The third debate just ended. I'm SO embarrassed to be from the United States of America right now I don't think I would confess it if I were traveling abroad. No I'm sure of it. "I was living in America for a long time but I've since returned to my homeland in the Netherlands...hope the accent goes away soon." My Grandpa would kick me for saying that. He was proud to be an American.
It makes perfect sense to me that Capitalism would evolve into organized crime eventually and professional politicians would all be corrupt and a two party system within the confines of this type of democracy would eventually reign over it's people without regard to their welfare or lifestyle in the sole pursuit of money...I just didn't want to live long enough to see it first hand.
A little trivia for you: The Bill of Rights as we know it is the first ten amendments to our Constitution. Everyone knows that. The trivia...there were twelve proposed amendments hand written that same day on that same parchment. All twelve were by design simple ideas that James Madison penned on behalf of the states. The twelfth is the one that I think tells the American tale better than any other. It was written so that no lawmaker could raise his own pay during the current election cycle. They would indeed be able to pass a law that changed wages for lawmakers, but it couldn't take effect until the public had the chance to elect new leadership. Makes sense to me. Probably to you...it's a definite power check. Cant just give yourself a raise whenever... Now: It eventually passed becoming the 27th amendment to our Constitution but here's what I find so interesting. The other 26 amendments were all ratified in 3 years or less. The 12th proposed amendment took 202 years to be ratified. For 202 years our lawmakers just couldn't bring themselves to give up the power to vote in their own pay raises before the coming election. That's America in a nutshell to me. By the time it did pass lawmakers had realized the longest tenures in American history and were drawing more of their money from special interest parties, lobbyists, big business, insider trading...salaries don't mean anything to our lawmakers now.
Thinking about salaries...I was glancing at campaign spending the other day. At the time Hillary Clinton had reported spending 700 million dollars in campaign money during her political career. There are 534 other people (mostly averaging just a few million each year) that have the same type of campaigning habit. I wonder how these people can spend 1.5 BILLION DOLLARS in a 5 year period to keep their $140,000 a year jobs...and talk to the American people about debt. The spending now is higher than what I quoted ...but 10 years ago a 5 year campaign spend for OUR REPRESENTATIVES was 1.5 Billion Dollars. So...150 Million a year spent by big business mostly to employ people to pass laws. Hard for me to imagine that these representatives are genuinely concerned with the well being of the average American. I don't believe it.
So now. The crook or the loon. What will it be? Does it really matter? America is in a toilet because of greed. Because of capitalism. Because of capitalizing. Because the Land of Opportunity is the Land of Opportunists.
Unfortunately it's human nature to capitalize on others. From our primal instincts we begin at infancy capitalizing on physical weakness and the more developed we become the farther reaching our dominant behavior becomes. America is just a great breeding ground for that behavior and we watch it daily all around us and we struggle to take the scraps for ourselves and I think far too many people would fall right into the patterns of our current "leaders" if given the chance so I'm not sure there's any fixing it. I'm afraid it will just have to broken before a new era can come to pass. I'm afraid we're hinging upon that climax in history. America is about to break.
Our environment is a disaster. Big business in America justifies it with profit margins. Our happiness is a disaster. Big business in America justifies it with profit margins. Our home lives. Our sense of obligation to our children. Our compassion for animals. Our respect for one another.
We are represented by people who won't even pretend to respect one another for what should be one of the most highly regarded public debates that could occur on this planet. How can people who act like THAT lead THIS Nation? Be the icons of world leadership that our youth model their ideals from ? How can these be the people we are choosing?? HOW????
I'm going to go ahead and state some obvious things here: Peace in the Middle East has never happened in all of human history. It's not going to happen because we stick our noses into the hornets nest. We're there and will remain there because Grumman and McDonald Douglas and Drug companies winning contracts with the government spend billions to buy votes. More people in Iraq died of heart attacks than violence before we invaded and now violence kills 95% more people than heart attacks in Iraq. Way to go us. The Iraq body count is only slightly higher than the US murder rate but we get serious when there's a travel package involved. It's good for Wall Street.
A few years back I paid for insurance for myself, my wife and my children. It was good insurance with a low deductible. I can not afford insurance for my family now. If I could afford it the deductible would be 5 times as high (I really have priced it) and the benefits significantly fewer. Guess what industries top the campaign trail? Pharmaceutical, Health Care, Lawyers, Tech, Arms...
I don't think it's a coincidence that when health care industries buy campaigns health costs go through the roof and become mandatory. I'm not that foolish.
Chicago is a funny place. The highest individual contributor to political campaigns in America runs a few small newspapers like the Polish Times and such, as well as local radio and tv stations in Chicago. College newspapers is where this guy earned so much money that Forbes doesn't know what he's worth but can track down 100 million dollars that he gave away last year...So if it seems funny to ME that Fred Eychaner can top Microsoft, Apple, Google and every other global giant in campaign contributions with the money he made selling newspapers in the 60's...why isn't anyone else looking into it? I know...Chicago is just a nice place where historically people make their money milking unicorns for princesses and everyone is on the up and up...but newspapers???? Number one in the tech industry in Campaign contributions: Newsweb Corp, Chicago. go figure?
When you're broke you stay at home. America is broke. Our military needs to be HERE. Not spending billions to drive around the desert so somebody's stock will rise accordingly.
Fracking will cause a major earthquake. Then everybody will say "I knew it all along" and lie about who they supported when the votes are discussed.
Our food sources will never be safe because the chemical industries that pay off politicians to legalize the pollution of our food will always have more money than the people forced to eat Americas garbage. Our water sources are being depleted by super farms and other industries. Our forests are being contaminated by crop dusting that would have long since been outlawed were it not for Big Businesses foothold in the farms and chemicals.
We can't afford to be petitioning to bring in more immigrants. Yes we're all immigrants here but we're broke and about to go hungry and can't manage our own people and don't have a military at home and I'm sorry...trying to be "NUMBER ONE" on the "Let's bring in more strangers from the most militant Nation we can think of" list is just asinine. Somebody's making money at that I'm sure but I haven't figured out how we can justify it. Oh yeah...profit margin.
Marijuana??? really??? That's not even an issue worth talking about.
Abortion? Guns? Race? None of these issues matter as long as the people who are in control of this Country don't give a damn about it's backbone. Don't give a damn about the people who make up the masses in this Nation. Don't give a damn where we sleep or what we eat or if our children will have any respect left for their Nation or their leaders or for themselves come the next election. The next generation. None of it matters because America won't be a place we talk about in present context.
America won't be great again. We got that warm and fuzzy feeling when we were kicking Nazi ass and removing genocidal maniacs from the planet. That's respectable work that needed to be done and I'm proud of those who sacrificed so that we could end that but those days are past. Since the days of real regimes that threatened the world we've had to work at staying busy conquering our own people one industry at a time. We work at digging up lost causes that we can invest our industries in. We work at political Whack-A-Mole and the distraction of our citizens so they don't notice our failing system falling apart all around them. Our leaders vote directly against their constituents, our Representatives get FREE health care for life and vote ours into oblivion, our representatives buy multi-million dollar homes while our lending system fails under the weight of an overextended middle and lower class. Our Representatives send forces all over the world while violence and corruption in our back yards rise to an all time high. Our Representatives lie to a generation which will be the first in human history to have a lower life expectancy than the previous generation about our leadership's commitment to a better environment and better food industry. They lie about their commitment to better jobs and better pay. Our Representatives prostitute their opportunity to affect change in this nation to the businesses with the most money and our food sources are victimized, our educational system is victimized, our Military is victimized, our neighbors are victimized, our environment is victimized, our freedoms are victimized, our public safety is victimized, our health care is victimized...
and we're going to elect Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump now to take us further into the depth's of the Hell that America has made of itself.
I'm sorry Grandpa. I couldn't do it. I'd lie my ass off. "Not from America. Those people are nuts."
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Monday, January 11, 2016
The Verdict Is In
I've said that a lot in my lifetime but for the first time it means exactly that. A judge heard all our testimony at a trial in Iowa to decide if I owed an investor (in an album) a great deal of money because I wasn't as successful as he had hoped I would be. It's hard to believe even for me...I'm the least successful musician I've ever heard of being sued by an Executive Producer. He basically just wanted all of his money back plus 18% and I pained for a year over the idea of that...losing more money than I had used to make Chronicles of Harvey and the My Brother's Keeper video...all at once because the legal system allows anyone to claim anything, anytime...and forces all those accused to defend themselves.
Defending yourself out of state, by the way, is a bit of a challenge. If a lawyer will take your case it seems customary to rape the out of state client for every imaginable fee one can conjure. Fortunately I had nearly no money for a lawyer and I was forced to defend myself so these fees were not something I stood to lose. But I had to do my very best research ever...play lawyer for a year...and cross my fingers. I prepared as well as I could. I responded to all of the clerical judiciary blah blah blah throughout the proceedings. I updated the court clerk and opposition as necessary (except that one deadline I missed...whoops). I read and read and read and phoned every intelligent friend I could as well as a couple lawyers. The lawyers I know gave me generic pointers and made sure to let me know that they could not give me real council...politely. I read some more. I still didn't have a clue on the day of court. I'd rehearsed my lines. I'd studied all the evidence and lack thereof. I had all my paperwork in order...First time I needed one of them the entire stack turned into wet leaves covered in Egyptian hieroglyphs. I couldn't make heads or tails of the process, the paperwork or my thoughts. Awww shit. So I gave up on keeping my composure and just answered the questions, stumbled through my own quandaries and asked the judge to be forgiving of my ignorance.
The verdict is in.
After over a year of suffering through this mess a judge has decided that my Executive Producer had no legal claim to the money he was seeking. My wife and I were both named in this frivolous lawsuit and we are both very happy to inform anyone who cares...that justice did prevail. The judge gave an insightful recap and evaluation of the proceedings/claims and found in our favor. As a result, our accuser had to pay our court costs as well. We lost some time and a trip to Iowa we didn't really want to take but Hell...we won. Thank God. Thank Iowa. Thank the Universe. Thanks friends and neighbors. We didn't lose.
Note to self. Do everything alone. People suck.
I think I'll make another record.
Jefferson
Defending yourself out of state, by the way, is a bit of a challenge. If a lawyer will take your case it seems customary to rape the out of state client for every imaginable fee one can conjure. Fortunately I had nearly no money for a lawyer and I was forced to defend myself so these fees were not something I stood to lose. But I had to do my very best research ever...play lawyer for a year...and cross my fingers. I prepared as well as I could. I responded to all of the clerical judiciary blah blah blah throughout the proceedings. I updated the court clerk and opposition as necessary (except that one deadline I missed...whoops). I read and read and read and phoned every intelligent friend I could as well as a couple lawyers. The lawyers I know gave me generic pointers and made sure to let me know that they could not give me real council...politely. I read some more. I still didn't have a clue on the day of court. I'd rehearsed my lines. I'd studied all the evidence and lack thereof. I had all my paperwork in order...First time I needed one of them the entire stack turned into wet leaves covered in Egyptian hieroglyphs. I couldn't make heads or tails of the process, the paperwork or my thoughts. Awww shit. So I gave up on keeping my composure and just answered the questions, stumbled through my own quandaries and asked the judge to be forgiving of my ignorance.
The verdict is in.
After over a year of suffering through this mess a judge has decided that my Executive Producer had no legal claim to the money he was seeking. My wife and I were both named in this frivolous lawsuit and we are both very happy to inform anyone who cares...that justice did prevail. The judge gave an insightful recap and evaluation of the proceedings/claims and found in our favor. As a result, our accuser had to pay our court costs as well. We lost some time and a trip to Iowa we didn't really want to take but Hell...we won. Thank God. Thank Iowa. Thank the Universe. Thanks friends and neighbors. We didn't lose.
Note to self. Do everything alone. People suck.
I think I'll make another record.
Jefferson
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Quixote - 12/15/15
This was originally just a test of some mic configurations...turned out nicely so it's here. For those who care: Blumlein pair of AKG C414B XLS mics, Mogami cables, Focusrite Scarlett 6i6, basement. Taylor 910 CE, D'Addario EXP 13's. Song is Quixote, from Drawing Board: available for download at jeffersonfox.bandcamp.com Love ya. See ya.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Too old for this shit.
I was asked earlier where someone can get my music. I said "all the usual internet sites and out of the boxes in my basement". Turns out I was mostly wrong. Apparently I let my contracts lapse with most of the usual internet sites so there's about one place you can download them now.
"So I should fix that"...I thought for a moment. No. Screw it. It's available at http://jeffersonfox.bandcamp.com and that's good enough. If anybody finds it I'll be just tickled. If they don't I'll be just tickled.
You may ask yourself: "Why's this guy not more interested in promotion?" or say to yourself "maybe this is a ploy: some type of reverse psychology thing." No. I'm just not interested. Bandcamp is easy and it's already done and the 400 ever-changing other sites that I don't want to update constantly just annoy me and I'm glad that shit expired. I still like music, making music, and putting together things that resemble records. Hell I might even do it again someday...but...I'm too old for this shit. The internet and the Instant Gratification Nation have fucking exhausted me. I don't have the time or the money to make another 'Animule' production happen and if I did I probably wouldn't because the only point in that would be to try to make a living at music and I don't want to tour enough to make that happen and I'm well aware that the depressing crap I write is not ever going to be "popular" so I'm not going to make a bunch of money at it. Oh well.
You may ask yourself: "If he knows the depressing crap he writes is never going to be popular, why doesn't he write less depressing crap?" or say to yourself : "He ought to just use a regular drummer and some electric guitars and make normal music." And I would answer both those notions with "Why in the Hell would I make music that didn't feel was coming from my own heart and mind?"
I used to really think that I wanted people to like my music and every now and again that happened. These days I am rarely reminded by someone at work or in our circle of very few friends that those days ever existed. I've been recording a lot since those days. I like some of it very much. I may release it to the internet. I might press little shiny circles with those songs on them. How will I sell them? Probably not well. I won't invest much in it because I understand that reality. If the shit goes viral I'll print more. And people can buy said shit at http://jeffersonfox.bandcamp.com
Why tell you all of this? There are a few people who just keep asking these questions. Here's your answer: I don't care at all who likes my music. I don't care at all who listens to my music. I'm recording these days so that my two girls may have these things to listen to when I'm dead and because I like listening to these songs. I like the process of writing them. It's really hard to want to spend money to let other people listen to my music. I'm sorry. I always busted my ass to make the house payment when I was touring and trying to force feed my music to people who really would rather hear the latest and greatest version of Maroon 5 or some cover band doing "Brick House" at the local sports bar. I slept on couches all over the country and nearly missed my kids growing up and ate like crap and got really depressed and hated my life...in an attempt to be famous or get rich or feel loved or something...not even sure what I thought I was trying to prove. I guess I wanted somebody to tell me I was really cool...honestly no fucking idea what I wanted.
Now I want to enjoy the remaining years of my life to the best of my ability. I want to see my children discover a meaning to their lives. I want to enjoy my garden and raising a few chickens. I want to play music for myself and enjoy the process of trying to record it well for the sake of making it sound nice. I want to get the bathroom remodel over so the drain won't leak in the studio. I don't want to be famous or rich (I'd like to be slightly richER). I don't want to compete for popularity with young people who really need that to feel complete. I don't need to be told I'm cool. I'm not all that cool. If you think I am you don't get out much. I'm pretty much a 40 year old nerd/philosopher who violated all of his own personal views on how a life should be lived before I figured out what I needed. Oh and I write poetry and play guitar (like 50 million other people)
So back to the reason I wrote this. If new music from my basement studio ever, in fact, becomes available to the public it will likely arrive at http://jeffersonfox.bandcamp.com although there's a good chance I'll forget to tell anyone. If you remember to look every few months and you find something interesting please enjoy it and don't bother to ponder why no one else likes it or knows about it. It doesn't matter. Just enjoy it. Have a good life.
JF
"So I should fix that"...I thought for a moment. No. Screw it. It's available at http://jeffersonfox.bandcamp.com and that's good enough. If anybody finds it I'll be just tickled. If they don't I'll be just tickled.
You may ask yourself: "Why's this guy not more interested in promotion?" or say to yourself "maybe this is a ploy: some type of reverse psychology thing." No. I'm just not interested. Bandcamp is easy and it's already done and the 400 ever-changing other sites that I don't want to update constantly just annoy me and I'm glad that shit expired. I still like music, making music, and putting together things that resemble records. Hell I might even do it again someday...but...I'm too old for this shit. The internet and the Instant Gratification Nation have fucking exhausted me. I don't have the time or the money to make another 'Animule' production happen and if I did I probably wouldn't because the only point in that would be to try to make a living at music and I don't want to tour enough to make that happen and I'm well aware that the depressing crap I write is not ever going to be "popular" so I'm not going to make a bunch of money at it. Oh well.
You may ask yourself: "If he knows the depressing crap he writes is never going to be popular, why doesn't he write less depressing crap?" or say to yourself : "He ought to just use a regular drummer and some electric guitars and make normal music." And I would answer both those notions with "Why in the Hell would I make music that didn't feel was coming from my own heart and mind?"
I used to really think that I wanted people to like my music and every now and again that happened. These days I am rarely reminded by someone at work or in our circle of very few friends that those days ever existed. I've been recording a lot since those days. I like some of it very much. I may release it to the internet. I might press little shiny circles with those songs on them. How will I sell them? Probably not well. I won't invest much in it because I understand that reality. If the shit goes viral I'll print more. And people can buy said shit at http://jeffersonfox.bandcamp.com
Why tell you all of this? There are a few people who just keep asking these questions. Here's your answer: I don't care at all who likes my music. I don't care at all who listens to my music. I'm recording these days so that my two girls may have these things to listen to when I'm dead and because I like listening to these songs. I like the process of writing them. It's really hard to want to spend money to let other people listen to my music. I'm sorry. I always busted my ass to make the house payment when I was touring and trying to force feed my music to people who really would rather hear the latest and greatest version of Maroon 5 or some cover band doing "Brick House" at the local sports bar. I slept on couches all over the country and nearly missed my kids growing up and ate like crap and got really depressed and hated my life...in an attempt to be famous or get rich or feel loved or something...not even sure what I thought I was trying to prove. I guess I wanted somebody to tell me I was really cool...honestly no fucking idea what I wanted.
Now I want to enjoy the remaining years of my life to the best of my ability. I want to see my children discover a meaning to their lives. I want to enjoy my garden and raising a few chickens. I want to play music for myself and enjoy the process of trying to record it well for the sake of making it sound nice. I want to get the bathroom remodel over so the drain won't leak in the studio. I don't want to be famous or rich (I'd like to be slightly richER). I don't want to compete for popularity with young people who really need that to feel complete. I don't need to be told I'm cool. I'm not all that cool. If you think I am you don't get out much. I'm pretty much a 40 year old nerd/philosopher who violated all of his own personal views on how a life should be lived before I figured out what I needed. Oh and I write poetry and play guitar (like 50 million other people)
So back to the reason I wrote this. If new music from my basement studio ever, in fact, becomes available to the public it will likely arrive at http://jeffersonfox.bandcamp.com although there's a good chance I'll forget to tell anyone. If you remember to look every few months and you find something interesting please enjoy it and don't bother to ponder why no one else likes it or knows about it. It doesn't matter. Just enjoy it. Have a good life.
JF
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Ruby Jane Allen (Mom) Obituary
Born on January 31, 1949 in Piggott, Arkansas to L.D. and Ruby Eskew, she and her two sisters, Joyce (Stahl) and Janet (Mason) were raised lovingly, taught the values of hard work, compassion and commitment. The family moved to Puxico, Missouri in 1962. They farmed, raised cattle and became ingrained in a close-knit community which remained dear to her heart. Jane's mother was a beautician. She became one as well.
She married Elbert M. Fox in 1968 and gave birth to son, Jefferson Fox in 1972. The marriage did not endure but mutual love for their son and granddaughters allowed the two to remain friends all of her life.
On February 20, 1976 Jane married Michael Ellsworth Allen of Puxico, Missouri. Together they had one daughter, Kelly Renee Allen (Marconyak). She also loved dearly Mike's son, Douglas from a previous marriage. The two devoted their lives to each other and to raising their children well. They traveled extensively while Mike worked as a pilot for the United States Army, retiring to Puxico in 1997.
Jane was an avid volunteer, sports enthusiast, active member of Brown General Baptist Church, and caregiver both professionally and in private. She worked at Pinelawn Residential Care in Puxico until her own mother's care became her primary duty. She came to the rescue of those in need. She burned the candle at both ends. She loved deeply and she forgave. She was outgoing and made life-long friends everywhere she went. She stayed in touch with those people and she truly appreciated every opportunity to be near them. She was a best friend to many.
She is survived by her mother, Ruby Eskew, her husband Mike Allen, her son Jefferson and Sharon Fox, her daughter Kelly and Jaison Marconyak, her step-son Doug and Bernice Allen, grandchildren Andie and Zoe Fox, Lucy and Kelson Marconyak, Grace and Rebecca Allen and her sister Joyce and Barry Stahl.
She was preceded in death by her father L.D. Eskew and sister Janet K. Mason. She loved them both dearly.
A visitation for family members will be held at Morgan Sifford Funeral Home at 5pm on Friday, June 19, 2015 opening to friends at 6pm.
Her funeral will be held at 11am on Saturday, June 20, 2015 at Brown General Baptist Church of Puxico, Missouri.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
The Art of Songwriting
This article is about art. It is not about making money. It is not about gaining popularity. It is less about rules and more about definitions. So lets go.
Vincent Van Gogh was an artist. He created art. He attempted to sell some of it and was a miserable failure. However, you know his name and may or may not appreciate his work but his work was art. There is a guy in your home town who makes a living painting houses. He has paint and brushes. He may or may not be an artist. The defining point here is that painting houses commercially does not make him an artist. It is possible for him to be an artist who also is a commercial painter. These two titles are unrelated though the function of painting is shared by the two tasks. How does that relate?
I don't want you thinking that every test-tube pop star that ends up on the cover of Rolling Stone is an artist. While being successful does not negate your artisanship the two are not related. Many "stars" of the "music business" are house painters. Or rather, singers. You know...those people at work who belt out Joplin, the little girl at church who squeals out Christmas tunes every year...the people on The Voice. Any of these people may be artists...as perhaps they create something as well, but the act of singing is a task of rudimentary addition to an already existing piece of art. You can be an artist who sings. You can be a singer who is also an artist. Nothing however, links the two together. Many singers are just that. Many guitarists make no attempt to create artwork. Many drummers just want to know what the set list will be and if there's free beer involved. These people are musicians.
While I'm saying this I'm sensing an arrogance in my own tone. There isn't any intended. There is nothing wrong with being a singer, a guitarist, a drummer or a house painter. Those are fine pursuits with their own unique challenges. But I want to be clear. Creating a piece of music from nothing is an art form.
So now. You're going to write a song. That's your goal. Where should you start? What kind of songs will you write? Why should you write them? What should you write them about? How should you display your artwork? Key Signatures? Tempo? ...who cares
Here comes the freedom.
There are no rules. It's art.
Assembling musical notes and/or words in a musical manner constitutes writing a song...varying quantities of notes and/or words may bridge the gap between jingles, tunes, verses etc but that's all subjective.
Oh wait. Everything about art is subjective.
This is the best song ever. You're the best writer ever. It sucks. You suck. It's all subjective.
This is good news for you! The wonderful news for the would-be songwriter tearing themselves apart over whether what they intend to do is "good", "valid", "smart", "funny", "entertaining"...The good news is it's all subjective. The good news is that there are people who like Lady Gaga and there are people who like John Denver. Linda Ronstadt and Marilyn Manson, Eminem and Tom Waits, Elvis Presley and the Sex Pistols. There are no rules! You can write whatever you like and present it however you like and somebody out there is going to enjoy it.
This is an important lesson: Someone is going to HATE it! That's right. The art that you create, from the depths of your soul, with all of your heart and mind and effort is going to suck...in someone's eyes. And that someone may well be your best friend, the girl you were hoping to impress, your spouse/significant other. That's just the way the ball bounces baby. Van Gogh's mother used his paintings to patch holes in the roof.
More good news. Doesn't freaking matter.
The beauty of art is truly in the eyes of the beholder. I'm not joking. I'm not trying to be poetic. Only you will ever know the experiences, the information, the feelings that generated your artwork. You can attempt to describe those things to other people but no matter how valiant an effort you make they will never truly understand you. The piece of work you've created should give some insight perhaps but that's it. You have interpreted an idea, a feeling, a mood, a moment in time...you have interpreted something into a new language that only you can understand. I'm going to get a little philosophical for a moment so buckle up. I fear at times that the art form of music has suffered the broad transfiguration of the gravity of fear. So many people criticize this particular art form that it is difficult to eliminate such fears from the artist's mind, especially wholly remove those fears to the point that they can create work without fear guiding their creation more than their own spirits.
It's tough to be criticized or rather it's tough to not allow that criticism to influence you. But you need to remember:
It's not your job to make other people like your work. That's THEIR job. Your job is to make your art. Make your art the way your soul and mind want you to make it. If you choose to show anyone your art work then they can decide what they think of it. And remember...even if you don't meet the people who love your art work, they exist. Maybe one day they'll see it and know that they love your art work or perhaps they wont...but they exist. It's statistically far more probable that you will first find many people who do not love your art work. That doesn't matter.
The art work is what matters. Before you can concern yourself with what folks think you need to do something. You need to do something good...but wait, that's subjective. But
It has to be good to you. So the first song you write may be fit for the trash can. Oh well. You write another and another. You choose to or not to use various influences from other work as you create. Doesn't matter. You choose to or not to read books that may influence you. Doesn't matter. You create and create and create and now what?
Is it good? to you? That's all you need to be asking as these creations come to be. And then answer yourself. No? Well then it's time to make a change. I won't suggest an approach that works. They all work. Leonard Cohen likes to pain over lyrics for years at a time and perfect every nuance. I don't think the Ramones did that with "Beat on The Brat". It's your deal. You may benefit from working late, working early, eating well, traveling, being happy, being sad, listening to other music, being in silence, doing drugs, doing cake...it's your deal. There are no rules. One thing is for sure. All artists go through a roller-coaster of ups and downs creatively and you need to know that going into this. You will win big (with yourself) and you will walk in circles.
Why are you doing this? Having a goal is helpful. "Because it's fun to me" is sufficient but if your goal is to make a political statement then maybe some research will help. If your goal is make people happy then maybe some research will help. See where I'm going with this? Sit on the street, see a movie, watch the neighbors, ask yourself questions. Do any kind of research you like but LIVING is a good way to research life and may inspire you to write about it. Some artists benefit from time away from their art. Maybe write a blog or something.
Music does differ from other art medias in that it branches off as we decide how to capture the art in some form for display.
Recording:
It's a different art form but capturing a song on a device in a way that imparts the desired emotion is very creative. It's not what I'm here to talk about right now.
You should certainly document your work. You don't HAVE to record it. You could write it down but that's perhaps not as rewarding and certainly not easy to deliver to the random person who wants to know what your songs sound like. Maybe they don't read music. So you may WANT to record it. Record it. Record it poorly. Do that before you try to do it any better. If you feel the need to hire an orchestra and get a producer involved than by all means do it but please be advised: A song is very nearly a living organism and it will grow and change within you. No need to rush to putting it in a jar. And here's the kicker. The recording does not make the song any better or worse. It just makes it sound better or worse. Some of the greatest songs (subjective) I've ever heard were very poorly recorded or I only heard them live. No recording. I'm just throwing that out there. It's not a law.
The real reason I'm writing this is to clear my head of conversations I've had with lots of people about songwriting. I don't think many people believe me but I do firmly believe that the art of music is in no way related to the business of it. Many people who call themselves "artists" are just people who want to be famous or people who would like to make money at an art form instead of what they do. I get tired of talking to them.
I hope that someone reads this and realizes that I've given you my permission to do any damn thing you please musically. If it makes you feel more fulfilled then I think it was worth doing. If you want to show someone who won't criticize your work (unless you ask) you can send them to me. I won't steal your work and I may tell you thank you. I will not tell you if I liked it or not...unless I like it a whole lot and then I'll be your groupie. I think my email is on this page somewhere. Doesn't matter either way.
Happy Music Making. Go out and be artists!
Jefferson Fox
artist
Vincent Van Gogh was an artist. He created art. He attempted to sell some of it and was a miserable failure. However, you know his name and may or may not appreciate his work but his work was art. There is a guy in your home town who makes a living painting houses. He has paint and brushes. He may or may not be an artist. The defining point here is that painting houses commercially does not make him an artist. It is possible for him to be an artist who also is a commercial painter. These two titles are unrelated though the function of painting is shared by the two tasks. How does that relate?
I don't want you thinking that every test-tube pop star that ends up on the cover of Rolling Stone is an artist. While being successful does not negate your artisanship the two are not related. Many "stars" of the "music business" are house painters. Or rather, singers. You know...those people at work who belt out Joplin, the little girl at church who squeals out Christmas tunes every year...the people on The Voice. Any of these people may be artists...as perhaps they create something as well, but the act of singing is a task of rudimentary addition to an already existing piece of art. You can be an artist who sings. You can be a singer who is also an artist. Nothing however, links the two together. Many singers are just that. Many guitarists make no attempt to create artwork. Many drummers just want to know what the set list will be and if there's free beer involved. These people are musicians.
While I'm saying this I'm sensing an arrogance in my own tone. There isn't any intended. There is nothing wrong with being a singer, a guitarist, a drummer or a house painter. Those are fine pursuits with their own unique challenges. But I want to be clear. Creating a piece of music from nothing is an art form.
So now. You're going to write a song. That's your goal. Where should you start? What kind of songs will you write? Why should you write them? What should you write them about? How should you display your artwork? Key Signatures? Tempo? ...who cares
Here comes the freedom.
There are no rules. It's art.
Assembling musical notes and/or words in a musical manner constitutes writing a song...varying quantities of notes and/or words may bridge the gap between jingles, tunes, verses etc but that's all subjective.
Oh wait. Everything about art is subjective.
This is the best song ever. You're the best writer ever. It sucks. You suck. It's all subjective.
This is good news for you! The wonderful news for the would-be songwriter tearing themselves apart over whether what they intend to do is "good", "valid", "smart", "funny", "entertaining"...The good news is it's all subjective. The good news is that there are people who like Lady Gaga and there are people who like John Denver. Linda Ronstadt and Marilyn Manson, Eminem and Tom Waits, Elvis Presley and the Sex Pistols. There are no rules! You can write whatever you like and present it however you like and somebody out there is going to enjoy it.
This is an important lesson: Someone is going to HATE it! That's right. The art that you create, from the depths of your soul, with all of your heart and mind and effort is going to suck...in someone's eyes. And that someone may well be your best friend, the girl you were hoping to impress, your spouse/significant other. That's just the way the ball bounces baby. Van Gogh's mother used his paintings to patch holes in the roof.
More good news. Doesn't freaking matter.
The beauty of art is truly in the eyes of the beholder. I'm not joking. I'm not trying to be poetic. Only you will ever know the experiences, the information, the feelings that generated your artwork. You can attempt to describe those things to other people but no matter how valiant an effort you make they will never truly understand you. The piece of work you've created should give some insight perhaps but that's it. You have interpreted an idea, a feeling, a mood, a moment in time...you have interpreted something into a new language that only you can understand. I'm going to get a little philosophical for a moment so buckle up. I fear at times that the art form of music has suffered the broad transfiguration of the gravity of fear. So many people criticize this particular art form that it is difficult to eliminate such fears from the artist's mind, especially wholly remove those fears to the point that they can create work without fear guiding their creation more than their own spirits.
It's tough to be criticized or rather it's tough to not allow that criticism to influence you. But you need to remember:
It's not your job to make other people like your work. That's THEIR job. Your job is to make your art. Make your art the way your soul and mind want you to make it. If you choose to show anyone your art work then they can decide what they think of it. And remember...even if you don't meet the people who love your art work, they exist. Maybe one day they'll see it and know that they love your art work or perhaps they wont...but they exist. It's statistically far more probable that you will first find many people who do not love your art work. That doesn't matter.
The art work is what matters. Before you can concern yourself with what folks think you need to do something. You need to do something good...but wait, that's subjective. But
It has to be good to you. So the first song you write may be fit for the trash can. Oh well. You write another and another. You choose to or not to use various influences from other work as you create. Doesn't matter. You choose to or not to read books that may influence you. Doesn't matter. You create and create and create and now what?
Is it good? to you? That's all you need to be asking as these creations come to be. And then answer yourself. No? Well then it's time to make a change. I won't suggest an approach that works. They all work. Leonard Cohen likes to pain over lyrics for years at a time and perfect every nuance. I don't think the Ramones did that with "Beat on The Brat". It's your deal. You may benefit from working late, working early, eating well, traveling, being happy, being sad, listening to other music, being in silence, doing drugs, doing cake...it's your deal. There are no rules. One thing is for sure. All artists go through a roller-coaster of ups and downs creatively and you need to know that going into this. You will win big (with yourself) and you will walk in circles.
Why are you doing this? Having a goal is helpful. "Because it's fun to me" is sufficient but if your goal is to make a political statement then maybe some research will help. If your goal is make people happy then maybe some research will help. See where I'm going with this? Sit on the street, see a movie, watch the neighbors, ask yourself questions. Do any kind of research you like but LIVING is a good way to research life and may inspire you to write about it. Some artists benefit from time away from their art. Maybe write a blog or something.
Music does differ from other art medias in that it branches off as we decide how to capture the art in some form for display.
Recording:
It's a different art form but capturing a song on a device in a way that imparts the desired emotion is very creative. It's not what I'm here to talk about right now.
You should certainly document your work. You don't HAVE to record it. You could write it down but that's perhaps not as rewarding and certainly not easy to deliver to the random person who wants to know what your songs sound like. Maybe they don't read music. So you may WANT to record it. Record it. Record it poorly. Do that before you try to do it any better. If you feel the need to hire an orchestra and get a producer involved than by all means do it but please be advised: A song is very nearly a living organism and it will grow and change within you. No need to rush to putting it in a jar. And here's the kicker. The recording does not make the song any better or worse. It just makes it sound better or worse. Some of the greatest songs (subjective) I've ever heard were very poorly recorded or I only heard them live. No recording. I'm just throwing that out there. It's not a law.
The real reason I'm writing this is to clear my head of conversations I've had with lots of people about songwriting. I don't think many people believe me but I do firmly believe that the art of music is in no way related to the business of it. Many people who call themselves "artists" are just people who want to be famous or people who would like to make money at an art form instead of what they do. I get tired of talking to them.
I hope that someone reads this and realizes that I've given you my permission to do any damn thing you please musically. If it makes you feel more fulfilled then I think it was worth doing. If you want to show someone who won't criticize your work (unless you ask) you can send them to me. I won't steal your work and I may tell you thank you. I will not tell you if I liked it or not...unless I like it a whole lot and then I'll be your groupie. I think my email is on this page somewhere. Doesn't matter either way.
Happy Music Making. Go out and be artists!
Jefferson Fox
artist
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