a home for info on the world's smallest music project
I had created a twitter account for True Red, despite twitter falling out of favor in recent months with most reasonable people. After I post this, I'm going to set my personal account to delete. Elon has been gross for a while now, but he's just become irredeemable.
For now, I think I'll just abandon the True Red twitter. Maybe leave a link referring travelers to here or Linktree or the Bluesky account.
I'm glad you asked. Yeah, I used to play in this band and that band around my area. Played some solo gigs and recorded and released a lot of solo project stuff in years past that has all been taken down. But the above album will mark my return to releasing recorded music and will be the first release under the moniker True Red.
It is the Ramones debut album covered start to finish. I wanted to do it for the album's 40th anniversary back in 2016, so around the time I got the idea in 2014, things were getting hectic for me. It didn't pan out. Things are good again and I said I have got to make it happen for the album's 50th anniversary in 2026. So that's what I'm working on. "True Red - 'Tomorrow the World'". It will be available on all of the major streaming services in early 2026 and will be on Bandcamp with the option to purchase. I thought about a short run of compact discs, but I don't think that is necessary at this point in the game, so we'll see.
Who releases a cover album as their musical debut? True Red. Me. I don't care. The Ramones changed my life, and I am having fun honoring their legacy. I look forward to sharing my efforts in the not-so-distant future!
(...and what year is it?!? Creating a Blogger account in 2024?!?)
Yeah, I'm a solo musician. An amateur. A hobbyist. Took ten years off for reasons that are unimportant. Life happened, basically. I never stopped missing it -- never stopped thinking about it. Things just got hectic. But I'm back at it. Still self-produced, but I've slowed down and listened and learned a few tweaks here and there to get a little more of a cohesive sound.
But this website? When I was looking for a home base/one-stop for True Red online, I came up short for free/inexpensive options. (Everyone is trying to get paid, and I respect that. I just don't have the need for paid services at this time.) True Red is a passion that I plan to keep going until I am no more. That said, I don't expect that I'll have a ton of listeners or recoup much money from it. Not because the music is bad. No, it's great. I enjoy what I produce, but the market is saturated. More people putting out music than ever before -- and A.I. is, too, apparently.
Some people are trying to make it a career, and I'm thrilled for those who can pay the bills with their music. I don't think that is an option for me (or most of us!).
For me, I'm no longer interested in playing out or teaming up with others. I did that in years past, and it was fun but also aggravating. I guess where I'm at now, I'd just like to tweak and finish some old mixes I've had tucked away for years, make fresh recordings of old, unrecorded songs, and churn out a few yet-to-be-written songs as they come to me. I'll pay a little here and there to get them on the streaming services, and I'll buy new guitar strings, but I don't think I'll pay for a website. (From what I can tell, so far, Blogger should be the perfect host. I'll probably have trueredmusic.com redirect to it soon. Here, I can share the latest, as well as compile release info, artwork, lyrics, etc. For free! :) I'm honestly just doing this for myself and the person who may find it and connect with it.)
I was thinking Linktree might be perfect, and it is pretty great, but this is a nice platform too. I can say a bit more and share all the True Red links to the various socials around the web. (Speaking of, I'm just setting these sites up. They're pretty bare at the moment, but I'll add to them as I get some material finished and actually have something to offer. I may delete some of them altogether. Do musicians really need a Pinterest? Is anyone even on ReverbNation? Is twitter/X still an acceptable place to have a presence? I'll figure it out later.)
So, yeah, I'm a solo musician. An amateur. A hobbyist -- but I'd be completely lost without it.
True Red is a one-person music act based in the American South (Louisiana). No band (been there, done that). No live performances planned. Just some recording that is akin to indie rock sprinkled with elements of whatever else. I'm making the music for myself and for that one person who may find it who needs it.
If it finds your ears, I hope you enjoy.
More to come.