Tag Archives: yyj

Your own personal genius

Posted on by

Is there something you were meant to do that you haven’t discovered yet either? What I can tell you is that there is every chance you’re just around the corner from it, but what is it?

It seemed appropriate to start with a musical reference to this as the history of modern music is loaded with these life twists. Martin Gore was just a band member before the previous songwriter quit and he was thrust into the role as he already wrote one track for his band Depeche Mode.

There’s of course the story of how Phil Collins replaced the exiting Peter Gabriel because he had a go from his drum set and all the guys freaked right out. But what’s really interesting is often sparkling talents for a given instrument like how Jaco Pastorius was originally a drummer before the bassist quit and thought he’d try, and within weeks was on his way to being the greatest bassist in history.

It makes you wonder and what if it’s not confined to music? There’s every chance you are the world’s greatest cojone player but it could also be in some other realm beyond playing crazy cool world beats.

There’s the classic story of 3M, where the scientist was trying to make a permanent adhesive and instead got this stuff that was sticky but didn’t work at all. He realized the potential of a sticky note and the rest was history.

I like the idea that, put simply, the search continues and as you do, you follow what intrigues you. Jaco was in the right area. In fact, from his drum kit he only needed to be on the instrument a few feet to his right. It’s all “In the Meantime” as you search for your thing. How long can you search? I’m 44 and I’ve had bass students 20 years older than me. I know people older than that who are trying their hand at boatbuilding.

And you don’t have to… anything. You don’t have to be the world’s best to enjoy it. Sometimes it’s just fun. I’ve been digging into keyboard playing over the last few months because of a Christmas gig that had long breaks and a piano in the back. I started thinking (ironically) “You know, I think I get how that bit from Depeche Mode would go..”(I had a understanding of keys, but never tried to really play two-handed that much)

But isn’t talent reserved for some higher-blessed types? Possibly not. There is lots of study on this, in fact one book to look out for is called “The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle where he slueths out world famous talent hotbeds around the world to find what’s going on. What he discovers is that it is less magically bestowed talent than it is simply how we approach learning something. Daniel has another book called the “Little book of Talent” which condenses this idea of deliberate practice which I won’t go into other than it’s about pushing into the weak spots of what you do, in a way that you can repeat with immediate feedback. Definitely check out his books which are available on the Hoopla app. And no, I don’t work for him, he’s just good.

So is there anything you’ve thought of trying your hand at recently.

Who knows? You might be the genius we’ve all been waiting for.

😉

Cheers,

Tom

Love, Sex and other things blown out of proportion

Posted on by

I know…oh, behave!  But this subject seems to need talking, more and more as things get confused.  In some less-known tribal communities in the present day everyone walks about either nude or mostly nude and the number of sexual assaults or sexual challenges are through the floor non-existent.  These people still “do it” and I can’t imagine it doesn’t still feels good but it is simply a part of life.

If nothing else mankind’s fascination with this subject is the stuff of legend…both love and sex. Both are the subject of songs, poems and while they are connected…love is seen as the softer, magical thing and sex is like it’s darker seedier side that dare not speak it’s name.

Then there’s the recent Incel thing which first makes you laugh until you realize how serious they are and how angry that gets people. It’s the same reason that I think “Friends with benefits” and casual stuff of either side doesn’t work. There is still powerful emotion going on. Indeed with the writing of this I have to steer the ship somewhat carefully as I want to explain that a) it’s all going to be ok and b) no, I don’t discount how you might feel.

I really believe that there is someone for everyone and that even if it takes a while before that 1st time, it will eventually happen. Physically there is no kind of person not attractive to someone, it’s simply that we have put certain looks and body types up as the it girl and it boy. Go back a few hundred years and larger people were it as that, like in African cultures, suggested wealth. One of the challenges is of course the thing both you, dear reader, and I are staring at right now. Now of course I love my ability to make use of devices and technology to put out content and connect but it is still over a synthetic machine. We are social animals in the first place. We are tribal and family centric beings, even though many families have problems so your families may not be of a “traditional” set up (may instead be a group of friends, step parents, something else). As such we need to actually be out with other beings in a physical sense. That is the one thing no app can ever, ever do is recreate the physical presence of other people. It’s been “adult material’s” one failing since Playboy first hit the shelves, it can never recreate the actual size perspective, warmth and so on of (for men with this, in traditional sense) a romantic partner. Hey but if you need that until the real thing comes along, “whatever gets you through the night…”

It’s so funny with sex advice and love advice you see all over magazines and now online as well though. I take the line from a terrific British comedy and recently played with it in a song about how this idea could really make it all work. I’m a sucker for hippy like liberalism, I fully admit (are all hippys liberals? Another discussion for another day I suppose).

Anyways the comedy is called May to December

And the quote from it was “You make yourself happy by making the other person happy.”

Just that.

What’s great about it is that it’s not about what you want, other than seeing her/him smile. Knowing you made his/her day. I think the other thing is then the joy of building something like a family.

I grew up a few friend nerd by the way so if this is you please believe me when I say that you’re not a lost cause. What helped me? Other people. But in order for that to happen, I went to work, started playing that bass I just got in bands (you don’t have to by the way, this is my example), got involved in other stuff. This probably made me less an impossible mess around people. Things weren’t easy. Still aren’t but I like what that one woman said about men she would date…

“Men are like wine. They have to be crushed and go through it a few times before they are something I want to have dinner with.”

She’s a comedian, so calm down…I don’t mean you need to be beat down but experience does come from learning with comes from bad judgement so use this phone to find out what you can do today outside of your four walls and get yer shoes.

Trust me, the friends, love and yes, the sex, will be worth it.

Cheers,

Tom

5 ways to pass time in Transit / Morning Transit

Posted on by

Off we go

See what I did there? If not that’s probably ok 😏

But seriously, stay tuned for my upcoming 5 things to make use of time in transit when there’s no wifi. I’ll put that down there after the first bit.

Kind of miss my other headphones. I’m using more normal earbuds but they’re not wireless, oh… nevermind. Just realized I could flip the phone the other way. Still gets a bit in the way when holding to type in landscape.

…what? Don’t look at me like that. It’s all about details. …what?

Ok enough of that. Today is mowing the parent’s lawn which is also in Saanichton so it’s on the 72 bus like I did on Monday. If you go two back you can go on that Fab journey. Yesterday was rehearsal which was fun and I got to try out my new bass which will be debuting on this weekend at the Victoria Highland Games. Here’s one of me back in the day with my old Peavey Fretless…one sec, I have that photo around here somewhere…

There we go! Now you can find out more about my band/music on the music part of my site or simply go to cookeilidh.com which I know is a bit old school for some so here’s a link to our Instagram too. I’d do our other stuff too but there’s a lot and that could take a whiiiiiile lol.

It’s actually kind of interesting being on the 72 as it’s the one bus in Victoria that connects to both the airport and the ferry, so like the 75 that goes to our famous Butchart Gardens…ok, one sec…lol

There we go! And trust me, that barely does them justice. Look them up too when you get a chance! Anyways the 72 and 75 are the two (feels like a Monty Python bit here) rides where you run into lots of folks from other countries, some with suitcases and some with backpacks. I’ve done it too which brings me finally too…

Five ways to pass time in Transit (no wifi)

Wi-Fi’s an easy out but imagine your in, like, the BC interior or somewhere with nada. Maybe it’s diff now…anyways…

1) Writing.. Not only this now but I have worked on entire stories and characters on the bus.

2) Scheduling with note pad app. Already doing something so it’s such a bonus.

3) PDFs. Predownload and read any classic. Presently doing Boefius and the Consolation of Philosophy

4)classic car games. I spy and so on. You can do it to yourself. See anything blue? Red?

5) Reach out! Take off the headphones and let the world happen. Not forcing it but you might get in a conversation with the most interesting people. Just like the discussions on liminality, it’s in these nuetral places in life where you could make a life changing connection.

Laters!

Tom

Just in Transit

Posted on by

Been playing with one idea instead of using writing prompts. I’m halfway to the family doctor’s in Saanichton which is about 30 min by bus from downtown Victoria where I call home. I mean, I can still go subject driven which is what I sort have done normally but I thought I’d throw caution to the wind more and do like a morning page. I mean it would be edited as morning pages tend to be just anything and I don’t know how much I want to go there publicly but it could be kind of fun. I like the idea of it just simply for the honesty of it. Like how I am probably going to be late or how I just did a stomach calming breath out and it was…well… accidentally spitty, and I’m sharing a seat. I remember once coughing out coffee to my total embarrassment which I then used for a story.

But yeah, I think what I like about the idea is that you guys get to go a bit voyuerist and for me I don’t feel like I’m conjuring the same kind of stuff.

Thoughts? Anyways.. stops coming up..

Cheers,

Tom

On this other writing

Posted on by

It’s the sort of thing I wanted to do with my first comedy pilot. I can’t bring you right in of course, that’s physically impossible. But it’s also part of my goal, to change your perception to mine, even if for three to four minutes.

Songwriting.

Now of course, not all songwriting has to be deep and cerebral. Kurt Weill championed the writing of silly songs and the “just fun”. Hey, we gotta eat too, right?

I’ve been writing since I simply could. Even before that, considering it certainly kicked off before I played my first note on that purple Series A bass I had at the age of nineteen. Guitar would still wait a year.

Actually doing it scared me at first, like it was only done by geniuses who were born under a music school piano or something. Between people I jammed with in those early days and music I was learning it seemed more and more reachable. Then came my first role model.

This guy.

Martin Lee Gore of Depeche Mode was the first person to not only pave my first road, but also to show what could be so great about it.

He brought in the idea of taking every subject without filter, layering the modern and creatively limitless atop the traditional, and the storyteller’s approach to sounds versus the idea of endless rock solos. From the first album I got ( a friend’s tape of Some Great Reward ) I was hooked. My first multitrack cassette machine was soon going to arrive.

And I sucked. It wasn’t good at all. It’s one of the reasons I don’t believe that there’s such a thing as bad art. First because any attempt beyond our day to day is beautiful like an early cave painting, but also I will beat anyone to the finish for the just bad.

But you go through this and soon I became a Socan member after getting on the radio a few times.

Since then it’s just always been there, though just recently it has got a resurgence to when I first heard Martin’s work (not to steal his thunder)

This guy.

Ryan Karazija of Low Roar. I discovered this music in the way many probably have, by simply surfing in and seeing the intriguing album cover for the self titled debut (a deer with birds flying out of it’s mouth. It reminded me of the Canadian artist Hayden). I was doing morning pages and other writing and just wanted music to work to, like my use of Harold Budd and Cocteau Twins that had been my go to for just years. That album of Ryan’s was instantly a favorite and it sparked the idea of trying to actually move forward again. So from the beginning of this year I started working on my first song “She lives There”, and while it’s becoming clear that I need to upgrade my recording equipment before I put out a first EP, I still would love to do that and until then I want to hone my sound and songs in preparation.

Songs for me come from anywhere and have come in on literally any instrument. I’ll hear something or learn about something and go “ooh that’s good”.

An example of this was Moonwatcher which is now on my SoundCloud page, which came from studying my girlfriend’s First Nations culture in a dissertation by her late Aunt, Allis Pakki Chipps-Sawyer called Standing on The Edge of Yesterday

In it she mentions the traditional Moonwatchers who would literally stay up all night and observe the moon and there findings would make decisions easier for Elders in the day. Just the name sparkled before me, but I knew it would be too much like Moonshadow if I went and did it acoustic, so I tried for an almost dance feel.

Precipice on the other hand had to be written as I kept having a waking nightmare of being swept over Niagara falls, on a loop so I never actually fell (clearly a stress thing). The cascading arpeggio at the start came first and then the first half fell in place. I resisted the dramatic “chorus” at first but it grew on me. Is it a hit? Probably not, but I love both songs for what every song I have ever done. It is a capture of me exactly at that moment, in both the words and how those words reverb.

Have a listen to Precipice

https://youtu.be/hKC82a_d8JE

Cheers,

Tom

😊

Library Firepower

Posted on by

It was once stated that no place is as dangerous on earth as that local place in town, that one with the books. I like that, but I can see the reasoning. It’s the same reason barista’s were once thrown into rivers in sacks to drown. The last thing the powers that be want you to be is sober and learning.

There is so much you can get out of your local that it’s not even funny! In this age when the best thing you can have is a “side hustle” the place to fire up your ideas is in a place just down the road. Unlike this overwhelming thing the library is a single task environment. Your eyes scan over shelves and see things, dropping you in ideas and stories that you would never have thought of. Here’s the kicker…your not alone in this endeavour!

Exactly the environment those powers that be would hate! Then you add music, media, online cataloging and more things than I could describe and well, the revolutionaries of Les Miserables or Che Guevara’s would envy you.

Start the Revolution today.

😎

Cheers,

Tom

Tip jar is out! 😉 Find me on Patreon

Posted on by

Had fun this morning setting up my page which includes a video clip about what I’m attempting. Yeah it’s one of those long shots but it was still fun to set up and it’s also cool setting goals like how I want to develop my home studio towards my first solo music release.

Even if you can’t spend (or if you can and want to be that level of amazing 😊) please visit the page and check it out!

http://www.patreon.com/tompogson

Apps for Musicians! The Ear Gym!

Posted on by

In the interest of trying things out, I’d thought I’d give a try to trying things. Hopefully that made sense!

I’ve loaded and deleted lots of apps over the ages as I have a little, little phone with not much room and I just keep a few in play.

Let’s kick off with the second in a series of ear training apps I’ve tried, “The Ear Gym.” Ill keep this brief and tight as I’m short on time like yourself.

Way tougher than “functional ear trainer” it actually puts you through paces with interval recognition which is excellent. I’m a big believer in “The Talent Code” (check this out or maybe I’ll do a bit on it later), and anything that puts you in that just-beyond-ability sweet spot is great. I do wish it would go more into recognizing full chords but maybe that’s soon to come ot elsewhere.

8/10

Know an amazing musician app? Post in comments below!

Cheers!

Tom

Man’s Search for Workspace

Posted on by

There’s a strong possibility that it’s all just procrastinating. I used to romantically think that I should work on things in the least fancy possible locations because then it was..well..romantically unfancy I suppose. Like if I did my writing or reading in a McDonald’s then I really meant it. Kind of like busking in the roughest area of town. Seems a bit Vincent Van Gogh out there. As I said in a previous post I have done writing on buses and that is true, but its usually the back of a fairly comfortable one with earphones in.

Victoria used to have some amazing late night locations back when there were 24 hour cafe’s. Cafe De La Lune was on the corner of Douglas and Pandora, across from city hall and sported a comfy second story that was perfect for writing. Then there is Qv’s on Government that made for lots of late night work while listening to “Warm Beer, Cold Woman” by Tom Waits. I think I ran into someone from the song there. She smoked menthol cigarettes like Waits said, but I dont remember much else that night. Didn’t turn into anything that seedy (though part of my imagination is fascinated by anything like that.)

I can’t really work at home. On music I mostly can because its more physical I think and active and there’s headphones and shiny blinky lights. Lots of stuff to keep a now forty four year old Adhd’r humming along. But with anything like this I feel like I like to be near activity, though not actually in it. I know, right?

This has lead me to search high and low for just ages, trying to find the best places. I even rented part of an office once with a former cowriter, and i do miss that. I like the idea of a downtown office but as anyone can imagine, the cost would be mind blowing. That was the corner of a room and it cost us a combined hundred and thirty in a building that the police had once raided due to extreme drug problems.

Its like wanting to be near the energy of downtowm but still keep it locked out. Otherwise you get situations were it tries to get involved with you and then you instantly regret your decision.

“What is that…homework?”

And now your a man with a coffee, putting away books to explain why you spend your time off work doing homework when you dont go to school.

Yay.

Do you have any favorite places to work? Maybe you do work at home, or have a perfect time that’s never failed you.

Ironically this is written at home early on a Sunday with Cece asleep next to me.

So maybe I’m growing into the homebody role. Ooo I sure hope so.

😁

Cheers,

Tom