Back To Work.

Back to work after a break due to my mom's passing. Thanks to Octave One, Shake, and many of you for kind words of support. I was particularly moved and honored by a note from Moev, one of the more classic electronic dance groups of the '80s/early '90s ("Alibis," "Crucify Me").

Getting the Johnny Gambit project together now. My faithful graphic designer Howard Forbes is doing all the artwork now, CD and vinyl. Pure Sonik is back. Comic itself will be tweaked and finished by the end of the week. Music has long been done (check out sound clips at www.puresonikrecords.net). Still gotta upload tracks into zero*inch. Yes, I'm going digital this year, old and new tracks. I'm five pages into issue two and haven't worked on it in months. I'll be 50 before this whole story is finished.

In the final stages of a painting I've been working on forever. Client hired me in August to do it, but between tours, the band and my mom's passing, I've pushed it to the back burner. I appreciate his patience.

Back in the studio making new music. I'm on a roll. It's usually sad and cold in Jan/Feb/Mar, I make good tracks then. Back to basics making techno again after a long stretch messing around with lowtempo and trip-hop. My new stuff's pretty good, plenty of quality control. I copped a lot of old soul records when I was in Detroit, they're inspiring me. Maybe I'll post a track as a teaser.

Got rehearsal coming up next weekend for the next LadyParasyte show here in Chicago. We're playing Darkroom on Feb. 8th, opening for Sensuous Enemy. If you're in the Chi, come check us out. Rock/EBM/Goth. One guy thought it was just me DJing when he saw it on my dates.

Putting together spring DJ dates for Europe right now. A lot of possible stuff in Spain. Last year, Italy was the place for me, this year Spain seems like the new hot spot. But lots of stuff can change so we'll see. I miss playing America, though, especially the small towns, like back in the day. Iowa City or Lincoln, Nebraska, etc. Too bad it's all dead now. But you never know.

I haven't talked to you since we got our new President! Unlike the last one, he was duly elected in an electoral landslide. Chief Justice Roberts (a Bush appointee) was so flustered that this brother got elected he messed up his lines in front of millions of people. But nothing can stop history. Just to quiet the right-wing AM radio lunatics, they did the oath again later ("He's not really President! He said the oath wrong! He wasn't born in America! He's a Socialist!"). After the long campaign it seemed almost anticlimactic to me though. I had gotten so addicted to Chris Matthews, Charlie Rose, Meet The Press, McLaughlin Group, etc. Now it's over. But I'm hopeful as is most of America. Obama's doing a great job so far.

I'm diggin' Pat Buchanan a lot these days, though. Entertaining and funny on the political talk shows. He's a lunatic, but getting to be a pragmatic in his old age. You can tell he likes Obama a lot but has to couch him in conservative terms to keep getting paid. Not tryin' to knock his hustle though. At least he's no Coulter.

Hope you're having a great 2009 so far. I'm grateful for good health, good friends, and fans all over the world.

Donna P. Oldham 1940-2009

My mother passed away on 1/7/2009. She had been sick off and on for a while, but this final illness took us all by surprise. We laid her to rest peacefully on 1/10/2009, a very snowy Saturday in Detroit. An electrifying sermon by Rev. J. Gaines helped us celebrate her homegoing. She is buried now in the Bowie (her maiden name) family plot in Belleville, Michigan. Thanks to all my family and friends who came to her funeral and pitched in to help me during this sad time, particularly my Aunt Barbara who let me know of her illness, and my father, whom I hadn't seen in seven years before this crisis but who stepped up to the plate when we all needed him.

And thank you all for your condolences and well wishes from all over the world on Myspace and Facebook. I appreciate them all.

After a short period of mourning, I will continue my mission of rocking shows, making music and making art only for those who know.