Change of Scenery

After a full day of sitting on my ass inside of a tin can I’ve finally made it across the ocean to Freedom-land more commonly known as the US of A. Jet lag is hitting me pretty hard right now so I won’t be writing a blog post but I did manage to write today’s track on the plane. Doesn’t sound too bad bearing in mind that I could barely hear the track over the engine noise inside of the cabin while I was writing it. Anyway, that’s all for now!

Know the Signs

I know the signs
The screeching highs
And the crippling lows

It’s the little things that give it away
The static that covers your sight
The frequent nosebleeds
Not being able to sleep
Never feeling fully awake

You’ve been here before
You know where it leads

Pull the brakes
Turn this ship around
Don’t burn yourself to the ground

Anyway, that’s all for now.

Forget the Process, Love the Result

Nothing to start off a blog post like a controversial position, eh? Well, let’s get right to it.

I feel like over the last few years I’ve heard a lot of people claim that if you just engage in the process the results will follow naturally. There’s definitely benefits to be found in process-oriented thinking but ultimately I’ve found this to be an incomplete assertion.

You do have to love the process and engage fully but you also have to love what you’re making. If the process you’re engaging in is unproductive and yields no results then there really is very little to love.

So definitely delve into the process but love the result more. When you sit down to write or to paint, try to put passion into whatever it is you’re making. Give it your hardest shot to make that work of art actually say something.

The process does have its place, for it is what makes sure that we don’t give up on bad day or that we don’t let the fear of failure hinder us. However, it was great art and great results that inspired us to pick up our instruments in the first place.

Create with passion. That’s all for now.

Wrestling with the Blank Page

Ahh the empty page, we meet once again.

I have nothing to really write about. I am pooped. Tired to the max and I just want to go to sleep. I finished a bunch of exercises before a deadline so at least there’s that.

I guess I could write about… I don’t even know. Taking care of yourself? That’s an alright topic but I haven’t been doing such a great job at that either.

Well, there was that one quote from Ayn Rand. It was alright, but nothing that I’d want to turn into a blog post, I think. Or who knows, maybe I’ll do that another time.

What’s been on my mind lately. I think that it’s mostly that whole… I don’t even know. Brain farts. That’s what’s up. I guess, yeah, it’s good to keep trying.

You know, sometimes I think that when you’ve worked really hard there’s just nothing left to say. You gave it all you could and that’s that.

I think that’s where I’m at.

Anyway, that’s all for now.

Discipline Equals Freedom

Lock yourself into the groove and become a slave to the beat. If you want to play in time with the music that’s what you have to do. The strangest thing is that the more you’re able to lock yourself in, the easier everything becomes.

I think this idea is best captured in this quote from Jocko Willink.

Discipline equals freedom.

I experienced this first-hand today while practicing basic kick-snare rudiments on my drum pads. My timing was all over the place at first, but once I started listening to the metronome and allowed my body to move with it, hitting the kick and snare in time was no trouble at all.

I could feel the beat and my body was its slave. Hitting the kick perfectly on the one-and-three was not difficult at all; I simply let my synapses fire at full capacity each time that beat came around and my fingers hit the pads like lightning. I was able to breathe and I had all the time in the world.

Discipline equals freedom. While it may seem paradoxical at first, it’s quite easy to notice that it holds true in many places. The more you’re able to discipline yourself, to be locked in with the metronome, the easier everything else becomes and you’ll find that your ability to express yourself is heightened. Don’t be afraid of discipline, for all you know it’s what might ultimately set you free.

Anyway, that’s all for now.

I’ve Written a Song a Day For Three Months

The title says it all. I’d like to thank all of you who have stopped by to read and leave likes on these little posts. I don’t think that I would have stuck to the challenge if it weren’t for the feeling of accountability that this blog has instilled in me.

I thought that I’d do something special to commemorate this milestone so I filmed myself working on today’s track. I hope that you find it interesting; I did my best to cut all of the boring bits out.

Once again, thanks so much for stopping by. That’s all for now.

The Most Dangerous Writing App

Have you ever come across a tool or app that’s so useful that you want the whole world to know about it? Well, today I want to share such an app with you and I use it for writing literally almost everything. It’s free, extremely dangerous, runs in your browser and it kicks your lazy butt forward mercilessly.

It’s called The Most Dangerous Writing App and the idea is simple.

Don’t stop typing, or all progress will be lost.

Using the app goes something like this.

1. You pick how long you want to type, I usually go for 3 minutes.
2. You start typing and puke out all of your ideas onto the screen.
3. You run out of things to say after the first minute and you stop typing.
4. The app warns you that it’s about to delete everything.
5. You shit your pants and continue typing frantically.
6. You keep going until you reach the end.
7. Congratulations, you now have a horrible first draft! 

If you’ve ever stared at a blank page for fifteen minutes trying to come up with something to say then this app is perfect for you. I used to spend an hour writing a single reply email to my instructor at university and this app has killed that bad habit completely.

This app teaches you the value of a bad first draft. You don’t get to focus on cosmetic details, literary devices or anything of that sort; you’re forced to squeeze your rag of ideas dry until there’s no more juice left in that sucker.

If you were going to create a sculpture, the first thing you’d have to do is slap on a bunch of clay before you could sculpt anything. That’s exactly how I view the first draft — it’s a lump of clay, nothing more than a bunch of good stuff to work with and whip into shape.

Give it a shot and let me know if you find it useful. I know that I have, incredibly so.

Anyway, that’s all for now.

Are Your Thoughts Truly Your Own?

I have another confession to make — I’m full of shit most of the time.

I spend a lot of time talking about things I don’t understand. I make claims that I don’t know to be true. I speak words and thoughts that aren’t my own. I’m a parrot minus the feathers and beak.

This is perhaps the single biggest realisation I’ve had in the recent years. We like to think that we are in possession of our thoughts when in reality we might be the ones who are possessed.

For one can fall victim to possession if one does not understand betimes why one is possessed. One should ask oneself for once: Why has this idea taken possession of me? What does that mean in regard to myself? A modest doubt like this can save us from falling head first into the idea and vanishing for ever.

Carl Jung, The Spirit in Man, Art and Literature.

Fortify your walls. Chew your thoughts before you swallow them. Be honest with yourself when you don’t know something and be honest with yourself about where your thoughts came from. Don’t be easy.

That’s all for now.

 

When the going gets rough

Having a bad day? We’re all bound to have them every now and then and there’s only one appropriate way of dealing with them. You keep going, do what you can, get in bed and start fresh the next day. Luckily for us, there’s almost always a next day.

I’m sure that there’s people who’ll claim that you can turn any day around by controlling your attitude and that’s probably true. You should learn to keep your temper in check but even then it’s not going to be easy. We have to be honest with ourselves about the fact that no matter what path we choose for ourselves, there’s going to be rough patches and struggle down the road.

Yesterday I had a hard time getting through the list of things I had planned out for the day. I tried to do some physical exercise for the first time in over a year and that just revealed a boatload of problems and horrendous imbalances. Once it was time to write today’s track I was hit with a nosebleed and had to work on the song with one hand while the other held a pack of frozen peas to my face. Small but constant setbacks have a strange ability to punch far above their weight.

There’s bound to be a couple of rough days thrown in the mix. Just keep your attitude under control, push through and start fresh the next day. Also, you can always listen to songs from the Karate Kid soundtrack for some tongue-in-cheek motivation.

Try to be best
‘Cause you’re only a man
And a man’s gotta learn to take it

Try to believe
Though the going gets rough
That you gotta hang tough to make it.

Anyway, that’s all for now.

 

Attractive concepts that fail

We constantly come into contact with eloquent ideas that fail to deliver the goods. They come in the form of the latest fad diet, new tools that people try to sell us and even theories about life. Concepts can be incredibly alluring but we have to be willing to kill them off if they don’t line up with reality.

I’ve sunk a lot of money into various gadgets throughout the years imagining that they’ll help me write better music. Every time I was so convinced that they’d fix my problems only to find that using them was a lacklustre and clumsy experience. I’ve also adopted world views that have coddled me, stunted my growth and made me miserable as a result.

It’s important to learn to notice the things that actually end up producing results in your life. The funniest thing is that one of the best music gadgets I’ve ever bought was a ten dollar app for my iPad but somehow it just works. The lesson I’ve learned through this is not to swear allegiance to things that have not yet stood the test of time.

The sharpest blades are forged in the heat of battle.

It’s worth looking back at your life and noticing the things that are actually working and helping you out. It doesn’t have to be the same for everyone and at the end of the day there’s only one criterion — it must work.

Anyway, that’s all for now.