im sitting here at home and i go to myspace, my inbox has 20 or 30 messages. i have been not really saying much about what's going on just cuz, well...anyway..... i just want to say thanx so much for all the kind words, offers to help, and prayers. i really am amazed at all the attention, and im at a loss for words that feel like they carry any weight or truly express my gratitude. if i don't personally get back to your message please, please do not be offended, its just that i get a little overwhelmed and don't feel too good most of the time. Here's where things stand so i can clear a couple things up:i was diagnosed with throat cancer in mid november, Julie ( my wife ) and i don't have insurance, we are however very fortunate and own a home that we can get a loan on, and also have access to some money.
The place, Orange Coast Oncology in Newport Beach that was treating me, decided two days before my chemo was supposed to start, that they "were not comfortable" treating a patient w/o insurance that was trying to pay cash. In other words, go die, you don't have enough money. Fortunately, St Joseph's Hospital in Orange responded to my phone calls and have agreed to treat me w a promise to pay, and a large sum of money up front. The total approximate cost for all this is $250,000.00
My throat caner has spread to my lymph glands and a tumor has formed on my lymph node on my neck, still, in stage 3, the doctors say that with chemo, radiation, dental work and possibly surgery, i will be fine...
DI will continue to play based on how good or bad i react to the chemo and radiation. I, like many of you, already know what a bad day feels like, and a bad day is no match for being punk rock and tough as fuck. Your support and kindness just make me stronger. i could go on and on, but i think ive made clear whats really going on. I wll repost this a few times to answer questions to those of you i might not haven't responded to. If you have any questions about the show at the Galaxy on feb 21st, contact franki, from franki doll & the broken toys, or scott from drain bramaged.
Again, i love you, and just pay attention to whats important, and dont take things for granted, cuz you never know when life has a knife and wants to fight.
NEW CONTRACTS for RECORD DEALS -TAKE NOTE MUSICIANS !
DATE: 01/11/2008 14:14:32 / MOOD: other
Well, last night started another chapter in my research for alternatives to myspace. Like when I first discovered FUZZ, punkrockers.com a site which i thought had clean terms of service , it was brought to my attention that punkrockers.com had the BAD clause in their terms of service /licencing agreement which gave favorable attention to the concerns of the site host over the site patrons. In other words, the lawyers wrote up contracts that protected the people who hired them more than the people who the website serves (the musicians/people).
So, I had read the terms of service prior to joining punkrockers.com but somehow missed the paragraph addressing this particular licencing issue, even though that is what I was looking for while reading it. Perhaps because of the layout of the terms (the format, no out line, no numbered sections, everything rammed together) i was unable to read /scan the passages clearly . Or maybe I really wanted that site to be cool and so I unconsciously overlooked it. In any regard, I was embarrassed to learn that the paragraph existed and so I have been in communication with punkrockers.com about the issue and they too ARE AMENDING THEIR TERMSto be more musician friendly!!!!.
FUZZ did this and in Oct 2007 they posted the amended terms of service.
Most musicians have a hard time reading this shit but THESE ARE THE NEW RECORD COMPANY CONTRACTS. If you ever saw a major label contract like 37 pages long and had to read it and understand it and negotiate through every paragraph well then reading the terms of sevice for these web hosts is not too dificult and i believe is JUST AS IMPORTANT AS A RECORD CONTRACT in todays world !!
TAKE NOTE MUSICIANS:Learn here how to read , understand and negotiate your contracts so you are prepared to do it when the heat is on and a rec co exec. is wanting your signature on something.
DONT GET FOOLED AGAIN
peace,
John the Bakerhttp://www.fuzz.com/instantasshole
http://www.fuzz.com/johntheba ker
PS myspace amended their terms about 2 years ago and clearly states in section #1 that they cannot and use your content off of the myspace.com site.
The paragraph/clause in question that is still found on many independent hosting sites
states that; your content can be used by the host anywhere, anytime, for any reason without notification, approval, or payment of royalties.
FACEBOOK BAD Terms BE CAREFUL !!!!
OK folks let the fun begin. I see you joined FACEBOOK. Well I have been
doing a ton of research on alternatives to myspace and the reason for
doing so are many.
Although
myspace is bad for many reasons this is one reason myspace is better
than facebook and also a reason why NO ONE should join facebook.
PLEASE READ:
When
you post User Content to the Site, you authorize and direct us to make
such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the
posting and storage of the User Content on the Site. By posting User
Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you
represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company
an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid,
worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly
perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in
part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial,
advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the
promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into
other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses
of the foregoing. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any
time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted
above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the
Company may retain archived copies of your User Content. Facebook does
not assert any ownership over your User Content; rather, as between us
and you, subject to the rights granted to us in these Terms, you retain
full ownership of all of your User Content and any intellectual
property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your User
Content.
-This is a passage taken from the facebook terms of
service. By uploading content your give them permission to use your
content and sublicense your material for commercial use with..out your
approval, notification or royalties. Even though they make it seem like
you retain ownership (which you do) by uploading content you grant them
a licence to do stuff with your music (all content). If you want
alternative space for your band try these:
My band is located at :
http://www.punkrockers.com/instantasshole
and
http://ww w.fuzz.com/instantasshole
these
sites have fair terms of service . FUZZ actually amended /rewrote their
terms based on my observations and sent the new terms of service to me
first for approval. They are SF based and mainly run by musicians. I
think its the best site but punkrockers.com is also good. And its a
little easier to navigate.
If you have joined an alternative
site to myspace and are not sure if the terms are bad. Ask me. I have
researched many of them and probably already know. If I dont I will
research it and let you know asap.
PEACE,
KEEP ROCKIN and dont let the Corporations steal your art to sell stuff.
In febuary 08 Instant Asshole will play 1 week of shows from the bay to vegas and back. Startinmg off with a killer all ages show at the Clock Tower in Benicia California with friends Crucial Cause Eskapo and Second Opinion. The we will head south and plan to sewtr up a show sunday feb 17th in Bakersfield. Then we will head to Las Vegas and stay there a few days and play a few shows monday tuesday and wednesday. then we head to LA for a show then fresno then Sat Feb 23rd back in Oakland with Our friends IN HASTE from Seattle who are on tour with Dr. Know. That show will be at the stork Club .
So this is the early notice blog that we are planning a trip to vegas in Feb hopew to see everyone along the way.
