{"id":4018,"date":"2016-06-29T23:51:49","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T23:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/?p=4018"},"modified":"2016-06-30T15:00:22","modified_gmt":"2016-06-30T15:00:22","slug":"lucy-rash-3-tenets-of-creative-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/lucy-rash-3-tenets-of-creative-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucy Rash ~ 3 Tenets of Creative Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lucy

Lucy Rash by James Butler<\/p><\/div>\n

The world is a bit nuts right now. As a musician \u2013 a member of Forest Falls and freelance session violinist \u2013 it can be hard to make sense of everything all of the time. For some people, sensory overload is the perfect catalyst for creativity. Not for me.<\/p>\n

With all that\u2019s going on, I\u2019ve found it very useful to nut out these three tenets of creativity. Exposing myself to these conditions is what fuels my best work, so it\u2019s useful to know what to fall back on when chaos gets the better of me.<\/p>\n

Tenet 1 \u2013 Diversity<\/h3>\n

Like so many musicians, I\u2019ve worked with a great many bands over the years. I\u2019m classically trained as a violinist, but I\u2019m just as home improvising as I am with sheet music. That skill set, thankfully, has lead me into a variety of music-making situations: into the studio with The Smith Street Band, at Sing Sing for an entire weekend with the wonderful Ali E, two weeks of recording with TANTRUMS in Pablo Clements and James Griffith\u2019s (UNKLE) studio in Brighton (UK), and most recently to fiddle up a country noir storm touring high priestess Jemma Nicole\u2019s debut album, My Darkest Hour<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a blessing, really, because I\u2019ve had the chance to play in contexts as diverse as they are exhilarating. Being exposed to a variety of creative contexts does wonders for my inspiration. It also makes a lot of sense: I\u2019m a Gemini!<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m feeling a bit creatively starved, I savor the chance to try something completely different. I might put on an old favorite Against Me!<\/em> record that I haven\u2019t listed to for years, note down any ideas that spring to mind, then record a new work into the computer. My sound card, condenser mic and laptop are never far away (in fact, they live in the lounge room).<\/p>\n

It has been wonderful to discover that \u2018newness\u2019 is not only a relief to writer\u2019s block for me, but an actual catalyst for new ideas. Jon and Jeremy (my Forest Falls bandmates) and I are always running random ideas past each other. That passion and spontaneity has made it on to our latest single, Archipelago Heart<\/em>, part of the Modern Love<\/em> collection to be released online over the course of 2016. It\u2019s like the song itself has taken on this real zest for life.<\/p>\n

Tenet 2 \u2013 Unity<\/h3>\n

As much as I love variety, there is no doubt that I\u2019ve found a solid home base in Forest Falls. Never have I worked with bandmates so at peace with the music they make and the place from which it comes. It was a joy to slot into this well-oiled machine, just over two years ago.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the most productive, inspirational place for me to be: in a room with Jon and Jeremy, writing whatever material we\u2019re working on at the time. I think what makes us work so well is the strength and compatibility of our personalities. We each have a role, and we do it well.<\/p>\n

For me, my strength lies in instrumentation. Once the original idea has been brought to the table, that\u2019s when I like to get my hands on it. Working in a band where everyone is a good communicator and has a solid skill set is a real joy. It\u2019s quick, productive, and the result \u2013 the music itself \u2013 speaks volumes for the honesty and love with which it is produced. When I feel like I have a little too much going on in my week, I pare it right back to the basics: I listen back to the latest version of a tune we\u2019re working on, I gather my thoughts, and I do a little work on whatever Forest Falls admin is in need of attention.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good to remember why you\u2019re with the band you\u2019re with. It\u2019s most likely because those people mean a real lot to you.<\/p>\n

Tenet 3 \u2013 Alchemy<\/h3>\n

When the world is swirling around you, how do you remain grounded? For us, the answer has been to look within, to look at how we might add our voices to the conversation. To say what we find hard to say with words, we say with music.<\/p>\n

Our latest collection of work, Modern Love<\/em>, is about joining the very public conversations that have been occurring for years with regards to love \u2013 of various entities \u2013 in all its nuance and beauty. Archipelago Heart<\/em>, for example, is about love for displaced people, for refugees. For all the back and forth and non-decision that happens in politics, we\u2019re pretty sure that underneath it all, the world knows love is love, and that\u2019s all that matters. That work has been a musical response to these conversations. It\u2019s about us joining in as a band and being 100% honest in our output.<\/p>\n

For all the uncertainty, we hope that people might have a listen to the singles, watch the clips, engage in the conversation using our hashtag (#doyoubelieveinmodernlove) and add their voice to the conversation if they haven\u2019t already done so. We\u2019ve taken a punt with our latest works. It\u2019s meant to provoke an opinion.<\/p>\n

We want you to have an opinion. So get out there and say it!<\/p>\n

\"Lucy

Lucy Rash by Nick Manuell<\/p><\/div>\n

Forestfallsband.com<\/a>
\nFacebook<\/a>
\n@ForestFallsBand<\/a><\/p>\n

#doyoubelieveinmodernlove<\/p>\n

Previous post by Lucy Rash:
\nhttp:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/lucy-rash-forest-falls\/<\/a><\/p>\n

View our latest video for\u00a0\u00a0Archipelago Heart<\/em>:<\/p>\n