Interviews

Introduction – Music and Creativity 📝🎵

1397486_10153439716475425_1553518197_o

Who the hell is Grayson King anyway and where does he get off making a blog?

I am he, that guy by that name. I even turn my head when people shout it out and everything. I am an experimental singer/songwriter and an all around extremely creative personality, sometimes borderline insane levels of creativity – by any standard you care to define. I will prove that last bit and then some even though some of it is out of my control. I have taken to quantizing the insane in the following way, so as to showcase my ‘talents’ but also to prove the statement (I have a horrible need to be honest and to just state things as they are) – in the last 6 years I have recorded over 400,000 minutes of raw ideas into Evernote on my varying iPhones over the years and if anything I am more creative now than I was up to the day I edited this for the 100th time. That’s 280 days straight of RAW ideas, ie, just the core concept written down or dictated (with the odd chapter draft for my novel series thrown in). You can actually pitch a good novel/game/film/anime in a couple of minutes. I’m here, in this blog, to share not only why I’ve done this (there are great gains from this behaviour and having such a catalogue) but to tell you exactly HOW I did it (and continue to do it) in the hopes that it can help you, creatively (because I also have a chronic need to help people – which sounds good but it can be a nuisance). There are many behaviours and methods that I either naturally fall into or that I have constructed myself – because here’s the secret to my entire existence – I am addicted to that rush you get when you hit that eureka moment and I will entertain any notion, no matter how ridiculous to get my fix. Except drugs of any kind because they aren’t sustainable in the long term and actually damage your brain’s ability to create new things. I also can’t afford the risk since I suffer from a severe mental disorder so even trying them once could put me ‘over the edge’.

I also just really want to create a platform where I can share a bunch of my ideas and concepts and philosophy’s – not the least so that I don’t have to ever verbally explain the stuff I’m sharing here ever again and so I can feel like I can move forward so I can create the space in my head to have even more ideas (brain downloading is a major part of my creativity). In short – this will be a lengthy blog. I have no interest in handing snippets of information out – if I have a topic you can be sure I’ll exhaust everything I have to say so then at least, I can move on. I also don’t agree with this tendency towards making things ‘simpler’, more ‘user-friendly’. I will not patronise my readers and some things are complex. You can absorb more than a couple of hundreds of words. Those of you that can’t should maybe read in short bursts. I just don’t want to be writing this blog for the rest of my life and to hand out only small bits of advice every post. I don’t want to string you along I just want my advice on the topic known. You can decide yourself if it is worth reading or not. =)

I put experimental singer/songwriter first at the top there because this blog is mainly about music, and it starts to look silly when you start an endless list of poet, author, inventor, conceptual artist and all the other things I’m into and create ideas for. But also the great bulk of my works are still at stage one (conceptualised not actualised) and it is only really my music that I can present forward as a completed project at this time because it is an instantly gratifying project to work on – you know your song has potential faster than most other creative forms show potential and I’ve not been stable enough with my ‘Bi-Polar’ until recently to work on anything requiring sustained attention or effort. And even that is only finished as far as playing them acoustically as I’m just now learning about sound engineering and stepping into the electronic and MIDI realm of guitar based sounds and music. My mind is due to explode with creativity at that time and I may never be heard from again… because I’m obsessive and a perfectionist. Everything I do musically is an experiment and a song can go from light reggae to ultra death metal, from a grimy bass to a sweet soprano (vocally), once I have explored the options that sound design can offer. If that is what the song requires to be the best version of itself then I’m not going to fight it. I’ll probably even fully mix and master a song only to decide it should be a completely different genre twenty years down the line. I refuse to stand still.

Always expect me to go in a million directions at once and to be extreme and ultimately attempt the epic in all things – that’s just who I am and I can’t help or control it and honestly I have no intention of ever attempting to change anyway. Hence the insane detail in the post after this. It’s a good thing, I think, and I hope my personality quirks can help you somehow.

Which is why I suggest that you maybe consider reading each post segment by segment rather than attempting to devour it in all one go – unless you can’t help yourself (he says, hoping it to be true haha). The next two posts are 10,000 words each is all… I can’t help but write every single thought and bit of advice down for you (and to release the pressure from inside my skull because if I don’t get this all out my head will actually explode… I can already hear it ticking). I tend to do that – exhaust my entire knowledge on the topic at hand – at least you’re probably not one of the poor people I have just met and have attempted to download my entire life in one go into your head. But aside from the odd joke it’s normally all just sound advice and put there to help guide you with as few road bumps along the way as possible if you decide to take that advice. You are more than entitled to disagree with me but I know what works for me and why in the context of the topics I’m sharing. I can not guarantee you a fix to your creative problems but I’m sure as hell willing to discuss it with you at length if you get in touch. I’m always available for further information or to clarify something that I have mentioned. I won’t be afraid to reply so don’t be afraid to ask. =)

A list of what to expect in this blog:

What will this blog be about?

Creativity. Mostly music. My unique approach (my expansive musical experiment) and how I cope with my extreme creativity as a part of my severe mood disorder. But also about the creativity and lives of the people involved in music that are in the background of the venues in Edinburgh carving out their dreams. From songwriters to guitarists, to buskers and an experienced sound engineer, getting gigs, people to know and doing gigs online through Second Life. I’m lucky to know a lot of people across many walks of life in music and I intend to interview them on their creative process, ask them for their advice and whatever else they might think would be good for other people to know, especially for musicians who have just found themselves in Edinburgh.

A second introduction to myself because the first was convoluted:

Hello. My name is Grayson King and I’m going to warn you right now that I will share aspects of my life and personal history that may not be easy to read or understand throughout this blog but which I hope will provide context for the blog and possibly help those who need it but also those that may be able to help someone like me in their own lives, or even to understand my/their experiences a little better. Maybe I’ll even have a few realisations myself by writing this thing. By writing what you know you find that you gain a new understanding (or get new ideas) so here’s to that possibility! This discussion of my life events will likely occur when I discuss my creative process, the meanings of some songs and other such things and I will not shy away from those details if they happen to be a part of the ‘story’. At some point I may decide that further context is required and then I will probably write a blog post just detailing out what my life has been like. Basically, and very much in short, aside from a difficult and complex family experience (which feels like a drastic understatement), I suffer from what can quickly be described as ultra ultra fast cycling Bi-Polar but more accurately described as a Mood Affected Disorder with Full Sensory Hallucinations and Creative Ideation – those darn doctors and their definitions, eh? I don’t quite fit into their guidelines so they don’t know what to define me as. I’m afraid this aspect of my life is all rather complex and ultimately unavoidable. To be honest they aren’t actually sure what is happening in my brain or the causes for my experiences. Could be a mood disorder mixed with schizophrenia. But, it IS fascinating and my experiences with this condition are quite unique and sometimes almost unbelievable even to myself. I mean, who gets to hallucinate an entire film in full detail down to the title card? I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs. I don’t even drink caffeine. Hell, I don’t even eat simple carbohydrates like white rice (though I do have a sweet tooth when I feel sad). So, it isn’t external – it would be less interesting if it was. Yet, for all my creative scope and severe, detailed creative attacks (trust me that description is apt) I believe most of my creativity comes down to my behaviours. Which I can share and you can maybe copy or draw inspiration from. I doubt anyone will ever take what I do quite to the level of extremity that I do but that’s your loss and my personal strength. You probably won’t start hallucinating but I think I can help people that have problems with creative output or that are ‘stuck in a rut’. I’m also an obsessive thinker and I analyse things a lot. A LOT. No… even more than that amount you’re thinking of as a ‘lot’.
=P

I’m not a new age type personality and I won’t start telling you to drink a certain type of tea to achieve enlightenment. But I will say that, scientifically, drug use has been shown to actually decrease your brains ability to make new connections and so that over the years it (depending on ‘it’ and the person) can actually have a drastic effect. It basically disrupts your pathways and weakens the bonds between them along with potentially desynchronising your various lobes and functions that are supposed to work together (very much a layman’s interpretation but you hopefully get the point). Sure, the odd acid trip might force a new connection simply out of shock but it is NOT the long term solution to your creative needs. That’s just my opinion but then I can not understand (not that I judge – do whatever you want) how anyone could ever risk their mental health. From my perspective I’m trapped, albeit in a prison that keeps me entertained. I cannot figure out why anyone would willingly risk it. That’s all. It’s also absolutely not essential. You DON’T need to drink or smoke weed to be a musician. Though, certainly, it seems to be public opinion that in fact you do. One of my main reasons is the cash – I’d rather buy a new instrument than buy a few rounds at the pub. It adds up, quickly. But, each to their own. I won’t preach on it. In many ways I’m happy to be virtually the only entirely sober person I know. I tend to see what everyone else is doing and go my own way – and that’s one of those behaviours that makes me like I am, creatively.

But my condition is not the main focus of this blog, just an undeniable aspect of my life that bleeds into everything and I felt it best I get that out of the way as quickly as I could, like pulling off a BandAid. I may indeed start a blog solely about it at a later date as I am happy to share on this topic and I know how difficult many people like myself find it to tell even their closest friends what is going on and to find a path that is healthier than the one they are on. Personally I find radical honesty the easiest policy since then anyone I spend time with will be better equipped to handle the situation if I haven’t slept in 5 days and I try to feed their pet elephant a banana that they never bought. I am not a doctor though, and if you are experiencing any similar issues to those I describe I suggest you go to a GP as soon as possible. I also haven’t ‘beaten’ my condition (nor is it ever even possible to beat something like this at this stage) so please don’t think this a success recipe in any way, more a discussion on how I dealt and reacted to certain issues along the way, what keeps me occupied, and how that impacted my life both positively and negatively. Many of my behaviours, especially creatively, are actually coping strategies that help me live with this thing my brain likes to do. I coined a phrase a while ago – always coping but never managing.

This blog is about music and creativity, mainly. But I encourage any discussion you feel the desire to create.

About me in relation to this blog:

I said this at the top but I’m saying it again. In the last 6 years I have recorded every idea I have had and use Evernote to keep them highly organised, backed up, in the cloud, and readily available both on the go and at home. In these past 6 years I have recorded over 400,000 minutes (over 280 days straight) of raw ideas (most music), learned how to play guitar (and write songs) entirely through trail and error (and my own exploration) and written/half-written/conceptualised many thousands of songs and still going strong. I have invented many things including what I call The Grayson King Method which on the smallest level contains my musical philosophy but also the many behaviours that perpetuate these crazy levels of creativity I have become accustomed to. Now, everything I have musically created so far should not be considered the final product as I am just now starting the process that will allow me to finalise and fully realise my musical ideas – the art of sound design. Which is stage 2 of my Big Musical Experiment and The Grayson King Method. I am not an expert in music by a long shot, but I am a creative powerhouse. If I live ten lifetimes I will not be able to complete all the concepts and ideas I have created so far, those 280+ days of raw dictation cover over 100 different project types (anime, products, inventions, games, TV series, films, novels, the list goes on and on), coupled with the now 40mb+ collection of raw text of interesting conversations, funny things people have said, witty remarks, drafts of chapters of novels, and all that text only stuff – which may not sound like a lot but it really is for raw text. But that’s alright that I’ll never be able to live long enough to even see the great bulk of my ideas come to life – because my children can inherit the mountain that is my ideas cache and their children can too. I can also open up a shop to sell my ideas on my website some day. Or figure something out.

What do I hope to achieve in writing this blog?

I’ve learned a lot on my way to where I am now and often forged my own path due to my personal philosophy and approach to the world that has given me a bunch of inventions, innovations, The Grayson King Method of Music and Creativity, literary projects, and countless other things I have discovered or created along the way. Not forgetting the existing fantastic gadgets, services or products that I have encountered that will help me in my master plan but that also make this way of life (and one that I am committed to fully) even technically possible and that I’m amazed so little people in the UK seem to be aware of at this point. I can’t actually discuss all of these things in this blog at this time as I have realised that I should get legal advice before spilling the beans due to reasons of intellectual property rights, patent issues, trademarking and all that copyright jazz. I just want to share my obsession with one idea – how far can my own instinct, voice, ear, experience, intelligence and creativity take me in music whether artistically or in technical skill? I simply want to share the wealth of my views, experience and ideas whilst getting feedback on things and explaining why I have to do things the way I do and create a platform for people who are living a musical life to get interviewed and share their valuable opinions. These people are often fascinating and very rarely get a chance to offer their advice in this manner. Who even asks these days? I’d like to give a little insight into Edinburgh’s music scene but also a sort of ‘Welcome to Edinburgh’ for musicians or musical minded people. Plus I can get to know these wonderful people I play with out in Edinburgh that little better and that’s too good to pass on.

Besides that everyone tends to concentrate on the famous people and I’d like to create a place where we explore the entire creative process in those people whose life is about music and rarely get the kind of attention this blog may give them – if anyone even reads it haha. As a bonus I get to know these people better, which is a good enough reason alone to do it.

I’m also planning a YouTube series that includes performance pieces, videos in which I explore the creative process from the beginning to the end, interviews, intimate gigs and explanations or demonstrations to the things I discuss in the blog.

Grayson King.

–
–
–

– Here’s a little song that just has a nice melodic line and I find easy to listen to and fun to play and I just wanted to add for you –

–
–
–

We’ll get into the more dramatic, experimental and painful at a later date. I would like to point out that this is a very rough demo created moments after I had written the idea and is not what I consider perfect by far – for one I play it too quickly in this clip but I can’t find a more recent one. All I ask is if you can imagine the potential of my ideas, even if they are not as yet at the standard I am pleased with. Everything I do is an experiment and the juxtaposition with my perfectionism, as evidenced by my obsessive approach to making this first post functional, streamlined, topical and less than 3588 words, makes it stressful for me to put unfinished works into the public domain. I will systematically begin to make available a showcase of my works which are far more advanced, truer to my ability, and in higher quality in every respect at some point in the near future. Or I’ll do what I did, add a recent live set to this blog post at the top or even just keep editing these pages as and when I feel like it and/or a better example or idea becomes available.

| (• ◡•)|