I am keeping both, but it will appear as though I am retiring this space. I'm not. There's lots of things it does quite well that I've not even taken advantage of as yet. I am focused on the release of Living In Oblivion 2026, or more aptly, The Singularity EP... So my time explorations of these sites and their potential are always difficult to get to. But it is quite true to say that Patreon has my attention because I can chat with you all, but privately in our own little garden without interlopers coming in... They can if they support me, but they can also be banned and cancelled if there's trouble. So it is far safer for me as a real interaction space. Social Media is good for public-facing promos and all that stuff, but I like to dive deeper, and it always bummed me out that I'd sit and write a meaningful post, only to see it disappear in 15 minutes under a barrage of political, boring, divisive crap meant to divide us all further. Sure, we are suddenly more 'aware' of the world and the media. But have we not figured out that we are being programmed? So I'm done with all that.
Patreon reminds me of the old Fan Forum back in the day. I loved that space. So it feels like home. I post there almost every day, and it is free to join BTW. Not every post is hidden behind the support wall. And I do my best to balance the freebies. But yes, the supporters, the patrons, the de-facto AboxFam? You get the world, my world, and we get to interact in ways I only dreamed of when I started out. And every month I give ways things that I will not put on Bandcamp, Spotify, etc... There's already been a full EP thus far, and this month some stuff I played from tapes everyone keeps asking me about.
The Future
Well. For starters, I want to get you into my full world, which is quite quirky (that's one way of saying surrealistically insane), and there are many facets to what I do. For example, I'd love to write a book to help others navigate the pitfalls I've faced as an artist. I've been on this planet long enough that some of what I've learned is worth passing on to others. So the "letters" collection on Patreon are the beginning. I'm practicing the art of writing long letters, getting better in the way I communicate. I want to get so good at it that a book becomes a natural extension of those letters.
I'm looking forward to all of this and more. So your support is appreciated! So if you just want to buy me some coffee on occasion, or go full force on Patreon, we will have both for a time.
~ Claude