For anyone who is following these postings, the reason I am putting up these video clips of me improvising or “making it up as I go along” is because I am trying to figure out a new methodology in my music. I feel I have gotten too safe lately and so by putting myself on show somewhat I can get my arse kicked by those who know better. Most of these improvised tunes aren’t that good, so I expected some bad reviews. And it didn’t take long to get a drubbing…
My most recent “improv” put down on 24 September was also posted on YouTube and I got a very perceptive comment from the mysterious “SrEspantoso” who commented “Too much money – too much technology”. This very perceptive because it is indeed true that what I lack in musical ability and talent, I make up for with technology. I would be the first person to say that I happily hide behind my racks of gear purely because I am not a musician in the classical sense of the word.
I find making music very difficult and it’s not like writing where I can happily string words together without even thinking about it. Music for me is tough and every tune and doodle takes effort as I am naturally not a musician. I took to music later than most, starting on and off with the bass at seventeen. I then moved onto guitar in my early 20s. I think for me, music is more about pushing myself forward and surprising myself rather than pleasing anyone else. And if you can’t please yourself, who can you please? But the comment got me thinking…it was a fair comment…and it was true. Again, I think I am presenting this weaker material purely so I can get sniped at. A bit of humble pie is good for the soul, etc. etc. But should I care about my approach?
I’ve known other hobby musicians who spend their time perfecting their craft – being happy that they’ve mastered their instrument and getting frustrated with their own limitations when they hit the artistic wall. I’ve never been like that. I’ve always just tried to write a tune that I like. I couldn’t give a fuck about how fast I play or if I am repeating myself or if I’ve nicked an idea from somewhere else. If I did care, I doubt I’d have had so much fun with my music. Indeed, I have recorded 90% crap, but in there somewhere is some tunes that I am proud of.
But what about the technology? Should I step away from it and try and do something a bit simpler? Should I forgo the electric guitar? I don’t know. I’ll just keep pressing the buttons until I come up with something better…
As for Mr SrEspantoso, I deleted his comment because I didn’t want the whole world to know what a complete and utter fraud I am! 🙂
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Again, the idea is to produce a short improvised instrumental piece over a short riff. The mistakes are left in for your enjoyment:
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This kind of left me feeling a little disturbed…
Look, he’s at it again!
Another day, another soundscape. This one starts of badly, but towards the end features a sweet flutey bit that works well.
Last night on TV, I watched the fascinating programme by Stephen Fry talking about being bi-polar. While I don’t think I have the condition, I understand the manic phases, the insomnia and the crashing depression. However, when I am up I am incredibly creative and will spend my time pouring myself into the music or whatever takes my fancy at the time and have no time for sleep or anything else. When I am down, a big black cloud descends and I can be a right moping misery for days on end with no energy to do anything. I always thought it was the creative spark at large and not a mental condition. Luckily, having a dog and a strong routine and a sense of optimism has banished the low-points. The thing that got me was when Fry was talking about the self-loathing and he kept reeling off a list of how wretched he was. I thought that was perfectly normal for an Englishman, or was that just me? Again, there was a time when I’d have a mental flash of all the mistakes I’d ever made in my life playback in my head like a flicker book and then I’d privately berate myself for being completely useless. It was a real eye opener, but at least I know I am not bi-polar, as I believe a lot of what happened to me was down to the “Young Man Blues”. As I get older, I am feeling a lot more comfortable in this skin.
And why do I keep getting the urge to write “bear” at the end of bi-polar…?
One of the things I miss about the heady days in summer I used to spend with The Missus going through the racks at various second-hand record shops is that you could take a punt on an unknown album for a quid or two. They were adventurous times and I came into contact with a lot of different albums – some good, many bad. But it was more about exploration than anything else.
Today, I was thinking back to those times and I remembered taking a chance with Sally Oldfield’s first album “Water Bearer”, purely because it was a £1 and because she was the older sister to Mike Oldfield. Being impressed by her soaring vocals on Steve Hackett’s “Shadow of the Heirophant” from the “Voyage of the Acolyte” album, I knew I was onto a winner…and so I was. It truly is a great record once you can past the references to Tolkien and elves. But heck, that’s what prog rock is all about, eh? But this is more folky and there are some great tunes, one of which “Mirrors” took me instantly back to my childhood. That’s another great thing about taking a chance on a mystery album is that you are never sure if you are going to find a track that has you reeling back exclaiming “I remember that! – I didn’t know it was by this artist”, etc. So anyway, I dug the album out this morning and gave it a couple of spins. It made me feel very old indeed.
Anyway, “Mirrors” was the breakout hit for Sally Oldfield and just in case you forgot what it sounded like or have never heard it, someone very kindly posted a TOTP performance on YouTube:
My original idea for the sleeve for my CD boxset “God Pays Debts Without Money” was to feature a rogue’s gallery of pictures of yours truly, mainly because it was cheaper and quicker to scan a few old pictures than to take the artwork seriously. After testing out the design on the general public, it was realised that my ugly old phizzog was just too disturbing and so instead I needed a new piece of art to lead the eye.
Now the great thing about the Internet is that it brings you into contact with many different people and I have been lucky to have linked to a very talented chap called Taren McCallen-Moore who produces some very visually interesting pieces. For me, he is a cross between Robert Crumb and H.R. Giger and I love the way he uses a biro to create visually arresting pieces. I am lucky that he agreed to produce a piece of art to adorn the cover of my CD and I have even paid him a small fee for his trouble. This is the first time ever that I have actually budgeted for one of my CD sleeves, as usually I do all the work myself. But when I saw what Taren produced just from giving him the title, it was pretty easy to part me with my cash. The new art is below and captures the title perfectly:
How’s this for art, eh?
For more great pictures and art created by Mr McCallan-Moore, head over to his new website at www.taren.co.uk