They're getting really good.
There's a confidence here. And an even more pointed perspective.
Three musicians, three artists locked in on their craft.
Too many stand out songs to mention, but I do know I found myself grinning and oohing and ahhing several times throughout this first listen.
Mike Watt is bringing the jazzy musicality on this record.
George Hurley lays down a tight groove but explores the space and provides breath on each track.
D. Boon noodles, but even the word noodle does him a disservice. This is playing for the song to its utmost, while also providing enough chops to make you want to run it back 15 seconds to really hear what's going on.
My favorite listen so far this year.
9.0/10
Pick up your guitar anyway.
Play a favorite cover.
Strum a song you've written that you love.
Listen to some new music.
Go for a walk.
Take a shower.
Write. Write. Write.
Even when it feels wrong.
It's better than doing nothing.
You are quite literally creating something.
Which in and of itself is a huge win.
I should be asleep.
But instead, I just started a new book, listened to an album I had never listened to before, and I'm considering picking up my guitar again.
I won't pick up my guitar... but only because this bed is so damn comfy.
It's fun to consciously choose to be obsessed with music again.
When it clicks, it's a lot of fun.
And when it doesn't, it feels awful.
And you need to go through a lot more not clicking than actual clicking.
And sometimes what you think is clicking feels like not clicking the next day.
But you keep going and chasing the clicking because...
... when it clicks, it's a lot of fun.
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.
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.
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.
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 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
... 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.
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 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.
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.
... 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.
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.
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.
... 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.
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.
