#meat loaf lyric sneak

[steakrogers]

just another

Wasted Youth

[theoriesontheory]

‘A Self-Portrait of an inspired and reflective practitioner” (Me?!?)

This week as a part of trying to reflect on my practice and who I am as a creative I was set to task to create a self-portrait. I was given no limits as far as media, method and message which left me with a seemingly endless pool of options. My initial reaction was to create a playlist, what better way to describe myself than with the medium I love. However, as I started putting it together, I found that while I can fill a playlist with songs from my childhood, what I was influenced by and what I am trying to emulate, it felt like there were gaps in the story.

I decided to put together a collage of images both gathered from the internet as well as some from my social media, with the idea that not only is it a collection of images that sums up who I am but also works to tell a chronological level. On the bottom level are the things that shaped me as a young person, before I ever had formal music training. I was raised in a very musical family, the three artists across the bottom, Prince, Kenny Rodgers, and Meatloaf represent listening to albums and songs in cars on the way to and from school with my family and watching Purple Rain when I was younger, seeing Prince and wanting nothing more than to be him. The fourth image is from Christmas 2014 and represents a common occurrence when I was younger that is at family events all my uncles would bring guitars and sing Latin American songs out of time and out of key. Looking at these formative images I am struck with two things that felt missing in a playlist and that is the experience of living through experiencing this media. I was drawn to songs that told a story like The Gambler by Kenny Rodgers or the Bat out of Hell Album by Meatloaf, the life of The Kid in Purple Rain and the family tradition of singing together.

Moving up we enter my high school years, which was when music shifted from something I liked to something I was obsessed with. I have included mostly photos from live shows as this was the period where I was going to as many shows as I could afford and trying to sneak into the ones I couldn’t. I was a typical teenager in that I was drawn to “angsty” music but was already developing a passion for Australian music, loving bands like Tonight Alive and Vices. The mecca of live music for me at this time was a venue in Wollongong called RAD Bar. It was a tiny venue with average sound on a good night, but it was a safe haven for the music community for many years and was where I made many friends that turned into industry contacts and where I would play some of my first ever shows. The non-Australian bands included here are Modern Baseball and Being as An Ocean. Different bands when considering sound but I was drawn to them for the same reason, the same reason I was drawn to the music I liked when I was younger, there were stories there, stories I related to. On the right side, lower portion you might notice the cover of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and be somewhat confused. When I started playing bass I ended up getting lessons at the local conservatorium through high school. I was already in love with music at this point and was super eager to start playing. Initially, I thought the jazz stuff was cool, appreciated why I should learn the theory but wanted to play in the pop-punk band me and my friends had formed. It wasn’t until I was introduced to modal Jazz, through Kind of Blue that I fell in love with the genre. Why? I heard stories, through Miles’s trumpet playing and the harmony I felt emotion and communication, just as much as I did when listening to a song with lyrics. While it is a seemingly tangential story I view my experience of learning Jazz theory and coming to understand harmony and how that can play into composition on an emotional level as core to some of the work I’m doing now.

Moving up into my uni, through to now life I found I was looking for less photos of other people and looking for experiences I had. My time at uni was when I started playing in bands more regularly, went on tour, was involved with recording, all of which I have continued as I have been able to this day. I have included photos of the two bands I played in primarily, Jack R. Reilly from Sydney and Indie Kid Callum from Wollongong, both projects were built on groups of friends wanting to create together as opposed to getting the best players in town together. I have also included two photos of me doing the solo work that takes up most of my current creative time. Even though Sal Viejo and found_sound.mp3 are solo projects, in that I am the only one with their name to the whole of the projects, I am still influenced by my community, I write songs about my life, experiences, friends and our stories. I remix work from other artists. I listen to and love my friends work; we share mixes and ideas with each other. The final image is the logo for the website/booking agency that I started with my best friend in 2020. We are dedicated to listening to, writing about, and promoting local music and have been working on shows and write ups for artists from Canberra and beyond. This part of my practice in my mind is informed and built on all the things that have come before. The way I play is influenced by the songs I grew up listening to, my performance is based on shows that I saw and was a part of, the way I enjoy collaborating can be traced back to my experiences with my family. At the centre is a photo I took today (on day of writing) in a mirror just outside of my room. Looking at the image, I find it interesting the little stories and memories that some of the images conjure. Alongside each of these is a song or performance or idea for a song or performance waiting to happen. I feel like I am the most creative when I am at the centre of all these things. Sometimes I find that I ignore some of the experiences I have, deeming jazz theory as inappropriate for an emo song or thinking that a standard four chord progression is too simple. But just looking at the breadth of my taste and experience, you’d think I know that it’s not always what you do it is often tied up with how you do it.

This exercise has proved a valuable tool for reflecting on who I am as a creative. I have concluded that as an individual I am drawn to art that has a story and is a part of community. So, it seems only fitting that in my journey as a creative practitioner when I work I am influenced by all of the things I have absorbed and had experiences with. I mix them all together and try to make something that tells a story and has a place in my community.

Image Descriptions and References (Starting Top Left)

1: Photo from Show with Jack R Reilly Band. (2019). Taken from Personal Facebook Page

2:HomeGrown Sounds Logo, designed by Beniah Coulburn. Taken from Personal Facebook Page

3: Sign from Rad Bar in Wollongong. (2018). Taken from Personal Facebook Page

4: Photo of me working as found_sound.mp3. (2021). Unpublished.

5: Photo of me performing at The Front as Sal Viejo. (2019). Taken from personal Facebook page.

6: Photo of recording set up for gang vocals for Canberra Band Plastic Plants. (2020). Taken from Personal Facebook Page

7: Photo of Tonight Alive Performing Live on the ‘The Other Side’ tour (2018). https://wallpapersafari.com/w/nvfjuN

8: Photo from the last ever Vices show at Rad Bar (2018). https://robfrench.com.au/2018/04/23/vices-last-ever-show/

9: Photo of me taken this morning (29/07/21). Unpublished

10:Photo taken at a band practice for Indie Kid Callum. (2017). Taken from Personal Facebook Page

11: Photo of Modern Baseball Playing live in Glasgow. (2014). https://louderthanwar.com/modern-baseball-audio-glasgow-24092014-live-review/

12: Photo of me playing bass at an Indie Kid Callum Show. (2017). Taken from Personal Facebook Page

13: Cover of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. (n.d.) https://www.vinyldestination.com.au/miles-davis-kind-of-blue-mono-limited

14: Promotional Image of Prince for Purple Rain. (2019). https://ultimateprince.com/purple-rain-moments/

15: Album Cover of Kenny Rodgers’ The Gambler. (n.d.) https://genius.com/Kenny-rogers-the-gambler-lyrics

16: Photo of family Christmas eve gathering. (2014) Taken from Personal Facebook Page

17: Album Cover of Meatloaf’s Bat out of Hell (2021). https://tommygirard.wordpress.com/2021/03/16/meat-loaf-bat-out-of-hell/

[whatshehassaid]

Fave Lyrics in Songs

Life on Mars - David Bowie [x]

But the film is a saddening bore For she's lived it ten times or more She could spit in the eyes of fools As they ask her to focus on Sailors fighting in the dance hall Oh man, look at those cavemen go It's the freakiest show

Space Oddity - David Bowie [x]

This is Ground Control to Major Tom You've really made the grade And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare "This is Major Tom to Ground Control I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way And the stars look very different today For here Am I sitting in a tin can Far above the world Planet Earth is blue And there's nothing I can do

Hotel California - Eagles [x]

Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said, 'we are all just prisoners here, of our own device' And in the master's chambers, They gathered for the feast They stab it with their steely knives, But they just can't kill the beast

Mr. Watson - Cruel Youth [x]

They spend the summer getting clean But September comes and they fall like leaves Oh what would I do without you? What would I do without you?

Grapevine Fires - Death Cab For Cutie [x]

The wake up call to a rented room Sounded like an alarm of impending doom. To warn us it's only a matter of time. Before we all burn Before we all burn Before we all burn Before we all burn.

Hurdy Gurdy Man - Donovan [x]

Thrown like a star in my vast sleep I opened my eyes to take a peek To find that I was by the sea Gazing with tranquility'Twas then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man Came singing songs of love Then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man Came singing songs of love

White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes [x]

I was following the pack All swaddled in their coats With scarves of red tied 'round their throats To keep their little heads From fallin' in the snow And I turned 'round and there you go And, Michael, you would fall And turn the white snow red as strawberries In the summertime

Howl - Florence & the Machine [x]

The fabric of your flesh, pure as a wedding dress Until I wrap myself inside your arms I cannot rest The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallowed ground And howl

The Psychiatrist is In - God Help the Girl [x]

I was an ace when I was young I learned to dance, I didn't have to learn I was a case when I grew up A case of hope crashing to the ground I learned, I hit the skids And I woke up me, myself, and I was a different person

Heart’s a Mess - Gotye [x]

Love ain't fair So there you are My love Your heart's a mess You won't admit to it It makes no sense But I'm desperate to connect And you, you can't live like this

Hold Me Down - Halsey [x]

I sold my soul to a three-piece And he told me I was holy He's got me down on both knees But it's the devil that's tryna Hold me down, hold me down Sneaking out the back door, make no sound Knock me out, knock me out Saying that I want more, this is what I live for

Young God - Halsey [x]

He says, "Oh, baby girl, don't get cut on my edges I'm the king of everything and oh, my tongue is a weapon There's a light in the crack that's separating your thighs And if you wanna go to heaven you should fuck me tonight"

Colors - Halsey [x]

You’re dripping like a saturated sunrise You’re spilling like an overflowing sink You’re ripped at every edge but you’re a masterpiece And now you’re tearing through the pages and the ink

Angel of Small Death & the Codeine Scene - Hozier [x]

I watch the work of my kin bold and boyful Toying somewhere between love and abuse Calling to join them the wretched and joyful Shaking the wings of their terrible youths Freshly dissolved in some frozen devotion No more alone or myself could I be Looks like a strain to the arms it were open No shortage of sordid, no protest from me With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene With her straw-blonde hair, her arms hard and lean She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene

Soft as Chalk - Joanna Newsom [x]

Milk - Kings of Leon [x]

Molly’s Chambers - Kings of Leon [x]

Off to the Races - Lana Del Rey [x]

Body Electric - Lana Del Rey [x]

When We’re Fire - Lo-Fang [x]

The Stand - Mother Mother [x]

American Woman - Muddy Magnolias [x]

Cherry Tree - The National [x]

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel [x]

Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel [x]

From Blown Speakers - The New Pornographers [x]

Did It On ‘em - Nicki Minaj [x]

All Apologies - Nirvana [x]

Something in the Way - Nirvana [x]

Bathwater - No Doubt [x]

Champagne Supernova - Oasis [x]

Shady Lane - Pavement [x]

Moonsea - Phildel [x]

Rome - Phoenix [x]

Lisztomania - Phoenix [x]

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd [x]

Black/White - The Ravonettes [x]

Church on White - Stephen Malkmus [x]

Well I Say... - Trevor Hall [x]

Wolf Like Me - TV on the Radio [x]

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend [x]

Train Song - Vashti Bunyan [x]

Venus in Furs - The Velvet Underground [x]

Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground [x]

The Man With No Soul - Wax Tailor [x]

I’ll Believe in Anything - Wolf Parade [x]

Sex Yeah - Marina & the Diamonds [x]

Oh No! - Marina & the Diamonds [x]

Paradise By the Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf [x]

Sex & Candy - Marcy Playground [x]

I’m Good, I’m Gone - Lykke Li [x]

Ramble On - Led Zeppelin 

Black Dog - Led Zeppelin [x]

I Am the Walrus - The Beatles 

I Want You (She’s So Heavy) - The Beatles [x]

Hold Up - Beyonce [x]

6 Inch - Beyonce (feat. The Weeknd) 

Bachelorette - Bjork [x] 

Blue Velvet - Bobby Vinton [x]