Back to the Beginning, one year later
One year after Black Sabbath's farewell at Villa Park, Mark Dauner remembers Ozzy, the fans, and a day that showed why live music matters.
Read the riffMusic. Craft. AI. Human creativity.
Rock-filtered.
Whiskey-fueled.
Infusing old-school craftsmanship with new technology, creativity, and the human spirit. Never afraid of AI. All through the lens of rock & roll.
The story behind Rock and Roll Reclaimed
The latest riff · August 12, 2026
Slop is made of people
AI made low-quality content easier to produce, but people built the slop economy. A call to take responsibility and make better work.
Rock and Roll Reclaimed Shop
Coming soon
Rock and Roll Reclaimed started with a love of music and old materials waiting for a second life. We’re imagining, designing, and making rock & roll-inspired items using reclaimed wood and other materials from my family’s farm.
Photos from my family’s farm, by Mark Dauner.
Subscribe to follow our progress and hear when the shop opens.
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Five years
Five years after leaving corporate life, Mark Dauner reflects on Bowie, reclaimed wood, AI, and building an independent home on the open internet.
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Elvis Presley and the human performance filter
Elvis made other people's songs unmistakably his own. What his performances in EPiC reveal about personal voice, creative influence, and AI.
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Creativity, AI, Brian Eno…and farming?
What do Brian Eno, Nebraska farming, and generative AI have in common? Better creative work grows from context, care, and continued refinement.
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Loving the alien
David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust shows how simple ideas leave room for imagination, and why creators using AI still need to own their stories.
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GNOME, Bowie, and why your creative sausage needs a recipe
GNOME's AI code rules and David Bowie's creative process offer a lesson: know your ingredients, understand your tools, and take ownership of your work.
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The person behind the riffs
Hi, I’m Mark.
I’m a writer, a maker, a rock & roll fan, and a whiskey enthusiast. I’m interested in what happens when time-honored traditions meet new tools, and how we keep the human part in everything we create.
More about me