Ive got nothin...zippo.

  • Thread starter Thread starter dreib
  • Start date Start date
D

dreib

Active member
Pick up my guitar , it all sounds like white noise.

Listen to some old ideas......they all suck.

Move the studio around, its clean now but still ,my creative juices are just not flowing. Bought a new mic, sounds good, except my ideas going thru it don't.

WTF! I think I may need to play a gig to kick start myself......God Damn it , playing gigs is a pain in the ass!

Someone motivate me!!
 
Maybe tis da ganja you need mon.

:D

I go thru that shit too. Nothin's worked every time but the last time I needed a kick start, an open jam was just the ticket. I went and sat in on bass and then some guitar for a few tunes with some new players.
Seems that just jamming with new guys and hearing how they played some of the old standards or how we came together for some spontaneous jams kinda opened up the flow again.

If nothing else, you'll have a good time. ;)
 
My problem is I need more time (and sometimes a little motivation) to act on all the song ideas I have going around in my head....not to mention the pile of started, part-finished, and almost-finished songs.

I dunno...it's like I'll just be messing around in the studio with my guitar...maybe playing along to some backing tracks or whatever....and all of a sudden, another song idea emerges. Last weekend I probably played about an hour maybe...just jamming to some blues tracks, and out of nowhere, I get two new song ideas.
I'm not bragging or anything....but it's become kinda' weird for me lately, I keep getting new ideas and I can't keep up....I got a ton of new stuff to work on, and I keep getting more new ideas.

I can remember times when it wasn't like that. I would have some dry spells, and no amount of playing around/jamming would generate anything. Now it's just the opposite.
I do spend a lot of time in the studio these days compared to the times I had the dry spells, so maybe my creative juices are just always on now.
I know when I do stay out of the studio for too long, there's always that initial kick-start that needs to happen....luckily, it's not hard for me to do these days compared to a couple of times in the past when it was pretty ugly....just nothing happening.
 
Maybe I should kick start the ole 4 foot bong or get some trucker pizza and see what happens?!
 
Go to an open mic night at a coffeehouse. Disgust and righteous indignation at yet another awful cover of Angel from Montgomery or Cortez the Killer might get you going.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Disgust and righteous indignation at yet another awful cover of Angel from Montgomery or Cortez the Killer might get you going.
Click to expand...

:laughings:

Funny....last weekend my drummer buddy stops over. His computer or internet was messed up, so he needed to download a bunch of songs from YouTube and burn to a CD that he was supposed to learn for an audition with a new band he was trying to join.
Man....after sitting there and hearing the songs on the set list they gave him... :D ....all I could say was "I hope you have fun". :facepalm:
I honestly don't know how some folks make it from gig to gig playing some of that stuff he was downloading. The songs were all OK relative to some place in time when they first came out....but I can't imagine having to play them over and over and over from gig to gig.

It was after he left that I went down into my studio and played my guitar for a couple of hours...and quickly came up with ideas for two new songs.
 
I go through it all the time because I consider myself a writer, so when I have free time, I think I should be coming out with all these great original ideas. Reality is its hard to come up with one interesting lyrical hook for a chorus. I just make sure I play a while each day and hope something will come out. I'm pretty sure all writers go through it. At least you guys are trying.
 
I get writers block a lot. F'in nightmare! Best thing I have found is, while having a block, work on some old stuff. Any old song you have laying around that you never recorded. Or an old song your recorded badly years ago. Update it. Keep yourself busy and your creativity working in other areas. It may help to inspire you and push you along through the hell. Or do a cover of someone else's song. Try and arrange it differently, record it. Try writing on different instruments. I find writing basslines and working a song around that helps me sometimes.

Other advice above is good too. Get out and play, play for an audience, jam with others. You never know what might come from a night out. I went out one night, got absolutely twatted out of my face and woke up the next day the new bass player in a band and I'd never played a bass in my life before. 5 years later, I'm still a bassist but not in that band.

Sitting around waiting for the magic ain't going to make it happen. I've tried and I'm 100% sure millions of other musicians have too. Keep on keeping on, with whatever you can.

:thumbs up:
 
Let me know and I'll make you a mix tape. You don't even have to make out with me.
 
fat_fleet said:
Dropping some acid might help too.
Click to expand...

I once walked into a room with Iron Maiden and Grateful Dead posters while tripping my balls off.......HUGE mistake. My drug habit debit card is maxed out , at least for acid.
 
dreib said:
I once walked into a room with Iron Maiden and Grateful Dead posters while tripping my balls off.......HUGE mistake. My drug habit debit card is maxed out , at least for acid.
Click to expand...

Ah well, just trying to help.
 
Mr Clean said:
Sitting around waiting for the magic ain't going to make it happen.
Click to expand...
I beg to differ.......:D
Sometimes, you just need to take a lengthy break.

My problem is that I can't get writers block ! Not that I wish I could have it, but even when I'm consciously trying not to write, ideas just come.
 
I tried to pull something out of the air last night - sitting and strumming - no good, went downstairs & plugged in - no good, cranked the volume - no good. then I remembered I have 3 partially finished backing tracks on the go so I'm going to assume that my brain simply told me to get done before moving on.
 
rayc said:
I tried to pull something out of the air last night - sitting and strumming - no good, went downstairs & plugged in - no good, cranked the volume - no good. then I remembered I have 3 partially finished backing tracks on the go so I'm going to assume that my brain simply told me to get done before moving on.
Click to expand...

That's my saving grace, I have a couple of quick ideas I jotted down back in the summer, so when I am not creating, I figure that is the time to finish. Plus, it gave me time to do some sound treatments. So, it is not all lost time.
 
grimtraveller said:
I beg to differ.......:D Sometimes, you just need to take a lengthy break.
Click to expand...

I meant just sitting around, playing your guitar for hours wont make the magic appear. Not when you're stuck in a non-creative rut like that anyway. Too much negativity, frustration and anger going down inside. It's like fighting a losing battle in my experience.

I'm glad you've never experienced it. You're lucky :thumbs up:

darrenvox said:
cool ive fot the "cant write a song at all" blues
Click to expand...

Write a song about it.
 
I went thru some old ideas I had started and ended up finding one that kept me interested, so for now looks like Ive been jump started!


And I didn't even have to take drugs!!
 
Mr Clean said:
I meant just sitting around, playing your guitar for hours wont make the magic appear. Not when you're stuck in a non-creative rut like that anyway. Too much negativity, frustration and anger going down inside. It's like fighting a losing battle in my experience.

I'm glad you've never experienced it. You're lucky :thumbs up:



Write a song about it.
Click to expand...

Both of your posts are spot on (IMHO). I am currently in a slight funk musically. It's almost as if I've "been there, done that" with any ideas I do come up with. I strummed for 30 minutes the other day, first time I've played that long in a few months (since completion of my last album in October). I recently went on a buying spree to upgrade/change my recording interface, my acoustic, electric, and bass guitars. I'm poised to bust out in a big way, but have no ideas or inclination to do so.

I've had creative ruts in past. This one isn't as deep or long (yet). Experience has taught me that this too shall pass, and hopefully I'll be too busy to remember this lull in a few weeks or months.

Give it some time. The suggestions to work on incomplete stuff, or a cover, or whatever unrelated to the usual ground-up original output is probably the way to go. Collaborating is a good tool to get out of the mire, but those projects can be bitter sweet depending on who you end up working with.

You can't force things otherwise it will just frustrate you more. I recently created a production company, and while that's struggling to take off I keep my ears peeled for some worthwhile songs to mix (pro-bono) in the mixing clinic. It keeps the skills sharp and my mind on music/engaged. It's also been a good time to catch up on music listening. Dusted off some older DVD-A discs and sat in the living room yesterday being immersed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top