As promised, I will periodically be writing on my blog here about my many experiences—past and present—in the music “capital-I” Industry (known colloquially to all entrenched in the business as, simply, “The Industry,” as if it has a monopoly on the word over all other exchanges of commerce, in spite of being strangely lacking in industry and overzealous about fashion and cocaine diets. And yes, in case you’re wondering, I will be regularly, playfully insulting and mocking my own world as I go on in these posts because no one, especially those in entertainment, should take themselves too seriously).
Today, I’m going to tell you a little about what is known within The Industry as a “Writing Trip,” as that is what I was doing this past weekend in LA. I have in mind anyone who is interested simply for interest's sake, but especially the musicians on Steem, like all of those who participate in the weekly Open Mic.
(Henceforth, all official Industry terms, in keeping with The Industry’s pompous self-capitalization, will also be capitalized.)
A Writing Trip usually involves going somewhere halfway across the world in order to write songs with Important People so you can drop their names as you mingle at Industry parties in hopes of making the Right Connection for your Big Break. Because it is helpful to put these Important Names on your final album credits to legitimize your art, this is standard practice, apparently.
Don’t go thinking I’m joking. I am not. In fact, I know of one record label who sent one of their Artists in Development over to a different continent in order to work with a photographer who had worked for Vogue. He did a terrible job, and the photos were ridiculous, over-dramatized, pretentious silliness. It cost a fortune, but when the decision was made, the only consideration was likely that the record label would then be able to say that their Artist had worked with Impressive So-and-So, and therefore by osmosis was maybe Impressive as well (when in reality any photographer is happy to receive outlandish amounts of money for average work simply because their name has come to mean something). The artist ended up using photos her brother took one afternoon instead.
But back to writing trips. I have been on some of the Important ones and worked with Industry Never-Have-to-Work-Again-And-Living-In-A-Mansion professionals. I’ll get to that another time. There is much more to say.
Now, I said a Writing Trip is usually about impressive names and places. Sometimes, it is delightfully not. Sometimes, it’s actually about just working with people you respect who do great work and might help you accomplish more than you can on your own. And sometimes you like these people, too. And sometimes those people are also even your friends.
That kind of Writing Trip is more my style. With all of the impressive language and name dropping I was often surrounded by in my blip of time so far in The Industry, I could just never take it all seriously, and would often have to stifle laughter in the face of it.
This latter kind of Writing Trip is what I was on this past weekend, I am happy and proud to say.
I met up with my friends Giorgi & Leo to do some writing and see what might come of some collaboration. Leo is brilliant in the studio, and the two of them, a sweet married couple and music duo themselves, are both great writers and vocalists.
And you know what? We wrote some really great and exciting stuff, that could do really well and I would be proud to release at some point.
And you know what else? We only actually did that for about 4 hours out of 4 whole Writing Trip days.
You see, The Creative Life is unpredictable—inherently. It is never one-to-one. In most jobs, you see a proportionality between time and effort. But in the creative life, more is very rarely equivalent to success. There is a dependency on inspiration and the Right Timing. And you never know what might actually work.
Now this does not mean laziness—you certainly need a high degree of diligence to succeed in creative work and make it good. But it does mean that creativity needs to be nurtured—even coddled, really—rather than forced.
So, a Writing Trip often involves
- laughter
- movies
- walks on the beach
- overpriced smoothies
- getting stuck in traffic
- soundtracks from perfect indie films
- glasses of wine
- perfectly cooked eggs
- a few runs to the airport
- dinner at a friend’s fundraiser
Well, at least my weekend in LA did. In the past, thrifting, copious espressos, neon sweatpants, and coconut milk ice cream have been a part of the process. This time, it involved listening to stories from someone's visiting Honduran relatives and learning about sand crabs in the spring.
This works (and is even necessary) for two reasons:
Co-writing is inherently relational. You can’t—or barely can—write great work with someone else without a personal connectedness in some way. There needs to at least be a peripheral but honest exchange between those who wish to create together. So the ice cream and thrifting matters.
Everything is fodder for the story-teller/poet/lyricist/musician/songwriter/producer. Life is what inspires, so it is imperative that an artist live, especially when trying to write something worthwhile.
From this scientifically-described Almighty Writing Trip come many of what your favourite songs have been since the inception of time—or at least since the 60s or so when everyone started to try to Make It.
So there is an inside scoop on how the magic happens. Really, really. *
Is it as fun as it sounds? Absolutely. Shockingly fun. Wonderfully life-giving.
But when we work? We work. Trust me. I’m talking hours, days, weeks of mind-numbing studio work. But that, too, for another time.
Well.. I believe that is sufficient for Chapter One.
Signing off as your resident Steemit Music Industry Expert**
Xx,
Kay
*One major caveat to return to another time: I am a singer-songwriter, so although I think it’s helpful to write for creativity’s sake and a stretching into other genres, most of my personal writing happens completely alone, in whatever humble, little place I happen to live at at the time, in a perfectly uneventful, not exciting way. I’ll tell you more about that another day.
** Disclaimer: I have not yet "made it" in the entertainment industry, so these little commentaries are in no way scientific or precise, but I did enough work and met enough interesting, successful people that I believe I have a real insight into how the music industry works. You can believe me or not. Because I believe in kindness and avoiding defamation of character, even in minor ways, I will never be naming particular people or companies without permission, famous or not. I understand this may justly further delegitimize what I have to say. But again: you may believe me or not. You have my word that it’s all as true as can be.