Lindsey managed to capture this song “We’ve All Got Our Marks To Make”, written by Drew and Walt Wilkins, in such a simple and fun way. I hadn’t heard this song before, and I really like it. I don’t get to see Drew play very much. That’s part of the working musician thing, you don’t gee to see your friends play very often. I got forwarded an email with a link to this video. It took me a few days to sit down and watch it. Worth the wait.

It may not be the next “Thriller” video, but it’s fun, creative, it sets a mood for the song that I really dig, and as far as I’m concerned Drew is right; Lindsey is and 11 year old super-genius.

I’ve been working to kickstart my songwriting engine lately. Which is no mean feat for me. When I go for awhile without writing, and I do, it get’s difficult to engage in the process again. My mind goes blank. Everything I’ve learned about it the craft goes out the window. But, one thing I’ve always done, even back in the days before my macbook,  (remember paper?) was to go back through my various fits and song starts to look for inspiration or something to work on. It can be a great way to get me writing, even if all I do is go through a bunch of stuff that seems like crap to me.

Over the past few years, I’ve been in the habit of recording little snigglets of songs. Musical ideas, lyrical starts, etc. The mac has this wonderful thing called Garage Band and it’s so easy to just launch the software and throw down an idea. Can you see what’s coming here? I lost 3 or 4 years worth of songs and song ideas on that freaking hard drive!!! Mostly I’ve been very zen about the whole thing. It’s good to clean out and not hold on to stuff, but damn it! There was some good stuff in there!!! Or maybe it was all crap. I don’t know. But I want the option to check it out and decide. As my New England friends would say, “It’s a pisser”.

Every now and then I run across some vestige of my lost files. I found this video on the Boundless Living Challenge website this week. I forgot it was there. It’s just a verse and a chorus of a song I started writing at my friend and Boundless Living creator Bob Doyle’s house in Atlanta in 2008. I may finish it. I may not. Mostly it just reminded me of all the other recordings and videos I lost. So the least I can do is share it with you. It feels a bit like I’m hanging my ass out in the breeze ‘cause I don’t like to put unfinished work out in the world, but what the heck.

Is there a point to this? A moral to the story? That’s for you to decide. (back up your drive) I’m just venting my frustration. (back up your drive)Thanks for listening. (back up your drive) I’m not here to preach. (back up your drive) I’m just sharing my personal experience. (back up your drive)
Enjoy the video…….

and p.s. Back Up Your Drive

Find more videos like this on The Boundless Living Challenge

First of all, watch this……

Creativity. If you haven’t noticed, it’s a subject I’m very interested in. I love this video with Elizabeth Gilbert. I read her book, ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ several months agao and found it not only an enjoyable read, but it made a difference for me as well. Obviously I’m not alone in this as millions of people have read it. The book not only had me dreaming of world travel, but it did get me back doing some regular meditation for awhile and I found myself intrigued by the whole idea and writing style of the book.

So, it was extra cool to run across this video. I posted it on my Facebook page right after I watched it and some great responses. Beyond being a strong reminder for me to get on with it and do my work, I love the way Ms. Gilbert languages and thinks about creativity. In the first half of her talk, she talks about being afraid of the work and the mental health and well being of artists. The being afraid part really resonates with me. Who hasn’t been afraid that what they’re creating won’t be well received? I’ve had times where it was much easier to concentrate on getting more paying work or cleaning the house than to write a song or even a little old blog post.

And the whole suffering artist thing! I hate that. That kind of thinking has been screwing things up forever and gives a lot of artists a great cop out on success.  But I never really looked at what the source of it might be. I find Ms. Gilbert’s explanation as plausible as anything else and it feels good to think that you can change the way you look at your own creative power.

As a coach I do a lot of work with people around their creativity. One of the biggest points of Ms. Gilbert’s talk is the age old idea that our creativity is more of a conduit than some magical ability that come soley from the individual. That when you are in the creative “flow” you are receiving information from the universe, the divine, the source, God, or “Genius” as the Romans put it. Not only does that take the pressure off of the modern day tortured artist, but isn’t that state something that anyone would want to be in. To be in the creative flow of life?

To put it in energetic terms, when you are in the creative flow you are in the energy of abundance. You are connected to the source of abundance. So the more you are in that energy, the more you will attract things in your life that line up with it. So rather than spending time trying to figure out how to get wherever it is you want to go, create! Whether it’s a fine meal, a song, a picture, a job, a relationship, a clean house, you can create it. Creativity knows no limits. So create, create, create!

For more on Elizabeth Gilbert:

http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/

Elizabeth Gilbert on writing:

http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/writing.htm

For more on TED talks:

http://www.ted.com

Chris and I have been talking for years about making a record together. I learned the hard way that even though I have had some success producing records for other people, it doesn’t work for me to produce myself. I can’t get far enough away form the music to be properly objective. Chris is a great friend and I usually describe him as the best musician I know. His list of credits is almost as impressive as his playing. He’ll be lending his talents as a player and singer to the project as well, but most importantly he knows me very well. He knows better than I do what I can do and is making sure that I perform up to the level that I’m able.

I had never worked with Glen before but have seen him play numerous times with Joe Ely and Eliza Gilkyson among many others. Glen is pure magic. As some of you know I play bass quite a bit myself, but Glen’s ability to capture the right feel for a song in the studio is unparalleled. And he’s a great person to boot. Really fun to be around.

What can I say about Ray? I love this guy. He and I have been the rhythm section for Walt Wilkins and the Mystiqueros for over 2 years now. We’ve logged a lot of miles. Traveled the world. He’s like a brother to me and I never have to worry about what he’s going to play. He’s always right on.

We finished basic tracks, drums & bass, and I’ve begun recording some of my final acoustic guitar tracks for 11 songs. I’ll be recording one more song without the rhythm section. I’ll be back in the studio on Tuesday to record more guitars and Chris and I will be working whenever our schedules permit over the next several weeks to finish up the project.

I put together a short video below that shows some of the action from those first sessions to the tune of a great Sam Cooke song.

A big thank you to everyone who has supported me financially and helped me get this far with the project.

I’ll keep you posted on how things progress from here. Enjoy the video!

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