It seems like yesterday when I was sitting on the floor of my hardly broken-in apartment fresh off of a honeymoon in Hawaii. I was jet-lagged, jobless, and full of crap. My English Literature degree got me a couple of interviews with jobs that didn’t get too far past the interview process. Still on the high of just getting hitched and coming right off the beaches of Waikiki, I was dreadfully starting to come to my senses. Frankly, I didn’t know where to start in trying to find a job in which I could apply the skills I learned while majoring in English. In a fallen economy, these type of jobs were about as rare as winning the lottery, especially if you planned on depending on it to pay the bills. And they still are!

So for about 3 1/3 months, I remained unemployed and undoubtedly felt the pressure of having to suddenly provide for someone else– my wife, Drew. But somewhere in those stressful 3 1/2 months, I made the 2nd most important decision of my life– the first most important decision was when I asked Drew to marry me. That second (maybe not second but somewhere up there) most important decision was to create a blog that would place a spotlight on struggling, indie artists. Personally, I love indie music. To me, it has more heart behind it and ultimately the direction an indie artist takes with their music is completely their idea. And I love that! There’s no blood-sucking, money-hungry executives at a major recording label forcing “safe” and “popular” ideas down your throat. And I had a ton of friends who were among the great majority who didn’t have the privilege of being trained to be completely unoriginal. Basically, I wanted to create an avenue in which these type artists, the real ones, could have their work showcased.

So I did. Like a calf clumsily falling out of the sloppy birth canal of its mother came The Blue Indian. I hardly had a clue what I was going to do with this; I just simply had an idea and somewhat blindly ran with it. During those 3 1/2 months, I spent time working with a design buddy about how I wanted the blog to look aesthetically and gave him a list of sections in which I would categorize my content. So as he worked, I worked. Simultaneously, he designed the look of the site and I spent time contacting some of my favorite indie artists for interviews. During the interviews, I’d slip in there a note saying I’d love a copy of their latest record mailed to The Blue Indian (which at the time was just me) for a review. In their pity, I’m sure, they responded in kindness, answered the questions, and mailed in their records. Well, word caught on and more records began to slowly trickle in– all the while frustrating the postal lady for having to cram these packages of CDs in my small mailbox. After a handful of interviews and album reviews, a newly acquired full-time job, and about 4 months of juggling a wife, The Blue Indian, and this new job, a hungry SCAD graduate, Beth Yeckley, approached me via email about the possibility of contributing to the site in the form of reviewing records and interviewing bands. After “I took a look at her portfolio” (I was trying my best to be official), I responded: “Absolutely! Come on.”

Like with anything else that catches on, one thing led to another with The Blue Indian. Soon after Beth jumped on board, a local booking agent in Macon, Sean Pritchard, approached me with the idea of using The Blue Indian to put on indie shows around Middle Georgia. I was familiar with Sean and knew he and a few of his friends had some success in another booking outlet, so of course, I’m in headfirst with this idea. And just as Sean got busy with “TheBlueIndian.com Presents,” a wagon full of hungry writers just like Beth were suddenly reviewing records on the regular . . . and I was loving it! Sean soon booked a very successful show with the Sub Pop darling WASHED OUT and it was during this show that I met the next breath of fresh air– William Haun.

After that show, we were almost a year into TheBlueIndian.com and at that point, we had a team of minds and a staff of writers in place. And now as we approach our TWO YEAR anniversary, I feel more refreshed than ever. We’ve built a very respectable reputation among record labels– both indie and indie-major– and bands alike. We’ve partnered with a few music venues in downtown Macon, namely The 567 and a few others, to host our shows a few times a month. We’ve released 3 albums of various artists as a part of our TheBlueIndian.com Compilation Series. I could go on and on here. It’s obvious that I’m very proud of how fast this site has grown and the strong reputation it has naturally gained.

In celebration of 2 years of pouring our hearts and souls into this project, several labels have mailed in packages of merchandise to give away to our loyal readers! We will be announcing random winners periodically over at our FACEBOOK PAGE over the course of the next month and a half. Some prizes will be given away by winning simple contests and some will be given away randomly. But, here’s the kicker: you must be a fan of our facebook page to even be eligible to win! So go “like” our page!

But before you do, I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping a little dream of mine come true. I’ve always wanted to do something like this with a few friends and watch it grow into something successful. Our team here at The Blue Indian, especially Sean Pritchard and William Haun, and the staff of writers work their tails off to keep this ship sailing strong. For you, the readers, and them, the hands and feet of this site, I am extremely grateful.

Luke Goddard
Founder / Editor