Source Tags and Codes

One of my all-time favorite albums is the magnificent Source Tags and Codes by Austin indie-rock band …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead. Yes, the band name is ridiculous - but this album is incredible. It’s heavy, light, thought-provoking, and it just kicks ass. Here’s a good example:

I don’t write about music much in this space because that isn’t why most of you are here, but I’ve been listening to this album a lot lately and thinking about how hard it is to make money off of art. For as acclaimed a band as Trail of Dead is, they have been very frank about their inability to make almost any money from their art. I follow Conrad (one of the two constant members of the band) on the ‘Gram, and he’s had to resort to selling his guitars to pay rent. Jason (the other constant member) posted a request for donations to help the band settle a debt from their last tour.

All of this is very sad. This is a band that was on a major label, has released 11 albums - many of them critically acclaimed - and by all means should be living comfortably at this point. That they are not is very sad. If you’re interested in their music, check out their latest album on Bandcamp and buy it if it pleases you. You’ll have to dig around for their other music but it’s worth the effort.

Why am I talking about this here? Because it’s harder than ever to make a living off art. I’m doing just fine because I have a day job. Even my day job is not what it should be - after all this time I’m still an adjunct professor, which means I am part-time. But I do just fine for the most part.

Many artists, musicians, and writers out there are not doing well. Hell, is anybody besides the already-wealthy?

This holiday season, I am asking all of you again to support writers, artists, musicians, and small businesses to the best of your abilities. The huge corporations - and I could list a lot of them here, but I am going to specifically name Amazon, Google, Walmart, Target, Spotify, Microsoft, and Live Nation - they don’t need our money. They WANT it. It seems like they can never have enough. The only tool we have in the toolbox that matters is to withhold our money from them, and spend it where it matters the most.

If you’d like to support my writing and my hiking guides while helping make a small difference in the world, I am donating $5 from every copy of PDX Hiking 365 I sell in November to the Mazamas, and I am donating $5 from every copy of Extraordinary Oregon! I sell to the Siskiyou Mountain Club.

I am also selling limited-edition calendars! Every year I make a calendar for friends and family, but if you’d like one, here is a link to pre-order. This link will only be open for another week or so, so act now if you’d like one! Here’s a preview:

Again, I’m doing just fine! But I have a platform and dedicated readers who care about what I have to say, and I have never felt more strongly that we need to support people who create art, and support people who run the small businesses on which we all depend.

And one more special message to go: Sometime soon here I’ll write about the process of writing 101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region. I read all of your feedback on it, and I’m thinking about how to proceed with the next step of the project. So stay tuned!

Until then, I have to go get ready for work at my day job.

As always, thanks for reading! And go support a small business or two that you really care about. If you want suggestions, let me know!

Matt