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Friends Are Things Treasured
By joseexist in Musings On Muses
August 28, 2009

Friends are things treasured by all. They are our confidants and our interactions with them run the emotional gamut fully. In this day and age it is possible to have friends that you may never meet. Social networking websites have created worlds in the electronic ether. Though physically detached, we still have a palpable experience. Our days are brightened, our minds are expanded, we are informed, we gossip, we enjoy sharing hopes and dreams. We inspire one another to create. There’s one friend of mine on MySpace that writes incredible, dark horror stories. With every new post I am transported into a dark world with vivid imagery that leaps out from his prose. I was never a fan of written horror, but his stuff makes Stephen King look like pre-K. (Sorry S.K.) Ronald, from Massachusetts, Is one of many long-time friends of mine that I have a kinship with that is repeated on many other websites. Whenever he publishes a book you can bet I’ll be buying it! He’s also thrown a few story-ideas at me to compose songs around. We even kicked around the idea of a multi-media type of release. It would be comprised of my instrumentals, dark and foreboding, along with his book, released as a package. Another very important friend is Jesse De La O. I’ve known him for many years and had the pleasure of working with him both in studio and on stage. His professional approach is second to none. Were it not for his hard work I would not be enjoying the spread of my music around the world. His contracts are clear-cut and the results of being affiliated with him are great. As far as knowing the music business, I for one am very limited in that respect. Jesse on the other hand, has a finger on the pulse and pushes himself in many directions at once. He wears many hats and they all fit. His company, A.O.G. Media, has been the platform from which he sets goals and then strives to achieve them. When something has to change he is there first to inform all of A.O.G Medias’ affiliates. I have written exclusive material for A.O.G. and done lead guitar work for Jesse as well as other affiliates and the professionalism with which Jesse operates is top notch. I recently released FINAL THOUGHTS. It’s my 8th album to date and the second track was inspired by a friend on MySpace. His story of how one of his longtime friends dumped him turned into a lyric sheet he wrote. He wanted me to compose the tune and I had to really tone down his words. In the end I still had to put a sticker on the cover, but I also preserved a great portion of the initial anger he conveyed with his first lyrics. The cover of the album was also a creation of one of my MySpace friends. Once again Ronald stepped forward and designed several images. I finally choose the cover for the front and back as well as a medusa type image for the inside song-list panel. It was the first time I had ever used an outside source and my thanks go to Ronald for his hard work. He captured the essence of the concept very well! Without friends life would be boring and empty. Excitement would not exist in any recognizable form. When we listen to music we become a friend to the artist for a few minutes. If we like what we hear we become a fan, which is also a friend. The same goes for whenever we read a book or conduct business on good terms. There should never be a strong side/weak side to a friendship. Two friends should always hold each other up equally. They should fly together and they should fall together. They should land together and they should get back up together. Above all, they should communicate. Lack of communication inspires negatively. Have you inspired a friend lately? I have to tip my hat to 24-7! Congratulations on a gig well deserved! Knock ‘em dead kids! Great job Mario! Please record the performance. This is a gig well worth capturing!