Unused attempt at a cassette logo for the site’s relaunch in 2010.
In blogging as in life, honesty is the best policy. And if one is being honest, looking at our site and other social media pages, Drop-d has been a ghost town for the past year, bar some half-hearted attempts on your editor’s end at getting the needle moving again. Bar some attempts at recurring features, some record reviews and a few news bits, one wouldn’t be blamed for assuming the site to be dead. So let’s clear up that assumption: Drop-d.ie, in its current format as a blog/webzine, is dead.
Since 2005, Drop-d has strived to help play its part in making music in Ireland a better place, for what pittance our contributions are worth in the grand scheme of music in Ireland. Under various editors, and through numerous facelifts and editorial shifts, the site has always had the intention of creating a platform for artists and music fans alike to drop in and check out something new, which we feel we’ve achieved over the years. We hope we’ve given the bands and artists anywhere as much as their music has given us, as writers and as lovers of music. Something your editor can be personally proud of, and I’m sure previous eds like Paddy, Mark, and Robin can say the same, is that writers that have come through our virtual doors have gone on to bigger and better things, and if our little teamblog has made their careers and endeavours better for having been a part of it, then that’s been worth it alone. Thank you to all the editors that came before your current scribe, and all of the writers that have ever thrown in a piece.
Things change, though, and myself as an editor is to blame for the silence on our part. Writers tire and move on, a phenomenon not helped by the current economic state, and ultimately, a volunteer-run DIY zine can’t stay high in a working journo’s priorities for too long. It’s a credit to everyone that worked with us over the years that we have such an archive of wonderful music journalism, fuelled entirely by the love of music and the desire to do something one’s self rather than go the usual route of applying for internships and waiting for that magazine to call you back. As an editor, I could say I was demotivated, the timing wasn’t right, blah, blah, blah. The fact was, after a few departures, and a feckup on my end that led to the site going down for a prolonged period, it simply wasn’t the same as before, and rather than go with change, and move on, I simply kept trying to start again in the usual manner. I know now that wasn’t the best way forward.
We also put on a lash of big and small gigs under the Drop-d name, with artists like Funeral for a Friend, Every Time I Die, and many others, bands local, national and international alike. I’m beyond grateful to the bands, venues and agents like Demented Promotions’ Stephen MacKell, for giving your writer the opportunity to do these shows and contribute in some way to Cork’s live scene, much as Drop-d had done in its infancy with its initial gig night, a night I tried to emulate many times with various venues. Those gigs became as much a part of Drop-d’s name as the site itself, and as they became more and more frequent, the site itself became less and less of a priority, something your editor should have addressed, but didn’t, and for that, I apologise publicly to our current team of writers and other collaborators.
The site will remain open and will act as an archive of our posts down through the years. Feel free to search them up, go through them, and use them in whatever purpose you see fit, so long as you credit the author.
But, that’s not to say Drop-d is dead. Far from it.
Eagle-eyed observers may remember our attempts at starting up a monthly magazine that would act as a summary of our posts. Peppered with photography from Drop-d’s club nights in Dublin and the lens-jockeying adventures of some of our then-contributors in Cork, it was a great piece of work, and showed that Drop-d could be more than a blog or webzine. For that, we have former co-editor Brian Lloyd to thank (so go read his film posts on entertainment.ie and help keep him afloat).
On that note, we’re proud to officially announce the brand-new Drop-d Magazine, launching in December (exact date to be revealed… intrigue!), and releasing monthly as a downloadable .pdf, and on e-magazine platform Issuu in an enhanced audio-visual version, for tablets, smartphones, flash browsers and other such devices. With a renewed focus on features on Irish independent music and culture, a new format, a new writing team covering events in Cork and Dublin (not your towns? Wanna write? Go here), new recurring features and an overhauled aesthetic, we’re looking forward to rebuilding, and placing the glow of our sixty-watt bulb where the spotlight should be – Irish bands, venues, labels, promoters, and other creatives, past. present and future.
We’ll have more details as they emerge, including reveals of features and sneak-peeks, on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Cheers.
