“Sunrise doesn’t last all morning… A cloudburst doesn’t last all day…” The Beatles
Nothing lasts forever, not even the good things in life. One of my favorite sayings is that “Life often gets in the way of life.” When everything is insanely busy and I am completely overwhelmed and wondering why I haven’t seen a particular friend, or why I don’t have time to get X, Y, or Z done, I know it’s because “Life gets in the way of life.”
Here I am, once again at a crossroads. I started this blog for several reasons. The biggest was that I wanted to create something I just wasn’t finding on the web; something that, as a fan, I would stop and visit every day. I think that I have achieved that. I hope that other people have felt the same way and that over the last 2 ½ years, they have stopped by for a daily (or at least weekly) dose of enjoyment.
When I started this blog I felt that I had a lot more time than I do now, but that isn’t entirely true. I had the same amount of time; I just focused more of that time on the blog and let other things slip aside. Now, after 33 months of blogging, it’s a struggle to keep up sometimes. The blog is hard work and not returning the rush it did when I first began. It’s reflected in my mood and in the finished work that I publish.
Recently, I took some time to scroll through some of my earliest posts. What jumped out at me was how detailed they were, and how polished they were (especially for an amateur blog). That was due to a lot of dedication, devotion, and desire. I’m not saying that I don’t have that same drive that I did nearly three years ago, I’m just saying that I’m burning out. I could probably continue on with The Rock And Roll Guru for another year or two, but the finished product would not be as good.
I’ve been doing a lot of self realization lately. I’ve been asking myself to really do some critical thinking about what I want from life and to be honest with myself, not just provide lip service. I know that I had great expectations when this blog was launched. Part of me secretly saw it as my ticket out of the 9-to-5 world and into something that I could do for a living, making it my 9-to-5 job. Now, I don’t see that as the case. The level of dedication that I would have to put it into the blog to make it my day job in a year or two is a high level of commitment that I cannot adhere to at this time. It could be done, but it would require all other interests of my life to be forgotten. That just isn’t going to happen.
The biggest hurdle to The Rock And Roll Guru becoming my day job is the fact that the market is just too saturated. Looking back in hindsight, trying to be a jack of all trades, was not the best idea for growing a fledgling blog. It needs to be niche down. Just because I love ALL types of music, doesn’t mean that the music site I write is going to have massive visits from all types of music fans. Because The Guru is all over the page, it actually takes away from repeat customers. A niche market returns; a broad market isn’t quite sure what you are offering them.
I love this site more than I can put into words. I love the fact that people from all over the world have stopped and read a paragraph, a page, or quite a few pages of my work. Nothing could provide me deeper satisfaction than knowing I achieved that. It’s an indescribable experience that brings me pure joy.
However, The Guru has not gone where I had hoped it would. I know why, which is a great thing. The experience I have gained from writing this blog is priceless and will certainly help me be eons ahead should I decide to venture into something similar in the future. That being said, it is time for a long, possibly permanent, hiatus. I am burning out and I do not want The Guru to be riddled with shoddy posts in the waning days. Out of respect for myself, the blog, and most importantly, you, the regular readers, I have decided that it is time to shut it down. A re-launch is not entirely out of the question, but it is not very likely to happen.
The Every Album Challenge will continue. There may come a time when I put an additional post or two on The Guru about it, but mostly, updates will come via twitter (www.twitter.com/ryovie). The Challenge is a personal thing that I want to achieve and accomplish. I thought that I would be writing a LOT about it on The Guru, but it hasn’t created as many inspirational posts as I initially envisioned. That being said, I love a good challenge, and therefore will be completing it.
If you’re a huge fan of my writing, first I say thank you. Second, I say, if you would like to continue reading my writings, you can still find me on Hard Rock Hideout (www.hardrockhideout.com) with my bi-weekly column, Vie’s Verses as well as some record reviews. My writing for that site will continue, and who knows where else I may show up with a guest post.
If you are a band, PR department, producer, manager, or solo artist that has sent me work for review, I say thank you. The fact that you would even consider hearing my opinion about your music means the world to me. Keep making/producing/promoting the wonderful music that you do. It truly makes people happy.
To everyone who ever visited this site --- thank you. It has been a pleasure to produce this blog for you. Thanks for the visits, the memories, and the laughs. I’ll see you all down the road or at the next great show. Until then---keep on rocking!
Ryo Vie
October 10, 2011
Nothing lasts forever, not even the good things in life. One of my favorite sayings is that “Life often gets in the way of life.” When everything is insanely busy and I am completely overwhelmed and wondering why I haven’t seen a particular friend, or why I don’t have time to get X, Y, or Z done, I know it’s because “Life gets in the way of life.”
Here I am, once again at a crossroads. I started this blog for several reasons. The biggest was that I wanted to create something I just wasn’t finding on the web; something that, as a fan, I would stop and visit every day. I think that I have achieved that. I hope that other people have felt the same way and that over the last 2 ½ years, they have stopped by for a daily (or at least weekly) dose of enjoyment.
When I started this blog I felt that I had a lot more time than I do now, but that isn’t entirely true. I had the same amount of time; I just focused more of that time on the blog and let other things slip aside. Now, after 33 months of blogging, it’s a struggle to keep up sometimes. The blog is hard work and not returning the rush it did when I first began. It’s reflected in my mood and in the finished work that I publish.
Recently, I took some time to scroll through some of my earliest posts. What jumped out at me was how detailed they were, and how polished they were (especially for an amateur blog). That was due to a lot of dedication, devotion, and desire. I’m not saying that I don’t have that same drive that I did nearly three years ago, I’m just saying that I’m burning out. I could probably continue on with The Rock And Roll Guru for another year or two, but the finished product would not be as good.
I’ve been doing a lot of self realization lately. I’ve been asking myself to really do some critical thinking about what I want from life and to be honest with myself, not just provide lip service. I know that I had great expectations when this blog was launched. Part of me secretly saw it as my ticket out of the 9-to-5 world and into something that I could do for a living, making it my 9-to-5 job. Now, I don’t see that as the case. The level of dedication that I would have to put it into the blog to make it my day job in a year or two is a high level of commitment that I cannot adhere to at this time. It could be done, but it would require all other interests of my life to be forgotten. That just isn’t going to happen.
The biggest hurdle to The Rock And Roll Guru becoming my day job is the fact that the market is just too saturated. Looking back in hindsight, trying to be a jack of all trades, was not the best idea for growing a fledgling blog. It needs to be niche down. Just because I love ALL types of music, doesn’t mean that the music site I write is going to have massive visits from all types of music fans. Because The Guru is all over the page, it actually takes away from repeat customers. A niche market returns; a broad market isn’t quite sure what you are offering them.
I love this site more than I can put into words. I love the fact that people from all over the world have stopped and read a paragraph, a page, or quite a few pages of my work. Nothing could provide me deeper satisfaction than knowing I achieved that. It’s an indescribable experience that brings me pure joy.
However, The Guru has not gone where I had hoped it would. I know why, which is a great thing. The experience I have gained from writing this blog is priceless and will certainly help me be eons ahead should I decide to venture into something similar in the future. That being said, it is time for a long, possibly permanent, hiatus. I am burning out and I do not want The Guru to be riddled with shoddy posts in the waning days. Out of respect for myself, the blog, and most importantly, you, the regular readers, I have decided that it is time to shut it down. A re-launch is not entirely out of the question, but it is not very likely to happen.
The Every Album Challenge will continue. There may come a time when I put an additional post or two on The Guru about it, but mostly, updates will come via twitter (www.twitter.com/ryovie). The Challenge is a personal thing that I want to achieve and accomplish. I thought that I would be writing a LOT about it on The Guru, but it hasn’t created as many inspirational posts as I initially envisioned. That being said, I love a good challenge, and therefore will be completing it.
If you’re a huge fan of my writing, first I say thank you. Second, I say, if you would like to continue reading my writings, you can still find me on Hard Rock Hideout (www.hardrockhideout.com) with my bi-weekly column, Vie’s Verses as well as some record reviews. My writing for that site will continue, and who knows where else I may show up with a guest post.
If you are a band, PR department, producer, manager, or solo artist that has sent me work for review, I say thank you. The fact that you would even consider hearing my opinion about your music means the world to me. Keep making/producing/promoting the wonderful music that you do. It truly makes people happy.
To everyone who ever visited this site --- thank you. It has been a pleasure to produce this blog for you. Thanks for the visits, the memories, and the laughs. I’ll see you all down the road or at the next great show. Until then---keep on rocking!
Ryo Vie
October 10, 2011
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