Some of you may have noticed that I’ve kept a low public profile for a while. There haven’t been any performance videos for a couple of months. I haven’t posted on any social media in the same amount of time . . . actually there haven’t even been any likes, shares, thumbs up because I haven’t even opened social media apps during this time. Tuesdays have come and gone without input from Lola and Pickles. My bass hasn’t been all over the place or any place at all except home. I just haven’t been visible for a while.
So the question remains . . . where was I?
Well, the answer to that question is simultaneously complicated and very simple. Let’s start with the simple answer. I was busy and I needed some time to breath.
When we get into late April, May, and June, my life gets very busy. In fact, that’s the busiest time of year in my job as a music teacher. Between a long stream of concert commitments outside the school day, the overwhelming task of closing the academic year, and planning for the upcoming school year, I’ve got a pretty full plate. That’s only the tip of the iceberg though – there are birthdays, holidays, and other events in my personal life that are wonderful, but they take up time. It’s a pretty crazy stretch of the year for me, and while I could be putting some art into the world, it’s a little easier if I don’t.
So that’s the simple answer – I was busy. But if I’m going to be honest, it was a bit more complicated than that. Despite the demands of my life, my art needed my full attention.
Firstly, I needed to step back and gain perspective on the music that I’ve been making over the past year. Most times of the year, I’m happiest when I’m a constant creator. Making music is invigorating to me, and as I create, one idea leads to another. I love getting lost in that rush; in fact, I get restless if I’m not in the midst of making music. That mindset is all about forward motion though, and when you’re constantly looking ahead, you loose the ability to be reflective about your work. Over the past couple of months, I did something unusual for me – I gathered everything I’ve written and recorded lately and listened to it. I sorted the good from the bad, filed away song ideas for further development, and I took notes about next steps. Throughout this process, I found a lot of great material that has worked it’s way into new music. I also discovered things that I didn’t like, which helped me refine my approach to the music even further. I feel like I gained a new perspective on my work which made the path ahead even clearer; I’ll certainly be taking time to reflect in the future.
Secondly, I wanted to create a laser focus on my work for the bajo y clave project. I’ve been very excited about the project for a while, and I felt like I was making slow but steady progress. I liked the steady progress of the work, but things were moving a bit too slow for me. So I sharpened my creative process and put all my musical attention on the bajo y clave project; then things really started moving forward. The first step was planning – I mapped out what I wanted to achieve and planned backwards. As a result, things are less nebulous now; I know where I’m going so I can move directly there. I got a lot of song writing done – I’ve got four complete songs at this point and a number of works-in-progress. I learned a good deal about my writing process, realizing that my initial work for this project had been too technical and too bass focused; I’ve shifted my focus back onto the integrity of the harmonic and melodic material, so I’m creating much stronger work. I also gained some realism around the work left to be done. I’ve been working on this concept for a little time, but it’s still fairly new to me. This time allowed to me to develop positive routines around the bajo y clave project; the work ahead will take some time, but I’ve been able to create an even more focused path towards making it a reality.
Honestly, this has been an unusual way for me to spend my time over the past couple of months, but it was completely positive. I’m focused, refreshed, and ready to move forward. You’ll be seeing me and hearing my music much more from here on out. The bajo y clave project will be my main focus, but you’ll here other work as well. There are exciting times ahead!
If there was one difficult things for me, it was that I’ve really missed the connection through music with everyone. I believe deeply that music is about people and the connections we make; it was hard to not have that. So reach out, let me know how you’ve been!