Getting Started On a Wide-Scale Plan!

Hello, and sorry for the long absence. I had a bunch of things going on in the past week-to-ten days. But now I just would like to let you know that the music portion of my project is pretty much complete, only needing a handful of refinements and adjustments. It'll be just under one year since I began writing the songs and putting down the first tracks. This thing has taken on a life of its own. The music may be nearly finished, but the CD art, lyric pages, and general design of the package haven't been devised yet. For this, I'll need to probably have an outside company print up some inserts. Hopefully I can do this without creating too many expenses; I believe you can do most of this yourself with minimal assistance from an outside source. Of course, it is laborious! I did this in 2007, after putting out an eight song album of old songs that had been kicking around in my mind for seven years or so. I had Fedex Kinko's burn seventeen discs for assorted family and friends. I bought the jewel cases from them too, and they printed the CD art, lyrics sheets, and tray inserts on semi-glossy paper. I was floored when the cost of all this approached $300. I felt very stupid for spending so much money on something that should have been done much cheaper. Lesson learned! As if that wasn't enough, I then had to take the sheets and cut everything down to size for each of those CD's. It took a while, but at that point I was just happy to finish it. A few months after finishing this, I had realized how unsatisfactory some of the music was, especially some of the vocals. I hadn't listened to it in a few months,, and I was so embarrassed that I had let seventeen of my closest friends and family keep this for themselves. I knew I couldn't ask for those albums back; that wasn't going to happen. So I went back to the master tracks and removed and re-cut a bunch of different things, just to satisfy my desire to make my music as true as it could be; and I was indeed pleased, if not ecstatic, about the final masters.

So my point here is that when getting yourself involved in a music or art project of any size, it does a lot of good to think things over beforehand. If you have aspirations of copying the art to sell, it does a lot of good to explore your options, so you can save your financial resources as much as possible.

Avoiding Negativity

Before I proceed with new material regarding book projects and music, I want to take a minute to clarify a stance I've developed over the past four years. The stance is this: that negativity in any shape or form does nothing to inspire, cultivate, and promote tasteful art and good feelings. When you turn on a TV around 8 or 9 o'clock every weeknight, it seems that there is some kind of program, or numerous movie ads, or made-for-TV movies, that glorify violence, dysfunction, and general discontent. I absolutely refuse to become involved with any such programs. I understand it is entertainment. But why is there a profuse amount of this type of stuff, and such a dearth of uplifting and fun shows? I guess these kinds of programs don't sell. I really wish that America would let go of its infatuation with violence and embrace the kindness and compassion.

So I've been living my life as free from negativity as possible, avoiding all media that exudes negativity. I am even in the process of removing music from my iPod that I once enjoyed, but now just can't listen to anymore because of negative and/or depressing lyrics. I feel somewhat silly divulging this stuff to you readers, but this is just what was in my heart to talk about tonight. I wanted to kind of let this be known. Positivity and light will be the impetus of my experiences in artistic creativity.

Ideas...

I've been thinking recently as to how to go about creating a children's book I've had in mind for the past few months. I'll ask myself a question or two, like "how can I make this truly unique?," or "what kind of medium should I use for the artwork?" These are the kinds of things that need to be carefully planned to create a book that is as close to your original idea as possible. Then again, funny things happen when you begin a creative adventure, believe me. For instance, last spring, when I started making new songs for a "folk rock" record, I began by recording a couple of folk rock tunes. A few weeks later, I was putting some simple jazz chords together and making songs. This is what makes creating something so fun, the unpredictability that can show up at any time. Now, I'm trying to figure out how I can tie in the music record with the book. It is a challenge that I welcome.

Hello!

Hello everyone! Thanks for checking in. My purpose with this blog is to spark dialogue and response concerning all things considered "art," and to hopefully inspire people to explore creativity as a pathway to enlightenment, positivity, and forward thinking. At different points, I'll have sub-blogs for music, visual art, poetry/literature, and crafting. As someone who enjoys writing music, lyrics, and playing guitars, I am really interested in seeing the talents and ideas of other people. Sharing ideas and learning from one another is something that I see as invaluable and invigorating on and artistic and creative level.