Andrew "The Djedi" Articulus
Hey there! The name's Andrew, and thanks for taking the time to check out my work. I am an all self taught and multi disciplinary musician, graphic and visual artist, web designer, actor, producer, video editor, Djedi practitioner, and planetary guardian - just to name a few things. I've been bouncing around creative endeavours for most of my life as a stubbornly dedicated servant to my many talents and creative abilities.I decided long ago that I was not fit or willing to work the standard 9-5 corporate, impersonal job position at any one of the monopolized industries or franchises we see today, so I've settled for far less than an average lifestyle in dedication to making a hit one day.
Music Experience:
Beginning in music, I grew up on the Toronto upright grand piano we had in our family home, to learn the basics of rhythm, melody and bass all on one instrument. But since then I've taken on the drums, keyboard synths, bass guitar, and some rhythm guitar. A sing fairly well, but no stretch am much of a singer. My preference when playing in bands is mainly as a support, to make everyone else sound better. Call me inspired by Maynard.
During the end of highschool, Way back in 2004, I began saving every penny I could to start playing and producing music. My late Mother, Colleen, got the ball rolling when she bought me my first drum set, as I had an affinity to playing the drums for the Rossland Secondary School Jazz band, led by director Bob Howard. During the height of my time with the band, which was extra-curricular in its format, I got to play on a stage in front of 18,000+ people at the Lionell Hampton Jazz Competition, that we entered, and won, playing standard Jazz classics on the drums with a 26 piece jazz band. Hard to raise the bar after that experience!
In the years following highschool, my ambition became the desire to start a recording studio. So I took what instruments I had, purchased my first computer for recording, and got started. Using live instrumentation combined with some of the latest music software, I wrote, recorded and mixed my very own album, and even got a song played, along with a full interview, on the local radio station at the time - KBS, with host Brad Moore for his weekly show "Made in the Kootneys." Though, despite my efforts to promote its release, not a single copy ever sold. I couldn't pay my rent with no support, and I ended up homeless after losing my studios space, followed by all of my gear being stolen by drug addicts from the storage space I had arranged for it all. That was a hard blow. I lingered in a tent on the edge of town for almost 3 years, with my spirit shattered. Everyone had always encouraged my to never give up on my dreams, but when push came to shove, they failed to support those dreams after dedicating ever ounce of me to them. That was the first time I lost my faith in humanity. You can hear some of the work I managed to archive online by visiting my ReverbNation Page, or checking out my SoundCloud.
Social Networking Innovations:
After submitting to a couple jobs at a local liquidation world for just under 3 months, followed by the local 7-11 for again, just under 3 months, I grew tired. 3 months was the new legalized "test" period where company owners and managers could arbitrarily decide if they like you or not, and fire you on that basis, and I was not the only one being exploited by this new way of hiring people. So, I broke away from the traditional workforce, and I was able to pay rent for a period of time when I was taken under the wing of a man named Randy McCallum, who had been working in software engineering since the 70's. Most notably, his work in developing some of the first music software released by Apple.
I had impressed upon him with my self taught graphic design skills that I had used to try and promote my music, and he brought me on board a project that aimed to compete with Facebook as they were coming out of the Collages and Universities. A project called "Greater Trail" that aimed to set a standard of decentralized social media platforms to act as virtual town halls for the local municipalities. But sadly, we didn't have millions of dollars in sponsors and ad revenue, and were crushed.
Plus, after a while, it appeared as if the vast majority of people held no interest in wanting the help us level the economic and social playing fields by supporting the network we build, and made it painfully obvious that they were only interested in turning to Facebook to play "Vampires VS Werewolves" and voting on "Who's Hot & Who's Not" - so that project too fell dead in the water after spending about 2 years in development. Though the skills I picked up during that time is what led me to producing and developing my own social networking platform that I have today, The Djemini Network, and the knowledge I have of how to use social media as a tool, rather than an entertainment.
The only archive of that time that hasn't been scrubbed from the internet, has been reduced to about 3 videos on the "SmallBizMagic" YouTube channel from over 12 years ago, which was the parent company for the social network we built. (refer to video)
My Travels:
My dear Mother, Colleen, was the only person who really ever supported me and my dreams, and she was equally as dedicated as I was to fulfilling them. So after re-discovering myself, I joined her in her gypsy lifestyle of travelling all over North America to learn the age old skills of trade, and how to live off raw resources. She had always had a passion for learning creative skills, and a kind of "doomsday" survival set, and she often took us kids to these kinds of events when we were smaller. We travelled to many Primitive Technology & Survival schools, where I learned so much about Life, human nature, and how to survive without money, peaking at an event just outside of Rexburg Idaho, called "Rabbistick". You can see a video that includes a picture of me from the event from 2010, embedded here. Can you find me in the video? ;)
During that Hero's Journey, for lack of a better way to describe it, I learned how to sustain on raw resources. Skills like flint napping, basket weaving, fire making, bow carving, wild foraging, hunting and trapping...etc. We managed to go from one event to the next, mostly down in the United States, by setting up at the event market booths, selling coffee and brownies on site (freshly made on site) and selling breakfasts and dinner that we cooked by hand in the RV. Those memories are precious to me, more than anyone can know. For quite literally, there have been numerous times throughout my life since, where those skilsl saved my life, saved me money, and helped me live more comfotrably.
With such a plethora of survival skills came the birth of my "hands on" creative side. Everything I learned at those events, trained my mind to see anything as a potential tool, or useful item. The level of innovative creativity that comes along with learning these skills spilled out into every other area of my life, spanning from living in a tent, to working on developing cell phone apps, and building social networks. The most valueable thing I gained from that time, was the mentality that allowed me to see value in things that others couldn't, whether it be in materials, or what we spend our time on in activity. In a few words, I became highly resourceful, and for that, I am eternally greatful.
We also traveled as kids, homeschooling on the road along side my Father, Paul, who worked as a sound engineer for IATSE in large stage, theatrical productions. I got to experience numerous time these massive theatrical plays like Andrew Loyyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Cats, and Les Miserables. I got to see first hand the technical guts of how these kinds of shows come together, meet all the cast and crew behind stage, learn alot about high end stage craft, and so on.
In contrast to the travel I had with my Mother, this was polar opposite. On one hand I was firing primitive pottery in a dirty pit, wearing a wild buckskin shirt while chipping away at arrowheads in the wild, while on the other hand, I was experiencing the backstage VIP experience of some of the world's largest live stage productions at the time, with all the wine and dine, expensive hotels and resorts, and witnessing the "behind the scenes" operations on all the largest stages in the largest cities all across Canada. It was alot to take in before I had even turned 12.
Hand Made Costumes and Crafts:
After returning home from my Hero's Journey, I settled back down in my hometown of Nelson, BC, Canada, and began using some of the skills I had learned to craft unique, one of a kind leather gauntlets, bracelets, armour pieces and other aesthetic doo dads, along with a variety of other hand crafted tools, walking sticks and other assorted items. And hence forth, my work fell under the name of "Articulus Intentional Design" You can find a limited archive of my work by clicking here.
Sadly, and ONCE AGAIN, I experienced a lot of adversity and difficulty in selling any of my wares and gaining any support, including from friends and family, and ended up homeless, ONCE AGAIN, which I endured for a number of years, after loosing my faith in humanity, ONCE AGAIN.
Film Making:
After recovering once more from the heavy hits of apathy and neglect, the stranglehold on society from big tech and its hand full of corporate monopolies didn't leave much room for finding work that wasn't stocking the shelves of trillioaires for minimum wages, so I again tried my hand at starting up creative projects - this time, by learning film editing. I had some experience from my times in the past to promote my work, but had never shot my own footage before. So I grabbed the cheapest camera that Welfare could afford me, and rounded up some of the other homeless people I had met, that were becoming more and more like the family I never had, and together we started "The Djedi Academy" under a new production label, which was the birth of Djemini Studios - the film series produced 2 episodes as fantastical spins off from the Star Wars Saga created by George Lucas, only with the spin that it was long into the distant future of the lore, based here and now, on planet Earth, after the Jedi had abandoned their galaxy entirely, as the Dark side had taken over.
Together, our unsponsored, unfunded group of misfits filmed the scenes, and I took months to edit it all with the use of a computer lent to me by a friend. And when we released it, and even screened it at a local venue, ONCE AGAIN, no one supported my work, took any interest, or supported it. Thus, I remained homeless, along with those who had helped me to tell the story. Eventually, I was able to secure a place indoors, and pulled together just enough money to get a computer.
The one success that came out of that effort with the Djedi Academy, was when I started a group called "Star Wars Cosplayers" on Facebook to outreach for some support the I, AGAIN, never got. However, since then, the group Star Wars Cosplayers has grown to become the largest and most inclusive Star Wars themed cosplay group available on Facebook to date. Check out the Original Group on Facebook, or see the Star Wars Cosplayers VIP Group here on my own network. This group has enabled hundreds of independent artists, cosplayers and crafts-people to make side incomes. And many have been able to secure full replacement incomes by selling their wares to other members of the group. (but ONCE AGAIN, still no reliable support for me, the guy who made it all happen)
The Hardest Hit:
Then, when I thought life could be no more cruel than it already had been to me, my Mother passed away. She had been diagnosed with stage 4 bone marrow cancer a couple years before. But here's the rub - She cured herself of it, by using her experience and vast knowledge in both mainstream practice as an RN, and her alternative practice with natural medicines. With the best of both world at her disposal, she beat it, after everyone told her it was impossible. During her time in battle with Cancer, she too was mostly ignored by everyone who left her homeless - even by "friends" and the rest of the "family", because her "negative attitude" rubbed them the wrong way. But she beat it, with me by her side.
The Biggest Hit happened when a "random" drunk driver took her out during her recovery, before she could publish her work on how exactly she cured herself, so that others could follow in the path she carved through impossible odds. And seeing as how cancer research takes in millions of dollars a year, and employs hundreds of thousands of people, it's not hard to see how this "random" drunk driver was doing exactly what he was PAID to do. And when the news hit me, it felt like Anakin Skywalker turning to the dark side. I felt like slaughtering those "sand people" for having robbed me of my Mother... my one true friend and supporter, along with robbing the world of the research that could save countless lives for generations to come. "A Patient Cured is a Customer Lost"
The one last thing my Mother did for me was leave me her guitar, and the custom RV rig that we had travelled together in those many years before. So at least I have a home on wheels. Though the engine and breaks need a lot of work, the ignition is busted...etc. But I can still manage to tow it from place to place, and store all of my valuables under lock and key that does not depend on having to trust anyone else. For my trust in others was surely DEAD at that point.
The Covid Catastrophe:
While still in mourning, and out of left field, the world announced their "plandemic" and began hemorrhaging free money to people. So I shamelessly grabbed a hold of as much of it as I could get my hands on, to make up for lost time. Being the first chance I ever had to invest in professional gear, I planned out a full feature film project, spinning off from the world created by George R.R. Martin - The Game of Thrones - the plot twist being that it was set in MODERN times, in our own world. Breaking the 4th Ice wall, so to speak.
I purchased costume pieces, props and other high quality creations from small, independent companies, and got my hands on a 4k camera. I also built a entirely customized stabilization rig for the camera, by negotiating some trades with a company called "Proaim" you can check out the rig I built in a video by clicking here.
I wrote the script, scouted the area for locations, held auditions...etc. And even managed to produce a number of promotion videos and concept trailers for the film project I dubbed "Dawn of Dragons"... and would you know it (drum roll) ONCE AGAIN... no support. Met with needless criticism. Pulling my own teeth out was easier than trying to get anyone to dedicate themselves to a creative endeavour that could lead to success for not only myself, but anyone else who wanted to get involved. The project is now sitting on the shelf, but you can still watch the various trailers I produced for it by clicking here.
Following yet another defeat, the lockdowns and mandates were getting out of control, and the governments began announcing their intentions to segregate people using EUGENICS, and mandatory vaccinations. NOT ON MY WATCH. I took my film gear and began recording various interviews, and even managed to produce a full music video for an MC named Tarek Bibi, during the largest protest that Nelson, BC had ever seen in its history, because the media that gets paid to report on such things was NOT reporting on it. You can watch the music video embedded here, and find other video documentation I produced by clicking here.
Now What?
I currently live in a van down by the river on about $3 / day with my cat, Askim, on the edge of the BC Rocky Mountains in Canada, and winter is here! Askim is currently learning to hunt the mice that like to run across my floor at night, while I am learning to play the bass along with some old timers and learning the fine musical art of BlueGrass. We have a pretty dedicated group of long time local bluegrass society members who get together twice a week, plus playing at our local Legion for an open Jam on Saturday afternoons. We make a few tips here and there, though with the rising prices of everything, it's hard to even keep myself fed.
I am also working on developing a social networking alternative for myself and other like me, who just cannot seem to make a break for ourselves after being shadowbanned since long before the term was ever even coined. You can check it out or sign up by visiting The Djemini Network. Just follow the link and click on the Djemini Icon to get started!
Anything you can offer to help me not freeze to death and get enough food to eat will be especially appreciated this time of year, whether it be signing up for a monthly tip on Ko-Fi, or sharing some of my work with your various social media accounts to help me gain some visibility. If you've made it this far into my story, I really appreciate you for taking to time to hear me out. I've not given up yet! And likely never will until my dying day, or my name is not Andrew Arthur Paul Harvey.
Comments