Is It Time to Stop Chasing Perfection?

I even had promo photos - Thanks, Les Kerrigan!

I put out my last CD of music in 2007, when I was 36 years old (Jesus!). That was almost six years ago. I have been working on this next set of tunes since.

Well, not since day one, but you get the picture.

I have, right now, about eight or nine songs in various stages of development. Some have lyrics, some don't. Some still need to be tweaked, arrangement-wise. Some are "finished. " I have two acoustic numbers that, by all rights, should be finished and mixed by now. There is no reason they shouldn't be. I've got a glut of stuff that I should have more developed, but isn't.

It's ridiculous. It really is. I've come up with every excuse in the book, and some are even valid (I have been very busy, acting-wise, in the last few years). Most of them really aren't. How many times have I bitched about the drum machine, and wished for a different option?

Well, I went and looked at some electronic kits, and just came to the conclusion that I don't have the room to deal with a full kit of any stripe. Plus, how long was it going to take me to get up to speed on drumming? Right now Dave F. is just laughing at me, and saying "forever."

So, I feel stuck with "Dr. Rythum," for the time being. Is that really such an impediment? Is it REALLY?! No. Frankly, I should just learn how to program the Goddamn thing. If I can mix in a few less-rote drum bits with the standard patters (which have been my lifebood), maybe I can get more of the feel I want. I don't need Moon or Bonham, but...Jesus, the thing doesn't even have a pre-set for riding the hi-hat.

I think I can program that.

Still, it's all bullshit, right? I need to move forward. I cannot sit on my thumbs and wait for everything to be perfect.

Because it's never gonna be.

I have pretty decent equipment, and I can good quality recordings. Perfect, however? Never happen. I need to embrace that. I need to just play from the gut, get the shit recorded, and let people hear it. They may hate it, a lot of people hated the last couple of batches of stuff.

Do it. Finish it.