In my last post, I shared a live solo version of “Wear That Glow,” a new song of mine. I’ve been working with the initial concept for awhile, observing how our devices are changing our personal relationships. Of course, it’s only gotten worse during the pandemic.
Personally, I love seeing the creative process of others. So with this song, I thought I’d show how a concept can develop with collaboration. What you see below is the more complete version that we did as the band. Dave, Peter, and Aaron added so much to it, which you’ll discover immediately – from the instrumentation to the video itself.
As I mentioned before, we worked on it together via Slack and Zoom and Google Drive, trading files and mixes. That’s the way it works in today’s moment. We have each used the pandemic to enhance or gain new skills:
- Dave has gotten really good at mixing and mastering (listen in headphones to see what I mean).
- Peter, our multi-instrumentalist, has now mastered Premiere in directing and creating videos.
- Aaron is an amazing singer, listen for the subtle vibrato at the end of those long-held notes.
I am lucky to be surrounded by such talent.
Consider the Source: A New Project
As a part of my new project, Consider the Source, I’ll be including such windows into the creative process. My contention is that if we want to create positive change in the world, it will take strong ideas expressed with clarity and empathy. That means we really need to dig into the nuances of all the media we produce and share.
It’s an uphill climb though. Today’s media environment promises connection, but delivers separation instead. Social isn’t connecting us, it’s pushing us apart. Our devices capture more than their fair share of our attention, at the expense of personal relationships. We can’t focus for more than 6 seconds at a time without getting interrupted by alerts or ads.
All this is destructive, and we must learn to fight back. Consider the Source is my way to do that. It’s a new project that audits the way we consume, share, and produce media. This project includes live performances, selected workshops that unpack the creative process, with exclusive and early-access episodes.
- For more of my music, see: https://michaelboezi.com/music
- Here’s the band page for The Rockmores: https://therockmores.com
- Our ongoing project together is called The Social Distancing Sessions