be sold as downloadable MP3 programs. Because the copyrights are clear, these will not be promotional items, and will not be free. The commercial release line shares the same GEN 5 production standards that the ongoing underground releases benefit from.

Underground Program Releases (GEN 5)
Ongoing since 1990.
Released under the Neo Studio Underground label.
My original DJ program line, underground releases which have limited copyright clearance. These programs are not for sale, and are for promotional use only. Party Zone, Waveform 3, Horizons, and many other of my famous programs were produced under this production line.

Podcast Program Series (GEN 5)
Coming in 2010.
The people who have always complained about me talking too much on my releases are going to love this. These will not be individual releases, but rather episodes produced under a podcast program. In this yet-to-be named podcast series (which may be named Horizons, or something like that), I take the opposite approach from what I’ve done with my releases, and I’ll be talking most of the time here, voicing my opinions and breaking interesting information on a variety of topics. The podcasts will be talk shows with little music, and in those shows, I’ll have co-hosts, guests, and other interesting features (such as parodies, faux commercials, gags, and skits, like a variety show. There will be elements of comedy, and drama). I’ll be talking about life, entertainment industry-relevant subjects, will interview people, and will be doing other things. Unlike my underground DJ release line, the podcasts will be copyright cleared, although the podcasts will be available for download free of charge.
With my online modeling magazine Advanced Model also doing a podcast series, I’ll be producing two podcast projects this year.

Online Video Program Releases
Coming in 2011.
This is something that I wanted to do since 1990, when it all began. With this series, I’ll be doing VJ duty as I do music video program releases. Expect these online programs to appear on my online film festivals, as well as YouTube.

Frontier View online television series
Coming in 2010/ 2011.
Frontier View, which is supposed to begin production in the spring of 2010, with the release of season one in the fall of 2010, will still see production this year, but the debut may not happen this fall. I’m not certain as to what the schedule is right now, and won’t be until spring. If production is delayed until later this year, expect a debut sometime in 2011.
In Frontier View, my DJ Frontier alter ego is a character in the series, and I experience many adventures. That’s all I can say for now.
I still might make that series debut this fall if I can get production started this spring.

Classified Series Project
Coming in 2012.
Title pending and details are a secret. This is a commercial video series which I will host. It will have full copyright clearance, and will be sold. It's a revolutionary idea, and it will sell like crazy; there is demand for this product, and no one is doing it. That’s all that I can say for now.

DJ Frontier forever!

I'm going to be everywhere....

And that’s it for now. I have to get some rest, and then rip some more test MP3 programs this weekend. Ciao for now!

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Saturday, January 2, 2010 - 8:00 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Tampa DJ Blog Updated. New Release Schedule.

The Tampa DJ Blog had been having some issues with Dreamweaver, it seems, with an overload of content corrupting the html file (the main site template tested fine). So, I took some time and grafted the content to a new html file, attached to the site template. To make sure that the corrupted content was not imported to the fresh page, I hand adjusted all of the fonts and colors. The result: No more Dreamweaver choking on the file. It’s fixed.
For now, at least. I have plans to reformat the Tampa DJ Blog to the new Celebrity Class web site format which will be shared by my DJ Frontier and DJ Wiz Kid sites (there is even talk about changing the Frontier Society site to the new format). Expect these new DJ sites to launch by spring in preparation for what’s coming later in 2010.
That done, a lot is going on here. I published a tentative list of the upcoming GEN 5 Digital Program Releases on my DJ Frontier site while this blog had issues, but that list has been changed. It’s still tentative, but look here, and you will get an idea for what will be done later in 2010 and 2011.
Please note that all programs, unless otherwise noted, have a running time of 140 minutes, which is longer than the old format of 90 minutes. Running time, however, is tentative, too, although all programs would have a minimum of a 140 minute run time. Some dance mixes and special programs would run as much as 240 minutes, or even longer. I’m no longer limited by a 90 minute cassette with this MP3 format. All programs will use new commercial program technology and formats, being entirely produced on computer workstations using 100% digital files and software such as Ableton Live 8.

34th Release
DJ Frontier: Era
Will be produced the summer of 2010 (and maybe sooner), and will be released on October 6, 2010. Much like the original Futura began a new era with my GEN 3 releases in 1994, Era is going to herald the beginning of a new era. This program, however, will be even more significant, celebrating my Era as DJ Wiz Kid and DJ Frontier, as well as the Era of what is coming with my career as DJ Frontier (there will be a production gap of over 12 years with this release, and Futura was released after a hiatus of less than less than 3 years). Even more significant, this program, while being done earlier in 2010, it will be released on the 20th anniversary of my first release: October 6, 2010. Much like my other current production projects, there will be lead time involved between production and release of the programs. Many of the new GEN 5 releases will be produced and completed months before they are officially released (although most would be within the frame of the same calendar year).
Era will not be a rip-off of Futura, however; although some themes may be similar to the first Futura, this will be superior in every way, and in many ways will be a lot different. It’s a celebration of my career as an underground DJ, and an introduction of what I’m working on now. The program will have several fans helping out, too, which I’ll have, especially with the re-release of most of my older releases in the spring of 2010.
I was going to premier the GEN 5 release line with the Revo dance mix release, but there were too many questions which had to be answered. So, Revo was pushed back to the 35th release, and Era was re-asserted.
I’m not certain what type of program release that I will have to celebrate my 25 year anniversary on October 6, 2015, but a sequel to Era is in consideration.

35th Release
DJ Frontier: Revo
This will be my next Party Zone series, and will utilize some ideas which would have been introduced in the never-produced GEN 3 Club Zero Cassette Program Release series. This is not to say that there won’t be another Party Zone, however. Party Zone 5, at the very least, is on the schedule. If Party Zone 5 is the last Party Zone (which Party Zone 4 was supposed to be before the superior Party Zone RMX was released afterwards), I want to close the series out on a high note. The Party Zone series is supposed to be more mainstream dance music, and Revo is more about techno, trance, and acid house dance music.

36th Release
DJ Frontier: Waveform RMX
With the original Waveform being converted to MP3 and re-released, the flawed Waveform 2 being dumped, and the defining Waveform 3 seeing re-release as an MP3 program, Waveform RMX, a remix program which was supposed to be produced back in the GEN 3 days, will finally be produced. Waveform RMX is based on Waveform 3 and the Waveform indie film property, and will mainly focus on the music. It will also set the stage for the upcoming GEN 5 sequel Waveform 4, which will occur after the events of the upcoming GEN 5 release Daytona. Like cool beach-themed music? You’ll dig Waveform RMX.

37th Release
DJ Frontier: Futura RMX
This is a music-centric remix of the Futura series, featuring some of the best music of Futura and Futura 2. It will also have a lot of cool new content, and will set the stage for the upcoming Futura 3.

38th Release
DJ Frontier: Generation 2
I have big plans for this one. It is a sequel with a much improved story over the first Generation, which was a brilliant program which few have heard before now. The story is completed, and it is much more ambitious than the original. Generation 2 ties in with the original Generation, as well as my upcoming indie film projects REM and Generations. In Generation 2, which occurs 11 years after the events of first story, DJ Frontier and a female companion, assisted by Dr. Fabian, use an advanced, and improved, MK3 REM VR machine to literally become a part of the memories of DJ Frontier. Of course, they get more than they bargained for when the memories of the first session mix with their experience, and other weird things happen. DJ Frontier and his friend are stuck in the REM world of his mind, and have to face his darkest demons, together.

39th Release
DJ Frontier: Lost Love (Smooth Love Part 2)
This is my take on DJ Foxx’s long lost GEN 2 release, Smooth Love (she was such a selfish little bitch, mind you. She stole the master tape, as well as any respect that I ever had for her, for other reasons. I’m glad that she is gone and out of my life). In the original Smooth Love, DJ Foxx spewed out all of this true love forever B.S., B.S. which time proved wrong. Where is her true love now? Does it have a price tag on it, and what is her price? Did she allow someone to buy her hand in marriage? Regardless, although I still believe in true love, Lost Love is about love gone wrong. It’s about lost love, and the regret that comes with it. It’s about selfishness, deceit, and destructive behavior. It’s about one-side love, and people taking advantage of others. It’s love gone wrong, and true love missing. It’s about a screwed up, confused girl who made a mockery of true love as she used people to satisfy her own self-serving needs.
It’s also about my memory of a girl who I truly loved, love for a girl who allowed life to change who she was, a girl who ceased to exist so many years ago. The girl who I loved died long ago.

40th Release
DJ Frontier: Reverence (Sidekick Release)
This will be a sidekick release for my short indie film, Reverence, which may or may not be done this year, so this is very tentative right now. The scoop is that, for 2010 at least, the priorities are my photography, modeling sites, and my DJ career. The films and film festivals will have to wait until I have time for them, and that may not happen until next year (always next year, of course, but I will not put my financial portfolio in jeopardy by overextending myself and my businesses. If you are waiting for my indie films and film festivals, you can simply wait a while longer. They will happen, eventually. This delay is a big part of the reasons why the Tampa Bay Film sites will not be updated much in 2010, too. I have lots to do this year, and won’t have much time for that).

41st Release
DJ Frontier: Party Zone 5
This will be the best Party Zone. Since it will probably be the last in a series that spans all the way back to 1991, I’m putting a lot into this with the concept that it is the Swan Song. Party Zone 4 was supposed to be the last Party Zone, but it was the worst of the series, and I didn’t want it to go out like that. Party Zone RMX was done after Party Zone 4, and it was easily one of the best. Party Zone 5 will feature mostly new music in a really cool dance mix which will enhance the spirit of the Party Zone series while not repeating what’s been done before.
So, which are the best Party Zone releases? From best, to worst.
Party Zone 3
Party Zone RMX
Party Zone 2
Party Zone
Party Zone 4
.... What’s that? A mistake? Party Zone 2 moved up the list? Actually, I’ve been listening to Party Zone 2 lately- a lot. It has a strong hook to it, and cool, jamming music! Out of all of the Party Zones, I keep listening to that one the most. It’s really good, and captures the energy and attitude of 1994 extremely well. It also has a ton of video game references and samples, which don’t actually define the program, really, but are cool. In my opinion, it’s more fun than Party Zone 3, but Party Zone 3 edges it out on a technical level, being a better program overall.
All the Party Zones are great. Party Zone 4, however, wasn’t that good.
When Party Zone 5 is released, however, expect it to be at the top of that list.
... Let the beat control your body.... “Ladies and gentlemen”..... “Those who dare to enter the zone”........ Eternal life........ Everybody’s free- to feel good........ What is love.... Mr. Vain...... Love House....... “We are GO for launch!”...... “Relax, pretend it’s a game. Maybe it’ll even be fun!”....... “So? We’re in this huge house, with all your friends.... P-p-p-p-party- Music!”.
Ah, Party Zone 2 had moxy. It was a fun release, and I love it. One of the coolest releases that I’ve done, for sure. You’ll understand when you finally hear it.

42nd Release
DJ Frontier: Neo Horizons (Horizons 5 has been cancelled, and this is a reboot)
I decided to do a complete reboot of the Horizons brand. Although I might.. might use a few songs from the originals, most of it will be completely new. Those old samples, and that diamix, will be replaced with something entirely new, and better.

43rd Release
DJ Frontier: Bitch 2
How do I follow up the most controversial release that I’ve ever done? Well, this will be just as controversial, if not more-so to some people. I’ll also be using tact this time, with 19 years of experience to draw from. I’ve grown up, and am a much more sophisticated individual now. I now know who I am, too. I no longer need to use profanity, or low-rent humor, to be entertaining, or to make a point. There were some elements with the original Bitch: The Major Release which I am certain broke some obscenity laws, and keep in mind that the re-release will be edited for content.
Bitch 2 is about lost people who don’t know who they are, who are insecure, and who use and betray others. A lot of this will have to do with a group of my ex so-called friends from so long ago, and that infamous event riot of November 2, 1991. It will also be about a certain girl who brought much misery unto my life (and arguably the cause of that riot).
Ironically, one of the reasons for the dropped re-release of Waveform 2 is because I spend most of the program whining about that crashed party. Whining is not wit, and I was out of form. I won’t be whining with this one.. I’ll address the issue with lots of humor and wit, because, my friends, those people are jokes. I have a lot to make fun of.
Of course, I really won’t be personally attacking these people, but will rather be turning the type of people that they were into a hard-core, running gag. We all know people like this, and I’m sure many fans of a new generation will be able to relate.

44th Release
DJ Frontier: Serenade
This could have been Smooth Love 2, too, but....... this is about genuine true love. The bitterness of Lost Love won’t be sound here, for sure. This will be a romantic program celebrating trust, consideration, romance, dating, interest, and commitment. Don’t miss it.

45th Release
DJ Frontier: Noel
At long last, my Christmas program! This is a Christmas-themed release with holiday cheer and music. I’ve been waiting to do this one for years, too.

46th Release
DJ Frontier: Resolution
This is the premier of an annual series celebrating the new year. It is an intense dance mix about experience, resolutions, and renewal, and having the courage to explore something new. Expect a dance mix closer to Party Zone than Revo, but I expect Resolution to be on many playlists at the end of each year (note that each Resolution program, although release toward the end of each year, may not be tied to that year, although this could change).

47th Release
DJ Frontier (and two other DJ's): Futura 3
The long-awaited third Futura release. This will be a new direction for the Futura series, although it will compliment the others, and I will have two DJ’s co-host it with me.

48th Release
Omega Team: Rush Hour
I already have most of the dialogue recorded for this, but will have to add more to it. I’ll bring in more actors, will convert the existing material to digital audio files, and will finally release it. Rush Hour is a parody of a radio program designed to sound like it’s a radio broadcast. It’s about a disaster which strikes the Tampa Bay area. The script is awesome, too, and it is funny stuff.
Rush Hour sounds a lot like those faux radio programs in the Grand Theft Auto video games, which is one reason that I adore GTA soundtracks so much. Note that I did not rip off that concept, either. The same goes for the crappy movie Rush Hour, which came out after I wrote this script.

49th Release
Omega Team: Daytona
Daytona was originally a GEN 3 release which is a sequel to Waveform 3, where wanna-be surfer Washout and his friend Tobey go to Daytona Beach on spring break to party and scam on girls. The script has been done forever, but it will be updated, with a lot of new material, much like what will be done with Rush Hour. It will be upgraded and produced as a GEN 5 release. Daytona will lead into the official sequel to Waveform 3, Waveform 4.

Well, that’s it for now. There are a lot more on my schedule, too, but that’s all that I will reveal for now.
Oh, and happy belated New Year, too. I’m not really in the mood right now to be partying. I’m busy.

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Friday, November 20, 2009 - 8:30 AM - Tampa DJ Blog log entry by DJ Frontier

Time For Some Criticism

I know that I’ve been touting how “revolutionary” and how “awesome” my old releases were, but I’ve been listening to a lot of them lately with the objective, and sometimes biased, mindset of the target audience, and I have some issues. Keep what I am about to write in mind when you listen to those GEN 1, 2, and 3 releases next year. If you have an issue with some of the programs, be aware that I am aware of it (and I promise that I will do my best to not redo those mistakes in the future), and if you think that I am not aware of it, I’d like to hear from you. I like criticism. If you have a point, and I realize that something is a mistake, I learn from it. It’s how we improve.
I may be a polymath, and one of the gifted ones, but I’m hardly perfect.
Alrighty. It’s time to do some criticizing.

1. Repeats Suck
I must have had a small collection of music back in the day, because many of my first releases played the same music over, and over, and over again. Reminds me of the current Tampa radio scene, where lame DJ’s kill cool songs by wearing them out (I’m looking at you, 93.3. You used to be cool back in the Power Pig days, but these days, you’re almost as annoying as a country music station. This said, a few DJ’s doing cool mixes on the weekends are a breath of fresh air... and I’m not talking about the obnoxious DJ’s who talk and talk and talk and think that they are witty when they are not.). To add insult to injury (ah, rub that salt into my wounds), I often played the same songs in the release after, and sometimes for several releases in a row! I’m telling you, I USED to LOVE Pajama Party’s “Yo No Se”, but not after I did over five lame mixes of it in at least as many releases. If I ever hear that song again, I’ll throw up.
I’m thinking that the early releases were made in a way where each release had a particular target audience, and it wasn’t thought that people would listen to every release that I did. While this is certainly a logical explanation for repeating song selections, it definitely is no excuse.
Repeating music wasn’t the only issue. I also repeated content. There was no excuse for that, and I was guilty of being lazy.
I think that the main reason for repeats, regardless how you spin it, was by producing a ton of releases in a short period of time with no way to keep up by buying music. In a one year period, from 1990 to 1991, I did 19 releases. That’s a lot.
The complaint about repeats goes way beyond music selection, too. I used to stutter samples a lot. Some times, there were cool results. Most of the time, however, that was not the case.
GEN 5 releases will get away from repeats of both types, unless it is needed for artistic reasons.

2. Sloppy Seconds
Some of my releases just sucked. I was in the studio the other night converting the more obscure releases to digital audio files, editing client pictures, and some of those programs were testing my patience. I will say that Horizons 3 sucks so badly that I am seriously considering not re-releasing it at all. I found it to be sloppy, lazy, and generally annoying. With Horizons 3, I seemed to simply sit back and play music. That’s not DJ’ing. That’s playing a music compilation with no creative input. Horizons 3 was so bad, in my opinion, that it dragged the Horizons brand, which I hold a create deal of reverence for, through the mud.
Even the supposedly “professional” GEN 3 releases had issues which were nothing more than half-assing. Party Zone 4 has audio cues for the samples bleeding through every time a sample is dropped. In some of those releases, the samples and the monologues are distorted, or not mixed properly. I also see technical issues such as recording levels whish could have been easily resolved, but were allowed to happen because I was neglectful.
Another issue that I have with some releases were the obvious lack of planning and preparation, and it undermined the execution. I winged some of those releases, and that’s why they sucked.

3. Don’t Drink And Spin
In some of the GEN 1 releases, there was a slur in my voice. Why? Because I was partying while I was DJ’ing. Yes, I drank while I worked on some of those releases, and it hurt them. Horizons 4 had to be redone, in fact, because I was so drunk when I made the first one that I didn’t remember making it. When I did stumble upon the first tape, it was so bad that I had to redo the entire program. Even after the remake, I still don’t think that it came out well (at the time of this writing, I haven’t listened to it in a few years. I don’t think, however, that Horizons 4 was as bad as Horizons 3 was.)
Oh, and I don’t really drink anymore, and especially not when I am working. I drank two wine coolers the other day, which is rare.

4. Split Programming
As I’ve already bitched about, some of the early releases had schizophrenic programming. I’d get the momentum built up on one side, only to discard it on part two. In many cases, my programming was flawed, and I’d drop in samples and other elements that didn’t quite fit.
Oh, and I really loved the good releases that had content suitable for general audiences, only to ruin it by the inclusion of a “Nasty Mix”. Some of those early releases will see EC-21 ratings because of this stupidity.
This was largely a thing of the past by the time I began my GEN 3 releases, as they all had strong themes and a ton of planning.

5. Does It Sound Like I Have A 200 IQ?
I’m telling you, sometimes I think that I talk just to hear myself talk. In the old days, when I was in my early 20's, I talked before I thought things out.
In some of my first releases as DJ Wiz Kid, I talked a lot of crap. I came off like a little punk who talked crap. Maybe it’s because, in some ways, I was. In Horizons 2, my friends and I sat around talking about a wild night out (November 9, 1990), where we were involved in a high speed chase through the streets of Brandon. I’m telling you, it was straight out of a movie, and I’m surprised that none of us were arrested, or killed. What happened was that I had this cool little red truck, a Toyota, which was modified as a ghetto-rigged (no budget) “concept” truck. I had it hacked with all these modifications. It had a television and a lot of weird electronics. I also had a billy club stashed in the truck, since that’s what all lame wanna-be gangster had in those days. That night, the truck was full. I was wearing spandex shorts (why, I don’t recall..... tacky, tacky) and a T-shirt. I didn’t have my wallet on me, because the shorts did not have pockets. Shelia (DJ Sabastion), who was my age, was in my passenger seat. In the open bed of the truck was my brother, who was 18, and our friend Mark, who was also 18. Anyway, we drove through Brandon, getting a case of beer, and decided to go to an apartment complex to look for my friend Kerri. Kerri wasn’t home. When we were getting back in the truck, we noticed a small Chevette with two people in it drive around a corner, stop, and then quickly drive away. I thought that it was weird, and so did the others, so we all decided to leave. The apartment complex had one main entrance, and we had to exit that way. As we rounded the corner to exit (going the same way that the car had gone), we noticed that four people were rushing to get into the Chevette, and two others jumped into a new pickup truck. As we left the complex, both vehicles were right up on us, and the occupants were screaming obscenities at us.
I’m telling you that driving a tricked truck that had the bold word “Coolin” displayed over the windshield seemed to draw trouble to me.
With the maniacs behind us, and my truck not being exactly stock (it was actually quite fast due to some modifications that my brother had made when he owned it), I tore out onto the main road. Both vehicles were in pursuit.
I bolted right on Highway 60, and took my truck up to 90 MPH (the speed limit was 45). The crowded Chevette started to fall behind, but the newer truck didn’t have the same issue keeping up with me. It tried to come along beside me in order to work its way in front of me, an effort to block me and stop me. I hit 100. The truck struggled to get beside me. The Chevette continued to fall behind.
I braked hard and took a right on Lakewood, heading north (I should have, in retrospect, taken a left U-turn and headed for the police station a few blocks away). The truck was right on my rear bumper, and the Chevette caught up to us. A dark road with lots of bumps and crests lay before us.
A railroad crossing approached. A white car in front of us slowed for the crossing, and then proceeded. I came up right on the bumper of the white car, with the other two cars on my bumper. My friend Mark yelled that it was an undercover police car, and he insisted that he saw lights in the window. The tag was a normal white tag, however, and I didn’t think that it was. The stoplight ahead of us turned red. I decided that I wasn’t going to risk stopping and getting killed if the car was not a police car.
The road was single lane. At the stop light, the white car stopped. I kept going. I jerked my truck onto the right shoulder of the road. The other truck followed, and the Chevette hung back. I passed the white car by a foot. I hit the intersection sideways, my wide rear tires biting into the soil as they spun rocks and dirt all over the white car, and all over the truck behind us.
Police lights.
Mark and my brother started tossing beer out of the truck (we should have done this as soon as the chase started, in retrospect, because getting pulled over was one of the ways that it could have ended).
The white car really WAS a police car! The police car pulled over my truck, and the truck on my bumper. The Chevette kept going straight.
The police officer jumped out of his car. “You guys are F-ing crazy!” he screamed.
“Officer, these people are chasing us!” We yelled back.
The police officer called backup, and a patrol car joined him. They had to run my name in the computer because I didn’t have my license on me. Another officer dealt with the occupants of the other truck after looking around for what we threw out. He didn’t find the beer. The four people in the Chevette parked down the road and walked by. One of the police officers told them to keep walking. After what seemed like forever, the police officer in the unmarked car told us to go ahead and leave, and that he would take care of the two people in the other truck. As we left, we watched the two people in the other truck get arrested.
We never did find out why they decided to chase us. We later heard rumors that they were a gang, and that they would have killed us had they caught us.
We were lucky. Really lucky. We didn’t get so much as a ticket. I’m just glad that we didn’t get arrested, hurt, killed, or didn’t get someone else hurt or killed.
In many ways, I was a young punk who tended to get in a lot of trouble. You do stupid things when you’re young. This said, I was never bored, that’s for sure.
There are a lot more anecdotes like that from my DJ Wiz Kid days. So many, in fact, that I’m turning it into a animated series of short films titled “The Adventures Of DJ Wiz Kid”, all based on my real-life adventures.
Oh, and in another my GEN 1 DJ Wiz Kid releases, Fire In The Desert, which was about the first Gulf war, some friends and I were making fun of Iraqi’s, when we should have been commenting on the Iraqi regime, instead. Some of the remarks came off as racist, which is something that I am not. I’m not sure if that one will be re-released, either, as it doesn’t make us look intelligent at all. It’s quite insulting, really, to all of us that made it.
So, I was young. I said, and did, some stupid things. I didn’t do justice to my IQ. I grew up, however, and all of that is now in the past.

6. My Delivery SUCKED
Some of my monologues were awful. Really awful. So was my acting. There was a time that I was actually a worse actor than Tampa actor Joe Davison, if you can believe that!
My word choice was often poor, too, because I often had to wing it. I’d repeat phrases like “and all that” after sentences, which is annoying to listen to.
Practice makes perfect, I suppose. I did get much better over the years, although even my performance in the last release, 1997's Party Zone RMX, was lacking, and forced. My acting got a lot better after I started acting on television in the mid 1990's.
Think before I speak. Play with the material. Improv. The new stuff will be good.

7. I Was Too Personal
Man, some of what I said on those releases made me shake my head. It was embarrassing. I’d be talking about “special girls out there” and making dedications to girls who I was interested in. In one release, Nasty Mix, it became even more ridiculous. I was assuming that this girl who I was interested in dating would obtain a copy of an explicit hip hop program, listen all the way through the first side without being offended (and shutting it off), and then hear my plea for her on the tamer second side. In some ways, it was ludicrous, and a little bit sad (if any girl was cool with Nasty Mix, dating her probably wouldn’t have been a good idea, anyway. No girl who was worth going out with would have been a fan of that program, and the pathetic part about it was that, at the time, I didn’t even realize that). Ah, such was the life of someone who was young, and in some way, wet behind the ears. In many ways, I was awfully naive. I’m still not perfect, but I’ve come a long way in almost twenty years. I grew up. I now know who I am, and what I’m doing.
I came off like a schmuck when I did those “Aw, shucks, there is this girl out there who I want to go out with, and she knows who she is, and I jus’ wanna walk along a desolate beach with you holding your hand, and we can talk” monologues. Some of them just make me cringe. It’s cool if you are in a relationship with a girl, and you want to tell the whole world that you love her. It’s just that this is not what I was doing in those releases. What I was doing was pitiful.
Not that it stopped me from getting the girls, however. I dated a lot of beautiful girls. Once, in that infamous tricked truck of mine (the one from the car chase), this girl named Kim and I spent the night at an isolated dead end road, watching a program called “Friday Night Videos” on the dash TV, listening to music, talking, and doing a lot of kissing. It was freezing cold outside, but it was nice in the truck. We stayed the entire night there, and it was a very cool night with a very cool girl (and, no, she didn’t ever hear Nasty Mix. I suspect that she would have broke up with me if she had).
Well, I was a romantic at heart. I still am, but I now have experience, and tact, to temper my romantic notions.
Oh, and the women of the future were even better. In the last ten years alone, I’ve dated some of the most beautiful, intelligent, interesting women in the world, without being a popular underground DJ (although, to be fair, I am a top photographer, and I don’t know any women who are not models. I’m very busy, and models and talent are the only friends that I have, and the only people who I come into contact with. I’m not in business for the models, however, so you can get that tacky image out of your head. I’m a professional). I wouldn’t have had it any other way. In the next ten years, it will be even better. I’m certainly going to make up for the lost time that I’ve spent working on business support infrastructure. I’ve worked too much to be able to play, and that it about to change.

Well, anyway, none of my releases were perfect, even the ones that were hits. GEN 1 and GEN 2 releases, while mostly cool, were amateur. GEN 3 releases were Pro-Am, and were much better overall. With GEN 5, however, it’s pro all the way, and now that I realize the mistakes that were made, I can avoid them in all the upcoming releases. Every single GEN 5 release should, at least technically and creatively, blow away all the releases from the past. I have some really cool things coming up.
A lot of my old stuff is entertaining, however. I’m listening to the 1995 GEN 3 release Horizons RMX right now, the 24th release, and it’s really good. It’s the best Horizons ever made, and does the brand justice. The upcoming GEN 5 Neo Horizons (formerly Horizons 5, but I’ve decided to make an all-new Horizons release which will re-invent the line) will be better in every way, and longer, too, at 140 minutes (VS 90 minutes for Horizons RMX); over a third longer than the others.

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