Old Wounds Reopened Amidst too Many Whiskeys

About six months ago, I attempted holding a contest, one which would have awarded the 2000th
visitor to mcfro.blogspot.com with a secret prize. Quietly, the 2000th visitor surfed through my little corner of cyberspace, and never bothered to contact me.

What I can tell you now, is that the winner would have received a brand-new copy of one of my favorite books -- one that had changed the way I felt about my life, one that has a profound impact on everyone who reads it.

But this time, things are completely different. I believe people don't surf to blogs like they did lat year. My readership has dwindled, and I believe nearly every blogger in cyberspace will agree this is still the case. Six months ago, when I was getting nearly 10 hits per day, I felt it was feasible to hold such a contest. Now, I am lucky if I can get half that in a given day.

With fewer than 15 hits to go before this site achieves 3000 unique visits, I am saddened to say that I don't plan on holding a contest.

Not one that will reward the 3000th visitor anyway.

I will say this though. If, for any reason, I find my readership to increase significantly, I will re-instate a mandate to hold a contest. Though it may not be anything like the recent iTunes contest that rewarded the billionth download with a brand new iMac and 10 iPods, I will assure you that it will be something that will leave the contest winner feeling mildly appreciated.

That being said, I will include the caveat that I have no idea when this contest will take place, nor will I tell you what the entrance requirements will be. All I can do is assure you that one day, a successful contest will be held on this site.

I also wanted to discuss the layout of this site. mcfro.blogspot.com has come a long way since its inception in May 2004. It has received a number of significant facelifts, to the degree that it barely resembles the Minima Black template that it was built upon the first month this site had been created. Many other minor changes to the template have occurred, though it may require a sharp eye to point out the subtle changes in the past few weeks.

By now, I assure you have noticed the new banner at the top. Believe it or not, it has been nearly 9 years since that photograph was taken. I find it amazing the older you get, the faster the world seems to spin. I doesn't seem that long ago, when I played that gig at "Herb's Place", the debut gig for Left of Centre. We played that gig for beer money -- and we felt like we were on the verge of making it big. Funny how hindsight is so much clearer -- we could have easily sapped $4-500 bucks out of the bar owner, but we were just happy to play. Then again, that's what making music is all about. It's still the same reason why I make music today, and money has nothing to do with it.

Left of Centre only played about half a dozen gigs during its' tenure, but its' impact still haunts me to this day. In fact, I still dream of re-recording and producing those songs to realize the potential they had. Some people would consider that's kicking a dead horse, but I really never thought those songs had a chance. And if they ever did cross the paths of a big record exec, I am sure that we would have been given a shot at the big time.

But that was 1997, and I am so much older, wiser and more mature then I was back then. I am ten times the musician I was back then.

I would want nothing more than to make those songs "free domain", and share our talents with the world. In my wisdom, I can't speak for the rest of the contributing songwriters. I, unfortunately would have to copyright the song before releasing it to the public domain. That being said, this is my public statement, that each and every one of the members of Left of Centre would earn their fair share of the proceeds -- if the material were ever to become profitable. I don't care if I can't find them; their cut would be placed in a trust account.

They earned it.

In a similar tangent, I said this to the bass player of the Savoys recently at at gig: "I've got the rest of my life to make enemies; I'm still far too young to be selfish or greedy".

So as I close, I would like to address the Left of Centre alumni. Do I leave our creations well enough alone? Am I kicking a dead horse, am I opening old wounds? Am I a little too self-indulgent in our talents and abilities? I loved the band, and I love each end every one of you. The last thing I would want to do is put a rift between us. And you know me well enough to know I wouldn't do anything without your expressed permission.