... a website that will hopefully make some waves in how music business is conducted: backsta.gr/
Well... damn...
I just read a thread about the website on Reddit, and now the only thing I'm excited about is not being a lawyer... Seriously, though. Red tape and the rabbit hole and compliance and legalese make me... so sad...
I'm really excited about going to my first Dodgers game of the season.
And about recording more music with Lexy Baeza.
And about posting my "Making of" video for the song "Be Boring" based on a chapter from Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist.
And about doing the RW Summer Running Streak 2012, which basically means I'm going to be running at least a mile a day from Memorial Day to Independence Day.
Yep... lots to be excited about!!!
Showing posts with label austin kleon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label austin kleon. Show all posts
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Getting It All Out
What do you do when you have too much to say? Where do you start? How do you wade through all the bullshit and get to the really good stuff in your brain, the stuff that inspires, that stuff that captivates, the stuff that you're most proud of sharing?
Well... you don't do it by doing nothing.
Say too much. Aim too high. Stretch too far. It's easier to pull back than it is to push farther (farther or further?).
I purchased Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon today. I've read the post from which this book evolved, and it is amazing. There are so many simple, amazing, insightful ideas, and the advice flows clearly and logically, and it pushes your buttons and has you smacking your forehead and thinking aloud, "Why didn't I think of that before?"
The greatest ideas are like that. It's as if they've always existed and someone just needed to come along and articulate them.
Great songs are like that, too. "I'm right here. You just need to play and sing me. I've always existed. Just come and find me, bro."
And this post has morphed into a ramble.
No. Wait. Focus. Focus. Getting it all out... the name of the post is "Getting It All Out".
Get it on the page. All of it. Every single thing you can come up with. Get it on the page.
Then edit.
But that's not how I do things. I do very little editing. It's all about... feel.
How does it feel? Does it feel... "right"? Because feeling right is almost better than feeling good and the two feelings are not always synonymous...
When I write a song, I don't get it all out and edit. Wait... I have done that before. With one song in particular. I auto-wrote and recorded live version after live version and then finished the song... wait... songs. There are multiple songs I've done this with. And they are "finished" or as finished as they can be... but at the same time they're never finished.
That's what I want to do. I want to write songs... that are never finished... because they are different every single time I play them. They are based on that singular moment, on how the audience is reacting, on how much I've had to drink, on if I've had a bad day, on if my guitar is out of tune.
Wait... any song that's performed live is like that. They are never finished. The audience listens and brings their own baggage to the song, their own point of view, their own customs and morals and connotations and individual understandings of language, spoken, instrumental, body...
And you change, too. You play a song that you wrote 4 years ago, and it's the same song, but it's not the same song because you're not the same person. 4 years pass and you're in a different place and you don't even remember the actual meaning of the song but you perform it and bring your current self along for the ride.
All of this has led me to one conclusion.
I need to play live again, more, weekly...
And I shouldn't title my blog posts before writing them...
Well... you don't do it by doing nothing.
Say too much. Aim too high. Stretch too far. It's easier to pull back than it is to push farther (farther or further?).
I purchased Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon today. I've read the post from which this book evolved, and it is amazing. There are so many simple, amazing, insightful ideas, and the advice flows clearly and logically, and it pushes your buttons and has you smacking your forehead and thinking aloud, "Why didn't I think of that before?"
The greatest ideas are like that. It's as if they've always existed and someone just needed to come along and articulate them.
Great songs are like that, too. "I'm right here. You just need to play and sing me. I've always existed. Just come and find me, bro."
And this post has morphed into a ramble.
No. Wait. Focus. Focus. Getting it all out... the name of the post is "Getting It All Out".
Get it on the page. All of it. Every single thing you can come up with. Get it on the page.
Then edit.
But that's not how I do things. I do very little editing. It's all about... feel.
How does it feel? Does it feel... "right"? Because feeling right is almost better than feeling good and the two feelings are not always synonymous...
When I write a song, I don't get it all out and edit. Wait... I have done that before. With one song in particular. I auto-wrote and recorded live version after live version and then finished the song... wait... songs. There are multiple songs I've done this with. And they are "finished" or as finished as they can be... but at the same time they're never finished.
That's what I want to do. I want to write songs... that are never finished... because they are different every single time I play them. They are based on that singular moment, on how the audience is reacting, on how much I've had to drink, on if I've had a bad day, on if my guitar is out of tune.
Wait... any song that's performed live is like that. They are never finished. The audience listens and brings their own baggage to the song, their own point of view, their own customs and morals and connotations and individual understandings of language, spoken, instrumental, body...
And you change, too. You play a song that you wrote 4 years ago, and it's the same song, but it's not the same song because you're not the same person. 4 years pass and you're in a different place and you don't even remember the actual meaning of the song but you perform it and bring your current self along for the ride.
All of this has led me to one conclusion.
I need to play live again, more, weekly...
And I shouldn't title my blog posts before writing them...
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Email to Bob Lefsetz
Sent today after I read this post:
Great advice in the Shannon Labrie email. Thanks for getting back to music. Although I don't really mind the digressions. This newsletter/ blog is your world, and we're just living in it. People forget sometimes that if you don't like something, you can CHANGE THE CHANNEL.
Not sure if you listen to sports radio at all, but Colin Cowherd had some interesting thoughts on his ESPN radio show this morning (AM710 from 7-10am if you're curious). He said there might be a direct connection between socially vicious personalities like Steve Jobs, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and achieving success. That the reason people perceive them as so brutal is because they are. Brutally honest. Brutally motivated. Brutally SUCCESSFUL. There's a reason Kobe has 5 rings and Lebron doesn't have any. A reason Tiger Woods was number 1 in the world for 9 out of 11 years and Phil Mickelson is often relegated to an afterthought. A reason Steve Jobs will be remembered as one of the most pioneering minds in history and Bill Gates will be remembered as... well... he's really rich, right? All three men have a refusal to compromise and brutal natures when it comes to delivering.
What he was saying reminded me of stuff you've said about rockstars. They live their lives beholden to nothing and no one. They live for their music to the point of alienating everyone and everything. It's not a popularity contest. It's about delivering what they hear in their heads no matter the cost. Go big or go home. If you want a balanced life, you shoulda gone into customer service (interestingly enough, where I am right now), but you wouldn't be playing to those sold out houses if you'd gone that route, now would you?
So many parallels between sports and music. I guess that's why I love both so much.
A lot of parallels between you and Seth Godin, too. And Derek Sivers. And Austin Kleon. Guess that's why I follow all of you on Twitter.
Damn... is there anything more pathetic than a newsletter subscriber name dropping people he only knows through their newsletters...?
And... scene...
Great advice in the Shannon Labrie email. Thanks for getting back to music. Although I don't really mind the digressions. This newsletter/ blog is your world, and we're just living in it. People forget sometimes that if you don't like something, you can CHANGE THE CHANNEL.
Not sure if you listen to sports radio at all, but Colin Cowherd had some interesting thoughts on his ESPN radio show this morning (AM710 from 7-10am if you're curious). He said there might be a direct connection between socially vicious personalities like Steve Jobs, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and achieving success. That the reason people perceive them as so brutal is because they are. Brutally honest. Brutally motivated. Brutally SUCCESSFUL. There's a reason Kobe has 5 rings and Lebron doesn't have any. A reason Tiger Woods was number 1 in the world for 9 out of 11 years and Phil Mickelson is often relegated to an afterthought. A reason Steve Jobs will be remembered as one of the most pioneering minds in history and Bill Gates will be remembered as... well... he's really rich, right? All three men have a refusal to compromise and brutal natures when it comes to delivering.
What he was saying reminded me of stuff you've said about rockstars. They live their lives beholden to nothing and no one. They live for their music to the point of alienating everyone and everything. It's not a popularity contest. It's about delivering what they hear in their heads no matter the cost. Go big or go home. If you want a balanced life, you shoulda gone into customer service (interestingly enough, where I am right now), but you wouldn't be playing to those sold out houses if you'd gone that route, now would you?
So many parallels between sports and music. I guess that's why I love both so much.
A lot of parallels between you and Seth Godin, too. And Derek Sivers. And Austin Kleon. Guess that's why I follow all of you on Twitter.
Damn... is there anything more pathetic than a newsletter subscriber name dropping people he only knows through their newsletters...?
And... scene...
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Why am I so awake at 12:24am...
And not just tonight.
Every night.
Every single night.
Dead tired when I wake up. Tired at work. Tired on the drive home. Tired hanging out with Rachel and Chase after work. Tired during Chase's bath time. (Sidenote: If you're reading this, Rachel, I am sorry for so often being a downer when I get home from work. I'm also sorry for writing this in a blog instead of just telling you in person... [note to self: Tell Rachel you're sorry in person.])
Then, 10pm hits, and I'm awake. Super awake. Energetic want to accomplish things, write songs, play guitar, sing lyrics, delve into the pantheon of the world's music, do things to change the world awake...
Maybe after 10pm downstairs in my living room is my equivalent of this...
Every night.
Every single night.
Dead tired when I wake up. Tired at work. Tired on the drive home. Tired hanging out with Rachel and Chase after work. Tired during Chase's bath time. (Sidenote: If you're reading this, Rachel, I am sorry for so often being a downer when I get home from work. I'm also sorry for writing this in a blog instead of just telling you in person... [note to self: Tell Rachel you're sorry in person.])
Then, 10pm hits, and I'm awake. Super awake. Energetic want to accomplish things, write songs, play guitar, sing lyrics, delve into the pantheon of the world's music, do things to change the world awake...
Maybe after 10pm downstairs in my living room is my equivalent of this...
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