zero360|music

Poetic Adjustment

May 1, 2009 muse Leave a comment

Over the last couple of years I’ve begun to read books for enjoyment and inspiration, a discipline over the last 15+ years limited to technical stuff for work, not generally a conduit to artistic creativity. But as I got through the first couple of phases of experience as a songwriter, and got more familiar with writers themselves, one theme emerged time and again — to write quality works, one should be an avid reader.

For me this was like being really hungry but the only thing on the menu is liver, no thanks! But I want to be a better writer, and as I more and more of my peers are avid readers, I realized it was time to get on with the process. So I joined an online book club, borrowed books, hit the library, etc, and though I’m by no means a prolific reader, I now regularly draw inspiration from reading.

Which gets me to a book I just started, “Poetry As Spiritual Practice“, by Robert McDowell. Poetry was a stumbling block in college English, I’ve tried reading it in the past, I just have trouble “getting it”. Reading excerpts by and discussions with successful writers who allude to Whitman, Dickinson, Longfellow, Frost, etc. and curiosity lead me to this book. I want/need to go where the poetry might take me, hopefully I’m ready.

Tag Line

Apr 19, 2009 sojourn Leave a comment

Pressing edges into song, what?

I edited the tag line for my blog, really just shortening it from “pressing life’s edges into song” to “pressing edges into song“. For all practical purposes this is the first time I’m peeling back the context for this theme and it’s got my mind churning faster than I can type.

When I press, and I often do, I get fragmented. Many of these fragments end up on the fringes of what’s happening, or life’s edges. Like when I try too hard to please someone, and fail another, or myself. Or my work suffers because I allow circumstances out of my control to press me, to put me in difficult positions I should avoid at all cost. Then there’s the proverbial painting myself into the writer’s block corner because I’m too scattered and frustrated and thinking everything I write sucks, and begin wondering what’s the point in writing at all?

This, of course, is all fodder, all grapes on the vine waiting to be pressed into a story, prose for a blog post, and, yeah, maybe even a song. But more often than not I let my insecurities and self-consciousness derail me. I reread an interview with Rodney Crowell last week in which Rodney is deemed as one who ascribes to the notion “… self-consciousness is the enemy of art.” Also last week, Bob Lefsetz posted a blog titled “Dylan on Buffet” that really spoke to me this week, too, in which he declares “The role of the artist is to open the door just a little, so we can experiment, so we can take the unpopular route, so we can become enlightened.”

I guess I’m still crawling out of my shell as a writer, still allowing the threat of rejection to stifle my creativity. Sure, it’s not all doom & gloom. There are many encouraging signs, too, and that’s what I need to focus on. I see and hear lots of friends and peers just tearing it up with their work, getting their songs and music played everywhere from MTV to Internet radio to churches to nursing homes, both live and recorded. That’s the goal, eh? To have our art seen and/or heard? Surely a big goal for me.

I just had a pretty positive song evaluation done where my “coach” qualified the song as being about recovery from addiction. Now, I agree with the assessment, but the more specific perspective from which I wrote the song is that we all live on the edge of addiction, the edge of love, the edge of understanding, knowing the real “you” comes out in the end. And that what really matters is having relationships with those to whom the real “you” is perfectly acceptable. Serendipitously, someone tweeted a Dr. Seuss quote this week that sums up this mind set so much better than I ever could, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

My edges have already taken me somewhere today, for that, I’m grateful.

Still

Apr 11, 2009 sojourn Leave a comment

Still… a beautiful, multifaceted word with several meanings, often used as a literary device in novels, prose, poetry and song. This morning I got to thinking about this word in two totally unrelated ways.

As a DIY songwriter [get ready for an off the wall analogy], I kinda consider my self to be running a still, yes, as in moonshine. The plumbing and methodology is different from any other still. I might funnel the elixir into a mason jar or flask or bottle (media delivery), and it won’t likely taste (sound) like any other moonshine, but that’s OK. If you like it, you’ll drink (listen) and hopefully come back for more.

A couple of days ago a heartbreaking dose of reality I can’t seem to shake… this week I got stopped in my tracks by news of a singer, who I only met once, and not even by name, had recently and tragically taken his life. I was rather profoundly still as I contemplated the sadness of the news, in the futility of why. I wrote a bunch of lines, here’s an extract, maybe it’s poetry, maybe a lyric, dunno, but I need to listen to the still, small voice inside me telling me to get it out:

it’s all good
till the waters get rough
and enough is enough
I thought you understood

maybe I can
step down off of this ledge
so I can pull out this wedge
and the splinters from my hands

I’m a firm believer everything happens for a reason, some call it luck, fate, God’s sovereignty, to each his own. But there’s a reason I went to ATL first week of March and was fortunate enough to see this singer so incredibly express his art. There’s a reason he’s gone, but somehow still here.

2009 © zero360music

The Mesh I’m In

Apr 5, 2009 DIY Leave a comment

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been all over the map, idea after idea, but the ratio of output is pretty low. Sure I’m dealing with mitigating circumstances, my wife broke her knee changing the we way we manage home front activities from school to sports to growing up, I’ve been grappling with decisions regarding new opportunities for me as an indie artist, musician, etc., mix in the never ending sagas at work… but hey, who isn’t busy or distracted these days, somehow, someday, this will all make sense — right? I’ve decided to spend just a few minutes annotating the scattered accomplishments from the last couple-three of weeks:

• I did write a song last weekend, and have a new one on the tip of my tongue and fingers.
• Spent time in the studio working on Paul C’s CD.
• Setup my rag tag PA and started listing out material for future coffee house gigs with Allen S.
• Got “All Things You” evaluated, based on feedback, it’s a slight rewrite away from done.
• Carved out some time to further my capabilities with Mac and Logic Express
• Started using Twitter and NetVibes.

OK, not a ton of stuff, but progress nonetheless. So here’s what I’m planning for the next couple of weeks, starting today:

• NSAI Charlotte blog updates… add a FAQ and post focused on song critiques.
• Get back with my friend John C. about strategy for redesigning my web presence(s). DRAFT plan.
• Learn 3-songs for rehearsal Tuesday night with J&J.
• Prospect use of Yahoo Media player in web pages.
• Track “Here is Love” for Easter.
• Listen/Learn material Allen S. sent me.

Better stop here, anymore would certainly be unrealistic, accomplishing half of what’s on this list would be way encouraging. Bottom line is I’m in a season where sleep, preparedness and focus will be key to keeping life moving forward on several fronts. I’m not kidding myself into thinking all the pieces with fall into place without bumps and bruises.

Randy Pausch spoke of preparedness in chapter 46 of “The Last Lecture“, stating, “When you go into the wilderness, the only thing you can count on is what you take with you.” He also said that planning for the worst an essential element of being prepared and called it “The Eaten By Wolves Factor.” Since preparedness isn’t always a strong suit, I’d better get good at climbing trees =)

My wilderness is the mesh I’m in. I can’t imagine anyone with an ounce of hope living in a single threaded world. I could spend all my time trying to figure out what all this means, or go out and make something of it all by creating, sharing and being grateful for what small gains I’m able to make. And, in the end, keep believing in something greater than who or what I am, or could ever be. I can do better at everything I do, but need to be more satisfied with doing at all, on all fronts, in all things… for all the right reasons.

Dry

Mar 22, 2009 muse Leave a comment

It’s amazing and uncomfortable how I go from oasis to drought. I’ve had a few pretty good weeks on the dream trail, met some writers/performers both live and online with lots to say. And I continue to be inspired by artist friends who are relentless and passionate about their work. As I read through perspectives and check out the day to day activities of indie artists, I sense a deep undercurrent making the waters trickier to navigate, though many [thankfully] are up to the challenge.

Friday night I caught Kim McLean and Mark Elliot at the Muse, it was quiet, but the songs and vibe were good, and I came home with a couple of new ideas. Decided yesterday to work with my main co-writer to put together a couple of sets of covers and our own material and work hard at setting up stools in coffee shops for 2-3 hours shifts just to get heard, even if the pay is what ends up in the tip jar.

I try to spend a good bit of time on Sundays taking the day as it come, nothing too structured. I may doodle on a drawing pad or take some pictures, or object write a hook idea or jam mindlessly in between sipping a cup of coffee. I’m looking forward to this afternoon, after church and lunch, hopeful for some creative precipitation to start refilling the well.

I’ve been here before… I’ll be here again.

Stoking Embers

Mar 10, 2009 sojourn 1 Comment

I’m very fortunate to be at a point in life where I can play gigs without sweating how much money I’m going to pocket. Of course I don’t always play for free, though at times I make barely enough to cover gas and a drink, but I don’t turn down opportunities to stretch my musicality and be around fresh sounding players and writers that spark inspiration into my own works.

This past weekend I packed a bass and made a trip to Atlanta to back a 17 year old guitarist/writer named Desmond Myers. With heroes like John Mayer and The Beatles, he’s a welcome breath of fresh air. Not only talented, but a great guy and I certainly hope nothing but the best for his career.

Aside from basic expenses (food/lodging) I made the trip pro-bono, and I’m REALLY glad I did. I got to hear other bands and writers, many quite young, most with an infectious hunger to make music at all costs. I got to hang out with Desmond’s producers, Alan and Jimm of Hit Music Studios in Spencer, NC., as well as a couple of other budding artists being produced by HMS.

The road to ATL was an interesting one, to say the least. I hooked up with the situation via friend/musician with whom I recently reconnected, after 25 years. We rehearsed less than 4-hours total, and did both gigs without sound check. Not everything went off without a hitch, not all the music I heard enamored me. But, overall I came back to CLT pumped about future opportunities with Alan/Jimm, and, perhaps more importantly, ready to freshen my approach to practicing and writing… not to mention the prospect of cutting an EP by summer.

First thing after dinner, I caught up on emails and to do’s. I listened to a talk on creativity and read a blog post on Lefsetz Letter that really helped put the weekend in context (a 5-minute read). There’s so much negative press about the music industry these days, but there are many spurning the pundits and choosing to invest the time and energy to get in the game for the long-haul.

Few will make it big, some will make it regionally, others, like me, perform in coffee houses because we love to play and sing. But the revolt is on, and it’s fueling the dreams of many, including mine. Indie artists with quality material and a well defined sound can and will make inroads. There are audiences out there wanting to escape the media’s torrent of lousy news, and our music is part of what they seek as refuge. It takes guts, planning, a ton of practice, and some luck, but, at least in my mind, passion trumps odds, and I’m seeing a lot of passion out there.

True artists get after it every day… it would be very easy for me to say “hey, I tried”, grab a cup of coffee and sit back and watch “younger crowd” fight the good fight. This past weekend reminded me of many past experiences, good and bad. I’ve been working pretty hard over the last 5-6 years to rekindle the fire by developing some songwriting chops and re-activating my bass playing. I’m still in the game, and plan to be till the embers go out.

Risk the Reward

Mar 1, 2009 sojourn Leave a comment

What a whirlwind 24 hours… the culmination of planning a workshop, then both witnessing and reaping the fruit of hanging out and learning from seasoned veteran artist and songwriter Craig Bickhardt. Going out on Friday nights is always tough for me, with work and my desire to just degauss at home. But once I get to the venue, relax and enjoy the show, I realize every step of this mini-journey is so worthwhile, and this past Friday night was a great precursor to the next day’s workshop.

Saturday morning it’s an early rise and get to the Well to setup and greet our workshop attendees and presenter. The day goes off without a hitch, the interaction very much in tune with expectations for our time with Craig. Our NSAI chapter is so dynamic; we had a couple of brand new faces and some recently signed members in attendance, all willing and enthusiastic participants. And Susan, our hostess at The Well serves the group like family… just can’t thank her and The Well enough.

No punches pulled in the accounts Craig shared of both success and rejection, perspectives on the current and future states of the music industry, especially as it pertains to the songwriter. But even with the less that “hopeful” picture, I think we all left encouraged to press on with our respective art and raising the bar for the work we produce.

There were many nuggets of wisdom shared. Craig’s views on creativity always stir introspection. He told a story of two groups of children being asked to draw pictures, one was offered candy for doing so, the other just asked to draw. The drawings from group that got the candy were not very creative at all, the focus was on the reward, not the potential art. The group that created without the objective of being “compensated” for their effort produced thoughtful and inspired works of art.

What’s the point?

To me, and I think we as writers know this, there’s risk in being a writer. It takes time, often significant amounts of time. Time away from family, sacrificing sleep, and time away from our comfort zones. It takes guts, and money, and shattered hope through rejection, and the fear of sharing that first draft or forgetting the words or melody, on and on… there is risk in being an artist.

What about the reward for taking such risks? Truth is, there is no realistic promise or guarantee of tangible reward. But the heart of what I got out of this segment is the need to do a gut check on my motivation for creativity. I need to expose the nagging slack in my discipline and slay it by making time away from being tethered to the Internet, closing the door to my studio and being willing to sit in silence as my mind and being dive into a character, scene or feeling that might end up in a song, story, or other form of art.

We didn’t spend much time on tools like literary devices, but Craig made what I perceived as a pretty profound perspective regarding imagery… that is, to use imagery to reveal and expand upon a character, motivation, and/or emotion. This is where taking time in quiet is key to “seeing” what I’m writing about.

Though quite tired and drained, I drove home Saturday afternoon through heavy rain inspired to press on as an artist/writer, re-committed to the understanding that being true to my own art means embracing risk and putting forth effort to produce the ultimate reward — art itelf.

U-Turn

Feb 20, 2009 sojourn Leave a comment

Last Sunday I was pretty bummed. I had hoped to make a road trip to Nashville with a co-writer friend of mine, Allen. He and I were going to cruise west, spend the week hanging out, writing, just having fun with it all.  This was to be a very beneficial trip as I was to get introduced to a few of Allen’s relationships — some very solid writers and club owners/managers.

So, around 6:00PM, while hanging out, guitar in hand, thinking, “dang, I really should have found a way to make this trip”, I noticed an email on my Blackberry from a bass player friend in Delaware.  He shared some details about a scenario in need of a bassist to cover some hot young guitarist’s artist showcase dates, and said I should make the call to the owner of a studio where both my friend (a fine musician who’s played with notables like Bad Co.) and this young up and coming artist record their material. I figured, what the heck, and called the studio the next day… no answer, so I left a message. Later that Monday evening, I got a return call. Seems these guys had exhausted their stable of bass players and are down to the wire. Footnote: I’ve been here before… a situation that comes to mind is a door knock while sitting home on a Friday night and being asked by a drummer and keyboardist to get dressed and grab a bass — theirs was in the hospital with food poisoning. I had a blast, and the gig just a few weeks later.

Anyway, the call with the studio owner/producer was pretty brief. I sensed both calm desperation and a good bit of caution on the part of the person I spoke with, justifiably so. He was only talking with me because my friend in Delaware said I could handle the gig… even I had my doubts at first, then figured, what the heck. So, I grabbed the songs off his me.com site and downloaded them onto my iPod. Over the next couple of days I listened through a couple of times, and now have 4-5 hours with bass in hand lifting bass parts off eight well written songs by this young guitar player, singer, and songwriter (who shall remain nameless for now).

Next step is to meet with the guys pulling together the band for the fast approaching shows to see if I fit the mold and have the chops to cut the gig. Whether I get the nod or not is not as important as the fact that if I had made the trip to Nashville I would not have had the opportunity to meet with these guys. Sure, the trip to N’ville could have opened some doors, but this opportunity could actually have a much greater ROI.

Why?

These gentlemen own a well established, productive studio. The recordings I’ve been learning off are out of this studio are high quality tracks, and were not only recorded at said studio (which also shall remain nameless for the time being), but produced by the owners, one of whom also plays drums, percussion and bass on the tracks!

I’m very much looking forward to see how things pan out… I have about a 75% grip on the songs, and should be close to 90% efficiency by the time we meet Sunday morning. The material is right up my alley, and there’s very little doubt in my mind I can do this thing… the opportunity is there because I made a u-turn away from what I wanted to do to where life was calling me to be.

Listen

Feb 6, 2009 muse Leave a comment

I sometimes need to remind myself how daily chores (including mundane tasks at my day job) go by faster, and generally more productively, when I’m “budded up” listening to music… it’s so easy to get head down at something and realize, shoot, I could have been taking in the riches of melody and meter, ingesting art, perhaps even subliminally growing my craft as a song writer.

Last Tuesday night it snowed, a quite infrequent occurrence in this neck of the woods, at least our locale, but it was cool to watch the wind whip some sky dust on to the earth. When I went to bed it was still coming down, and though inaudible, it was as if I could “hear” the snow piling up outside our bedroom. Thank God for imagery.

Just before writing this entry, I was listening to a CD from yesteryear as I reclined on an easy chair. The house was empty and I’d had a pretty long week, so it was nice to degauss and get my head ready for the weekend. As I was about to doze, the last song ended. The “quiet” sounds of the house took over, with the fish tank pump adding a little Feng Shui to the calm.

More often than not, I’ve a tough time listening to my own intuition… oh, how cheesy, but true. Not just for what steps to take in life, but when and what to write about. I tend to shy away from feelings drilling a hole in my heart (or left temple), partially because I am really trying to be more positive, but truth is, I swim daily in the dark waters of angst, at work and every time I turn on NPR or CNN. Time to start pouring this stuff out into the blender and letting the song chips fall where they may.

If it “sounds” like I’m rambling, you’re right, but hey, it’s a quick read, at least you don’t have to “listen” to me.

Stone Yard

Jan 30, 2009 sojourn Leave a comment

I’m planning out the weekend, co-write in the morning, NSAI coordinator meeting Sunday, slip in a neighborhood birthday party (the adult flavor) on Saturday night, and oh yeah it’s Super Bowl weekend, what… huh?

Where did January [2009] go?

It’s been whirlwind since the 2nd day of the year… started back to work earlier than normal from Christmas holiday due to “the acquisition”, then had to travel out west a week on business. This past work week just flew by, and though I did some writing during the month, I missed both gigs I had scheduled. Fortunately I have enough discipline to keep the fire from going out, and I’m ready to make another surge, I’ve got my flippers and goggles on — I’m diving in with a somewhat refined approach:

• I decided I was still missing that single point of reference for all my lyrics and song ideas, so I bumped my MasterWriter to 2.0 and now have the application on my PC and Mac, and I’ll figure out how to sync the two data sets as I go, but I’ll keep the master on the Mac.
• Didn’t spend enough time on Logic, but that’s a big goal for February, especially learning to program the drums via midi to make better demos of finished songs.
• I’ve also update my productivity maps in MindManager, and have a more centralized work flow for tracking goals and getting to sites and resources I frequent.
• Lastly, I’m enjoying hooking up with some old friends on MySpace and listening to their material, very inspiring, and some flat out really good material.

NSAI has another busy month ahead. Craig Bickhardt will be in town for workshop and show (see NSAI Charlotte site for details), and I’ll get to meet a writer who I really admire that’s coming in from Charleston for the CB events. Plus, I need to make a final decision on travel to Nashville in late March for coordinator refresh and hopefully some networking.

Busy times centered on work really mess me up from an inspiration perspective. Yeah, the muse shows up, we engage, but I have a real problem with focus when I’m spent and things are so hectic I’m just a total scatter-head (hence the bullets above). Some famous philosopher said: a wooden bird starts with the first stroke of the pocket knife, a great meal with fresh herbs and spices, a good song with the “cojones” to say phooey on all this other crap, I’m gonna sit down and write me one.

Guess I’ll head out to the “stone yard” and turn a few over till I find me something  to sing about… new month, new set of opportunities.