Hey everyone! I have been messing around on Steemit for a while now, maybe a month or so, but I haven't had a chance to write an introductory post. I wanted to make a video because I thought that would be more personal. I went over to my friend's studio, and he has an incredible record player. This is not an experience to be missed guys, records sound amazing! Anyway, Carole King came on singing, "Will You Still Love Me, Tomorrow?" and I was singing along. I figured since music is at the core of everything that I am about, it would be fun to do something impromptu for the Steemit video (I explain this in the video below too). However, I figured I should say more than 1 minutes worth of chat time about who I am to make new friends :)
Music is the constant in my life, but there are other things that drive me. My passions are for art, liberty, freedom, peace, communication, and pushing our culture to be better. I have been doing music and Bitcoin as well as liberty activism for a long time now. I grew up in NJ, but I spent a lot of my childhood in Poland. I was greatly influenced by the music of the 60's and 70's, specifically Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Nina Simone, and many more. Books that had a profound impact include 1984, Brave New World, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, and Atlas Shrugged.* I knew early on that art was a catalyst.
After Berklee College of Music in Boston, I worked at Avatar, Chung King, and several other major recording studios in NYC. I found the industry frustrating, but kept making music as an indie artist. In the meantime, I got interested in Austrian economics, the Federal Reserve, and a path became more clear. I started out in the Ron Paul movement, singing all around the country. It was an amazing ride, and I played for thousands of people of all backgrounds. There were liberals, conservatives, and everything in between, folks united in the ideas of liberty for everyone. However, after the 2012 elections, I stopped believing that voting or presidential elections would give us that freedom and prosperity.
In August of 2012, I learned about Bitcoin from Tony Gallippi and Stephen Pair, but I didn't get it at first. Soon after, I spent some time with Jeffrey Tucker. He is an incredible speaker, and always paints a really beautiful picture with his words. He helped me visualize and realize the power crypto currencies had to help empower people to simply opt out peacefully from the current infrastructures. It was inspiring, and so I wrote a Bitcoin Jingle to help onboard new users who maybe couldn't connect with the tech, but could be played the vision.
Things got more interesting with the idea of Tokens. Adam B. Levine (from Let's Talk Bitcoin) and I started collaborating on a project known as Tatiana Coin, which was the first ever artist crypto currency. It's pretty cool to be first at anything, but what no one tells you is that it's HARD! OMG, had I known how much work it would take lol! We launched our first iteration in mid 2014, and that resulted in fundraising enough to record my album (my 3rd). This would be the first album ever fully funded with crypto (that I know of), and I even have some fun footage in the studio signing the guys up with wallets :)
However, use of Tatiana Coin was still a bit too hard for the regular Joe, so Adam started Tokenly to build the tools needed to use it. He and his team have been working with me to create a model that other artists could adopt easily. You see, I wonder often about why mainstream music these days isn't very good. I attribute this to lack of funding for any artist that isn't a pop tart. I miss substance! So with artist tokens, you can fundraise from your fans sort of like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or Pledge Music, but they get a digital gift certificate (Tatiana Coins) in return that can be spent on anything in your store, any time. You can even break it up to sell or give Tatiana Coins to your friends. We have also figured out how to use this token to connect long term with fans, via services like streaming, direct messaging to your favorite artist, exclusive content, tickets, and more.
During all of this, I worked at Bitcoin Magazine for a while till it temporarily shut down during it's sale. As a result, I decided to create Crypto Media Hub. I did it because I found the advertising and marketing options in Bitcoin to be overwhelming, and also filled with varying levels of value for the money being spent. Artists are a bit like startups, in that we know how important spending your money correctly is! CMH has evolved into a consulting company that helps with PR, Marketing, Advertising, Events, and all sorts of unique things in between. Someone told me the other day that I have street smarts in this industry, and that's really it. I love connecting people to the best industry experts to get things done! I may not be technical, but I love offering the perspective of a NON tech person, because I think it can be very valuable but overlooked.
I also became really close with the Ulbricht family. Lyn Ulbricht and I have traveled all around the world raising awareness for Ross Ulbricht, the alleged founder of the Silk Road including Poland, Prague, and the US. I eventually met Ross's sister, and have gone to the prison now several times to visit Ross himself. I know there's been a lot of scary press around the case, but if one looks closer, you see how corrupt the investigation was and just how unjust our justice system can be. He is a wonderful person, and I have gained a lot of perspective, gratitude, and determination to help assure justice not one for Ross, but for the millions of non-violent offenders rotting in cages in this modern slavery system. I believe we as a society can and must do better. There has to be a better solution other than what we have now, and the effects on our communities have proved to be devastating. Watching the children at the prison crawl all over their daddies was horrifying, and I have heard more than once, "My kids used to get straight A's and now that their dad is in jail, they are getting D's and F's". How can they grow up to be productive and positive members of society under these circumstances? That has ripple effects for generations! The new album has a Silk Road song, and I will focus a lot of my talking points on the drug war, prison industrial complex, and the overall need for decency, compassion, and betterment for all of us.
OK so this is the longest post ever :) And I have spent a LOT of time trying to figure out the formatting, which isn't going to be great, so please forgive me. The last thing I wanted to say is that I am putting out the album in the fall and will be doing a Pledge campaign. Yes, we want to raise money, but more than anything, I want to onboard more people into crypto! I believe that artists serve as messengers. Through creating their own financial autonomy with new technologies, they don't have to be dependent on big record labels, and they can speak freely. I also hope that they can be the voice for this type of technology. A lot of people in the crypto industry can't speak out, because their businesses depend on making nice with bankers and regulators. I get it, but that's not my gig. Artists are SUPPOSED to say something. And I take that responsibility VERY seriously. It's what I have felt in my soul my entire life, and through thick and thin, I have stayed true to that (that's why the album is called Keep the Faith :) Not because it's religious, but because I believe in myself and all of us to be better and try to take our world back for peace and prosperity.
Lots of love to my Steemit peeps, I wish there was a way to communicate directly on here, but I know Ned, Dan, and the rest of the team are hard at work! Please leave a comment below <3
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the video and song (if I can get it to post hehe)!
XO,
Tatiana
*I've always enjoyed reading, though the past few years I find myself consuming online content vs a good old fashioned book, so I have been trying to read more. What has resulted is a pile of unread (but very enticing nonetheless) books. That being said, if you have any suggestions, please let me know?
