Posting too much. Boredom. Life. Other things.

[BitchPudding]

Man, this thread got really cool really quick, I must say.

Since we're talking about the creation of our art, you guys have any sort of people you look up to for inspiration when creating?

[weed_killer]

inspiring through their output, or the content of their work? For me, most people I look up to fit both roles, i.e. somebody like PKD, Joan Didion, Richard Avedon, Man Ray,
Neil Young, etc. Depends what the current project is, but I always admire the ones who kept after themselves to create.

[goosekevin]

derrick from twiapb
just does whatever the fuck they want, put out records of bands they love, make cool pictures and songs

[goroth]

I found the weirdest source of inspiration ever.

Michael Angelo Batio

Yes. True.
1. The wig. It looks like crap and he just fucking loves it.
2. His whole approach to the guitar. It sounds like crap but he just loves it.
Both of those qualities are pretty rad, just being enthusiastic about what you're doing and who you are.
3. I was watching a clinic of his during a night of semi-random youtube clicking, and his one piece of advice was whatever you start make sure you finish it.

I thought that was actually pretty simple and decent advice. So instead of jamming on new riffs and having fun I went back and reworked a75% complete song and finished it. And I really like the result.

Thanks MAB.

[D.o.S.]

I don't know -- so many people that I "look up to" creatively are peeps who exist in a pair of universes that is utterly foreign to me: I'm not getting paid a living wage to sit around and write a novel like Pynchon and I'm not constrained in my creative output like a David Lynch or someone else who can't find money to finance their work.

Gotta give big ups to Eugene from Oxbow, though -- he's got a day job but he still manages to output an impressive amount of creative stuff.

[zRobertez]

I posted a picture of that park I was talking about in the lets see YOU thread. Even though that conversation was so 2 pages ago. A field o dreams behind me. viewtopic.php?f=42&t=1397&p=833801#p833801

I don't really notice when I have inspiration. But when I get it, it's like it lasts for months, just writing and playing a couple hours a day when there's time. I don't know if I can attribute it to anything or anyone in specific, it just comes and goes. Thinking about it, I feel like it's usually more event driven, rather than by listening to someone elses music. Sometimes when I listen back on something though, I hear things that remind me of what band(s) I was listening to at the time

[Eivind August]

I usually get inspired by people with a very specific, more or less unique style. Like everything from Kafka to Nick Cave. When I saw Merzbow live for the first time, I got really into power electronics all of a sudden, started to buy stuff and trying to make some noise. When I heard bands like Electric Wizard I started to opening up my music to heavier sounds. I think My Bloody Valentine, Nick Cave and Pink Floyd are some of the most important ones musically, as up to that point I had mainly listened to more straight rock and punk.

Someone smart (Horats?) once said that we suck every piece of art we enjoy into our own expression, constantly evolving it.

[KaosCill8r]

I found the weirdest source of inspiration ever.

Michael Angelo Batio

Yes. True.
1. The wig. It looks like crap and he just fucking loves it.
2. His whole approach to the guitar. It sounds like crap but he just loves it.
Both of those qualities are pretty rad, just being enthusiastic about what you're doing and who you are.
3. I was watching a clinic of his during a night of semi-random youtube clicking, and his one piece of advice was whatever you start make sure you finish it.

I thought that was actually pretty simple and decent advice. So instead of jamming on new riffs and having fun I went back and reworked a75% complete song and finished it. And I really like the result.

Thanks MAB.

I get the strong impression that he is also the president of the Michael Angelo Batio fan club

[weed_killer]

I usually get inspired by people with a very specific, more or less unique style. Like everything from Kafka to Nick Cave. When I saw Merzbow live for the first time, I got really into power electronics all of a sudden, started to buy stuff and trying to make some noise. When I heard bands like Electric Wizard I started to opening up my music to heavier sounds. I think My Bloody Valentine, Nick Cave and Pink Floyd are some of the most important ones musically, as up to that point I had mainly listened to more straight rock and punk.

Someone smart (Horats?) once said that we suck every piece of art we enjoy into our own expression, constantly evolving it.

Do you find that you're likely to run with a new influence and have it saturate your work for a while, or do you try to implement certain aspects into your pre-existing sound/identity? I have to watch myself
sometimes to not get too infatuated with an influence and try to do something that isn't really me.

[D.o.S.]

That's a tricky balance, though -- you don't want to reinvent the wheel.

[goroth]

I found the weirdest source of inspiration ever.

Michael Angelo Batio

Yes. True.
1. The wig. It looks like crap and he just fucking loves it.
2. His whole approach to the guitar. It sounds like crap but he just loves it.
Both of those qualities are pretty rad, just being enthusiastic about what you're doing and who you are.
3. I was watching a clinic of his during a night of semi-random youtube clicking, and his one piece of advice was whatever you start make sure you finish it.

I thought that was actually pretty simple and decent advice. So instead of jamming on new riffs and having fun I went back and reworked a75% complete song and finished it. And I really like the result.

Thanks MAB.

I get the strong impression that he is also the president of the Michael Angelo Batio fan club

Yep

[Eivind August]

I usually get inspired by people with a very specific, more or less unique style. Like everything from Kafka to Nick Cave. When I saw Merzbow live for the first time, I got really into power electronics all of a sudden, started to buy stuff and trying to make some noise. When I heard bands like Electric Wizard I started to opening up my music to heavier sounds. I think My Bloody Valentine, Nick Cave and Pink Floyd are some of the most important ones musically, as up to that point I had mainly listened to more straight rock and punk.

Someone smart (Horats?) once said that we suck every piece of art we enjoy into our own expression, constantly evolving it.

Do you find that you're likely to run with a new influence and have it saturate your work for a while, or do you try to implement certain aspects into your pre-existing sound/identity? I have to watch myself
sometimes to not get too infatuated with an influence and try to do something that isn't really me.

I usually just add to my pre-existing sound. It can be hard sometimes to not become too caught up in a certain vibe, at least for me, so I often switch what I listen to intentionally. Sometimes it's fun to just do a track in a "foreign" style though, to see what I can do in a different context. But at heart I'll always be a noisy shoegazer.

There's big seasonal changes in climate up here, so I find that I usually make heavier and darker stuff during winter and more airy, melodic stuff during summer. But it varies, as climate isn't the only factor to affect my mood. Anybody else feeling this?

[BitchPudding]

Totally. My music is much more affected by my mood though. Angry=angry, usually sad songs. Happy=happy sounding angry and sad songs. the only difference is if my mood gets too black, I can't write ANYTHING. As far as seasons, I'm in California so there isn't much of a difference between seasons. But I always try to write around Halloween, and that result in punk sounding stuff.

As far as new styles of music over saturating my sound, I've personally never had that problem. After 4 years of writing I have a definite sound, but I've noticed that sound mutate from straightforward punk into what it is now. A lot of it comes from taking the musical style of black metal, doom and shoegaze, and slamming them together with my green dayish punk side. After awhile, those elements have ended up becoming part of my sound in small ways.

[Eivind August]

Yeah, I feel you on not being able to produce in black moods. Actually read an article that touches upon it earlier today. Had some interesting ideas. Let's see....

Here: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/ ... l-illness/

[weed_killer]

Do you find that you're likely to run with a new influence and have it saturate your work for a while, or do you try to implement certain aspects into your pre-existing sound/identity? I have to watch myself
sometimes to not get too infatuated with an influence and try to do something that isn't really me.

I usually just add to my pre-existing sound. It can be hard sometimes to not become too caught up in a certain vibe, at least for me, so I often switch what I listen to intentionally. Sometimes it's fun to just do a track in a "foreign" style though, to see what I can do in a different context. But at heart I'll always be a noisy shoegazer.

There's big seasonal changes in climate up here, so I find that I usually make heavier and darker stuff during winter and more airy, melodic stuff during summer. But it varies, as climate isn't the only factor to affect my mood. Anybody else feeling this?

That's pretty much how I work as well. I guess my heart is a...lo-fi folk noise...something?

I'm totally affected by seasons, but not quite like how you or BitchPudding describe it. Seasons work for me as colours moreso than moods. I'm obsessed with Autumn, so around then I'm always trying to make my stuff sound
'warm', like orange, red and yellow shades. Usually comes out sounding slow, hazed and a little wistful (like this: http://lero.bandcamp.com/track/deedland)