Good and Bad

Well, the show on Wed night went really well considering the somewhat odd mega-Hollywood crowd. But I didn't sit down and crank out two songs like I had planned. There's always tonight...

But last night I got together with a possible new member of Lost on Purpose and ran through some songs. It sounded good. I consider that just as good, if not better, than writing something new. It's a step in a very positive direction.

I haven't recorded anything in a long time. I have over 50 demos to work on but I've been pushing the recent release of A Knight at the Crossroads too. Between those two things, the live version of LOP, my other band (The Ross Sea Party) and, oh yeah, LIFE, I find that my days are pretty packed, and times spent in front of the tv are a memory and luxury.

I'm at work now, making money so I can live in Los Angeles and occasionally work on music, and for once it looks like I might be stuck here well past 5 o'clock. If that doesn't happen I will have an hour and a half of 'free' time. I am putting it out here: if that happens I will write a couple songs. They won't be good, but I need to stay sharp.

No... Yeeeeessss...

So the other day I said I would sit down and write two songs. I didn't. I had a bunch of other things to do (clean my room, do laundry etc) aka the least cool reasons possible.

However, I had a band practice with my other band (The Ross Sea Party), and afterward a few of us stayed behind and worked on new songs, played around with a couple other ideas and generally had a great time just playing and experimenting... so much so that I didn't get out of there until 1 AM.

That, in my book, is just as good as writing 2 songs.

We have a show tonight in Hollywood and I still have tons to get done in my personal life, but I'll see if I can find a spare 40 minutes.

Oh, and I have to factor in training for the upcoming Ninja Warrior tryouts in LA.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the life of an indie rock star.

Two Songs

Last week I got really frustrated with myself and my lack of musical production. I have dozens of partially-recorded songs that just sit around until I have the time and motivation to work on them, but it seems like nothing ever gets done.

So I decided to just sit down and write three new songs. I wanted them to suck - I didn't want to care and spend too much time on them, because what usually happens when I like a song is I stop working on it as soon as I hit a wall. Maybe I can't figure out the chorus, or the middle eight, or I can't think of good lyrics for the second verse. If it's not perfect I tend to quit. I wait for a moment of inspiration, often months or even years later (literally).

That's why I wanted to write three crappy songs. Just sit down and write without a care in the world. Finish the songs at any cost.

I did it once before, like five years ago. I wrote three songs in a day. One became Ophelia, on the Anniversary album.

Long story short, I did sit down and I got two songs out before losing steam. I like one of the songs a lot. I consider it a success. A very small success, but a success nonetheless. At least I did something.

I'm planning on doing it again tonight. This blog is going to be my motivation.

Restart

I'm going to start blogging regularly, I hope. I want to focus less on Lost on Purpose news, which is now primarily being done on facebook, but on the process of being an indie musician. I will focus on songwriting, or in many cases the lack thereof (too busy), of navigating PR, getting albums made, etc. The nuts and bolts of being a musician. We'll see how it goes.

Why Hello There...

Doubt anyone checks this blog anymore as I tend to do all of my LOP updating on the facebook page these days. But just so you know - new songs have recently been released and there's a whole load more coming. Yep. Check the facebook (and to a lesser extent, myspace).

If you like what you hear please keep spreading the word...

Hello

Sooooooooooo...

I'm back.

I've spent the past few months engaged in various endeavors, including a still-secret music project that I recorded a handful of songs for.

But lately I've been digging through old demos and hand picking the best ones to work on. I also moved my recording equipment to my other band's rehearsal space so - for the first time ever - I have true privacy and access to full instrumentation. It's pretty damn fun.

In other words, a new Lost on Purpose album is in the works.

Finally

If you're reading this, then you know I got the 'blog' link working on the main Lost on Purpose page.

I had to go create a whole new blog to make it happen, then import the old blog.

Good times.

Been working on lots of new music.

Good times.

Renovation

Man, I need to fix up this site. It's very 2005. I'll probably make some changes throughout the day.

Welcome to 2009

I haven't posted since late October. This is due to two things:

1. I wanted to leave the last post at the top since it's a sort-of-unofficial release.

2. I got busy with two new projects.

One of the projects is a new band I joined, which is sounding really good. The other is another solo side project... which I am doing under an alter ego. A pen name, if you will.

I've been writing new Lost on Purpose songs throughout, although I haven't had time to record anything. Until yesterday.

This is a VERY rough demo. I know I always say that, but I think you'll see that I just threw down a few tracks to set up the song structure. That being said, I kind of like how simple and sparse it is.

Young Forever

A Knight at the Crossroads

These are all demos. It is what it is...

01 Outside LA

02 You Will Overcome

03 Love Is Not Enough

04 No More

05 Tombs

06 The Highlight

07 Australia

08 How to Close