RPM Challenge: Day Fourteen

How’s it going? Things are okay over here. Kind of. I took the Brown Line then the Red Line down to Clark and Division to go to 3rd Coast Cafe to work on lyrics for song number six which is tentatively titled “In a Town”. I get off the subway and see there’s an unusual amount of construction going on, and there are no northbound trains from the station today. This means that I have to walk to the Brown Line Sedgewick stop to go home. And it’s 10 degrees and blowing snow here in Chicago. Not the end of the world.

I brave the elements and make my way to the cafe, only to find there’s a 15 minute wait. Not that big of a deal on its own, but I hate to take up a table during a rush if I’m only going to have coffee. So I left 3rd Coast and walked north on Clark (in the interest of getting closer to the Sedgewick stop) and land at a Starbucks where I now sit. I am tuckered out.

Not sure why. Yesterday was really, really great. I carved out a decent amount of music for the new track, and had a nice low-key night out with some really good friends at Red Door on Damen. Despite minimal alcohol and a good night’s sleep, I still feel like a zombie. Which brings me to the subject I want to talk about a little bit: Motivation.

I need to write lyrics. I don’t feel like writing lyrics. I look at the words I have to “In a Town” and just… can’t add anything to it right now. Am I being a baby? Not sure. I just can’t force myself.

So I decided to utilize my time by writing a blog post instead. About not writing. I guess the idea is that even if I feel unmotivated to do a particular task, there is likely another task that I could be doing.

I am not a morning person. I’m not really even a noon person. My mind and body tend to wake up and start kicking around 3pm. My peak activity time is around 7pm. These are just the peaks and valleys I’ve learned to navigate. Gotta play to your strengths. Embrace your rhythms.

There is some news though. If you’ve been following along, you might know that I was having trouble coming up with a title to my last song (#5). I reached out to the interwebs in hopes of getting some input. I got some great suggestions, and have settled on “Lake Effect”. Big thanks to Jackie Sestak for coming up with the title. I think it fits the mysterious, somewhat obtuse feel of the track. Don’t believe me? Listen to “Lake Effect” here.

Welp, it’s almost 1pm and my coffee is half full. “Ping!” goes my phone. It’s Natalie from the band Tele Novella. She just gave me the green light to share a recording from her previous band that I produced. But this is a subject for a different blog post.

Take it easy and I’ll talk to ya soon!

-WS

tuckered

Can’t Stop The Now...

More To Explore

Why “IS”?

After releasing 16 albums and 13 standalone singles, I permanently closed the lid on the William Steffey catalog. William Steffey’s swansong was the single “Sparkle”,

Nightlife

Step out of your crisp blue winter evening and into the wild swing of Archibald Motley Jr.’s Nightlife; a vivid portrayal of the hip nocturnal

Choice

Today marks the release of my 16th album, ATYPICAL. Starting this week, I’ll be chatting about each of the six songs that make up the