2.27.2014
2.26.2014
My Future Acceptance Speech
If I ever win any award this will be my acceptance speech.
“I wish my ego could be here with me now to enjoy this moment, but unfortunately it's out in the universe doing random good deeds.
From my higher-self I would like to say thank you to Jesus for creating me, Buddha for enlightening me, my mother for birthing me and to my wife for putting up with me.
To my fellow nominees I say to you...that you, you and you all suck, I spit on you.”
I will then proceed to yell out a bunch of random swear words in Chinese for no apparent reason.
I turn to the French super model who has just handed me my award and french kiss the French super model, hoping that the model is not a dude (hey this is the future, men could be a super models?) But whatever...how often do you get the chance to french kiss a French super model?
I walk off the stage, my right hand waving the peace sign and my left hand flashing an unexpected gang sign. The crowd erupts in applause. Then three people burst into flames. Not sure why but three people always burst into flames when I give a speech.
**********************
Not surprisingly, all of what was written came true. In the year 2021 I was awarded “Best Creative” on the planet for my as of yet untitled, unrecorded, unpublished, yet-to-be-a-global-smash phenomena performance on the new, soon to be named TV network.
How do I know all this you ask?
My ego came back from the being out in the universe and told me so…..egos never lie.
I am out of here 母狗…..
2.25.2014
Youthful Terrain ~ Vecere & Craig
Latest tune. This is the song that I wrote about in yesterday post. Written and recored in one night of blissful fun. Trying to get Stewart Copeland to join the road show, no response as of yet from Copeland camp.
2.24.2014
How To Get Better at Creating
Creating stuff is how I earn my living. Deconstructing my creative process; is that possible?
The last thing I created was a song with my music partner, Erik. As I walked I analyzed the process of creating new music with him.
I thought about how magical the moment of creating is. What control do I really have over this thing that I created?
Then I thought about all the pre-work, the woodshedding, the practice that brought me to sit across the room from him and play music.
That is step one...the doing: dream big but you must do the work. Get good at doing.
Magic and handwork go hand in hand when creating something new. This is an enigma that I will gladly hold true to my heart. Fingers, strings, and a piece of wood is an endless problem that I have no need to solve. Yet, I know if I continue to put in the time and do the work, musical gifts will be rewarded. That does not resolve my question, “how do things get created?”
We sit in this small room four feet a part. Erik holding a Fender stratocaster, me holding a Fender Jazz bass. We toss out musical ideas that we have been playing with... not songs, but small zygotes in the earliest developmental stage of music.
A groove presents itself. Something from nothing arises, something new.
We move into a state of repetition. Simply playing the groove over and over to see what presents itself. We look up at each other and know that we have stumbled onto something good.
Repetition is step two. Repetition is the next step after practicing. It's about going deeper into whatever may turn up. It's about exploring. Possibilities are discovered in repetition. There is joy in repetition.
Great things arise out of shit. It's an uncomfortable thought for sure, nonetheless repetition brought us to this new piece of music.
Music is now alive and with us, within our control. Repetition leads to release and the music becomes transformative. All academic approach to music is gone; fingers and string, revelations and reverberations...this is music.
Release is step three. At the point of release you no longer ask the question of why or how; conscious thought dissolves and you become a witness (or listener) to what has emerged. Release is a phenomena yet it is a phenomena with a purpose.
Erik and I are both “do-ers” of music. We are good at picking up our instruments and running our hands up and down the neck. Practicing our instrument is not a chore. Practicing our instrument is an escape. Repetition leads to a release. That is the religious framework that sets us up to go deeper into the mystery. Staying with the mystery is the mystical experience of where something new comes from.
Step four, stay with the mystery.
Creating things feels good. Writing this feels good. Playing guitar feels good. Whatever you create I am sure that it feels good. Being present at the moment of creating feels good.
Skeptics may criticize that my experiential ramblings are for not; that music is a scholarly skill that is rooted in scales and chart. That creating is a scientific study not to be overly romanticized.
I will leave you with this thought:
There are three things that you can do in the image of God:
...love, forgive and create.
2.20.2014
Simple Motivational Rambling
Execute today, then repeat.
Let your “why” evolve.
Stay with the mystery.
There is only doing and not doing.
Work on the stuff that matters.
Let your “why” evolve.
Stay with the mystery.
There is only doing and not doing.
Work on the stuff that matters.
2.19.2014
Insanely Useful Biz Tip
If you want to be transparent you better write it down in black and white.
Re-posting of my business plan first published in April of 2007 can be read (HERE)
Re-posting of my business plan first published in April of 2007 can be read (HERE)
2.17.2014
Why Say Digital Photography?
The phrase digital photography must die.
Digital is how you save something not how you do something.
You do not type on a keyboard and say that you are writing digitally.
You do not play music on a keyboard and say that I am playing digital music.
When talking on the phone you do not say that I am having a digital conversation.
You purposefully create a photograph and then the photograph is saved in a digital file.
Digital does not create.
You create...
Digital is how you save something not how you do something.
You do not type on a keyboard and say that you are writing digitally.
You do not play music on a keyboard and say that I am playing digital music.
When talking on the phone you do not say that I am having a digital conversation.
You purposefully create a photograph and then the photograph is saved in a digital file.
Digital does not create.
You create...
2.12.2014
2.07.2014
The Proposal
What do you do on the coolest day of the year?
You ask a girl to marry you on a mountain top in western PA . Throw in a snowman, wine and a film crew and you got yourself on the fast track to her saying yes.
You ask a girl to marry you on a mountain top in western PA . Throw in a snowman, wine and a film crew and you got yourself on the fast track to her saying yes.
2.05.2014
Random Thoughts on My Gallery Opening
Photos by Elizabeth Vincent Photography
Being given the opportunity to have a photo exhibit is cool. I wish I could use a mature or more artistic word to describe the feeling, but it is simply a cool experience. Additionally it is a surreal-out-of-body-experience; it is akin to being present at your own funeral.
At first you are in a room all by yourself. Then slowly people arrive. Some friends, some family, some strangers, all arrive one by one. The rooms fill up and I think to myself “OK, this is turning out alright.”
There I stand, surrounded by my photography. I watch as people walk around the room taking in my work. I stand waiting to be judged. It's comparable to a life review but instead of being judged for your sins people discuss your photography.
People walk around the room picking out their favorite photos. After a while they make their way over to me. They place their hand on my shoulder and then in a polite and soft voice they tell me how talented that I am (seriously surreal).
They go on to ask me to describe how I created these photos. My standard answer is “the other 10,000 photos sucked” and “light and tripod.”
Next they excuse themselves as the next person waiting in line starts the process all over again. Truly it's like being awake at your own wake. If you ever get the chance to attend my funeral, please come. It looks as if it's going to be a good time; lots of photos and lots of drinks.
As the night went on the wine flowed and strangers became friends.
My favorite philosophy about art is: “Arts only purpose is to serve.” It was nice to be a witness to people enjoying each other. Looking at the photography became secondary to the experience of enjoying the night out. It was nice that my work brought this crowd together for an evening.
For me, one of my best-loved experiences of the evening was to listen to people talk about their memories of what the photographs mean to them. They would go on to tell me about nights of watching sports, celebrating holidays and walking through downtown with friends.
Photographing Pittsburgh has been an eight year project (so far). My goal is to document Pittsburgh for 50 years. In the past eight years I have seen the skyline change. I have seen the riverfront come alive with runners, bikers, families and new love. I have seen the night skies filled with fireworks, fog and lights of the season.
Pittsburgh has become my mistress and my muse.
A special thank you goes out to my wife, first for always being the hottest girl in the room in my eyes, and second for letting me live my dreams. Nothing is real until I share it with you. Pittsburgh may be my mistress but you are my forever.
Being given the opportunity to have a photo exhibit is cool. I wish I could use a mature or more artistic word to describe the feeling, but it is simply a cool experience. Additionally it is a surreal-out-of-body-experience; it is akin to being present at your own funeral.
At first you are in a room all by yourself. Then slowly people arrive. Some friends, some family, some strangers, all arrive one by one. The rooms fill up and I think to myself “OK, this is turning out alright.”
There I stand, surrounded by my photography. I watch as people walk around the room taking in my work. I stand waiting to be judged. It's comparable to a life review but instead of being judged for your sins people discuss your photography.
People walk around the room picking out their favorite photos. After a while they make their way over to me. They place their hand on my shoulder and then in a polite and soft voice they tell me how talented that I am (seriously surreal).
They go on to ask me to describe how I created these photos. My standard answer is “the other 10,000 photos sucked” and “light and tripod.”
Next they excuse themselves as the next person waiting in line starts the process all over again. Truly it's like being awake at your own wake. If you ever get the chance to attend my funeral, please come. It looks as if it's going to be a good time; lots of photos and lots of drinks.
As the night went on the wine flowed and strangers became friends.
My favorite philosophy about art is: “Arts only purpose is to serve.” It was nice to be a witness to people enjoying each other. Looking at the photography became secondary to the experience of enjoying the night out. It was nice that my work brought this crowd together for an evening.
For me, one of my best-loved experiences of the evening was to listen to people talk about their memories of what the photographs mean to them. They would go on to tell me about nights of watching sports, celebrating holidays and walking through downtown with friends.
Photographing Pittsburgh has been an eight year project (so far). My goal is to document Pittsburgh for 50 years. In the past eight years I have seen the skyline change. I have seen the riverfront come alive with runners, bikers, families and new love. I have seen the night skies filled with fireworks, fog and lights of the season.
Pittsburgh has become my mistress and my muse.
A special thank you goes out to my wife, first for always being the hottest girl in the room in my eyes, and second for letting me live my dreams. Nothing is real until I share it with you. Pittsburgh may be my mistress but you are my forever.
2.03.2014
Moment
Current Reading: A Million Miles in a 1000 yrs by Donald Miller
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
Current Music: Glorious Unfolding by Steven Curtis Chapman
Mood: Fluish
Smells: Tea, earl grey
Sounds: My daughter and her friend singing
Temperature: 27 degrees
Thoughts: The night of my gallery opening I say to my daughter, “Daddy has a cool job, don’t you think” she responds “It would be cooler if you were a lunch lady at my school.”
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
Current Music: Glorious Unfolding by Steven Curtis Chapman
Mood: Fluish
Smells: Tea, earl grey
Sounds: My daughter and her friend singing
Temperature: 27 degrees
Thoughts: The night of my gallery opening I say to my daughter, “Daddy has a cool job, don’t you think” she responds “It would be cooler if you were a lunch lady at my school.”
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