Wisdom of the Creatives | From the Archives
Contributor Contributing Writer Contributor Contributing Writer

Wisdom of the Creatives | From the Archives

Long perched upon my living room table is a book gifted to me by an old friend called The War of Art, a play on Sun Tzu’s Art of War—only geared toward the creative process. Glancing through it once again this New Year's Eve, putting it down I resolved to seek more inspiration in my life, which in turn makes me more creative in my own life.

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Crashing a Gig in a Small Supper Club
Roberta Miles Roberta Miles Roberta Miles Roberta Miles

Crashing a Gig in a Small Supper Club

By now the piano player hates the trumpeter. The stage has become a hostile environment. Soon it will be time to wake up the bass player. I just want to get off the stage. It's my turn again. We are just about to wrap up my song and people start screaming.

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Wisdom of the Creatives
Contributing Writer Contributing Writer

Wisdom of the Creatives

Long perched upon my living room table is a book gifted to me by an old friend called The War of Art, a play on Sun Tzu’s Art of War—only geared toward the creative process. Glancing through it once again this New Year's Eve, putting it down I resolved to seek more inspiration in my life, which in turn makes me more creative in my own life. “In pursuit of joys untasted,” from Verdi’s La Traviata sums it up nicely.  With this in mind, I thought it might be interesting to ask some of my more creative friends their viewpoint on the subject. Impulsively, phone calls were made and emails were sent to a group of people that make my life richer with their presence—musicians, inventors, photographers, chefs, record producers, authors, filmmakers, scientists and then some. Tasking them to give me a comment/thought/impart wisdom about creativity-their responses are below.

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Music Machine
Mike Vinopal Mike Vinopal Mike Vinopal Mike Vinopal

Music Machine

In some ways, I am the luckiest guy in this fair city of approximately three million.  I have had the pleasure & the honor of playing my music on some of Chicago’s finest stages.  I have gotten to relish in this electric feeling surrounded by various permutations of the incredibly talented friends I keep so close.  

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Close Enough for Jazz
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

Close Enough for Jazz

Jazz is about self expression and intent.  Orchestral playing is about precision and perfection.  Perfection scares the shit out of me.  Jazz is about listening and composing and riffing.  Orchestral playing is about becoming a cog in a larger clock and nailing your small piece of the composition at exactly the right time in exactly the right pitch.

A recital is about all of that fucking perfection except all by yourself.

And triple tonguing is killing me.

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