It is hard out there for artists and increasingly impossible to even be a "struggling artist" with the cost of living increasing every single year. I have even had artists tell me that if it were not for my interest in their one particular song they were going to throw in the towel. What has kept me going when I have felt that it is time to end this passion and responsibility are the emails from artists who are so appreciative that someone is listening to their music. Sticking to my guns is not the best business model in terms of growth because artists who are not well known don't generally garner a lot of searches in Google so American Pancake, in terms of outreach has stayed relatively small although it has had for many years a spot in the Indie Bible and is know all around the world. Ultimately, I tried all these years to stick to my guns and the mission statement of covering artists / bands that the Pitchfork Media's of the world do not. My words derived from a review of her very first EP - Killer (the original one) seemed to resonate with a lot of people and that is what thrills me, what has kept me going although American Pancake has never been a money making enterprise but, instead, a passion and after about 5 years in started to feel like a mounting responsibility so much so that oftentimes I would side step an album, EP or track review of an artist of import (like a Phoebe Bridgers or Future Islands or Radiohead) because I had dozens of submissions stacked up from lesser known artists in my email. I was pleased and honored that from 2014 and up to 2019 one of my quotes were always in her Press notes and even still up on the esteemed NPR, I remember writing about Phoebe Bridgers way back in 2014 and I honestly think that American Pancake was the first blog to write a review of her music. In some ways because AP deals with artists who are often times starting out, I guess it has been a kind of stepping stone blog. A place for peaceful reflections or hard stares, a place for catharsis or carrying memories of loved ones who are no longer with us. Songs, to me, are sonic Rorschach tests where we see ourselves. For me, music has been a constant source of comfort when times are hard and an artistic mirror. The blog has also been a personal passion, a place to write about music that speaks to me in a real way and inspires and informs me as a consumer of music and make music too. That was our mantra, our mission statement from the beginning and still is. My name is Robb Donker Curtius and I started American Pancake back in 2009 solely to help indie artists, bands, singer-songwriters not covered by the "Pitchfork Media's" of the world. Please see our current Go Fund Me Campaign: AMERICAN PANCAKE RUNS ON PASSION AND VERY LITTLE SLEEP.
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