• From adversity comes melody.

I can't deny it: the economic crisis of late has been good to me.

Not money-wise, of course. In that regard, I'm in the same boat as most everyone else, bailing as fast as I can, yet sinking still.

Music-wise, though, it's a different story. For me, the crisis has created a sense of urgency to get my songs done, urgency that brings focus, energy, ideas. And my acute lack of money? Yup, it's a bummer, to be sure, but from monetary poverty comes creative wealth, and my dire straits on the dollar front have funneled my scattered studio ways into a tightly targeted plan for how to record sans bank account and actually get better results than I was getting before.

Here's what I mean:

Prior to being Bushwhacked on the financial front, I would blithely show up at Hyde Street studios with a decent idea of what I wanted to achieve, but not an exact idea, and weirdly calm about the fact that I was about to spend as much as $1500 for a single day of work.

My how times have changed.

Now, I'm doing as much as I can away from the studio, so that the studio isn't running while I'm picking my nose over a chord change. No, these days, I'm doing my very best to leverage all the killer recording gear in my hands, and in the hands of musicians I know, in order to create and capture the best performance possible with good, clear electrical signals, so that I can bring the tracks into Hyde Street, where they can be polished to a high sheen by ace engineer Jaime Durr.

But who cares about me?

On a more broad note, I'm hopeful that today's bastard of an economic climate actually inspires better art, as people are forced to do more with less, focus their thinking, do something meaningful. I think back on the 60s, when I was just a little kid, and, wow, the music... good times just don't offer the same muse. And the end of the 80s? Too cool, with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and ol' Neil putting out grand music. The last five years? Not so much.

So, here's to adversity. You force me, against my TV-watching-booze-drinking-late-sleeping inner self, to do something good. Maybe even great.

Stay tuned.

And remember: The Listening Lounge Is Open! (I'm plugging it because I'm worried that taking my songs off of the front page of this blog will alienate people!)