My 3D glasses are on top of my head. I'm typing frantically on my phone. People are probably glaring at me but hey, an artist is always on-call. I'm watching Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Peter Quill just found out he's a god who can create ANYTHING. His reaction: "I'm gonna make some weird shit." This quote is now written on a post-it note above my desk as a reminder that when it comes to creating music, I can do whatever I want...truly. There's music theory, popular styles and sounds that people simply would never want to listen to because it would make your eardrums bleed, BUT in my efforts to create 'good' (let's be honest, I'm actually striving for perfect) work that people will enjoy, I forget that I'm free. Nobody is standing behind me with a gun saying, "GET IT RIGHT! -- DO IT LIKE THIS! -- YOU MUST MAKE MUSIC THAT OTHER PEOPLE LIKE! -- IT MUST SOUND INTERESTING! -- IT MUST BE 'GOOD'!" I forget that I can sit at my piano and bang on random keys like a 3 year old, or play my guitar with the string out of tune (just to see what happens), or invent strange chords, or use a protein powder bottle as a percussion instrument. It's my unhelpful perfectionist mindset, a desire to impress and feel validated and my obsessive focus on fear that holds me back from just playing and having fun. With other things like cooking or painting I don't give a shit what people think because I'm not chasing any goals, I'm just playing around and like Peter Quill, the weirder I can make my painting or random stew of vegetables (sidenote: try a large carrot stick, wrapped in seaweed and dipped in sweet chili sauce - my girl Emily & I discovered this weird food combo in senior year of college) the more fun and adventurous my life feels. In fact, doing weird on purpose is totally my jam in almost every area of my life, apart from music. Why do I have blockage with music? Ahh it's annoying. I'm inspired by Peter Quill's playful mentality because it aligns with how I want to live my life -- constantly on the hunt for fun (almost everything can be turned into a game or a joke). I can't believe that musically, it's never occurred to me that creating something weird might be more fun (my actual mission in life) than creating something beautiful (just a cherry on top). Who knows, maybe my most weird creation will end up being my most beautiful? // Cha

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