Too Much Communication....??

I'm from West Virginia...did you know that?  Peterstown, West Virginia, located at the most southern tip of Monroe County.  I could step off my front porch, and throw a rock into Virginia...well maybe 2 throws...but I could get it there.  We don't have a single stop light in my town, however we do have 5 churches (off the top of my head), a couple restaurants, a fire station...and one VERY LOUD fire whistle (I plead the 5th on knowledge of that last part).

I've lived in Austin since 2006, and honestly loved every minute of it!!  When I sing, "We've got a long way to go...and Mama I ain't coming home...."  I mean it...every time.  WV will always be my home, but ATX will be my Wheelhouse.

On one trip back to the mountains, during a 4th of July cookout/booze-a-thon, I was talking to an "elder" booze hound...and as I was talking to him, my phone buzzed, I was checking it (for I'm sure it was Oh So Important!), while he was trying to tell me something he noticed I wasn't paying attention (I was multi-tasking) and stopped talking...I eventually realized he had quit talking and I looked up and he said in the midst of all the Winston cigarette smoke swirling around his head...

"That's the problem right there Matthew.  That'll be the death of your generation..." I said, "What's that??"  ... he replied, "Too much communication..."  referring to the Blackberry attached to my hip, the Facebooks, the Myspaces, the Twitters, Emails, and RSS Feeds.

Fast Forward to Today...

The past few weeks have really stood out to me, I don't know why but all the...
"Zimmerman deserves to rot in jail!!" ....  "Trayvon was the victim of..." ... "Paula Dean for President!!..."... "Rolling Stone will burn in hell!!" .... blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...

Now before we go any further, trust me, I know I exploit the social media for Snake Skin Prison, I mean, let's face it folks, it's not going away...and will only continue to grow.  Facebook will become obsolete and another Social Media Juggernaut will be born...and another...and another...so on and so forth.

However, through the whirlwind that is our everyday life, I can't help but think...could this be the death of us...too much communication??  Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy that loves to talk and can't shut up!!

I'm starting to think that Social Media should be treated as the Virtual Dinner Table.  There's certain things you don't discuss at the dinner table...Business, Religion, Politics, Favorite Sexual Positions...etc.  There's a time and place for those discussions...possibly?...and when entering that place with an open mind and an open heart...maybe something would get done...maybe there would be a resolution...maybe we would benefit from all this "communication" and not allow it to be the death of us.

Again, I don't know, I'm just talking, and in my experience, the best I can say is to lead by example.  Every time I look into Samantha's big blue eyes, every time I see that toothless grin, every time those little chubby arms reach up and grab my beard...I'm reminded:

It's not about me anymore, I'm responsible for all my actions, and one day I might have to answer to her, "Daddy, why did you do that?" ... something tells me the response, "hell I don't know I was drunk!" wouldn't be best :) LOL.  I think the best answer would be to "Lead by Example"...it reminds me of that statement, "If every man would sweep his own door step...the whole city would be clean."  Maybe if we...myself included...spent half as much time looking inward then we did posting our opinions on Twitter...maybe...just maybe...we might pull the nose of this airplane called life up just in time to make it...maybe...maybe not...maybe we aren't supposed to make it.

Remember, I'm just an old guitar picker from a small town in Southern West Virginia, 2 rock throws from Virginia...where we don't have a liquor store...gas station...or a Wal-Mart...but by-golly we had a Beyond Video and that was the best damn video store in America (love and miss ya Paul Ball)...

I dunno...I think...I think...sometimes I think I think too much!!!  Either way...come see the most Socially Communicable Band from Austin Texas this Friday Night in San Angelo TX!!!  :) :) :) We aim to please, I promise you that much.

Adios!!
dMb

Snake Skin Prison signs Distribution Deal!!

Nationwide??  How about WORLDWIDE!!  Snake Skin Prison is excited to announce the joining of forces with Perris Records Distribution!!  What exactly does that mean you might be asking yourself??  Well, allow me to inform you...

First off, thank you...yes YOU...the person reading this blog.  If it weren't for you, then our music, my words, my always pressing, world changing words of experience and wisdom would fall on deaf ears.  :) ... so let's take a minute and give yourself a round applause.  In the words of Gomer Pyle.... "ShaZam!"

Alright, with all that being said, in the always shape shifting world of the Music Industry anything is possible.  People ask me all the time, "So when do you think you'll get a record deal?"  or  "When do you consider yourself to have 'made it' ... ?"  My initial response is, "Making the initial sacrifice to move to Austin, to leave my family, my friends, my home...to chase this crazy dream...to conceive Snake Skin Prison...when I put my first foot forward on that journey...that was the beginning of making it."  People often times focus on the end point and not the journey...when it's the journey that has the most to give!!

Times have changed in the music biz, you don't have to work for Revolver to know that.  The days of the million dollar record deals are probably gone / close to extinct.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure Aerosmith and Metallica don't have a problem paying the cable bills, but those "types" of bands are far and few in between...but I digress. SO...

Back to SSP :) ... we have been approached and agreed upon working with Perris Records, to distribute...GLOBALLY... "9 Kinds of Bad".  This is definitely exciting, for most bands don't even get an opportunity to record a full length album, much less have it distributed around the world!!  So with all that being said SSP is excited and honored to be accepted into the Perris Records Family and look forward to the future and working with Perris!!

Here's some Links...

Perris Records Website
Perris Records on FB

Links where SSP is GLOBALLY available \m/
BESTBUY
COLLECTOR'S CHOICE MUSIC
NEH RECORDS
IMUSIC
RAKUTEN.COM
IMPULSE MUSIC
DISK UNION

This is just the beginning, and I held off as long as I could :) ...  Where do we go from here?  Beats the Fuzz out of me!!  Forward that's where!!  As long as the good people want better music, Snake Skin Prison will have a place to rest it's weary head.

This Friday the Rock n Roll Pain Train travels to West Texas to the town of San Angelo.  Known as the city where livers go to die, San Angelo is home to probably one of my personal favorite places to play...The Deadhorse.  SSP has been blasting The Deadhorse since August of 2008!!  It's a great bar, with a great staff, and amazing fan base.  If you're within driving range of 210 S Chadbourne Street, San Angelo Texas, 79603, then you should def come by this Friday Night.  There's no Cover and SSP takes off around 1130p!!

If you would've told me 10 years ago that in 2013 I'd have a CD available for purchase in Japan I would've probably finished my drink and then laughed in your face...however this world is rough, you ain't going to make it alone, so you stand by your friends and the ones that you love...and sometimes you might find, that you ain't gonna make it, well you don't lay down and die....


Come and Take It!
dMb