I have been playing music most of my life... It is in my bones; the thing I love to do more than just about anything else... I was always 100% certain it would be my legacy, for better or worse... 

When my son was born, I was instantly struck by the overwhelming desire to be a good parent... I haven't regretted one single minute of putting him first... I realized that he is my legacy; and I feel truly blessed and all the better for that... 

I never once even considered pushing him into music... I always thought it was wrong and creepy when parents tried to relive their glory days vicariously through their kids... I just wanted him to be happy and find positive meaning in life... 

And so we've shared countless happy moments just living... 

But then, about two years ago, he told his mother and I that he wanted to play music... Soon thereafter, his desire to play had become a true passion...  

It's been truly unbelievable, watching how far he's come in such a short period of time... As a guitar/drums instructor, I can honestly say that I've never seen a kid progress as quickly as he has...

I do not take credit for this... Yes, I perhaps showed him the doorway, but he was the one who walked through it and did all the work... He was the one whose spark of interest ignited the fire deep within his musical soul... 

I feel so incredibly fortunate to be able to share this journey with him and provide him with some experiences at this early stage that he might not have had till quite a bit later in his development as a musician... 

We've talked a lot about where all this is going, and what we'd like to accomplish together... At this stage, we enjoy writing, learning and playing music together, immensely... As original artists in Widetrack, and in our cover band, The Vintage... 

Playing covers affords us the opportunity to play popular songs for people, while making a bit of a living doing so... It can be really fun at times, somewhat fun occasionally, and a real drag once in a blue moon; pretty much like any other job one enjoys for the most part... 

But making a living from original music is extremely difficult... Not very many people do so...  

Over the course of the last couple decades, I've watched the music business go through a complete transformation... Independent artists used to be able to make decent money from CD sales and such... And if they played their cards right, they would land a record deal which had the potential of being a lucrative venture for them and their investors (the record companies)... 

Fast-forward to the present, music is now pretty much next to free... Don't get me wrong; I LOVE YouTube and Spotify... I've discovered and RE-discovered so much great music since being able to search/stream/download it... As a person with an insatiable appetite for music, I couldn't be happier with this new model... 

But this new reality demands that artists find another way to make a living with their original music, lest it be reduced to hobby-level, which drastically reduces the quantity and quality of one's music...

So, over the last 3-4 years, I've been focused on educating myself as to how one accomplishes being able to make a living through original music...  

Now that Zach has become a part of this, the urgency to find a way to make a living writing, recording and performing our own music has become even more pronounced...

I want him to know that if he works hard with a passion and love for what he does, he will achieve his dreams...

It's an incredibly frustrating and empty feeling to pine for one's true calling in life and not be able to find a way to make it happen... I've struggled with this feeling most of my years as a writer of original music...  

I don't want him to experience this feeling any more than he has to... 

The good news is, I think I've found a solution... And it involves YOU... 

Enter the subscription model... 

Through the subscription model, there's a way for artists like us to get paid for creating the things we're already creating (music, videos, blogs, extras, etc., etc.)...  

Fans pay a few bucks per month OR per post we release, and then we get paid every month, OR every time we release something new...  

For fans, the subscription model is a way to pay us a small monthly fee for making the stuff you enjoy, and knowing that you're part of sustaining something you believe in and feel brings value to the world...  

The way it's set up is there are "tiers" of payment, (for example, $3, $5, $10, etc. per month), and depending on which "tier" you prefer, there will be different and more content available, the higher the price point...  

The sky's the limit, really... We could play private shows for you, write songs for you, etc... It could be a really cool thing if we come up with the right way to go about it... 

Anyway, I wanted to run this by you to see if this is something that you would do... If so, I would really like some input as to what each "tier" would provide, as well as whatever other ideas you might have... 

As I've always said, this is more than just a band and its fans to us; it's a community of friends. We are all here to support each other. 

I've never had an easy time asking people for help... I would rather suffer in silence than risk the possibility of it being thrown in my face later on down the line (I suspect many people feel this way)...

But the encouragement and support you have shown Zach and I have been beyond what words could convey... And so, I thought I would post this idea and see what kind of feedback you might have... 

Looking forward to hearing what you think!

Thanks so much!! Talk with you soon. 


~Ron