Of the guitars I own, my favourite is a Fender Road Worn ’60s Stratocaster in Olympic White. This characterful instrument bears numerous scuffs and dents, which often cue conversation with studio visitors. Aggressive dings and scrapes cut through the yellowing paint, revealing flashes of the … Read more
This afternoon I started reading a book I’ve been asked to write a blurb for. It will be this American author’s fifth book, and I appeared on her radar because she’d read my book, The Creative Wound.I’m learning more every day that whatever we create … Read more
An excerpt from my book The Creative Wound: Heal Your Broken Art (p13, Why Make Art?) Art exists to remind us that we are alive. It reminds us that we are human, that we each have a soul. An artist creates magic from the mundane and … Read more
So, will there be a Black Friday sale? This question gets asked a lot this time of year.In a nutshell, no.Reason #1 — Fairness & RegretImagine you booked a photoshoot with me 2 weeks ago and then find out that you could’ve had the same … Read more
This really upset me: it was the opening sentence from a post by a celebrated leadership teacher-trainer, and his advice on how to best work with creative people.The frame he offered his thoughts within was that creative people USUALLY have big egos AND major insecurities.Wow!Aghast … Read more
What making art is really all about. There’s a bigger concept to grasp than just wanting to master a particular technique, a more pertinent question to be answered than ‘will anyone like this?’, and our creations take place within a much larger story than we realise … Read more
Who are you – really? Even for the most self-confident individual, the act of creativity is a vulnerable act. And when you dare to expose the contents of your soul in such an unguarded manner, you invariably leave yourself wide open to assault and potential … Read more
The reasons people write songs and make music are truly fascinating, especially when creating art of any kind demands a lot of time & commitment. Developing proficient instrument skills, learning the linguistic nuances of music, and honing the craft and poetry of lyrics is more … Read more
Cast your mind back to when you were just seven years old. The date is December 22nd and you’re waiting for Christmas Day to arrive. Can you remember just how excruciatingly slowly the time passed? The days felt more like weeks as the countdown ticked … Read more
I’ve got a question for you (be honest): What have you done to move your music forward in the past seven days? The truth is that having success with your music costs a lot of hard work. There are no quick fixes or magic bullets. But conversely there has … Read more