Needless to Say

Needless to Say is a continuation of my first book, Man of Few Words. It chronicles my journey over the last five years with poetry, songs, essays, and short stories. This book contains more universal themes than the previous one. It covers topics such as politics, religion, race relations, psychology, philosophy, and popular culture, among others. The irony of the title stems from the fact that things that are claimed to be needless to say, somehow need to be said. Most of the universal themes of this book are attributed to the series of albums (chapters), The Global Times. These albums allowed me to take the lens off of myself, and to focus on the state of the world. For the first time as a writer, I felt like I was actually doing important work. I felt as if I had the power to change the way people think and, in turn, change the world with the use of my words. The pieces in these particular albums are what I most want readers to take in. For me, theyve offered immeasurable creative and personal growth. Since completing my last book, Ive had a number of other significant personal achievements. I moved from Milwaukee to Madison to attend Madison Media Institute, where I studied in their Recording and Music Technology program. I maintained a perfect GPA and perfect attendance, and was also named to the Deans List for all four semesters. I graduated in September of 2014, and received an associate degree. While attending Madison Media Institute, I developed skills in audio engineering, mixing, producing, sound design, post-production editing, and even video editing. Although I initially went to school for music, I fell in love with this newfound process of video editing, and began to pursue it as a career. With almost no experience, I was able to hustle my way to an internship at a local television station in Madison. There, I was a camera operator for different segments shot throughout the city, and I was also a floor director for a promotional talk program. I worked as an intern for three months while maintaining another part-time job, and still attending school. After my internship, I was offered a position as an independent contractor with the station. They gave me the opportunity to shoot and edit some of the local shows, and even a commercial. During this time, I was also paid to do a side project editing an online interview show for an aspiring broadcast host. I worked at the station for another three months before work opportunities began to dry up there, and I moved on. While I thoroughly appreciated the opportunity and experience they gave me, my passion began to shift once again. I rediscovered my love for music, and I started putting into it all of my time and effort. I wrote songs and created instrumental compositions for recording. I worked with other artists to sing and record demos of my music, and I even sang most of the demos myself. Ultimately, I created an EP of music that showcases all of the skills I learned in school. Its a professional tool that I plan to use to work my way into the music industry, and fulfill my purpose as a songwriter and producer. After two long years in Madison, Im finally ready to move back to my hometown of Milwaukee. Ive accomplished a lot, and now Im armed with the skills to accomplish more than was possible before. Throughout this recent journey, Ive worked tirelessly on what will be my next big accomplishment, this book. It is something I want to be remembered for as it contains (almost) everything I want to say before I die. Needless to say, it needs to be said.