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Muses
and Familiars
Some local musicians to ponder the nature of
inspiration, and what conditions help them to meet up with—or
stumble upon—their muse
Brian Patneaude
Solo artist, Adrien Cohen Quartet
“I have several saxophones—a soprano, an alto,
a tenor, a bari—and while I really love my alto and tenor,
I wouldn’t say I’m sentimentally attached to either. Of course
as I write this I realize that if anything ever happened to
those horns I’d be devastated, so I suppose there is some
sort of attachment there. If anything happened to my soprano
and bari however, I’d be elated, cash in on my insurance money,
and buy some horns that aren’t one step above scrap metal.”
Eric Halder
Charmboy, Guiltless Cult, the Sense Offenders
“It was at Parkway that I came across a gorgeous
Gibson SG. I’d played a few of them but something about this
one was different. Compared to the other SG’s and Les Pauls
I tried out, it played a little nicer, the pickups sounded
a bit hotter, the finish was gorgeous and everything was,
well, perfect. Money being a little tight at the time, I waited,
hoping I could come up with a plan before somebody else discovered
this gem. About a week later, I stopped in the store and it
was gone! I sulked and continued to make do with my Strat
for the time being. No offense to the iconic Stratocaster
of course. Fast forward about a month and a half. I woke up
Christmas morning to find the firebreathing SG in my living
room. My wife Sarah had decided to surprise me by buying it
the day after I initially tried it out. I plugged in at home
and instantly started playing all these sounds that I’d never
produced on a guitar, like the thing was possessed, or I was
possessed by it. Call me hokey, but this guitar changed everything!”
Jonathan Cohen
Erftones, Hick Engine Ears
“I usually save major writing campaigns for the
winter, the dark and cold usually stir up my creative angst
pretty well, and the snow days often provide long stretches
of uninterrupted time to work with. You can’t force creativity
out of yourself, but can assemble the necessary conditions
and hope you get into the right headspace, stay focused and
patiently wait for it to start happening. That’s when you
are leaping out of bed in the middle of the night with ideas
going, things coming quickly and clearly.”
Rich Baldes
The Day Jobs
“If I’m given a small measure of mental space
my brain usually finds ways to drift off, and inevitably I
begin to work through creative ideas or projects. This happens
when I’m out for a walk, mowing the lawn, and when I’m driving.
It’s at those times when ideas for songs seem to come to me
finished. The chords and lyrics (when they come) seem to coalesce
with little or no effort. I have little or no idea why my
songwriting is more productive when I’m engaged in activities
that have nothing to do with music. I’ll be waiting for the
grass to get high, or a long car trip. Then I’ll write my
next pop tune.”
Nicole Peyrafitte
Artist, performer
“Inspiration is immersion, total immersion into
everyday life here in Albany or back in my native Pyrenees,
or wherever I find myself. Life as an instrument to generate
songs, paintings, texts, videos, cooking, relationships or
dailyness. With harmony—“vertical” aspect—and melody—“horizontal”
aspect (it is interesting to note that both words belong to
the feminine gender in French) as main tools to interweave
a dream catcher activated by the deep resonances of our collective
unconscious.”
Matt Durfee
Singer-songwriter, Palatypus
“When I head out for the night, I’m usually a
rolling ball of awkward. When I get home and kick myself in
the ass for things said or left undone, I pick up my guitar
and try to make sense of it. Sometimes this works well. I’ve
written a few of my favorite songs on nights that I’ve bombed
at a show or blown my chances with the blue-eyed brunette
who kept flirting with me. Other nights, I end up with one
more bad idea before I go to bed. When I wake up, I’ll take
a revisionist look at the inspired.
I’ve discovered that I find my inspiration in
almost everything, the mundane and extraordinary, the grin
and the grimace. Perhaps the only universal truth of inspiration
is that those who answer its call feel strongly enough to
create a physical response, a representation of emotion. Or
maybe it’s just the strength to keep plowing past obstacles,
walking towards your dream, and bumping into your muse.”
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Columns
& Opinions
