As an unknown artist, I have no audience expecting anything from me. (I know I have you lovely folks, but you have yet to lay any expectations on me, I think.) I have no one banging down the door for the next single and no one who will loudly criticise if the music I make isn’t to their taste. This is a beautiful gift as long as I can remember to use it as the privilege that it is. I get to make the weird art that’s shuffling around inside my grey matter, just because I can. No one will complain, maybe no one will celebrate either but so what? I have all the control and all the freedom in the world because no one else cares what I do.
When no one cares what you do, you are free to play, and creative play is where it’s at. Sometimes I forget, and I start writing checklists and trying to achieve something I would consider productive. But thankfully I am reminded semi-regularly that creativity with a productivity mindset is like…what? Why? What on earth am I striving toward if not play? I certainly am not maxing out my RRSPs through my art. I don’t have any stakeholders to satisfy, and last time I checked I wasn’t required to produce an annual report.
Those of you who know me in person, though, know that I am very good at to-do lists and productivity, and I love achieving a goal. This can lead me to striving for goals external to my own creative whims, sometimes goals I don’t even really enjoy once I achieve them. In these moments I have to wonder, what the hell am I doing if I suck the joy out of making music?
I am delighted to say that I am not currently in one of those striving moments. I am, on the contrary, swimming in creative energy, dreaming up weird ideas, reaching outside of my usual comfort zone, and generally play, play, playing. Turning creativity into work is not for me. And thankfully, because the world doesn’t know my name and no one is writing me the multi-million dollar contracts, it never has to be.
Weird and playfully yours,
Shannon
Upcoming Events
The next month is very exciting for me, as I’m so looking forward to two unique shows as well as facilitating a songwriting workshop at Westben. If it was possible to write “living the dream” without people perceiving it as sarcasm, that’s what I would write now. Truly, I am.
March 29 - Sofar Toronto secret show (Shannon and Jakeb) - tickets
April 20 - NatureNurture: An Evening of Art for the Earth - tickets
April 6-7 & 13-14 - Dear Future Songwriting Workshop - info
Featured Song - All of My Evenings (short clip)
I know some of you are not on Instagram so you unknowingly miss the short videos I like to share there from time to time. YouTube now lets creators post “shorts,” so folks like you can see these little clips without subscribing to another social media platform. Jakeb and I have posted a few shorts on our new YouTube channel, and All of My Evenings (his original song) is a favourite of mine. You can enjoy a 45-second segment of it here.
I loooooove getting to sing harmonies. Gawd.
xo
Shannon
Beautifully said.
Anonymity does bring freedom, with the opposite also being true. There’s a story of Jussi Björling, one of the legendary opera singers of the 20th century, but also a tragic drinker. When he was in one town for a performance, a production assistant was assigned to try to keep him sober, at least until the concert. Sadly, the production assistant failed. In frustration he confronted the intoxicated tenor: “Why do you do this to yourself?”
“Come with me,” said the singer and led him across the street to the train station, where there was a giant banner stretched across the tracks: Jussi Björling, the world’s greatest tenor.
“That,” said Björling, pointing at the banner, “is why I drink.”