What is the ‘Fearless’ Challenge? The challenge: Smash through our fears and inhibitions involved in songwriting. The method: write seven songs in seven days. Can anybody take part? Everybody is welcome. What if I’m not a Fearless Songwriter? You don’t have to be fearless to take part in the challenge. Most people aren’t. I’m certainly not. Fear … Continue reading The Fearless Songwriting Challenge FAQ
Madness and the Muse
"They who, having no touch of the Muses' madness in their soul, and come to the door and think they will get into the temple by the help of art--they and their poetry are not admitted; the sane disappear and are left nowhere when they enter into rivalry with madness." -Plato (more or less) We … Continue reading Madness and the Muse
Champagne and Catharsis
"Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends" -Tom Waits In Greek, the word for song is Τραγούδι (tra-GOO-thee). It's a sham friend of the English word tragedy, which means they sound alike but don't share the same meaning. This happens a lot between Greek and English. An example is the word … Continue reading Champagne and Catharsis
Dancing with Booger Mcfarland
I went to The Rocky Mountain Song School last week. I sat in Darrell Scott's class for four days as he listened to, and talked about song. Mary Gauthier taught in the neighboring tent. She was on fire about writing singable choruses. The word "chorus" got me thinking because it has Greek roots, and I've … Continue reading Dancing with Booger Mcfarland
Shame, Resilience, & Creativity
I’m supposed to be writing. Instead I’m in the stacks of the Robbins Library and scouring the library’s catalogue for books on my phone. Every book I’ve looked up in the online catalogue is checked out. Each time I look up a book I’m hit by a pang of procrastinatory guilt, akin to swallowing a … Continue reading Shame, Resilience, & Creativity
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