JACK OF ALL TRADES

i often get asked by people
who's that singing on your album?
who's that tinkling the ivories?
who did the drums?
what they don't realise is that i do the whole shebang myself
yep - it's all yours truly
from conception to execution
the writing
the recording
the production
the mixing
the mastering
the artwork
very occasionally there is a co-writer in there
lucifer was one such example
from time to time i get a few production suggestions
from my little bro
lately i've been getting some useful feedback on lyrics from a couple of friends

(thanks to el joven and 'christopher')
but basically it's all my doing
i don't wanna take all the credit of course
most of this stuff is summoned from the ether
by the subconscious
dredged up from some dark deep place

bubbling out from some hidden underground spring
words emerging mysteriously as if to a medium at a seance
but to take on all these roles
one has to be a jack of all trades
even at the risk of being master of none
i admit it
i am a sloppy guitarist and bass player
i have a reedy voice and a limited range
i am a novice keyboard player

my instruments are mediocre and always going out of tune
my technology is meagre and basic by today's studio standards
i've got a few ideas about effects and engineering and production

but i'm not into it bigtime
i'm good at arranging
i have a way with words
and the art of song writing is definitely my forte
how good are these songs?

i really don't know

the buzz i get from writing and performing them is enough

giving expression to the thoughts and emotions that flicker incessantly through my brain
but as for being a master
to hell with that!
i like to spread my creative net wide
and i sometimes think that maybe too much mastery is not such a good thing
there are plenty of fretboard-shredding lead guitarists out there
plenty of keyboard hotshots
guys with degrees in composing and recording engineering
and where are they?
i mean the thing is
a lot of this stuff can't really be learnt as such
it's intuitive and self-taught
the beatles didn't do masters degrees or a phd did they?
so i do my music
i record it
i put out cds
i play my songs every week at the tower of song

to those who have ears
i've even started putting together some primitive little videos
when i'm not being musicianly
i grow my vegetables
i look after my bike and my daughter's bike
i write my poetry and my blog
i draw my pastel portraits
i teach my students
i get stuck in
i have a go
i get on with it
and i don't worry too much about messing up