Every New Beginning

Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end. 

This is a call to all my past resignation. 

Pull the tapeworm out of your ass  

...

Lyrics matter......

References

To truly make great music, how well versed do you need to be in music references?

On a scale of 1 to expert, where would one need to fall to have the necessary qualifications to make impactful music?

It helps to stand on the shoulders of giants when you know exactly who the giants are. 

It Comes from SOMEwhere

Writing is an anomaly. 

One minute there's nothing. The next there's SOMEthing. 

Out of thin air. Not necessarily completely original. But most definitely built with some parts that are singularly unique. 

And when it's done well, it can change lives. 

Stop thinking so much and let it happen. 

For Posterity

ALBUM TITLE: One Day You'll Understand... Or Not...

TRACKS

1. Plays Poorly with Others
2. I Have A Favorite Airport Now
3. This Hat Is Too Small for My Head
4. Knowing Everyone's Order is My Job
5. The CEO Could Never
6. Done Done Done
7. The Room I Grew Up In Is A Dead Man's Office
8. This Is Happiness
9. Magdalena, Let's Go
10. You Think We Need One More
11. Look! The Constellation In That Galaxy Is Visible From the Observatory
12. You Better Have Kept Your Fucking Promise

Plans versus Actions

It's easy to get caught up putting a lot of thought and plans into how to do things, what the process should be, what it takes to get started, potential issues, what it would take to get past them...

But, upon further reflection, maybe it would be best to get up off the couch and do things in the real world to see if all those plans actually lead to something useful. 

Record something today. Get it done. Figure it out. 

If No One Would Ever Hear It

What songs would you write?

What stories would you tell?

What riffs would you jam on?

How much would you pour yourself into the music?

Note: no one is hearing it now (yet), so this doesn't need to remain an intellectual exercise.

Suitcase Drumkit

 Snare, hat, kick, crash/ride, block, tambourine?

Limits reveal creativity. 

Drum fills will be sparse. 

Everything will be in maximum service of the song. 

Lightning Meet Bottle

Lightning in a bottle only happens if you have a bottle. 

Unless you're prepared with that bottle, lightning will strike everywhere else. 

It also makes more sense to control the bottle than it does to try to control the lightning. 

Writing: SOP

 Get everything out of your head. 

Riffs, licks, chords, melodies, bits of lyrics if they happen in the moment. 

Record them in some sort of voice memo app on your phone. I literally use Voice Memo on my iPhone. 

Title them whatever feels right. This will change. Often. Make sure you include the word "idea" at the end so you can search and find all the ideas. 

Let them sit. Listen to these ideas a couple times a week and if anything sticks out, give it some deep work time. 

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. 

Stop Judging It at the Beginning

 If you keep disregarding everything at the beginning because you think an idea isn't worth working on, you'll never get past the beginning. 

Connect the dots in reverse. 

What is the goal?

Writing more music? 

Recording more songs? 

Releasing an album?

Reaching more people?

Having fun?

Becoming a better musician?

Telling good stories?

Making money?

Playing live shows?

Connecting with people?

...

Keeping the promise to yourself?

Imitation

 "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay greatness." -Oscar Wilde

I'm making it a point to learn more covers this year. 

And yes, I currently reside in the realm of mediocrity, but the goal is to always be in the process of progressing towards greatness. 

Put the time in. 

"2 minutes everyday is worth more than 2 hours on Saturday." -David Meltzer

If You're a Musician...

 ... you are competing with every single musician that has ever existed because it's become that much easier for people to find all of that music. 

And even deeper than that, you are competing with every single source of entertainment and seeker of attention that has ever existed. 

But rather than figure out how to win the competition...

... why not just focus on being fulfilled through the process of getting that which is in your head out into the world?

Art as a hobby just might beat art as a revenue stream...

Art as a hobby certainly gives the artist more permission to say "Fuck it" and create for themselves. 

Songs I'd Like to Write

A song that's one chord the entire time. 

A song that starts with the chorus. 

A song where every verse, chorus, bridge, etc. is based on a completely new musical motif but it all still fits. 

A song that starts with only bass. 

A song that starts with only drums. 

A song that starts with a harmonized riff on bass and guitar. 

A song that's just acoustic guitar and vocals. 

A song that's full band instrumental. 

A song that's traditional intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus-outro. 

A song where the first chorus is a half version of the actual chorus. 

Even better if I can have all of these songs on a 10 song album. 

Merry Christmas

 This holiday has the best marketing team for sure. 

I love Christmas music and the Christmas season. 

For me, it's about family and the nostalgia of all the great memories collected over the years. 

Merry Christmas to you and yours. 

Start the Day

Start the day thinking about music. 

An idea for a riff. 

The latest cover I'm working on. 

Reference songs for what I want the suitcase album to sound like. 

The various placements for single mic drum recording.

It's never a bad thing to have music on the mind first thing in the morning. 

Things I Need to Work On: Guitar Edition

Finger endurance, strength, and flexibility. 

Learning more covers. 

Writing (documenting) more, but also not forcing it. Just turn on the faucet and catch the water, adult. 

Chord transitions but also the transitions within the transitions. Sometimes the fingering doesn't need to be fully formed at the beginning of the phrase. There are micro adjustments and movements and placements that exist among each transition. Figure out these moments and fit them in to the musicality of the phrasing. Yes, there is a script. But there's also room for tone, inflection, dynamics, nuance. The what should be enhanced by the how. 

Pick up a guitar everyday, even if it's only for 120 seconds. 

Have fun. If it's not fun, put it down after the prescribed 120 seconds. 

I Should Go to Sleep

But I'd rather post about more recording ideas...

Record drums in the house I grew up in. 

2 and a half minutes or less for each song. 

Power trio format. 

3 part harmony vocals if it fits the song. 

Travel topics: airports, restaurants, hotels, destinations, cruising, business trips, anniversary trips, travel with kids, boarding the dogs, renting cars, TSA pre-check, packing. 

I... may or may not disregard the album theme limitation...

Posting for no other reason than to do it daily

When the only reason one posts is to do it daily regardless of utility or entertainment value or any other type of value... is it akin to a tree falling in the woods?

That is to say... would anyone hear it and/or care?

I care, which is enough. 

This is a relatively new realization for me. 

Daily posts are worth if for no other reason than to keep the promise I made to myself to post daily. 

Damn... I should go post something on TikTok now, too...

My fingers hurt

 ... in the best way possible. 

Because I'm practicing guitar. 

And just like getting into shape for a marathon or exercising to lose weight, there is pain associated with strengthening my guitar finger muscles. 

It really is freaking fun to play music. 

I am not that person...

 ... the one who can't watch themselves on video. 

... the one who hears the finished song in their head before it's done. 

... the one who practices a lot. 

... the one who maintains their instrument. 

... the one who writes lyrics before the music/melody. 

... the one who actually finishes most of the projects he starts. 

Some of these are innocuous. 

Others need to be changed ASAP. 

Self-awareness is a good thing if it leads to action. 

Writer's Block

Probably means the writer is too concerned with writing something good. 

And by writer I mean me. 

And by good I mean popular. 

And by concerned I mean debilitatingly obsessed. 

Probably better to singularly focus on the process of documenting thoughts and letting the reader figure out the rest. 

Cough Syrup by Young the Giant is a difficult song to play on guitar. 

My suitcase drumkit has no toms and limited cymbal options. 

I need somewhere to record drums. Not a place that will record them but a place where I can self record them with my own gear. The house I grew up in seems like a great option. 

Every entertainment medium is competing with every other source of attention seeking in the world. Which is why rage baiting is so prevalent. 

The Dodgers are going after Skubal. 

I love the Honda Center. 

Certain nail polishes chip more easily than others. 

I need to restring all of my guitars. 

Practice

I never did. 

I started playing guitar the summer of 2000. Right after I had graduated high school and a couple months before I moved into the dorms at college. 

I bought my first acoustic guitar in June, and by September, I had 2 more guitars. 

But... I didn't practice. 

I still don't practice very much. 

Which is a shame. 

Practice is when you realize you have so much to strive for. And also when you figure out that you get out what you put in. 

Long story short. It's time for me to start practicing more. I'll be a better person for it. 

For Me

Yes. I want an audience. 

Yes. I want the music I make to be liked by a ton of people. 

Yes. I want to reach as many people as possible. 

But it starts with doing it for me. 

If I don't spend time making (finishing) it, I'll never have an audience. 

Doing it for me means keeping my promise to myself and finishing it. 

Write the song. Record the song. Mix the song. Release the song. 

That's the promise. 

Keep it. 

THEN I can worry about getting an audience. 

Eliminate Choices

Eliminate choices to reveal creativity. 

Set parameters to reveal elasticity. 

Stop making it about making a perfect album. 

Start making it about making an album using a suitcase drumkit, an electric guitar, an orange mini crush amp, a chorus pedal, an overdrive pedal, a distortion pedal, a bass, an instrument preamp, a mic preamp, an iPhone, garageband, an sm57, an MXL 990/991 condenser mic set, your fingers, your vocal cords, and your songwriting skills. 

The album will be about traveling. 

12 songs (a song a month). Less than 26 minutes.

You play and sing everything yourself. 

It's an album of demos.

Indie rock.

And a brutally disciplined adherence to limitations.

Eliminate choices to reveal creativity.

Progress

Happens little by little and then all at once. 

Progress is hard to see in the short term but becomes clearer on a longer timeline. 

2 minutes every day is worth more than an hour on Saturday. 

We make positive progress actively and negative process (mostly) passively. 

Figure out a metric to track progress, but make sure it's a metric that actually matters, otherwise, it's only documentation and not necessarily progress. 

Progress should be made in pursuit of a goal. 

Make the goal something just out of reach. 

If the goal is too easy, it detracts from the sense of accomplishment. 

BUT... easy goals and wins can help build confidence, which in and of itself is a goal of sorts. 

Everything is related to everything (mostly). 

But everything is also random (mostly). 

Basically...

It is but it isn't. 

Nothing to Say

 Happens more than the other thing

3 Views

I consistently get 3 views on my blog posts... and I think they're subscribers.

If you're one of the 3 viewers, can I ask you a favor? Would you leave a comment? Maybe tell me why you read the blog?

I'm pretty sure there's a way to comment anonymously if you would prefer I don't know who you are. 

Please and thank you and high fives and hugs. 

And, genuinely... THANK YOU. 

You forgot a title so you are adding it now

There are 12 days left in the year. 

12, right...?

It's the 19th. So in 10 days it will be the 29th. And then 2 days after that it will be the new year. 

10+2=12

The mundane is only mundane because we designate it to be so. 

You can find wonder in almost anything.

And you can find almost anything mundane. 

Context is important. 

Experience is important. 

The willingness to be open is important. 

What a beautifully random meandering this post turned out to be. 

My Fingers Hurt and Other News

My fingers hurt from playing guitar. 

Which is the definition of "good pain".

Here's to calloused fingers sooner than later. 

I need to restring my guitars. I've been playin guitar for over 25 years. I've restrung a guitar less than 15 times. Whoops. 

The suitcase kit concept album is on the brain again. Songs all based on travel. My favorite airports. My favorite trips, business or leisure. I think the world would be a better place if more people traveled. 

And yes. I know how extremely fortunate I am to have had the means to travel as much as I have. In the future, I'd love to be able to pay it forward and enable more folks to see the world beyond their hometowns. 

I write better under a deadline. A Song A Month for 2026. Get it done by the last day of each month. Bandcamp will probably be the outlet of choice. 

Document as much as you can. There's something worth sharing there. 

It doesn't have to be perfect. The goal is to finish. Finished and flawed is better than chasing perfection and keeping yourself from accomplishing your goal. 

Black Coffee

My dad took his coffee black. 

And for the longest time I aspired to drink black coffee because I wanted to be like him and because I thought he drank black coffee because powerful people drink black coffee. 

I do not like black coffee. But sometimes we do things we don't like for the simplest (or wildest) of reasons.

Then I saw Pulp Fiction. 

And the Wolf, arguably the most powerful character in the film, took his coffee with lots of cream and lots of sugar. 

And I thought to myself, "If the Wolf doesn't drink black coffee, then I don't have to either."

Which is interesting because I think all along I was looking for a reason (excuse? justification?) to drink black coffee. 

And now, thinking back, there are two lessons. 

First, if there's something you don't want to do, at the end of the day, you don't have to do it. 

Second, if you're looking for a reason (excuse? justification?), there's a reason. 

Black coffee could just as easily be writing a certain type of song or wearing a certain type of wardrobe or living a certain kind of life. 

And my dad could just as easily be a friend, a competitor, an enemy, an object of admiration or jealousy. 

And the Wolf could just as easily be a successful person or someone you look up to or... it could be you  

Be the Wolf and do shit because that's what you want to do  

Easier said than done.

Which, and who are we kidding, is the point a lot of the time.

Someday

 ... everyone will get to a point where they will look back and think to themselves, "I had all the time in the world back then."

The trick is realizing that "back then" is right now if you can wrap your head around the context of the moment. 

This is a post about health, creative endeavors, parenting, living life, and whatever else you worry about seizing in the present. 

Here's to living so your future self can be proud of your past self. 

Shower Thoughts

Showering is an easy habit. 

Missing it has dire consequences. 

Itchiness, oiliness, and the smell. 

If only other habits had the same immediate results, good or bad.

Results make habits easier. 

Patience is a virtue. 

Covers I Know

 Say It Ain't So- Weezer

...

That might be the entire list...

Um... 

I could probably stumble my way thru Foo Fighters-Everlong. 

Maybe I should learn more covers...

That's not a bad goal for 2026. 

Learn a cover every week. 

Time to go make a google sheet to track my progress...

Busy

 ... sure as shit don't mean productive. 

GOAL: Spend 5 minutes a day on productive guitar work. Technique, learning covers, playing (learning and drilling) songs I've written. 

Get busy being productive. 

LYRICS- Said Than Done

Said Than Done

This is all ai have time for

And I know I'm not supposed to apologize

But I'm sorry

I'm sorry, younger me

For thinking I had more time

I didn't. I don't. I won't. 

This is all I have patience for

And I know I'm not supposed to make excuses

But my life is too full

My battery is too spent

I thought I could deliver

I didn't. I won't. I don't. 

This is all I have

It's nothing and everything

I love that it's done

I hate that it's done

I think that it's fine. 

It's not. It's not. It will be. 

Value

Value is in the eye of the benefactor. 

This post has no value. 

None. 

Stop reading. 

Spend your time on something else. 

No point. 

No redeeming quality. 

Time poorly spent. 

A failure. 

Read it again. 

And waste more time. 

Everyone loves a comeback story. 

Root for the underdog. 

Is there such a thing as an overcat?

Are cats and dogs opposites. 

I forgot what I was doing. 

It happens sometimes. 

Could be worse. 

Everything is context. 

And now I'm trying to flip it and have a point. 

Which is the point. 

There is no point. 

The act is the point. 

Just us connecting is the point. 

You're still here. And I'm still here. 

And I'll see you again tomorrow. 

I'm prepared to be bitterly disappointed. 

Dis a point. 

Das a point. 

My pinecone!!

LYRICS- Fake Smarts

LYRICS:

I'm not AI

And to prove it I'll stop

And I'll talk straight to the camera

And tell you about my dad

Because he was my favorite

Imperfect man

And I'm not AI

Would love to play a show

Right there at your house

And sleep on your couch

And eat a hot slice from your favorite pizza spot

All of the imperfect

Blurry raw artifacts

Servers and artifice

Striving for life

And I'm not AI

But pretty damn soon

It might not matter

Thinking vs. Doing

I think a lot. 

About writing songs, about playing instruments, about starting bands. 

Sometimes this leads to an explosion of output. 

New songs, documentation of guitar riffs/ideas, the beginnings of what a band could and would feel like. 

But most of the time...

I don't get past the thinking. The planning. The ideating. The analyzing. 

If I wanted to do it, I would. 

But sometimes the thinking is enough. 

Get in the habit of doing. Finish something. Take tangible steps forward every day. Even if it's only a step that travels inches. 

Life's too short and all that carpe diem accoutrement. 

Start the Day

Write a post instead of scrolling. 

Give something instead of taking. 

Create instead of consuming. 

It's not only about blogging or posting or writing. 

It's about rewiring the brain to get the dopamine hit from activity instead of passivity. 

Be a creator instead of a consumer. 

2 minutes everyday is better than an hour on Saturday. 

And... we make time for our priorities. 

And... our priorities shape our lives. 

5 posts in one day...

 ... has gotta be some sort of record for me. 

But it's compensating. 

For years of not posting. 

2 minutes everyday is better than an hour on Saturday. 

5 posts in a day is the equivalent of an hour on Saturday. 

Which isn't to say it's a bad thing...

It's just not as effective as 2 minutes everyday. 

Inevitably, there will be a day missed. 

It is not your job to beat yourself up. 

It is your job to get the 2 minutes done the very next day. 

This not that

If I wrote a blog post every time I wanted to scroll through social media...

... I'd have a not so acceptable replacement for therapy. 

What makes people want to create things?

Songs, stories, poems, art. 

Why spend time on these pursuits?

I don't have the discipline to cut the cord. 

I don't have the vision to see beyond the things that are meant to steal my attention. 

Set up the suitcase drumkit more. 

Pick up the guitar more. 

Write here more. 

Scroll less. 

Easier thought than done. 

Stop quitting. 

It gets easier the more you do it. 

That goes for good and bad habits. 

If no one reads this, you'll be just fine. 

IF no one reads this, you'll be just fine. 

If NO one reads this, you'll be just fine. 

If no ONE reads this, you'll be just fine. 

If no one READS this, you'll be just fine. 

If no one reads THIS, you'll be just fine. 

If no one reads this, YOU'LL be just fine. 

If no one reads this, you'll BE just fine. 

If no one reads this, you'll be JUST fine. 

If no one reads this, you'll be just FINE. 

It gets easier the more you do it. 

Hurry up and wait...

Or in my case, go, go, go, stop. 

Create create create, atrophy. 

The muscle will die without being worked out. 

Astronauts lose muscle mass in space. 

Parenthood is a form of space travel, isn't it?

Your fingers' memory begins to fade as you get older. 

The snap back is more of a gradual loosening. 

But also... what in the actual fuck are these pretentious generalities really getting at?

It's not a school day.

Cranky is similar to motivated. 

In that they come and go with no rhyme or reason. 

Sometimes rhymes, but rarely reason. 

Reasonless comes with less pressure. 

If you want to do something, do it. 

The wanting can be wrong, though, can't it?

Tell me you were raised Catholic without telling me you were in a cult. 

You have no right to your feelings. 

Tell me you were the youngest without telling me you became comfortable with disappointment very early on. 

It all evens out in the end. 

Tell me you constantly keep score without telling me that each situation is connected to every other situation regardless of if they actually are or not. 

Men would go to therapy more if the phonetics were different. 

It always goes back to that, doesn't it?

All eggs in a single basket...

 ... it's a bold strategy, Cotton, let's see how it works out for him. 

Suitcase drumkit concept band. 

Selfishly, playing everything myself solves lots of logistical issues. 

It's supposed to sound raw. 

The goal is to make people feel something and elicit strong reactions from raw recordings. 

As SPECIFIC as possible with song subject matter. 

Qualify the audience. You don't need the casuals. You need the fanatical. 

Make it uncomfortable. For you mostly. Uncomfortable for you. 

Not that the making of uncomfort is for you. 

When you don't have a choice...

 ... you get things done. 

So make it impossible to have a choice. 

Except we always have a choice. 

So figure out the framework that gives the illusion of not havi by a choice. 

You either speak in wild abstraction or plain literalisms. 

Suitcase drumkit concept band is a solid idea... the drums have always been a key to your sound. 

Impose restriction and watch your creativity flourish. 

Limits lead to limitlessness. 

Ugh... you try so hard to be pretentious and end up just being vague and ambiguous and forgettably annoying...

Give yourself a break. 

It's not that deep. 

Think long and hard about being real with yourself. 

Think long and hard about being yourself. 

Being yourself is not a strength. 

Being genuine needs to be worked on. 

It's a journal of sorts. Record yourself, too. 

If you think too much, the thing runs away. 

Catch it before it's gone. 

Trap it but also let it go. 

Stream of consciousness has its place as does fastidious rigidity and ruthless editing. 

Curate and create and make sure it feels how you want it to feel. 

If it's not good enough at least make sure it's finished. 

Guitar

Was not my first choice. 

That was drums. 

But both have been wonderful muses. 

There's not always a point which in and of itself could be the point. 

Guitar is fun. Drums are fun. 

Maybe fun is the point. 

Maybe creating is the point. 

Maybe all of it is the point. 

It is, but it isn't. 

Eventually we all off have to get off the fence. 

Except no the fuck we don't. 

We have no choice but to keep going. 

And that's the point. 

Chain Reaction

It's an all ages venue in Anaheim, CA. 

And it's closing. 

I saw about 10 shows there, most of them in the early 2000s when I was neck deep in wanting to be a regularly gigging musician. 

And then I became a regularly gigging musician and it was fun and it was the best and I was so young and didn't know what I had but isn't that the way things go sometimes?

You don't know what you have until it's gone. 

Chain Reaction will be gone in 8 days. 

Present me is bummed, but will survive. 

22 years ago me is gutted, but already survived and is now present me, which is a good thing. 

Here's to great memories and knowing that a building is not what actually contains them. 

Writing

I enjoy it. 

Sometimes, I feel like I accomplish something through it. 

But I've always been more of a documenter than a conscious creator/writer. 

Maybe that's because I don't have strong opinions on most things. 

And maybe that would change if I started writing about the opposite of most things. 

Not having a strong opinion and standing up for it is such a waste. 

You're too aware of being aware of wanting attention and accolades. 

You're also not great at multitasking. 

...

Get your shit together.