ugh, writer's block

Q: I've got writer's block. Everything I do seems ho-hum, and I can't think of anything to write about. How do I find ideas for songs? How do I get more creative?

A: I did the Artist's Way (Julia Cameron) with my girlfriend 4 years ago... and it wasn't always an easy thing to do, or stay motivated with, but I think it was one of the best things I've ever done. We did it as partners, so we could share the ups and downs... and we took 2 or 3 weeks to work through each chapter. I highly recommend morning pages even if you do nothing else in the book... it just gets the junk out and the flow going.

I aspire to live the most creative life possible, and I love what I do. The process that I experienced going through that book allowed to 'play' at painting. I started writing music again with a friend. I changed my priorities. I write music & play with music & teach music, now I'm experimenting with sonic textures and feels. I like to make new recipes with styles and genres and fusion... until I find something I feel expresses me. I think of my music like pictures... sensations... ideas... sonic poems. I feel like a kid with all the technology at my disposal!

My recommendation for a block is... do something really different. Find a Chinese pop percussion and a classical flute riff and an Indian Sitar and mix em up. Make up a song about lettuce in an Asian pop style. Make up a song about spaghetti in a seriously hip hop style. Just play for a bit, get away from form and structure and genre. Get excited about music again. 15 minutes of play a day and morning pages does wonders for the spirit.

I also listen to LOTS of indie music, signed and unsigned. I'll turn on muchmusic and listen to hiphop and rap, I'll turn on CBC and listen to opera and jazz, I'll turn on my local rock station and listen to that... I'll turn on CMT and listen to country. I have different music in every room of my house ....

There's that old saying... if you want things to change you need to do things differently, shake things up, open your mind to new possibilities. If you can't figure out what to write a song about, write a song about THAT. Just start!!! And don't stop until 5 minutes have gone by... no matter what!!

[...here I am writing my blog and typing away on my keyboard and I got to return that phone call and I gotta remember to ask my friend about dinner on Saturday... oh, if I connect those thoughts..... "Saturday, empty page, without you..."]

hey, now I have an idea for a song! LOL