Many of you are familiar with my spiritual connection with Andrew Wood, late singer/primary songwriter for Mother Love Bone and Malfunkshun; even more of you would consider it an obsession-which, it is admittedly that as well. I know also that even mentioning a spiritual connection to someone who died nearly 23 years ago makes many people uncomfortable.
I'm not posting this blog to convince the reader of anything in particular, nor to offer comfort to those I've made uncomfortable. In this posting, I hope simply to share some of the things I've learned as an artist since my spiritual connection with Andrew Wood began (spring of 2011) that fellow artists-especially musicians-might find useful. I've been writing and recording songs since 1990 and have learned a lot over the years; but somehow the spirit of Andrew Wood came into my life a couple years ago and I've learned much more since: it seemed improper to me to not credit him with some of the things that help me as an artist & primary songwriter for Atomic Honey, and also felt I should pass some of these things along. Take what's useful out of it and ditch the rest as you see fit:
First off, if you're a true artist, your art is your primary form of communication with the rest of the world: for me, they are words and music-but this would apply just the same to a painter, sculptor, digital artist, etc. As an artist, you're likely to observe and perceive the world in your own peculiar way which is sometimes hard to describe to others around you-and describing it to others without creeping them out is an even greater task. An artist will find that creating art is the best way to share the things inside them, whether thoughts, emotions, perspectives, what have you.
When I write a song, it affords me the luxury of obscuring things a bit: generalizing it so that people from many walks of life can relate to it, sharing some parts of my deep inner self with the world while leaving other parts safely guarded. I always know that I can "speak" freely in songs I write because the listener will never know which parts are from my own perspective and those that are from another's-even those close to me. If I choose to include something biographical in a song (which I sometimes do), only the person/s I've told that story to will pick up on the reference, which makes it very easy to make songs for certain people. Also, though, if the words are generalized enough, the listener will be able to associate them with some part of their own personal experiences and give them a feeling that someone else understands them. In my opinion, this is communication at its best-something everyday conversation simply doesn't allow for most of the time. This is also why, I believe, that music is so universal-why all cultures throughout history have a form of it-it's really right up there with religion.
I'm not posting this blog to convince the reader of anything in particular, nor to offer comfort to those I've made uncomfortable. In this posting, I hope simply to share some of the things I've learned as an artist since my spiritual connection with Andrew Wood began (spring of 2011) that fellow artists-especially musicians-might find useful. I've been writing and recording songs since 1990 and have learned a lot over the years; but somehow the spirit of Andrew Wood came into my life a couple years ago and I've learned much more since: it seemed improper to me to not credit him with some of the things that help me as an artist & primary songwriter for Atomic Honey, and also felt I should pass some of these things along. Take what's useful out of it and ditch the rest as you see fit:
First off, if you're a true artist, your art is your primary form of communication with the rest of the world: for me, they are words and music-but this would apply just the same to a painter, sculptor, digital artist, etc. As an artist, you're likely to observe and perceive the world in your own peculiar way which is sometimes hard to describe to others around you-and describing it to others without creeping them out is an even greater task. An artist will find that creating art is the best way to share the things inside them, whether thoughts, emotions, perspectives, what have you.
When I write a song, it affords me the luxury of obscuring things a bit: generalizing it so that people from many walks of life can relate to it, sharing some parts of my deep inner self with the world while leaving other parts safely guarded. I always know that I can "speak" freely in songs I write because the listener will never know which parts are from my own perspective and those that are from another's-even those close to me. If I choose to include something biographical in a song (which I sometimes do), only the person/s I've told that story to will pick up on the reference, which makes it very easy to make songs for certain people. Also, though, if the words are generalized enough, the listener will be able to associate them with some part of their own personal experiences and give them a feeling that someone else understands them. In my opinion, this is communication at its best-something everyday conversation simply doesn't allow for most of the time. This is also why, I believe, that music is so universal-why all cultures throughout history have a form of it-it's really right up there with religion.
This is why, as some of you have seen on Twitter, I rant a lot about artistic freedom-especially as it pertains to the music industry. The purity of the art is precisely what makes it a most effective form of communication, a way of bringing people together in a world that could use more of that. If the artist's motive becomes primarily fiscal, there's a great danger that the communication can become ineffective, and possibly even cease to be "art" in its true sense. I think you can see where this is going when you stop to think that the industry is made up of millions of people worldwide that simply need to provide for their families-from the top executives to the dude that mops the floors at night. The industry is not evil-it's a business-which means they have to turn a profit. So what do we do?
In my opinion, it's very simple: we make music-from our HEART and we interact with our fans. At some point the industry has to become convinced that they'd make more money discovering artists than they do creating them-the weight is on OUR shoulders and those like us-not the labels. For every amazing band we fans have discovered due to the industry, a dozen have been destroyed by them that we've never heard of-this is a fact, and the blame is not all theirs. As all other people in the world, we artists have to provide for our families-but there's nothing that says the income has to come from our art-if you have to maintain a day job, there's nothing wrong with that. Regardless of what your mind tells you, you are NOT entitled to get paid for your art-it has to be earned-and it's usually slowly over time. When we can start creating art that is obviously superior to what the industry's pushing on us, the industry will bend-the fans will demand it with their wallets.
We artists must get back to making art simply because we HAVE to-because it's in us and we have to share-we have to communicate with others and find a way to bring people together-the industry cannot do this for us. Stop trying to find ways to pay your bills without working a day job, and seek to share your heart with the world. No matter how many hours you work at another job each week-if you're an artist, you'll make time to create art because you have to-it'll just flow, it'll take care of itself. Seek to make music worthy of your fans' admiration, and never turn your back on them-never stop making pure art.
This is what I believe my beloved Andrew Wood accomplished before the world lost him at the tender age of 24: he started a fire that will never stop burning: He called it "Love Rock" and we also apply this term to our music in the sincere hope that we'll carry on a legacy began so long ago. I hope that some of these words sink in with those that need to hear this, that some of you will join us, and that together we'll shape the industry for generations to come. #LoveRockPrevails
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