The Boy Who Cried Band…

I start bands a lot. 

I get excited about the new beginning, and I create an email address, and I make an Instagram, and I post a bunch in the first 2 or 3 or 6 weeks, and I get the dopamine hit from feeling like I’m a part of something fresh and exciting. 

And then it stops. Life moves on. I get busy. I forget. The Instagram page goes dormant. No songs get written. The guitars collect dust. My creative muscles atrophy. 

Until the next project pops into my head…

It’s frustrating. To look back and see all those bands, all that potential, all those opportunities to create… wasted. 

I’m the boy who cries band…

And I’m sure it’s exhausting for the 2 or 3 people I confide in every time. My wife and my friends and anyone else paying attention. 

Or maybe it’s even worse.

Maybe it’s not exhausting. 

Maybe it’s… ignored. 

Because it’s not even worth noticing. 

There’s that whole overthinking thing again. 

So stop being the boy who cried band, Glynn. 

Keep going. Keep writing. Keep picking up the guitar. Keep documenting the process. Keep creating and opening yourself up to the possibility of being great. 

One week down… 

PS. I know I wasn’t completely sold on the whole Nitpicky as a band name thing, but holy hell am I living up to its definition…

Stop Overthinking Part 2

This post is pretty much going to completely go against its title  

It’s the thought the counts…

I count myself among the people whose biggest obstacle to success are themselves. 

Paralysis by analysis. Worrying about what other people think. Negative self-talk. Dwelling on the past. Anxious for the future. Absence from the present. Being indecisive. Letting the aim for perfection win out over finishing. 

Worrying about what other people think. 

Worrying about what OTHER PEOPLE think. 

A quote that has stuck with me lately: 

Winners focus on winning. Losers focus on winners. 

And I try not to get caught up in clichés and platitudes and motivational speak. 

But who am I kidding? I can’t help myself. 

And that’s what Nitpicky is all about. Taking stock of myself and my process and my journey and my vision and my music. 

Breaking all of those things down so I can reveal the core story/message/art. 

Focusing on minutia so that I can ultimately let it all go and leave pieces of myself behind in hopes of creating connections between people through music.

Because in my eyes, THAT’S winning.

Connection. 

Connection is winning. 

And I plan on focusing on that as much as I can.  

So much for not overthinking…!

Stop Overthinking

Stop overthinking. 

Full stop. 

Band Career Retrospective

I’ve never sat down and looked back at all the bands I’ve been a part of over the years. 

Time to dig into the recesses of my brain and put together a comprehensive list/timeline of my previous bands. Each of these bands could have their own post/ posts, so for the sake of brevity, I’ll be listing out years/ band/ genre/ my role in the band below.

2001-2006- Girl Down- Rock- Guitar/ Vocals

2006-2008- Watterson- Rock- Vocals/ Guitar

2008- Horrors of Toledo- Rock- Drums

2009- In Defense of Picnics- Folk- Vox/ Guitar

2009- Gregory Brock- Rock- Guitar/ Vox

2009- Excuse Me, Can I Finish?- Hip Hop- Vox/Producer

2009- Shark Week- Punk- Drums

2009-2011- Oh Girl- Rock- Vox/ Guitar

2012-2014- 3n0- Rock- Drums

2019- Elwow- Rock- Vox/ Guitar

2021- DanG- Rock- Vox/ Drums

2023-?- Nitpicky- Vox/ Guitar/ Bass/ Drums

Of these 12 projects, 6 of them performed live. I performed on proper recordings for 6 of them. 4 projects performed live and had proper recordings on which I played. 2 projects technically don’t have ANY finished songs. 8 projects technically haven’t lasted over a year. 

It’s interesting to take a look back at the project list. 

I suppose you could technically list myself as a solo artist starting in 2006. 

And I’m not sold on Nitpicky as the name for this latest project. I don’t have a connection to it yet, but maybe it will grow on me…?

Guitar Practice Log #1

Spent about 45 minutes sitting with my Les Paul Jr. Lite today. First time in a long long time. 

Plugged it into my Orange Mini Crush 3W amp. Kept the gain and volume levels pretty low, and focused on a mid-heavy sound with the neck pickup selected or a both pickups selected. I rolled off the tone knobs on my guitar, too. 

Played around with the clean sound of the amp, which is pretty good all things considered. I also played through my Boss SD-1 Overdrive pedal, too. 

Some takeaways. 

I never… and I mean NEVER practice guitar. I either write or I play songs I already know, but I never rehearse specific parts that are difficult or focus on any drills to better my technique. That needs to change. I’m a proficient guitarist, but I will only benefit by adding intentional technique practices to my playing/practicing sessions. 

I miss it. More than I ever thought I would. Guitar is fun, and revisiting some old songs that I wrote a really long time ago was a real treat. I’m excited to dig in and practice and focus on becoming a better guitarist.

So here’s to many more playing sessions. I might need to turn the corner of our family room into a guitar space. 

Becoming a better…

Musician

Storyteller

Guitarist

Singer

Entertainer

Promoter

Band member

Band leader

Drummer

Bassist

Lyricist

… in no particular order. 

There is plenty to do, and there is no end to the journey. 

One can always get better. 

Here’s to falling in love with the process. 

Aspire to be these things

Bold

Polarizing 

Remarkable

Uplifting

Evocative

…

You have favorite bands/artists/songs/albums for a reason. But you can only become someone’s favorite by first becoming your own favorite. 

Starting A Lot

I have started plenty of creative projects that have amounted to pretty much nothing…

DanG… a two piece band with my buddy Dean. It’s a play on our initials D and G. I play drums and sing and Dean plays bass. We’ve practiced a handful of times, have not finished any songs, and haven’t jammed together in YEARS. 

A project where people can commission me to write tailored covers of their favorite songs as gifts. 

El Wow. A power trio with my buddies Mike and Dean. I play guitar and sing, Mike’s on bass, Dean’s on drums. A play on the initialism LWOW that stands for lost without our wives. Definitely haven’t finished any songs, and I’m pretty sure we only got together twice to jam. 

Tons of solo projects all with different parameters and genres. Acoustic folk, lofi hip hop, single instrument experimental, etc. 

Almost all of these projects have an email address and an Instagram…

Creative ADHD to the max. 

And I’ve started another one… a solo band called Nitpicky. 

Nitpicky because it’s a play on a jumble of the initialism for I Think They’re Playing Coachella Next Year. Which is a joke I heard on the now defunct Kevin and Bean show and that my wife reference often to this very day. 

But… I have a strategy this time. 

Create a clear cut framework of guidelines that make it next to impossible for me to quit this band…

So, here’s a first take of a list of guidelines to help me in my quest to not be a creative desdbeat:

1. Don’t Create. Document. This is stolen directly from Gary V. I plan on using this band as a public diary of sorts. Documenting past creative projects, aspirations, and failures. Documenting the new process and working through it  

2. Write. A LOT. And it doesn’t even need to be good. Part of the reason those past projects stalled is because I always feel like I need to be making good stuff. I need to become comfortable knowing that the shitty stuff is just as important as the good stuff because the only way you can get to the good stuff is by wading through the shitty stuff. 

3. 2 minutes everyday is better than an hour on Saturday. Stolen from another visionary David Meltzer. Consistency is key. 

Alright… we’re 3 days in. Let’s see how I do…

Wow

I still have access to this blog, and it TRIPS me out. 

It has been almost 7 years since the last time I wrote a post. 

Half of Chase’s life. 

Almost triple Evan’s life. 

42 times Zoey’s life. 

Over a 5th of Rachel’s life.

A 6th of my life…

Time truly flies…

I need to write more. Document more. Put my thoughts into the world more. 

But do it from a computer because the iOS interface for blogger leaves much to be desired. 

Nitpicky…