Behind the Music

I don’t know if there is a stronger influence in my life than music. It may just be me, but, nothing can effect my mental state quite like it. A good baseline, a unique guitar riff, every note has the power to change my mood. Having something that powerful at my fingertips, why wouldn’t I use it as much as possible? The way I see it; music is a rail for my train of thought, a mood setter, if you will. Beats and lyrics can grab me even in the busiest of moments. It can wisfully send my mind down paths of thought that I never would have found by myself. The best part of the whole experience is that we all interpret each song, so differently. One song can hit such a wide range of people in so many unique ways. What an awesome and powerful tool of expression. With these ideas stuck in my mind; I have slowly been trying to face the enormous feat of creating my own music.

My goal isn’t to become famous, or to have my music played on the radio. In complete honesty, my only goal is to convey my message. Sounds simple enough. But, in my experience; I have found that inspirting emotion and words in music and lyrics is very humbling. To create something from thin air, with meaning, can really put you out on a ledge. Sharing personal stories, thoughts and emotions is an extremely vunrable experience. It is terrifying, in fact.

The first song that I created is called “Dead Poet”. This song came shortly after the death of Robin Williams; one of the greatest actors of my era, if not ever. Around this time a lot of quotes from his movies and, his personal philosophy, were floating around the internet. Quotes from the movie “Dead Poet Society” were a popular choice and they really caught my eye. This movie is about a teacher that takes a unique approach in preparing his students for the real world. His over-laying principle seemed to be that we need to be more open minded and truly think for ourselves.

Maybe that philosophy was inticing to me because it was so different from what I grew up with. Being raised in a community that all followed one path made it difficult to form original thoughts. Imagine yourself, in a group following one guide on a hike; if we all follow him wouldn’t we all end up on same path? How many trails could possibly lead to the same destination? Robin Williams’ character quotes the very famous, Robert Frost poem:“...I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

We all have the responsibility to question everything. Is the path that you are on the one YOU belong on? It’s easy to get caught following someone else on their journey and inherit their beliefs. I challenge everyone to trust themselves, more. Even if your mind seems different or weird, it is your own. You are the only person you have to explain yourself to. If my music fails to convey this message, I hope my words are more blunt. We are all weird, find your own path!