Y'all so much as gone on that theres too much to type! I've been busy with gigs, getting recording commissions done for clients ranging from canada and various parts of the US but I've also had tons of downs too but I won't get into that either but those who know me, know whats going on. https://www.patreon.com/teddy330

I also just wanted you guys to know, I have a Patreon page! So if you wanna invest into the future of my career you can pledge $1 or more per month and you'll get special perks that I won't post on my social media (twitter, IG, youtube,etc.)

Also I turn 28 on the 30th!!! If you wanna get me something for my birthday you can get something for me off my amazon wish list https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...../1ATJTY85GU28L

or support my patreon or support my Ko-fi page which is https://www.Ko-fi.com/tedwynton

In other news! After things have gone well during this tour in Australia and New Zealand I got a call back from the same tour to do a 2 week run of Brazil! So I'll keep you guys posted on that too!!

I think thats about it, if you want to keep up with me more closely follow me on twitter TeddyWynton!

OKAY BED TIME NOW!!! SEE YALL LATER!!!

Sorry ya'll I've been busy af on Twitter but to make things quick and simple,

THANK YA'LL FOR DONATING TO MY KOFI WHEN I NEEDED HELP BACK IN JULY!!! I SERIOUSLY APPRECIATE IT!!!

Now things started to pick up come September because the tour picked up in Australia with Australian management and promoters and the tour had it's ups and downs but I'll get into that in another journal and the tour ended in New Zealand, I got back home on October 28th, then recorded drums for  foxamoore and  peppercoyote's christmas project "Flying home for the Holidays" the following day to meet their November 1st deadline. :)

Then Come november I got flown out to Scotland to perform 2 shows for Foxes & Peppers. One show at the world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool, England and then one show at the Ivory Blacks in Glasgow, Scotland. It was a interesting experience to say the least. A lot was learned about scotland...like my recent Addiction to Fish and Chips...and how the Baltimorian accent has Scottish origins. LOL

I also attended and performed MFF...eventhough for me it was kinda a Meh experience I'm still glad I got to catch up with all my friends.

However on the downside theres been some more drama at home but again I'll get into all of this in other journals before the year is out!

I hope everything is well with you all! If you don't follow me on twitter I'll catch you up on here soon!

-Ted

Hey guys...so if you've been following my twitter you've read that the tour I'm on hit a pretty bad bump...

TL;DR

-Got offered a tour in Turkey on June 28th
-Had less than 2 days to learn a 90 minute show
-First show on June 30th went flawless
-Was offered to play drums for the rest of the tour
-Paycut on July 3rd
-Bowed out of the rest of my gigs on July 4th
-Entire tour got cancelled on July 5th
-July 6th Had a meeting with the promoter, he explained his view of what happened, drama
-July 7th Wes explains his side of what happened,figure out logistics of getting out of Turkey
-July 8th we get kicked out of the hotel,fire the keyboardist and the bassist quits, get put into a shitty family hotel...3 people in 1 room
-July 9th We get flight info to head home or in my case, to spain.
-July 10th Arrived to Girona, Spain to crash with friend until I leave to perform at for Eurofurence on August 22nd
-I made a Ko-fi page to help recover my overdrafted bank account http://ko-fi.com/tedwynton

---

Heres what happened from the top IN DETAIL

It starts out smooth at first

June 28th at 9am I get sent a call from a friend of mine who played for Cirque Du Solilel (Lets name him Andy) asking me if I can do this tour thats currently going on Turkey, Andy tells me the drummer of that tour upped and quit in the middle of the night and now the music director asked Andy if he could do the tour but Andy said he couldn't do it because he already had some gigs lined up to play in China so now he's asking if I could do it.

At first I was hesitant because I already had stuff lined up, like Anthrocon was coming up in a few days, then I had to play Artscape (a huge music and arts festival in baltimore) there was Eurofurence and then there was the recording of Hashtag #2 with  foxamoore and  peppercoyote (SUPPORT THE PROJECT HERE https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....read-thy-wings)

Then I did research on the tour, it's legit...the tour has performed sold out shows in Berlin,Australia,China,Russia and so on.

So I asked for the details and Andy said "Well After Turkey the tour hits Australia then New Zealand and then China and maybe Russia and it's paying $1100 a week, and everything (Hotel,food,transport,etc) is taken care of." I said "Let me make some calls, I wanna do the gig I just gotta let people know that they need to find a drummer to fill in for me"

SO this is when the chaos begins, I get in touch with the music director (Lets call him Sean) I'm getting all kinds of unsure responses if I would get to go on this tour or not and I was just pacing back and forth freaking out hoping I would get the gig because I've been struggling since I refused to take another cruise ship contract because I refuse to do another medical exam (a different subject within itself)

Once I got the green light I start packing, making call backs letting the clients know I confirmed a tour and let them know to start looking for musicians to fill in for me for the gigs I had lined up so I can do the tour, in that time I get a visa to perform in turkey and then I get my flight info.

All I pack is a suitcase of clothes, my bookbag and cymbal bag because I didn't get to choose the backline kit and all that was supplied to me was a Tama Starclassic kit, I can work with the kit but if I don't know what cymbals I have that could mean I would have to adjust my technique completely to those cymbals so I don't damage them or myself.

My suitcase is my checked bag my bookbag and cymbal bag are my carry ons.

----

June 29th 3am my dad drives me to the airport, I board my first plane to Toronto at 6am arrive in Toronto at like 7:38am First thing I did was to look for food but Tim Hortons was packed so I couldn't go there so I got a breakfast burrito instead...IT WAS SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE after that I buy a Toronto magnet...I'm in Toronto from 7:38am to 6:30pm then theres a slight delay and I leave Toronto at 6:45

---

June 30th

I arrive to Amsterdam at 7:55am

I've never been to Amsterdam and I'm impressed with how quick this airport is the first thing I do is buy a magnet then I get to my gate and wait for the boarding call

Then this is where stuff gets shitty,When it's near boarding time, I go to check in and get my boarding pass the ladies at the gate desk there asked me if I had any baggage, I said "Yes" they check their system and they said they don't see my bag. They asked where I came from I said "Toronto" and there was a bunch of confusion so they had me describe my bag and luckily my bag had a red swiss gear name tag on it so it was easy to identify

I was so stupid, I was rushing so much that I didn't know I had to recheck my suitcase of clothes because I WASN'T NOTIFIED so the ladies that worked at the gate and printed the boarding passes said they would let KLM know that my baggage is missing.

SO NOW I'm gonna arrive into Turkey with NO FUCKING CLOTHES except for what I'm wearing on my back and on top of that I'm broke as a joke, so broke that I can only afford to pay my bills for the month but I thought everything would be okay once I got paid my agreed weekly amount. Boy was I wrong

KEEP IN MIND all of this is going on WHILE I'm learning a 90 minute show

I try not to let a suitcase get me down, all I could think of is making sure my first REAL tour and show goes well to the point that the people on this tour keep me on.

10:20am I leave Amsterdam and then arrive into Antalya, Turkey at 3:05pm I HAVE NOT FULLY SLEPT since the 28th the first person I meet is the "Promoter" Ayhan the reason why I put Ayhan's name in quotes is because...well you'll find out within this essay of a journal.

He asks the typical questions "How was your flight, have you been to turkey before,etc." there was a slight language barrier but we conversed quite fine.

We head straight to the Venue...didn't know it was a Outdoor venue but it looked like it sat a few thousand people, soundcheck is at 4:30pm and everyone is there watching me...then after I finish my first song the Frontman (Lets name him Wes) is floored and blown away...like damn near tears.

So this makes me happy, the frontman takes me to his dressing room and asks me what my schedule is like for the rest of the year, I explain to him I have to play 2 shows in Berlin (Eurofurence) and record for a week in Nashville.

He's like "Oh man...I wanted you on the next leg of the tour but I understand that you have other obligations" Imagine how I feel now lol

SHOW TIME

There are some bumps but no one in the crowd notices and everyone yet again is still floored I learn the show in 1.5 days, the music director and dancers told me the old drummer had 3 months to learn the show and he couldn't play it and then I come in and play the show damn near perfection.

I was NOT used to all of this attention.

We get on the bus to the hotel, and it was a fun ride to the hotel.
----

July 1st

I get emailed my contract and I go over it and everything seems to be in order, plus Wes bumps my pay up a extra $100 so I get paid $1200 a week instead of $1100...cool I ain't complaining

Keep in mind though if you think this is a lot for a tour...it really isn't...I have friends who are playing with MAJOR household name artists and getting paid minimum $5000 a show if not more.

But for me it being my FIRST official tour...no promotional tour BS this is a good way to start imo.

I head to the mall with Sean and bought some shirts...

I get asked if I wanted to go to a club and hang out with everyone...I was tempted then I asked "how long will yall be out?" I was told "4am" I said "Oh Nah...I'm good I need to get more sleep plus I can't afford to go anyways lol"

They completely understood
----

July 2nd

I get told theres a meeting later in the hotel lobby during the afternoon I head down and Sean says "Oh don't worry about coming you just got here, Wes is going to fill you in on everything later.




----

July 3rd

I get a email from Wes saying this:

"Hope all is well Brother and your settling in, I want to run a few things by you,

We will only be doing one show per week for the next three weeks, I will pay you $900 per week for the one show, I will also talk with Ayhan about a better per diem situation as well.

I want to meet with you later today or tomorrow to discuss the future with me, I understand you have some other commitments but I’m sure we can work something out, you need to think about your long term future and not short term projects, your on to much bigger and better things in your life now and opportunity like this does not come around often, we’ll talk about all of this when I see you.

Thanks again for being here Brother and let me know if you need anything."

Now am I disappointed with the pay cut? Yes but am I mad? No...why because it's still more than what I would make at home or on a ship...however there was a alarm going off in my head on why the pay cut was happening.

I responded with this:

"Hello Wes, First of all thank you for having me on board your turkish run of the tour, it’s a huge honor.

So for the show I just did I will be paid $900? That’s fine but after that I’ll be paid the agreed 1200 as per the contract? [Yes he bumped me up $100 yall]

Thank you so much for the per diem as I am financially in the red right now it would help a lot.

As far as the future, after my gig in Berlin and album recording in Nashville’s Oceanway studios I will be in the clear and I’m 100% on board to stay on board if that’s okay.

Also I got your second email about the live streams. Firstly I do apologize for going into detail, I’ll make sure I’ll be more careful about what I discuss on there when it concerns The tour.

Also quick question before I close, did you happen to capture any video footage of me performing in the soundcheck? If so I would love to have a copy for my personal files and if it’s okay with you I would like to post a snippet onto social media.

Again thanks for letting me be a part of this!

Cheers!"

I get notified my bag was found in Amsterdam so I head to the airport with The PRomoter's assistant to fill out a claim for my bag so the bag can get to Antalya

----

July 4th

I discussed how much I want to stay on the tour and then I talk to  peppercoyote to discuss things to let him know I'm gonna take the tour and he completely understood and was supportive of my choice.

So I let Wes know I'm completely committed to the tour...

----

July 5th[b/]

I get a email saying this:

"Hello everyone,

Due to circumstances beyond my control the show has been canceled, because of the Billy (the old drummer) situation and having to make that money back and spend more money they decided to cancel the whole thing because they've already are in the red,

Im waiting now to talk with Ayhan about how we will settle all of this, my apologies but i hope you all can now understand why i need you on your best behavior at all times, Billy really did me in with this and his actions of just leaving like, it also caused huge problems with the hotel because he left without paying his bill.


I will contact you all as soon a si know whats going on, again my apologies for this.

Wes"

The first thing I do is message Sean saying: "So are the rest of the shows cancelled or just tonight?"

He says "I think it's the whole thing, waiting on word of a meeting to work out logistics. I've never been in this situation in a foreign country before. This sucks for everyone, waiting to hear"

All I responded with was "Wow..."

Why? Because I haven't gotten paid yet...I'm literally too afraid to check my bank account because I'm beyond the red at this point. (Cue song by Louis Cole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAH4zGd_W1s)

I ask Sean about Australia and he says "Australia is already booked, DIFFERENT AGENT ALL TOGETHER, Nothing changes with Oz and New Zealand, just trying to wrap my head around eveything else. The main guy (the investor) is a Millionaire and they told us the other night, and not to worry, and now this."

I said "The fact this happened, made me look stupid, like I was really starting to push this tour" Sean responded "You're not the only one, Australia can't come quick enough"

Then he adds "Wes must be devastated, can't be believe a drummer couldn't learn 16 pop songs, seriously you can read my last contact with him,I asked him to write up charts so he can get through the show, I was very nice about it too, he came into that show played it worse than ever, then he runs away!"

This is where my anger begins to build "I would call all your contacts and make sure billy doesn't get a gig again, because of him my bank account is overdrafted, I really needed the money PLUS I lost my luggage"

He says "I'm not that type of guy to bad mouth even him, karma will do it's work"

I said "Same my name rhymes with petty though...Billy being bitch and giving no warning threw everything out of whack...I'm kinda in my feelings right now I'm sorry"

ALSO TO ADD what I was told about this drummer is he was the original music director on this tour, he got all the musicians together on this tour because he knew them. The KEYBOARDIST even told Billy "If you're gonna leave give us a week to find someone else"

Also Sean tells me he's in debt and has $170 to his name...now that I look back at it, that shouldve been a flag...Then we discussed lawsuit potentials

----

[b]July 6th

No luggage yet but I get told by the promoter he has my stuff (cymbal bag and kick drum pedal) but there was 1 thing missing...my ipad clamp (iklip xpand for the ipad mini http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/iklipxpand/ )

however I was told my luggage did arrive into turkey so The promoter hired a taxi driver to take me to the airport and to go inside the airport to translate the situation...you guys had no clue on how uncomfortable I was with this...but the taxi driver was nice at least...drove like a MUHFUKIN G!!!

Anywho I get my luggage then I check my bank account, I'm overdrawn by $316....around that same time a friend of mine calls me to check in on me...I explain what happened and he sent me some money to just get food and things I need.

Then I get a message from Sean saying "10pm meeting with the promoter"

The promoter pretty much pointed his fingers at Wes...saying it was his fault for not bringing enough people to the show...he paid Wes a deposit to pay US....

Lets pause there,typically a deposit is for props,clothes,renting instruments and other things...anywho lets continue

...I recorded the entire conversation...the keyboardist and bassist was on the side of the promoter and then I also found out no one got paid since the Turkish run of the tour started...my jaw hit the floor and I got angry and sick to my stomach.

AND THEN I said "Look, I just got here, and I'm still trying to process everything right now but SOMEONE IS LYING and I DON'T FUCKING LIKE IT"

thats all I can remember but it was a doozy of a night.


----

July 7th

I'm just still in disbelief with what just happened

I get flown out to Turkey,loos my luggage, learn a entire show in less than 2 days, Play the show as soon as I land into turkey, then I get a pay cut but don't get paid, then theres meetings, then nothing then the tour is cancelled, then I'm overdrawn by over $300...

Theres a meeting later in the evening and more drama ensues, the promoter tells us that the promoter wants us out of the hotel but doesn't say when and Wes wants the investor to rebook everyone's flights home, and book me a flight to where I want to go then they also negotiate to find a hotel to stay at...while flying home the first few cast members home

I'm SO embarrassed and ashamed to go home that I talk to 2 friends, one of them lives in London the other lives in Spain...I told the promoter I'll let him know which one of my friends will let me crash with them.

I get the okay to crash with my friend in Spain so yeah...

Also the keyboardist and bassist came out and complained to me more because they felt horrible on how I was dragged into this situation, and the keyboardist talked about how unprofessional Wes is and things like that...Wes got word and fired the keyboardist...The bassist quit

Also found out Wes worked out a deal to make sure the promoter pays the Keyboardist? Yeah that kinda rubbed me the wrong way but so much was going on that I was just numb at that time....

July 8th

We find out we have to leave the hotel, luckilly since I JUST got my luggage I didn't really unpack so I'm already ready to go. I go to check out and say I only used the mini bar because I was broke coming in on this tour and couldn't afford room service...once I explained that the promoter paid for my tab of 7 lira which is about $1 USD.

However one of the dancers that left didn't pay his room tab...and it was over 350 lira or $73 USD...things got so heated on who should pay that the promoter threatened to call the police on Sean and Wes...


While all of this is happening, the reality of this tour blowing up in my face starts to hit me...REALLY hard

https://twitter.com/teddywynton/sta.....516063232?s=21 <----This thread explains how I felt..

We get to the new hotel, it's a family based hotel and the room is horrible. 3 people in 1 room...luckilly we had 3 twin sized beds...

But there was no room for our luggage...it was just bullshit...the room would've been nice if we all had our own rooms but yeah...

then we meet up with Wes just to hang out...so Wes and I noticed one thing when we got lunch at his hotel...almost every hotel in Antalya is a "ALL INCLUSIVE HOTEL" which means Food, drink,pools,shopping and entertainment is provided by the hotel, meaning YOU DON'T HAVE ANY REASON TO LEAVE THE HOTEL.

Which lead me to believe the promoter DID NOT KNOW what he was doing, what we could have done was toured different "All inclusive" hotels in Turkey instead of having 1 dedicated venue.

---

July 9th

The search of new musicians began...then I get my flight info

---

July 10th

we all go to the airport at midnight and arrive at 1am

My flight was quick but Wes,Prince (a dancer) and Sean's flights were from Turkey then a 24 hour layover in Frankfurt and then a flight to Vegas (thats where they're from) Wes WAS FUMING because the flights were booked so shitty...

I however arrived to spain in one piece but I'm broke AS FUCK now.

It was a fucking nightmare...A FUCKING NIGHTMARE...

----

So since this happened I made a Ko-fi Page to help me stay afloat until the Australian leg of this tour begins in late August

https://ko-fi.com/W7W3GJ6D

----

TL;DR

-Got offered a tour in Turkey on June 28th
-Had less than 2 days to learn a 90 minute show
-First show on June 30th went flawless
-Was offered to play drums for the rest of the tour
-Paycut on July 3rd
-Bowed out of the rest of my gigs on July 4th
-Entire tour got cancelled on July 5th
-July 6th Had a meeting with the promoter, he explained his view of what happened, drama
-July 7th Wes explains his side of what happened,figure out logistics of getting out of Turkey
-July 8th we get kicked out of the hotel,fire the keyboardist and the bassist quits, get put into a shitty family hotel...3 people in 1 room
-July 9th We get flight info to head home or in my case, to spain.
-July 10th Arrived to Girona, Spain
-I made a Ko-fi page to help recover my overdrafted bank account http://ko-fi.com/tedwynton


----

I think thats most of it

Now if you guys want to help please donate to my Ko-fi so my bank account doesn't get closed ;3;

http://ko-fi.com/tedwynton

If you want to support what I do please do stick around as I might need help with other things as well but it might not be super active as I kinda have pride issues...lolsmh

So earlier this morning I got a phone call from a drum friend of mine that asked me if I could fly out tomorrow to play a Michael Jackson tribute show out in turkey...and everything would be taken care of.

I accepted the gig...sadly I won't be at AC with  foxamoore and  peppercoyote but I'll be at Eurofurence with them at the end of august!

So tomorrow until August 14th I'll be in Turkey. I'll fill everyone in once I Get there but as of right now I have a 90 minute show to learn.

So as you guys know on January 13th I made it back home to Baltimore from my 4th ship contract, my family picks me up from the airport and when we get near the house my mom asks me if I want to head out to order a Pizza.

Since I haven't had REAL food in months I couldn't say no so we head to the pizza spot. My dad stays in the truck and my mom and I enter the pizza spot and she drops a bomb on me...

She pretty much says "You know your father said something that really hurt me recently" she tells me how she wanted to bring my dad to a church service (she's been doing this for years and he's only came a hand full of times in my life) and my dad supposedly responded with "I rather have sex with you than go to church" which hurt my mom to the core and what hurt her more was my dad tried to catch himself to make it seem like it was a joke by saying "I meant make love". To her that was like getting stabbed in the heart and then turning the knife in the fresh wound.

When my mom said that she mentioned how she's been thinking about leaving my dad and she's already talking to another guy.

Before you bring up how religion blinds people and stuff like that...Let me add this was the final straw for her, there were other things that my dad did and say to my mom that scarred her (and quite frankly me as well) prior to this so bad to the point I changed my name from Eddie to Teddy IRL…because I become ashamed of my father’s childish responses and the fact I’m named after him…

When she says all of this I say “You two need to seek professional help, and communicate these issues you two clearly aren’t talking about”

She said “You know your father won’t take part in that” and she’s right “He refused to go to marriage counsiling when we first got married what makes you think he’ll see a therapist with us?”

Now KEEP IN MIND I literally just got home from working on a ship for 4 months straight…and I get hit with this…The feelings I had was and still is indescribable.

---

Now thats just part one…Skip forward to tonight...

My mom and I head to a Wal-mart because I needed to buy more body wash and shampoo and I bring up on how the shower has black mold and we need to find a way to get rid of it because it affects our health and the health of our pets (since they like to chill near the bathroom due to it being one of the warmest parts of the house)

Suddenly my mom says “Well, you should bring that up with your father but it’s clear he doesn’t care” I said “I did bring it up” and it just went into a tangent of “If your father cared he would’ve upkeep the house”

I bought what I needed and we left but she kept on venting about dad…

Whole time I know if I said what I really wanted to say she wouldn’t want to hear it…Y’know like how my mom has hoarder tendencies…she doesn’t help clean the house either because she can seem to get rid of shit she doesn’t even think of until she sees it…

Prime example was one time we were trying to clear the basement and she came across a alarm clock that still worked and she was like “This is nice I could still use this” and I was like “Mom why would you want to use this if you have a alarm clock on your phone”

We went back and forth over a fucking alarm clock…then she got mad and stormed up the stairs…

Any who my mom doesn’t realize it’s both of their faults but I just can’t bring that up because I know somehow she’ll feel I’m blaming her…then she’ll jump to various excuses and conclusions.

Then she brings up the guy she’s also now seeing…KEEP IN MIND I’m the few people that knows about this…My siblings don’t even know.

And she’s justifying this because her entire life she’s never felt happy…she’s never felt appreciated by my dad

All my siblings and I are adults now but something told me it would end up like this because my dad came into the relationship thinking this would be a favor…which turned into a relationship once they found out I was on the way they got married.

THERE WAS NO TRUE LOVE...

It was all because of my punk ass uncle (My dad’s younger brother) too

Basically the reason why shit is like this is because when my mom was in her late teens she was dating my uncle…My mom and uncle had my Older brother (yes he’s my half brother) my mom was 19 years old.

When my brother turns a year old…my uncle LEAVES MY MOM..so my mom is a single mother and my dad finds out…My dad comes into my mom’s life to take care of the mess my uncle left and becomes my brother’s father.

My uncle leaves to have 2 more kids by another woman

My mom and my dad begin dating…they get married in a courthouse in October of 1990…in March of 1991 they have me (So technically I’m their first born)

In 1996 my sister is born…

My uncle is the reason why my grandmother died too but thats a different conversation.

Any who yeah…these past few months have been a rumbling volcano thats ready to erupt at anytime.

My mom is just done with my father now which is fucked up
---
TL;DR

My mom talks about leaving my dad over something he said that caused her to snap due to being emotionally abused by him for years.

My mom tells me she’s seeing someone else now (Nothing sexual supposedly but cheating is cheating)

I’m the only one that knows

My mom fears that my dad won’t want to see a family therapist

My family is hella dysfunctional.

I just don’t know how to feel.

this fucking hurts…

Well I just finished my 3rd full ship contract....leaving the band I was assigned to was pretty emotional actually because it was all of our best contracts. On top of that the way the guests throughout the contract commented us through surveys and physical interaction...this won't be the last contract with this line up of musicians and also being rated #1 in the entire fleet says a lot too.


So whats the plan now? No More contracts...NO don't get me wrong I'm not done with ships I'm done with these long ass contracts.

I did one 7 month contract and I was beyond burnt out...I didn't touch my drums for over a month when I got home and the company is NOW trying to push 7 and 8 month contracts...like WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK...I'll explain why later why thats too much because most of you guys are probably thinking "But you don't have to pay room and board, and you see the world and all you do is play music every day"

This job is a VERY mentally demanding job...but again like I said, I'll explain in another journal.

So WITH THAT SAID, I'll be ON CALL to fill in for drummers who get sick, need to go shoreside or get fired. So that means I'll get flown out to a specific ship for either ONE cruise (Ranging between 3 days to 8 days) or for a max of a month.

I just wanna get my presence known back here in town since I'm home and catch up with other musicians.

It's funny you're appreciated more when you're gone and you reappear because the same people who overlook me are now noticing me...it's weird...lol

Any who I gotta unpack...Ciao for now!

So yes as you guys know I am working on another ship...simply because the company actually took the time to hear out my frustrations after i did amazingly well on a fill in contract on their current flagship.

So they gave me a little raise which causes me to break even after my agent and taxes gets a cut, and the band I'm currently with is incredible AND the contract is 4 months instead of 6 or 7 months.

I should be back home in January just in time for NAMM, (maybe) FWA, MCFC and BLFC and AC if I can afford it.


The downfall is I'm playing on electronic drums for 4-5 hours for 5 nights a week on 6 day cruises or 7 nights a week on 8 day cruises as this ship does 6 and 8 day cruises....and due to that I'm showing signs of carpal tunnel so as soon as I get home I HAVE to get my hands checked.

First of all the Important stuff

A artist needs help!!!!  lost-paw Needs help

Lost paw might loose their house if things hit the fan...It's pretty serious

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8347925/

----

Now the not so important stuff


So basically last week I filled in for another drummer on the Carnival Vista because the company called him him to do a expo on land.

I did so well on the ship with the band and the production show cast that they didn't want me to leave and word got to the higher ups so during the cruise I was offered the Vista as my next ship.

Folks this is kinda a big deal because it's Carnival's newest ship at the moment. I was in a pinch because of the offer because I agreed to perform at Eurofurence with  foxamoore so knowing this the ball was in my court...So I told my agent "I won't accept the contract unless they have someone to fill in for me 1 week of rehearsals so I can attend my gig in Germany"

Carnival wanted me so bad they found a fill in for the week.

So I accepted the contract and when I got my contract in my email, I got a hefty raise because of the high reviews and also because it was so short notice.

You guys on twitter are probably guessing "But weren't you tired of ships?" I was in a dark spot on that last contract...SO MUCH BULLSHIT in a span of 7 months...which proves all it takes is people to ruin the contract.

ANYWHO I'm in rehearsals now and I know so many people on this contract so I know it's gonna run well and it's 4 MONTHS!!!!

To be honest it was more work than fun for me but it was good seeing all my friends like  thunper  toraie  foxamoore  peppercoyote  cosmik  rhubarbthebear and others I haven't seen in years and being able to perform there again...it was work for me because I haven't had a chance to sit down behind my drums and learn the show material fully I only had days to listen to it. HOWEVER the debut Dreamcatcher show with Fox Amoore went flawlessly, even though I rushed the fuck out of some of the songs (due to being on stress and a can of monster energy) it went better than I expected for the fact we didn't rehearse.

However...as a performer I do have some complaints...it seems AC seems to be out of touch with musicians who do music professionally.

I say this because there was nothing set in stone as far as details are concerned, for example there was nowhere to rehearse for either of the 2 shows I performed in and there were no agreed time for soundcheck prior to the con or performance. It was all kinda like "We'll find out once we get there". It was very last minute.

For those who know me I HATE THAT SHIT...I'm all for going with the flow but let there be some kind of PLAN estimating the schedule. I mean ITS ANTHROCON! A con this size shouldn't be this disorganized.

Which brings up another point, I performed in 2 shows...FOR FREE...Yes backline was provided but I'm sure if I didn't bring up "I need backline" I'm sure I would be expected to bring my own kit from Maryland to Pittsburgh which is a NO NO for me (even if I had my own car)...unless y'know I'm getting paid. But in this case I'm technically paying to play at Anthrocon.

Do I expect AC to pay me? It would be nice but Nah because I know they stand for helping a lot of people.....but I know AC is the largest furcon in the US so I know they have the budget meeting performers halfway at least.


For those who don't understand, I am a freelance musician also known as a hired gun. Like artists here on FA,DA,Pixiv,etc. I get commissioned by artists and or music directors to perform or record music at a agreed fee, If I can't get money out of it, there has to be some kind of even trade for my services.

GRANTED yes I'm sure furs would love to perform at Anthrocon, which is understandable it's the biggest fur con in the US and the exposure would be great. HOWEVER for me I am a MUSICIAN FIRST, a WORKING MUSICIAN at that and also you can die from exposure. If I were a hobbyist I would LOVE the opportunity but I am beyond that at this point. You're probably wondering "Why don't you record your own music?" or "Why don't you form a band?"

1. I can compose but Freelance work is how I get paid.
2. I don't play in bands (unless they hire me) nor do I have the time to play free gigs again, I've paid my dues.
3. You can hear my recordings in my Gallery.

ANYWAYS during reg I did ask if there was some kind of comp deal since I'm playing 2 shows, of course the answer was no but I just wanted to make sure since I already paid for my hotel and prepared for this show I was just making sure if the heads of AC would be kind enough to make some kind of exception.

NOW don't get it twisted I LOVE performing at AC but there should be some even trade at least.

ALSO it was a pain to get in and out of the performance spaces...I don't have nowhere the recognition of  foxamoore or  peppercoyote but there should be a "Performer" banner on performer's badges to let doorsai know that they can access the mainstage or blocked out areas at any time. You know...a All access pass...


Also the payment method for the Artists alley was HORRIBLE this year...I've never seen a line that long EVER...It took me a hour to pay for the stuff I got...My suggestion is for AC to invest in some iPad POS systems like the Apple store or Nordstrom rack has where you can pay for things right on the spot if you have a debit card.



Suggestions-

Now in a perfect world it would be awesome for a con to help give discounted rooms or pay for rooms for staff or performers while everyone still pays for reg at regular price, and then also there should be auditions for furs who want to perform, maybe hold video auditions for the next Anthrocon after a Anthrocon is completed for a certain amount of time

For example AC2017 ended July 3rd the following month Video submissions,demos and electronic press kits can be submitted and the window will close in December 2017 or January 2018.

Then have 3 headlining acts like  foxamoore  peppercoyote  hali for the con

---

TL;DR

-Went to AC saw bunch of friends like  Thunper  toraie  foxamoore  peppercoyote  cosmik  rhubarbthebear

-Show went Flawless for the fact of having NO rehearsals

-Complaints about AC: Out of touch with Professional Musicians, No communication on details,UNACCEPTABLE FOR THE LARGEST CON IN THE USA.

-I'm not always about money but meet me half way/ Comp reg or help with hotel at least since I'm performing

-I'm a Musician first...Fur second...I do music for a living exposure doesn't mean anything.

-Suggestions: Open up video submissions,demos,EPKs from August 2017-January 2018

I'll be at AC all weekend!!! I'll be performing most of the musical performances with  foxamoore  peppercoyote  rhubarbthebear,  cosmik and others :)

I look forward to seeing a lot of you again!

I do not reply to notes that just says "Hi"

Yes it's dickish to say but if you have something you want to talk about please let it be known within the note!

that is all :)

THE 7 MONTH CONTRACT IS FINALLY DONE!

Will I do another ship? Not for a while...too much bullshit to explain though I'm just glad I made it through


Anywho I'll be in Florida until May 11th hanging out with my older brother and newborn niece :)

Yup another year of life and I'll be in Grand Turk to celebrate it.

Art, music , etc is always welcomed as a gift :3c


1 more month and I'll be home!

Imma be 26 yall!!!


I'm getting closer and closer to 30 years old ;3; BAH!!!! But yisss I'll gladly accept any kind of gift that you can think of OuO

Passed the halfway mark...I'm beyond mentally and emotionally tired....TBH I'm quite done with working on ships for a while....7 months for a ship contract is WAY too long...
Anywho I'll be back home May 11th and that date can't come any sooner.

HEY HEY YA'LL I'm back on my job working on a cruise ship again...in that time off prior I spent time with some friends but now I'm rehearsing for a 7 month contract aboard the Carnival Magic in Cape Canaveral,Florida

but first I'm rehearsing with a new band for the ship in CoConut Creek,FL for the month of october so I'll be able to hang out anytime on Saturday or Monday-Friday after 5:30 if any of you South Florida Furs wanna hang out :) Just note me :D

So sept 4th I finished my first cruise ship contract so as a reward to myself I'm spending some time in Mexico.

If there are any furs in Mexico that want to hang out NOTE MEH!

Time is flying but yeah as you guys already know I'm a musician on a cruise ship now!

So far I've gone through a month of working 6 days a week playing hour shows of 90's,80's, Variety and Motown music.

The band is actually good and the music director is chill and is a pro beat boxer which is dope...I wish I could type more but I don't have much time.

I should start keeping journals of my daily experiences on my phone.....lol I'm such a failure.....


Anywho if there are any furs in Long Beach, Catalina Island or Ensenada,Mexico that want to hang out for a few hours or planing to cruise on the Carnival Imagination....PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

It gets lonely y'know D:

Guess what guys I'm back!

Finally got my account back but do feel free to visit my other page  tedwynton

ANYWHO as you guys know I am now working as a musician as a cruise ship and for the past 3 weeks I've been rehearsing in south florida to learn over 120+ songs From Motown to Now.

Tomorrow I'll be flown out to Los Angeles to board my ship in Long Beach,California on 6/16.

just wanted to give you guys a quick update is all...Sorry I can't go that much into detail but when I land I'll fill you in on everything :)

Anywho if you wanna catch up with my whole Cruise ship job fiasco Check these links

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7248813/

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7348674/

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7401881/

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7425622/

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7449109/

So I landed my first "Big profile gig" to be a sideman for Singer/Actress, Melba Moore for the weekend (May 13-15).

The pay wasn't "Big profile" but the amount I was getting paid nightly added up so at the end of the weekend I wasn't complaining plus Melba's name would be great to add to my "Sideman Discography"

At first I didn't know who she was but I knew about Blues Alley. So I mentioned the gig to my parents and they didn't believe me so they told me to repeat myself. They freaked out and then told me to google her.

So I did

Heres some info on Melba,

"In 1975 Moore signed with Buddah Records and released the critically successful R&B album, Peach Melba, which included the minor hit, "I Am His Lady". The following year she scored her first significant hit with the Van McCoy-penned "This Is It", which reached the Billboard Hot 100, the top-20 position on the R&B chart, and top-10 in the UK, becoming her biggest success in that country. 'This is It' also became the number 1 disco track in the UK for that year. It would be 18 years later that Australian singer Dannii Minogue will cover this song and make it to number 10 on the ARIA charts. In 1976 she scored her third Grammy nomination with the R&B ballad "Lean on Me", which had been recorded originally by Vivian Reed and later by Moore's idol Aretha Franklin who recorded the song as a B-side to her 1971 hit "Spanish Harlem". The song is most notable for Moore's extended long note at the end. In 1983 she re-recorded the song as a tribute to McCoy, who had died four years earlier. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Moore struggled to match the success of "This Is It" with minor R&B/dance hits, gaining another hit with 1979's "You Stepped Into My Life", which was released on Epic Records and hit the top 20 on the R&B charts."

She also did work on "All Dogs go to heaven", " Les Misérables", The fighting Temptations with Beyoncé and you can hear more of her story on TV One's "unsung".

Now heres the challenges.

The commute, but I got that figured out but when I was asked to play the show, the show was a week away and the rehearsal was a day BEFORE the show. So I REALLY had to buckle down and learn these tunes

We get to the rehearsal and I met melba and she was very very sweet yet she KNEW what she wanted and if something wasn't right she would let you know.

She was stressed that we weren't gonna make her sound good but Cmon now you have new musicians a week before a show to learn 9 songs 1 of which is a Medley but it all worked out but we could tell she was still worried.

Come show time she was blown away on how we sounded in the venue and how much bigger we sounded and everyone in the audience kept on stopping us and telling us (the band) how great we made Melba sound and was shocked that it was our first times playing together as a unit.

Hopefully Melba will be in touch with me and will ask me to perform with her in Europe or something.

oh yeah thats a thing....She liked my personality and skill so much she would compliment me on my dimples and how she would want to pinch them...made me blush on stage and stuff...right before a drum solo too lol.

Expect video tomorrow!

As you heard on the news today Prince has passed away...

Now I know FA isn't big on genres of music such as Funk,Soul and R&B but Prince was the sound of MIDWEST funk but he mixed it all with R&B,Rock and Soul....dude was also a musician's musician. He could play any instrument he laid his hands on and even play better than the musicians he hired to back him and DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED on his role as a Producer and Engineer. I could go for days about his sound template.....And to have him gone REALLY hurts....

How is his music connected to me? Prince's music was a part of my life soundtrack, from His Controversy LP to Purple Rain to 1999 to Graffiti bridge and his projects with artists he mentored or took care of like Vanity 6 or Morris Day and the Time to the unreleased works and bootlegs going around the world his music was CONSTANTLY in my house as a child.

My mom always told me "I would love to see you play for Prince" I told her "I would be scared shitless to play for him" because he was such a perfectionist and KNEW what he wanted out of his musicians he was like the James Brown of my era.

Also I respected him on the business side of the music world especially as a young black musician...yeah Music knows no race but when BUSINESS gets involved IT GETS RACIST AS FUCK...and Prince knew that and GAVE NOE FUCKS...HE KNEW WHAT HE WANTED TO DO AND HOW HE WANTED TO DO IT....thus making him a trend setter...He KNEW HIS WORTH as a artist and took NO SHIT from labels that tried to control him or manipulate him...he changed WHEN HE FELT LIKE IT because he knew if he dug what he was doing that was ALL that matters and his fans mostly dug what he was doing.


I won't go into how much I feel this is a conspiracy but this dude was one of my biggest heroes.

I could keep going but I think I'll stop here....but yeah...Respect to Prince

If there are any NYC furs I'll be performing in MANHATTAN,NYC with a band called "Joe Keyes and the Late Bloomer band"

The band includes

Keys
Bass
a full horn section (4-6 horn players)
2 guitarists
and yours truly on drums

It's gonna be a HUGE band

http://www.bandsintown.com/event/11.....d+The+Late+Bloomer+Band&came_from=193 <---- Heres info on the gig

I'm stressed only had 1 rehearsal, cramming songs now and then 2 videography gigs on Thursday and Friday and then driving up to NYC on Saturday morning.

But hey if I can do a gig where I have to learn 30+ songs in one day I can do this right?

I'm definitely looking forward to the gig. Its not paying much because the band is FUCKING HUGE but the music is definitely fun to play and DRUMS AND TRANSPORTATION is being supplied!

20k!

I dun belieeb it! Few days before my birthday too!

I'm gonna ghost the con, explore Atlanta a bit since I do plan on moving there.

NOTE ME PLS!

TL;DR

-Got a email with a new cruise ship offer
-I leave in May
-Same amount of money involved
-3 month tour though :/
-Just slightly relieved
-I text my mentor who recommended me for the gig the news
-My mentor is happy and he says “I think if you didn’t DM the cruise line none of this would happened”
-MY BIRTHDAY IS COMING ON THE 30TH!

---

During all this time I'm contacting my mentors one of them said "You just gotta do what you gotta do and maybe move on" one says "Well what do you plan to do" and the other says "At this point you might as well sue" and another who's a lawyer says "You're fine,just keep your chill don't say anything on social networks and you'll be fine'

I was already on the right path of deactivating my Facebook for a few days because I woke up seething in anger and when that happens bad things happens...so I didn't want to say anything that might affect my future employment with the cruise line by spilling the beans/venting my frustrations like I did on here.

So on March 14th my phone vibrates with a email from my agent emails me saying

"It looks like I'm going to have an offer for you. Ill be able to give you dates and details tomorrow."

at this point all kinds of thoughts are going through my brain like "Oh shit...hopefully its the same amount of money and theres no bullshit attached to it"

The next day (The 15th) my phone rings again with another email from my agent with the offer

"SHIP: xxxxxxx
POSITION: Drums
MONTHLY SALARY: xxxx.xx
REHEARSALS START: 5/27/16
REHEARSALS END: 6/15/16
SIGN ON: 6/16/16
SIGN OFF: 9/4/16"

I sent a email replying with my acceptance. His reply is "Great. Same ship as before. I will have your official confirmation letter by the end of the week. This time you are 100% good to go."

FUCKING YES!

Then the NEXT Day I get a PDF file straight from Carnival

Saying "Dear Edward (thats my real name),

We would like to WELCOME you to the Entertainment Team at ___ Cruise Lines! We are excited to have you be a part of the FAMILY.
We would like to offer you the below position within our Music Department. If you wish to accept the position please confirm via email within 24 hours."

Heres the cool thing since the cruise line FUCKED UP (Details here http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7425622/ ) I was technically already hired so everything was already done. So all I had to do is keep this PDF file for my records.

With all of that I contacted my mentor who recommended me to the Agency connected to the cruise line and he said “I’m so happy for you man, and to be honest I feel if you didn’t made the moves you made especially with contacting the Cruise line yourself, I don’t think you’ve gotten any results. With you doing what you did and the Cruise line sending the screen shots to the higher ups and you handling the messages so well, they might’ve thought ‘Oh he really wanted to be on this ship, we have to fix this’ who knows,man”

He’s right though and I felt the same way, because I wasn’t the only one who got screwed over but I voiced my concern and even though my agent advised against it I GAVE NO FUCKS….when you FUCK with my money I will do whatever I can to get results…just this time I handled it with the “Kill them with Kindness” and “I was really looking forward to this” route.

All in All I'm slightly relieved because I'll be making money again but I won't be making nearly as much as planned, and I still don’t know what the rehearsals will be like and also once I'm off the ship I might have to go back to working....retail *cringes*

So yeah everything is looking up so far...sure I'll be touring the seas of the west coast for 3 months instead of 6 but hey I'm making decent money finally.

ALSO about FWA....I don't think It'll be happening unless a miracle happens...I would LOVE to go but I don't think I would have the funds unless I get like a SHIT TON of birthday money or something. Yes my birthday is a Day before FWA (March 30th) I'll be turning 25!

I'll be a quarter century old! LAWD!!!!

Any who if you guys want to donate anything note me and I’ll shoot you my paypal infoooo!