ManicRobThrill

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Slick

An evening of opera and a different way to view performing after good and constructive conversation leads me to focus on stage configuration and presence. I went back and watched some old video footage of us and I can see where there's a lot of room for my improvement. If we play as a three-piece, I need to be even more commanding and dynamic to keep the audience's attention. It's not an ego thing; it's my job and my responsibility. At 46, it's very easy for me to say I certainly have no fear nor stage fright; if anything, I do hunger to get out there and entertain, especially if friends have come to see me do these songs they now know and are familiar with. The exercises I do with the acoustic guitar have helped bolster my abilities no end; my voice is stronger and richer than I can remember; I'm no longer conscious wanting it to be equal with the guitar--rather, it should carry over the guitar in a natural way. Always better, man.

I'm keeping an eye on the idea of having time to sit down and demo the new songs quickly. Even if they aren't intricate and detailed demos, I want the basic structures down so I can carry forward from there. "Best Thing", "Believe What I Say", "Desertion", "Someone Like Me" and "Hopeless" are ready--they need to be solidified and arranged. "The Next Sometime Soon" is nearly done and "Last Word" is on the table.

I don't question whether the river will run dry. The lyrics keep appearing; the construction of the songs go hand in hand with the lyric writing process. This has been, in light of all the negatives leading up to it, a fine and positively prosperous creative time.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

After all the roads have led to...

I almost feel like I've been slacking--missed a few days last week and one this week at the gym; only played guitar once last week and once (so far) this week and I haven't even thought about recording. Off putting... But the fact is I've been feeling tired and needed a slight break.

Just today, I finished the lyrics to two songs: "Best Thing" is now complete and so is "The Next Sometime Soon". At this moment, there are 5 more songs to add to the original 4--this now gives me 9 songs in total and more titles are now on paper, so you know I'm still working. It's just the physical pace I'd been at couldn't sustain; I would have wound up getting ill.

J.W. thinks "Best Thing" is brilliant ("you sound like a young Bob Mould"... ahem). I think it's clever and while the bile has subsided from frothing so much, it shows I've lost none of my regained edge or forcefulness in either the lyrics or the music. That and the fact that "Best Thing" has hooks, melody and catchy lyrics, so how could I go wrong?:

"And in the eyes of my friends, your arrogance never ends
As the consequences fall effortlessly
The evidence is there for all the world to see
The best thing about you was me..."

One of those moments where I thank God for the ability to write.

A long weekend ahead (hurrah) and next weekend will most likely be the first photoshoot - solo, that is. A lot of work ahead; a lot to look forward to.

Sunday, February 06, 2011

The act we act

An open letter: for those who, in typical fashion, underestimated me, I can proclaim loudly, proudly that everyone was wrong and I am once again at the pilot's wheel of my own ship. While doubt can be a great motivator, along with pain and spite, I need nothing more than to say "look at me; listen to me and see how I am".

There comes a point of being so far down that you can't see the surface and it's at that moment you find some way--and it doesn't have to be some great epiphany--to jettison all the pain, frustration, sadness, etc. All that weighs you down is removed and you put yourself into a trajectory that relaunches you back into the land of the living. That's where I'm at.

It's that kind of personal drive that makes you want to accelerate forward; to make up for lost time in the mire. And so come more songs and ideas and the anticipation to map out in full and begin the new album.

How bad can a day begin when you wake up early and get out to the gym; have a full workout, grab a (decaf) Starbucks and have a good conversation with someone learned?