Hello and a good day to you my fans!! It has been a while since I have written and I am sharing my state of career and what I have been doing which is, in a word, re-evaluation. After over 50 years in the music business, most of the time on the perimeter of the action but never really in it, I had to re-evaluate whether or not I was wasting time. I have become reasonably convinced that indeed I was wasting my time as I had more focus placed on 'doing the business' than on 'creating music' or more to the point, 'following my bliss.' I always have enjoyed composing and playing music, but for most of my time of involvement, I was hungry for tangible results, like money, respect, recognition, fandom, all the bells, and whistles that go with becoming a celebrity. I was wrong the entire time. I approached music, its creation, production, and release as a first priority, and the creation of music and enjoyment of that act was last on the list. In the last couple of years, I have come so close to quitting music entirely that one could say that for other than internet presence, I have. I have determined that I was wrong. My choice now is to use my skills and abilities to once again, create new original music that pleases me and meets my criteria for 'what sounds fantastic' and hold myself to that standard. I never compromised that edict in my prior works, but I kept the pressure on myself to meet market demands instead of my own. I lost heart. I began to think that "I'm just not good enough." In other words, I hurt myself by using my talents and abilities for the wrong goal. I had to make a choice of whether or not I would ever play a note again. I have not played in years. I keep my music on the internet to gauge whatever response I get and have noted that it is appreciated and enjoyed. That is good. I haven't made a dime since before the turn of the century. That's not really important to me any longer though it would be quite nice. I have, in my re-evaluation, decided to focus exclusively on creating more music. I have, over the last several years, monitored all genres of music daily, from all over the world. The ideas, the concepts, the extreme originality, astounds me, pleases me, and has become to challenge me to once again, start creating, and f**k the business concerns. The world community of musicians is SO prolific that there is no competition amongst them all, but instead, a mutual sharing and respect for each other's abilities and contributions that I must become an active contributing member. And that is where I am at. I am pursuing a dietary/exercise regimen to enhance my energy and stamina (performing is demanding) and more importantly, increase my perspicacity in what I write and ultimately consider complete. In other words, I have re-evaluated my life's course, and have decided to change my emphasis and focus on creation as opposed to focusing on 'making it.' I will continue to share my new creations once they are ready to be introduced. I have no idea what to expect. A long-time love once told me, "Expectations lead to disappointment." Well, perhaps she was right but I doubt that I will be disappointed by the expectations for my new music. I have not decided what to do with my internet presence nor have I decided what to do with my 'musical children' that I have placed there for all to access. That is a 'business thing' so I have decided to leave it as it is. So as I am able to produce music that pleases me, I will have various in sundry platforms to share my creations. The preceding commentary about sums up my current status both personally and professionally. I do indeed thank you, all of you, for being a fan of my music and through reading this long-winded missive. May the future be a sweet experience with a little spicey on the side, for all of us. Jonathan Videri Evans a/k/a JonV