Category Archives: Thoughts

My thoughts, feelings and rants

What Does A Leap Of Faith Feel Like?

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Last night at the Open Mic @ The Dan (a weekly Open Mic that I run) I was having a chat with someone who was just about to experience her first time performing at the Open Mic.

She was very, very nervous and was almost in tears with the thought of getting up on stage and bearing herself to a room full of musicians who she felt were way better than her.

She was having second thoughts about performing and she was up on stage next.

I could only imagine that for someone who has only just started playing the guitar not even six months ago, the thought of coming to a well attended Open Mic full of quality performers such as the one at The Dan would be unthinkable.

She was grappling with the concept of stepping right out of her comfort zone and taking a leap of faith.

As I was chatting to her I was starting to think what a leap of faith would feel like and how I could adequately put the feeling into words. I then had a moment of clarity where I was reminded of the first time I jumped off the high diving tower at the local swimming pool many, many years ago.

I could remember in every detail walking up the ladder towards the top, giddy with anticipation but intensely nervous at the same time.

I remember being up there for what seemed like eternity, and having the feeling of being completely paralysed by fear but I couldn’t climb down from the platform as the fear of losing face in front of the others kids was stronger.

I remembered finally taking a deep breath, running towards the edge and (with an almighty scream) jumping in.

This flashback I experienced only lasted for a brief moment but in that moment I was taking the leap of faith with her.

Just before she went on stage I told her of my diving tower analogy and that by going through with her performance she will change her worldview (and her place in it) forever.

She then got up on stage and put in an absolutely wonderful performance.

Come to think of it, I’ve never jumped off the high diving tower since that day.

Peace,

Corey :)

Expanding My Online Presence Using Posterous

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Now I am a self confessed WordPress fanboy and have been for many years but for a little while now I’ve had my eye on another blogging platform to expand my online presence with.

It’s called Posterous.

My understanding of Posterous is that it was developed to allow people to post online via email but it also has an online interface that can be used as well however, the main feature that really got me interested in exploring it more was its AutoPost function.

The AutoPost function allows what I post on my Posterous blog to appear automatically on other blogging platforms and social networking sites that I subscribe to. Once I publish a post, it will be automatically updated on the following sites:

This excited me because this system allows me to post items of interest and relevance on Songwriting, Music Business and Home Recording that I find on the web and have that information appear at multiple points online while at the same time, these multiple points all link into this site.

Essentially, I expand my online presence without too much effort while creating incoming links to Corey Stewart Online (good for SEO) plus, interesting and relevant information is being circulated to those who want to read it.

The secondary reason for doing this is that through posting the relevant news of the day based on my topics of interest plus the wide ranging ideas of others I will become more inspired myself and therefore my own blogging/songwriting activity will increase.

Everybody wins!

This is of course an experiment that I’ll be monitoring very closely. I want to find out if I get an increase in traffic numbers, email subscription numbers and Google juice but I’ll make sure I keep you all up to date with the ongoing results.

Peace,

Corey :)

PS: The first post on Posterous can be found HERE

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A Word Of Advice – Do Your Taxes Yourself!

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I think that the end of the financial year (which in Australia falls on June 30th) is a very stressful time of the year for a lot of people.

For me it’s stressful because (being a small business owner) it’s the time where I get out my receipts folder (or shoe box as was my filing system for a number of years) and spend days pouring over every receipt I’ve collected over the past twelve months and catalog my spending and purchasing habits for the previous year into a spreadsheet which will be then sent to my accountant for processing.

If you’re wondering why I’m writing about this now to you and not at financial years end well, I am at this very moment, waiting on hold to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) for the second time today. The first time was this morning but I gave up after 46 minutes listening to the most mind numbing music I’ve ever heard.

(Somehow I don’t believe it when the recorded voice on the phone says “thank you for holding, your call has progressed in the queue, you will be answered by a service representative shortly”)

Anyway, the reason for my correspondence with the ATO is that for the past couple of years I’ve had problems with my tax, well more precisely, the getting of all of my necessary information together to send off to my accountant.

This was because I allowed a bookkeeper to get my information together rather than doing it myself as I had done in other years. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it turned out be a big (and expensive) mistake.

Now, I’m no financial whizz or accounting genius but compiling all the necessary information needed for the yearly trip to the accountants office was not that hard for me (especially being a sole trader). I just need to be a little bit organised and have the ability to set aside some time to complete all of the necessary tasks but a couple of years ago I thought to myself in a flash of inspiration, “why don’t get someone else to do it?”

I soon realised however, that once I gave all of my receipts and other bits and pieces to the third party I was then working to another persons schedule and their ability to manage their own time, events and so on.

Now I’m not going into the full story of what happened but let me just say that after two years of delays, a couple of bookkeepers, a multitude of phone calls and a lengthy time in my accountants hands later, my tax information is now complete with the result being that I owe the tax office a bit of money.

It’s my hope that I can pay off my tax debt in instalments, hence why I’m waiting on hold to the ATO and hence why you’re reading this.

Being placed on hold has given me a lot of time to think about this present situation and my thoughts are that all of this wouldn’t have happened if I done what I’ve always done every other year and finished my taxes myself. I think this time my need to be in control of my own affairs has been vindicated in a big way.

This will eventually become an expensive mistake for me to learn from, and learn from it I will.

Has anybody else had any issues with small business finances, dealing with bookkeepers and/or accountants? Let me know, I’m on hold… I have all the time in the world to listen.

I suppose I’m also being given a first hand lesson in patience and tolerance and that is what I am grateful for.

Peace,

Corey :)

Never Again Will I Be Afraid Of Words

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One of my primary songwriting goals of 2011 is to never be afraid of words again.

Ideally, what this means for me is that by conquering my fear of words or, more accurately, the fear of my words (and therefore me, as a person) being judged by others, I will be able to increase my songwriting output by finishing all of my half completed songwriting ideas because at the moment a distinct lack of lyrical material is what is standing in the way of me completing my current batch of songwriting ideas.

I have no real idea how I came to the conclusion that writing lyrics is not one of my strong points but that is how I was seeing myself as a musician first and a lyricist (a very distant) second.

I know that the above statement is not true however, I have said it to myself so many times now that my subconscious believes it. It’s like I’m fulfilling some sort of prophesy about my (lack of) songwriting process.

The biggest problem I have with my with lyric writing process is that I self censor far too early in the piece. I need to give myself the permission to put down on paper whatever comes to me, to write what is inside of me no matter whether I consider it crap or not and no matter how bad it might look on paper.

For some reason I’ve succumbed to the belief that I have nothing of value to say to the world through my lyrics. What a way to sabotage my songwriting and my creativity as a whole.

Yes, I’m pretty good at that.

Even though words have the power to change things and therefore, need to be treated with the respect they deserve, they can’t hurt me and my so called fear of them should not silence me.

The best thing I can do is to roll up my sleeves and just write. I know that by doing this I will conquer my fear of words.

One song at a time…

Peace,

Corey :)

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Help! I Think I Have A Case Of Fringe Fatigue

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With the 2011 Adelaide Fringe Festival in full swing there’s a lot of competition around for the attention (and the disposable income) of the general public.

There is so much going on in Adelaide at the moment it’s very easy to develop “Fringe Fatigue” (I know I have) and if you ever needed proof that we in Adelaide are spoilt by too much choice then check out the sheer amount of posters that have been put up around the place.

I mean, there are so many posters on display, especially for the comedy shows, adorning what seems to be every square metre of space in the city. For me, it’s an attack on the senses, like my optic nerves are being assaulted by the faces of comedians desperately peddling their latest show.

I was involved with the Fringe last Friday and Saturday night (February 25th and 26th) with The Synchronicity Police doing two shows in the Balcony Bar of the Colonel Light Hotel. At last years Fringe we did one show at the Queens Arms Hotel with about 130 people in the audience so we had a rough benchmark to aim for.

However, this year we didn’t even make 100 people for the two shows combined.

I thought we did everything possible to promote the shows with the little budget we had but we couldn’t reach last years numbers. This really upset me and it’s probably why I’m writing this post with a hint of cynicism clouded with a dash of fatigue.

Anecdotally, I’ve heard from other Fringe acts that attendances have been down from last year. I have also heard from punters plus friends of mine who have been given the arduous task of reviewing multiple Fringe acts for magazines such as Rip It Up that great shows have had small audiences, smaller than they should be.

There have also been others that have said that this phenomenon has been happening since the Fringe became an annual event while there’s another group who blame the after effects of the GFC (the Global Financial Crisis for those of you who live under a rock).

Whatever the “reasons” are there seems to be a real downward trend in audience numbers or, maybe we’re all turning into (exclusively) comedy fans or, I should’ve worked much harder and done a better job at promoting my own Fringe shows. That sounds more like it.

Oh dear, I’ll stop venting now. I think it’s time for a cup of tea and a lie down.

Peace,

Corey :)

Life Just Happens Sometimes

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With Christmas, New Year and now the month of January gone for another year I thought it was time for me to read through my earlier posts to gain some inspiration.

As I was going through my earlier blog posts I stumbled upon something called  Life – We’re Making It Up As We Go Along and from it I glimpsed an undeniable truth that which no-one can escape from.

And that truth is…

Sometimes life just happens and there’s nothing you can do about it.

No matter how much I try and control the outcomes of my life there is always a small percentage of it that wants to be random, chaotic and spontaneous. The funny thing is that the more I try to fight and control this random, chaotic and spontaneous nature of my life, the more persistant it becomes.

It has made me realise that it’s this random, chaotic and spontaneous nature that truly shapes how my life unfolds rather than the rest of my life that I (think I) control.

I’m sure this is what John Lennon meant when he wrote “life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”

Ah… I understand now (major lightbulb moment).

Peace,

Corey :)

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Sting Concert – January 26th, 2010

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For my 40th birthday Mum and Dad got me Gold Seating tickets to Sting’s “Barossa Under The Stars” concert on Australia Day. The experience as a whole was fantastic but I got to tell you (and I don’t want to sound ungrateful here), the gig itself didn’t excite me one little bit.

It was all too “nice” for my liking. It was missing the passion and a sense of urgent intent that I got from the other Sting shows I’ve witnessed.

The best bits of the night however, was when Sting played his acoustic guitar with very minimal orchestral backing.

As if he was performing solo.

This was especially the case with his very last song of the night “Message In A Bottle”. I could’ve quite easily sat through a whole night of Sting performing in this way.

Please don’t get me wrong, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra were stunning in their musicianship and the orchestral arrangements themselves were absolutely breathtaking. I think what lost me was the marriage between Stings pared down band plus the Orchestra.

I must admit, seeing dreadfully inebriated baby boomers trying to relive their youth as well as being exposed to more mutton dressed up as lamb than one’s optic nerves can handle did nothing for the cause either.

I was hoping to be inspired but unfortunately it wasn’t the case. I wanted to… I really, really wanted to.

Peace,

Corey :)

Gary Numan Coming To Australia

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In 1992 I was turned onto Gary Numan through one of my supervisors of where I was working at the time, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

In fact, it was through repeated listening to Numan’s 1978 “Replica’s” album (that he did with Tubeway Army) that inspired me to form a 3 piece band called “Big Bang Theory”.

We wore black despotic costumes and played 4-to-the-floor punk liberally tinged with Sci-Fi themes, just like what Gary Numan was doing.

The band only lasted one gig however, the experience was enough to give me the courage to move to Sydney in 1994 and the rest is history…

I never realised how much of an influence Gary Numan’s music had on my life until I saw an advertisement for Gary Numan’s Pleasure Principle tour of Australia (due in May 2011) which inspired this post.

Numan’s music and his dystopic imagery dared me to listen to music in a different way and to consider my role in it. I lost my way musically a little bit at that time which turned me into an angry soul but Gary Numan was the light I needed to find my way again.

Numan and his band will be performing at HQ on Monday May 16th, I’ll be getting my ticket. It’s my way of thanking an artist that has influenced me in ways I hadn’t imagined.

Below is my favourite Gary Numan song “We Are Glass.” For me, this song clearly shows how far ahead of his time Gary Numan was.

Enjoy!

Peace,

Corey :)

On Turning 40

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Last Friday I turned 40 and I must say, besides recovering from an intensive weekend of celebration, I really don’t feel any different.

I was told by some people that I’m either going to love or hate reaching this particular milestone. Where I sit on that spectrum is between half way along and loving it (about a 7/10) but I know that my Dad hated turning 40, he was really bummed out by it.

I’ve also been told a number of times that 40 is the new 30. Now, I consider myself a smart man but even now, I have no idea what that statement means. To me, it seems obvious that a 40 year old trying to relive some sort of lost youth came up with that statement to justify their own mid-life crisis or something like that.

There was a time not so long ago that I would’ve hated turning 40. It would’ve scared the shit out of me but that was all part of my “I’m too old to be a relevant musician” phase that I was going through at the time.

Thankfully, I don’t feel that way now as I’ve embraced my age, my grey hairs and the experiences that come with it.

What turning 40 did do for me was to allow me to look back on my life and relive some of the amazing times I’ve had. It allowed me to finally realise that the more I live my life, the more experiences I can share with others, the more life inspiration I can draw upon for my own songwriting and the more people I can touch, move and inspire through my music.

I also realised that based on my family history of longevity (a few months ago I attended my Grandfather’s 90th birthday) I haven’t even reached the halfway point of my life as yet and that is an amazing fact in itself.

Right now I’m in a position where I’m doing what I’ve wanted to be doing since high school.

I’m playing music professionally and, at the same time, developing a long term musical career as a songwriter/musician using the internet as my primary form of marketing and distribution. It’s really nice to know that I have a few more years of life left in me.

The possibilities are limitless and turning 40 doesn’t scare me anymore. Besides, only two more years and I’ll know the answers to life, the universe and everything.

Peace,

Corey :)

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A Tribute To Mick Karn (1958-2011)

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Mick Karn with Japan @ Hammersmith Odeon
Image via Wikipedia

When I heard of Mick Karn‘s passing today it hit me really, really hard. It wasn’t only because I’m a bass player myself but because with Mick’s passing a part of my musical history had vanished too.

You see, in the beginning of my musical development there were two people who inspired me to pick up the bass and that was John Taylor (of Duran Duran) and Mick Karn, but it was Mick who inspired me to rip off the frets on one of my early basses and start playing fretless.

While everyone else was listening to Jaco, I was studying Mick.

For me Mick Karn is one of the most distinctive sounding, unique and amazing fretless bassists I’ve ever heard.

Mick Karn is best known as the bass player for art-rock band Japan. His sound was unique, distinctive and unmistakable and it was this sound that enabled Japan to stand out sonically and musically from the rest of the bands that were part of the New Wave movement in the late 1970′s and early 1980′s.

The video below is a really good example of how Mick Karn’s brilliantly rubbery and wobbly fretless sound made Japan a truly unique band. The song is called “Visions Of China” and the video is taken from their “Oil On Canvas” live video of 1983.

Oh, this takes me back. Bliss…

I always admired Mick’s approach to his playing. Being essentially self taught he never learnt to read music but he once said…

“I rely very much on my ears. If it sounds as if it’s the right thing, then I’ll keep it, even if it may not be.”

Amen to that Mick, your playing as well as your wisdom will be sorely missed.

Peace,

Corey :)

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