Tag: music

Art & Freaking Out

I have been losing my mind, as of late. Back in February, I submitted my latest book to a publisher. They made it very clear that they will not even have the slightest feedback for at least six months. So, why am I freaking out this badly? Do I need a publisher for artistic expression?

Let’s start with the last question I posed. I love writing. I love the narratives that I come up with. As much as I enjoy an audience, I have and would continue to write for me. I kind of know the ways to do independent release, and I have connections to make things work mildly in that world.

This is the paragraph where I talk about the “BUT” in as great of detail as I can. I have been doing the independent artist thing for almost 15 years. I am not, and never was, good at it. I know this, and I am okay with the fact that I am horrible at social media/marketing.

EXAMPLE: did you, as someone who is reading this, know that I have a donation account? Hell: at $10/m, I’ll give your product or company a shoutout in my next vlog. I have probably mentioned part (if not all) of this endeavour before, or maybe I haven’t? (more info here)

Do you see why I know I am terrible at self-promotion?!

I was trying to explain to someone how writing is so different from art or music. The thing that I came up with is with art, people have opinions after a moment. Music, opinions can be instantaneous and accidental (came to see a different band, heard your song in a friends car, you posted a link to your latest whatever…). Even drama has the benefit of being engaging and exciting for a crowed (one hopes) and response is immediate. Opinions are given right away, longest one has to wait is an hour.

Writing, on the other hand, can take hours. I have waited a week or longer for an opinion on something. If I am stuck and asking for notes, it can take even longer. There have been several moments where I don’t receive any feedback at all.

Part of that longing for feedback is insecurity, I am well aware. After I released You’re Not Dead, I spent weeks combing over search results on Google, looking for reviews or mention from anything I was not expecting. It was like a drug that I needed, but I was never sure why that was the case.

I was not going to write anything about the submission because I am trying to keep expectations tamed, like anyone actually cares. I have been working away on another new book to keep my mind at ease, and I have so many plans and I am very excited about how it is turning out.

Yes: I am aware that was a run on sentence.

oh hai thurr

This is kind of a long overdue introduction to me, because I am an arrogant person who seems to write far too much about myself.

I was born in London, Ontario. Lived in Ingersoll for a number of years. Moved to Cambridge for 20 years starting about the age of 6. I went through elementary school and had little to speak of, as far as doing anything too noteworthy. High school is when things got kind of neat!

I started my own record label when I was 15. It was right after recording my first demo with my first band and I felt that it gave us some credibility. It did not, but I felt special anyway. That was All Cut Up. I was with that band from 2005 to 2009. Over that stretch, I helped in the writing and recording of 4 sessions, including 3 EPs and a full length album. We disbanded, and I joined The Twin (who kind of tricked me). I was supposed to just be doing studio sessions while they figured out the first album. They told me that they were looking for another member. About two months into playing with them, they informed me that I was always intended to be their full drummer.

Three EPs and a few hundred shows later, that chapter closed because I had started to join Chance Procedures. It was just me and two others doing instrumental tracks that carried the burden of keeping attention with nothing but fantastic hooks.

From 2007 onward, I was working at a used record shop. I loved my job, and it exposed me to literal months worth of music that I still love today. I was hired part-time, but slowly I moved my way to being the manager of the Cambridge location.

One night, my parents were concerned about the way I was acting and took me to a hospital. I died two times in the following two weeks. I was in a coma for just shy of a month, and I don’t actually have memories from the middle of Octobre 2013 to February 2014.

I was quadriplegic for the next six months. I moved from Toronto, to Cambridge, to Hamilton. All of those hospitals and no exact diagnosis. I regained movement of my arms shortly after I entered Hamilton, and I was finally able to announce my continued existence to the world.

Since I can no longer play the drums like I used to, I started writing to express myself in some way. I now have a book out (3rd edition not released at the time of writing) and another on the way. I know I glazed over several interesting steps, but I assure you, my book goes further into detail about what I went through.

Any additional questions? Leave a comment somewhere! I’ll do my best to answer!

Classic Album Review :: Tears for Fears — Sowing the Seeds of Love

Hey! I’m actually doing an album that I consider a classic from the perspective that it came out around when I was born!

I have grown up in a household where this album reigned supreme. I have still yet to find a collection as varied as this album can be. It’s like a strange combination of pop, jazz, and electronica. Even other albums that this band released never touched just how eclectic this track list can be.

I am very proud to state this is my favourite release by TfF, though I am expecting some flack for not saying “Songs from the Big Chair”. The main reason that I place this higher on the admiration scale is because this album feels more mature: almost like it just wants to be whatever it can. The best example I can offer to better define what I am trying to say is the song “Badman Song“, which still has one of my favourite opening drumlines over 30 years later.

Know what? Just some of the best composition ever throughout the whole song. Bass and drums. Fight me.

Playlist of all the songs.

Classic Album Review :: Gang of Four — Entertainment!

You know those albums that you want to share with the world, but are unsure how people will take your description? This is one of those albums for me.

I consider this the perfect example of what punk can be. I am well aware that this album is not strictly considered punk, more new-wave, but I cannot overstate just how punk this album is!

First of all, there is something beautiful about how repetitive and simple everything is. I’m pretty sure that the entire thing is just in 4/4, and there are no solos from any instruments. Instead, just fantastic groove and a steady beat. On a few of the songs, a traditional chorus change is sequestered for the disappearance of an instrument. It keeps the infectus groove while giving a little more body.

Secondly, the lyrics are both rambly and important. They can be self-serving, but they can also be extrapolated to give way to a grander exploration of society as a whole. That last sentence just explains how you can sing along, or you can sit back and enjoy. I cannot see any greater meaning, or anything offensive and stupid.

Third, and most intriguing, they use a fucking accordion occasionally.

I love this album. I really think that more punks should have it in their playlist, and I think that it needs more recognition. Personal favourite song is “Nature’s Not In It“, but it is also the most mainstream. The song “Damaged Goods” is by far the one I would push if you’re looking for the punk influence that I keep trying to spearhead into this blurb.

You used to define me…

I was listening to Circa Survive, and worried that I moved on.

I was listening to “On Letting Go”, which is one of my favourite albums. The drums are the most deceiving orchestration, the vocals sore, and the brilliant guitar leads always lead to my surprise. Yes, over 13 years later and I am still surprised every time I play it through. You would think that, by now, I have learned every part.

That album is not my favourite of all time, but it has been high on my list since its release. I would probably put in on my top ten of all time; or, at least, I would have. I was listening to it today, and found myself let down by parts. I was almost bored by it, and found myself tuning out for the first time since I got my hands on the beautiful collection all those years ago.

I got worried that I was just bored of Circa Survive in general, so I immediately put on ‘Juturna’ to find out. By the song ‘Wish Resign‘, I was comfortably back in a state of bliss.

I have no idea why my attention has been taken away from that album. The track ‘The Difference Between Medicine And Poison Is In The Dose‘ was my favourite song for a very long time, and I feel like I have just divorced a part of my life. Maybe I am just being melodramatic, I am finding putting my dismay into text properly very difficult.

Anyway, I had to share that ‘On Letting Go’ has soft-lost a place in my heart. I still really enjoy the album, and ‘Living Together‘ is still a banger. I am almost positive that majority of my reader base doesn’t care, but it really upset me. Knowing that this was more than a FaceBook status prompted me to write this blog, which turned out to be a lot longer than I meant.