Friday, May 04, 2007

Terrance Damian Newsletter - May 2007

Greetings,

It's already the 4th! Usually I send out this newsletter on the 1st as you know, so I owe an apology :(

Ok, Check this out.. I found an old newletter from exactly 3 years ago. It's interesting to see the changes since then. I'll mention a few things that are new in my life and then you can read the old newletter to see the differences. I found it interesting to say the least.

Well, for starters the biggest change is that I am married, and we just bought a wonderful house two weeks ago! I spent a full week painting non-stop, and actually enjoyed that a-lot!
Here are some Other big changes regarding the newsletter from 3 years ago you are about to read...

- I am going by my first and middle name "Terrance Damian" instead of "Deron 5L"
- I have a brand new web site www.terrancedamian.com (I'm also on Myspace of course)
- I spent 3 years in the studio and finally finished recording "The Simple Life" to be released soon..
- Me and one other sponsor (James) still have a sponsor child through "Christian Children's Fund" named "Breyner" from Brazil. He has grown quite a bit (he's now 14) and is always so appreciative of getting any letters.
- I now drive a big Econoline van. I miss my Dodge Durango, but the van is much better for touring the country. I also still miss the "Superwagon" by the way..
- My credit has improved drastically (especially since buying a house), but I still don't have health insurance.
- My label "3000 Records" has worked with about 500 Bands since 3 years ago through multiple compilation CD projects, and the "CD Register" (a project I started about 3 years ago).
- I haven't worked out too much lately so no big improvements in that area, but I eat much better organic food. No hormone injected meat, and my wife and I only drink organic milk.
- Since 3 years ago I've spent probably 16 - 18 weeks traveling, and have visited many places throughout the country
- A tour is slowing coming together and we'll be heading down to Indiana, Tenessee, and Missouri in late May!
- Recently I started a DJ business (Mobile Party DJs of Michigan). My wife and I will be DJing a wedding this Sunday!

I know some of you have been reading my newsletter for all these years! I hope you enjoy my newsletter from May 2004 (Below)!

-- Deron 5L Newsletter - May 2004

Well, it's been a whole month already? I guess so huh! Anyways, I've got some nice updates on my web site including some new photos! My mom found a really neat photo of me and my Mickey "MouseGetar" from when I was like 4, and another photo of me and a different guitar from when I was about 16. Check out the "Photos" link at www.deron5l.com Also, I decided to start a new work out routine and do a "before" and "after" photo. This will only be available to Newsletter Subscribers and is not an actual link from my web site, so feel free to take a peek at my current before photo. This is definitely gonna motivate me to work out I think.. I mean putting myself without a shirt online for my Newsletter Subscribers…. Uh…. yup I did. The link is www.workout.deron5l.com


Breyner (Sponsor Child) sent a letter. He seems like a really cool kid. You can check out Breyner at http://www.ccf.deron5l.com The Sponsors are currently myself, Tom, and James! One of my sisters who was going to be a Sponsor decided that Christian Children's Fund wasn't for her, so it's just the 3 of us instead of 4. If anyone else wants to fill the open spot, let me know. It's just a contribution of $6 per month. We will be putting a letter together for Breyner soon, and it will be his first letter from us. I'm excited about that!! I'm sure he is too :)

Well, as of today I am driving a 1999 Dodge Durango SLT. I will put a picture of it online sometime this month. This SUV is really like a dream come true for me, and I really wanted this particular vehicle. It suits me well, and has enough room for touring, my equipment, and even for sleeping in it! Incredibly, my Uncle Ricky said yes when I asked him to sign for it since my credit sucks (no proof of income). This is the same Uncle who mentioned I should get a "real" job about a half a year ago. I talk to him often about what I actually do for a living, how hard I've been working, and I guess his view changed. My whole family really likes this vehicle, and my Grandpa especially seemed to like it. We went for a drive today right after I picked it up with my Uncle. My little brother Joe said "hey now you don't have to try to make the windows go down (for ventilation)" (since the Superwagon's windows didn't work often). I remember driving through Texas without being able to get the windows down one afternoon. It was probably 120 (or more) degrees in the car. Fortunately I had some bottled water to replenish myself from sweating buckets.

Unfortunately, no credit, and no health insurance has been a lovely benefit of being a career Musician thus far. Fortunately, I will be setting up a business as a Sole Proprietor within the next few months. That will not only prove an income, but also straighten out my credit issues. Only about 1/3 of my income can be proven at this point. Regardless, my Uncle's credit is flawless so I got an amazing interest rate on my new truck. After 3 months of going to dealers I believe this vehicle is absolutely the right one, and can't imagine a better one. I've been extremely picky. I can't tell you how I prayed for a nice vehicle and this is way nicer that I could have asked for.

Often people tell me that I must meet many women being a Musician (even my Therapist asked this). LOL. Yeah, uh sure. It's quite ironic in many ways. I go to church and try to meet a nice girl (and couldn't even get a dance at a Valentine's Day church event), then I play gigs at bars, and once in awhile have an offer for something much more than a dance. I find two extremes. Then there's the many female "friends" I have. I don't need any more of those, ahhhHHhhhh. As I mention in my Biography on my web site, a Musician is not "dating" or "marriage" material, like an Engineer (for example). Regardless, I like to think that when the right person comes along things will just happen naturally.. So recently I've ventured onto just about every dating site there is and spent like $70 bucks this month in different memberships. Here's the rundown… Yahoo Personals is decent, didn't like Emode, didn't like Christian Café, and Match.com seems to be actually a great site. So far I had one girl write me back this week. She so eloquently invited me to visit her porn site and pay $$ to see her photos since she was soooooo interested in me. Sure.. Right! I kept my credit card in my pants among other things.

For those of you that did your taxes through my new web site ReadyFile.com I greatly appreciate that. Overall 174 people Efiled through the web site.. so it turned out to be a neat business experiment. Next year, I won't make as many mistakes though. I spent too much on advertising. Still, I am looking forward to getting a check from the company I partnered with called FileSafe.net, however I didn't even break even. No big deal though.

Well, I got a band's music on a sports related episode on Fox Sports Network through my Indie Label 3000 Records! They participated on one of the compilations I organized called "Buzz Songs Vol. 1" and their band name is "Brand New Low". I'll be featuring them on the home page of www.3000records.com later this week. By the way they also got some nice $$$$ out of the deal. I met with the lead singer at Starbucks last week and he was pretty excited about the opportunity.

I recently had an really neat interview on a radio show called "Independent Nation". Their station is based online and you can hear the interview on their show linked from www.newartistradio.net Just click the link that says "Independent Nation". My interview takes place about 35 minutes into the show, and I think it lasts for about 3 or 4 minutes. They wanted to know about "Sara Ann In California". The guys who host the show are goofballs man. LOL. Check it out if you want!

Lately I've been going over ideas and plans for my tour. So far, I intend on touring from November 2004 to April 2005. This will be right around the time my first full length CD is released. I'm taking things step by step though. Keeping my focus on my local gigs is going to be important of course. I want to stay very busy, like I have been.
*On May 29th I will be playing at xhedos Café. If you have never been there I'll mention that it is a small venue with a big sound system. It's perfect if you like coffee houses and live music. A band called Collision Six (www.collisionsix.com) will also be playing. Hopefully Elise McCoy will open the show, but I need to get in touch with her somehow. Elise is an incredibly talented girl I once saw perform at Trixies Coffee House in Roseville.

**I'm playing another cool show on June 4th. I will be headlining at Club 5529 in Clarkston. This will be one of the best opportunities to hear my newest music in a larger concert environment. There should be a great crowd there, but this is also the kind of place where people really watch the performers (unlike some bars).

***I'm also hosting a brand new open mic every Tuesday at Pub 13 in Ypsilanti. The pub is right by Eastern Michigan University and it's a great place for an open mic. Unfortunately my other Tuesday Open Mic was cancelled, but I am super happy that I found a replacement gig for Tuesdays (and better paying, much better). I've also got some gigs coming up in Ann Arbor, and Royal Oak. Check out the calendar when you get a moment.. www.calendar.deron5l.com


Also, I'm open to meeting with you for coffee before a gig sometime if you wanna hang out (yes you). This invitation is for everyone subscribed to my monthly Newsletter. Oh, and I have an invitation available for up to 3 people to meet me for dinner this Thursday (May 6th) at John Cowley's (Plymouth, MI). If you wanna get a really good and really free dinner on me (actually on the owner) just email me.

I think that is about it so until next month….

Best,
Terrance (Deron 5L)

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading the old newsletter. I'll look forward to writing you in June.

Sincerely,

Terrance
Listen to the music at: http://www.terrancedamian.com


For Great Cover songs and originals.. Booking music venues, party events (perfect for outdoors too), and more: Call (586) 480-3000

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PO Box 180902, Utica, MI, 48318, United States


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