Had a really enlightening conversation with a new friend the other night. He leaned across the table, shouting over the sound of the music and the conversations at adjacent tables, “My mom wanted me to go to Bible school.” I leaned in. “Why didn’t you?” “It didn’t feel right. I love numbers. I mean, I … Read More
What you make matters. No matter what that thing is, your work is essential. Here’s why I think that: This Summer will mark my 20th year as a professional artist. While my first album was released in 1998, the process really started a year before that when my landlord told me that what I made … Read More
My religious tradition uses the word “evil” or “darkness.” Steven Pressfield calls it “Resistance.” And while there are volumes written about it, the one thing I’ve come to know/believe about evil/darkness/Resistance is that it plays the long game. More than anything else, darkness or evil counts on you and I quitting at some point. So don’t. Getting … Read More
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.
