Pandemic Productivity

In the past few months I've learned how to bake bread (overrated), written and published a cookbook, made one of my short stories available as a stand-alone, and updated my advertising portfolio with new work.

This weekend, the mental strain of hearing the 24 hour covid news network was getting to me. I decided the only thing to do was to start some new projects. I hopped on Udemy and signed up for a course in Abelton Live.

I formed my first band back in high school. We recorded our parts to Tascam four track. To get the basement-housed drums to sound even halfway decent involved hours of moving microphones around the room. Each night began with alchemy and faith. And yet the music I made with my friend Mark was raw and inspired. When I feel nostalgic and dig through the hard drive to find an ep's worth of finished tracks and some hours of jam sessions, I can feel that special kind of warmth that only comes from making music.

By the time I'd moved to Montreal, I'd swapped acoustic drums for electric. We were using GarageBand to record. Even though the program made recording and mixing so much easier and faster, it couldn't erase the tension that comes when no one can agree on a musical direction and egos get in the way.

When one of your members goes on holiday and comes back with a finished album with the idea that the other members would recreate or "add-to," the drum and bass parts they already added, you realize that efficiency and convenience strip away the camaraderie of making something together. Camaraderie is a nice word, isn't it? I prefer it to democracy. I don’t want to bring voting into a relationship that is best when it is intuitive. The moment votes get involved, it's over.

Same thing with certain drugs.

I've been in a few bands that never got off the ground because people couldn't get off the ground. My hard and fast rule is if you have to play your instrument lying down because you are too fucked up to stand, then the band is doomed.

I don't expect to make an album's worth of music by the time I get my Abelton certificate but who knows? We might be in lockdown the rest of the year. What else am I going to do, learn how to make soap?

Actually, I'm going to do just that, as soon as the soap making kit arrives.