OF MEN AND GOLD

A friend of mine is making a film. I hope you'll watch this short video and visit the Kickstarter page and help the man make his movie.
Here's a link to Ryan's Kickstarter campaign.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/beardedm/the-account-of-gold-and-men-at-coker-creek

Tough Town?

It's not that people don't care about music in this town. You'd have a hard time finding any place in the world more welcoming to budding musicians and songwriters. This is music-city. Everyone here is in love with music and musicians. Most musicians are regarded as something of an oddity in their places of origin. They are seen either as no-accounts who can't pay the rent or they are placed on a pedestal, lauded and applauded. In Nashville a musician is a dime a dozen. We are the 99 here. There may be something different or special about you but, in Nashville, it's not going to be the fact that you make music. That is almost a given here.

I don't know if it's true of other songwriters but when I discovered that I could write a song it was a major turning point in my life. Here was something that I was kind of good at, which in itself wasn't all that amazing. The really amazing part was that I really liked doing it. It was comfortable and made immediate sense to me. There was some sort of instinct that I had for writing that wasn't something I had to study or learn. It was just there. So I let it have it's way with me. I wrote and wrote and wrote. I wrote some more. I sang and sang and sang. I sang some more. I compared my work with what was on the radio and then went back to work. I was so comfortable in my songwriting skin that I began to allow that to define me. Music was my “thing” and I really enjoyed that fact.

Then I moved to Nashville and my “thing” was no longer “thing”-worthy. It was just something that almost everyone you meet does and quite often does just as well if not better than you. It's not so much that Nashville strips your grand ideas and dreams...it's that it strips your very identity from you. It takes that thing you've grasped onto as your beacon of hope and turns it into something dreadfully common....prosaic............dull..............just stop with that already.

So I wrote this song about Nashville and called it, “The Killing Kind”.

The Killing Kind (feat Anna Johnson) by timpepper

But I got to thinking about it and perhaps I was being a little unkind towards this town that embraces artists so heartily. Maybe Nashville is more like a loving but tough mentor who says, “ok...what else have you got? Who are you really? Can you do that but do it better?”. It kicks the rock star out of you and forces you to become a human again. It reminds you that the rules still apply to you despite your precious talent (that you didn't do anything to get anyway).

I submitted this song for critique through an online service. The reviewer was very thorough and I felt like he did a good job. It was money well spent. I've copied an excerpt of one of his points below:

“Lyrically there is room for you to take your content a step further. You could try adding a twist to really get the most out of those last 8 lines. For instance, you could show the other side, from the perspective of someone who didn't make it, or of someone who did, letting the listener in on what it took to make it. Alternatively, you could compare it to another force that people must grapple with, like time, or chance, showing how one force is colder, or more unpredictable, or more forgiving. Redemption is the counterpoint to condemnation, so touching on that element is a great way to offer a glimpse of the whole picture.”

I completely agree with his assessment and will bear it mind as I write future songs. But for this particular song I wanted to write from the perspective of someone stuck in a situation. If I'd followed that advice I might have made the song more “universal” but I think I also might have lost something in so doing. When you're in a situation and you feel stuck you're not thinking about the whole picture or the counterpoint. You're just feeling shitty and that's all you can see. I wanted this song to capture that moment of despair and disgust.

I think the redemption or counterpoint to this song is that through writing and playing it I've had to express publicly that sometimes this town feels incredibly difficult but I've also had to face the fact that it's taught me an awful lot and most of the time it's a pretty awesome place to be. Nashville won't flatter you...It will make you a better artist and maybe a better person.

On that note, here's a few things I've learned from living and playing music in this town:

• I still have a lot to learn.
• Talent alone is not enough. There's a hell of a lot of talent in this world. Embrace your talent. Love your talent. Enjoy your talent to the fullest possible extent. But above all DEVELOP it and DO something with it.
• Always be listening and and always be learning because you will never be as awesome as you think you are. Maybe you are that awesome but don't let it go to your head. Nobody's gonna want to drink a beer with you if you're that guy.
• I'd rather hang out with a good dude than a talented asshole. So be a good dude to everyone you meet.
• Focus on how you can help other people instead of wondering if your semi-famous 'contact' can help you get a show.
• Be genuine. Make friends rather than contacts.
• Don't play music for money. Play music because you love to play music or don't play music at all.
• Don't write songs for money. Write songs because you love to write songs or don't write songs at all.
• Be open to criticism and be open to change but don't be a pushover. You are an artist and it's possible people like your art BECAUSE it's different and wrong and imperfect and non-commercial.
• Strive to be true to yourself but also strive to be the best possible version of yourself.
• Strive for excellence rather than perfection.
• You may never make a dime from your music. It would be a shame to let that fact stop you from making it.
• You're in good company here in Nashville. Consider it a privilege to play and be played to here.
  
  

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  The recording above features Anna Johnson singing background vocals and was mixed by Chris Wright. 

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Jesus, Can You Help Me?

--> Lord knows, I need something. We all do. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, cigarettes, alcohol, movies, music, working too hard, coffee, shopping, eating, FaceBook. It's all just a bunch of crap that we do to fill the gigantic emptiness that we walk around with.

My daughter spends weekends at my house. She likes to make messes: If it's in a box she wants to take it out. If it's on a shelf she wants to take it off the shelf. If it's folded, she unfolds it. If it's in a drawer she likes to scatter it on the floor. Toys are not so much played with as they are spread thoroughly around the house. She likes to smash squishy things and color in things that shouldn't be colored in. I find blueberries and Goldfish in strangest places. I'll be honest...it's pretty freaking annoying. I spend the weekend picking up, cleaning up, changing diapers, changing clothes and cutting up food into small pieces. There's always some damn thing that needs to be done.

When the weekend is over I drop her off with her mom and come home to an empty house. For a few minutes I enjoy the quiet, clean house but soon I'm overtaken with that empty, lonely feeling that inevitably comes. Everything is where I left it and there are no little hands moving things around or ripping things up or getting themselves into harm's way. I'm surrounded by inanimate, pointless objects that don't need tending and don't get hurt and don't start crying or demanding that I hold them when they get hungry. It's just me and a couple of rooms full of nothing. So I get on FaceBook and annoy my friends and also my “friends”.

That's when I realize the best part of my week was wiping my toddler's ass and telling her what a good pooper she is. Well maybe not really that particular part but you know what I mean. Her messes and her moaning and her attraction to all the potentially dangerous objects in the house (scissors, hot stoves, electrical outlets and trash cans come to mind) are just about big enough to fill my sparsely furnished home (hey, I'm still kind of a bachelor so back off). Her little laughs and giggles and mumblings are just about loud enough to start to erase the haunting quiet in me.

If not for her I'd probably be chasing all sorts of no good; searching madly for something to fill the gap. We humans are smart enough to know we are not quite right but not always able to figure out what it is that we are missing. My daughter helps a lot but I reckon I'm still a little short in some department or other. I, like you, need something. I wonder what it is?


Here's a downloadable version of "Jesus Can You Help Me". Jesus Can You Help Me (I Need You) by timpepper Click on the little grey arrow on the right hand side to download. It's free y'all.

 Jesus Can You Help Me by timpepper

MORE TIMPEPPER MUSIC HERE: www.onesheet.com/timpepper

A DREAM IS A HEARTBEAT

Calling All Artists: Your creations are needed.

I am a dreamer. What's more, I believe that dreams quicken a person; They make us FEEL alive. Every important thing that ever got done started with a dream. The pursuit of a dream will break you down and then build you into something better than you were before. Dreams will inspire you to achieve great things. When you have a dream you start to live for that dream and it becomes the thing that gets you out of bed and motivates you to try a little harder and move a little farther down the road. It becomes as necessary for your continued existence as your most vital organs. Your dream becomes your heart beating in your chest.

So here's the deal. I have a show coming up on November 18^th at Cafe Coco in Nashville, TN. I want to bring together all sorts of artists at this show and I want to show the world your dreams. So I need you to show me your dreams. Paint them. Draw them. Write them. Speak them. Sing them. Whatever form of art you do is acceptable. The concept here is fairly open to interpretation. If you want to convey your personal dream that's awesome. If you want to convey the idea of “a dream is a heartbeat” that's awesome too. The idea here is to celebrate the passions that drive people to do great things.

If you want to display your work at the show do the following:

1. Send an e-mail to peppertim4@gmail.com. The message should be titled “A Dream Is a Heartbeat” and should include your name and what you are planning to display. The 5$ cover charge will be waived for submitting artists but only if you e-mail me.
2. On Friday, 18^th November please arrive at Cafe Coco at 6:30 pm so you have time to set up your exhibit.
3. Promote the showing...bring some peeps. (Cafe Coco is an all ages venue so your little sisters and brothers are welcome.)
4. Do us all a favor and buy something to eat while you're there. Support the venues that support the arts.

Help me inspire the world to live their dreams.

I just uploaded some new songs. They are free for everyone at www.soundcloud.com/timpepper
To download just click on the downward facing arrow at the top of each song

I'll be playing a round tonight at Hotel Indigo on West End with Nick Zini and Shannon LaBrie at 9pm. Mayhaps I'll see you there.

the toms are booming in the monitors