26 days into this self imposed "boot camp" and I'm not sure I'm getting anywhere. Oh sure, I've been writing more music, but I seem to be dead in the water. I have to be the laziest person in the world with the biggest dreams and the most excuses.
I watched American Idol the other week. It was a rarity as I HATE American Idol. It just happened to have been taped by accident. It was the Houston auditions. And I think ..."who are these people to tell us what a pop star is?". They crush the dreams of hundreds who possibly were diamonds in the rough. Many who probably would have been pop-stars if someone hadn't told them to pack it in because they were a "professional". Then you turn on the radio and wonder how THEY got there. My biggest pet peeve is American Idols "Johnny Bravo" mentality. They write the songs, write the music, write the video and some schmuck just needs to wear the suit and sing what they give them like a good pop-puppet. Do these winners know they're being used? I'd love to see the record contract for these people. They're cut out of writers rights, publishers rights and probably have a poor point spread. But do they KNOW that?
I believe a pop-stars life can be between 16 weeks and 6 years. Then they become old news. Cult figures and Icons are the reality of music. Bowie, Stewart, Jagger, McCartney... Still producing records and people still buy them. And I mean BUY them. Not download them.
Y'know, a woman from U.S.A. Records once told me about 3 years ago, that my old demo was "dated. It sounded like it would do well in the European market." She wanted to know if I was German. Ok, tell me this... Is it the general consensus that European music sucks if it's not British? It's a closed mind that thinks that way. The music industry is weird. If you suck in America, you can be "big in Japan". Just ask David Hasselhoff.
Seriously... What that told me was that I was too lazy and willing to let my old demo be my crowning achievement. So now the music project has a new direction. A new sound. Yet I gave myself 6 months to produce 2 more. That was my goal. One of several (previously posted just before the end of '03 on this Blog).
The ultimate goal to get this thing going fast... I may LOOK immortal, but time doesn't like waiting long.
What have I done so far after 25 days? Not a fucking thing. I may have lost a pound or two...but I stare at MTV and think "Man! I've a long way to go. They want a package...I'll GIVE 'em a package!"
I was watching the Golden Globes last night. Funny how the mind wanders. Simply by gazing at the formal attire, I felt my mind wander into some future time...to some future awards show...where I was wearing a tux of my own design. A design idea came to be for a pseudo-futuristic yet Victorian tuxedo jacket. Now to test the feasibility of this design. My mind is always wandering... designing... writing ...thinking ... dreaming... rehearsing...creating...
philosophizing (is that a word?).
But can I really buckle down and pull this off? I don't think I have much of a choice. It's shit or get off the pot time.
My keyboardist got engaged in the last few months.
Although I am happy for her... She has a tendency to drift whenever she's involved in a love interest. Basically, she disappears and is harder to find.
At this point in the project, I hope she will be able to continue to provide an excellent work ethic in relation to the project.