Hey folks- I was set to be the guest tonight and as you know it was cancelled. I am officially rescheduled to be back on. I was scheduled to appear tonight and discuss Dark Beings and the new Night Stories project I have going on.
As some of you have heard, Art was unable to do the show because of a second incident since October involving what appears to be gun fire at, near or around his studio and therefore at, near or around Art.
While the motives for the attacks aren’t completely clear, one thing is certain; they aren’t publicity stunts as a few people have suggested and he was perfectly correct to put off doing tonight’s show in light of the circumstances and until sufficient security measures can be implemented. I don’t know if any of you have ever been shot at. I have. And it isn’t something you “man up†in the face of when you have a wife and child as a few have suggested he should do.
I’m not on the Art Bell payroll so I'd like to set a few things straight as someone who is speaking from outside the circle looking in. I have been prepping for tonight’s show with Art’s Producer for over a week and again for over two hours on the phone last night. All the while, Art was providing input and being kept in the loop bc quite frankly we had an amazing show planned with no product plugs. Just free giveaways and creepy, good old fashioned tales of the strange and odd.
I can tell you from firsthand knowledge that Art was excited about the show, Heather and I were working closely to get the logistics and the episodes flow down so it would be seamless (giveaways have FCC implications and have to be planned correctly and carefully). So I can tell you without fail that Art and company had every intention of a show happening tonight.
I don’t typically find value in being preachy but I really think this needs to be said- Art is a perfectionist and perfectionist are often a little odd, testy and unpredictable. But that is the price we pay (a small one), literally and metaphorically for the quality of content we have been getting from Art for over 20 years. Many of us, myself included, have careers in the field bc of Art’s early work. But odd and a little testy are far cries from being dishonest or a quitter.
For those of you who have been with Art since the beginning that would imply he is “just looking for a reason to quit.†- shame on you. For those of you who haven’t been there since the beginning and may not have even been born when Art started doing this- respectfully, you have no idea who or what you are talking about and are in no position to question a man’s integrity simply because you pony up a few bucks every month. For the record, I am a paying subscriber as well.
I have a very good idea of what Art spent to relaunch his show and I promise you he hasn’t recouped the costs he has incurred by starting the show back up on his own dime. The gear he is using is state of the art (no pun intended) and is unbelievably expensive. It’s a labor of love for the craft folks, not a money play and certainly not so he could turn around and just walk away from it. You wanted to take a ride- well this is the ride. Sometimes bumpy, sometimes frustrating, but always for the right reasons and always focusing on quality above all else. Simply put, the ride isn't perfect, but it's worth it.
I look forward to being back on the show for what is shaping up to be a great episode and in the meantime, being a nightly listener along with everyone else. Cheers.
Tobias
As some of you have heard, Art was unable to do the show because of a second incident since October involving what appears to be gun fire at, near or around his studio and therefore at, near or around Art.
While the motives for the attacks aren’t completely clear, one thing is certain; they aren’t publicity stunts as a few people have suggested and he was perfectly correct to put off doing tonight’s show in light of the circumstances and until sufficient security measures can be implemented. I don’t know if any of you have ever been shot at. I have. And it isn’t something you “man up†in the face of when you have a wife and child as a few have suggested he should do.
I’m not on the Art Bell payroll so I'd like to set a few things straight as someone who is speaking from outside the circle looking in. I have been prepping for tonight’s show with Art’s Producer for over a week and again for over two hours on the phone last night. All the while, Art was providing input and being kept in the loop bc quite frankly we had an amazing show planned with no product plugs. Just free giveaways and creepy, good old fashioned tales of the strange and odd.
I can tell you from firsthand knowledge that Art was excited about the show, Heather and I were working closely to get the logistics and the episodes flow down so it would be seamless (giveaways have FCC implications and have to be planned correctly and carefully). So I can tell you without fail that Art and company had every intention of a show happening tonight.
I don’t typically find value in being preachy but I really think this needs to be said- Art is a perfectionist and perfectionist are often a little odd, testy and unpredictable. But that is the price we pay (a small one), literally and metaphorically for the quality of content we have been getting from Art for over 20 years. Many of us, myself included, have careers in the field bc of Art’s early work. But odd and a little testy are far cries from being dishonest or a quitter.
For those of you who have been with Art since the beginning that would imply he is “just looking for a reason to quit.†- shame on you. For those of you who haven’t been there since the beginning and may not have even been born when Art started doing this- respectfully, you have no idea who or what you are talking about and are in no position to question a man’s integrity simply because you pony up a few bucks every month. For the record, I am a paying subscriber as well.
I have a very good idea of what Art spent to relaunch his show and I promise you he hasn’t recouped the costs he has incurred by starting the show back up on his own dime. The gear he is using is state of the art (no pun intended) and is unbelievably expensive. It’s a labor of love for the craft folks, not a money play and certainly not so he could turn around and just walk away from it. You wanted to take a ride- well this is the ride. Sometimes bumpy, sometimes frustrating, but always for the right reasons and always focusing on quality above all else. Simply put, the ride isn't perfect, but it's worth it.
I look forward to being back on the show for what is shaping up to be a great episode and in the meantime, being a nightly listener along with everyone else. Cheers.
Tobias
I'm really glad most everyone seemed to enjoy the episode. It was great fun and there was some very entertaining yet tense moments/phone calls etc leading up to this episode.