I've been away. Been depressed. Since I started my hiatus with little fanfare, I thought rest would do my voice justice. Yeah, I probably am being irresponsible about not getting checked out by a doctor, but it is out of fear of knowing the truth...Then again, the possibility that all my songs and singing were done through a probably detuned guitar could have deluded me into thinking I was a "musician". This has totally bummed me out. Now every time I hear real musicians, famous or people like yourselves, I think I'm not that good and should  quit all together...I haven't written a song and I haven't recorded in a lonnnnngesttttt time.  I can't bear to think I've reached a point in my life that I'd give up on music..forever?....This is a person who fell in love with music, probably since in utero! What to I do?

To quote the Beatles:
Helppp! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody!
Hellp! I need someone...Helpppp!

(refer to the entire song to know what I've been feeling)...See I've been reduced to quoting other people's music to express how I feel instead of composing 'em myself!

Wow, your passion for music will never die,maybe you just need something to inspire you? Myself I feel  like you do about 8 months of the year. I dont play dont write or anything and then I hear something or listen to an old song of mine and remember the joy that is to be had creating music and sharing it with others.You'll get back in the game, just don't  try to force it.

Take care, Jay

Thanks for that...I think I'm going to reread a book I bought regarding the zen of music. And the bit about inspiration. You're right. I have lost my muse, who appears to be in a coma at the moment

This happens to every musician that I know of.
With me being in a band situation, sometimes I don't feel like writing, or get kinda burnt, or think that everything that I write sucks.
Through the years I have learned to "renew myself" I do this with a few tricks.

1. Don't be to critical of yourself(seems like we're our own worst critic)
2. Learn to keep music fun( sometimes just jam on somthing and let it all hang out).
3. Go back to your roots(I find that it soothes me if I listen to music I loved but haven't heard in awhile(kansas is one of my old favs).
4. Constantly make myself learn something new about music(not just theory or lessons but , recording,recording techniques,promotional stuff,you know whatever you feel like trying to learn).
5. Sometimes you just gotta put it down for awhile and do something else.
6. Get hooked up with other players(locally or like here on bandamp).

Ok that's enough for now

I listened to your music and feel you have alot to give. your voice is wonderfull and makes me want to hear more.
IMHO I think you should think about some voice lessons to develope your talent and believe me, it will help.

I have seriously considered the voice lessons part...I'll keep all you posted on that. But right now...like you said Toastedgoat, I"m gonna take tip #5 for a little longer to refocus.
Thanks a lot to everyone

oh jeez... I think every musician hits this at some point.

the only thing that really matters is that it's all in your own head. you just have to get out of that frame of mind.

keep playing. keep recording. don't stress it. don't worry. it'll all work out.

by the way... about the guitar tuning. well that can be easily fixed. I don't think that's anything to worry about.

Yeah, that's a hell of a writers block alright.

You know what I did with my most recent one? And it was a real bad one, trust me... I just fired up fruity loops and put some parts together that sucked so badly (deliberately - coz "I can't write good music anyway, so :P") and cut and pasted them together into something awful (again, the finger to aesthetics), and did a voice over to it and called it "Attitude". I uploaded it here from a very "fuck you" point of view and to my great surprise people really seemed to like it... I had never expected that. Going experimental with a "what the hell - this doesn't make sense anyway, but f*** off all who don't understand" mindset, creating something entirely different with an entirely different workflow - and then reading those reactions (BandAMP is a great, great place for feedback!) boosted my inspiration good. It sure made me wonder...

I've also started cycling again.... On the racing bike to work, on the hometrainer at work while everybody else is having lunch, and on the mountainbike to really push myself to the limits in the woods nearby... I find that physical exercise works as excorcism on depression. Burning calories to re-activate the brain.

Also I've been reading a lot about things I want to know more about. Wikipedia is quickly becoming my favorite bookmark Sometimes I find myself reading in-depth information on subjects I had never thought I'd even wanted to know anything about. But it helps seeing things from different perspectives, which also works good for inspiration.

And yeah, about the #5, different hobbies. Personally I do a lot of writing in general, so it's not far from music anyway, and yes I do get stuck there too. A little bit of gaming works well too... Some amper posted a link to a little game which I found quite entertaining for a while. And I've done some dungeon siege which was nice... But the level editor sucks... So that meant "back to music" to me ... lol

Anyway, in the end, you are the only one who can pull yourself out of it. You're like a horse being lead to water, but it's up to you if you wanna drink. I say just go for it. I really like your stuff it's a shame to let your talent go to waste...

take care!
-
Tom