In an attempt to reflect, and of course market my music, I’ve decided to create a playlist that catalogues my ten years of music making. I started pulling a song from each album, but that was too many, so I edited that down to something more manageable. To make all that less manageable, I’ve decided to put an autobiography of a small sort below. I tagged songs with their spot in the playlist when mentioned. Someone figure out how to get me on Wikipedia.
Rebel Prom Queen (and I guess Love Boat Captain)
The first songs you’ll see are from my one of my first projects, Rebel Prom Queen, started in 2013. I started playing my guitar and singing straight into my laptop I believe. I remember I was using audacity, and pretty much all of the audio was overblown(1. “Dirt Wizard” and 2. “Wages”). I got a little better with the DAW and adding layers (4. “Kiss Me”), and even did a some weird concept albums, starting with “Cold Dark Expanse” (3. “Orbit”).2014’s “Kids Songs For Adults” might be the highlight of that era (5. “Morning Breath Blues”), with the final album from that project being 2016’s “Random Article,” involving me writing about random Wikipedia articles (6. “Henry Berry”).
I kind of busked a lot on campus during this period, I think a few played open mics, and even got paid to play a farmers market once, but I kind of stopped playing music as my mental health got worse, and after my psych ward stay (see The End.) I didn’t play much or record for a while.
Justin Hurst & The Existential Dread (and Going Solo From Myself)
I don’t really remember when or why I started playing and recording again, but I did. I was living with my friend David at an apartment in Dimondale, and working at a pot factory doing IPM. First album back was 2019’s “Bleeding Gums and White Lights” which I did a pretty dope album photo-shoot for (thanks David). Some folk, some indie rock, lot’s of bad mixing (using a more “sophisticated” DAW and setup), but, some decent stuff, and few good songs (7. “Spooky Luke”). Next was “Folks/Fuck These Days” (with me with a middle finger subtly on the cover, what an edgy/cool guy /s). Used a children’s drum set I found in the dumpster for this one. Covered in old shirts. Good times. More bad mixing, more good songs (8. “Eat The Rich”).
I put a real line here… Well you know what here we go, let’s just add another to be safe
That line up there is my wife. Sort of. What I mean is all the music past this point (and some of Folks/Fuck as well I think, but I hadn’t moved yet so…) is after I met my now wife, Haley. True Love is inspiring I suppose because there is a whole lot more music on this side of the line. In a more literal sense, the next few album covers involved some amount of my wife’s clothing. No more child’s drum set, more program drums from Hydrogen, which I still use for guide tracks to this day (9. “Quarantine (Haunt These Halls)”,10. “Good Time”).
Now timelines with when I released under Justin Hurst, and Justin Hurst & The Existential Dread mix I bet. All of this is the era of a 4 square pad drum and some sort of rock/pop. Justin Hurst debuts with 2021’s “Uh Huh, (11. )”Dance Like Everybody’s Watching” in particular having a fantastic little music video you should view. Justin Hurst & The Existential Dread ends with surf jazz weirdness a la “2021’s Screams From The Ocean” (12. “Somebody Fed Phyl”). We then get bedroom punk with “Take Me Home” (13. “Invite Me To Your Party”) and weird running gag bedroom punk/pop with “Art Vanguard” (14. “Rocks To The Face”). The Justin Hurst release name retires for the most part with “Sad Sack Lonely Punk” (15. “Stupid Shit”) and me getting married. Fuck yeah.
Justin H.K., The Existential Dread, The Existential Dead
Do I have a great explanation to why I keep starting and releasing under new projects? No. Do I have a good one? Also no. Anyways, I did. So you get Alt-country mostly with Justin H.K., instrumentals and jazzy stuff with The Existential Dread, and psychedelic rock and heavier stuff with (the relaunched) The Existential Dead. You also get a lot music.
I feel like my songwriting really starts to improve here, or at least my lyrics (16. “A Great Pretender”). I really start to play around a lot when I get my full electric drum set (17. “Curtain’s Fall ! & !!”, 18. “Rondo Of Ronin Dragonflies”) and eventually current studio setup. I try out folk punk with 2022’s “Punch A Nazi Today.” (19. “Eat The Rich” again) I try out some ambient (20. “Walking Backwards Through The Forest”), and really start to blend the Justin H.K. and The Existential Dread projects with “Room” (21. “The Ropes”). I go bedroom pop with “Sad Songs For Sexy People” (22. “Three Wolf Moon Tee Shirt”), and strip back with “DIRT” ( 24. “By Friday You’ll Be Dead”). I continue a western obsession (23. “A Scrapped Letter Home”,28. “Ghost From The West”) and relaunch The Existential Dead in 2023 with “The Dead Rise” (25. “Burn The Witch”). Justin H.K continues cranking death-obsessed folk out (26. “Broken Bottle Kids”). We get (27. )”32″ which I’m pretty proud of, and Welcome Home which, well here: The End and Welcome Home (29. “Wrong Exit”). Art Vanguard returns with 2023’s “Art Vanguard II: Fart Vanguard” (30. “TV Head”) and I go all quiet with my latest “Many Tentacled Tiny Monsters” (31. “Creeping Corporeal Creature”)
And we’re now. The current era. Don’t really play live much, a few open mics here and there, but no plan on stopping with the releases. Got lots in store already.
Anywho, if you like my writing, or my songs you should check out the book I wrote: “Stupid Shit: Adapted Lyrics and Poems“, and of course follow and listen to my music on the streaming platforms, as well as follow me on my soc. meds. Welp.
Dirt Witch Records 
Leave a comment