The good ones take advantage of every opportunity.
The great ones take advantage of every opportunity and CREATE opportunities not only when necessary but as a means of creative contribution to an artists unique path.
»» To go along with that…If you’re only good at answering the phone and then the phone stops ringing, you’re screwed.
We love the idea of going off script. But going off script is rare because…
a) There’s no script to begin with and you can’t deviate from something that isn’t there. So it’s all willy nilly we’ll-see-what-happens chaos.
or
b) You worked so hard on the script that the thought of leaving it feels too risky, unsafe, not right, irresponsible. So it’s all just canned uniformity with no variation or soul.
Going off script means you have a script (i.e. something you know that works) and then still have the guts to veer into something that might not work. It’s so risky. You already have something that works well and now you’re hoping the going off script will land on something else that works well…but you already had something that works well! You see the loop here.
But here’s the thing…when the going off script works it makes things better. Better than the original script. Extra special. And everyone can tell. Everyone can feel it.
We all want more convenience and efficiency in our lives.
And yet we know we know it’s the inconvenient things that make a difference.
It’s not convenient to go on the road. It’s not efficient to sit down and write for three hours when you might not get anything good.
But both things are worth it.
We love convenience and efficiency but we love the long term results of the inconvenient and inefficient.
I was with a group of wonderful musicians this weekend. Varied musical backgrounds and tastes. Varied musical inspirations and influences. And we arrived at the questions of…
Which band names are inherently really great…trying as best as we can to not associate the music with them.
Which band names are inherently not good, despite how much we might love the music.
There were lots of heated debates, everyone offering up answers they thought belonged in each category. Here are the ones that we’re pretty much unanimous…
The good ones…
Talking Heads
The Wallflowers
Our Lady Peace
Guns N Roses
The Verve
Stone Roses
Depeche Mode
Electric Light Orchestra
Phantom Planet
Stone Temple Pilots
The bad ones…
U2
*NSYNC
Toad The Wet Sprocket
Death Cab For Cutie
Haim
A very entertaining debate. And there are more that belong on each list. But in the end it’s impossible to separate the name from the music…because in real life the music can make any band name a perfectly accepted name.
When we do the work of organizing complex rhythms, beats, notes and melodies it turns the chaos into beauty…and beauty is simple to digest for the listener.
I always think about this when I hear or play Michael Jackson. Every instrument serves a melodic and percussive purpose. Take one out and the groove is lost.
The easy smooth vibe of that music is only achieved by complexity being put together in such a brilliant way that no one notices and everyone simply enjoys.
Complexity is beautiful and beauty is simple.