2009 goals and a little history

To put my 2009 goals in context, I need to briefly summarize my goals for the last four years.

In February 2005, I was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). After the shock wore off from receiving this news, I dropped out of graduate school, and I stopped my volunteer work at a telephone crisis center. I became withdrawn, spending all my time playing cards on the computer. It went on like this for a few months, then a friend of mine advised me to go back to the one thing that always gave me the most joy: music. He said that even though my physical condition prevented me from playing an actual instrument, I could still write music. But, since I was a bass player before I got sick, I didn't even know how to read treble clef. So I set out the following goals for the year:
-- visit my sister in New York city
-- learn how to use Finale, music notation software
-- come to terms with the diagnosis

In 2006, I discovered GarageBand, the music sequencer that comes with the Mac. I set a goal of learning how to use the program, and start getting in the habit of writing music on a regular basis.

My goals in 2007 were:
-- learn music theory
-- learn music business
-- learn the craft of songwriting

I got myself a college-level music theory book. I discovered that my current state of knowledge was about the level of someone who had taken one semester of music theory. So I started reading the book at a rate of two chapters a month, and I started lessons with a composition instructor. I started writing songs, and they got better as the year went along.

I also started taking classes at Berklee school of music online. My favorite classes were "writing lyrics to music" and "music marketing 101" in the first class, I read books about rhyme and lyrical positioning strategies. In the marketing class, I learned all that tactics of being an indie artist, meaning that I as a musician am responsible for personally building relationships with fans, and promote myself through my own efforts, not relying on a record label to do it for me.

My goals in 2008 were:
-- refine my musical style
-- crystallize a description of what my music is all about
-- write 20 songs

All through 2006-7, I had problems collaborating with vocalists and guitarists on the Internet. The guitarist would take way too long to record their part, and the vocalists took liberties with the way that I wanted the song performed. One day it occurred to me "who needs a guitar anyway?" "Why not find a local vocalist that I can have more control over?" So I rebranded my music as "piano rock" and came up with a tag line "Ace Noface: alternative piano rock for the brave." Two weeks ago, I finished my 20th song, and I recorded 12 of those songs in my home studio.

So my goals/dreams for 2009 are:
-- complete a studio CD with live instruments
-- get my CD reviewed in 20 blogs
-- increase my fan base (Hopefully with a little word -- of --mouth from you)
-- get a brick and mortar distribution deal

It's hard to say how realistic these dreams are. By the end of 2009, that will be five years after my ALS diagnosis. On average, 90% of people diagnosed with this disease are dead within five years of their diagnosis. So far, I've been pretty lucky. Up to now, the disease has only affected my breathing. It may be uncomfortable to be short of breath, but I can still speak and operate a computer with my right forefinger. I have done some preparations for when/if I am no longer able to speak or use my hands. I trained a computer program that "speaks" in a voice that sounds like me, so my voice won't sound mechanical when I need a computer to vocalize for me. I'm also working with a professor who is an expert in augmentative communications technology who will come up with a way to let me continue to write music with a device that tracks my eye movements. That way, I can still be productive even after I lose the ability to control the computer with my finger.

http://acenoface.com/