An Ode To Tiny Vipers

Recently, I've found myself drawing inspiration from a group of smaller, nonetheless extremely talented, musicians. What have they inspired me to do? To allow myself complete freedom in songwriting. For the first time in a while, I've been writing completely unfiltered music again. And this is what I've wanted all along, but found myself not being able to do lately.

You see, when I first started seriously approaching music almost two years ago, the whole idea of the songwriting process was supposed to be about letting out everything that was built up inside of me. It didn't matter if those thoughts weren't popular or politically correct. I wanted to share an unfiltered glimpse of my creative process: I wanted to post songs as I was writing them. We're so obsessed with real-time results anyway, why not give people a chance to see how I work? I thought it a very good idea indeed.

But of course, as time quickly passed, I started to bottle up that idea and eventually give it up completely. Why? Well, as someone who was just starting out, I couldn't handle the criticism if the feedback was negative. After all, who am I to sing and play guitar? What do I know about writing good music? If people don't immediately love it, then I must be terrible. Or so I thought...

I wish I could say that I overcame this on my own, that this transformation came about purely based on blossoming self-confidence and inspiration from other artists who create music that is not radio-friendly or popular...but no. :) You see, I have received that acclaim I was seeking (to a small degree, but encouraging nonetheless) from many people. It's not a large group, but an important one: friends, peers, and strangers. I think that to any musician, that's gotta be the Holy Trinity.

We need our friends to like us because, well, let's face it, if they don't, who will? They sorta almost have to like us, right? They're the first (and easiest) hurdle we have to clear. If they don't like us, we're sunk before we ever even started...because you're probably pretty terrible if your friends don't like you.

Second, we need our musical peers to like us because it gives us credibility with the people we respect and admire. These are the people we are trying to emulate and impress the most. They are the experts at our craft. And we want to be included in their number.

And finally, we need the stamp of approval from the public that doesn't know us because, well, we'll fail without it. It doesn't have to (and can't or shouldn't be) everyone that likes us. It may be a dedicated group of a thousand or so, but as long as I can make a living doing what I love, I don't care how many people like my music. That's the crossroads I've reached.

I'm sure this feeling will come and go in waves. I am not so naive as to think I've conquered my own musical Everest for all time. No, it will fade and give way to the burning doubt inside me once again. But for this brief moment, I am whole. I have balance. And I love it.

So I've taken up the mantle, once again, of sharing my musical journey. The purpose of this blog is to post snippets of unfinished (and at times, incoherent) songs I am writing or have written. Let me know what you think. Let me repeat that because it's the most important part: let me know what you think!

But Quinton, you say, you just finished telling us that it doesn't matter what we think because you want to write without thinking what the audience's reaction will be. Well, touche. But I write so many different types of music (I have a lot of influences) that I want to know who likes what because maybe what Bob likes, Sally doesn't. And vice versa.

I think I can appeal to a lot of different types of listeners, and I certainly like that. You definitely won't like all of what I write, and heck, even I don't like it all once I'm done, but it's the process of writing that makes it fun! Will I ever release a flamenco album or song? Probably not! But it sure is fun to stretch yourself and try! Who knows? Maybe someone will like it? Who am I to not share and give them that opportunity? I certainly know that I love finding new and different musical ideas no matter who the source is. And trying new things is something I think we can all relate to.

In celebration of this return to freedom of self-expression, here's my absolute latest creation. I recorded this impromptu song about an hour ago after listening to one of those smaller artists I was referring to earlier, Tiny Vipers. She is amazing, and I love her ambient, wayward style of writing. It doesn't have a name yet, but a couple have come to mind: "The Lonely Question," "Descent," "A Loaded Gun," and a few other similarly happy-themed titles. :P