So we meet again, kiddies...been awhile. Life currently has quite a grasp on my daddy bags and I'm unable to move at the proper speeds I'd like to. On that note...let's chat for a bit...I'm finally in...

Swing on by thepage, or www.apollossun.com,kiddies!!Rough version of "Daily Reminder" from the upcoming album, Falling Becomes Great, has been placed on the site for your early leakage listening pl...

As the title suggest, please check out "Capture the Dawn" via myspace OR www.apollossun.com for a little sneak peak from my upcoming album, "Falling Becomes Great". The song will be streaming on both ...

I'm just kind of staring at the screen right now...I've been wanting to write a blog like this for awhile, but was unsure as to how to approach it. I don't want to sound like a hater, or failure who just bitches because his music is wack and his loved ones aren't honest enough to tell him that. All I know is I do want to put out another album, and I will...but how much effort I will put in to pushing it anymore is the key question. I'm sure as with everything else I have done, people would rather read about Lupe Fiasco whining about ONE song being leaked, while artists such as myself throw our souls out on a fishing line hoping somebody will bite...YES, I want to sell records, but quite honestly, I was flattered when I saw my records were being bootlegged. I digress....so for those of you that do take the time to read, or have in the past...thank you. I sort my shit out on paper, and am thankful for the few that take time out to listen or read...

I want to break this into two sections....the Industry and  Death of the Artist. Hopefully we can figure something out...for better or worse.

The Industry.  Since I ventured onto the internet world over the past 4 years of trying to spread the word on my music...I've noticed some disturbing statistics and it's very simple. The industry itself is now bigger than the artist. It is literally selling the artist the "dream"...you see stances being taken such as "be independant", "carve your own path", "fuck labels"...which I agree with, but now it's being sold to the indie artist. How is this a bad thing? Because you tend to forget that everybody and their mother is a closet wannabe singer, superstar, or rapper.
Here are examples of the "dream" being sold:

-$35 gets your music on itunes. This used to be difficult to achieve. There is no screen process. What does this mean? Any dickhead (we will call this artist Mc Dickhead when used in the blog) with a mic can make a song, and sell it...adding one more untalented dickhead to the pool, making it that much easier to drown in. Meanwhile, itunes rakes in the cash...

-Sonicbids.com now exists where you create a digital press kit where you can submit your information to promotors, contests, labels, magazines, ext. FOR A FEE. Then, if you are lucky enough and you're music is good enough, you'll be plucked from the sonicbids pool. The truth is, you can handle all these submissions yourself, for free, if you do enough research. I've done it. The companies using Sonic Bids get paid for each submission. Lets think about this...if you and I had access to a venue, we could literally set up an account with sonicbids and tell people they can submit their work for us to pick through to showcase at our venue. We will screen each submission, oh, and they owe us $5 per submission. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR ART. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY SOMEBODY TO PICK YOU TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING. We are the broke artists. We are the ones creating the art your bullshit ass company exploits. There are countless other sites doing this now.

-Social Networking Sites. Sites such as facebook, and myspace now see the potentional of MC Dickhead making them some cash...so what happens...you can buy ad space as an artist. No screening involved. No disclaimers saying "we will not advertise your wack shit, MC Dickhead", sorry. Software programs started popping up where you can literally utilize the website, and make it look like you have more plays than you do, add friends, and basically spam the shit out of the websites. Now you know where spam comes from.

These are a few examples of many how the "industry" is once again, pimping an artist, only on a smaller scale. Now, artists who are signed are not the only ones being fucked. Do I use social networking sites? Yes. Of course...I have a lot of shit to say. And who I am to tell MC Dickhead whether or not his/her opinion is void, or mine is any more pure. I do not have a promo budget. I do not have backing. I do not have a manager. When you see my records popping up on college radio charts...it is because I sit, on my ass, for hours on end, compiling lists of CMJ reporting schools so I can send my records out (roughly 1.50 shipping on each) to colleges in hopes their djs play it. You will not hear me on mainstream radio. Most top 40 djs will openly admit, they are not allowed to play indie music. Their playlists are generated for them...and why? Because the fuckers at the top own the stations and pay them to play only certain artists, to make the artist look MUCH bigger than they really are. It's called the art of shoving shit down your throat, and everybody opens wide. Now you know why you hear indie cats scream...FUCK CLEAR CHANNEL.

So sorry MC Dickhead, you will not be famous. I've done countless research and have found there is no secret. Unless you know, are related to, or blowing somebody with money...your chances of being a successful musician are slim to none. The same bankers and elite that own our sweet asses in real life, also operate the recording industry. You may slip through the cracks and make it through, but for the most part...you'll drown in the same pool as me, and we'll all be sinking together, thinking just maybe...somebody will come and help us. They won't....this leads to the death of the artist...

Nobody cares about fucking words anymore. Nobody wants to hear what you have to say...on some real shit. How do I know this? In my daily travels in my part time job, I ran into a girl wearing  a "lil wayne for president" shirt, and she said she was convinced he would make a good president.  I will say this one time only, Lil Wayne is a fucking idiot. His existence is pointless. He sounds like a baby crying when he raps. I repeat. He is an idiot. His existence is pointless. He sounds like a baby crying when he raps. People do not want to think anymore. They do not want to progress and grow in the mind and soul....they want to be entertained. That's it. They think they know it all...and if that is true, then I'm done. You can quote me on that.

So on that note, I have this weird feeling that my chapter as a public artist may be closing. I need to live...and stop hiding behind the cloak of an artist. I can't stand where I'm at in life, am not happy with my placement with music, hate the town I live in, and have no current career. All for what?! For a "dream'', that I realize was never a dream at all...so I dropped the morale down a bit, thought to myself "hey, I just want to make a living off music, whether it's recording or writing it..." Well, shows are rare in central PA, especially paying ones, I've worked for studios, and an especially shady one who has ruined my interest in working in studios at all. Records don't sell...I offer steep discounts on my website, www.apollossun.com and I will tell you...I do not sell albums. One here, one there. I downsized the dream to be more "realistic," and not a damn thing has changed. So maybe it is me. Maybe I AM the problem. Maybe my music isn't good and I am lying to myself about it all. Maybe I am MC Dickhead.

I have countless people telling me it's not me, it's the area. The "right" person hasn't heard it yet. I've been offered shitty contracts. I've been in shitty situations and have paid my damn dues. I've "grinded" my ass off to the point where I can't stand it being chapped anymore...and I don't know how much fight I have left. So, if you have read this far...these next few sentences are probably the most important part of this entire blog...

If you are a fan, and want to help. Stand up and help spread the word. Burn my music for everybody you know. If you have ties to people that can help the cause, REACH OUT. Find me. I will do anything in my power to repay the favor. I'm asking for your help, because I need it more than ever right now. Not tomorrow. Not next year, but now.

I have 4 songs left to record for my next record, Falling Becomes Great and I have been stalling for the simple fact that I'm scared to admit to myself that this may be the last time I step out into public with a record...before I disappear into life's abyss. I hope you stuck around until the end of this...because I'm drowning folks, and I'm not afraid to admit that. I hope you all had a great holiday season, and hopefully I will continue to do music. But if something doesn't give, then I gotta throw in the towel. 2010 will be a make or break year...I just hope I don't break.

My best,
apollo.

http://apollossun.com/blog.cfm?feature=809889&post...I'm just kind of staring at the screen right now...I've been wanting to write a blog like this for awhile, but was unsure as to how to approach it....