I was gonna record a vlog to go with this (including a new song!). But, I didn’t get around to it. I’ll try to get it out this weekend, maybe. I have been digging through my old practice tapes and recording new demos for a couple of months now. I am not happy with a lot of it. But, you always have to dig through a lot of shit to find anything useful. Since I haven’t put out anything in a long time, I have been contributing to other people’s projects. I was asked by Uncle Ghoulie to provide some artwork and sounds to Truth Porn Militia – No Budget Radio Podcast. So, that is cool. I will be getting that out soon. There have also been some zines and other things requesting my input. So, I haven’t been completely unproductive, I guess.
I’m really beginning to wonder if maybe I should just give away my notes & artwork to let someone else make my movies. At least then they would get produced SOMEHOW. Tim Burton had almost nothing to do with making Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, yet his name is still in the title. He just gave his old sketchbook to another director and said, “Here. Knock yourself out.” Good idea? Bad idea? I don’t know. But, it looks like if I’m gonna produce it, it will likely be a few years until it it is done. Even if I cut costs to the absolute bone and it looks like dogshit, I don’t think I can get it done.
I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that I can get Theee Urban SpaceCat finally going this month. I should have enough raw material for a few issues already. I’ve been continually painting, drawing, recording, writing, etc. It really comes down to paying for putting it out there. I’ll deal with other expenses later, if it becomes necessary.
After over a year of keeping my stuff in storage, lacking enough funds, I recently had to let go of my storage unit. I have downsized a lot of it. So, at least I can fit everything in my grandmother’s garage (between the Christmas decorations and patio furniture). She gave me a nice bookshelf that was no longer wanted. So, I finally have somewhere to keep what is left of my vinyl LPs. I was very disappointed to realize how much of my collection that I’ve sold off.
She also gave me a free pizza promotional card that she got in the mail from Domino’s Pizza. I later brought the pizza back to her house. She, my nephew Michael, and I enjoyed a large deluxe. Mmmmmm.
I gotta finish cleaning up here, soon. There is an apartment inspection coming Monday. The landlord is making sure that no bed bugs have returned. Thankfully, the place has been pest-free for a year now. As a matter of fact, it was during the bug extermination last winter that I began renting my storage unit. So, it lasted one whole year.
I just got a small loan to cover my rent problem (last month’s check bounced!). I needed to pay two month’s rent and late/returned check fees IMMEDIATELY or I would get evicted. I’m not sure how much more financial Jiu-Jitsu I can pull off before it finally catches up with me. The van has a lot of mechanical problems needing fixing. I still cannot afford to put insurance on it. I’m risking jail time for driving without it (a misdemeanor in Michigan!). I’m in debt to my eyeballs to doctors & hospitals, credit cards, collection agencies, etc.
I set up a Patreon account. Maybe, I can find a little help from some folks, to fix my money situation. It is a long shot, I guess. But, what have I got to lose? I will post music, videos, and other stuff for patrons that won’t get released anywhere else. I’ll be adding more bonuses for supporters (t-shirts, stickers, magnets, flamethrowers, meat cannons, etc.) when I have them available. Any assistance is appreciated! Thanks.
I gotta schedule an appointment to see my doctor when he is next available.
I have been meaning to find a new psychiatrist to take over my psychotropics.
But, I have been constantly broke, trying to dig myself out of an overdrafted hole with the bank for months.
Hopefully, I am far ahead enough that this will not be a problem next month.
I also hope to get some repairs done on the van.
It is rapidly falling apart and needs a lot of work.
If I can at least stop the oil and fluids from leaking, I will be more confident to drive it further.
Maybe I will even get busy on The Island of Misfit Noise Movie again, once my transportation is stabilized.
The frame is bent.
So, there is only so much that is worth putting into it.
Hopefully, I can make it last long enough until I can afford a halfway decent replacement.
I would prefer to find another Chevy van with 4×4 drive.
I am not sure if I will make any modifications to the current van or not.
I guess I could, and then just transfer them to another vehicle later.
I would like to install a high wattage inverter w/ two deep cycle batteries.
Enough power to run a refrigerator/freezer and other appliances.
I wanted to purchase a used ice cream truck for this reason.
But, it was sold before I could save up enough cash to buy it.
Ideally, I would like to prep my vehicle to be ready to live in full-time, if it really became necessary.
I have been watching a lot of vandwellers blogging on YouTube, chronicling their experiences of living nomadically.
There are lots of good tips and ideas on there.
Some are simply homeless, not by choice.
But, others have willfully chosen to live this way…for a variety of reasons.
Mostly, the cost of living is a factor.
Eric Jacobs, who lives in an RV with his cat Jax, makes me miss having a cat around.
Their travels also make me wish I was touring and playing out again.
Playing music has always been my main avenue of socializing.
I just don’t have many other interests or feel like going out anywhere for other reasons.
I guess this is why Ozzy Osbourne and other rockers never stayed retired for very long.
They don’t know how to do anything else.
I feel awkward being a solo artist, though.
I suppose that I have little choice left.
My social skills are shit and I never can keep a stable band together for very long.
Some music that I write is too complex to play alone.
It just sounds better with a real full band.
But, I guess that I can write other songs to play solo.
I am recording both, and other material that is just physically impossible to play live at all.
All of it is going into my cassette-zine, Thee Urban SpaceCat, along with my drawings, writings, and correspondences with pen friends.
I would like to publish a new issue at least every three or four months.
But, my finances are a limitation imposed on how often I could put it out there.
I am unsure when I can get it ready.
Hopefully, within the next few months.
I have tons of crap that I need to catch up on.
I need new shoes, prepping supplies, etc.
I gotta pay off my credit cards, repair the van, and other gear.
So, I am playing everything by ear, for now.
At minimum, I hope to have a live set prepared so that I can book a few shows.
Maybe it will help me to raise a little money so I can get my projects moving again.
We will see.
If anybody wants to write to me, ask questions, and maybe get your letter published in my zine my address should be there on the sidebar of my website MikeNobody.Com.
This news is just shit-flavored icing on the shitcake.
Lemmy Kilmister has died, at the age of 70.
His birthday was just a few days ago.
Damn.
His health has not been very good for the past several years.
In fact he recently had to cancel a show in the middle of the first few songs, apologizing to the crowd who came to see him, because he was too sick to perform.
That was when I knew he would be gone soon.
An inspiration to thousands of fans, including me, the man was a rock & roll legend.
He never gave up.
He never sold out.
He always did whatever the Hell that he wanted to do, the way that he wanted to do it.
If someone didn’t like it, they could fuck off.
LOL.
Not only was he a hero to me and others for his music, but the way that he chose to live his life.
