On August 17, 2012, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” for a performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and sentenced to two years imprisonment. She has been recognized as a political prisoner by the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners. Amnesty International named her a prisoner of conscience due to “the severity of the response of the Russian authorities.” (Information quoted from Tolokonnikova’s Wikipedia entry)

On August 17, 2012, Maria Alyokhina was convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” for a performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and sentenced to two years imprisonment. She has been recognized as a political prisoner by the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners. Amnesty International named her a prisoner of conscience due to “the severity of the response of the Russian authorities.” (Information quoted from Alyokhnia’s Wikipedia entry)

In (or approximately) October 2012, Vo Minh Tri (a.k.a. Viet Khang) and Tran Vu Anh Binh were sentenced to four and six years jail by a court in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on charges of spreading propaganda against the state. They were sentenced in a half-day trial that came after 10 months in detention. They allegedly posted their dissident songs on a Vietnamese opposition website run by a group of expatriate activists known as Patriotic Youth. Viet Khang was blamed for composing a song criticizing Vietnam’s alleged submissive policy towards China on territorial claims in the South China Sea. One of Tran’s melodies encouraged non-violent protest against Vietnam’s single party rule. Viet Khang and Tran Vu Anh Binh may spend four to six years in prison. (Information quoted primarily from The New York Times and Global Post)

In September 2012, Vladimir Putin announced publicly that he was aware of the situation regarding Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, but stated “I’m not getting involved in any way.” (Youtube link here)

To the best of my research, I have not identified Truong Tan Sang, president of Vietnam, acknowledging the plights of Viet Khang and Tran Vu Anh Binh.

In 2011, I spent countless hours over many months recording, composing, and mastering the songs for my debut album, Zero Zero Three. In 2012, I spent an equivalent amount of time recording one long track that would eventually be my sophomore release, Contemplating Silent Wishes. After learning and researching the plights of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, Viet Khang and Tran Vu Anh Binh, I spent many weeks composing the song “Something Off” which I subsequently uploaded to SoundCloud and linked from my personal website for public distribution.

For the efforts described in the previous paragraph, I never once feared that I would be the target of political or legal retaliation. I will not go to jail for recording and distributing these songs. No matter what acclaim, criticism, or apathy might be directed towards this art, I have no fear of harm to my well being because of its existence.

I will not go to jail for publishing the song “Something Off.” This should be a basic human right; not because, in my case, of the fortune I had of being born in one country as opposed to another.

This is not a complicated problem. Vladimir Putin could have Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina released today. Truong Tan Sang could have Viet Khang and Tran Vu Anh Binh released today.

Please, be so loud that you cannot be ignored.

There is no hole deep enough to stifle the sound of protest.
There is no man ridiculous enough to quiet the world.
Maria Alyokhina must be freed.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova must be freed.
Viet Khang must be freed.
Tran Vu Anh Binh must be freed.
Vladimir Putin there is something off in your world
Truong Tan Sang there is something off in your world.
I hope so.

For the handful of folks who have followed this site over the past few years, you probably noticed an obvious decline of entries and posts over the summer. Finally, after nearly nine months of work, I am happy to explain the source of the absence.

There are many apartment neighbors over the years, as anonymous as they may be to me, who experienced my late night pounding on guitars, bass, and an assortment of instruments as I carved out a musical direction from the ocean of influences that flooded my mind. A small apology is probably due to them as I wrestled with the numerous influences that wracked my brain, not the least of which would be Bob Mould and his vicious 12-string guitar that likely has put me on one or two thin-walled Dead Pool lists over the years. However, all things said, they probably got off easy compared to how my influences progressed.

A concrete direction, perhaps, was generated in September 2009, when Nicole and I traveled to the middle of nowhere, New York state, to see the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival featuring The Boredoms early on Sunday afternoon (my gushing review featured here). Something about this tremendous composition of drums and guitars took my brain to a new path that I’m not sure it ever considered possible.

Combined with two other significant influences; Merzbow, for his presentation of chaotic noise, and Amon Tobin, who can find a beat in just about any source, I worked for the bulk of 2011 in what was to
become Zero Zero Three, a collection of drums, sounds, and generate noise that I diligently composed throughout the year.

On Tuesday, December 13, 2011, Zero Zero Three reaches its official release to the world. It is a collection of compositions that I never thought I would let go of to the point that I could
finalize them in the form of a real CD. But real it is, and a few months after I put down the pen on each track, I’m happy to say that each listen makes me smile a little more.

And, for those out there who might have a neighbor that, for whatever reason, you might feel the need to “get even” with, this just might be the album for you.