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…