Pan-Pan Fell Releases
The first single from the debut Pan-Pan Fell album, "Love Disadvantage", was released August 3, 2024. The second single, "Not Worth The Tear", is releasing September 27, 2024. One week later the debut album will be released! Friday October 4, is the release date for the debut album. There is a lyric book being made for download so if you folks can't make out what I'm 'singing', you'll be able to see the correct words. You're welcome to sing along!
New Project -New Release
I am launching a new project with the artist name Pan-Pan Fell. The debut album will be released Autumn 2024. The first single, "Love Disadvantage", is rolling out now to all the major music streaming platforms. I will be posting more details about all of this in the coming days & weeks.
Laid Low
After the year end release of “Going Home” I have not been very active publicly. There’s good, and not so good reasons for that. I felt like I should post an update for all of you.
The Bad: I’ve been struggling with health issues for the past several weeks. I’ve been going to several appointments with healthcare professionals for testing and treatment. I’ve missed work at the job that actually pays me which is expensive. That job for now is how I finance this music project, and all that goes with it. I wish and hope that this project grows over time enough to be at least self sustaining. Ideally, the dream goal is to grow it enough to make it my full time job. The health issues hurt the odds that any of that ever happens. I also decided to address a lot of technical issues involving the tools I use to make music, and doing that has been a lot more problematic than expected. It’s my ongoing mission to continue streamlining my process for music production so I can turn inspiration into productions I feel ready to share with the world. With the little time I have free from my job, and feeling sick; I want to be able to get more done with the music. It’s a big challenge. I’ve run into numerous technical issues as I work to better organize my technology, and streamline my workflow. It’s been maddening, but I am confident it will be all worth it. In addition to all that; a lot of my promotional efforts since launching this project a few years ago have been centered on Meta platforms. The primary platform I used to manage all that was my personal Facebook account which I’ve had for about 15 years. If you’ve been following you know my Facebook account was hacked and disabled in October 2023. The hacker also attacked the page I used to promote my music, and the Meta Business account I used to boost posts. It was also tied to an Instagram account that I set up as my official page there. I have been struggling to recover the account since then, and it has been a maddening journey. I haven’t given up. I’m still working on it. This hacker did a lot of damage very quickly such that the automated processes Meta/Facebook have in place to address such things do not work in my case. Unfortunately, they also offer no straight forward alternative options to address hacked and disabled accounts. I have been trying several work-arounds I’ve found on YouTube, general internet searches, and from a sub-Reddit dedicated to this topic. I continue with that, and I’m hoping my newest case initiated ultimately leads to my being successful in recovering all that was lost. Of the 5-6 cases I have been able to initiate with Meta, this newest one is the first time it appears it was actually escalated to their internal teams for investigation. With the previous cases the Meta Pro agents handling the cases claimed they could not internally escalate my case, and that there was nothing they could do for me on the matter.
The Good: Yes, let’s end here with the good stuff. I have not put much effort into promoting the year end single “Going Home” largely for all that I mentioned above, but there is another reason. I’m not revealing yet, but there is something in the works for the purpose of promoting that song. When that is ready I will put a little more effort into promoting it, and this music project overall. In the meantime I have managed to squeeze in some music production with all the crap I mentioned above. I have a brand new song, and a cover song about 65% complete. I have tinkered with starting another cover. I also have been working a bit on doing a new version of a song I wrote back in the 1990s. Working on that old song inspired me to revisit more of my old music from the 1980s & 1990s. I spent several hours yesterday recovering MIDI files of my old music from the 1990s. This includes a few MIDI projects I had started of songs originally written in the 1980s, and a couple lame attempts I made in this century to get back to making music. I also consolidated some ide fragments I started since launching this project that never got developed. I expected recovering all that MIDI to be fairly straight forward, and something I could do in an hour; maybe 2 hours. Instead I spent something like 8 hours working on all of it. I’m happy that I was able to recover it all, but damn, that was a lot of work! So, I’m now entertaining the Idea of chipping away at making new versions of most of those old songs between my other projects, and eventually releasing an album or two full of new versions of my old songs. With the songs already basically being written it really comes down to cutting new vocals, using new sounds for the already programmed MIDI, and doing some production work to flesh them out enough for release. I stayed up late last night setting up a template to make the workflow easier for that project, and I was really happy with how it was coming together. Very cool to hear all those old MIDI sequences triggering newer better sounds.
So, like last year, this year is starting slow when it comes to finishing & releasing music; but you can see some of the reasons for that above. That said, I still intend to, and believe I can release more music this year than I have in the years since starting this project. By summer I expect to be rolling stuff out on a more regular basis. I am also contemplating changing the name of this project aka my ‘artist name’. There’s good reasons for doing that which I’ll explain in more detail should I decide to move forward with a new name.
Stay tuned!
Going Home
Spotify
Top Countries
United States
Germany
Italy
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Top Cities
Chattanooga, TN, USA
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Waikato, New Zealand
London, UK
Atlanta, GA, USA
New York, NY, USA
City of St. Peters, MO, USA
Knoxville, TN, USA
Nashville, TN, USA
My newest song “Going Home” was released a week ago today. I did very little promotion for it. I still have yet to recover my hacked & disabled original Facebook account which I used to manage the original official page for this music project. I haven’t given up. It’s a shame because I used that page to communicate to my followers, and I would have loved to reach out to them about my new song. I threw that in as an update, but primarily to set up news about the first week stats for the song.
Now, of course, I’m still a very small independent artist doing this part time. I’d love to make this project my full time job, but it falls way short of paying the bills. My numbers are small; I’ve yet to have any of my songs reach 1000 plays on Spotify. Still, I find it interesting to see what happens with each release. With the lack of marketing and promotion I laid out in the start of this post; this song has been getting more first week attention than expected. In fact, I think the first week numbers are higher than they were for any of my other releases. Not sharing exact number here, but I do want to share interesting trends for the first week. Thanks to all of you supporting me in this journey!
Apple Music
Top Cities
New York, NY, USA
Kalamazoo, MI, USA
Atlanta, GA, USA
Overall
Top Countries
United States
Germany
France
United Kingdom
Italy
Top Stores
Spotify
iTunes/Apple Music
YouTube
Pandora
Amazon Music
First release of 2023
I’m pleased to announce that my first release of 2023 has now been scheduled.
Yes, it’s been way too long since the last one!
The new one is called “I Am Only”,
and it is scheduled for release July 7, 2023.
At last! Another New Single
P.D.L.M.! (Please Don’t Leave Me)
The new single is coming out on all the major digital services on Friday September 2.
This song was a tremendous challenge to record, and produce. I put a ton of work into it. As usual, it’s not perfect. After pouring so much into this I still hear things that maybe should have been done differently. As I’ve said before, I’m sharing my progress publicly with everyone. I have learned a great deal. Much of that learning came the hard way with lots of frustrations. I still have much to learn. Again, as I’ve said before, it’s my hope that I get better with each release. I feel confident this is the best one so far, and I look forward to release day. I hope many of you really enjoy it. So far I’ve been getting good feedback from those close to me.
The artwork was my creation, but using elements created by Gordon Johnson. I really like his style, and I expect to use more of his stuff in the future. https://pixabay.com/users/gdj-1086657/
Updates
At this time I doubt anyone actually visits this website, but I intend to keep it going as I continue to re-develop as an independent recording artist. If you’ve read my long Bio, or have kept up with me over the years; you already know I’ve only in the past couple of years found a way to manage my crippling ADHD enough to make music again. I’m learning a whole new way of doing things after 23 years dormant both in how to make my music ideas come to life, but also in how to navigate today’s music/music business landscape. I’m still trying to develop my new sound as I learn new tools; and I’m doing this while working a full time job that has nothing to do with music, or the music business. Another obstacle is the ADHD which is not ‘cured’, but is only managed just enough to enable me to return to this life long passion; and focus long enough to make songs again. I have not been good at the social media and marketing efforts mostly due to the lack of free time, and the amount of that ‘free’ time spent just trying to make music. I should do better. I need to do better. I’m still trying to figure out how.
So, here’s a stab…. I’m using this post to update anyone interested in my music on what’s has been going on. “Purple Shirt (Happy New Year)” was released in May. At the time I already had a few other projects started. I had a new version of a song I wrote back in 1987 in the works; I had stumbled into starting a new version of a song I wrote in the mid-1990s; and I had started work on a cover of a song that was a hit back in the early 1970s. I’ve long been interested in the concept of creating music, and mixes that had a 3D effect. I like hearing movement and space in music mixes. I remember listening to old Pink Floyd being fascinated at the auditory extras added to much of their old music. I started learning about Dolby Atmos. It was included in a fairly recent update of Logic Pro which is my DAW of choice. I opened a Dolby Atmos session in Logic Pro for the sake of exploring & tinkering. I quickly found myself with a brand new song idea to add to my ongoing projects!
So, the cover song, and the song from the 1990s were completely put on a back burner. As I started developing this new song in the Dolby Atmos session, I continued work on the new version of that song I wrote in the 1980s. That ‘80s song was virtually finished, but with this new song in the works, I decided to hold back on the release. I wanted to focus on the new song, and get it out. I also thought it might be wise to release the new version of that old song along with at least one other new version of one of my old songs. I might make that an EP, a full album, or I may just release a 2 song ‘single’. That’s yet to be decided. I have the new song close to being done. I have struggled with the vocals on it, and it comes down to further defining my sound while working with my shortcomings. The original vision of the song now seems unworkable because I can’t get the vocals to work with that idea as I envision it. I have a new vision for it, and it also shapes how I feel I should approach my future songs. I originally intended to have this new song released first week of August. Realistically it now appears it will likely have a release date in the first, or second week of September.
As I have been nearing completion of the new song I started thinking about what I would do next. That rabbit hole took me to starting work on another song I wrote in the mid-1980s! So, at least one new song coming soon, and possibly 2-6 more by end of the year depending on how things go. Stay tuned!
-JV
Expectations
I decided to reach out on a personal level as I develop this new music. I have a new song coming out in March 2022. Lyrically this new song is about ignoring those who hinder progress in life with a focus on building the strength to move forward in life. I’m hoping many can connect with it, and feel some release. By end of the year I hope to compile several songs into an extended release with new remixes. All of that competes with my ideas for covers, new versions of old songs, and completely new songs. Perhaps I’ll put all of those things together in one package?
New Song Coming Soon!
A new song is coming!
Well, during the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday I started working on a whole new song! This one has captured me, and I’ve been doing a lot of work on it. I’m confident it will be the next single, and I still hope to have it out by March. I’m at the stage with it that the major parts are written, fleshed out, and basic tracks recorded. Next is nailing down the arrangement, and getting all the new parts recorded. I am also trying to work out the vocal tracks, and trying to get my voice in shape to do the vocals. I’ve developed a compulsion to hum almost constantly which make my throat sore, and definitely impairs the quality of my voice. Yes, I’m crazy. If you follow me, or know me; you already know… This new song has a slightly different sound than the last 2 releases. It has more synth sounds, and less guitar sounds. I may not wind up using guitar at all on it at all. I still have a handful of other projects started that I may be working on as well in hopes of turning out more releases after this one. This is a brand new song, so it’s getting top priority. The other projects are covers, and new versions of my old songs. I may wind up cranking those out with relatively minimal production work just to get them done, and share with everyone. We’ll see how that goes!
2022: Plans-Goals-Wishes
First, a quick look back at the past year: 2021
With the help of medication & therapy I started getting a handle on my life long, and worsening ADHD. That worsening ADHD got bad enough to cripple me from making music for about 23 years. I’m finding my way back. In April 2021 my first completed new song in 23 years, “It’s All Crazy” was released to the world on all the major digital & streaming platforms. I followed that up with the release of “Halloween Party” October 1, 2021. I will be writing a new BIO which will include details of how I used to make music. For this post let me just say I had to learn a whole new way of doing things to produce music in 2021. I’m sort of keeping myself accountable, and motivated by releasing my new songs once I get them to a certain level of completion. Music doesn’t pay the bills, and I’m not independently wealthy, so I don’t have nearly as much free time as I wish to do this. I have a lot to learn, and it takes a while to create, play, and produce all the parts to make a song alone. Two songs in one year isn’t much at all, and yes, I know those first two new efforts are not perfect. However, after 23 years dormant, and having to essentially start from scratch with new technology; I’m pretty damned proud to have made it happen! I want to welcome everyone to follow me on this journey. I hope that with each new effort I will show I have learned more, and that I’m getting better. I feel I’m getting better not just as a music producer, but also as an artist. I hope most of you can appreciate that even if it’s not part of your own life experience. This is a journey, and I intend to be on it for the rest of my life learning, growing, getting better, and increasing my value to other people along the way. As to be expected the responses to those first two songs were mixed. On the positive side I seem to have fans! I have been told that my music reminds listeners of a time of music discovery when they were younger, and that they look forward to whatever I do next. I have heard my songs sung back to me casually. I have listeners and followers from surprising locations around the world. I have heard that even though my music is not a style that some people usually go for, that they dig what I do. I am incredibly humbled, and feel unworthy when I see & hear what I do compared to ICONS like David Bowie, Devo, Oingo Boingo, Gary Numan, and others. I love to hear that. It’s like catnip, but I doubt I deserve such comparisons. On the other hand I have received some fairly harsh criticisms. Some of these criticisms are to be expected, but in some cases it strikes me as surprising. In this new adventure I do pay attention to the critics, but I also try to understand where they’re coming from while placing value on the critique. This in at least in one case has proven to be a challenge, but it’s usually pretty easy to understand. I welcome helpful suggestions to be better at what I do. If someone has a fundamental problem with what I’m doing; I’m learning to see that as more their problem. I have no time for haters, or anyone trying to tear down what I’m trying to do. I am an artist with a need to create, and a newfound ability to do so. I want to continue to be better, but if being better means not being true to my vision; I’m not interested. I will admit that after the release of “Halloween Party” I had my confidence shook by sharp criticism by someone I previously trusted on such things. That caused me to second guess much of what I had started after producing “Halloween Party”. Fortunately I have had numerous other music producers, and musicians give me positive feedback, and suggestions over the past couple of months that has been enough to encourage me to continue this journey. So, what’s next?
The Agenda
Since the release of “Halloween Party” October 1, 2021 I started writing 3 new songs. I didn’t get very far with them. I started downloading Stems & Tracks of classic hit songs by other artists from years ago to practice music production by remixing those songs. That has been ongoing, and it has been fun. It’s been good exercise, and helpful in developing my knowledge of working with my new studio setup. I started working on a cover of a song that was a hit in the early 1980s. On top of all that I also have been working on a new version of one of my earliest songs originally written back in early 1987. Almost by accident, weeks ago I also started work on a new version of a song I wrote in the mid-1990s. I now have little interest in the 3 new songs I started, and unfortunately, I lost all the little production work I had done for one of them. I’ve thought I could possibly pull the 3 ideas together into one song, but after listening to what I have minutes ago, I just don’t feel the inspiration. I got off track over the past 2-3 months, and now I feel ready to get everything back on track.
So, it is my intention to release at least one new production by March. What that will be? Not sure. It may be that cover I mentioned. It may be that new version of that song from 1987. It may be a re-work of the songs I started months ago. It may well be something entirely new that I haven’t even started. In the next few weeks I should have a more solid vision for all of that. After the next release it is my intention to start rolling out new music more often. I hope to have at least 5 new releases by the end of 2022. It would be great if I can do more. We’ll see.
Stay tuned!
Following Up Craziness
April 23 the first new song I was able to finish since 1998, “It’s All Crazy”, was released to the world. Since then I have I have been addressing cleaning up after decades of worsening ADHD including a lot of stuff to make my home a better place. Along the way I got Shingles which was very painful, and pretty much took me down for about 3 weeks. I mostly recovered from Shingles, and I recently finished a major project in my home reinvention. I am pausing further work on the home improvement until I get at least one more song ready to release to the world. I started 3 productions before getting Shingles & occupying myself with this ADHD cleanup thing, but didn’t get much done with them. Just as I was ready to get back to my ‘studio’ my office/studio chair died! The replacement arrived today, and after assembly I cranked up the studio for the first time in weeks. I reviewed the work I had done previously, but didn’t feel inspired to work on them today. Instead I opened a new session, and started on a 4th production. After being away from the music production mindset for a couple months, I can really feel a need to reengage with that way of thinking. Producing music involves a fairly unique talent & skillset especially for someone not neurotypical like me. ADHD certainly brings extra challenges to it. So, the goal is to have at least one new song released by Halloween. I intend to be better about updates going forwards stay tuned!
Cranking the studio back up. new song by Halloween is the goal!
