As none of you probably know, AOL/HuffPo let go a bunch of freelance writers (no, not all of them) in the wee hours of this morning today, and yours truly was among the victims. It was pretty inevitable from the merger and the fact that, if any site among all the sites AOL/HuffPo owns is going have their numbers reduced, it’s going to be a heavy metal blog.
Though others that got let go may feel different, I have no qualms. There was some weirdness in how everything was handled, but I was a freelancer and no contract was broken. I was brought on board mostly by chance, when my good pal Seth told me about this metal blog he was starting for AOL while we were driving on the streets of Pittsburgh, looking for coffee.
I had a good run: 261 posts, almost 101k words written, and over two years of a fairly consistent posting schedule alongside much more talented and accomplished writers. I got to see some great shows and write them off my taxes, interview some great bands and people (weird fact: dudes in metal bands are normal people!), like Cory from Norma Jean talking about his love life, Alicia from The Agonist who spoke some French that I eventually figured out, Matt from Shai Hulud and his board game fetish, and Krysta and Stephen from Iwrestledabearonce and their gay metal shirt. I even got to cover a video shoot with a pair of contortionists.
Of course, if I had my druthers I would stay with Noisecreep, but I now have time to work on some short stories and finish the final, pre-agent draft of this curse book. There’s always something else to see when you turn a new corner and leave something behind.
Photo by Hot Metal Studio