Still trying to figure out what to put here, while I wait for the inevitable turf war between Tolchock Trio and Calico. Or interior design tips from Location Location.
I've been reading this old school book by Brenda Ueland called "If You Want To Write." Mary Gauthier (an incredible songwriter who will break your heart if you haven't heard her yet and, if you HAVE, will break it a few times over) basically calls it her Bible for writing. It reads a little like Dale Carnegie's "How To Win Friends & Influence People," maybe the same era, but it's about empowering writers rather than winning people/influencing friends.
So I was emailing a quote from the book to my friend, our keyboard player, and a great songwriter/guitarist/singer in his own band Atherton, Ryan Tanner, and he sent me back this inspiring quote from Jim Jarmusch (a filmmaker we both like):
<b>Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal form that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.</b>
That's the goal, I think. Authenticity. I'd love to be wired to make groundbreakingly avante garde music that blows minds with its lack of reference points, but I'm not. So, the best I can do is find my voice (going back to Mary Gauthier, she told us that THAT- finding your voice and respecting it- is the most important thing you can do as a writer. And I believe her.) and be true to it. And then make music that matches it, moves it, moves us.
