I don't like venting - I tend not to feel any better and I'm no very good at it to begin with. Instead I think I'll try a segue from one topic to another
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c) Gimmicks - Being weird for the sake of weird. Have a strange-sounding vocalist, or write joke songs like Weird Al does, or use funny sound effects or unusual instruments. The result is that their image is either hyper-goofy, hyper-hip in an ironic way that you are "with it" if you enjoy (but not too much), or hyper-intellectual/arrogant. Sadly, as much as I used to like The Tea Party, this can apply to them. Same with that whole Franz Ferdinand/The Hives/The Bravery thing that went on for a while, where all the bands wore suits or actually combed their hair. Also, I will now shed a tear for the Mars Volta, whom just the other night I have not only discovered are somewhat popular now (when did this happen?! they got played at my local bar, for crying out loud), but I have been told by my friend Holly that they just use nonsensical lyrics and long compositions to be fake intellectuals! *shakes head* Why, Mars Volta, WHY?!!! I am so disillusioned. Oh well, at least I still have Dream Theater, right? ...Right?!! d) Just be undeniably good at what you do. Make music for yourself, which you enjoy and are proud of, and eventually you'll just get so damn good that people will take notice. Of course, this is very difficult, can take a very long time, and is a non-stop pain train until it pays off. But, at least you'll "get" what it is you're doing, and will be satisfied with yourself, will have a reason to keep on going, and will be able to sleep at night. Also, when you die, you'll go to Music Heaven, rather than Music Hell, where so many naughty bands go. Be this kind of band, please! You're doing a good job at it so far!
I can't think of any more ways to get popular, off the top of my head. I'm sure there are many more, but if I knew them, you'd see ME at the top of the charts. And do you see me at the top of the charts? Unless you are having a schitzophrenic episode, no, you do not.
Anyway, this is not to say that you get popular by being bad, nor am I saying that this other band is a bad band. I'm sure they're just dandy, but their success is not a sign of your failing. The important thing is to remember that you are making good, enjoyable music that gets a reaction from people -- music that you are proud of, and want to keep making, and want to keep furthering artistically. There will always be people who are "better" than you, no matter how good you are. But, you make enjoyable music now, you've played a lot of venues, and you have a quality CD made already, which is more than most up-and-coming bands can say. Anyway, if you feel like you need to keep working on it more, then that's always a good thing, and I hope you contunue to persue it.
"I don't know how to do it - the same way I don't really know how to apply for a big job, write a book, take care of my house, take care of my fiancee, take care of a wedding, really apply myself in my classes." Dude, you know how many things you are trying to work on, now? Each and every one of those things is a major undertaking, and most people can only handle doing about two of those things to even a minimal degree of decency. You've got a lot on your plate, there, and it's going to be really hard to juggle all of those at once. Believe me, this is difficult to say, because I want you to keep making music, I want to some day read a Jon Joynt book, and of course it helps to know you have a stable career in the future... oh, and getting married is okay too, I guess. :-P But, each of those things is a heck of a lot of work, and it can be difficult to find enough time to focus on any of them. Maybe you'll have to prioritize 'em, or make one or two of 'em take a back seat, at least until the wedding is all planned and done. It's not like you have to stop thinking about it, or even stop collecting ideas or planning or working on it some... but, really giving 110% on all of these things is going to be really tough. I'm sure you can do all of these things very well, but it won't be easy to do them all at the same time with the same degree of focus were you to do them one at a time. I'm sure this advice doesn't help much, and sounds like I'm telling you to give up one one of them. That's not what I mean. I just mean, that if you want to work on all these complicated projects, it might take a while for some of them to reach a degree of completion, and you can't beat yourself up if some of them don't flower when you'd prefer them to. Look at what you have right now: you're in a kick-ass rock band, you've found the love of your life, you own your own house, and you'll soon be married. You're living the dream, man!! I'd say things are right on track for you. Most people would kill to be where you're at. Enjoy it! :-D
"I don't have the confidence to support people around me either. Between Anna, my father (and the many little medical issues he semi-hides from me) and my birth-father (whose wife still has a brain tumor that won't go away and is impeding her vision) I just feel like I am letting them down because of a lack of energy and of confidence. Sometime I do alright, but I cannot be very reliable these days. I need to get my shit together before I can really help." Even if you feel that way right now, I'm sure THEY don't. With all that's going on with you right now, of course you feel like you're spreading yourself too thin. I'm sure they all know how you feel. Besides, if Anna didn't think you were supporting her enough, why else would she be marrying you, ya goof? :-P
"Aside from that, I've talked about writing here before, but have little to show for it. I can post the 10 or 15 pages of projects I have left by the wayside, but that is the whole kit and kaboodle. I lost a certain amount of it on a busted harddrive anyhow, and it wasn't stellar." I was wondering what happened to that, actually! Well, your project sounds really big and complex, and actually reminds me somewhat of one of my original ideas I had in last-year Ottawa U... I wanted to make like a whole animated series (why did I think I had time to do this?) with an epic storyline which would act as a metaphor for the development of art, its meaning in people's lives, why people make art, and what art means to me. This was a ridiculously HUGE undertaking, and it failed because I refused to narrow it down. I wanted to talk about the very building blocks of the creative drive, of emotions, and ultimately the meaning of life. In a way, your project is just as big, and if it hasn't amounted to anything, it's because it amounts to EVERYTHING. If it isn't defined, it's because it has no boundaries. It takes into account the history of the world and society and everything in it. You could write phone book-sized tomes about this for ever and ever. It sounds like you have some great ideas about the issue of "lies" vs "truth" and how they have shaped culture, and wherever you take it will be really interesting and thoughtful... but, it's a lot to take in as a jumping-off point. I'd love to hear more of what you've come up with, though. What sort of book are you thinking of making? Is it a collection of musings on the subject? A long essay? A novel with characters and a story? A collection of personal experiences? It might be practical to start with something simple and work up from there, rather than consider the big picture and try to cram it all into one book.
However, I know it can be frustrating to be told to "focus" when you really have a lot of great ideas that demand a "big picture" view of things. A lot of my story ideas (many of which exist purely as images in my head or as rough sketches or notes) involve broad concepts in psychology or religion, with plot arcs or characters serving as metaphors for bigger things. In fact, when a new story idea pops into my head, it usually takes the form of a feeling, atmosphere, or philosophical issue or possibility that I want to convey, and it develops from there. And how many of these stories have I completed? None, man! Not a single one! The closest I've come is this novel I've been working on-off since high school, which amounted to over 100 single-spaced, 10-point font, 8.5x11 pages, but which I only considered to be less than 1/4 completed. It is ridiculously different from its original concept, and is always changing. I've recently started going at it again, this time scrapping the whole thing as a novel, and re-imagining it as a comic format instead of text. I think it will be better for it, but damned if it is taking a long time to develop this project. Of course, this lack of a final product is only a bad thing in practical terms. But then, I'm not a practical person, so I see it as a great creative process. I just hope that some day I can buckle down and actually finish something, and make a name for myself too. Hell, maybe make a little bit of money at it? Is that possible? If you'd asked me a year or two ago if I'd consider making comics for a living, I'd likely spit in your face at the notion, thinking of things like newspaper comic strips or Spiderman. It was only in the last year that I became exposed to Japanese manga, and it completely opened my eyes to a new way of creating a serious story and expressing important creative ideas. More and more, I find myself thinking, "some day, this is what I want to do. This is what I'm going to be all about. I love drawing, I love writing, I love designing every aspect of my characters. It's a perfect fit for me." It seems really unlikely at this point, and I have a lot of work to do, but it just goes to show that you can go from a directionless blob to an inspired madman in a flash. These flashes happen now and then, and soon enough you'll have another one and you'll be up and running like you're some kind of new and shiny iJon, and all the kids will want one.
Anyways, let's hear more from you on your book idea! Sorry I don't have any suggestions yet, but it's a lot to mull over. I'll try and come up with some avenues that might be worth persuing in the future, though.
In closing, I hope you feel like you got your mojo back soon! Let me just say that I'm sure that most of your failings are probably perceived ones, rather than actual ones. Just keep plugging away, and eventually the pieces will fall into place.
d) Just be undeniably good at what you do. Make music for yourself, which you enjoy and are proud of, and eventually you'll just get so damn good that people will take notice. Of course, this is very difficult, can take a very long time, and is a non-stop pain train until it pays off. But, at least you'll "get" what it is you're doing, and will be satisfied with yourself, will have a reason to keep on going, and will be able to sleep at night. Also, when you die, you'll go to Music Heaven, rather than Music Hell, where so many naughty bands go. Be this kind of band, please! You're doing a good job at it so far!
I can't think of any more ways to get popular, off the top of my head. I'm sure there are many more, but if I knew them, you'd see ME at the top of the charts. And do you see me at the top of the charts? Unless you are having a schitzophrenic episode, no, you do not.
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"I don't know how to do it - the same way I don't really know how to apply for a big job, write a book, take care of my house, take care of my fiancee, take care of a wedding, really apply myself in my classes."
Dude, you know how many things you are trying to work on, now? Each and every one of those things is a major undertaking, and most people can only handle doing about two of those things to even a minimal degree of decency. You've got a lot on your plate, there, and it's going to be really hard to juggle all of those at once. Believe me, this is difficult to say, because I want you to keep making music, I want to some day read a Jon Joynt book, and of course it helps to know you have a stable career in the future... oh, and getting married is okay too, I guess. :-P
But, each of those things is a heck of a lot of work, and it can be difficult to find enough time to focus on any of them. Maybe you'll have to prioritize 'em, or make one or two of 'em take a back seat, at least until the wedding is all planned and done. It's not like you have to stop thinking about it, or even stop collecting ideas or planning or working on it some... but, really giving 110% on all of these things is going to be really tough. I'm sure you can do all of these things very well, but it won't be easy to do them all at the same time with the same degree of focus were you to do them one at a time. I'm sure this advice doesn't help much, and sounds like I'm telling you to give up one one of them. That's not what I mean. I just mean, that if you want to work on all these complicated projects, it might take a while for some of them to reach a degree of completion, and you can't beat yourself up if some of them don't flower when you'd prefer them to. Look at what you have right now: you're in a kick-ass rock band, you've found the love of your life, you own your own house, and you'll soon be married. You're living the dream, man!! I'd say things are right on track for you. Most people would kill to be where you're at. Enjoy it! :-D
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Even if you feel that way right now, I'm sure THEY don't. With all that's going on with you right now, of course you feel like you're spreading yourself too thin. I'm sure they all know how you feel. Besides, if Anna didn't think you were supporting her enough, why else would she be marrying you, ya goof? :-P
"Aside from that, I've talked about writing here before, but have little to show for it. I can post the 10 or 15 pages of projects I have left by the wayside, but that is the whole kit and kaboodle. I lost a certain amount of it on a busted harddrive anyhow, and it wasn't stellar."
I was wondering what happened to that, actually! Well, your project sounds really big and complex, and actually reminds me somewhat of one of my original ideas I had in last-year Ottawa U... I wanted to make like a whole animated series (why did I think I had time to do this?) with an epic storyline which would act as a metaphor for the development of art, its meaning in people's lives, why people make art, and what art means to me. This was a ridiculously HUGE undertaking, and it failed because I refused to narrow it down. I wanted to talk about the very building blocks of the creative drive, of emotions, and ultimately the meaning of life. In a way, your project is just as big, and if it hasn't amounted to anything, it's because it amounts to EVERYTHING. If it isn't defined, it's because it has no boundaries. It takes into account the history of the world and society and everything in it. You could write phone book-sized tomes about this for ever and ever. It sounds like you have some great ideas about the issue of "lies" vs "truth" and how they have shaped culture, and wherever you take it will be really interesting and thoughtful... but, it's a lot to take in as a jumping-off point. I'd love to hear more of what you've come up with, though. What sort of book are you thinking of making? Is it a collection of musings on the subject? A long essay? A novel with characters and a story? A collection of personal experiences? It might be practical to start with something simple and work up from there, rather than consider the big picture and try to cram it all into one book.
Reply
If you'd asked me a year or two ago if I'd consider making comics for a living, I'd likely spit in your face at the notion, thinking of things like newspaper comic strips or Spiderman. It was only in the last year that I became exposed to Japanese manga, and it completely opened my eyes to a new way of creating a serious story and expressing important creative ideas. More and more, I find myself thinking, "some day, this is what I want to do. This is what I'm going to be all about. I love drawing, I love writing, I love designing every aspect of my characters. It's a perfect fit for me." It seems really unlikely at this point, and I have a lot of work to do, but it just goes to show that you can go from a directionless blob to an inspired madman in a flash. These flashes happen now and then, and soon enough you'll have another one and you'll be up and running like you're some kind of new and shiny iJon, and all the kids will want one.
Anyways, let's hear more from you on your book idea! Sorry I don't have any suggestions yet, but it's a lot to mull over. I'll try and come up with some avenues that might be worth persuing in the future, though.
In closing, I hope you feel like you got your mojo back soon! Let me just say that I'm sure that most of your failings are probably perceived ones, rather than actual ones. Just keep plugging away, and eventually the pieces will fall into place.
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