Well over 24 hours ago, I announced that I created a new Twitter account after a lengthy period of procrastination, even a bit of reluctance on my part. Over time, I found out that sole reliance on RN isn't going to help build my well-earned fanbase as is, so I made the decision to try to expand upon it by joining Twitter. In the very near future, I follow suit on Facebook.
Here is the gist of this particular blog: On February 21, 2014, at approximately 8:30 PM EST, I created a Twitter account. I went through the social network's usual procedure of setting up the account, i.e., choosing who I want to follow, choosing profile cover photo, background, etc. I chose 13 Twitter users to follow (some of whom are fans on my RN page), uploaded 2 videos from Youtube and 2 of my original photos, then logged out.
Fast forward 3:35 PM yesterday afternoon (February 22), I log in to my new Twitter account to see if there was any new activity since I created it--and lo and behold, a page appears notifying me that my new Twitter account has been suspended!
Suspended!? For what reason??!! Twitter has yet to give me an explanation. I have contacted their administrators to contest this questionable suspension and demanded to have it reviewed. According to the email reply that was sent to me, I should have received an email notification to my email address associated with my new account, but only if I engaged in "aggressive following behavior." Well, the only email I received from Twitter was the one informing me that they would review my account. Speaking of "aggressive following behavior," as I mentioned previously, I chose only 13 users to follow, haven't tweeted any of them and most certainly I have not harassed or spammed anyone, yet still my account was suspended due to something that Twitter has not clarified to me.
I have read Twitter's rules, reviewed their Best Practices and Terms of Service and I understand their policies, but I still am not certain why my account was suspended. If my account was suspended for violating their policies in any manner, they would have emailed me immediately with an explanation supporting their grounds for account suspension and if Twitter had done this in error (they know for a fact that they did), the suspension wouldn't have taken place to begin with.
Twitter, thus far, is being tight-lipped about the issue and has refrained from disclosing any more details on my account's suspension. They most likely don't realize that I am relatively new to Twitter and may have left an account setting unchanged that drew a red flag that led to the suspension.
If any of my fans have had the misfortune of trying to visit my Twitter account after its suspension, I would like to apologize for that. The page is still under construction and the only tweets that are there so far are posts of 2 videos and 2 photos. I am aware that first impressions of any aspiring musician like myself tend to be the most lasting and a suspended account on a social networking site like Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter can have a lasting effect on his or her reputation.
While I try not to lose sleep over this, I do have to wonder whether or not Twitter will explain to me their reasoning for the suspension. Whatever their reasoning is, even they are aware that other Twitters have done far worse than what they have accused me of. I will keep my Phans of Alphard updated on the situation as it unfolds.
Despite the account suspension on Twitter, LFO Funk and LFO-ism will continue to commence.
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Alphard One / Blog
Okay, So I've Lost My Ranking. LOL. Now What...
What's good, Phans of Alphard?
As of this month, it's looks like I'm no longer on the local charts. I was number 1 in Blanch, NC just last month in late September; then subsequently dropped to number 3 earlier this month.
Upon receiving this notification from the powers that be which run Reverbnation, I learned how crucial it is to keep a music profile active in order to keep a high ranking. For me, the lord of LFO Funk, that has proven to be easier said than done. Reason being: well, creating new music and related material during the past, what, 6-7 months, as well as working a 9-to-5 in between doing all to make LFO Funk and LFO-ism possible and keep bringing it to my most loyal Phans. There's no doubt that I've fallen by the wayside since KBP Month in March and for that inconvenience, I apologize.
Mark my words, starting next month, in November, I intend to regain my number 1 ranking. To quote a certain musclebound ex-action movie star, "I''ll be back!" Post Modern Thump Month is just the beginning.
Let LFO Funk and LFO-ism commence.
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It's Kremlin Blok Party Month!
What's good, Phans of Alphard?
It's now the Merry Month of March. And you all know what that's means: Spring ain't far behind, Daylight Saving Time, NCAA March Madness (for those of you who are rabid college basketball fans) and...
And...?
Kremlin Blok Party Month! That's right! One of the best instrumentals ever produced by yours truly is now showcased throughout March, as of March 6, 2016. It now has an LFO Funk Remix and finally is available for streaming on Reverbnation.
So by all means, drop by, take a listen, favorite it and/or comment on it. I'm certain that, from the Youngest and The First, to The Eldest and The Last, all of you will be moved.
Let LFO Funk and LFO-ism Commence. :)
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Where Will The Current Music Tracks Go Next Month?
What's good, Phans of Alphard?
One of my long-time friends and a very loyal Phan of Alphard, Convinced and Converted asked me an important question on January 17, one that concerns the fate of the music tracks that I had in the playlist on my music profile for a long time.
Here is what's going to happen: They all will be relocated to my new website later during mid-February. This means that old favorites like XGstrumental 2003-3rd Qtr, ISO, Astral Pilgirmage, Fomalhaut and, yes--even Kremlin Blok Party are headed to the new website, the name of which I will announce later next month.
I'm very confident that all Phans of Alphard will look forward to this. It's time for Reverbnation to be introduced to LFO Funk and LFO-ism. And it all starts February 1, 2016.
From The Youngest and The First, to The Eldest and The Last, all at Reverbnation will be moved!
Let LFO Funk and LFO-ism Commence!
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LFO Funk Comes To The Music Profile of Mist-r Alphard Starting Late-January 2016
What's good Phans of Alphard?
Happy New Year to you all! I have a crucial announcement to make, if y'all just bear with me for the next 3 paragraphs.
There are going to be some major changes to my music profile by the end of January 2016. What will they consist of? New videos, new photos and above all else, new music. That is, music in the LFO Funk format, the same format that has been used in the music that is currently in the playlist on my Soundcloud profile. What was once exclusive on Soundcloud will now be found on Reverbnation with improved sound.
The Phans of Alphard might ask, when will all of this take place? Late-January 2016--the exact date of which will be revealed within the next 10 calendar days. There is also an official website and Facebook page that will be launched during the 1st quarter 2016--maybe sooner, depending on my work schedule.
Sure, I've had a small handful of opportunities to make this happen since October 2010, but fell short due to lack of resources and I was still pretty much green about the nature of promotion and how it make it work for me. That much I can admit. This time I mean it and it is only a matter of time before all of the right pieces fall into place.
So, with that said, expect to welcome LFO Funk and LFO-ism to Reverbnation in 2016. And, as always, thank you all for becoming a Phan of Alphard, Convinced and Converted.
Let LFO Funk and LFO-ism Commence.
Mist-r Alphard ;o)
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Happy New Year, Mist-r Alphard!
I have a question in regards to the fate of all of those music tracks that you've uploaded since your started your profile back in October 2010.
Now that LFO Funk and LFO-ism will be debuting later this month, what's going to become of the music tracks that are already still on the playlist currently?
XGstrumentals & XGstrumember (In September, No Less)
Mist-r Alphard is back!
After a 9-month hiatus, during which KBP Month in March came and went with little to no impact, the Lord of LFO Funk has returned--and just in time to give his best instrumentals a complete overhaul.
What will that involve, pray tell? As of today--September 1, 2015--the Lord of LFO Funk will embark on a new creative direction and format, starting with a name change.
What once was known as A-strumentals/Alphardstrumentals will now permanently designated XGstrumentals. Reason being: the majority of the early music that was produced during the last 12 years utilized the Yamaha XG sound format, from 2003 to 2014. Feel free to Google the term Yahama XG--it was the shizznit of music synthesis in the early-2000s.
A-strumental Month, which has taken place throughout September, since the inception of this music profile in October 2010, is now XGstrumember.
A new look and direction is forthcoming in September and beyond. And I guarantee that from the Youngest and The first, to the Eldest and the Last, all is be moved.
The Lord of LFO Funk returneth. :)
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Do You Like Post Modern Thumps? Hit Them Up On MySpace.
What's good, Phans of Alphard--Convinced and Converted? Post Modern Thump Month ended 6 days ago, on December 1 and if you are wondering what happened to PMTs 2005: 1st Quarter, 2009: 1st Quarter and 2003: 4th Quarter, they've been removed from the playlist here and, as of today, December 7, they will be relocated to a playlist my MySpace music profile. So if you really like listening to the Post Modern Thumps that I've produced to date, you can find them there. There will be a few PMTs on my Soundcloud profile as well; those are LFO Funk Remixes that I have been working on for the past 10 months. Expect another overhaul in content and direction for this great profile by this same time next month, specifically, by New Years 2015. Stay Tuned. As always, thanks for your support. Peace, Mist-r Alphard
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New Videos Added, Finally! But There's a Catch...
Hey, what's good, Phans of yours truly, Mist-r Alphard? After another long hiatus, I have finally returned to spruce up my music profile. By the time you all get around to reading this blog--if you do, that is--you will see that there is a new addition to the profile. Addition, as in the addition of videos. At long last, I have managed to figure out how to upload them; all it took was for me to give RN permission to sync my profile with my Youtube channel. At present, as of the date of this blog entry, I have 2 videos uploaded. There is a small catch though--most likely you all have found out what that is. I, Mist-r Alphard, am not in either one of them. At least, not yet... Let me explain: The two videos that have been uploaded have been created by 2 of my most loyal fans using GoAnimate. The sole purpose of these videos is to promote the name and music of Mist-r Alphard. The 2 fans who created them are also instrumental in promoting me in their native countries Canada and Australia. Their names are Adolph and Lydia and that's all that needs to be known about them at this time. They are quite particular about their confidentiality, despite encouraging correspondence with present and future fans on my behalf. While I am on the subject of encouragement, I invite you all to visit my Youtube channel from time to time to watch a few of my promotional videos; that way, traffic from the channel will be directed to my profiles on Reverbnation as well as other sites, most specifically, Facebook, Soundcloud, Last.fm and Twitter. And mark my words: when I do appear at a venue to perform, you all will be the first know and I'll post the date of the performance and hopefully upload the video footage of that performance. All of the pieces are beginning to fall into place and, yes, from the youngest and the first to the eldest and the last, you will all be moved. So, I hope you will enjoy the videos I have uploaded and stay tuned for more where those 2 came from. Let LFO Funk and LFO-ism commence. Mist-r Alphard :)
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Kremlin Blok Party Month Will Return in March 2015
Kremlin Blok Party Month was slated to run throughout last month, March; however, due to the recent turmoil that has been taking place in the region bordering Ukraine and Russia, rather than to reschedule KBP Month later this year, the decision was made to cancel it for the remainder of 2014.
It was an extremely difficult decision to make in light of the sharp rise in tension between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine/Crimea as well as the small handful of threats that Alphard Multimedia, Inc. received over Kremlin Blok Party--threats in the form of censorship of the song. I am quite certain that any musician who has gained a following of fans from Russia, regardless of the size, understands that having his/her music banned in that nation due to the current events in Ukraine, as well as the threat of a resurgence of anti-American opinion not seen since the Cold War era, is cause for concern.
For the record I would like everyone who has ever heard that song to know that Kremlin Blok Party was never intended to represent any political overtones or any emotional sentiment supporting or opposing Russian policies. While the majority of the American public as well as the people of the most loyal of U.S.'s allies have deemed Russia's most recent actions against one of its neighboring countries as questionable from a diplomatic, geopolicital and socioeconomic standpoint, I don't believe the conflict in Ukraine will last much longer. I'm not by any means trying to make a political statement here; I believe that both countries have worked too hard for democracy so many decades since the fall of the former Soviet Union to have it all undone. Half of the region comprised of Ukraine and Crimea wanted stronger ties with the EU, whereas the other half wants it with Mother Russia. However, once tension ceases, I am confident that Russian fans of Mist-r Alphard will return.
Look forward to Kremlin Blok Party Month in March 2015. Mark my words. From youngest to the first, from the eldest to the last, Russia, Ukraine and Crimea will be moved. Let LFO-ism and LFO Funk commence.
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Mist-r Alphard's New YouTube Channel is a Work in Progress
What's good, Phans of Alphard?
Before I share some urgent news, I first would like to apologize for the ranting in my previous blog just upon learning that Twitter suspended my account. I have to admit though that I was pretty miffed over that and I was still getting accustomed to Twitter's format. They have since lifted the suspension and all is good now. Whew! Having said that, I know the rules of Twitter better and vow to adhere to them--lesson learned.
Earlier this month, I created a YouTube channel, the name of which I will disclose next month. It still needs a small tune-up as well as a bit more material before it will be launched publicly. Seemingly every aspiring musician can be found on YouTube and it's only fitting that yours truly, the Lord of LFO Funk, follows suit. As of right now, the channel is still a Work in Progress and the right pieces are trying to fall in place, promotionally speaking.
Stay tuned. On YouTube, LFO Funk and LFO-ism will commence.
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Twitter Has Suspended My New Twitter Account Until Further Notice!
Well over 24 hours ago, I announced that I created a new Twitter account after a lengthy period of procrastination, even a bit of reluctance on my part. Over time, I found out that sole reliance on RN isn't going to help build my well-earned fanbase as is, so I made the decision to try to expand upon it by joining Twitter. In the very near future, I follow suit on Facebook.
Here is the gist of this particular blog: On February 21, 2014, at approximately 8:30 PM EST, I created a Twitter account. I went through the social network's usual procedure of setting up the account, i.e., choosing who I want to follow, choosing profile cover photo, background, etc. I chose 13 Twitter users to follow (some of whom are fans on my RN page), uploaded 2 videos from Youtube and 2 of my original photos, then logged out.
Fast forward 3:35 PM yesterday afternoon (February 22), I log in to my new Twitter account to see if there was any new activity since I created it--and lo and behold, a page appears notifying me that my new Twitter account has been suspended!
Suspended!? For what reason??!! Twitter has yet to give me an explanation. I have contacted their administrators to contest this questionable suspension and demanded to have it reviewed. According to the email reply that was sent to me, I should have received an email notification to my email address associated with my new account, but only if I engaged in "aggressive following behavior." Well, the only email I received from Twitter was the one informing me that they would review my account. Speaking of "aggressive following behavior," as I mentioned previously, I chose only 13 users to follow, haven't tweeted any of them and most certainly I have not harassed or spammed anyone, yet still my account was suspended due to something that Twitter has not clarified to me.
I have read Twitter's rules, reviewed their Best Practices and Terms of Service and I understand their policies, but I still am not certain why my account was suspended. If my account was suspended for violating their policies in any manner, they would have emailed me immediately with an explanation supporting their grounds for account suspension and if Twitter had done this in error (they know for a fact that they did), the suspension wouldn't have taken place to begin with.
Twitter, thus far, is being tight-lipped about the issue and has refrained from disclosing any more details on my account's suspension. They most likely don't realize that I am relatively new to Twitter and may have left an account setting unchanged that drew a red flag that led to the suspension.
If any of my fans have had the misfortune of trying to visit my Twitter account after its suspension, I would like to apologize for that. The page is still under construction and the only tweets that are there so far are posts of 2 videos and 2 photos. I am aware that first impressions of any aspiring musician like myself tend to be the most lasting and a suspended account on a social networking site like Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter can have a lasting effect on his or her reputation.
While I try not to lose sleep over this, I do have to wonder whether or not Twitter will explain to me their reasoning for the suspension. Whatever their reasoning is, even they are aware that other Twitters have done far worse than what they have accused me of. I will keep my Phans of Alphard updated on the situation as it unfolds.
Despite the account suspension on Twitter, LFO Funk and LFO-ism will continue to commence.
Reply
I firmly believe that Twitter is taking this so-called "aggressive following behavior" much too seriously and I'll elaborate on this later on in my reply. For now, I would like to express my deepest regret that Twitter made the decision to suspend your account on the basis of something that is seemingly incomprehensible. I did have the privilege of visiting your Twitter profile just before it got suspended and, at least on the surface, I cannot determine if you truly broke any of Twitter's rules or Terms of Service.
However, you had roughly 13 followers and had not added any more nor unfollowed them since you created them account. Right? Bear with me for a moment and I'll let you know where I'm going with this: I assume this is what Twitter alludes to when they mention aggressive following behavior. For instance, if one Twitter user follows a lot of users in a very short period of time, most likely, Twitter will have grounds for suspending the account. I don't know this for certain, but maybe you followed those 13 users within, say, 1 hour after creating your account and Twitter suspended it. There is also the probability that one of those users fall into one of these categories: that user reported your following as a form of spamming, reported you to Twitter's Administrators to accuse you of harassment (for reasons known only to them, though this rarely happens, unless it's a case of jealousy or envy), or you followed someone who is affluent or famous then unfollowed because of the shear number of tweets generated by that user on your profile.
For the most part, hopefully upon reading this link, it will put you at ease, because I agree with your assertion that your particular suspension is uncalled for. You can read the link I've provided here: http://solutionsoversoundbites.com/2013/08/twitter-police-impounded-fixnowtalklater/
The situation you have here can be summed up this way: If you follow a lot of users within a very short time span, Twitter might suspend your account. If you follow a user who has had a history of having an account suspended, chances are your own account will be suspended as well. If you unfollow a single user--a celebrity or popular business--after following them for a short time, in order to shorten the number of tweets you may receive from them, Twitter will suspend your account.
I hope Twitter will resolve that issue ASAP. LFO-ism and LFO Funk will commence on Twitter again very soon.
A. Dolph Garner