Peter Hammill, THIS.
The willingness and ability to generate, generate, generate prepares the ground for creativity.
Why "willingness"?
If you commit yourself to "generate, generate, generate," everything you produce will not be "the best." Indeed, in addition to not sharing your generation products, you may be inclined to hide them, even trash them!
In Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg shares a great story:
A famous poet arrived at a gathering, notebook in hand. The audience eagerly awaited a reading of his well-known and much-beloved poems.
Instead...
Instead, he read from his notebook — his write-everyday-no-matter-what notebook — and almost everything he read was drivel. Some of it was pure drivel.
The point?
The point Natalie Goldberg drives home is that the very best poets — and by extension, the very best writers, songwriters, artists — generate, generate, generate, because generation is fundamental to creativity.
We the public rarely, if ever, see these non-spectacular productions.
What the famous poet was teaching was that he had the guts to write — and read in public — parts of this creative process that weren't up to snuff. If we wished to be creative, we would have to show the same courage.
He was also teaching that looking only an an artist's sublime achievements misses a lot of points.
Peter Hammill, The Silent Corner & Empty Stage
Peter Hammill illustrates a musician willing to generate, generate, generate — often in public through his 30+ solo recordings, not to mention his work with Van der Graaf Generator.
As a solo artist, Hammill has released dozens of albums reflecting an incredible diversity of musical directions and interests. He’s explored the worlds of improvised music, solo keyboard- and guitar-based songs, opera, soundtracks, electronic music, and straightahead rock.
His most recent releases include 2012’s PNO GTR VOX BOX, a seven-CD set of solo performances, and Consequences, a dark, moody studio album that explores the perils of assumptions and insensitivity, and the chaos that can ensue.
2013 Music Without Borders Innerviews
I don't like everything PH writes, yet I listen to him often: for the inspiration!
And yet...
As I've pulled together material for CAT LIVE (MUSIC) I've still had to remind myself that "generate, generate, generate" is a fundamental part of the creative process.
So many of my lyrics, and much of my music is... crap! ("Crap" being a highly technical term.)
And, tho' I've put up some cringe-worthy lyrics...I've not posted the worst of my musical crap!
But I am looking at it and listening to it...
Mantra: generate, generate, generate — and keep your gold!
Warmest aloha,
Cat
