I’m late…

From your musical tastes to your political views, were you ever way ahead of the rest of us, adopting the new and the emerging before everyone else?

I used to think I was ahead of folks when finding new and interesting music.  99.9% of the time, I’m usually so far behind the curve it’s a miracle I learn anything.  I tried my best to keep up to date on the latest music that I was into.  Most of what I was finding had already been out for a year or twenty, depending on the artist.  It still felt fresh and new to me.  That’s always a pretty good feeling.  That just means it was supposed to stand the test of time.  Or I might just have really bad taste in music.  I guess that would be up to whoever decided to form an opinion.

I found a cd, “This is Boston, not Austin Vol. 4”.  I thought it was the greatest thing ever.  I’ve had to replace it twice.  I got it about a year after I graduated high school… So, about eleven years ago.  The cd was about 9 years old already.  That’s a relatively short time, but it blew my mind how much I missed.  To be fair, I wasn’t really into the quiet, acoustic stuff before then for the most part.

Not enough hours in the day?

Good news — another hour has just been added to every 24-hour day (don’t ask us how. We have powers). How do you use those extra sixty minutes?

Another hour in the day?  I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.  There are so many options.  I could feed my recently renewed gaming addiction.  It seems like that is what I would do this week.  It kinda kills me inside, but I guess it could always be worse.  Right?

I could put in a little extra time practicing my craft.  I feel like this should be a no brainer and a good way to spend an extra hour of every day.  I’m trying to rebuild that habit from the ground up.  It seems like a constant thing.  There’s always a distraction (see previous paragraph).  It would be helpful.

I could work on getting caught up with these daily posts.  I’ve been slacking quite a bit.  (Sorry readers!)  It’s always good to get some of these words out of the brain and into another medium.  Woot.

I never quite get enough sleep.  It’s the fall season now.  That means, I’m never going to cease to be tired, even if I do get adequate sleep.  If I were a bear, my hibernation would start in autumn and go through the winter.  I find myself in situations where adequate sleep is a great idea.  There’s nothing quite like driving down the highway at 75 mph with heavy eyes.  I think that would be a good way to spend an extra hour.  More sleep.  Now if only I could actually get to sleep…..

Exposed

The Truth Is ...

I had this idea. I couldn’t imagine how it might turn out, what the reactions would be. Would there be fallout? How might it affect my ‘career’?

Recently I was approached by another well meaning friend about how I could make more money doing what I do. This happens about once a week. Now … of course I need to provide and support my responsibilities and I am driven to help those in need … money helps with those needs, but it isn’t everything.

I perform because I have to perform. I walk in faith, I live in faith. Yes, I market and brand myself, but I’ve come to find that the act of just working … doing the best possible show I can present … provides rewards, both tangible and personal. Once I recognized that, my life became considerably easier and substantially more difficult. Contradiction? Welcome to showbiz.

I…

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Just Be

“Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” — Allen Ginsberg

Do you follow Ginsberg’s advice — in your writing and/or in your everyday life?

I had to look up more about this quote to get context.  I didn’t want to spout about my inner craziness or something.

I do think that in my writing, for the most part, I follow that philosophy.  Especially in this kind of setting.  Mainly because I don’t know who, if anyone, is going to see this.  I treat it like a conversation with someone that I’m close to.  Or maybe a thought out loud that my dog just happens to hear.  No worries about a response of any kind.  I just think, and write.  I like to think I write music the same way, but I think I’m a bit more restrained with that sometimes.  I don’t let it just come out.

Everyday life on the other hand… I tone myself down.  I struggle to find what I want to say when I’m with people.  I can embrace whatever I’m going to say, but I think I tend to care a little bit more about what I’m saying and who I’m saying to.  Sometimes that means I can’t find the right words.  Sometimes it means I can’t find any words at all.  I think this makes sense in the context of that quote.  It’s about doing/saying/feeling what you want to feel without worrying about what anyone else has to think or say about…. At least that’s what I gather…

Sitting in the mix

Our weekly free-write is back: take ten minutes — no pauses! — to write about anything, unfiltered and unedited. You can then publish the post as-is, or edit a bit first — your call.

Ah… Another one of these things.  I’m beginning to enjoy them.  One day I’ll even try my hand at writing something that’s not about me or mine.  That’ll be the day, won’t it?  I’m trying to avoid going into “Dear Diary” mode.  I’m a dude…. Dudes don’t have diaries, do they? (Yea?  No?  Who cares?)  I’ll try to make this one a bit different.

Recently, I’ve been working on a recording project with a friend of mine.  It’s been pretty simple so far.  I come over with all my extremely small amount of gear and we sit and record music while drinking beer and smoking cigarettes and watch the Food Network.  It’s been a pretty rewarding experience helping this guy create an EP that he’s happy with.  We’ve just barely begun, but I am happy with what we’ve been doing.  It’s my first “real” recording project that isn’t just a single track.  I’ve been learning a lot while doing this.  I’m feeling confident with my limited abilities and I’m feeling that they’re going to start improving soon enough.

This process of mixing and finding the spots where things sit well and play nice together has had me thinking a lot about friendships.  There’s that group of people you like.  You play nice together for the most part.  It’s harmonious.  It’s a good experience.  Occasionally a new person (see frequency) will pop up and cause a little bit of stress.  Whether or not they can be fit “into the mix” is up to folks that were already there.  Maybe adjusting is simple and they slip right on in unnoticed.  Maybe it’s a nightmare and they have to be “eliminated”.  Either way, it’s a learning experience.

Oh my God… That was pretty friggin’ cheesy, eh?  Looks like time’s up….

Verbal Confirmation

To be, to have, to think, to move — which of these verbs is the one you feel most connected to? Or is there another verb that characterizes you better?

I think I like “being”.  It means I am.  I like that.  I exist.  Sometimes that is good enough to know.  Being is now.  It’s not “been”.  It’s not “will be”.  It just is.  It’s a nice though.  I’m sure there might be other verbs that could characterize me better, but this is the first to POP for me.