Rocking Rockwood with @ianaxel @adamchristgau @kylemccammon @chriskuffner @bessrogers @dan_romer @katiemusic @allisonweiss
Amongst other things, I love tea.
I just sat down in my living room with a cup of PG Tips, the perfect choice for proper British tea. Don’t let anyone fool you, nobody drinks Lipton in the UK, nor do that many people drink Earl Grey, personally I think it’s disgusting. I will enjoy this cup of PG Tips. I wonder if I could get an endorsement by them? Like an unlimited supply of tea… I need to look into that… I actually went to a place in Brooklyn the other day called Chip Shop, it’s a British Restaurant run by two British guys, it’s nice to go there and get my fix of home. It’s not quite the same, but it’s still great.
So you may have noticed I haven’t really done a blog or update since returning from tour in October. The reason being is I’ve spent the last month trying to build a completely new life here in New York. I literally arrived in September with 2 suitcases of clothes and a guitar, then took off for 6 weeks on tour with Ingrid. So when I moved into my Brooklyn apartment in mid October, I had nothing; no bed, no desk, no shelves, no stereo, literally nothing but clothes. It was a liberating but also very empty and lonely feeling. So for the past month I’ve just been trying to get my feet on the ground and build up some sort of life, and some possessions!
It has been a very cool time though. I have finally been able to look upon my current situation and say, I’m a musician, this is what I do as a career, and it feels amazing to be surviving and earning from doing what I love. I feel like I’ve accomplished something very important, and it’s a good step forward. Ok I’m not selling thousands of records or selling out Theaters, but I feel all of that is now within my reach, and I’m working my ass off to get there. Only time will tell I guess, but I’m enjoying the ride that’s for sure.
I’m back to writing songs which is a good feeling, venting some of the craziness that has been my life for the past 2-3 months. It’s still not flying out of me, but it’s coming back at least. I have been seeing friends who I haven’t seen for a while, I’ve been seeing a lot of live music including a lot of my friends who I’m going to shout out; Atomic Tom, Nate Campany, Kyle Patrick & Ian Axel. I’ve also been playing a few shows myself, next weekend I’m playing at Rockwood Music Hall in New York (Saturday @ 10pm) which I’m really looking forward to, it’s my favourite venue in New York and it’s always a good show. In January I’m doing a month-long residency there with my good friends Joey Ryan and Amber Rubarth. During that residency we’re heading to Philadelphia to play Tin Angel which I’m excited about, nice to get out of town and play to a different crowd. If you’re in Philly you should come along. In February I’m hoping to do an east coast tour with Amber and also my friend Ian Axel. We’re still working on that but that’s the plan at least.
After that, I don’t know. At the moment I seem to be going one or two months at a time, that way I can keep my options open and go with the flow. I know that I haven’t exactly written anything profound in this blog, but I thought that some of you may want to know where I’ve been hiding for the last month or two.
Thanks for reading. Greg xx
Listen up New York...
I have something cool to announce…
Two very good friends of mine, Amber Rubarth, Joey Ryan and also myself, are doing a residency in New York in January at Rockwood Music Hall. We’re playing 3 shows, one on the 7th, 14th and 21st, all from 8-10pm. It’s free entry and is going to be awesome. Each week will feature a VERY special guest, so come to all three!
If you’ve never been, know that Rockwood is a small place and fills up fast, so you might want to head down early if you want to get in. More news is to follow this as we have a few other things up our sleeve, but for now, get these dates in your diary!
Greg
For the musically constipated...
So I’m writing this for all those writers out there, be it songwriters, poets, or storytellers or whatever. I’m not giving advice, or trying to prove that I know better, just sharing my thoughts with anyone who’s interested. If I have learnt only one thing over the years I’ve been writing songs and creating musical renditions of my thoughts, it’s that writing is hard.
It’s so easy to think to yourself, “when I get home I’m going to write the best song ever”. Then you get home, sit down, and your mind is blank. You can listen to the most inspiring record ever whilst driving, or riding the subway, you have all these ideas in your head ready to write down, but then you get home, sit down, and your mind is blank. It’s one of the most infuriating things to experience as a creative person.
This is going to be a little disgusting but the best way to describe it is like constipation (I’m sorry girls). You sit down ready to conquer that bathroom. You feel strong, you feel confident. Instead you fail, and you stand up feeling like a broken man/woman. Maybe you shed a tear, maybe you break something, either way, you’ve failed and you know it.
I sometimes sit there (we’re back to songwriting now) and try to force out a song. I try to think of something that’s been bugging me, something that’s upset me or something that inspires me to think that little bit harder. Sometimes I can focus on a subject and the words will pour out of me. Other times I can focus all I want, but the words just won’t come. Like I say, it’s infuriating and very discouraging. Sometimes I can write words all day long, but the music won’t follow, sometimes the opposite. Sometimes I will write 5 songs in a week, other times I will write 5 in a month, and there’s been moments in my life where I’ve only written 5 in a year. It’s something I’ve been trying to figure out for years, and that will hopefully become clearer as I get older and more experienced.
Now that this is my job, the pressure of writing a song only gets greater. I’m no longer just writing for myself. I have many more people awaiting that next “hit” now; my fans, my manager, my lawyer, labels, licensing companies, publishers, booking agents etc. If I just stopped writing (not that I would) then I’d be in the shit with a lot of people. Like I say, I would never stop, but having that greater expectation from people, really piles on the pressure, thus making the process that little bit more difficult.
So this is really for you writers out there, thinking you can’t write, or you’ve lost your inspiration, or that there’s nothing left inside. Know that every writer goes through that at some point. There will always be times when you’re more inspired, and it’s probably when you’ll least expect. I’ve just been touring the US for a month, I’ve seen so much, now I’m in Los Angeles looking out the window at the freakin’ Hollywood sign, but you know what. I can’t write shit! Go figure that one out…
I just thought you might want to read this… from an inspired but musically constipated artist.
Greg
