Greetings folks! It’s me, Greg, here, thanking you once again for all of the support you’ve given Heavy NFLD since we started back in 2015. As we approach 2020 we’ll be heading into our fifth year as a news publication dedicated to the local scene in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as an online archive of all the bands who have ever emerged from the sinking hellpit that we call home. I never imagined this little project, which I started completely on a whim one day, would reach as many people as it has. While we still have a long way to go in our ultimate goal of closing the barriers between the localized scenes of Eastern Canada, we’re proud of how far we have come, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of you lot.

But therein lies a small issue. I continue to refer to Heavy NFLD in the pluralized tense, because we are a brand and that’s how brands have to address the public. But in reality this project is mostly just me. It’s always been just me, myself and I, slaving away beneath the garish glow of my laptop screen as I continue pushing each and every new, undiscovered artist to as many people as possible. But it’s getting to a point where it’s become somewhat difficult to juggle my personal life with my full time job with my dream of becoming a professional music journalist. Even though my articles are short, and I might not post every single day, keeping this brand afloat has proven to be a bit more rocky than I anticipated. Between writing news articles, conducting interviews, writing reviews, organizing show coverage, managing all of our social medias (Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and Reddit), uploading to the YouTube channel and creating a semi-monthly podcast, it’s become a lot on one plate.

So, herein lies my decision. I don’t want Heavy NFLD to be just me. I never wanted it to be just me in the first place. But now that we’ve got a pretty decent reach (there are people in New Brunswick and Montreal who know who and what Heavy NFLD are, for example) I figure it’s time to put the call out there for people with the same passion as myself for underground music to join this ‘company’. I want to turn this passion project of mine into a genuine team of people who can better handle the influx of new music that seems to happen almost daily on our humble, little island and elsewhere in the Atlantic provinces as well.

I should say right off the bat that I can’t pay you. I make no money from Heavy NFLD, as this has always been a not-for-profit venture. However, in the future if we get big enough and can generate some sort of income either through Patreon or ad revenue through our blog, then actually paying the people who write for us will definitely become more viable. As of right now though, we need people who have the fervor for writing about underground metal and punk music and are willing to write one, maybe two articles per week. They don’t have to be long, but as long as they’re accurate and grammatically sound that’s what matters to us.

But we also want to expand the things that we write about. As of right now our readers (that’s you!) get mostly news articles about what’s happening in the local scene. Usually these articles involve new songs and albums released by bands, when bands part ways with one of their members, when bands are seeking new members, the lineup announcements for local festivals (ie: Lawnya Vawnya, November Mayhem, Paganfest), and more. We also occasionally do interviews with local artists or write reviews of albums released by said local artists, and every once in a blue moon you’ll get an editorial piece. But we want more than that, and our readers deserve more than that too! We want to introduce new segments on this blog that talk about the different aspects of the music we love, whether it’s taking an in-depth look at the positive aspects of maligned metal albums from the past (St. Anger anyone?) or philosophizing on the merits of politically charged punk rock. We want more editorials, more interviews, more delicious, high quality and discussion-provoking content for our hungry reader base.

So if you think you’re up for it, if you think you have the acumen to join our team and start writing articles for us (and help take the load off of my shoulders please and thank you), or you know somebody else who does, then reach out to us either through a direct message on our Facebook page or by sending an e-mail to gregorysweetapple@gmail.com. We’ll discuss the other details further in private, but until then I want everyone to know how much it’s appreciated if you even consider reaching out to us. Thank you all for making this blog and this project something more important than I ever could have dreamed it being. I hope to hear from some of you soon!

~ Akhenaten

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