I know there's already a DL thread but, you know, it hit me last night pretty hard.

I'm a Jeckel Bros era ninja. During my high school years, it was AJB, Mostasteless, 1 Less G, BizarreBizaar, Freekshow, and Dark Lotus. They all changed my world. I love those records. It was such a crazy time for me growing up, and in a lot of ways, these 6 records became the soundtrack to some of the hardest times I have ever faced. It sounds crazy, but…they empowered me. They gave me hope in those formative years. And ultimately I don't think I could have done all that I did to liberate and establish myself without them. They kept me going. Gave me hope. Got me through the madness into a brighter day.

And I'll never forget how I made that transition and how the juggalo world nurtured me along the way. You guys still continue to help me along. You give me an outlet for my creativity. There's hundreds of my paintings out there and, as of now, just about 200 copies of the tarot deck…the sheer mass of Psy-related stuff that I've done and continue to do is mind-boggling…It keeps me going. Keeps me creative. Keeps me dreaming.

And there I was last night, painting some lotus crosses on pouches for an order of tarot decks. Lotus cross after lotus cross. The fine details. My hand slightly aching. The smell of the paint. And it hit me…

No more Dark Lotus?

And I know some folks would rip me apart for saying this…but a single tear actually fell. Just one. Silently. I didn't even feel it coming and was suprised when I felt it.

For me, the Dark Lotus records are empowering and spiritual…they work on so many levels. The idea of that music–that magic–being shoved aside for some bigger business plan and profit margins just seems so…unbalanced.

And I get it–believe me, I do. I completely understand what Twiztid is doing here, hands down. 20 years in the game? Man, it's time. It is. I can't EVER tell an artist what to do and where to go. It is a business. It is! And the fact that a lot of my work is derivative of theirs gives me no right to tell them where or where not to go or judge or complain or anything…None. Nothing. I stay silent with open ears.

But I just feel like the juggalos have needed a new Lotus record for some time now, more than ever, especially with the gang label. I saw the Ashtrays and Action Figures clip someone posted here where Paul is laughing about the possibility of the Mayan Wheel on a DL cover ("..Talk to Joe BRUCE about that one…"), and I could only think of the phrase "life is what you make it." As is life, so is art. And if they don't want to take Dark Lotus seriously, then it will become a joke and a shtick and a gimmick.

But, to me, that's a sad thing.

There's a time and a place for everything. I just think that when all is said and done, the Lotus records are the crown jewel of everything these brothers have accomplished together as artists. They unified thousands with this music in the Family era.

Will those jewels gather dust and cobwebs in all this? Is another record even possible in the forseeable future?

Everything needs balance. But sometimes that balance works in a way that is beyond our own concept of what's right and/or fair. And that's a hard lesson to learn.

Peace.