Thanks for checking out my page and reading my work. Writing is a passion and I love connecting with readers and fellow writers here on Medium and throughout all of social media.
If you’re so inclined, here’s an easy way to scroll through the topics I write about. Once again, thanks so much for the support.
Search through Poetry, Satire/Humor, Music. Writing Prompts & Challenges, Writing, Rants/Commentary/Culture, Health & Everything Else.
POETRY
I’ve read countless articles on Medium about “How To” make hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on this platform each month. I appreciate and enjoy all of them.
What seems to be lacking however is the more realistic, less extravagant, and infinitely more attainable, “How to earn $1 to $5 a month on Medium” articles. Fear not my probably average, mostly overlooked, fellow coffee money writers, I’ve got you. Your worries are over and I will reveal all of my secrets.
If it sounds like I’m taking a shot at those making a killing each month writing on the same…
Writing poetry or articles, as I’ve been doing weekly (sometimes daily) here on Medium for the past year, is a lot easier than writing an entire piece about myself…but here goes!
Hi, my name is Rob Janicke. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York but don’t have the accent to prove it. I got rid of that a long time ago. Catch me when I’m tired or after a couple of glasses of wine and it may spill out a little bit.
I’m 47-years-old, have been married since 2012, have two kids (7 and almost 5) and I’m…
A MUSIC SERIES
Mezmerize — The fourth studio album by System of a Down
The year was 2005 and some of the biggest albums released were by the likes of Kanye West (Late Registration), Bruce Springsteen (Devils and Dust), Mary J Blige (The Breakthrough), and 50 Cent (The Massacre), so it was easy for an Armenian-American metal band to fall through the cracks.
Not that Mezmerize by System of a Down (the first release of a double album, Hypnotize was released later that same year) arrived without fanfare. Quite the contrary. The album debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and its hit single “B.Y.O.B.” …
MUSIC NEWS
The side hustle your favorite musicians need to keep them rocking
According to a recent U.S. Census report, about 13 million American workers have more than one job. Call me crazy, but I never expected members of Metallica, Alice in Chains, or the legend himself, Bob Dylan to be included in that number.
Ok, so the above-mentioned superstars aren’t driving to the local Trader Joe’s, donning Hawaiian shirts, and ringing up their neighbor’s gluten-free pretzels and oatmeal/raisin dunkers, but they are using their fame as musicians to go into a very specific business because the music just doesn’t sell like it used to.
We all know that in the age of…
RIFF SUMMER CHALLENGE
“The Tide Is High” has meant Summertime since 1980
When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, NY in the late 1970s/early 80s, we had four seasons. I know it seems crazy now, but we had a very predictable, distinct, and beautiful change of seasons. A real winter, spring, summer, and fall. I’ve always loved those days, I wish the changes still existed but sadly they do not.
Summertime was never my favorite other than the fact that school was out. I’ve never been a fan of heat or humidity and it can get downright steamy during a New York City summer.
An Original Music Series By The Riff
Stories that teach and inspire
I love writing and editing for The Riff. I love co-hosting The Riff Podcast with Noah Levy and I love the interactions we all share on a regular basis. Mostly though, I love reading what everyone writes. I’m a fan of music and a fan of music writing and in my opinion, this is the best place for both!
It’s like a store we can all shop in but never spend a dime. Musical thoughts, opinions, and ideas are our currency.
This series is meant to highlight the works of writers, that for one reason or another, resonated with the…
A Music Series
Word Gets Around — The debut album by Stereophonics
When I, as well as the internet, was young, I had a regular music column for a long-since extinct website called, “The Truth Magazine”. The column was called A Steady Diet of Nothing (stolen from the Fugazi album of the same name) because I always wrote whatever I wanted as the publisher trusted me enough to let me do so…poor soul. I loved everything about writing a regular column and have always wanted to do it since.
Thanks to Noah Levy and The Riff, I’ve found a home to write about music again but I haven’t attempted a column or…
Then I met them and got into the show
“This line is way too long, I’m not waiting”, says one of my less than enthusiastic friends as we approach New York City’s Mercury Lounge.
It was late August 2000 and I had convinced some friends to come with me to see a new band, Unified Theory, which had risen from the ashes of Blind Melon in 1998.
Christopher Thorn and Brad Smith of Blind Melon had recruited singer/guitarist Chris Shinn (formerly of Celia Green) and drummer Dave Krusen (formerly of Pearl Jam) to round out the band Luma. …
MUSIC-HISTORY
Coming of age in Doc Martens and flannel shirts…the Grunge years
After reading this piece by my friend Reuben Salsa about musical moments in history that took hold of your soul with no intentions of letting go, I had to follow suit and relive what that moment was for me.
Without knowing I was searching for direction at the time, the late 1970s had already begun providing a sonic map for me to follow. My roads were littered with bass lines and kick drums, guitar riffs, and holy screeches from the throats of long-haired, mystical figures. I was on my way.
The 80s shaped and defined those newly formed musical muscles…
Rob Janicke
Owner at SoundEvolution Music independent record label and co-host of The Riff Podcast Join me on Twitter @RobJanicke & on IG @rob_janicke.
