Shifting My Focus (Not My Ford, Just To Be Clear)

Well, I've made a lot of vague statements here over the last little while, and discovered while out at an event this weekend that particularly secretive strategy might not be in my best interests, at least as far as clarity moving forward is concerned.

So, let's clear up a few things, shall we? Shall I?

Yes, I shall...

For all the years I've been doing this blog, I've used the scattergun approach - which has most often produced regular daily blogs, but a complete lack of consistency within those posts. 

One thing that started out as a lark ended up bearing fantastic fruit - my "Nobody Asked Me To, But Here I Go Anyway" entertainment reviews opened doors for a wealth of writing opportunities beyond my personal blogspace.

Long story short, I ended up writing a recurring review column for The Calgary Herald, primarily for Stage West Theatre Restaurant here in Calgary.

Over the years, that expanded to an online feature, and eventually my own Calgary Herald blog space. 

That led to an explosion I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams - requests that grew exponentially from theatre groups, live music, comedy, opera, authors, and more.

In short, a recipe for disaster for a part-time endeavour. 

So, I started a few weeks ago with my vague ramblings here, but I should have just been upfront and clear, and I have been as of the past few weeks. I sent out a notice to the theatre companies that have been so supportive of my work, but as the music and comedy aligns more with my future plans, had to be discontinued.

I will continue to do the reviews and preview interviews for Stage West Calgary, as they opened the door in the first place, and often align with those new priorities. I certainly hope to continue to support those amazing community theatre companies as best as I can, and I wish them much continued success - they perform often at levels above and beyond expectations. 

So, in a nutshell, I am going to be focusing primarily on music, most specifically singer/songwriter folk, roots, blues and indie artists, but there may be a few exceptions - I will be reviewing Micah Barnes new jazz cd New York Stories for example. 

I've got some big ideas I've already pitched, more coming soon, and hope to update you on those as soon as I hear. 

I also hope to update danstyves.com much more regularly, as I revamp that site, my main website, and this blog space over the next little while.

There have been a few casualties - I gave up my daily posting on Twitter, and even daily posts here, despite feeling that I have needed to do that regardless of what I was posting at any given time. I'm actually getting more traffic and new followers than I had been before - go figure!

Thanks for your support if you've stuck with it, even after some drastic changes, and welcome aboard if you're a new follower - there's more change coming, but I hope it all makes for interesting and informative reading!

Later!