What’s the story behind your latest song?
When I wrote, “Why I Don’t Go To The Movies Anymore,” I was coming to terms with the realization that my ideas about relationships were heavily affected by the movies I’d seen. Life wasn’t turning out to be a Rom-Com, the relationships I’d been in didn’t make all of my problems go away, and the women I was with were more interested in the practical realities of daily life and less impressed with charm and wit. They wanted to know they were with someone they could count on. It was a difficult realization, one that I’m still working on, because I am up against decades of modeling my expectations of romance on what I’ve seen in films.
How has your creative process evolved over the years?
I used to just let inspiration hit me, go crazy with a song late into the night, for one night or so, and call it good. If I played the song for someone I’d want them to tell me how good it was and if they seemed unimpressed I wasn’t interested in honest feedback. These days, while I’m careful about who I get feedback from (I want to know they are knowledgeable, respectful, and gentle, while still being honest), I rely on feedback to take a song to completion before taking it into the studio. While inspiration is still such an important part of what I do, I have gotten a lot better at editing. Editing is where the work gets more difficult, it slows down–it can take a few days of work to figure out one line–and it’s usually not as fun as the inspiration part. Polishing, refining, sometimes making huge changes–these are the things I’m doing when I’m editing and it’s a good feeling when something just feels complete. So the short answer is: “I’m a better editor now than I was before!”
Who or what has been inspiring your music lately?
Funny, 2 nights ago I woke up with a strange idea, that I wasn’t even sure would work, I was foggy with sleep and just grabbed my phone and recorded the idea. It was a way of singing a line, where the final word gets a strong emphasis, as if it is the answer somehow, hard to explain. Anyway, that morning, I went to work on the idea, without knowing what the song was going to be about, just trying to create lines that had this strong emphasis on the final word. The song evolved and took on a meaningful premise. So, the short answer to this question is: ideas that come to me while I sleep!
How do you handle creative blocks or self doubt?
Great question. Self doubt can be so crippling. For years I couldn’t get started on my dream of being a working singer-songwriter because the inner critic was always around telling me that I would fail so it wasn’t worth trying. Think about the flawed logic of that argument: I couldn’t work on developing my craft because I was listening to a voice telling me that I was no good at my craft. Few people are immediately good at something. Most of us need to work and work and keep working. To listen to a voice that keeps me stuck makes no sense, and I eventually learned to notice it when it was being critical, that was the first step. Then I started to ignore it more. What’s tricky is that the inner critic usually has a seed of truth at its core, and to be able to pick out the truth without allowing the attack is the next step for me. Because honest feedback about limitations and areas that could use improvement are what help us grow. But the abusive voice is something to really keep an eye on because it’s not helpful.
What’s next for you—any exciting projects or goals on the horizon?
I’m excited about my next release, coming out October 9th, a cover version of John Lennon’s 1971 “Imagine” This is a collaboration with my childhood friend Shranny, a talented musician and producer. We were blessed to work with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra on this song. The beautiful work they did adds a unique depth because this version of “Imagine” features primarily electronic elements. We’re releasing this song on October 9th, John Lennon’s birthday. We miss you John! Thank you for all the great music.