How Far Do You Go?
One constant stressor that’s plagued me all year is the worry that my strategy may not be the best path to success. Every time a song underperforms, every day we don’t grow noticeably, every time I check my bank account… it’s followed by a quick bout of anxiety and a fear that I’m wrong - that my plan is fundamentally flawed or the quality of the product is less than what I see it as. Then I wonder, how far do I go?
The answer is all the way to the end. At least I had a plan. That’s more than we’ve ever had. And now we’re acting on that plan. It’s hard to remember that you can’t make an accurate assessment until you’ve actually completed your task. So I have five more months of worrying I might be wrong, meditating on it, and plowing through it anyway before I can truly find out if there was something to it.
-J.P.
You Can Get in the Pool
Today after Bryana and I finished a workout, we sat outside with our feet in the pool for a little bit (I’m still at my parents’ house enjoying the luxury having a pool steps away from the “gym” here). Eventually I jumped all the way in and was wading around in the water while Bryana was still sitting on the stairs, and that’s when she said she wished she could get in like that. The thing holding her back was that she was still in her gym clothes and not a proper bathing suit. Now, she didn’t let that hold her back for very long and she just got all the way in the pool, but it got me thinking for a second.
Many people, myself included, spend a lot of time waiting for the right situation or we let ourselves be deterred by minor inconveniences. If not every single thing is perfect, that’s enough reason for us not to do it. That kind of thinking gets us nowhere. I’m not the type to rule anything out, but it’s highly unlikely that anything will ever be perfect, and the older I get the less likely it gets that I’ll ever be totally prepared for any endeavor I begin. In fact, it’s probably impossible to know everything about something before you start that thing. That’s the point of going on the journey. To learn! We went to a concert a few months ago where we saw Theo Katzman, and I’ve mentioned this show before on this blog, but he said a couple things that really resonated with me that night. The sentiment I’m referring to now was this; you may not begin a journey brave, but you become brave by facing the obstacles of which you are afraid.
My point is, don’t let fear hold you back. You can get in the pool.
-J.P.
That’s Too Big
Well, I missed another day. Three missed days on the year so far. No good reason for it either. An idea came while I was running and I meant to write it up and then I forgot. Oh well. Nobody’s perfect.
The thing I was going to say though, is that it’s easy to feel like every decision is forever. It’s not though. I mean, maybe, in a larger sense, every decision a person makes compounds and becomes the life they live but like, who wants to think like that all the time? Doesn’t sound very healthy. It’s too big. It’s tough to keep the perspective, but it’s really important. I mentioned it way at the beginning of this journey. Just get to the next mailbox! It’s more important to make a decision than put it off because the possible consequences are too big. Make a choice, it keeps you in motion! Then there’s always time to change, to readjust, to switch directions. Nothing is forever. Don’t be scared of the moment or the way you feel. Keep it small. You can’t change your whole life in a day. Follow your heart. It’ll be ok. Another vague saying. You get it.
-J.P.
Sometimes I Draw
Sometimes when I’m feeling uninspired, I draw. It’s nice to step away from the creative processes that I’ve made my work and still have a way to be creative without consequences. I’m not very good, but I don’t have to be. That’s the nice part. Gotta find ways to free your mind.
-J.P.
Starting Over
The first EP I recorded in 2013 was called “Starting Over” and it had five songs that I wrote on there and I walked around NYC trying to give them away when I wasn’t in class learning about screenwriting. That summer class (plus a bunch of sessions with a college counselor and a trip to LA) led me to Chapman University where I received a degree in screenwriting. I spent three years writing various scenes and TV pilots and one screenplay that I would start over and over and over and over. I was lucky to have a professor who really believed in what I was working on and he accepted whatever I had at the end of my final year and counted it as an honest attempt and something that I would continue to pursue whether there was a deadline or not. He was right.
It’s almost 6 years later and I’m still working on a version of that same screenplay. It’s the basis of the fourth act on our label, and it needs to be done. But I keep starting over. I follow my train of thought as far as I can and write it out and talk about it with Understanding and plan it and I’ve even gone as far as test shooting a version of one script and guess what. I hate them all and I scrap them and I START OVER. I can’t keep starting over. I mean, maybe I can in a larger sense, but in this specific case, I have to get through to the finish line. But today I’m going to start over, one more time.
-J.P.
This That Shit
Today we debut the third act on our roster, The Corner Store, with their first single “This That Shit”. The Corner Store is an animated rap duo formed by 1000Kicks and MadUrthur. The former, the patient practitioner, content to refine his skill until the perfect opportunity presents itself, and the second a starry-eyed dreamer, who’s always thinking about what’s out there waiting for him. They reside on Hopeless Junction, an island where the only way out is by sky, and in order to fly you have to master your craft. They met working at The Corner Store, and though they began as bitter rivals, they decided to team up, heeding the advice of their mentor Mr. Ross, who owns the store where they work. Through the rest of the year you’ll have a chance to get to know 1K and MU through their verses and more details of their story will come to light.
That’s the goal at least. The songs are done. They’ll be released monthly (which means we’re putting out three songs a month until October, when we introduce our FOURTH act).That’s the easy part. The hard part is finding the resources to tell this story the way we want to. An animated series, telling the story of 1000Kicks and MadUrthur mastering their crafts, earning their wings and getting off Hopeless Junction. For us, it’s a fun way to try to expand our storytelling, keep each act on the label distinct and easily identifiable, and most importantly, do something fun that we haven’t done before. We’ve rapped for a while, trying to fit it into The New Hippies, or featuring on a Roe’s Garden song, but The Corner Store is a new manifestation of our skillsets, and I think partly a product of spending so much time with RZA working on the Wu show. I’m excited to see how this develops, and as always, I hope you enjoy.
-J.P.
Things You Don’t Do
No matter what, NO MATTER WHAT, you never, never, EVER throw away ice cream.
-J.P.
