For my industry class, I was given a PDF version of the New Rockstar Philosophy. I was looking forward to checking it out, but since I hate starring at a screen for that long, I ended up buying a physical copy. It’s pretty informative. It gives some writing prompts and the first one is “Why are you making music your life?” I’m not going to answer that here, but it’s an important question to ask. Forcing yourself to be conscious about a goal helps you break down what needs to be done in order to reach it. For instance, I plan to release an EP by the end of the year. To get this done, I schedule the steps I need to take each day. I schedule practicing, recording sessions, additional writing, and mixing. It’s all accounted for, and if I follow my schedule, I will finish it.
Holding yourself accountable is huge, and if you find yourself struggling to work, self imposed deadlines are a life saver. This is something I struggle with on a daily basis, and whether or not I’m productive is based on my planning or lack thereof. Without a plan, it’s pretty easy to put things off. Missing one day of piano practice isn’t a big deal, but that can snowball into two or three. Before I know it, the week is gone.
I bring this up because I recently missed a deadline for a revised demo of a song. I had decided to scrap what I was working on and needed to have a new idea finished. Due to poor planning on my part, it’s late. This is a wake-up call for me to be more organized. I’m not failing the class or anything, but I shouldn’t be missing this stuff. There’s a lot I want to accomplish and no room for excuses.
For this song, I’m attempting to write more abstract lyrics. It has a kind of vaguely optimistic, Owl City vibe. The chorus is a little rough, and I plan on re-tracking my vocals, but I like it.
I wrote this using samples from SwUm drum kit, stock Massive presets, and a free VST called V-Station. I recorded the vocals at home using my SM7B. My microphone went through a Cloudlifter and into my Saffire 6 interface. The guitar and bass were recorded directly into my interface and processed using Guitar Rig.
Voyno, Matt, and Roshan Hoover. The New Rockstar Philosophy: a Guerrilla Blueprint for Digitally Conscious Artists. Indie Ink Publishing, 2013.