Len Enders

I don’t really share super personal things about my current life here but since this is something that has had an effect on my YouTube upload output over the last year I thought it relevant.

If you’ve been a subscriber for a while then you know I only upload when I’m inspired to do so. From the beginning I made the conscious decision that I would not try to “make the algorithm happy” or upload on a super regular schedule just so people wouldn’t forget about me, etc.
So my uploads have always been somewhat sporadic but much more so over the last six months or so.

Late last year my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that had spread to other organs. As many of you know this is essentially a death sentence.
He fought extremely hard but lost his battle after ten months on August 17th of this year.

At the very end he was in and out of knowing where he was and what was going on but I was fortunate to happen to be at his home on his last day. I got to sit with him and comfort him, hold his hand and tell him I loved him during some brief moments of clarity only a few hours before he left us. (I was his only child)

Some people get more creative during times of emotional hardship and dive head first into their art or craft but for me this has never been the case.
As I watched my father deteriorate over the last ten months my attitude towards creating for and uploading to YouTube drifted more and more into “who gives a f*ck?” and “what does this stuff even matter?” territory. This has included posting on other social media and responding to messages and comments.
Basically things that brought me joy had become kind of joyless.
Even going through the archives of my old home videos from the 80s and 90s to find something to upload became painfully depressing as most of those videos are from happy times living with my father.

If you are familiar with the video I posted about the strange and amazing house that my dad had been building all by himself since 1995: no, it was not completed. Not even close.
And no, I will not be taking it over to finish it.
It is in the hands of his widow and, since he had no money to leave, will probably eventually be sold as is so that she may support herself.

As many of you know, when you’re not feeding YouTube regularly with “amazing content that drives viewer engagement” etc. etc. you will be punished or at the very least sent to the sidelines. At this point my channel has essentially flatlined, which doesn’t bother me as I have never been on a mission to make YouTube my job, but it certainly doesn’t help to reinvigorate my excitement to jump back into creating videos.

All of this is to say that I’m definitely not going to stop creating or uploading videos, it’s just going to be a minute before I get back to the feeling of joy I had for it before my dad’s diagnosis.

In a few days I’m going to take a roadtrip for a few weeks or more to clear my head and reflect. Upon my return home I have plans for a very nostalgic, upbeat and fun video about my life as a metalhead in the 80s.

Thanks to everyone who has reached out in any form with kind words or support. I apologize for my delayed or total lack of responses over the last few months or more. I’m sure you understand.

If you haven’t seen the video I made about my father and his decades long, over-the-top house project there will be a link at the bottom of this post.
I uploaded it on the morning of his 70th birthday but since he didn’t use YouTube or have a computer, I had to create a single DVD copy and bring it to his house for him to see it.
A month or so later I actually printed out all of the comments the video had received just so he could read them.
This brought him great joy and numerous times he asked me when I was going to come over to do a follow up video.
Sadly I never got the chance to.

I promise I’ll be back to myself soon! Thanks so much for sticking around and being patient. It really means a lot to me. <3

-L3N


Here's the video about his house project- https://youtu.be/mijuIr7g6Is?si=SC2ZS...

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1 year ago | [YT] | 560

Len Enders

Just wanted to share a few random pieces of "teenage Len" fan art that people have sent me over the last couple years :)

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1 year ago | [YT] | 191

Len Enders

Calling all party planners, bartenders, DJs and club managers!
I’ve uploaded a video filled with two full hours of authentic 1980s home video footage to add a fun retro vibe to your party, bar or event.
Put on some music or DJ and let the video roll in the background.

**PLEASE NOTE: video PURPOSELY has NO SOUND so you can play your own music.

Perfect for a 1980s themed party or just to have some retro video playing on the screens at your club or bar.
Or just chill at home, fire up your favorite 1980s Spotify playlist and throw this video on the T.V. while you kick back with a drink and let the nostalgia wash over you!
Every clip is totally unique with no repeats or looping.

If you’d like this video to play for many hours without stopping you can set the video to loop.

Here's a link to the video:
https://youtu.be/3_H4FMeqzcc

If you would like 80s music suggestions to get inspired, here is a link to my own personal 1980s playlist on Spotify:
open.spotify.com/playlist/6C2OTfhVKjC6bpWkGwntGd?s…

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1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 136

Len Enders

I was recently a guest on the Straight To Video podcast with Rob Lane and it was super fun!
If you're into all things nostalgia and pop culture you should do a deep dive into this kick ass podcast.

Here's my episode:
straighttovideo.buzzsprout.com/1172573/13045165?t=…

And here's the Straight To Video website with links to all his other episodes:
www.stvpod.com/

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 150

Len Enders

Did Stranger Things Get Ideas From My 1980s Home Videos?

I’ve noticed since uploading that some people are missing the spirit and point of this video, which is of course nothing new on YouTube, but I thought I’d just clarify a couple things really quickly anyway.

The title of this video is “Did Stranger Things Get Ideas From My 1980s Home Videos?” which is a question. It’s not “Stranger Things Took Ideas From My 1980s Home Videos” and nowhere in the video do I say that.

People have been telling me for years that they believe the creators took inspiration from my home videos and have pointed out the same specific similarities over and over again, which to be honest is something I never even considered, and wouldn’t trip out about it if they did.

A friend suggested I do a video where I take a look at these perceived similarities back to back with my original home videos and also, attempt to explain how my videos could possibly end up being viewed by the show's creators.

I’ve licensed compilation footage of my 80s home videos to production companies for years. It’s been seen in multiple Netflix documentaries, HULU, HBO MAX, music videos, etc. So many that I don’t even remember or keep track anymore.
And before I had this YouTube channel I had others, and before that I mailed out DVD compilations, and before that I mailed out VHS compilations and traded with VHS traders around the country, going all the way back to the late 1980s.
So these videos have been in circulation long before being uploaded to this channel.

Yes, I’m very aware that there was an Eddie Munson or a Billy Hargrove in every town in the 80s. No, I don’t for a second think it was only my friends and I that looked or acted this way or that there weren’t other towns like ours.
But here is the difference-

How many 1980s “day in the life” compilation videos featuring all of the similarities I’ve shown are in the hands of multiple film production companies?
Given that I have provided many hours of my clips to many different companies over the years, is it possible that any footage floating around the archives and fitting into this category could be from me?

And if you were researching and creating some characters based on real life archetypes, and had access to authentic footage of these archetypes in action, would you watch it for some inspiration?

I’m just drawing a line from here to there, showing the similarities people have shown me and asking: “Is it possible?” along with a sprinkle of humor and playfulness.

Also, while I’m on this rant, there is a section of this video where I show 80s life as depicted in Stranger Things compared to real life as shown in my videos just to see how realistic it is for fun and nostalgia.
This does not mean that, for example, when I compare kids using a phone in the series to kids using a phone in my videos that I am saying “Stranger Things got the idea for using phones from my friends and I”.
I’m honestly shocked that I keep getting comments like this! lol

Anyway, if you watch the video I hope you enjoy it and I’d love to hear your opinion about the subject.

Here's a link:
https://youtu.be/CWXhM2u3O2Q

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2 years ago | [YT] | 385

Len Enders

After a couple different trips into a professional recording studio failed to capture the sound we wanted for our band, I got an 8-track cassette recorder in 1996 (Yamaha MT8X) in an attempt to teach myself recording and production.
This demo was my first try at recording our band and honestly I had no idea what I was doing. Thinking that all microphones were the same, I went out and bought a bunch of random inexpensive mics from pawn shops (my first mistake!), set them up and dove in head first.

Remember, there was no Google or YouTube in those days so unless you knew someone that could teach you, or your local library carried some excellent books on the subject you were trying to learn, you were completely on your own.

After a great deal of technical setbacks and frustrations we finally got these six newly written songs recorded.

I took many late night walks listening to this tape on my Walkman over and over while picking apart our performances, trying to figure out what I could do to make future recordings better and taking mental notes.

The sound is raw and imperfect, recorded in our little plywood rehearsal room during a particularly dark and rainy Spring week in the Pacific Northwest.

You can hear the tape warble and hiss from time to time, plus a few off-key/out of tune moments and small mistakes, all of which drove me absolutely crazy at the time but now I find them endearing and actually enjoy the imperfections.
It was all analog cassette tapes for us then so there was no way to fix mistakes, pitch correct or add effects after the fact. You either had to live with what you’d recorded or start over and do it again.

I can hear us in this recording trying to stretch beyond the limitations of our minimal gear to make something that sounded as good as the records we loved at the time.
If you listen with headphones you can hear my attempts at creating cool stereo effects.
The songs veer from serious rock/metal to funny/ironic because, well, that’s what we did in the 90s!
We did this just for ourselves to experiment and learn how to record so it was never released other than some copies to a few of our close friends.

Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this lo-fi sonic artifact from a small town, Pacific Northwest rock band trying to learn some new skills.

(Turn on subtitles/closed captions to view lyrics while you listen)

Click here to play now:
https://youtu.be/CyshhHE7RmA

CIRCLE OF FEAR (active on and off from 1992 -1998) was:
Charlie Burns - guitar
Edward Burns - 4 & 5 string bass
Eric Jensen - drums
Len Enders - vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar

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2 years ago | [YT] | 183

Len Enders

"There's nothing on my horizon except everything. Everything is on my horizon."
-D.K. Schrute

2 years ago | [YT] | 277

Len Enders

My energy going into 2023

2 years ago | [YT] | 399

Len Enders

Happy New Year my little loves!! Hope 2023 rocks for you -n- yours. CHEERS!

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2 years ago | [YT] | 563

Len Enders

Merry Christmas ya filthy animals!

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2 years ago | [YT] | 471