I remembered from my first year at university, that I wrote almost no songs at all (though I did produce a rambling, pointless and still unfinished novel) and the thought was floating around my mind just before I started.

It would appear I’ve ‘jinxed’ myself with this song-writers-block business. Not so much that I haven’t been writing at all, theres been a song here and there, but the raging river has been cut down to a spring trickle. Ultimately I don’t think a creative sabbatical from song-writing will do much harm, if anything it will give me a chance to embellish and refine the melodies and structure of the songs. Its something I always intend to do, but then new songs arrive and I just move on. If I do manage a break, it will mark the end of almost a year and a half of straight-up constant writing.

Anyways, in Creative News: I had a very pleasing first session with a cello player tonight. I’ve always been enamored with the beautiful, sonorous sound of the cello. And it makes a wonderful accompaniment to the slower, melancholic songs. I should sleep now, I have uni early tomorrow. Adieu.

There is a flip-side to everything. I went to the Future Music festival last night and I had a really un-fun time. I left before it was over, which I’ve never done before.

Anyway I got home pretty smashed and pretty early (like 9pm) so to save myself from doing head-circles in bed I just started playing guitar, ended up playing until 4am and it was a strangely enjoyable jam session. Anyway the result of the mammoth play was some sore fingers and a new song for The Light-Room called ‘Gun-Smoke Amen’.

Otherwise university is keeping me pretty busy, I’m just beginning to a get a grip on all this math business, but its a pretty tough slog.

I have a theory: I have a suspicion that I’m an undiagnosed obsessive compulsive. The only time I can function properly is when I’ve developed a routine. For example at university, I need to specify for myself where I’m going to spend each specific break, whenwhere I’m going to exercise in breaks, where I’m going to park etc. And the weird part is that even if its really inconvenient (i.e. parking on the wrong side of the campus) once its part of my ‘routine’ I can’t stop myself from doing it. However I suppose this obsession with routine, keeps my creative self functioning.

In Creative News: I called a long-time ex-girlfriend who played cello in school and asked her if she would be interested in doing some gigs with me & the band – she had to ‘find out if she can still play’ So she might be a-bit rusty at first, but I’ll be pretty happy if that works out, I think strings would work really well with my songs.

Yeesh. Had my first day back at university today. Ah yes now I remember the painful boredom of lectures! And the time that drags and the constant walking.

Feeling very (metaphorically) dry lately, my enthusiasm for music, or at least my self-conviction, seems to wax and wane numerous times over the period of a week. For the past few days I’ve lacking much drive, maybe my YouTube adventures tired me out.

Anyways in Creative News: Wrote another song for The Light-Room called ‘The Wedding Party’. I hope its not too early to say this, but so far, lyrically at least I feel The Light-Room has been an unbroken run of very strong songs – at least on paper.

Well I should get some sleep, I have class at 9am tomorrow, which means a 6am run!

Geese another love song? Don’t know whats up with my inner-muse, about two weeks ago I’d written three love songs out of three hundred plus (for you statisticians thats one love song per hundred) and now I think I’ve written probably five in a row…

Now this wouldn’t be so strange were I in-fact romantically involved with someone, but this is not the case. On that front of my life things have been largely the same for six months or more. All this gives weight to my theory that I don’t write my songs, my subconscious invents them while I sleep and I only scribe for it.

Anyways In Creative News: A new song for The Light-Room called ‘Laura-May’. Interestingly written in response to a flippant comment I made to a friend, about girl he knew and I only know of: “Laura-May is a good song name, if you’re going to write a song about a girl, Laura-May is a good name to start with”. And I kept saying to myself over and over “Laura-May, Laura-May” till I wrote this song.