One of the most exciting things about 2007, to me, is my new calendar. I got this Guitar World guitar review guide magazine for Christmas, and it came with a pull out calendar filled with these cheesy Playboy models in atrocious lingerie holding guitars I wouldn't be caught dead with. It's pretty glorious. One of the things I've resolved to do with it is to make a note on it for every show I play and for every new song I write. One week into the year, so far I've played two shows and written two new songs. I feel like I'm off to a good start.
The most recent of the two shows I played was last night in Brunswick, ME. I played with my one man band, opening for a handful of punk bands, including my friends The Murder Weapon and The Rattlesnakes. Despite one extremely lame act on the part of a show-goer (somebody stole the cashbox, completely screwing the bands and the organizers), I was extremely impressed by the Maine music scene. While it's undoubtedly true that we have very few good bands and a lack of venues, it made me happy to see such a good turnout of really receptive diverse people. I don't think a show of that sort could have possibly happened in a location where people can afford to be snobs. There is absolutely no way I would ever be booked for a good show in a real city doing the sort of show I do, but in Maine, they give me a chance, and I appreciate that.
The new songs I'm writing are some of the best songs I've ever written, bu t I feel really awkward about playing them live or letting people hear them. I feel like I'm tapping into a sort of "Pinkerton" thing where my songs are really personal in an incriminating sense. I'm writing a lot about my own faults, but I'm not being apologetic. The songs document darker parts of myself, but in a celebratory, "I don't give a fuck" tone. Therefor, they don't represent my actual ideals. I'm really happy with this direction, but I'm not sure what I can possibly do with the outcome. I don't want people thinking I'm some weird jerk trying to get laid by a girl he really doesn't actually like (which is an example of one of the songs I'm talking about), but I personally think it makes really good art to write from that perspective, it being a situation I've been in before, even if I do rationally and honestly know it's not something to be celebrated. I don't want to make social commentary or tack disclaimers onto my songs, I just want to write about things I've felt and done before, and look at them from a different angle than the regretful hindsight way I've done in the past. Anyone got an opinion on this?
The most recent of the two shows I played was last night in Brunswick, ME. I played with my one man band, opening for a handful of punk bands, including my friends The Murder Weapon and The Rattlesnakes. Despite one extremely lame act on the part of a show-goer (somebody stole the cashbox, completely screwing the bands and the organizers), I was extremely impressed by the Maine music scene. While it's undoubtedly true that we have very few good bands and a lack of venues, it made me happy to see such a good turnout of really receptive diverse people. I don't think a show of that sort could have possibly happened in a location where people can afford to be snobs. There is absolutely no way I would ever be booked for a good show in a real city doing the sort of show I do, but in Maine, they give me a chance, and I appreciate that.
The new songs I'm writing are some of the best songs I've ever written, bu t I feel really awkward about playing them live or letting people hear them. I feel like I'm tapping into a sort of "Pinkerton" thing where my songs are really personal in an incriminating sense. I'm writing a lot about my own faults, but I'm not being apologetic. The songs document darker parts of myself, but in a celebratory, "I don't give a fuck" tone. Therefor, they don't represent my actual ideals. I'm really happy with this direction, but I'm not sure what I can possibly do with the outcome. I don't want people thinking I'm some weird jerk trying to get laid by a girl he really doesn't actually like (which is an example of one of the songs I'm talking about), but I personally think it makes really good art to write from that perspective, it being a situation I've been in before, even if I do rationally and honestly know it's not something to be celebrated. I don't want to make social commentary or tack disclaimers onto my songs, I just want to write about things I've felt and done before, and look at them from a different angle than the regretful hindsight way I've done in the past. Anyone got an opinion on this?