BDaMan

Download "Introspective Journals" on Bandcamp! https://bdaman.bandcamp.com/album/int... Video Filmed and Edited by Thomas Bailey Voiceover by Bryce "BDaMan" Foster Audio Mixed by Madban The Doctor ---------- "Introspective Journals" is a 5-song EP from Hip-Hop artist, BDaMan, highlighting different chapters and pieces of his life that have guided him through his 20s.

---------- “I, BDaMan” is an 11-song album that dives into the emotional and mental psyche of BDaMan, picking up where his previous project, “Introspective Journals” left off. Throughout this album, BDaMan provides a raw insight into his emotional and mental psyche regarding his life, musical career and relationships with those around him. No amount of emotional vulnerability is off limits for BDaMan, as plenty of topics & people are addressed in swift fashion. BDaMan’s producer alter-ego, Madban The Doctor contributes many of the instrumentals, while producer SayJak contributes one instrumental (“Cool Cut Chillin’”) to this album.

BDaMan's remix of Billie Eilish's "You Should See Me In A Crown". Available for streaming on Bandcamp and Soundcloud! Videographer: Jeff Peck Mixed and Mastered by SayJak

*The following takes place on Friday, April 12th, 2019.* 8:40am - After hitting snooze on my alarm plenty of times, I think it's finally time to get moving. 10:14am - As I'm deciding on what to do for the day, I think about how just days ago, there wasn't any snow on the ground and now days later, here we are. I very rarely this close this, but I tend to have issues with being motivated during the winter time. Case in point being the winter of 2017 (My song, "Beauty In The Struggle" comes from that winter). When it's consistently cloudy and all you see is snow for a bulk of the year, it makes it difficult on some days to get up and get out and just get moving. 11:30am - Considering I don't currently have any form of caffeine nor any easy options for lunch, I think it’s time to go back to sleep for a little nap. If I’m gonna rock the stage tonight, I need to get my body decently rested.  2:45pm – Slept a little longer than I planned, but I feel a lot better than I was this morning. Time to get a little bit of lunch – or more of a mini-snack at this point. As I’m coming back from the gas station, I noticed the music manager/homie, Jeff called me a couple of times. Phone was on silent, so I didn’t even see he called. After about 5 minutes after I called him back, he calls back and we chat about the show among other things. Sounds like he’s equally ready for tonight as well. 4:17pm - Dee messages all of us who are doing the show tonight, just to run down a few extra details for the show. B Dot (B.Allen) and I previously met Dee at a show we all did together, coincidentally enough at Club Underground back in 2016.  4:41pm - My lovely girlfriend, Nikki texts me, wishing me luck on tonight's show. Her “Break a leg at your shoe” typo had me cracking up once I re-read it. 5:27pm - To go along with my shirt choice for tonight, I'm getting in that zone by watching some DX stuff! A now-Hall of Fame group in WWE has been a big inspiration for B Dot and I throughout the years (no matter how much B Dot hates on Triple H...) in various ways. Soon enough, it'll be time to ask myself those three words that Triple H asks before that infamous intro. 6:47pm – B Dot lets me know he’s running behind with various errands, so getting there closer to 7:30 would be best. Shortly after, I give Jeff a call to update him on getting to B Dot’s and he gets ready to leave to pick me up. 7:33pm - Jeff is outside, meaning it's time to head to B Dot's, but first a pit stop to get some energy drinks. Also, I know we're late if B Dot is asking where we at lol. 8pm – We’ve arrived at B Dot’s! As usual, his crazy (but great) dog, Nina is hyper at the arrival of people. B Dot, Jeff and I chatted about a good amount of things from tonight’s show, current music (local and non-local) to the eventual Madden rematch that B Dot and Jeff have to have. 8:45pm – It’s about that time! Posse out! En route to the venue. 8:50pm - I'm pretty sure B Dot and Melanie are gonna beat us to the show lol. The GPS gave us the longer way to the venue. 9:05pm - We all have arrived in our separate cars! We actually got there the same time that B Dot and Melanie got there. Right when we walk downstairs to the venue portion, we immediately see Dee and chat it up with him, thanking him again for the opportunity. Shortly after, we briefly chat with Josh (Booker at Club Underground) while he’s checking our IDs. As he does a double take at our IDs (due to the same government name/different spelling thing), I remind him that he previously met us in July of 2017 after the last Club Underground show we did with Breakneck. I take a brief separate moment to check in on him, as he was recently in the hospital for a few health related things. He seems to be in positive spirits, so that’s definitely a plus! 9:25pm - Never have I rushed so fast to get a beer...I'm hoping this future investment is worth it. I can’t disclose too much of it at the moment, but this idea that Jeff has is a bit out of my price bracket right now. 9:40pm - In an effort to fix up my mood, I decide to chat with B Dot and Melanie. I give B Dot a brief general idea about Jeff’s future investment idea, and while he’s all for it, he also brings up a very solid point: we have to get back to basics first and foremost by linking up more with each other (and other music oriented people) and create music first, worry about other things later. 10:06pm - Ben Jammin K is up now. He has a very similar style that reminds me of another music acquaintance.  10:23pm - Mistah is up now. I’ve known of Mistah for awhile now, but hadn’t met him officially until this show. Glad to put a face to the social media presence I’ve seen. I’m digging the music I’m hearing from him! 10:50pm - Verb is up now. I really dig his style – raw and rugged, but still pretty chill with the bars. A hybrid West Coast-East Coast vibe! 11:12pm - Synergy Centric is up now. The show is moving along pretty fast and smooth! Pretty soon, I gotta get myself in that zone... 11:29pm - Dee lets B Dot and I know that we're up immediately after Synergy Centric's last song. Time to throw these shades on and do the damn thang! 11:50pm - And another show down! Aside from a sound mishap, we left our all on the stage! We literally left our voices on the stage, which is a first for myself in awhile and a first for B Dot. In the words of Dave Chapelle, “Modern problems require modern solutions.” Time to get home, eat and rest my voice...

*The following events take place between March 22nd, 2019 and March 24th, 2019.* Friday 11:09pm - So, I feel great about the fact that B.Allen and I have four shows coming up. However, I found out some news the other day that is definitely having me worried. Thursday, B.Allen told me he wasn't feeling well and I usually know to keep on high alert about his health after past events in 2016. Later on in the day, he told me he went to urgent care and got told that it's the flu and had a fever of 103.2. As of this moment, the last update I got from him was, "Off and on sleep all day today feel like death finally saying this is it for me" Now, for those who know B.Allen as I do, you may find some humor in that. Those who don't or who don't find any humor in that, might be very concerned. If he didn't have the flu and said that, I might find it funny and tell him he'd be alright. However, the flu ain't no joke. So, unless he makes a miraculous miracle by the time I get up in the morning, it looks like I'm rocking this show solo. Saturday 3:16am - Unless a miracle happens, I'm going with the assumption that I'm performing solo tomorrow (later today, depending how you look at it). This will be the third time in a decade that I've performed a full set completely solo (two, if you exclude the set I did with Gazda back at Nomad in 2017). "Introspective Journals" is about 20 minutes, so that'll be the set list for the show, if I'm going at it solo. Gonna enjoy this tea and call it a night. 10:10am - Alarm goes off, so I know it's time to get moving. Gonna start my day how I ended yesterday, with some tea. 10:29am - I text B.Allen to see how he's doing and the update I got was, "sore and super hot but super cold at the same time at least able to drink water and hold it down tho". So, sounds somewhat better, but definitely not in shape to perform a set. It's 99.9% official - I'm rocking tonight's show solo. 12:04pm - Doing some minor run through of songs to make sure I've still got this "Introspective Journals" stuff memorized. 12:56pm - Double checked with Jeff to see if he was still coming to the show, looks like we're all good there. The homie, Jayce Serene might come through to the show tonight. He works at 5:30am though, so it might be tough for him to make it. 1:52pm - Finally getting some lunch in my system. Slowly starting to get my focus right for tonight. 2:40pm - Beats for tonight's show are on my flash drive, as well as emailed to SunDogs. While I can, I am going to get a nap in for a couple of hours. No telling what's denied holds, but I want to be sure I enjoy every moment of it and out of my head. 5:15pm - That nap was definitely needed. Time to get moving and get into that zone.6pm - I definitely take blame for the miscommunication on asking Jeff to pick me up haha. The whole "solo set" threw me off. Nonetheless, looks like he'll be here at about 6:45 and we'll be hauling ass to St. Paul. Time to get ready and listen to Smoke DZA's Ringside series. 7:11pm - So, based on how Jeff peeled around that corner down the street earlier, I can tell we're gonna be in a bit of a pinch to get to Hat Trick Lounge on time. Jeff just passed me his phone to play something off of Spotify. Choice of music? DMX! 7:45pm - We've arrived! It's a unique vibe in here tonight. It is now time to make that slow metamorphosis. Shortly after we got settled in there, Jeff and I hear the exact DMX song we heard in the car. (”24 Hrs To Live”) 8:25pm - I send B.Allen a picture of the stage and tell him it might be a blessing in disguise that he has the flu with the stage being a bit small, especially with the band's equipment up there. His reply was, "Lol good way to think of it , I'm mad I can't be out there with you bro kill it bring that energy man". Even with the moments that we can't always make an S.O.S. performance happen, he at least throws some good luck energy my way. That definitely will help going into the night. I decide to get some fresh air with Jeff and practice my set a bit. Mic stepped out to smoke real quick as I was practicing. Just as I started practicing "Ain't No Big Thing", I hear someone yell out "BDa!". Now, in St. Paul, I didn't expect to hear that. But, shortly, I'd see who exactly yelled my name from a car... 8:38pm - It was none other than MonoPoleJoe! Reidy, Tu'shawn and Mono have arrived! Mic comes back out shortly after and the six of us chat for a good minute about local music and other stuff. 9:05pm - Ron Wolf & The Smokin' Barrels are up now. A little blues action to start the night! 9:16pm - I get a good luck text from my girlfriend, Nikki and she gives me some extra hype within her good luck wishes. I let her know that I do feel good about my set, but I'm worried about people sticking around that late. 9:44pm - My buddy from the Sound Arts program, Teontre sends me a good luck text as well, as he won't be able to make it tonight, as he has an early morning gig himself. He is in a band called Papa Bleu & The Fistbump Congress, a 5-piece band that infuse world music, pop, hip hop, and rock. (https://youtu.be/ObvVnGgtENk) 10:09pm - Big Into is setting up now. Just got a text from the homie, Jayce Serene that he'd try to make it out tonight. 10:30pm - So, SunDogs definitely wasn't playing about having those earbuds ready! Big Into are killing it, but it done got loud as hell now. 10:55pm - Aaron Avis is up now. I'm digging his blend of rap with the guitar and metal feel. I have much appreciation to those who bend and break norms in music and this dude does just that. 11:47pm - J-Sully just killed it. The show is pretty damn behind, though. The crowd is a mixture of heading out early or trying to hold on and stick around. Mono, Reidy and Tu'Shawn headed out. 11:56pm - Ain't No Jok is up now! And the homie, Jayce just came through! Ain't No Jok got some cuts!! Sunday 12:51am - Chase Vibe is up now. Looks like the final 3 of us can only do like 3 songs. The next 7-10 minutes zoomed by like a double eviction night of Big Brother! -Spencer (Munny of SunDogs) lets me know that I only have to cut one song, since my set was at 16 minutes. -Jeff misheard me when I asked what song to cut, which was a funny experience within itself. -My coworker from Target Center, Kristen, who was there with Mic’s girlfriend, apparently knows Mic's girlfriend, so she actually got to see me perform. She, of course, gave me shit for not being at work much. With school and the main job (Fieldwork) in the mix, I stick to working my minimum of two events a month at Target Center. Everything moved so fast in that time span, I had just enough time to shake off my nerves, put my eyeglasses in my bag and put on Grandpa's aviators and do the damn thing! 1:15am - Just got off stage and damn! Aside from the breath control, I didn't lose my voice that much and I held my own on stage! My attempt at crowd participation wasn’t as strong as it normally was, but I gave the few people there a pass, as it was so late. In the words of a famous group, it was “one more for the cool guys!” I always pride myself in making the most out of performing for a small amount of people by performing as if there were hundreds of people there. 1:19am - The homie, MICdos is up now, closing out the night! For those that don't know, I've known Mic since about Sophomore year of high school. Cool ass dude, nothing but positive vibes anytime he's around. I'm glad that he's getting some well deserved shine in the music realm as well. 1:50am - That wraps up the show for the night! As Mic, Jeff and I step outside, Mic just bursts out into impromptu singing of songs. With the voice I had left, I jumped in on the songs and parts I knew. If I came out of retirement from singing, Mic and I might be able to pull off a little somethin-somethin! 2:20am - I ain't never seen this man, Jeff want to get out of dodge (St.Paul) as much as I did in this moment! Once we managed to get past the slow cars on the St. Paul streets past the clubs, it was nothing but smooth sailin' on the back roads back to the humble abode. 3:03am - Getting a very, very late dinner in and realizing just how sore my body is gonna be in the morning...

21+ // 8pm // FREE (Suggested donation of $5)

9:07pm - The night has ended and damn - despite me not winning, I feel real good about my performance. Got to shake up with Auggie and tell him thanks again for the opportunity, as well as get some final words in with Peter Parker and some props and constructive criticism. Shoutout to Jeff for strongly encouraging me to submit for this week. Shoutout to the big bro, B.Allen for coming out and showing some brotherly support. And shoutout to Weather Check (Mono, Ross and Trevor) for showing love. Time to get back into the swing of the music and just create!

-Bryce Foster (a.k.a. BDaMan / Madban The Doctor)

*The following events take place between May 18th, 2018 and May 20th, 2018.* Friday 11:36pm - It has been one crazy week! At the start of this week we didn't even know if we would be performing at all. Now, B.Allen and I are doing an hour set tomorrow, headlining at Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative. It's crazy! The circumstances of it really do suck, but we're going to hold it down for Grolar Bears. B.Allen and I went through a rough portion of a little bit of our set. Safe to say, we're ready! The long day that is ahead of both of us is gonna be grueling... Saturday 12:11am - Well, thanks to our public transit, I won't be getting home until like 1:45...When you thought you'd get home by like 12:45 instead, you'd be mad too. 1:23am - Finally home...time to eat some grub and get the set list assembled. 1:55am - As I take a look at my On This Day on Facebook, I see a memory that reminded me just how far I've come in the past four years. From my growth into a more confident person and musician, to the shifts in many relationships within my life. B.Allen said it best, today is a day for reintroducing ourselves, and that goes for displaying our growth over the past 3-4 years. 3:33am - The plus to having this External Laptop Battery Charger is that my laptop is back in business. The negative? It takes like double the time to complete tasks. That being said, there's moments like these where I'm glad that my job is relatively flexible. I gotta get some satisfactory level of rest before I wake back up to get it all done. But first - it's tea time! 4:24am - I'm still amazed at how well the "Beauty In The Struggle" Music Video has been perceived! And it shows with the view counts on Facebook! It's so amazing. However, I'm way past my planned bed time... 12:05pm - Finally up and moving. Time to get the day started! 2:37pm - Since I'm meeting B.Allen at the light rail station by his job, that now gives me a definitive time to leave my house. It's probably wise to eat something. 3:12pm - Watching some live performances of some of my favorites to get myself in that zone for tonight. 3:40pm - One of my very good friends, Phil and my girlfriend, Nikki both text me and wish me luck for tonight's show. 4:12pm - Out the door and to the bus I go! On the way to meet up with B.Allen. 4:25pm - Today's Show Hype playlist? All the songs that Jay-Z discussed in Decoded. 4:48pm - Construction season in Minneapolis has a unique way of affecting just about everyone. Today is no different. 3rd Ave by MIA never, ever fails to get congested. With the Franklin Ave bridge being out and the 94W onramp by downtown being out, that area is rough to get through during busy days. 5:06pm - B.Allen forgot that some roads by his job were closed, so I've gotta meet him as his place now. Maybe I'll use this opportunity to take a walk to another bus stop and practice. 5:49pm - Finally got to B Dot's place. Time to get a last minute practice in! 7:16pm - Practice was a very effective one! Safe to say, we're ready for the night! 7:26pm - Our Lyft is here, so now it's time for us to be on our way to Broken Clock Brewing! 7:45pm - We have arrived! It's definitely not quite what we expected, but we're up for whatever the night throws at us. Mae Simpson Music is about halfway through their set. Damn, they're killing it! 8:45pm - TJ is finishing up sound and set up stuff, so it looks like it's about that time! 10:05pm - Holy hell!! We killed it! My cousins came to show love, Kara and Alex were here, my supervisor Ryan and his sister, Andie and the homie from work, Jeff - it was a dope ass hour! Truly a reintroduction night. 11pm - After much discussion, looks like we're all going to BDubs! Sunday 1:11am - Finally back home and at the humble abode. It's time to hit that Ric Flair Flop on to my bed...

Vocals Written & Performed by BDaMan Additional Vocals by Kjerstin "KJ" Hagen Produced by Gazda Guitar by Marty "Treble" Lang Mixed by Eric Blomquist & Jonathan "Cos" Kramer Mastered by SayJak Artwork by Alex Zalesky Recorded at River Rock Studios in Minneapolis, MN Video Credits: Filmed by John Mackin Edited by John Mackin and Jonathan "Cos" Kramer Recorded & Filmed at River Rock Studios in Minneapolis, MN

*The following events take place on the eve of New Year’s Eve 2017.* Saturday 1:52am - After a long day of work, running around town for New Year's Eve things and the travels, it's time for bed. With B.Allen and I not having our set configured at the moment, this is gonna make for an interesting day. 11:16am - Up and at 'em. Current temperature: -10°. Goodness! 12:07pm - Looks like B.Allen and I will be rocking the same set from our November performance at Acadia. When it's a bit down to the wire, you gotta roll with it. 12:44pm - Finally getting a chance to promote the show. Also checking out Ole Soles' music in the process. 1:03pm - To pass some time, it's time to get some video game time in! 2:16pm - Anyone who knows me, knows that breakfast at my house can occur as late as 3pm. Today is no exception. Breakfast with a little bit of "Burn Notice". 2:52pm - My girlfriend, Nikki wishes me luck early on tonight's show, considering she won't be able to be there with me, due to work. 4:04pm - Might as well get a nap in before tonight's show. What's the worst that can happen, right? 5:45pm - I definitely could've napped a little bit longer haha. Final promoting is in effect for tonight's show. 7:38pm - Day Block bound! Shoutout to my mom for taking me up to the bus stop to knock out a good chunk of the wait time. 8:25pm - Despite the bitter cold, I made it in one piece! B.Allen and Weather Check are chilling at the bar inside. Apparently, the pretzel wasn’t the best, according to B Dot. 9:09pm - MNtality is in the building! Looks like between him, Ross and Mono - we'll have photos and videos! Also, our little brother and my former stepmom (B.Allen, Jabri & Jaylon’s mom), DeAnna will be coming. While MNtality, Mono and I were chatting - I discovered that we will be opening up the show! 9:15pm - B.Allen and I talked briefly about the concept of a clean slate for 2018. From a music aspect to a life aspect. It's weird to think that in June 2018, I'll have known him for 17 years. That being said, the clean slate concept might be a good one to adapt fast. I'll have to remember to pass that along to the peeps. I haven’t had a chance to see him a lot lately, which is always strange when we don’t see each other semi-often as we do. In case we didn’t see each other on New Year’s, we decide to take a shot of Hennessy (B Dot’s drink of choice, typically). 9:30pm - DeAnna just got here. I totally blanked out and realized that Jaylon would not be old enough for this show. He's at the hotel, chilling. I still got beef with him about his smart remark in the Christmas group text with all the siblings... 9:57pm - We started off the show and killed it! B.Allen and I did our thang and left it all on stage! This for sure will be our last show for awhile. Gotta get new material! For us knowing that it’d be our last show for awhile, we did a damn good job at presenting the energy we’re known for. However, with us both wearing sweatshirts and various layers, we definitely got caught by the heat haha. 10:04pm - Weather Check is up now. Mono, Ross and Trevor never fail to put on a good performance! 10:45pm - Weather Check did a fantastic job!! The energy was absolutely electric! Mono is a true one-of-a-kind, true do it all artist. Ross and Trevor are beasts at bass and drums, respectively. I tip my hat to them. Ole Soles is closing it out, up next. 11:08pm - Ole Soles is up! They're the producer/rapper combo of Niels and Jake Tang. They even got a painter with them (shoutout to Colby Swanson)! The sample, old school sound is right up my alley! 11:48pm - The show is now over and complete! It was a chill night of music. B.Allen and I even got $13 each from it. Now, time to go home and prepare for the very long day ahead tomorrow. 

*The following events take place between December 6th, 2017 and December 8th, 2017* Wednesday 10:12pm - After promoting the show to the best of my abilities and eating a filling Ramen combo, it's time to figure out the tail end of the night. 11:22pm - I normally save the wrestling promo viewing for the day of the show, but this show is one of few exceptions. The energy going into this show has not been the same as others, so I'm needing to dig in deep for that energy that S.O.S. is known for. I'm really, really hoping that B.Allen and I can get the cohesive energy together for this show. Thursday 12:25am - My girlfriend texts me back, letting me know that she's gonna find ways to make sure I'm hype and energetic for the show. Knowing her, this is gonna be interesting in every sense of the word. 12:45am - After a little bit of Wayans Bros., I decide it's finally time for bed. 6:45am - Time to get this long day started! 8:35am - Now that the morning of unfortunate events is over, it's time to finally head to work. Despite the rough start to the day, all is not lost. 8:55am - What better way to turn a mood around? Music. 10:51am - The plus side of being late to work? The day goes by just a little bit faster. Got to work a half hour late (9:30 instead of 9), but made it in one piece, so that's all that matters. Earlier this morning, we found out from Cos (Jonathan) that we go on at 9:30 - meaning we go on first. Does that put the pressure on? Sure, but B.Allen and I have felt pressure before and come out the other side shining. 1:55pm - I was sitting at my desk earlier, hoping my coworker Paul had some snacks with him. Less than 30 seconds later, he offers me some pretzels! They definitely came in handy for this quick break I'm taking. 3:07pm - Left work a little later than expected, but looks like I'll be getting to my girlfriend's place before 4, so it's all good! Time to do a minor solo practice. 3:45pm - I've arrived at my lady's place, so it's time to relax a bit and appreciate each other's company. 5:19pm - While Nikki (my girlfriend) has a smoke, I'm trying to think of how to get dinner for $14... The thing I appreciate about her is that she's understanding about times like these where we're both struggling and simply have each others' company. It may not always be ideal, but it keeps us humble and makes us grow closer together. Meanwhile, my mom texts me back and reminds me to wrap it up in a comical manner. Thanks, Mom haha. 6:30pm - About 10 minutes before we catch the bus and Nikki is working on putting on the "bare ass minimum" of makeup. Can we make the bus on time? We're gonna see! 6:44pm - We made it on the bus on time! B.Allen just texted me, double checking about soundcheck. Looks like he's in the zone, which means we back in our normal aura! 7:27pm - Inching closer and closer into Dinkytown. Not sure whether I'm getting more nervous or what. 7:40pm - The lady and I have arrived! Kitty Cat Klub is pretty damn dope with minimal people in here. I’ve never had a chance to enjoy the visuals of the place until now. Starting off with a Two Hearted Ale. 8pm - As I predicted, B.Allen got here right as Nikki was outside smoking a cigarette. Between me and y'all, I hope they both stop smoking cigarettes in 2018. Pure wishful thinking, though. 8:15pm - Cos and his girl, Thando have arrived. It's gonna be an interesting night. . 9:04pm - Doors are officially open! 9:15pm - Only 15 minutes until we hit the stage! 9:48pm - Show 101: Shows rarely start on time. Cos lets me know a few last minor details about the show. Hoping for a good set! Also, Ross from Weather Check is here tonight. We actually might have a show with them at the end of the month! *Post-Edit: That show is now confirmed! December 30th at Day Block Brewing!* 10:25pm - And just like that, our set is complete! After the stressors en route to this show, we did our damn thing as usual! Jabri ended up coming with a homie of his, so it was dope to have our brother there. Of course, the lady absolutely loved the set - which made my night just as much as Jabri being there. My voice went out somewhere in our set and it was clear once I was trying to talk to Nikki. I also never realize how drastic that adrenaline jump is from performing to not. Now that our set is complete, it's time to go get some food! 11:08pm - Qdoba was closed unfortunately, so the alternatives were very slim. With little time to decide before the last bus to Edina, we had to settle with McDonald's. 11:26pm - Back to Edina we go. Damn, this is gonna be a VERY long bus ride. Friday 12:24am - It ain't Qdoba, but this McDonald's beats the pretzels I had earlier! After this, it's right to bed for the lady and I.

12:26am - Thanks to Signature, I have arrived back at my humble abode! Time to make that step back into the real world come tomorrow...

Instagram