Creative Secrets is a series of posts that features interviews with artists from all walks of life in an effort to delve more deeply into how the creative process works. You can read PartI featuring Sheri Braunstein here and Part II featuring Tracey “Halyma” Vibert here.
I’d never been to a house concert before, until one day, my friend Bob invited me to his place. An Australian musician, David Ross Macdonald, was performing a solo show – just Dave and his guitar. I showed up, not knowing at all what to expect, and it turned out to be one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen. From that moment on, not only was I hooked on house concerts – but I was hooked on David’s music too. I think you’ll feel the same (you can listen and buy it here!). Here’s his take on music, creativity and doing the work.
1) Tell me how you first got involved in music.
It’s a kinda round about story, you got time?
I suppose my earliest memories go back to when I was a young child sitting around the piano with my sisters and brother watching, listening and singing along while my father, who at the time was a local jazz pianist, trumpeter and dentist, improvised over ragtime and jazz standards to our collective delight. At the age of three and a half or four, singing along to Fats Waller on the phonogram while being equally enchanted and incredulous of the LP players’ mechanisms is, to this day, still a vivid memory. “Your Feets Too Big”, “Joint Is Jumpin’“, “Hold Tight, Seafood Mama” … I just LOVED those songs.
After that, things pretty much got off to an underwhelming and rocky start musically. My first official introduction was private piano lessons at the age of 9 or 10 which I pretty much despised, coupled with a compulsory primary school recorder choir, which I mocked while underachieving in, followed by trumpet tuition at 13 which ended when my teacher had some kind of breakdown midway through our lesson. It wasn’t until getting into classical guitar at fourteen that some pennies started to drop. But, I was an incredibly nervous and self conscious student, and when my end of year recital came I chickened out, didn’t show, and shamefully didn’t have the nerve nor stomach to face my teacher. I dropped out, and goofed around on electric guitar, got a rock trio going for a few years during university and even though I had high hopes and it was a real blast, it never amounted to more than a few dozen pub gigs and back yard party jams.
You never can predict these things, but time passed and I became a geologist and had put the guitar aside until one day I was watching a TV broadcast of a jazz band. The camera was situated behind the drummer, the group was a local Perth contemporary trio or piano quartet and the music (even though at the time I had no idea) was in the style of Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Thelonius Monk. It had nothing to do with guitar, but the drummers bewildering and graceful technique and melodic improvisations coupled with the dense harmonics and improvisations of the piano just floored me. It took me sixteen months of obsessive compulsive practise, but then I recklessly ditched a very respectable research position in the government and passed the audition for jazz conservatorial studies … as a drummer.
2) What is it about your craft that keeps you interested and motivated?
I am not too sure how to answer that Susan.
In many unknowable ways, music chooses you and gets into your bones, blood and so forth. My love and delight of music has always been with me. I pretty much think that must be true for practically everyone though, performer or not. Music is a deep and profound human need, it is manifest everywhere and in all cultures to my understanding. I would probably contort your question by saying that experiencing other peoples’ interests and motivations in music helps me greatly … to hear and see what other people do with instruments, music, words, voice and live performance feeds directly the place that I endeavour to reach when making music.
3) Do you ever have times when you are uninspired to create? If so, how do you overcome this?
Often. Always? Too often, I am in an uninspired state. But just like the 18 months of obsessive drumming lessons and practice that got me into the con or the 3 months straight in 1999 when I practically didn’t take the guitar out of my hands, for me the inspired state is an unfathomable and uncontrollable one. Maybe it’s a lot like falling in love? I believe there is very little known about the science of being ‘inspired’ … but it’s different to being creative and is in my opinion not the opposite of being uninspired.
To overcome this?
Well, if there was a surefire and simple way, then we’d all be writing symphonies, painting masterworks and have the beginnings of a truly enlightened society.
But this is obviously not the case.
Honestly, I have no idea. So it boils down to doing the work. If you manage to overcome the emotional and physical barriers that resist the disciplined and time consuming realities of learning an instrument and its’ art (and it’s always ‘learning’ as you never get ‘there’) then eventually you will find yourself experiencing moments where the ‘gifts’ start to manifest in your playing, performance, writing and so forth. The more mindful work you do in being engaged with music, your art, instrument, practice, listening widely, checking out performers and so forth, chances are, the higher the probability that you will experience fleeting windows of ‘inspiration’ or seemingly divine creativity, which you must also seize in that moment. Plenty of sleep probably helps to and taking note of what activities and times of day tend to spark your spirit. But, I suppose my point here is that being inspired is a very rare thing and not necessarily an enduring space so you must be prepared to be able to act on those occasions when inspiration ‘strikes’ by having done the work and continue to do that work … whereas if you are in a truly inspired state, then you have no say in the matter, like love, it sweeps you off of your feet and takes you where it wishes.
4) At what point did you decide that you wanted to make a living as a musician? What made you take the leap?
December 1998. After a musical back packing 6 month sabbatical overseas (having just left part time opportunities in geology to keep the wolves from my door), I got the gig drumming for the Waifs and at that point having saved some money felt confident that I could go full time touring with the band while filling in the time off of the road working at guitar and creating some solo opportunities. What made me take the leap?,well, it just had to be that way.
5) What has been your biggest challenge as an artist?
Honestly, the biggest challenges are many fold. In my case, having made the decision not to live anywhere these past years and prevail upon the fortunes and happenstances of moving from one musical opportunity to the next, the challenge is just keeping mind, body and soul together. I also struggle with the necessity to commodify, commercialize and market my artistic wares while simultaneously competing with fellow artists in a business realm … which I don’t enjoy doing, at all. These things impinge deeply on ones abilities to ‘do the work’ that I mentioned earlier and honour that art, that in many ways, defines you. As a self promoting artist, there are all too many ways of not doing that work and I am yet to meet a same such musician that hasn’t at some stage in their careers not been completely overwhelmed by this dilemma. I am also sure most people reading this probably experience very similar conflicts in various facets of their own working and personal lives, given how time poor and stressed out many folks seem to be these days. Did I answer your question? It feels like I was monologuing then!
6) Do you find value in connecting with other artists, and if so, what are some of the ways you stay connected to your community?
Of course, it is essential to build and nourish connections between fellow artists, just like within your own family and tribe. In regards to keeping connected there is a sliding scale starting with Facebook and ending at music festivals and gigs. Musician family reunions might not be annual affairs but when chance finds you shoulder to shoulder with one of your kin on stage, at the festival bar or watching an amazing and inspirational artist, then those moments are golden and top up the fuel in your tank to weather the fallow seasons and artistic yard work.
7) What’s your next creative step?
To do more of the work.
Related posts:
- Creative Secrets Part II: Tracey “Halyma” Vibert
- Creative Secrets Part I: Sheri Braunstein
- Maintaining Your Creative Edge When Life Takes Over
- Drawing Creative Inspiration From Others