200 Posts! Thanks, Blog History, Twitter, Requests...

This marks the 200th post for Dry Paint Signs.  2012 was the biggest year for the blog so far, where site traffic increased by 3000%.  I would first like to thank every person who has read a review, commented, or just clicked the link by accident when looking for paint products.  But most importantly, I'd like to thank the repeat readers who check back daily for new posts.

This blog started off as a way to bring attention to an issue regarding New York City's 911 operators not having access to updated map software.  Fortunately (though of course, also unfortunately), it turned out to be an incompetent individual I was dealing with, and not a fault of the actual system.  With that out of the way, I started recapping episodes of Kid Nation, writing bizarre short stories, and posting whatever random bullshit happened that day.  Though I was able to salvage some stand-up jokes from my Kid Nation riffs, ultimately, I was unsatisfied with the blog, and pretty much abandoned it.

My first concert review on Dry Paint Signs was for David Byrne's Prospect Park show on 06.08.09.  I'd been writing down setlists for my own personal use since 2001, and decided to begin sharing that info with the world.  I critiqued two more shows that same month, Metric and Phoenix, both at Terminal 5.  When my review of Ted Leo's free show at South Street Seaport was picked up by Brooklyn Vegan and yielded more hits, I decided to shift the focus of the site fully towards live music reviews.

Since then, I've been quoted on sites like Gothamist and Live Music Blog, but I've also had an increasing number of posts shared on Twitter.  While I've always found Twitter to be the lowest common denominator form of sharing information (Anyone who has read one of my reviews knows I'd have a bear of a time using only 140 characters.), I've accepted it as a useful way to advertise and aggregate my creative endeavors.  Now you can follow me @dustinsucks on Twitter to access not only my Dry Paint Signs reviews and lists, but my Tumblr jokes, my blind photography on Instagram, my stand-up comedy announcements, and whatever erratic thoughts I deem 140-character-worthy.

Now, here's where you come in.  2013 is already shaping up to be even bigger than the last, but I want to make it even better for you.  Tell me what you would like to see on the blog, whether it be album reviews, exclusive interviews, video reviews taken directly after concerts, or even for me to finish watching all of Kid Nation.  It's really rewarding to me to know that people are actually reading my work, so let me reward you.  Thanks again for your readership.  I truly do appreciate it.

- Dustin