tension and release

It's almost felt anticlimactic to release the Chimney Swift EP after a month and a half of silence on this blog and in general about the endeavor. There were good reasons for the silence--none of them expected, simple, or easy--and I can't help but wonder if the silence itself is a blessing of sorts. Releasing the EP this way has called my bluff and challenged what I so carefully articualted to be my state of mind regarding making music. Is the careful attention of a few friends truly better than the fickle adoration of strangers? Really?

I picked up a record a few weeks back. I needed a break from the reasons for the above mentioned silence and decided that an evening trip to Zia and Tops, both blocks from my house, was in order. I bought David Bazan's Fewer Moving Parts EP. I don't own any Pedro the Lion, and was never very interested, but I'd heard songs here and there from this solo EP, and ended up being drawn to it after an hour in the aisles (at Zia, not Tops). There's a passage from the opening tune that I wonder, seeing as how he's a "successful" do-it-yourselfer, independent, touring musical entrepreneur, whether he might have been directing, at least partially, at himself:

so if it starts to get you down
just pretend
that you don't make your living
from selling advertising
tracking trends, coralling demographics
and maximizing traffic

The thing about releasing something like I've released the Chimney Swift EP is that I don't have to pretend. This is not about making a living, it's about living. And life doesn't wait for the appropriate buzz or market saturation to occur before bounding forward. It's a good reminder to me.

So if you're already enjoying the EP, or if you plan to soon, do so with the knowledge that you're a friend before you're part of a coralled demographic.

Peace and joy to you all,
Chad