Over the years, I’ve spent a LOT of time in creative pursuit. As an individual alone in the lab or part of an ensemble, nearly every day of my life contains tasks related to that mode of being. Some of it happens on stage or in the studio, or even… Read More »The Tedium of Artistry: Learning to Tolerate the Mundane
I was supposed to be in Ohio last week. I busted my ass for just four dates out of state with Flexadecibel and The Brandino Extravaganza… Now it’s a wash. The album release show tomorrow is canceled too… And with longer stretches of mandated distancing, the whole calendar is under… Read More »Dear Gigging Musician: Pandemic Sucks, Right?
Perpetual positivity is a myth. The reality of humanity is steeped in peaks and valleys – good days and bad. This is as true for diets as it is conversations with your spouse… Dayjob performance or sleep cycles. Sometimes the downs are brief, fleeting even. Other times they persist. As… Read More »Fighting Through The Slumps
This is as much for me as it is for you (as usual)… If you want to do something, anything really, you gotta go for it in whatever ways you can. This isn’t one of those “get out of town or you’ll never make it” posts, or advice about dropping… Read More »Grind With What You’ve Got
I love music, I love learning about it, I love digging into the craft, studying, challenging myself, practicing and performing as much as I can… I’m pretty certifiably obsessed. Smitten. I’m proud of it, honestly. I kind of relish the weird comments or disbelief that I try to do as… Read More »Falling In Love: Reconnecting With Your Instrument
If we’re Facebook friends, you may have seen my series of #Lunchbreak grooves. I’m up to like 42 of them now, and it has been a fun and interesting project… In the spirit of connecting my various paths of creativity, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about why… Read More »Lunch Break Groove Philosophy
Someone has to say it. I see it way too much – up close and at a distance – the incompatible combination of wanting to do something… AND NOT ACTUALLY PURSUING IT. Forgive me for ranting. This isn’t usually my style, and before I wander into too much lecturing, I’ll… Read More »GET OFF YOUR ASS!!!
Confidence is a strange beast. Some seem to possess it inherently, others seem to fight to find it their entire lives. Musicians are notorious for this dichotomy, many acting as their “own worst critics” or constantly chasing some sense of artistic achievement that’s always out of reach. The mighty Beethoven,… Read More »The Confidence/Knowledge Paradox
I recently had the pleasure of attending the first ever Midwest Rhythm Summit, hosted by Terra State Community College in Fremont, Ohio. After a late night playing with Flexadecibel, I got up at the crack of dawn, scooped my buddy Kameron in Lansing, and high-tailed it to Ohio to catch… Read More »Midwest Rhythm Summit: Grassroots and Beautiful
I’m not an expert, but I’m working on it. The business and blogging gurus of the world might tell me not to mention that, to present what I know with confidence, and avoid acknowledging gaps by way of intentional omission… But I’m not going to do that. The entire point… Read More »My Rough Approach to Gear Review (so far…)