03|31|10 Why good is no longer good enough
A few months ago I read an interview between Derek Sivers and Seth Godin and couldn’t stop re-reading this particular paragraph: “Sure, some music that’s great is great for the ages and it’s okay that’s it’s not being heard, but so much of what people call great isn’t actually great, it’s merely “very good.” Very good music goes unheard every day, because very good music is not in short supply. There’s a huge surplus of it.” (Read the rest of this story…)
06|25|09 A public service announcementSo I’ve been hiding a bit, due to some major fluctuations in life planning and general existential conundrums. The Enright House will, of course, continue in the years to come, but it’s quite likely that I will be doing things a bit differently in the future – including the actual music. I can’t go into details yet, but the reason I haven’t been updating, is that I wanted some time to think things through on my own, whilst keeping distractions to a minimum. What I can say, is that I won’t be touring Europe this year, after all. Instead, I will be moving to New York until early next year, and then – most likely – I will move to Berlin to set up a more permanent base for my music. For those of you in Europe, who had been looking forward to hearing me in concert this fall, please be patient with me for a little while longer. Once in Berlin, I will be in a much better position to tour on a more regular basis. To all those that have written to me: my sincerest apologies for being so slow to write back – I promise you’ll hear from me soon. Lastly, please be patient with this website over the next week, I’ll be re-coding some of the site, updating wordpress, installing new plug-ins, and implementing a more professional merch shop that will make it easier for you to get a hold of CDs, vinyl, shirts, and downloads.
03|02|09 The impetus to begin a journey
“If I am fortunate enough to enjoy a death that is not instantaneous, but rather, a death that is a process during which I have sufficient time to reflect upon the life I have lead, then I want to feel like I have given it my all, and that I was not a coward for seeking out security over idealism and adventure.” So, most of you know by now that The Enright House is about to embark on an epic tour of the US, and, thus, delve into the magical and often-chaotic world of the “roadtrip”. I am, safe to say, very excited to get on the road, meet new people, and, hopefully, in the process of it all, win over new fans. Encouragingly, the most common reaction I get from friends and family, whenever I tell them about it is, “Wow… that is so exciting!” After which, however, almost always, I am asked some form of the following question: (Read the rest of this story…)
02|20|09 NZ to US
Well, today is my birthday. An even thirty. And I’m glad I get to spend it with my Mom, back home, in America. It’s nice to be home, but unlike past holidays here, this… well… it isn’t really a holiday. So instead of relaxing and going clothes shopping, I’ve been trying to rally more gigs for the tour, find fuses and proper US power supplies (harder than you might think!), buy a new car, have said car repaired, register the thing (a white 1994 Ford Explorer XLT with leather seats… muahahaha!). (Read the rest of this story…)
12|07|08 Insanity and the flip-side of DIY ethics“Anyhow, the trade-off of DIY is my sanity and happiness. Now, I have no issue sacrificing happiness, as I no longer really consider happiness to be an important objective in my life, but my sanity?” Here’s a brief selection of just a few things I need to sort in the next 2-3 weeks: (Read the rest of this story…)
10|22|08 America and the long road ahead
“Democracy (…) is but a buzz word for politicians, hardly a shining beacon of reality. (It) has long since undergone a transformation in the western world from being a philosophical and moral ideal to becoming a moderately clumsy tool for controlling a population from the top down.” As many of you know, I am moving to the States next year to pursue my dreams of touring my music and trying to earn a living off of it. I am under no illusions as to how difficult a task that will prove to be, but I figure I only have one shot at life, one thing I care deeply about, so I have to muster the courage to go out there and try to tell as many human beings as I can about my music and convince them of its worth. I am excited about this, but I’ve also been having some serious doubts about wanting to build a life in America. (Read the rest of this story…)
10|01|08 The Next Four Months
“The truth of the matter is that my current life-style is unsustainable. It’s unhealthy, full of distractions, and unwholesome. My flat has been a shambles for almost a year now. It is cluttered. It is dark. It is cold. It is damp. And I literally feel like I have been slowly wasting away in it. I need to get out of there. Fast.” As many of you already know, I am moving back to the States in January. The main reason for that being that I miss the mid-west, I miss my friends, I miss being around my mother, and I’m really excited to tour The Enright House throughout the US and, later in the year, Europe, as well. Going back oversees after living in New Zealand for almost five years will be good for my soul, I think. As much as I love certain aspects of New Zealand, I love the wider world even more, and to have spent a good half of my twenties in a small and remote country, too far away from my friends and family, has been a significant contributor to my ongoing struggles with depression. Not everything about my time here, however, has been bad… (Read the rest of this story…)
09|16|08 Lovecraft
7.30 in the morning. Ouch. I was feeling a bit light-headed and my tummy’s growling sounds gave me this distinct feeling that it would rather not yet be put in an upright position. Still, today was the day of my first solo show in my de facto hometown of Christchurch, and I had to start setting up around 10 am in order to kick off my set early in the afternoon. (Read the rest of this story…)
09|05|08 The perils of not being in control of everything yourselfRe.: a national radio session I did whilst on tour. on their online version they accidentally left out the guitars and had the wrong track titles listed. nothing serious… i love my national radio, after all! :) … but I thought the following chat with my buddy, Dan, was kind of funny :). Daniel Batkin-Smith: dude, got the link to the NatRad thing?
07|07|08 Major website overhaul and other projectsI’m sorry I’ve been a bit slow on writing up new blog posts. Essentially, I’ve been really busy with the following: (Read the rest of this story…)
05|20|08 Frau GrauI just stumbled upon Frau Grau’s awesome body of drawings and mixed media work. I’m so into what she is doing! Check out more of her portfolio at www.fraugrau.de. The following work, entitled “There’s a feeling / That lingers in the afterwards / Will you ever return”, is a great example of her drawing style:
02|23|08 Derek Sivers, Lali Puna and The Deadly DeathsIf I could actually stand on one single toe long enough to think and utter speech, whilst being forced to name three things I currently love, I might yell out the following three things in agony: [1] Derek Sivers (CEO and founder of CD Baby) Honestly, this man is such a legend: I’ve met too many people who got into music because they loved playing drums, but well-meaning people tell them they need to read some huge book about the business of music and negotiating contracts, cross-collateralization, and points on the agreement. Feeling guilty, they try to go through it but find it boring. Then they start copyrighting all of their songs and trademark their name and set up an LLC. Someone else says they need to have a website, so they try to learn HTML, but someone else says they need to have flash on the site. Then they try to learn flash. The truth is that while all of those things are important, nothing is more important than maintaining your full excitement for what you are doing. If you lose your enthusiasm along the way, things will fail no matter how flashy your site is or if your band name is trademarked. Pay close attention to the compass in your gut. Do the work that’s most exciting to you, because that’s what you will do best. [2] Lali Puna One of my favorite bands ever. So good, so to the point, so city-sidewalk: [3] The Deadly Deaths
I just bought their album a few days ago at Galaxy after having arrived too early at a meeting. I decided to bridge the wait with some good old record shopping, pick up their CD, and it’s been the only playing from my car stereo in days. They are masters at lethargic pop melodies. Check out their website at www.thedeadlydeaths.com.
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