I’ve never had a plan. I’ve pretty much never look much further ahead than next week. My whole life has been a series of coincidences that just sort of worked out. It’s probably not the most effective way to live one’s life but it’s really all I know. I think I got it from my father. My mother is definitely more rigid in her ways and practical in her approach to life.

 

When I first told my mom that I got a record deal and was going to quit my job the first thing she said was ‘What about health insurance?’ I remember being pissed about that question. In hindsight it seems logical, but like I said I don’t really have a plan and that includes health insurance.

I never planned on going to college I figured I would run a beer route like my father did. I never planned to work in advertising it just happened because after college I temped at an advertising agency and the guy I worked for happened to know who Atoms Family was. I never planned on rapping for a living, I just sort of got lucky and ended up in a scene and being pretty good at it. Well I guess that last part is debatable. I don’t plan on this blog having a point I’m just writing some shit that’s on my mind and maybe you can relate to it maybe you can’t.

Obviously all of those things attracted me to them for some reason, mostly, I found them interesting. The problem is lately there is very little that I find interesting. Well strike that, I should say I find very little of what I used to find interesting, interesting. Which has left me in a weird limbo state trying to rediscover some shit about myself, for example I could care less about rap music. I don’t think I have listened to a rap record in almost two years. And it’s not that I don’t enjoy it, I love writing it, I love making it, and I love performing it. I just don’t give a shit about it anymore.

I find it happening with people that I used to spend a lot of time with. It’s not that I have any animosity towards them, or any sort of bad feelings. I just don’t really have an interest in hanging out with them. I’m more interested in being around people that offer something new, whether it’s an idea, a way of life, or just conversation. I still love them all to death I just don’t care. Does that make sense?

Maybe I’m just getting old. It could very well be a symptom of maturing, although I feel quite immature thank you much. Whatever it is it’s definitely thrown me for a loop. So many of the bedrocks of my life seem to be shaky or gone now, even New York City, which I once loved feels like it has nothing for me. It feels like its time to move on, there are so many other places where I feel more at home. Which could be a symptom of living the majority of the last 4 years on the road I very well might have a wanderlust that hasn’t been satiated in a while. Who knows?

If I had a plan I imagine things would be different, I would probably have been married to a woman I didn’t love then and I’m sure I would like even less now. I definitely would have never met any of the people I have grown to call friend, or in some special cases girlfriend. And I definitely wouldn’t have travelled the world and saw the potential to feel more at home somewhere else than I do in NYC these days. Of course I could have ended up being quite happy with my life not knowing what I now know.

On to the questions and as always you can send any questions, requests or disgarded under-garments to timlaska@yahoo.com:

Do you like movies now a days? If so, which do you like to see the acting or the millions of billions of dollars put into the action?

William Battle, Waterbury, CT

Well William I’m game for either really as long as they are done well. I will pretty much watch any movie as long as it doesn’t involve a montage of a woman trying on dresses for a wedding to the song Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves or a bunch of drama geeks singing about high school.

Mr. Timillionaire,

I was recently set up on a date with a young goddess by someone whom I thought was a friend. I made us breakfast burritos at my house and then we walked to a coffee shop and stopped to talk in the romantic shadow of the LDS temple in Salt Lake City. At some point during our satirical tirade on Mormon sexual practices (ever heard of floating?) I developed strong feelings for her and resolved to further seek her favor. We parted cordially and I made clear my intention to again seek her company.

A few days elapsed and I came up with the brilliant idea of crafting her a mix-tape displaying my fine musical tastes so that she might grow fonder of me even whilst we spent not our time together. I now realize the folly in including a track called "John Wayne Gacy Jr." by a Mr. Sufjan Stevens Sr. Indeed, I recognize the folly of creating a mix-tape after only the first date. What seemed like a game-closer has turned out to be a game-ender. It has now been over a week and my negligent love interest still has not made any attempt to initiate communication. Last night I sent her a text along the lines of: "Is it because I'm poor?"

I fear I may have forever lost her.

Makena, Salt Lake City, UT

Makena,

While I don’t advocate mixtaping as a practice, sometimes inspiration takes over and you go for it. I don’t think your mistake was making the mixtape, it might not have been the best move but it wasn’t a fatal mistake. The mistake was getting caught up on a girl after one date. Granted Mormon’s and their premarital sex practices such as floating/soaking, or giving up the butthole to stay a virgin are hilarious on the level of a madcap Chris Farley romp, and the fact that she found it as amusing as she should have does not mean you should have fallen head over heels for her.

That said we have all been guilty of it at one time or another. My advice is chalk it up as experience. If she couldn’t appreciate the musical majesty of Sufjan Stevens then fuck her. She isn’t worth your time. Let her go. You are better off. And if she does end up coming around I say grudge fuck her and be done with it.  

Hi, I did a tour flier for Hanger a few years ago (a contest that I won) and met you at one of your shows out here in Phoenix (well Tempe to be exact) at the Clubhouse while on tour with El) and I was just wondering by any chance if you or anybody you know may be in the need for some future graphic work?  This may seem cheese ballish for me to be asking this but hey there aint no harm in asking right?

I'm not looking to any form of payments or to make $$$ off of this but to simply get the chance to get my name and work out there in the hopes for some possible potiential future work with others.

If not then no big deal, I completely understand 100%.

Respect,
-Jelts

Jelts did some flyers for us back in the day and did pretty good work. He didn’t have a question but I told him I would post his email and give his email address incase there is anyone out there looking for someone to do some design work brokenartist@hotmail.com