Happy Thursday and Welcome to this weeks "In the Spotlight".

Today I will introduce you to the multi talented Dominic J Mason.

Hi Dominic and Welcome!

Growing up. What sparked that interest to create? and where did you start?

My imagination - for good or ill - distinguished me from many of my peers at an early age. I love people, but I could also play with chess pieces or action figures in blissful solitude, often not realising that the hours had passed me by until my grandmother called me down from the landing on the stairwell to eat dinner. I adored the movements of the pieces on the squares and would often play against myself, turning the board around to answer my own move. During these formative years, I remember spending days designing what I considered to be the ultimate Lego Formula One cars and racing them with my brother in my grandfather's living room. The cars would glide along the carpet at speed, eventually hitting the oak table with a thud! This would result in them either falling apart or desperately clinging on...and so, looking back on this I understand that the race wasn't about speed, it was more about durability. The winner was often the car to survive the most impacts!

As a child, was creativity something that was encouraged or did you have to fight to find your voice as an artist?

My grandfather enrolled me in the church choir at age 6. I was their youngest chorister ever admitted at that time, and I recall the director being a little reluctant to accept me on account of my age, but I had wanted to join my brother as a treble so badly that my constant questioning paid off! My grandfather was a trained tenor and could play piano to a competent level, so he naturally took us both under his wing. Joining the choir was the catalyst to expressing myself with music, it was also a gateway to hearing other instruments such as the pipe organ, pianoforte, and, later on, string ensembles. Singing taught me many of the skills I cherish to this day, discipline, teamwork, patience, and relishing the joy of ensemble musicianship. I quickly fell in love with the pianoforte not long after this. And the discovery of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky blew my tiny mind.

What was it that made you realize that this was MORE than just a "hobby"?

The word 'phases' strongly defines my musical history. I was obsessed with the piano when I was a boy, and several tutor's told my mother that I had potential. I always wanted to strive for more, which was an attribute that often frustrated my teachers. I would defy their rules and practice different (usually more difficult) pieces and get carried away with my latest passion for a newly discovered composer. As a teenager, it was evident that I could create melodies and harmonic structure on the piano, which led me to begin composing and writing things down. It was around this time (aged 14-16), that I began to develop an early voice as both a composer and a writer of poems. 

How do you feel your creative style has changed over the years and what have been the biggest reasons for that growth/change?

Without labouring the point about phases, I have gone through so many in my journey thus far. Usually it happens because of a concert I've attended, or a new style of music has entered my life because of study or perhaps due to hearing it played on the radio. I am a voracious reader...consuming books and films by the thousands as an adolescent really gave me a thirst for knowledge, a thirst that has been unquenchable ever since. At this point in my life, at the age of 36, I have composed in so many styles but thankfully never been defined by a single genre, I like to think of it as more of a mosaic of culture coming together and combining to form the whole. My Poulenc, Schumann, and - later - Mompou phases lasted for about a year apiece and really pushed my music to another level I feel. My later fascination with the 20^th century impressionists and the avant-garde set aided me in composing my 2021 piano album 'Songs for John' which incorporated many elements of the French and Japanese style, including wispy piano lines, repetitive pianist devices, and salonesque motivic allusions.

How would you describe your writing and music to someone that is new to it?

My musical tastes are eclectic, both as a listener and as a recording artist/performer. I am equally happy performing my own solo piano repertoire or classical music, and the next day playing a jazz gig or an indie set at a festival. My latest adventure as a recording artist has been a collaboration with my longtime friend Adam Strazzanti. We have known each other since Year 7 at secondary school and have long talked about setting up a duo in the future. Well, we did just that this year! We called it 'Robot Birthday Party' which we think was inspiration from when NASA put a robot on a spacecraft and programmed it to sing itself happy birthday...you cannot deny that the idea is adorable! Adam and I took the approach of not writing in a predefined genre, but instead to let it flow naturally. The result has been a type of music that somehow defies pigeonholing, though someone did DM us to suggest that they would call it Latin funk jazz rock! Even though there's no denying that there are classical influences in it, we are happily stealing her definition going forward...! We have released two singles in 2024, the latest (California Sunset) dropped a fortnight ago. 

 

Hi and welcome to "In the Spotlight"

Today I have the HUGE pleasure to introduce you to Jesse Blaze Snider

Hi Jesse. Thank you for taking some time for your busy schedule to have this chat with us.

My pleasure. Thank you for your time.

For those that don't know you yet. WHO is Jesse Blaze?

Oh my god. lol. What a question. Um…I am. lol.

Who am I? I am a human CareBear, I guess.

I am an enthusiastic participator in life.

I’m a father of four. I’m a huge geek, but I live a rather punk rock lifestyle.

I love people & I’ve long felt like great art brings us together and helps people to feel less alone. So, I’ve pursued a passionate career, in music, comic books & the arts determined to live up to the greatness of all my idols.

However, I hate the system and I’m here to destroy the status quo. I’ve come from a privileged position being raised as the child of a celebrity, I was shown the unreasonable status that society likes to grant to people like that and their associates.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out the next level of privileged position that the ancient families of the old world & the financial elites have created for themselves. And they’ve convinced most people that they’re just these little disempowered ants.

I’m here to empower all of the ants and remind them that there are WAAAAAY MORE ANTS, then the relatively few “grasshoppers” in the upper .00000000000000001% of our society’s financial elite, armed with more money than any normal person could even image. A wealth differential from tiers below them that is so many times greater & larger than the tiers below as to create a cast system that is COMPLETELY IMPENETRABLE!

AWAKENING the WORLD to the INVISIBLE PRISON THEY ARE STUCK WITHIN is my ultimate goal. Or rather, to empower them beyond it & build a better system that works for all.

I’m very community oriented and I simply DO NOT UNDERSTAND AMERICAN SOCIETY. I’m forever guilty like everyone else in American who after being introduced to the idea of homelessness…just accepting it as natural or something. There is NOTHING natural about poverty & suffering.

I live in a war-torn world that acknowledges veteran sacrifice at the beginning of sporting events & on the calendar many times every year, but do NOT actually take care of them. All of our bleeding heart liberal political pundits are that in WORD & NEVER in ACTION.

I’m 41 years old & I see a natural energy in society where we bow down and move aside for our perceived “betters”. I’ve watched this over & over again with majority reactions to celebrities & even me with my lesser celebrity status, but with my connections to much greater celebrities, so no one wants to piss me off, cause they don’t want to lose their access to celebrity. Many people believe they get power from this, it’s a TOTAL ILLUSION.

With great power comes great responsibility and believe I have a duty to dissolve this illusion instead of perpetually taking advantage of it like everyone else does.

We are one. We are equal. We all have unique often untapped value and I want to live in a world where that untapped potential is FULLY REALIZED for EVERYONE.

You both write comics and music. How did that start and where do you find your inspiration? and is there anything else in the creative world you would like to try in the future like writing a book or making a movie?

Well, this is a very common misconception about me working in comics, that this is some sort of stepping stone. I love comics books. I do not care what mainstream society thinks about them, I could talk at great length in very convincing & eloquent terms about how comic books are the SINGLE GREATEST ARTISTIC ART FORM on planet Earth.

While I have some minor interest in making comedy films in the future (which has largely been inspired by making comedy music videos for my band D.I.L.F USA & recognizing a real LACK of genuinely funny & interesting comedy films!) I didn’t pick comic books because I didn’t think I could make movies, I chose comic books because I didn’t like all of the EGO that was so clearly crammed into that system.

From the casting couch on down to simply the types of personalities most often drawn to acting, directing (aka ORDERING PEOPLE AROUND) and worse, the business side, the Hollywood business people are the WORST of ALL the business people types. I can feel their self motivation from miles away.

The world of comic books is filled with craftsman. That’s who I like, want to know better & spend my time with. People who work hard their whole lives to perfect a craft (or 2 or 3) because that’s who I am.

I had also chosen geek culture (and being an independent music artist) because the SYSTEM has no interest in us geeks or the indie music scene  and I wanted to influence the subculture & help it grow.

Of course, as is often the case, when the power of comic books & geek culture became known to the establishment money, they took control of it & have been destroying the culture for about a decade now.

So, I mean the differential between what people THINK is REALITY & what reality actually is FEEDS MY ART and it will forever.

Perspective is the greatest gift you can receive.

Great art(music/comic books/whatever) can give you perspective. And I will use its power to continue to grant new perspectives to everyone who discovers my work.

I don’t have much interest in writing a book. I do 4 podcasts a week, “All Your Favorite Bands Suck” (music podcast featuring one of my fav bands every episode), “Coolest Geek Alive” (a twice a week geek culture show highlighting the best & WORST things being done in Hollywood with all our great geek culture ideas) and an esoteric wisdom show called, “Everything They Don’t Want You To Know” (basically teaching people what the Free Masons, Illuminati & other secret cults are teaching their members.), between these 3 shows I feel like I have a pretty good outlet for anything I might put in a book. Type in my name on a iTunes podcasts or Spotify or wherever you listen and you can find my three shows every week like clockwork.

Remember, I believe comic books are the superior artform so books, movies, I don’t really care about them. Music & comic books those are my two deep loves. Even though I do enjoy books, film & TV, but I think there are millions actively trying to pursue interest in those fields, because society has deemed them respectable, while comic books & tons of different genres of music are considered childish or less respectable at the very least. I consider that disrespect towards many artists I admire very deeply and I will change everyone’s perspective as a service to these great artists who have come before me who have deserved more respect for years and years. They will receive it one day. Mark my words.

What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?

Well, my company “black light district studios” is fundraising for our 2nd Kickstarter & 4th project overall, a truly original sci-fi comedy called “Fucking For Our Future” which would be mislabeled an “erotic” comic book, but does use nudity to sell the book.

I think really we made a nude book that appeals to everyone, men & women alike. It’s just a comedy with a premise that revolves around procreation without the eroticism that usually comes from that. Because main characters have a very practical need for sperm, since their cloning machines stopped working. But they don’t have any desire for a man. And seeing as how it’s been 1000 years since any of the men have even seen a woman, they don’t have any desire for them either.

It’s a very interesting science fiction premise executed exactly the way I’d execute any other science fiction premise and I think the more you were immediately turned off by the idea of a book called “Fucking For Our Future” the more you will be shocked to discover what a pleasant surprise it is for anyone.

It’s shocking, but in a very satisfying way.

This will not be the last you hear of us. We’ve got big plans. Continuing to push our independent project like “King of Kings”, “Mythic Legions” or our music/comic book mash up project our company is named for “black light district” is just the beginning. Next step will be some licensing of some major intellectual property that we believe we can do some great work with. And then expansion from there.

D.I.L.F USA is slowly building our touring schedule and honestly the dream that I will be living shortly is…

Podcasting during the week.

Comic Conventions on the weekend.

With DILF USA CONCERTS at VENUES near the Conventions!!

Return home, repeat.

That’s it. A life of work I love. Trust me when I say, when this is finally realized the world will be a better place, filled not just with my stories & music, but the stories & music of all my incredibly talented friends! Many have which have struggled even harder than I have to do what they love for a living. I want this struggle to end for all deserving artists.

What is the one thing you want to tell your fans?

Thank you. I’m doing this for you. I’m a people pleaser. I got into entertainment to make the audience happy. And I’ve spent my whole life studying specifically what about entertainment really does this for us! Why is something great!? How do we repeat that greatness.

I know the answer now. And I am want to provide you with an endless supply of joyful inspiration.

Just know that by supporting me, you support the whole industry, because I want an industry functioning at the top of its game. I don’t want to be the best because no one can compete. I want a system that makes it easier for everyone to compete at the highest level.

I wanna live in a world where I personally am being inspired constantly all the time by the work of others. None of the entertainment systems in place now are sustainable or built with any notion of protecting its working creative people. The business cares about the business & NOT the people who make the business possible. It’s terrible.

A good Shepard can change all of this

You want better stories? Better songs? Better music? Better bands?!

Help me, help YOU.

Also, that I love you. It’s a thank less job creating things, until people go out of their way to tell you how your work effected them and at that point it becomes the greatest job in the world.

So to my fans I say, thank you for making this the greatest job in the world. It’s all I ever wanted to do.

What is the one thing you would like the big labels to know?

That they can go fuck themselves & I don’t want nothing to do with them.

There was a time, where maybe they might have tricked me into their demonic cult, when I was looking to be validated by that system.

Who wants to be validated by a system that’s not just broken, but disgusting? Myopic. Idiotic. Amoral. Show them a pic of dick & tell them to choke on it.

I want them to know I’m not for sale. And that my soulful music & that of the artist I produce are going to punch a hole in their system letting all the light IN and when that happens…these VAMPIRE ARE GOONA BURN.

Good riddance.

You want change? Support someone who is INCORRUPTIBLE.

And that was my chat with Jesse Blaze Snider... I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

And YOU can find MORE form Jesse Blazer Snider Here

https://www.instagram.com/coolestgeekjbs/

https://x.com/CoolestGeekJBS

https://www.youtube.com/@dilfusa

https://thepodcastplayground.com/coolest-geek-alive/

https://thepodcastplayground.com/all-your-favorite-bands-suck-w-jesse-blaze-snider/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boobies/fucking-for-our-future-adult-sci-fi-waifu-comics-and-cards?ref=user_menu

https://bldsts.com/collections/black-light-district-studios

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Take care and I hope to Cya soon again