spiderwolf’s blog

It's my first post for a few weeks as I've been back to my homeland in the UK but its almost time to come back again. Seen some great bands, met some new people and the weather's been pretty good too but I'm looking forward to being back in Vancouver and seeing the Canucks. I forget how great it is to be in B.C. sometimes. I've travelled all over the world from China to Iceland and NYC to Sydney but I still like Canada (and Alaska) best. However to get the most out of life you have to travel particularly if your a music nut like me. I went through a whole period of not going to gigs but the last year or so I've been making up for it and that rush never leaves you. Tomorrow's The Black Crusade which I've been looking forward to for months and is a great way to end my trip then I suppose I have to think about Christmas. What does everybody else do at Christmas? Suggestions welcome. Well greetings from Cardiff to all Voxers and all my new friends.

Are you a good dance or do you have two left feet?  What's your signature dance move?

My signature move is to head to the bar and critique others.

I guess I'll update what I've been doing apart from staring at my computer screen. Sometimes when I'm bored, I'll just go off into the B.C wilderness for a few days and live off the land (well river mostly as I fish). So four days ago, I just got the bug, packed a few waterproof and a good knife and strolled off to the North West of Williams Lake. I caught some fish, built a fire, made a lean to shelter and relaxed. It's just a cool way to get your head back together. I don't believe in thinking about it for long or packing all sorts of stuff. A bit of common sense and a positive attitude thats all.

But I did miss my music so its off to the UK next week for a whole bunch of gigs. Heaven and Hell/Lamb of God at Plymouth, Alice Cooper/Motorhead and Joan Jett (I hope he isn't wearing his golf clothes) at Cardiff, some new black metal Job For A Cowboy/The Black Dalia Murder/The Red Chord in London and the best bit  'The Black Crusade' with Machine Head/Trivium/Dragonforce/Arch Enemy/Shadows Fall on November 21st. That Last gig has five bands of whom 3 have produced fantastic albums this year, The Blackening, Rise of the Tyrant, Threads of Life. I've met this band called Hexagon on Vox since I've joined and they'll feature on my website next month. Their from Portsmouth so hopefully I'll get a chance to hear them play live. Check out their page if you like your music heavy. If there is anyone reading this going to any of those gigs, look out for me, you'll spot me from my profile tattoo, its unique plus I'll give you an invite to our party tent at Download next year.

So that's me for Halloween week. The silence of the forest and the sound of 'metal', it doesn't get better.

Spider

Led Zeppelin will finally offer their music online starting next month.   Of the music you buy, about how much of it do you download and how much do you buy on physical formats (CDs, vinyl, etc.)?

There are very few bands that I would buy in a physical format. I download 95 per cent and probaly 100 tracks a week or more. The only bands worth buying physically are those that make the effort to ensure all that their albums are high quality throughout, not disappearing after track 7 and maybe including cool artwork, lyrics or something extra. I get fed up when I see them being filled with covers. To my knowledge Depeche Mode songs have been covered over 20 times in the last 3 years by bands I like but I don't want covers of already great songs. Unless it's something special Springsteen's 'Magic', a new Tool CD, Dream Theater, a box set of Nile or an album I've missed that I think is essential in its entirity ie Dark Side of the Moon, there's little value in buying a CD that you could make yourself with a half decent graphics program and a burner.

Led Zeppelin will finally offer their music online starting next month.   Of the music you buy, about how much of it do you download and how much do you buy on physical formats (CDs, vinyl, etc.)?

There are very few bands that I would buy in a physical format. I download 95 per cent and probaly 100 tracks a week or more. The only bands worth buying physically are those that make the effort to ensure all that their albums are high quality throughout, not disappearing after track 7 and maybe including cool artwork, lyrics or something extra. I get fed up when I see them being filled with covers. To my knowledge Depeche Mode songs have been covered over 20 times in the last 3 years by bands I like but I don't want covers of already great songs. Unless it's something special Springsteen's 'Magic', a new Tool CD, Dream Theater, a box set of Nile or an album I've missed that I think is essential in its entirity ie Dark Side of the Moon, there's little value in buying a CD that you could make yourself with a half decent graphics program and a burner.

As a new member of VOX, I've been impressed with the standard of new music, Iive discovered here rather than the morass of MySpace's 200,00 bands. My site/business http://www.aquestionoftruth.com is always looking for new bands to push through our own databse. I'm happy to say that through VOX we have been able to add Hexagon and Gravitator. Hexagon I liked so much that we will be giving them the showcase spot for November in our Jukebox  succeeding He is Legend, (my favourite underrated band), which means 3 highlighted tracks, bio, available mpgs, links and review. Anyone with a group out there that they think would fit in to the site, which has over 110 pages and music looped on every page, should message me. I urge you to check out the site first because if you sound like Coldplay, you ain't got a chance. We have a diverse mix from Gil Scott Heron to Cannibal Corpse. World stars in Sprinsteen and Metallica to virtual unknowns like Lahannya (check her out, electro fans) and Macinochrist. We try to match the music to the content so let's hear from you.

At 8am I start with Doughnuts, followed at noon by a chocolate chip cookie, English chocolate at 4pm and a nighttime snack involving coconut and I'm only 160 lbs. Do what makes you happy.

It's a phrase I use a lot about myself. This is the first time I've really written about me but I spend my days in a surreal world. Spiderwolf isn't just the name I have here on Vox but is used in my career as a writer and publisher and now promoter. Running A Question of Truth started as a personal sort of college mag. but it's success since April completely suprised me and I ended up using my audiance as staff. This week marked a big success for us as we became ranked 7 on Google and 1 on Yahoo, we passed 5000 registered spiderwolves(our fan club I guess) and we sold quite a few pieces and photos including a new article I have just finished on Hilary Clinton that I haven't published yet. So all seems perfect in the garden until you remember the title of this post.

For most of my life I have suffered from a personality disorder which was only diagnosed 5 years ago and (I can't belieive I'm telling you all this) is coupled with an acute anxiety complex. In a nutshell what happens is that when set huge goals, if they are my choice, fine but if they someone elses ie my last employer in 2002, I fall from a great height, get highly stressed, axious and panic which result in fugues, amenisia where apparently I take huge risks both physically and mentally. It's real crash and burn stuff. In 2002 I was chosen for some sort of International Manager of the year crap. I so hated the idea, I went to the company's main safe, took out the cash, put it in varying amounts in envelopes and walked the streets handing it out to the homeless and throwing what was left in the ocean. I phoned the directors the next day and told them as if it was some sort of challenge. Of course I got charged by the cops, but I paid the company the money back, had my sentence suspended etc. See 'mad as a box of weasels'.

So since then I've been to college and got my degree, vowed never to work for anyone but me again, published 3 papers on  bees, alaskan ecosystems and worms and am just finished my next on neural pathways in wolves. That's what I do with my time. I run the website, write and publish my own articles as spiderwolf and write, research and fieldtrip experiments. I don't get rich but I control it all myself. All except days like today, Thursdays and Tuesdays, therapy days. Shrink, psychologist and case worker, for 5 years. Their like family now and for the first time, today I am off meds not even an asprin. I'll always be a bit crazy but I kind of like it, increased energy, creativity and drive but wary that there will always be bad days. Now I know how to cope with those without drugs. Sure I fail sometimes but I know if I hang on, it will go and despite it being the most overused word in the medical world, I am not and have never really been DEPRESSED. Angry, yes, grumpy, yes, anti-social, yes and a whole lot more but at heart I'm a happy soul.

I can't believe I just told my whole neigbourhood this but I vowed I when I joined this site I'd hide nothing. The future's got some cool stuff in it particularly 'Spirit Quest' next year (see my other post). If anybody wants to ask me stuff about all this no problem. If anybody has a problem with it well thats for you to deal with not me. I feel good.

Radiohead release their seventh studio album today and it's only available online and you set your own price.  Will you buy the album?  Do you buy the idea?

The idea is great. It's the way for bands not to get tied down to multi album deals with majors who can drop them at the drop of a hat. It rewards bands who have built up fan support through their live work. Financially it is better for the bands who take a larger cut and for the fans who pay a fairer price. My website has an article on this and it warns bands to beware. If it is a success, you can bet that some corporate 'suits' will try to find a way to get a cut. Saying that, although I appreciate that Radiohead are an intelligent, skilled and interesting band, they are a bit too tame for me. For this multi layered thinking person's band give me Tool and Dream Factory any day.

It's a ten week ( give or take a week ) wilderness hike from Williams Lake to Hazelton B.C and then kayak to Lake Gribbell in April, May and June of 2008. Why? To photograph the Kermode (Spirit) Bear and observe 2 wolf packs. The locations are secret as the last thing I want is crowds of people or worse, hunters. I'm not a professional. I've done some wilderness hiking, survival training and almost finished writing a paper on black bear and wolf behaviour. Mostly I just like adventure, risk and feeling alive. I'd invite a couple of fellow travellers but if you read my profile, you would know I can be difficult to travel with, I can be great but also difficult. But if you'd like to keep in touch and hear how things go, I'll be downloading video at various points but only to invitees and to my website  http://www.aquestionoftruth.com ( which I trust my staff will still be running when I get back). Everone should have adventures and not just on a screen!