Joshua Van Tassel

(to experience all this post has to offer, go to www.joshuavt.com)

– a private investigator emails me saying he loves the music on the blog, and can we please meet up for questioning regarding an accident I witnessed in January of 09 that he knows wasn’t too big a deal because he checked for posts regarding it in the archives and found nothing

- vice president of a fairly well known wine company in Ontario emails me after getting a google alert that I mentioned his wine on the site, and asks if I dj and would I at his party

-someone I’ve never met emails with opinions on how I should generally live my life and improve my grammar skills

These are examples of a few of the things that have happened in the past week because of the fact that I, Joshua Van Tassel, have a blog.

It seems like every month or so I’m in conversation with someone and the inevitable technology conversation comes up, a fire usually sparked by someone’s iphone and the latest app that measures your heart rate while making barnyard animal sounds when you shake it. Everything is friendly and open until I mention I have a blog. Freeze frame - lip curled slightly on the left side, nostrils flared, judgment in their eyes. I know this look, it’s the late-ninetiesbloggingisforgeeks face.

Get over it.

There’s millions and thousands of humans out there from every walk of life who blog all the time for every conceivable reason under the burning sun. I blog for 2 main reasons which are good to mention every now and then -

1. to motivate myself to listen and create every day. By stating on a public forum that I’m going to do something, it forces to actually do it or suffer the scorn and shame of the internet world. It doesn’t have to be a fully finished song or video or whatever, but just something that keeps the creative juices in their sweetest and stickiest form. It could be just hearing a sound I like, a conversation, a garbage truck, anything. Listening is the key. Take your ipod out of your ears, go sit in a public space and just listen. See what happens, then start a blog and write about it, deal?

2. to let family and friends from away know what I do. Being from a small community in a big scary city can get awful lonely sometimes, and through the blog I can keep those who are interested up to date on the happenings here. And those who aren’t interested, well shit, go google something interesting.

The second reason brings up an interesting point which was the impetus for this post.

ANYONE CAN READ YOUR BLOG.

Regardless of who your main readership is and who subscribes to our RSS feed, it’s the internet, it’s a complete information orgy with no limits or safe words at this point. As I frequently forget and have recently been reminded of, I share a lot of info on here without realizing it. Wanna find me and kick my ass because I said something a little off color perhaps to a friend of yours at the Dakota the other night? Go to the page where I post my gigs, pick one and lets dance. Wanna know where I’ve been and where I hang out? Chances are at least once I week I talk about it. If you’re really savvy you can get the IP address of where I blog from and come over to my house for coffee you crazy freak. See, I said my house!! If you note the time of when I blog then you’ll know when I’m home, and if I mentioend what I’m up to later you’ll know when I won’t be home. Forget the coffee, come over and rob my ass blind!!

Point is, blogging is an incredible thing for dozens of reasons. everyone has their own, and they’re all equally valid and interesting to me. As you can also tell from my blog, Ive had too much coffee and need to stop this nonsense rrrrrrright now.

I leave you with the saddest of the sounds; balloons being cut and deflated.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

( on facebook? go to www.joshuavt.com for this to make any sense at all)

Trying ( between upstairs neighbors talking on speaker phones) to work on a couple different things today, getting back on track. Some stuff like this

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

and some other stuff like this

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

If you’re smart you’ll go see Christine Bougie play at the Tranzac tonight at 730. I consider myself of average intelligence so that’s where I’ll be headed.

(on facebook? Go to www.joshuavt.com for the full post)

tomorrow I’m going to work real hard. I promise. it’ll be great. getting out of vacation mode is proving to be difficult. I put this up above my desk though and it’s got some vibe to it so hopefully it drips down into some music.

(on facebook? Oh no. You’re missing half the fun, go to www.joshuavt.com right away.)

Had a great new ears eve in NS with the band too. We were in Antigonish, played a great show and were put up in a super relaxing little cottage by the water. Couldn’t have been better.

Back in Toronto now, feeling good but sort of thrown into the middle of things as this city tends to like to do to us. She waits until I’m feeling totally relaxed and positive then gives the urban bitch slap to keep me on big footed toes. Basically my apartment is upside down, my car is property of the Toronto Police department and a bunch of gigs are canceled. Wanna talk about the glamorous and romantic lifestyle of musican? Don’t call one in January. You’ll hear enough expletives to make a one armed sailor try to cover both his ears, and more whining then a breast feeding baby at Hooters.

Anyway, it’s a New year and I’m done with complaining. Keeping it positive, fresh starts to be made, things to do, bettering my self to begin today. Hey, I did a yoga class and it felt great! Thats a start for sure. Put a new table in the studio! That’s useful. There we go, feeling good already. Time to be a functional member of society. Blogging will be back on schedule in ’10, I promise.

I’m ready. Bring it. I’ll slap you back, Toronto, you wintery cold mistress.

(on facebook? Go to www.joshuavt.com for the full post)

dear nova scotia,
Drastically changing weather makes me nervous. please, take it slow. love josh

photos taken within 1.5 hours of each other and 125 kilometers.