We all have something, maybe even several things, that we insist we cannot do. Often times the thing that we think we cannot do, and that which we would love to do, are the exact same thing. What would it take to really challenge yourself in this life? This doesn't meant that your life has to be a challenge, just that through challenging ourselves we reach new levels of ability and achievement - opening new doors and shedding new light on what we are truly capable of.
My challenge to you, is to take the thing that you think you cannot do, but would love to do, and contemplate taking the first baby-step to get yourself headed in the right direction. Don't make a leap yet, just a baby-step this time; we will leap later. Figure out what it is that you've convinced yourself you cannot do, and just think about what the first baby-step would be.
In order to give, we must give the very thing that we think we cannot do without. There is no harm here, it's just a thought.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
And I Heard Myself Utter These Words
Today I heard myself utter these words: "I have to admit, the more successful the music becomes, the more it freaks me out! Why? I have no idea, thank you though."
I couldn't believe it. I had found a comfort in being obscure. The climb to become more and more well-known is extremely draining. There is so much to do, and it's you who has to do it, and you who has to push yourself to do all of the things that you would rather not do; but if you didn't do those things, you would pay a huge price - you would remain obscure.
I have no delusion here that I'm getting 'too big for my britches.' No, my britches still fit quite well. One thing that I am finding, however, is that sometimes all of the seeds that you plant bloom at once! All of a sudden you're quickly in a place where you had only imagined before; that's where I am now.
So I guess success is an odd thing to complain about; so I won't complain. I will just say this: it will be some time before you will know the fruits that today's labor will bring; but be sure to be ready to fill your basket with all that fruit once it is time for the harvest because, if you've worked hard, there will be a lot of it.
Thank You all for your continued support. You amaze and humble me day after day.
I couldn't believe it. I had found a comfort in being obscure. The climb to become more and more well-known is extremely draining. There is so much to do, and it's you who has to do it, and you who has to push yourself to do all of the things that you would rather not do; but if you didn't do those things, you would pay a huge price - you would remain obscure.
I have no delusion here that I'm getting 'too big for my britches.' No, my britches still fit quite well. One thing that I am finding, however, is that sometimes all of the seeds that you plant bloom at once! All of a sudden you're quickly in a place where you had only imagined before; that's where I am now.
So I guess success is an odd thing to complain about; so I won't complain. I will just say this: it will be some time before you will know the fruits that today's labor will bring; but be sure to be ready to fill your basket with all that fruit once it is time for the harvest because, if you've worked hard, there will be a lot of it.
Thank You all for your continued support. You amaze and humble me day after day.
Well, yes, but thank you
Today I heard myself utter these words: "I have to admit, the more successful the music becomes, the more it freaks me out! Why? I have no idea, thank you though."
I couldn't believe it. I had found a comfort in being obscure. The climb to become more and more well-known is extremely draining. There is so much to do, and it's you who has to do it, and you who has to push yourself to do all of the things that you would rather not do; but if you didn't do those things, you would pay a huge price - you would remain obscure.
I have no delusion here that I'm getting 'too big for my britches.' No, my britches still fit quite well. One thing that I am finding, however, is that sometimes all of the seeds that you plant bloom at once! All of a sudden you're quickly in a place where you had only imagined before; that's where I am now.
So I guess success is an odd thing to complain about; so I won't complain. I will just say this: it will be some time before you will know the fruits that today's labor will bring; but be sure to be ready to fill your basket with all that fruit once it is time for the harvest because, if you've worked hard, there will be a lot of it.
Thank You all for your continued support. You amaze and humble me day after day.
I couldn't believe it. I had found a comfort in being obscure. The climb to become more and more well-known is extremely draining. There is so much to do, and it's you who has to do it, and you who has to push yourself to do all of the things that you would rather not do; but if you didn't do those things, you would pay a huge price - you would remain obscure.
I have no delusion here that I'm getting 'too big for my britches.' No, my britches still fit quite well. One thing that I am finding, however, is that sometimes all of the seeds that you plant bloom at once! All of a sudden you're quickly in a place where you had only imagined before; that's where I am now.
So I guess success is an odd thing to complain about; so I won't complain. I will just say this: it will be some time before you will know the fruits that today's labor will bring; but be sure to be ready to fill your basket with all that fruit once it is time for the harvest because, if you've worked hard, there will be a lot of it.
Thank You all for your continued support. You amaze and humble me day after day.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Interview I Did on 4.6.10
Interview with Singer-Songwriter Dan Coyle
By Molly Heintzelman
heintzelman.quadnews@gmail.com
|
Published: Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Updated: Thursday, April 8, 2010
Dan Coyle
Photo courtesy of facebook.com/insidethesunshinefactory
Chicago-based singer-songwriter Dan Coyle has been cranking out neo-folkpop tunes reminiscent of Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Jason Mraz since 2004. Now he’s taking his one-man show to Connecticut for a live performance at The Space on Tuesday, Apr. 6. Quad News got a chance to catch up with Coyle before the show to discuss the future of folk, spontaneous songwriting and the art of connecting with a live crowd.
Quad News: How would you categorize your music?
Dan Coyle: Well, we push the idea that my music is kind of the next generation of singer-songwriter folk music. I would still consider it to be folk music because it has the feel of simplicity and repetition. And it can be very easy to identify with and sing along to. I guess the idea of the future of folk music is moving it in the direction of being able to blend or mix with a little bit more of a contemporary pop-py feel to it.
QN: If I listened to you on Pandora, what else would come up? What other artists would you compare yourself to?
DC: It depends [on] what album or what song you’re listening to. I had a guy pick up a song that was on my first album, “Briar Street: The Acoustic Session,” which was actually the first song of mine that was ever played on the radio back in 2007 (“Slow Train Comin’”). He said that I reminded him a lot of John Denver, and I can understand what he’s saying off of listening to that song because it’s a slower song. It has a very smooth, soothing melody kind of like a lot of John Denver. Recently, the latest album, “Random Thoughts and Incomplete Sentences,” a lot of times my vocals are compared to Cat Stevens. I get a lot of comparisons to Jason Mraz, having that kind of catchy acoustic, mellow vibe. I’ve also gotten Jack Johnson a lot, but I don’t listen to a lot of Jack Johnson, so I can’t really say.
QN: What does the song writing process entail for you?
DC: Usually for the most part, most the songs are written in 10 minutes, 15 minutes. To me, what usually happens is I will just be sitting around tooling around on the guitar, not playing anything in particular. Then the minute I hear something that I like, I’ll play it over and over and over again. And all that I usually do is just start singing to it. Not humming notes or melodies, but actual words, That’s usually how it happens.
I don’t sit down and think about the words a lot and I always hope that means that they are more meaningful because they come very naturally. It’s not that I’m writing them down on a piece of paper then ruminating over them for some period of t time. It’s more that it just kind of happens that once and in those ten or fifteen minutes go by and then it’s like okay here’s a song and I can listen back to it and see what it sounds like and then after that it may change slightly, but nothing will change very dramatically from what was written in those ten or fifteen minutes.
QN: What kind of music did you listen to in college?
DC: [When I was] in college, it’s bizarre, I had never really listened to The Beatles. But once I’d started I guess [I listened to] them for a solid four years, from about [age] 17 to 21. And that’s actually the reason I started to play guitar. I just wanted to play Beatles songs. Then I transitioned into listening to a lot of Simon and Garfunkel. I would say those are the staples.
QN: What’s your favorite song you’ve ever written?
DC: Oh, ah that’s a good question. [laughs] I guess some songs that I never get tired of playing are “Slow Train Comin.” I like to play that a lot and in the right setting people like to hear that song a lot. I like a lot of the songs off the last album. I like “Listen Closely Now.” For whatever reason, that goes over really well at live shows. People really seem to like that song.
But there are actually a few new songs that I’ve written as well. I really like both of those songs “God I Miss You” and “Something’s Changed.” I think that they’re a little bit different. And when I play “Something’s Changed” live, I use my voice to belt out a little bit more than usual. A lot of my vocals tend to be soft and smooth and highly melodic.
QN: “Random Thoughts and Incomplete Sentences” was your last album to come out, and that was last summer. When should we be expecting something new?
DC: There’s going to be a new release this year. And it would be a lot sooner, but I’m trying to [do] this one with a full band. I wanted to release it as a double disc--one disc is acoustic and the other disc is the same album, but with a full band.
QN: I noticed that you’re multi-instrumental. Do you play anything besides guitar and piano?
DC: [laugh] Yeah I struggle through the piano. That’s one of my great hopes-to over time get significantly better at the piano… If you sing over it and the song is good enough, I could probably get away with it. But I play a little African drum. I have a djembe that I’m looking at right now. Here, if I play it you might be able to hear it [several drum noises come through the phone]. So that’s the djembe.
There are songs that you’ll see that I just put on my website a few days ago. In late 2009 I felt like doing something different so I did this little project called Bliss in Motion Project and the songs are extremely different. They’re kind of a mix. They’re electronic, funk, pop, spoken word, and they fall within those genres. I put six of them up on my website the other day. All the instruments and all the vocals you hear, I did. And it was the longest process [laughs] I’ve ever done. I have no idea what I’m going to do with them; it was just a way to do something different.
QN: Where do you see yourself in five years?
DC: Five years? I get this question a lot and I never really know exactly what to say. Most everything that I have planned on happening has never gone the way that I planned anyways, so I try not to be too invested in my plans because if something goes a different direction I want to be able to just go with it. But, ideally in five years, I would love to be selling out large shows all across the country. I love being on the road and I love just staying on the road. I would be happy for some time just living on the road.
QN: What should we expect when you play at The Space (on Apr. 6)?
DC: People that see my show for the first time say that I’m a pretty genuine, down-to-earth person and just kind of put it all out there [on stage]. I would make an effort to say hi and meet and to talk a little bit with every person that comes. A huge part of it is making a real life, true, honest connection with those people and being able to see their faces and get a feel for their personalities and learn a little bit about them. Those aspects of it are irreplaceable. I’d love to be able to influence someone’s life in the way that it’s able to bring them a little bit more hope or calm or peace, or let them see the world as not so hostile. I don’t think that’s an impossible task to complete. I know it sounds a lot bigger than it is, but any task that we accomplish, we accomplish by one little step at a time.
By Molly Heintzelman
heintzelman.quadnews@gmail.com
|
Published: Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Updated: Thursday, April 8, 2010
Dan Coyle
Photo courtesy of facebook.com/insidethesunshinefactory
Chicago-based singer-songwriter Dan Coyle has been cranking out neo-folkpop tunes reminiscent of Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Jason Mraz since 2004. Now he’s taking his one-man show to Connecticut for a live performance at The Space on Tuesday, Apr. 6. Quad News got a chance to catch up with Coyle before the show to discuss the future of folk, spontaneous songwriting and the art of connecting with a live crowd.
Quad News: How would you categorize your music?
Dan Coyle: Well, we push the idea that my music is kind of the next generation of singer-songwriter folk music. I would still consider it to be folk music because it has the feel of simplicity and repetition. And it can be very easy to identify with and sing along to. I guess the idea of the future of folk music is moving it in the direction of being able to blend or mix with a little bit more of a contemporary pop-py feel to it.
QN: If I listened to you on Pandora, what else would come up? What other artists would you compare yourself to?
DC: It depends [on] what album or what song you’re listening to. I had a guy pick up a song that was on my first album, “Briar Street: The Acoustic Session,” which was actually the first song of mine that was ever played on the radio back in 2007 (“Slow Train Comin’”). He said that I reminded him a lot of John Denver, and I can understand what he’s saying off of listening to that song because it’s a slower song. It has a very smooth, soothing melody kind of like a lot of John Denver. Recently, the latest album, “Random Thoughts and Incomplete Sentences,” a lot of times my vocals are compared to Cat Stevens. I get a lot of comparisons to Jason Mraz, having that kind of catchy acoustic, mellow vibe. I’ve also gotten Jack Johnson a lot, but I don’t listen to a lot of Jack Johnson, so I can’t really say.
QN: What does the song writing process entail for you?
DC: Usually for the most part, most the songs are written in 10 minutes, 15 minutes. To me, what usually happens is I will just be sitting around tooling around on the guitar, not playing anything in particular. Then the minute I hear something that I like, I’ll play it over and over and over again. And all that I usually do is just start singing to it. Not humming notes or melodies, but actual words, That’s usually how it happens.
I don’t sit down and think about the words a lot and I always hope that means that they are more meaningful because they come very naturally. It’s not that I’m writing them down on a piece of paper then ruminating over them for some period of t time. It’s more that it just kind of happens that once and in those ten or fifteen minutes go by and then it’s like okay here’s a song and I can listen back to it and see what it sounds like and then after that it may change slightly, but nothing will change very dramatically from what was written in those ten or fifteen minutes.
QN: What kind of music did you listen to in college?
DC: [When I was] in college, it’s bizarre, I had never really listened to The Beatles. But once I’d started I guess [I listened to] them for a solid four years, from about [age] 17 to 21. And that’s actually the reason I started to play guitar. I just wanted to play Beatles songs. Then I transitioned into listening to a lot of Simon and Garfunkel. I would say those are the staples.
QN: What’s your favorite song you’ve ever written?
DC: Oh, ah that’s a good question. [laughs] I guess some songs that I never get tired of playing are “Slow Train Comin.” I like to play that a lot and in the right setting people like to hear that song a lot. I like a lot of the songs off the last album. I like “Listen Closely Now.” For whatever reason, that goes over really well at live shows. People really seem to like that song.
But there are actually a few new songs that I’ve written as well. I really like both of those songs “God I Miss You” and “Something’s Changed.” I think that they’re a little bit different. And when I play “Something’s Changed” live, I use my voice to belt out a little bit more than usual. A lot of my vocals tend to be soft and smooth and highly melodic.
QN: “Random Thoughts and Incomplete Sentences” was your last album to come out, and that was last summer. When should we be expecting something new?
DC: There’s going to be a new release this year. And it would be a lot sooner, but I’m trying to [do] this one with a full band. I wanted to release it as a double disc--one disc is acoustic and the other disc is the same album, but with a full band.
QN: I noticed that you’re multi-instrumental. Do you play anything besides guitar and piano?
DC: [laugh] Yeah I struggle through the piano. That’s one of my great hopes-to over time get significantly better at the piano… If you sing over it and the song is good enough, I could probably get away with it. But I play a little African drum. I have a djembe that I’m looking at right now. Here, if I play it you might be able to hear it [several drum noises come through the phone]. So that’s the djembe.
There are songs that you’ll see that I just put on my website a few days ago. In late 2009 I felt like doing something different so I did this little project called Bliss in Motion Project and the songs are extremely different. They’re kind of a mix. They’re electronic, funk, pop, spoken word, and they fall within those genres. I put six of them up on my website the other day. All the instruments and all the vocals you hear, I did. And it was the longest process [laughs] I’ve ever done. I have no idea what I’m going to do with them; it was just a way to do something different.
QN: Where do you see yourself in five years?
DC: Five years? I get this question a lot and I never really know exactly what to say. Most everything that I have planned on happening has never gone the way that I planned anyways, so I try not to be too invested in my plans because if something goes a different direction I want to be able to just go with it. But, ideally in five years, I would love to be selling out large shows all across the country. I love being on the road and I love just staying on the road. I would be happy for some time just living on the road.
QN: What should we expect when you play at The Space (on Apr. 6)?
DC: People that see my show for the first time say that I’m a pretty genuine, down-to-earth person and just kind of put it all out there [on stage]. I would make an effort to say hi and meet and to talk a little bit with every person that comes. A huge part of it is making a real life, true, honest connection with those people and being able to see their faces and get a feel for their personalities and learn a little bit about them. Those aspects of it are irreplaceable. I’d love to be able to influence someone’s life in the way that it’s able to bring them a little bit more hope or calm or peace, or let them see the world as not so hostile. I don’t think that’s an impossible task to complete. I know it sounds a lot bigger than it is, but any task that we accomplish, we accomplish by one little step at a time.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Day by Day Leads to a Lifetime
If there is one person, just one person, that you had better make damn well sure that you don't disappoint in this lifetime, it's you. I once heard that, "The only thing that I can do for you, is to make myself better. The only thing that you can do for me, is to make yourself better." I think that this statement holds some profound truths.
I have come to believe, and this is just my opinion, that if someone can do it, we all can do it - no matter what "it" is. I think that we do ourselves a great disservice when we think that "we're only one person" or "we're only human" or "we aren't gifted with this or that." I think that being one person and being human are both wondrous things - and that those aren't limiting factors to our existence, but empowering factors of our existence.
It seems to me that the only thing that separates one persons ability to achieve some great feat, from another person's life that is stuck on mediocrity, is simply what that person is putting their attention on. If you place your attention on being great and achieving great things, at least you will know that you put everything that you are capable of out into the world, and that you won't leave anything behind - because once your gone, so is all of that potential, of everything you could have done.
By not striving to be great every single day, which is what builds a lifetime, we not only cheat ourselves but we cheat those around us, and we cheat the future generations to come. I can only expect to create the best world possible, by creating the best me that is possible, and the same with you. Remember, we don't inherit the world that our ancestors gave us, so much as we borrow the world from the generations that will follow. Make them proud to know that you were the most incredible you that you could be.
I have come to believe, and this is just my opinion, that if someone can do it, we all can do it - no matter what "it" is. I think that we do ourselves a great disservice when we think that "we're only one person" or "we're only human" or "we aren't gifted with this or that." I think that being one person and being human are both wondrous things - and that those aren't limiting factors to our existence, but empowering factors of our existence.
It seems to me that the only thing that separates one persons ability to achieve some great feat, from another person's life that is stuck on mediocrity, is simply what that person is putting their attention on. If you place your attention on being great and achieving great things, at least you will know that you put everything that you are capable of out into the world, and that you won't leave anything behind - because once your gone, so is all of that potential, of everything you could have done.
By not striving to be great every single day, which is what builds a lifetime, we not only cheat ourselves but we cheat those around us, and we cheat the future generations to come. I can only expect to create the best world possible, by creating the best me that is possible, and the same with you. Remember, we don't inherit the world that our ancestors gave us, so much as we borrow the world from the generations that will follow. Make them proud to know that you were the most incredible you that you could be.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
A Brief Synopsis of Everything I've Learned in 28 Years
I wouldn't say that I'm necessarily the deepest thinker in the world. I do try to reflect on myself and look for whatever truths I might find through my life experiences. This may seem simple or incomplete to some of you, maybe even to most of you, but this is the 'easy version' of what I've learned so far in my 28 years:
For as long as you can, be good to as many people as you can; lend a helping hand to all that you can; extend a kind word and a gentle nature to all that you can; fill your mornings and your nights with grace, gratitude and love for all that you can. Do this, and you will not have to worry about loving yourself, for you will have filled the world with so much love and light that you will have no where to hide from the glow that emanates from you.
For as long as you can, be good to as many people as you can; lend a helping hand to all that you can; extend a kind word and a gentle nature to all that you can; fill your mornings and your nights with grace, gratitude and love for all that you can. Do this, and you will not have to worry about loving yourself, for you will have filled the world with so much love and light that you will have no where to hide from the glow that emanates from you.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Name your price
Nothing in life is easy. Nothing in life comes without paying some price. I was reminded of this last night as I was talking to a friend. She works a typical 9-5 job and doesn't like it one bit. She has had a dream, a calling to pursue something that she feels is part of her purpose, but is nervous to do it. She gets nervous because there are no guarantees that come with pursuing her dream. At least her 9-5 gives her a steady paycheck and some security; but like I said, everything in life comes at a price.
The price that she pays for this guaranteed paycheck and security is an intense feeling that she is wasting every second of her life that she spends at her job. That is a big price to pay. I told her, in my opinion, she had to decide which price was easier to pay; the price of feeling like her life was being wasted, or the price of having to overcome some nerves and anxiety about pursuing something new and different. That, of course, is a question that she has to answer for herself.
I think there is a lesson in this for all of us though. Our lives are made or wasted day by day, by the path that we decide to stay on or get off of every single day. Pile up enough of these days and 20, 30, 40 years have passed. So, just remember, there is a price to pay for doing something just for the security or normalcy of it - and there is a price to pay for taking your own road too. Which is more important to you? Which is the more palatable risk for you to take?
My final thought is this: One of her concerns was that she would feel poor; not that she would be poor, but that she would feel poor. Being poor is something that I know a little bit about. I told her that you only feel poor if you are poor for the wrong reasons, and I really think that is true. I believe that I'm poor for the right reasons; it doesn't mean that it's noble or easy, it just means that I don't feel poor because my life experience feels very rich!
The wonderful artist who did the design for the "Random Thoughts and Incomplete Sentences" album, David Derr, gave me this advice: He told me that when he made the decision to freelance at art, and to try to make a living at it, that he was often concerned about not being able to pay this bill or that bill; but something always came along. I will never forget his advice, which I hold near and dear to my heart, everyday as an artist pursing my music. He said, "You can always do with less money." That was when I decided that I could do with less money, whenever I needed to! What I couldn't deal with was not pursuing my dream because I was afraid of it.
My way is not everyone's way, but never be afraid to ask yourself these questions, and determine if you should stay on your current path, or if there's another road that you would like to take.
The price that she pays for this guaranteed paycheck and security is an intense feeling that she is wasting every second of her life that she spends at her job. That is a big price to pay. I told her, in my opinion, she had to decide which price was easier to pay; the price of feeling like her life was being wasted, or the price of having to overcome some nerves and anxiety about pursuing something new and different. That, of course, is a question that she has to answer for herself.
I think there is a lesson in this for all of us though. Our lives are made or wasted day by day, by the path that we decide to stay on or get off of every single day. Pile up enough of these days and 20, 30, 40 years have passed. So, just remember, there is a price to pay for doing something just for the security or normalcy of it - and there is a price to pay for taking your own road too. Which is more important to you? Which is the more palatable risk for you to take?
My final thought is this: One of her concerns was that she would feel poor; not that she would be poor, but that she would feel poor. Being poor is something that I know a little bit about. I told her that you only feel poor if you are poor for the wrong reasons, and I really think that is true. I believe that I'm poor for the right reasons; it doesn't mean that it's noble or easy, it just means that I don't feel poor because my life experience feels very rich!
The wonderful artist who did the design for the "Random Thoughts and Incomplete Sentences" album, David Derr, gave me this advice: He told me that when he made the decision to freelance at art, and to try to make a living at it, that he was often concerned about not being able to pay this bill or that bill; but something always came along. I will never forget his advice, which I hold near and dear to my heart, everyday as an artist pursing my music. He said, "You can always do with less money." That was when I decided that I could do with less money, whenever I needed to! What I couldn't deal with was not pursuing my dream because I was afraid of it.
My way is not everyone's way, but never be afraid to ask yourself these questions, and determine if you should stay on your current path, or if there's another road that you would like to take.
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