I’m a guitar player and songwriter. Granted, I used to play and write a lot more than I do now (kids’ll do that to you, ya know?). There were spurts you could’ve even considered me a professional of some sort. Those were good times.
Like with any endeavor, self-doubt is an ever-present obstacle. As I played with bands and wrote songs, I had big dreams. But I never went long without wrestling with the idea that I just may not have what it took. Maybe my chops weren’t good enough. Maybe the songs I thought were great actually sucked. Maybe I just wouldn’t catch my break.
Self-doubt like this is inevitable.
One day, a revolutionary thought struck me. A thought that, in and of itself, had the power to conquer self-doubt in a single bound. A thought that empowered me with the spark to quit pitying myself and get back to work and dreaming.
Wanna know what it was?
What if Led Zeppelin IV was called “Stairway to Heaven” instead? What if the Beatles’ White Album was actually called “Dear Prudence?” What if Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill was called “You Oughtta Know?” And what if For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was better known as “Right Now?” Because none of these albums would be as [...]
My wife and I spent our Friday night at the Meyerson in Dallas listening to Amy Grant and band play with the Dallas Pops Orchestra behind. It was nice, especially for my wife who is one of the biggest Amy Grant fans on the planet. As things got started, the orchestra began the tuning process. [...]
I’ve never heard of Gnarls Barkley, and I probably never would’ve seen their video on MTV (does MTV still play videos?), unless I hadn’t see this on Yahoo today. And Yahoo wouldn’t have bothered unless Gnarls Barkley had broken the rules (with crazy strobe light effects). They would’ve been just another band trying to breakthrough. [...]
