I Love Those Videos, I Watch 'Em All Day

So, maybe some of you were surprised at how excited I was to complete and post a video on YouTube at the end of last week. Maybe you thought, “Yeah, but it’s not like it’s a new song or anything, it’s just a YouTube video.” That’s fine; maybe YouTube isn’t your thing, or you remember the days when musicians and rock bands only made videos that got shown on MTV, or something like that. That’s all okay.

For me these days, it’s different. Even though I am probably a good deal older than the demographic that predominantly does so, I fully engaged the culture of YouTube starting a year or two ago. I follow YouTubers who make regular videos (meaning at least one a week) and who have gotten to the point where they predominantly make their livings from YouTube (through advertising, product reviews/endorsement, etc.). Now, I’m not saying that I necessarily aspire to be one of those people, but I think firmly planting a foot in the culture of it, and embracing what it has become, is exciting. I like the idea of at least being adjacent to that culture, and so making regular videos has been a goal of mine (one which I have had to put aside several times). I am hoping I don’t have to put it aside anymore; I am going to do my best to post things regularly (at least 2-3 times a month, hopefully weekly). Some of these videos will be “episodes” of the series I’ve already established (Stories Behind the Pants, Bum & Psyche), and some will be new things. Stories Behind the Pants has a somewhat limited lifespan…I don’t want to post the story behind every song in my catalogue, and so I can really only do so many. But when that series stops, something else will begin.

As for why it’s taken me so long to get back to it…Life, man. Parenthood (now of 2 children), work, graduate school, marriage. Those are all incredibly important, and neglecting any of them for the sake of a YouTube video (when it’s NOT something I’m making any money from) seems unjustifiable. But I’m hoping I can streamline my video process in the coming months to the point where it doesn’t have to.

So that’s a little about YouTube and videos; why I want to do them, why I haven’t been. Expect more. Expect it to be a consistent element in the online world of Dr. Pants. In our new configuration (more on that soon), it CAN be more consistent with the other things I’m doing, because Dr. Pants as a thing is not as much about the façade of a 4-piece rock band anymore.

It’s about whatever I want it to be.