Back to School
I Bet You Think This Will Be a List of Recommendations
I hope 2024 is treating you well. This time of the year is inherently hopeful despite winter rearing its (hopefully) frosty head just a couple of weeks ago. We have resolutions, we’re setting SMART goals. We’re reaching for the stars, and we might even touch them.
I have a few goals of my own that I am still sorting out. Most of them revolve around creative endeavors that I anticipate to pursue rather than achieve. One of the best lessons I learned in 2023 is to treat the process as the reward. Creation in and of itself is the prize; the product is a memento for a portfolio and future reflection.1
The first reflection I have to offer is on my first song as a “real” artist. Although I’ve been writing songs in and out of bands since I was a wee lad in high school, only a handful of them were recorded and released.2
I wrote “Variety Coffee” several years ago. The chords and main melodies were there almost from the start. Frankly, I wasn’t confident enough that I could pull off putting a song out under my own moniker. Imposter syndrome always told me that my chops weren’t there, whether that was as a songwriter, a guitarist, a bassist, or a singer. I’m not interested in being a bandleader, and I doubt I’ll ever perform my music live. Even so, I was compelled to take on this project and execute it as best as I could.
Despite my nontraditional pursuit, creating music fills my cup like writing short stories did in college and my short stint in a MFA program. Collaborating with others—be it for album art, recording drums, or mixing and mastering—proved to be the most fulfilling part of this process. Even exploring the ins and outs of music distribution with Kanem X were thrilling to me.3
As far as 2024 goals of pursuing creativity go, I’ve already achieved mine, right?
I refute that. Instead I aim to go further and higher, to write more stories, reviews, and songs; to record and produce more music.
More than anything else, I aim to collaborate more with all the incredible, talented people I continue to meet.
I hope you’re one of them.
Of course it’s more than that to me right now! But this is a ~mindset shift~ that I am making.
Good luck finding them! If you do, enjoy your No-Prize.
Please hit my line to talk shop. I love this inside baseball so much. Figuring out avenues of engagement and producing on a budget is part of the fun.