Q1. Tell us something about YOU and your musical background (equip. you use etc).
My name is Patrick Johnson and I live in Patchogue, New York. I don't live in the city because I feel I'm more laid back and not so much
into the constant rush and stress of city life. Now on to my musical background-- I don't have one, technically.
I have no formal musical training, but music is in my blood, mind, and soul. I was brought up on a steady diet of 1960-1970's rock,
1980's pop, chiptunes from then and now, and everything inbetween. The hardware I've used to write music inclue the Atari ST/ST2/TT,
Oberheim DMX, Oberheim Matrix-1000, Yamaha QY-100, Yamaha RS-7000, Alesis ION, Korg Microkorg, and Roland SH-201.
When it comes to software, I love Imageline FLStudio-- its pianoroll editor is the best around.
I've also used Buzztracker in the past, and I dabble from time to time in Cakewalk Sonar. That's all I can think of right now.
Q2. When you started to make music? How many releases do you have (totally)?
I suppose '99 was the year I got serious about writing music, going under the name Commie64. I'm not quite sure how many compilation
releases I've been on; must be a bunch by now. I've put out seven solo albums. I believe in quality over quantity, and I'm a bit of a
perfectionist when it comes to getting my music to sound 'just right'.
Q3. Tell us about your project WWW.BLEEPWATCH.COM
The reason for creating Bleepwatch was because I felt that there wasn't a place around that kept track of all kinds of netlabel music-- while
maintaining easy navigation and a user friendly environment. I was also bothered seeing friends blow their money on itunes DRM protected
shit when there was even better music released on netlabels-- and free for download! Bleepwatch is constantly evolving, but retaining structure
at the same time. At this point, it really is a community-driven website. I would like for it to evolve into an even MORE community-driven
website. Artists and netlabels should really make use of the "Submit" function of Bleepwatch, which allows them to very easily submit their
releases to the Bleepwatch frontpage, offering an abundance of free traffic. Bleepwatch is also ad-free, popup-free, etc.
Q4. Your favorite artists and netlabels?
Wow.. that's a toughie. I can tell you the artists and netlabels I dislike.. *cough* artist: bubblyfish, and netlabel: candymind *cough*. ; )
Just foolin'.. candymind offers great releases, but the netlabel-head never acknowledged an email sent out from bleepwatch, and I've held a
grudge ever since (but ofcourse I still link them on the netlabel list, and will still post their latest releases if they are submitted).
I must say 8bitpeoples is my favorite netlabel. It's like a dysfunctional family. Also big propz to DWD!