The departure of Dave and the fact that I became the only person who seems to contribute to another co-created, co-authored music blog have led me to think that any future endeavors would almost surely be both solo and less time consuming. Something that, at this point seems unlikely.
These five years years have taught me a lot about myself and my obsessive nature. How, whenever I take on any project. I develop this compulsive desire to make it bigger, better and to ultimately involve as many creative people as possible. While not a terribly bad thing. Putting that much passion or energy into anything can more than often result in burn out. One starts to expect too much from themselves and the people he/she chooses to involve.
In recent months and years my health has been a major cause of concern. Nothing I'd like to discuss in a public forum, but bad enough that I've told my doctors that I'm getting tired of fighting. And as much as they admire my resilience. I don't know how much longer I want to fight. Obviously, I needed to change some things in my life.
It all started slowly with a change of diet. My wife and I became vegetarians. A stricter diet, an exercise regiment and meditation followed. I began withdrawing from the rat race and rebuilding my greatest passion, studio photography. I've been happier. And all I really want to be is happy. Over time, I've learned that happiness often starts when you stop trying to make others happy. That's important, because United By Rocket Science stopped being fun for me and became more about setting deadlines and trying to please others. Something Dave and me never set out to do in the first place.
In the end, I'm very proud of what Dave G. and I created and built. Grateful for the many friends we made and the one's who contributed. Hopefully, the many people who stopped in to read the reviews and interviews, enjoyed the experience. But for now, it's time for something different.
Sincerely,
- James Damion
P.S. I'll be covering two upcoming Jersey City music festivals in the coming weeks and months. Sugarfest August 12th and 13th at The Citizen and The North Jersey Indie Rock Festival Saturday September 12th at Cathedral Hall. I'll be taking lots of pictures at both events and will most likely be posting some of them here.
