Other artists get
this feeling, but I always want to try and
express it to others... and I just don't know if I'll
ever be able to. To explain to people who aren't
artistic what it feels like to spend a day letting
down your walls and letting your spirit just kind of
create on its' own. Ending up with this:
It's my perfect
day. Man, I really want to describe this in a new
way... I've kind of said it before, but I'll expound
and see if I hit something new:
Journey videos are
tiny paintings that I hang on a virtual hallway as
I keep on walking. The fact that they're public
hallways makes all the difference because I can't
run from what I put up. I don't take down the
paintings and I don't fix the mistakes. The mistakes
are the art. Art is emoting. Audiences hating
Andy Kaufman was art. For me it's a feeling, a
thought, ideas, melodies - all of that - but it feels
like an actual chunk of my being incapable of being
containted. If I don't share it? Destroys my
ability to be peaceful and happy. YES. That is what
I'm trying to get across. Art is the key to my
happiness. People can piss on it, tell me I'm no good,
tell me it's only art if they like it... makes
no difference to me. I create because I have to
and it keeps me sane...
...conversely,
I see so many artists with writer's blocks,
anxiety disorders, being the opposite of
peaceful and it's so difficult to watch, because their
cure? IS IN THEM. I desperately want to tell
them to simply SHARE their art. Stop worrying so
goddamn much if it's perfect (it never is) and
share it. Stop worrying if people will accept it, if
it will lead you to a big break, if it will be a, b,
c, d or e... and just let it GO. Create it because
it's within you, and you live in a fantastic time
where you can produce it and share it in an
instant. Therein lies your healing. Therein
lies your ability to float through massive
failures and heartbreaks and still whistle while
you work a day washing dishes. You are a conduit, you
have the ability to emote - so stop trying to
overthink it and just do what you do. There will be
time for the "scheming" part of the business
later, but if you constantly obsess on that... you're
a lot closer to con-artist, than artist.
I say
allllllllll of this, because I am so grateful
I have the tools and skills to produce my art at
lightening speed... by myself. Is it masturbation? Of
course it is. Ironically I was singing this
melody on the toilet, grabbed my iPad and Garage Band
app and knocked it out in minutes. Then spent the next
day actually working out the song structure/lyrics and
doing the video. It just makes me so freaking happy.
If not for this website? Wow. I would absolutely not
still be standing in LA. This outlet will fuel my
entire life. I absolutely picture myself at 80
making the little entry bars and editing together
video clips to tell more stories. Remarkable to think
that other artists spent time chastising me for how
much I produce, telling me I should
think about what it's adding to the world
before just releasing everything that comes to
mind.
To quote the song,
I'll tell you what, those people need to lighten, the
fuck, up. We're not that important. If I was
still on CBS and was producing that 6-7 minute bit to
air to 3 million people a week? Yeah, I would
create a bit differently. But why do that to
yourself when you're decidedly NOT on national
telvision? There was ZERO freedom there. I had to go
through censors. I had to cut every goddamn funny
line and find a way to stick shit in they didn't catch
week after week (actually that was a fucking BLAST).
Heh, who am I kidding, I tend to find
enjoyment in everything 'cause I'm generally happy to
be alive and I'm not embarrassed by my talents. I feel
fortunate. Thus, I share.
So can I talk
about the iPad and how life changing it is? I did
the organ part on the SHITTER. I did the bass
line in the kitchen. On purpose? No that's just where
I happened to be as I was working it out.
The sounds are extremely authentic (if you keep
it simple) and I'm not sure there's a better
songwriting tool available. It is not a
replacement for a recording studio - it is a tool to
write your ideas as you get them. This exact
refurbished iPad on apple.com is $349 right now. The
app is $4.99. This is changing the world. Every single
person who says they can't find a need for one (which
was me before I got it) needs to spend a week
with it. It is THE tool for the 21st
Century.
And the song is
kinda of an inside thingee between me and Talya and
brings her song total to 5. :-) Hoping to get to 9 or
10 by the end of the year and have her album up on
iTunes in time for the wedding. What a fantastically
fun year 2011 has been.
Adam
PS - And yes, the
film festival edit procrastination is going
swimmingly. Thanks for asking.
