I'm Not A Songwriter

As of March 2015, I've been playing guitar for fifteen years.  That's half of my life spent on one passion; one pursuit.  Music has been a tremendous gift that has kept on giving.  There have been rock bands, church worship bands, shows, flights to other states to play, recording sessions, and a YouTube channel as a platform for gear tutorials.  I've had a good run and a fun ride on this thing so far.  But lately a wire in the light bulb of my thought process has begun to glow: I'm not a songwriter.

I've always been someone else's musician.  The hired gun.  The backup guitar or bass player called in when someone else in my circle of friends needs someone who can play.  Over the years I've developed this skill set of being able to drop in at a moment's notice (especially in worship music), and I can improvise working or sometimes even interesting parts.  I've prided myself on this ability, but whenever I've been asked if I have any songs, or a band, there would be that awkward moment of tension where I have to admit that I haven't developed the discipline for those pursuits.

I had left "my" previous metal band, Overcome, in 2011 to move to Seattle so that I could rock out here.  I say "my" because it really wasn't MY band; Overcome is Jason Stinson's band; there's a history attached with that band name that I'm only a small part of, and while I was a full member for over a year and recorded an album with them (The Great Campaign of Sabotage, Facedown Records), and it was a fantastic experience, and I was challenged in ways that were good...  There was something missing.  The space was left open at the time where I could write some riffs or contribute a major portion of a song structure for Overcome, but everything I wrote at home just didn't fit.  I learned to trust Stinson's judgment and songwriting style and keep up the pace.

I could go on and on about how the last four or so years here in Seattle have left me with no opportunity to pursue music here, including phases of intense involvement in a church, or being broke poor to the point of living solely on pasta, or returning to school (I'm now enrolled full-time and working toward and engineering degree), etc.; while true, it's all BS.  It's time to get over being my own worst enemy as far as having discipline is concerned.

I'm not a songwriter, but it's time to work on becoming one.

This blog will be structured much like my custom guitar blog from last year (That Dream Guitar, which turned out to be a huge success): chronicle the individual decisions working up to a larger whole.  In that blog, I knew I wanted a tangible thing as a result of the process.  Here, I may need some time and processing to figure what my actual goals are.  Are you a songwriter if you write just one song?

To be explored in my next few entries, my goals are to:
-Write a minimum of 3 songs with... well-thought out structures and riffs.
-Discover my lyric writing style.
-Develop my singing voice and determine whether or not it would truly fit in with the [loud and abrasive] music I want to write.
-Attempt to have these songs recorded professionally.  None of this "Oh yeah, I've got a buddy with a mic preamp in his bedroom at his mom's house; I can hook up a discounted rate" nonsense.
-Address the issue of pulling off this project entirely solo or attempting to become a bandleader in the process.
-PLAY AT LEAST ONE SHOW IN SEATTLE.  This one is huge for me, you guys.
-Accomplish most of these goals by Summer 2016.

Let's rock!

—Nicholas Greenwood, April 2015