In conclusion...

I remember when Troy contacted me in the beginning of the year to see if I’d be interested in being part of his project. The project was Simplex Minds. I obviously said yes right away since I’ve worked with him before. I met Troy a little over 2 years ago in Hollywood and got along right away. I feel that was because we had a lot in common in terms of our personalities. I knew right away that he was someone I could rely on…which is hard to find these days, especially in Hollywood. He works hard and prioritizes his projects. I was also glad to finally have a platform where I can output all of my geeky love for music artists and their artistry.

Later, I met the rest of the Season 1 team. Carissa and Mia. These are some badass ladies. They are both super talented at what they do. Carissa has a talent with visuals that are out of this world. Honestly, she inspired us all to do better with our visuals! Mia is a talented photographer that even through adversity (covid), she still managed to do her photoshoots without having to be physically there. It was great to see them all grow in their corresponding fields. Simplex Minds became our support system. We all faced changes in our careers during this season and we were all there for each other. Cheering each other up and giving reassurance that everything will be okay. Simplex Minds became a lot more than just a project, it became a family. It’s great to have a little family that understands your struggles as a creative. A family that actually relates to what you’re saying. A family that fully understands and supports you. I really hope to continue to see everyone grow in their careers and personal lives for many more years to come. The Season 2 team is here as well, getting ready for y’all next year. The family has gotten bigger.

At the beginning of Season 1 we posted our introductions that included info about us, so you’d get to know us. Included as well, was a set of goals that we wanted to achieve during Season 1. Of course, Simplex Minds has grown and evolved since that initial post but I’m about to go over those goals and see if I have accomplished them and track my progress. I had four simple goals and they were:

· Help other D.I.Y. artists achieve their dreams.

· Have a place to geek out.

· Show my journey as an independent artist.

· Build a supporting community of independent musicians.

Let’s go one by one and see how far I’ve come. So, for number 1. Helping other D.I.Y. artists achieve their dreams. I think I made some important progress with this. I’d like to say that I did in fact accomplish this goal. My goal for every post was to write an obvious takeaway from each artist I wrote about. Sort of demystifying each artist and put them under a light in which the reader can go like, “oh, they’re just human.” That’s a fact. They are just human. Once I did that, I would gift the reader what I’d think would be a simple idea that each artist made and that they themselves can apply it to their lives and careers. That was my way of helping upcoming artists. Also, in my personal life I did get to help some musicians by sharing my knowledge and guiding them. I even took a band under my wing and we’re working together to release their very first single and I’m super thrilled about that.

Second goal was to have a place to geek out. That is another goal achieved. Simplex Minds gave the platform to type away and geek out about my favorite musicians. This season I wrote about, Gabe Bondoc, John Frusciante (RHCP), Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), John Mayer, and Sir Paul McCartney (The Beatles). In each post, I talk about my personal life and how I first discovered each artist. It was great to reminisce on some childhood and teenage memories that honestly, I hadn’t thought about in years. I also looked at each artist’s beginning career and explained what I thought were key components to their career and shared some insight on how to achieve similar goals. Of course, I would also share some of my favorite work of theirs with my audience so hopefully they’d become fans like me.

My next goal was to show my journey as an independent artist. Another goal achieved. This goal wasn’t directly achieved through the Simplex Minds readers but through the Simplex Minds family. Like I mentioned before, we would each talk through our journeys in our meetings and Troy, Carissa, and Mia were there through each step I took in my journey. I did mention my music in one of the posts, but I preferred to keep my posts more about my experience with their art and the artist’s career. Of course, I you happen to be more interested on our personal journeys, please feel free to follow our socials where we share some insight on our personal projects.

My last goal was to create a supporting community of independent musicians. This goal wasn’t fully achieved but I’m glad it is at least in its beginning stages. If I was to modify the goal to a supporting community of independent creatives, then the goal can definitely be checked off as accomplished. That is Simplex Minds. It’s a supportive community of independent creatives for us writers. However, let’s pretend I can’t cheat and change my goal. Well, in that case, I can talk about SUPERNOVA STAR. SUPERNOVA STAR is a project of mine that its ultimate goal is to be a local community of musicians and creatives in which we all help each other out and represent our local cities that usually don’t get enough attention because they are not famous cities. As of now, SUPERNOVA STAR is an independent label I created to release my music and opened the door to have upcoming artists release their own music through it. I’m also very excited to mentioned that Troy has joined the project and will help me grow SUPERNOVA STAR to become what I always dreamed it’ll be. Currently, Troy and I are working on some fun projects that hopefully you’ll hear about soon.

In conclusion, Simplex Minds became more than just a side project. It became a pivotal platform to express myself. Also, it became family. I’d like to think that Troy, Carissa, and Mia are now my friends, and they have my full support. We’re always looking out for each other. I am rooting for each one of them. Simplex Minds is now growing its family, and it will only continue to grow. This was the very first season of many to come! I’ll see you next season with bigger projects, more writers, and more memories. In the meantime, let’s enjoy our friends and families during the holidays.