Saturday, June 20, 2009

If This Is It



I have my first show tomorrow night-- pretty exciting. I tend to get a bit perfectionist and focused on details, but I'm just gonna have fun. The band is really kick-ass and all really cool people to hang with. I could definitely see us having some good times on the road down the line.

Kevin, the trombone player, says my tunes sound like Huey Lewis & The News which is either the awesomest or most depressing thing someone's said about the record.

I'm sure everyone including myself will be more comfortable by the second gig when we've had time to digest all the material, but I think it should be pretty rockin' tomorrow night. The horn players especially have learned a lot in a short amount of time, but they seem totally up to the challenge which is great.

I got to meet Taylor Hanson this week after the Tinted Windows gig that my buddies Locksley opened for. He's a super nice guy and really easy to talk to. Chatted a bit with Adam Schlesinger as well, who's written some pretty incredible songs including "That Thing You Do" ad "Way Back Into Love." If all goes well, I'd love to build the type of career he has writing for movies and other artists on top of doing his own stuff. He was also really friendly and easy-going.

Nick Zinner from YYYs was there too. Didn't get to chat it up with him unfortunately, but he's pretty fucking incredible. You never would expect to see the dude from the YYYs and the dude from Hanson hanging out together, but it made me realize how silly all the distinctions between indie and pop can be and how we're connected as musicians and songwriters regardless of genre.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

I Fight Authority, Authority Always Wins





I never realized how impossible it is to avoid Google or it's subsidiary properties (YouTube/Blogger) until I left my job there on Monday. I find that one has no viable alternative to the world of Goog. What would you have me do? Use Yahoo or Vimeo?

It wasn't a pretty break-up, though I have no regrets. But it kind of feels like breaking up with say... Angelina Jolie. Which is to say, you can try to put her out of your mind but inevitably you're gonna see her face everywhere and there's nothing you can do about it. That said, my feelings for the Goog are in no way wholly negative. Hey, those bonuses paid for my record!

In the closing months, I found myself watching Office Space quite regularly and listening to the Coug's "Authority Song," as well as FOB's "Sugar We're Going Down." I even added a last minute track called "Queen Bee" to my record to exorcise my corporate demons.

My new goal is to never have to work for someone else again. I think it's doable but will take some hard work and some serious strategery.

I wouldn't say Tom Petty is one of my influences, but I watched the Running Down A Dream doc a few months back and I've found myself inspired ever since. Not on a musical level, but just inspired to stand up for myself and take more risks. When you see Petty's whole story, you realize what a bad-ass he was, especially in the early days. Whenever I find myself swallowing my self-respect or being a total pussy, I ask myself "Would Tom Petty stand for this?" I've done a lot of things in the past couple of years that Petty never would have stood for. But the last couple of months I think I've started doing him proud.

My buddy Mike recently told me he thinks any time you commit to something 100% it always works out. Not sure if that's true, but it's a comforting thought.