Saturday 30 August 2014

Distractions

All too often I find myself being distracted. It helped when I got rid of TV - but with the internet when I get hooked on a series I can sit there and watch as many episodes in a row as I want. Sometimes that seems so much easier than sitting down and writing a song. Computer games don't help either, I keep telling myself I'll just beat this game, I'll just finish this level, I'll only play for an hour. And then life just seems to want to get in the way.

It's time to put some sort of a routine in place, I did something similar with guitar, I was practicing so much I gave my self something similar to carpel tunnel. I was sticking to it so well until I met someone. That didn't work out, so here I am with so much free time that I waste on things that just aren't important. There should be no excuses. Back to it, I have to get back to it.

Thursday 28 August 2014

Well, can I?

Wait... are you asking me?

I'd hope not, I'll preface this by saying a couple of things.

I am not an accomplished, successful, prolific, or even talented songwriter - I have no idea what I'm doing. I am however planning on leaving my job to go back to school. To study music. I left school 7 years ago to be a mechanic. I feel like there's a high chance I'm not quite as smart as I thought I was.

So... maybe you're wondering what will even be on this... blog. This will be a diary of sorts, I'll document my success/failure, what I'm doing to work towards my goal (being a songwriter, making some sort of living off of it) and anything potentially helpful I learn along the way. This is mostly just somewhere for me to vent, but maybe I can inspire some people to go for their own aspirations as a songwriter, or maybe I'll put some people off - who knows - I hope you make the right choice for you.

History. I had a penchant for Michael Jackson when I was very young, also collecting the "2" channel two symbols from newspapers and magazines. The green and orange Christmastime ones were the most exciting. I still remember the feeling in my stomach when I looked at them now. I played a lot of computer games. Musically next I remember Linkin Parks Hybrid Theory (insert cliche they're not as good anymore" remark). I had that in a friends cd walkman on repeat, in my room by myself, while the other kids were playing with each other on a primary school field trip to an island. It was an overnight trip, Stewart Island. It's about as tropical as you'd expect an island named after someone called Stewart to be. But apparently there's kiwis there. After that it was Eminem. In a big way. Then I went through a phase of anything with a lot of bass to make my car speakers vibrate your whole body.

Aside from writing immature, foul, pre-pubescent parodies to Meteora and a tiny, tiny attempt at being a rapper, on a forum, in text form music was never a goal. I never took it in school. I never learned an instrument or even had a desire to. Years go by, I get into cars because they're exciting and The Fast and the Furious was the best thing I had ever seen, Need for Speed Underground comes out, I get my licence, I tape my air filter open so my car sounds louder and show it off any chance I get. I chose an apprenticeship as a mechanic over a job fixing computers. I spend countless dollars on car-.

I'm about 20 by now. Binge drinking is the norm, it's gotten to the point two or three nights a week on a row at the end of the week is actually a possibility. Up to this point I'd been anti-drugs. I'd broken up with girlfriends because of weed. Well. I used that as the excuse a couple of times anyway and I even turned it down from mates whenever they'd offer. You can see where this is going. Sitting on a couch, experiencing being body stoned (I'm not actually sure that's a legitimate thing) for the first time and watching The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Live at Slane Castle. It was about this time I bought a guitar, he was just pushing different parts on some strings and a bit of wood - I could do that. From that guitarists solo work I discovered a desire in me to make songs. I don't know if it was just the drugs, but his music was the only thing I listened to for maybe a year. For the last four or five years his music has been my favorite. That was where my journey started.

Well. That's enough for now, I'm beat. I hope I stick to this.