After even further consideration, I have decided that could never aspire to be that ‘dope’ as to call myself “M. Fiddy.” It’s just plain silly. I will remain “Mad Francis” (for now). Plans for my “Long Schlong” clothing line are also on hold.

After careful consideration and in following in the footsteps of several successful hip-hop ‘artists’, I have officially changed my name from “Mad Francis” to “M. Fiddy.” It is my hope that you will experience a new level of ‘dopeness’ in my music and name. Thank you!

Some of us are inclined to think that if something is free, than it’s probably pretty crappy. I tend to be one of those people. But on the flip side, I am always looking for something free online. I can’t help it. Also, I expect it and seeking free stuff online has become one of my compulsions. It’s almost impossible to reconcile this desire for something “free,” with the reality that when something is free, it’s free for a reason.

I am pleased to give away my music for free on this site. I don’t do it because I think it has no value. Quite to the contrary. I do it because I want to share it with as many listeners as possible. I do it because you might want come and see me perform live or want to upgrade and buy a higher quality CD. I do it because over the next several years all online music will be available for free anyway. As I sit here in Colorado, writing on this chilly spring day, I ponder how rapidly the music industry is evolving. Currently:

• You can go to a store and buy a CD.

• You can buy a Mad Francis CD online ( which of course I hope many of you do).

• You can conveniently download music at itunes and amazon.

• You can stream free music on sites like www.grooveshark.com.

• You can download basically anything from bit torrent sites.

• And you can easily share files with your friends.

The bottom line is that the major labels are dinosaurs and are no longer the gate keepers of music. This means that you now have infinite choices that fit your tastes. It also means that with digital replication, there is no way to prevent you from sharing music. I do it too! I accept this. The modern musician must generate income from live shows, merchandise and licensing. CD sales will continue to decline and even music downloads will become obsolete as everything becomes a function of streaming (remember when we used to have ipods?).

The point that I’m trying to make is that soon, price will be an insignificant function of listening to music online and will cease be a good barometer of quality. The premium for new releases is history and the recycle bins are gone. Now, it is truly up to you to determine the turds from the treasures.

If you like my music please share it with your friends and let them know that you’ve found a new treasure. If you think it sounds like a turd, dispose of it accordingly and be grateful that mp3′s don’t literally smell. So go download, upload, share and do it all for free!

With the advent of the Internet, we live in an age of hyper-categorization. You can find a sub-category of a sub-category from a niche of a subset as obscure as an Eskimo tropical resort community. I’ve wrestled with how to describe my music for many years and have never truly decided on a label. I’m not opposed to labeling music, it’s just that I truly have difficulty in doing so for my own sound. You can most easily classify my music as “progressive rock” or “art rock.” I think this fits but, I wish to convey a deeper sense of what my music means to me.

Most important, is the sense of wonder from which my music comes. Curiosity, incredulity, astonishment, amazement, appreciation, acceptance, and gratitude are all concepts that cycle about my mind and materialize in my songs. I am at once inspired by all that is possible in a human existence, while sobered by a world that de-emphasizes this concept of wonder. As I yearn to fulfill my deepest artistic desires, I struggle to exist in a world that most highly values compliance. This is at once the source of my art and cause of my turmoil.

The Eskimo Nebula

This sense of wonder is most profoundly realized at an ideas’ inception. Every one of my musical compositions have a one time come from an inspired moment. In that moment of inception, time seemed to suspend itself. It is a sublime moment of which magic occurs from wonder. It is magic because the emotion felt at that instant is sincere, pure and true. It cannot be forced or contrived. It just Is. I’m not quite sure where it comes from but, I recognize that it is a special gift that must be appreciated. Every time I listen to a recorded version of that inspired moment or perform it live, I can briefly relive that perfect moment (although not as authentically at its’ genesis).

So nowadays, we can go down The Long Tail and call the music “progressive wonder rock”,”art rock of wonder” or maybe “soulful art rock.” But, does it really matter? Maybe? Maybe not. Could a written label ever convey the way music makes you feel or think? That’s what makes music so special. It expresses ideas, concepts and emotions in its own way that can only be experienced and hardly described. So categorize it if you will. I actually appreciate it. But, remember – music is ultimately as abstract as a giant holographic Eskimo doing a futuristic backstroke on the cosmic waves of the universe.

For those of you who are not interested in the the technical aspects of recording, I would suggest that you skip this blog.

First off, I must state that I was satisfied with the overall performance of my Presonus Firebox firewire audio interface. I found the preamps to be clean and it offers multiple outputting which is unusual for a comparable model. If you click on the right, where it says free mp3 downloads, you can download and hear songs which were recorded with the Firebox.

The unit has served me well for 2 channel recording and has proved especially useful when performing with a click track, which requires the use of multiple outputting. If you have many usb devices, it is also nice that this audio interface connects via firewire as to not take up valuable usb ports.

That being said, the other day I went to work on a project and there was no sound. The computer did not recognize the device, the light on the interface would not illuminate and it just plain didn’t work. After multiple diagnostic tests, troubleshooting and internet searches, I concluded that Presonus Firebox firewire audio interface was totally fried. My suspicion was confirmed after disconnecting the unit and performing the smell test.

The Firebox lasted about 2 years and performed admirably. But, be aware that its shelf life may be limited. Of course, it could be that my particular Presonus Firebox firewire audio interface had just enough of Mad Francis.

The word “interesting” cracks me up almost every time I hear someone say it. From my experience, it is rarely used as it is defined. The dictionary states that interesting means to hold one’s attention. For any of you who are artists, it means something entirely different.

Now I don’t know about you, but when someone tells me that something I just performed or created is interesting, he doesn’t mean that it is interesting at all. What he really means is one of several options:

1) It was crap.
2) It was crap but, I don’t want to hurt your feelings.
3) I don’t know what I think about it.
4) I don’t know what I think about it…probably crap.
5) Not interested.
6) I don’t really understand it and I don’t really care.
7) I don’t really understand it but, I don’t want you to know.

Look for this person to be eyeballing his watch and edging towards the door. If you haven’t lost total interest yet, you may be asking yourself why I find this so funny.

I realize that I state how interesting others are probably as much as I have been told it myself. I think it’s funny because I know that deep down, people squirm a little bit when something is interesting. It makes me smile because I think about how full circle we go when we express interest in each other. It proves that at least sometimes, we are considerate of other people’s feelings (at least to their face). A brazen and insincere declaration of interesting is also funny.

It reminds you of how you must produce something before you produce something good. It reminds you that the beauty with creation is often lies in the effort and not the final product. And it reminds you how funny your own imperfections can be.

If you made it to the end of this blog and found it to be a little “too” interesting, I apologize. I promise that next time will try to be far less so.

I can’t think of better way to start off this blog than by talking about where the name “Mad Francis” originated. First off, my middle name is Francis. Anybody who comes from a catholic upbringing is bound to know an inordinate number of people named “Francis”. My grandfather is “Francis”, my cousin is “Francis”, my best friend is “Francis”, his dad is “Francis” and I’m pretty sure that “Francis” is “Francis” too! I know all of the jokes – St. Francis from a “sissy”, Francene, Frances and of course, “Fraaancesss”, from “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.” That being said, I’ve come to embrace the name. I’ve realized how using “Francis” is a tribute to many of my family members and closest friends. For anyone close to me named “Francis”, I wanted “Mad Francis” to be a name to share.

Back in the day, you were more likely to find me perfecting my craft, hidden away in my studio. I remember friends inviting me out to hit the town and paint it red (or a least go out and act like we were cool, rich, maybe handsome…more likely none of the above). Anyway… a close buddy of mine, after a declined invitation, once said: “Oh, back to your laboratory Dr. Frankenstein”. I was taken aback initially. What, me a Dr. Frankenstein? What did that mean exactly? The more I thought about it, the more I realized how committed I am to my own vision of who I should be.

I at once knew that I am willing to give up the more conventional life and put all out there on the line. I didn’t know whether I was the greatest singer, writer, composer or producer or if I ever could be. But, I was going to be whatever I chose to be, for better or worse, consequences be damned! This was truly “mad” by most people’s reckoning.

“You have to be practical”. “But, what will do you do for money?”. “How will you afford a boat in the future?”.

“Mad” became, and still is, a challenge to be myself. To be who I chose to be. I’ve come to see that this choice is not common and that many who choose to do so are ostracized. I don’t care. I don’t consider myself “mad”, but many people might. So, I embrace this “madness”. I am me.

I am – “Mad Francis”.