Songwriter and artist David Bazan is my guest on Episode 7 of the @ Sea Podcast. David has been making music professionally since 1995, most notably, As the frontman for Pedro The Lion, the mind behind Headphones and most pertinent to the purposes of this podcast, as a solo artist. Among the many things I … Read More
If you make your work public, you won’t need to go looking for negative feedback. So, keep the positive feedback you get. And keep it close.
Inspiration is a wonderful place to start when making art. But we often move too quickly from being inspired to innovation—making our own thing with (hopefully) our own, unique signature. I believe that imitation is a missing link in much of our artistic development. Don’t just be inspired by someone’s work. Make it part of … Read More
As much as I enjoy music, I have a tendency to think and talk shop about music—meaning, my love and appreciation often take a backseat to analysis and critique. But that’s harder to do when I’m looking at work I know I can’t make— work by artists like Rothko or Vonnegut. Because I cannot do … Read More
Young Playwright: “I just feel like everything I write is crap.” Old Playwright: “It probably is. You’re still too young to write great dialogue.” YP: “So, what am I supposed to do?” OP: “Keep writing.” YP: “But you just agreed that it’s probably crap.” OP: “Yes, but it is out of the manure that the … Read More
Sometimes a good idea is the worst idea.
Part of the hard work of being a good artist is learning when to put something down.
I don’t think you and I create because one of us is eventually going to make the piece that satiates the primal, human hunger all other art pieces had previously failed to satiate; Or because one of us is going to write the song that renders all other songwriting unnecessary for the remainder of history. … Read More
I think great art can be (and often is) both beautiful and purposeful.
I’ve got a rough history with customer service. Better said, customer service has a rough history with me. I’ve been unkind. I’ve treated people like poorly. Basically, I treated them like they were part of the machinery that I need to serve me. That’s bad business. That’s also bad art. So, heres what I know … Read More
