I have made myself a website

Hi all,

I write under the name Touring Saturn. I wish I could say this was a whole song-and-dance persona, along the lines of Lady Gaga or Tiny Tim, but alas it’s a writing project. I know, I know. Not as fun.

I watched a video recently about American Idol and The Voice, two U.S.-produced reality shows based on competitive singing. Kevin Perjurer correctly points out that The Voice has not produced that many stars as American Idol, probably because Simon Cowell was right: being attractive is part of being a popstar. This commentary about the nature of the music industry— that it is looks- & lucks-based— has informed a lot of my decisions to make music. It would feel wrong not to mention why this songwriting project is not meant to be a persona. I am not enough of a showperson to make Touring Saturn some sort of character. She doesn’t really exist that way.

This is a meta-introduction to the project. Basically, I love making music and I don’t like being named. The anonymous aspect of some of this is appeals to me. And many male artists have done something similar; Tame Impala is my favorite example. So, I adopted the name Touring Saturn after…

Well, I guess I don’t really know why. I have a tattoo of Saturn (the planet), and my dad used to have a Saturn (the car), but I would never be eligible to win a Saturn (award) and I have never read an issue of Saturn (the magazine). I am a Capricorn (10th house), ruled by Saturn, though my Saturn (1st house) is in Aries. Yeah, I don’t have a good answer. But it’s a cool name, and one I think I can grow quite a bit into.

I am also aware that right now, in the current climate of music making, being unique is all the rage. Everyone asks, “what makes you different? What’s your sound?” And I’m sorry, but today, it’s not that deep. I make whatever I wanna make. I tend to hover in the pop/rock area, to give you an idea. But my sound is always changing, and each album I write is a completely different vibe. On purpose. I do it on purpose.

So why make a website if I like to be anonymous and I don’t like labels? Easy. It’s to lend my work some credibility. Doesn’t this look more professional? Don’t I look real?

Plus, right now it’s February. Before June, I would like to have the next album recorded, finished, and streamable everywhere. And when people look me up, I want them to find something. Because I rarely perform, and I hardly ever promote myself. But maybe I’ll change my mind. Maybe something really cool will come out of this. Or maybe nothing will.

But if you’re reading, maybe you liked what you heard. Maybe you want to collab. Maybe you want to keep tabs on me. This is the place. Hi. Welcome to my blog. :)