Hey there-- it's been a while.
The snow is deep and the temps here in WNY are keeping us on our frigid little toes--businesses closing early, deliveries running late, people swathed like mummies to ward off frostbite. Winter in Buffalo.
The edge of disaster has been my horizon for a while now, but fuck it; I'm taking this February off of my nail-biting activities** to write some songs during FAWM-- that is February Album Writing Month. 14 songs in 28 days. Go to fawm.org to check it out.
When I first hit FAWM in 2009, I felt unstoppable. Through trials and triumphs, I pushed out about 30+ songs every Feb. I wrote more in the summer edition, the 50/90: fifty songs in 90 days. I've been lucky enough to have exceptional songwriters from all over the world collab with me there. It's been amazing and I never dreamt I'd lose the hang of it.
But I did. in 2014, I started slipping. Honest, it was a horrible year followed by several more horrible years, blah blah blah, but so what? Bad times and crushing loss are fodder for songwriting, or should be.
I kept trying, but every year, FAWM became less solid for me. Blocked, unable to finish most of what I started songwise. I lost the knack of writing with my songwriting partner & bandmate since the mid-90s, Joe Todaro, as well. Since I've had a backlog of lyrics/melodies and Joe is prolific as all fuck, we've managed to keep coming up with new additions to our set list, but it still feels like I'm running on empty. Unacceptable.
This year I'm taking my February back. I intend to to write a daily haiku or other poem, working from prompts, and then use the poems as prompts for songs. I'm also open to challenges and collabs.
Meanwhile, my band (in its current iteration, Cheaper Than Vinyl, or CVT for short) is playing a small poet-allied gig on 2/11 at Circleformance in Buffalo. We do originals. Check out this space for the pertinent info in a day or three. I'll also be posting whatever poems I write for this adventure. They will be rough drafts at best...
Here's to taking back our wasted promise and shoving it up the universe's bunghole. Happy February, Happy FAWMing.
Peace, Mari
**I stopped biting my nails, cold turkey, at 15. But you know what I mean.
The snow is deep and the temps here in WNY are keeping us on our frigid little toes--businesses closing early, deliveries running late, people swathed like mummies to ward off frostbite. Winter in Buffalo.
The edge of disaster has been my horizon for a while now, but fuck it; I'm taking this February off of my nail-biting activities** to write some songs during FAWM-- that is February Album Writing Month. 14 songs in 28 days. Go to fawm.org to check it out.
When I first hit FAWM in 2009, I felt unstoppable. Through trials and triumphs, I pushed out about 30+ songs every Feb. I wrote more in the summer edition, the 50/90: fifty songs in 90 days. I've been lucky enough to have exceptional songwriters from all over the world collab with me there. It's been amazing and I never dreamt I'd lose the hang of it.
But I did. in 2014, I started slipping. Honest, it was a horrible year followed by several more horrible years, blah blah blah, but so what? Bad times and crushing loss are fodder for songwriting, or should be.
I kept trying, but every year, FAWM became less solid for me. Blocked, unable to finish most of what I started songwise. I lost the knack of writing with my songwriting partner & bandmate since the mid-90s, Joe Todaro, as well. Since I've had a backlog of lyrics/melodies and Joe is prolific as all fuck, we've managed to keep coming up with new additions to our set list, but it still feels like I'm running on empty. Unacceptable.
This year I'm taking my February back. I intend to to write a daily haiku or other poem, working from prompts, and then use the poems as prompts for songs. I'm also open to challenges and collabs.
Meanwhile, my band (in its current iteration, Cheaper Than Vinyl, or CVT for short) is playing a small poet-allied gig on 2/11 at Circleformance in Buffalo. We do originals. Check out this space for the pertinent info in a day or three. I'll also be posting whatever poems I write for this adventure. They will be rough drafts at best...
Here's to taking back our wasted promise and shoving it up the universe's bunghole. Happy February, Happy FAWMing.
Peace, Mari
**I stopped biting my nails, cold turkey, at 15. But you know what I mean.
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