VENTING

Well, I am in a foul mood.  And since I am sitting in my room alone, and have no one to vent to, I figured that I would vent my frustrations here:

Money is the devil...  And my day job is a demon.

Let's see, I worked my day job today.  I have heard that the word JOB stands for Just Over Broke.  But in my case, I have a job, and I am still Just Under Broke.  It's a JUB.  I am a waitress (ha ha, me and every other young, aspiring female in LA without a taste for prostitution) and by the end of my shift, I had a grand total of 10 tables.  That's it.  AND of course, the electricity bill was due, and the tips from 10 tables did no cut it.  I ended up having to resort to selling a bunch of my clothes out of the back of my car in the parking lot outside after my shift.  Perhaps I shouldn't complain.  I did end up selling enough clothing to pay the bill, and have 4 dirty dollar bills left over (which are now gone, because Scobra and I had to eat).  Glorious... Bullsh*t.  Now I can't make a meeting tonight that could give RTB a lot of new opportunities because there's a $10 cover for the place we're meeting at.  Even cooler... NOT!

The day even started on a tragic note: watching my neighbor get his car towed because even though he paid the outstanding tickets on it, the city didn't have it processed in time for it to count.  OH! And did I mention that I actually SHOULD have a few dollars in my bank account, but apparently when I deposit a check, that takes a lot of "processing" time too.

RAAR!

There's more that I could complain about, like how many times a day I get sexually harassed at work... But what's the point?

I'll just keep chuggin' along, like the little engine that hopes to high heaven that she can.  And as for all of my complaints, while I feel trampled, I'm not done yet.  This little lady has developed a decent pain threshold over the few years that she has existed thus far.  I even feel a little silly now, for being such a baby about this.  Don't think that I don't know how lucky I am in so many ways.  Ah well, I guess that I just needed to vent.

Sorry to whoever read this and thought that I was going to say something more interesting.

El Fin,

-Dion

ABSTRACTION

I came to the conclusion today that I have taken on the role of explorer of the human experience and emotions.  So perhaps that is why life can seem so intense feeling at times.  Although, realistically, I'm sure that everyone feels that their life is intense (and justifiably so too) in some way.  At least that's what I think anyway...

I have had a lot to think about lately.  And part of me has gotten frustrated with myself for not being more 'time efficient' and spending too much time just thinking.  But then at the same time, a large part of who I am, and what I make from my point of view, comes from processing a lot of information and forming opinions about it.  And in a certain sense, I feel as though all that I really do in life is go in and out of fazes of acceptance.  I go from a state of accepting what has been bothering or confusing me.  As in: processing a lot of information and coming to some sort of conclusion as to how I feel about it.  And then discovering some new thing (or things) that have completely exploded my beliefs and shattered what I thought I knew.  Which is again, troubles to me.  So then I begin the process all over again towards acceptance.  

On one hand, I believe that this is a wonderful way to live.  It certainly keeps my rate of growth and expansion up.  It keeps me from getting stagnant as a person.  It means that I am constantly in a state of learning new things.  But on the other hand, from strictly a struggling-living-being-point-of-view: it can be taxing.  It's as if, like muscles, without the proper nutrients even the soul can experience growing pains.

And I would be remise if I didn't at least recognize in myself that the last bit above may very well just be my own weakness towards creature-comforts.  I've ranted previously about my feelings towards the concept of 'comfort as a value'.  And I still think that comfort tends to lead to stagnation.  And yet at the end of the day, I am still just a creature.  I can't spend my life thinking that it's all about a struggling fight against our own fabric.  And I don't.  But it's still an interesting thread to follow...

I remember my freshmen year of english. It was then that I then concluded while arguing with many of my more privileged peers, that I don't think it's wrong to want something other than what you find yourself given when you are born.  The mother of invention after all is necessity.  And while I also think that it is equally possible to live one's life being perfectly content with what you are given... Well, given that us humans were blessed with an imagination, a large part of me likes to stick it out and see what sorts of wild dreams can be accomplished.  Who says there are limits?  I haven't seen any concrete ones yet.  In short, I wonder at the absolute phenomenon of the human imagination, and the power that it lends to us.

As I mentioned before, I think that, at least at this point in my life, I am an explorer of the human experience.  But the thing is, I don't find it necessary to do so in such a literal way.  To me, the best way that I have found thus far in experiencing humanity in all walks of life has been just that: imagination.  In many respects, I think that imagination has been our creator and our salvation (words to be taken more figuratively than literally).  It is to me, what gives us our past / history, our view of the present, and our expectations and goals for the future.  But it remains a tool that isn't connected to the rigidness of time.  It isn't literal.  And I am excited in many ways because I see such a potential in us leaving the information age, and entering into the conceptual age.  And what better tool is there in such an age than the imagination?  Or, I guess that I didn't phrase that quite right.  What I meant to say, is that I think that imagination has probably always been the most powerful tool in any given "age" or situation.  But I think that on the broad-scale of things, in the past it has always been used within the confines of the literal.  I guess what I'm saying is that I am just excited for the potential, on the broader-scale scale of things, to at least become more open to the use of this tool beyond the "grid".  But then... who quite knows what I'm scribbling about, and maybe it's all just me.  Either way, even if just in myself, I look forward to the house of the literal falling away.  No more doors and windows, opening and closing.  Just the open sky, and freedom.

Signing off-

Dion Vox

Keepin' on

     AH!!, sometimes I wonder why I have such a hard time posting more often.  But then, when I really think about it, I know exactly why.  When I have a lot on my mind, I tend to be very internal about how I weigh and process it.  And to be quite frank: I have had a lot on my mind.  I'm not saying that it's a good excuse, or that I should even be making any... I'm just saying-.

     See, and now I find myself in the same spot: I have self depreciated, and now what the hell do I write?  Money? Never had enough, still don't, maybe someday though...  Opportunities? Tons of them! Too many to really even keep a running list of.  I'm a lucky duck.  Music?  We recently posted two new songs, Bend, and Phenomenon Jubilee.  They were both recorded some time ago, and then got put in the "vault".  RTB can be quite a force, and within the last year and a half or so, we have scratched out at least 140 songs.  Often times, I will record the vocals, and then we will just move on to the next song without even playing it back.  So there's a healthy bunch of songs that we have laid down, that I have never even heard yet.  That was kind of the case with Bend.  Then, Phenomenon Jubilee was a song we recorded back in the earlier days (as in the winter before last).  I always liked it, longed to hear it again, and sang what I could remember of it to myself in the car...  So it was really fun for me to be able to share it finally!

     Ah, and then I suppose, if nothing else, I can run through a few cool new updates.  As I mentioned before, we got this great 'sponsored song' deal with Microsoft Windows through our ReverbNation site.  We get to give away free downloads of our song Catalyst, and then Windows pays us 50 cents per download.  Totally cool right?  Right.  And it was also rather flattering to see who our "competition" is.  They have some great other bands that they chose along with us.  And thanks to Scobra's tech-know-how and all of his cool friends, we have been steadily making our way up the charts both with the Windows sponsored songs, and ReverbNation.  I'll be honest, we've been on the charts (towards or at the top) for a while now.  And while I couldn't tell you what any of the literal or tangible benefits are of this, or even what it really means, it still strikes me as very cool to know that normal people who just work too hard, can actually accomplish things like that.  

     Well, I think I'm chatted out.  I will return and write something more artistic or poignant soon.  I'm very distracted right now because what with the fourth of July coming up, I keep hearing fireworks going off.  Only I live in the middle of Hollywood, so I am not used to the fireworks sound, and I keep thinking that there are raging gun battles going on down the block... so yeah, distracted.

     COOL! 

check out our ReverbNation site, there's a green banner with a sad-girl in the corner, and a bright yellow button to the right that you can click on to get Catalyst for free :)

http://www.reverbnation.com/ramonatheband

Over and Out

-Dion

 

RADIO!

     Howdy, so I just wanted to write about what an interesting and great day it has been so far.  This is really just me being excited and wanting to share some of it with any interested parties.  

     First off, it is Scobra's birthday today.  That in and of itself is cause to celebrate.  On top of that, DJ Hail, our band mate came by today and took us all out to lunch and dessert to celebrate.  As someone who is still in the starving artist faze of the game (although we're really starting to come up by leaps and bounds!) going out to eat is like how other people feel about national holidays.  Pizza, salad, and frozen yogurts of different flavors with different toppings... is it truly christmas in June?  So I am beyond feeling full and content.  Then I get home and check all of the missed calls and texts, and who sent me a line? Why my dear friend Marissa Meryl.  And she hooked me up with an audition/reading this weekend for a thriller film that she is working on.  Soundtrack?... Role?....  (Oh yeah, for those of you that don't know, I have spent my whole life working on performing.  So that includes a LOT of acting training and technique.  And as a further side note, I actually met Marissa through a school that we both attended and graduated from on the Meisner Technique).  But to top it off even further, as I'm getting off of the phone with Marissa, Scobra yells from the studio for me to come in quick.  I go in, and our song Catalyst is playing live on LA Talk Radio's Music Highway, Sheena Metal Experience.  I have been lucky enough by now to have heard other people say that they heard us (RTB) on the radio, I have even heard recordings of it.  But not until now have I experienced it live.  I can't exactly say that this means the world to me, or that I think that I feel more valid in any way.  But we just launched a big promo through Mircosoft Windows, where they place their advertising on our "product" (or should I say our song Catalyst)  and then they pay us to give it away free.  Yeah, it's like a dream come true for me as an artist.  Not in the corporate branding sense, but in the sense that I get to give away something that I love, and think is great; to a bunch of people that I think would like it, and whom I think are great.  And then at the end of the day, instead of losing money like I usually would, I'm MAKING MONEY! 

     The point of the last bit of that tangent was really just that a LOT of things are starting to happen at a much more rapid pace than before.  It makes for a little more stress, and a LOT more work.  But then there are those magical moments like I had today when I heard Catalyst on the radio.  It's in those few moments that I get to step outside of myself, and all of the work that I am doing, and all of the thoughts and worries that I am thinking, and just let myself experience what I'm doing for a moment.  It's a fun breath of fresh air when you remember, 'oh yeah, this stuff that I'm doing is kinda cool, huh? And I'm really doing something with it'.  

     In all honesty, I would be a bold-faced liar if I told you that I "know" what I'm doing.  I think at the very best, I have an ant's-eye-view of a general direction that I am taking.  But I have at least actually committed to a direction, and struck out on the adventure of it all, and.... well, I guess it's just mostly nice to know that the direction I have chosen hasn't lead me to the lava pit or the wasteland (yet).

    So here it is: Yipee!!!!!

I so rarely have a moment to celebrate, that I am taking this one now to do so.  And at the risk of sounding "preachy", for no reason at all, you should just go out and do something fun or cool, or happy.  Rock out with yourself to the superlative level!

xoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxox
Although, if you would be so kind as to celebrate with camp RTB for a sec., you should click on this link and download our song catalyst for free! You'll get a fly freebie with no strings attached, and we'll get 50 cents :)
http://www.myspace.com/windows?homepage=ramonatheband 

xoxo

-DION VOX

Too Late

Live goodness comin' atcha

this is just a little video that our dear friends Nadia and Niklas shot on their digital camera at one of our gigs in Hollywood a while back.  I just wanted to put it up here because I think it's cool, and I just spent a bunch of time joining Viddler (not sure why yet, but hopefully some sort of reason will come to me) so I wanted an excuse to feel like it was worth it.

:)

-Dion Vox

Sha-Website

So here's a moment where I can write not about how hard I'm working, or some crazy lyrics or opinions.  But I get to feel triumphant for at least an hour or two.  I just finished the RTB website.  That's right baby, ramonatheband.com comin' atcha!  Maybe this is not a big deal for most folks. 'Oh, a website, I made two yesterday while I was washing the car.'  But for me, someone who didn't even have a computer until High school (and I'm only 21, so for my generation, that's called being LATE for the boat) this was a big deal for me.  Not that I'm trying to toot my own horn too much or anything.  To be honest, it wasn't that difficult, because I didn't have to do any code, or anything complicated really. I found a site that would do all that jazz for me (some may call it cheating, I'll call it tactical sense).  

Long story short, I'm happy with this little victory, and so if you're curious, and want to check out what I've been babbling about for the last paragraph, here's a link to it:

http://www.ramonatheband.com

Sooper cool  

:)

xox

-Dion

Have Mercy?

     Oh Lordy... well, I feel a little overwhelmed.  First off, I am going to have to detract my previous post's statement about this becoming a Dion Vox blog.  First off, the damn url code says Ramona The Band, so I'm not even sure where the logic was there.  I think honestly, I had a moment of discouragement due to the fact that thus far, I have been the only RTB member posting anything on here.  And while that still obviously remains the case, I will take a moment to now be optimistic, and imagine that that will change in the future.

     Next on the list, I am now a little over 2 weeks into an online course for musicians that I won a scholarship to called Musicians Mastermind 2.0.  Thank God I won a scholarship, because otherwise, I would never have been able to be a part of this.  And also, I am hoping that through this course, I will gain the skills to really start monetizing this RTB action so that I can quit my DAY JOB!!!!  But as far as overwhelmed is concerned, adding SEVERAL hours of work to my already teetering load has not been entirely easy.  But for my "glass half full" segment for this paragraph: If I can keep this up and get this work done, and this knowledge gained now, hopefully it will be of great benefit to me in the future and allow me to work on what I really want to be working on: ART.

     I'm so overwhelmed that I don't even know what to write about now, too many things.... too many things...

     But while I sound scattered and a little lost, I guess I am partially giving a bad and false impression here.  I am keeping my "shit" together.  I'm not stressing out over any of the millions of details.  I do have a clear vision of where I am trying to go.  And thus far, I am not falling off of that map.  I guess the truth of this post is really that it's now going into hour 18 of my day today, and it has been work-non-stop.  So I'm just getting to the end of my "productive" rope for the day.

     Must keep on it though.  Still a few more things to do before I catch a few precious moments of shut-eye.

Over and out-

     Dion Vox