People who know me back in the day have told me I "sing way way too much" or I "need to stop singing" because they "need to copy down these science notes" (Like really? Are notes anyway more fun than listening to a wonderful rendition of McHammer's "U Can't Touch This"). I always keep those comments in the back of my mind and never really spent too much time thinking about those words. Until recently that is. I've been getting more and more serious about vocal performance. I've sat down and talked to myself in the mirror (and my sanity is still somewhat in check) and asked myself "Is this the road to take? Is this the path I'm willing to stick with until the day that I retire?"
I only find myself nodding after each question.
So why make an EP?
Why would I want to exploit myself in a situation where people could potentially slap my CD on a table and point and laugh at it?
All because I want to. I don't want to live in a world of "What if's" in life. I don't want to live in a world of complete regret and denial.
So in the next seven weeks of my life, I will be ripping my hair out trying to slap together a five song EP. Of course I'll be digging through my hundred-page long song archive to find some calmer school appropriate songs to record if not editing the ones that aren't so kid-friendly so I will be able to advocate my performances in school.
After days and days of pondering I finally came to the conclusion that I was to write an album based off of the idea of being "chill". Not "relaxed" since that word has a strong mature connotation and I want my music to be able to be tolerated by kids my age yet still contains the idea of calmness.
Of course many close friends might snort after reading the last paragraph and think to themselves "When is Eric ever calm". If you're one of them, I'd like to say this:
I am calm when I'm...
1.) Asleep
2.) Meditating
3.) Making music
I know this might be a change from my normal everyday behavior, but please don't go into any shock or anything... just understand that I'm exploring the Buddhist Monk side of me.
This EP is also to show anybody what I had changed from in the past. If you had known me freshman year you would have noticed the inability to focus and the lack of determination that I had. Yet this year, I have attempted and somewhat succeeded in fixing those problems. This EP is only here to show anybody how much determination I can really put into one product and how my passion for music can help me focus on completing the tasks at hand. In addition, I will be learning a few meditation techniques that will help to rid of all distracting thoughts while working on this EP. Though it may seem insignificant, if I am constantly distracted by outside stimuli, I will never be able to finish this. Also, my whole album is rotating around the idea of relieving stress, getting rid of stress/experiences of getting rid of stress, and being calm I want to see if meditation will help me. I will then be able to transfer that to everyday assignments, like studying or even fixing a technique in water polo.
With that in mind, here are the reasons of why I chose to do an EP (some reasons have been mentioned, others have not)
1.) To be able to keep a central focus (resource: Deep Meditation-Pathway to Personal Freedom by Yogani)
2.) To be able to rap with "flow" (I've had trouble in the past to keep myself on tempo when rapping)
3.) To be able to write songs and record songs.
Yet, after all, the main reason why I want to make "Calmbone" the EP, is because I want to spread my music and my abilities. That's all.
In order to keep track of where I am at, I will be creating a timeline/schedule that will keep me on task.
This EP is also to show anybody what I had changed from in the past. If you had known me freshman year you would have noticed the inability to focus and the lack of determination that I had. Yet this year, I have attempted and somewhat succeeded in fixing those problems. This EP is only here to show anybody how much determination I can really put into one product and how my passion for music can help me focus on completing the tasks at hand. In addition, I will be learning a few meditation techniques that will help to rid of all distracting thoughts while working on this EP. Though it may seem insignificant, if I am constantly distracted by outside stimuli, I will never be able to finish this. Also, my whole album is rotating around the idea of relieving stress, getting rid of stress/experiences of getting rid of stress, and being calm I want to see if meditation will help me. I will then be able to transfer that to everyday assignments, like studying or even fixing a technique in water polo.
With that in mind, here are the reasons of why I chose to do an EP (some reasons have been mentioned, others have not)
1.) To be able to keep a central focus (resource: Deep Meditation-Pathway to Personal Freedom by Yogani)
2.) To be able to rap with "flow" (I've had trouble in the past to keep myself on tempo when rapping)
3.) To be able to write songs and record songs.
Yet, after all, the main reason why I want to make "Calmbone" the EP, is because I want to spread my music and my abilities. That's all.
In order to keep track of where I am at, I will be creating a timeline/schedule that will keep me on task.
So welcome to my little adventure.
Firstly, I love your idea! I've been thinking for a little while about doing something similar, but I can never seem to find the time. Also, your motivation is highly evident which I like as well, I know quite personally of the passion you have for music and I honestly cannot wait to see this project once it's complete! This is something I am really looking forward to. In addition, I also like that your goals and progress can be measured quite easily by how much you have written/recorded for each song. Great choice, can't wait to see the final product.
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