In Fall of 2005, I started the online musical academy, Electronic Music Central, along with a dozen other widely known music artists, and I decided that as an amateur, I'd be the start of the academy (it's first student, but I'm the one who started it), and so, I became ProjektZero.

Unfortunately, I haven't played live yet, but I do have intentions to play live in the future. The closest I've been so far is by hosting a series of radio shows. I've probably clocked over 50 hours of DJing time there.

I think it brings new freedom to the music industry. It broadens people's horizons by making music more available to people. Music has become more portable through iPods, and every day music is becoming a more integral part of the everyman's life.

Depends, I guess. I'm all for getting famous, but not at the cost of my dignity.

ProjektZero, aka Matthew Rittinghouse, started casually composing in the Summer of 2005 (with little luck). Seeking help from artists and inspirations, he found little aid. So, he decided he would gather some of his inspirations together to one place, and forge an academy where like-minded amateur artists could learn how to compose together, building each other up. After a lot of talking and searching, Electronic Music Central was born.

Now branching off into multiple areas such as podcasting, legal mp3 file sharing, tutorials, community forums, radio shows, and more, EMCentral is on the rise, but ProjektZero is still an avid amateur composer, trying to improve his skills while being dedicated to helping those around him improve theirs.

Some people are influenced by huge bands to start out with, but as for me, my influences are actually sites like FlashFlashRevolution and OCReMix. Later on, once I started to expand my musical horizons, I developed a devout passion for artists such as Daft Punk and BT...and a lot of vocal trance in between.

Dance eJay 7, FL Studio 5.02, AM-242 NCAT microphone, and SoundForge.

You can reach me on AIM at DJProjektZero. Electronic Music Central (EMCentral)'s website is http://emcentral.dyns.net/

We always welcome new visitors or anyone with a passion for electronic music, be they artists or just listeners.

Keep in mind, I claim to be an amateur and nothing more. Until the end of my days, that's all I will ever be. Just an amateur. Regardless of what comes my way, be it fame or just a lot of headaches, I do this for the passion, the fun, the experience and nothing else.