I’m finally taking the plunge. For the past few years, my friend Chris Greacen has been organizing an annual Song-A-Day project, where musicians write and record a new song each day for a month (thankfully he chose February, as it’s the shortest month). The main constraint (and this is tricky for a lot of recording […]
As a general rule, we feel better when we do our creative work than when we don’t. We may procrastinate, we may drag our heels. And once we actually do get down to work, we may find it tiring, even frustrating. But even then, we can at least walk away with a feeling of satisfaction […]
For most artists, there’s a nagging question that’s damn near impossible to avoid. It shows up when you’re trying to work. Sometimes it’s blaring loudly in your conscious mind, and other times it’s murmuring softly in the background, like an annoying sound that makes your jaw clench up without your realizing it. Even the most […]
What sort of routine do you have for doing your work? Are you an early riser, or a night owl? Do you do all your work in one burst, or in several short sessions throughout the day? Do you have any rituals that you follow before you start work? Compare your answers with some of […]
Really, I think one’s art goes only as far and as deep as your love goes. — Andrew Wyeth
This is the first of a series of posts wherein I will dredge up some old tracks from my sordid past doing TV and radio commercials and explain the strange and/or amusing story of how the track came to be. How long this series continues depends on the degree to which I’m willing to embarrass […]
I always thought that inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you’re not going to make an awful lot of work. — Chuck Close, in the […]
It was nice to see that I wasn’t alone. Salvation came from an unlikely source: a musicians’ web forum. The thread began with one person describing how he was having trouble completing a new piece of music because he was “obsessing over the tiny details”. A torrent of responses soon followed, and opinions varied widely. […]
Art is both love and friendship and understanding: the desire to give. It is not charity, which is the giving of things. It is more than kindness, which is the giving of self. It is both the taking and giving of beauty, the turning out to the light of the inner folds of the awareness […]
If you were to think of the creative process as being akin to athletic training, what might a typical workout routine look like? Robert Genn offers an idea in the latest edition of his Twice Weekly Letter (well worth subscribing to, if you don’t already): Find a sanctuary where you can comfortably work. Dedicate at […]
Darin Wilson 