Originally a Facebook comment written in January of 2018. As it's been three years, expect an updated version shortly.

1. Better to make something imperfect than nothing at all. 2. This new song isn’t the best thing you’ve ever done. 3. Be truly honest, even if it seems fake. 4. You can’t steal from a thief, and there are so many thieves, yourself included. 5. Your worth is more than what you create. 6. It’s okay to make pretty sounds. 7. Collaboration- be careful. If you rely on others to bring forth your dreams, your dreams are in danger of gathering dust. 8. There is always something new to learn. 9. Inevitably, somebody will be better than you. And some will be worse. Neither matter. 10. Rather than five projects nearly done, just finish one. Less cognitive stress. 11. You don’t have to be of a certain genre or tradition. Orthodoxy will make you lose your mind. 12. Happy music can be just as true and vivid and righteous as glum stuff. 13. You’re never going to be as good as you’d like to be. 14. Whatever creative spell you’re under isn’t going to last. 15. Whatever creative slump you’re in isn’t going to last. 16. A Summer party crowd probably doesn’t want to hear sad, slow folk. 17. Don’t play “Isis” by Bob Dylan right when the terror group is gaining popularity to said Summer party crowd. There will be questions. 18. Mixing is way more important than you think. 19. Let a project develop naturally, instead of with a stubborn vision beforehand. You’ll usually get something far better. 20. Nobody likes the self-loathing folk person. 21. Alaska is way more diverse than you think. 22. Bluegrass players know they’re kind of dorky. 23. It’s okay to be passionate and a ridiculous kind of fan. 24. “Starving Artist” is not an exaggeration. 25. Patience. 26. Don’t rush a song’s creation. Keep a warehouse of ideas in your head. Some songs take ten minutes to write, others nine years. 27. Breathe when singing. 28. There are certain “right” ways to craft a song that will trap you from any true expression, aka cliches. These include folk-ese, which are phrases about freight trains and dogs barking. Ask yourself if you’ve really been around freight trains. Ask yourself if a song about mindlessly YouTube surfing is more to your experience. You are a creature trapped in your time and place. No worries if you reflect it in some way. No worries if you don’t. 29. It’s fun to play a character. 30. Learn how to play your instruments better. 31. Everybody feels like a fraud at some point. 32. Most people aren’t going to read too much into anything you make. Be grateful for anyone who does. 33. Dismiss and regard criticism equally. Often the trick is the judgement of said criticism. If a person disdains chillwave and you make chillwave, don’t expect the most accurate critique. 34. Know yourself. 35. Know your audience. 36. Know your critics. 37. Understand some people are never gonna dig your stuff. They might even dislike you. You just have one of those faces, you guess. It’s okay. 38. Help others realize their visions and dreams. 39. Be supportive. 40. It’s just music. It’s important, sure, but art is pretty insignificant in the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs compared to food, shelter, acceptance, postage stamps, etc, and yeah, you’re of the mindset that you need music (or art in general) like you need air, but that’s way off. You need air like you need air. This is nice, because if you fail in art, or even give it up, you don’t have to go all despondent and find a high building. And you won’t, because you’re always going to be doing art, but it’s just nice to not be so serious. 41. Practice. 42. Alaskans love flattery. 43. Being tortured doesn’t mean you’re making anything good. 44. Limitations help create form. 45. Look, somebody’s playing a super-mainstream three-chord cover and maybe it’s on stage, or just at a campfire, but that’s okay. They’re expressing themselves too. Being a snob just adds to the problem. 46. But you don’t have to try for mainstream appeal. At all. 47. In fact, chasing trends is a sure way to always be behind the curb. 48. The irony in realizing the more obtuse the technology, the more money you’ll make off an album sale. I’ll bet you, dollars to donuts, the next big resurgence will be the wax cylinder phonograph. 49. You’re never really stuck, you’re just limited in your vision. Expand the scope and you’ll be nearly frightened at how much the world has to offer you. 50. Be kind. It’s underrated.

Share this: