I’ve been working for weeks on a cover of this old @springsteen song to add to my small catalog of covers, playing and singing my own way, more shoegaze-style. 🎸 Dude must be a mad genius, because the song still barely makes sense to me. 😆 Stay “tuned”. #garageband #homerecording #springsteen #fender #guitar#music
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLxu1vQuz_J/?img_index=1
Is there anything more satisfying than a car wash? ☀️💦 #carwash #summer #mini #minicooper #finishlinecarwash #austin #texas #atx https://www.instagram.com/p/DLDGzc8uy2r/
Now that I finished up my first solo cover song, I wanted to get it out in the world. As Steve Jobs said, “Real artists ship.” I’ve been working on that mindset for a while now and trying to show my work along the way.
To get my song out there where it can be streamed anywhere – via Siri, on the HomePod, in the car – I needed to pick an “artist” name to use on all the streaming services. It’s always fun to pick a band name, but I had set a rule for myself from experience messing around fruitlessly with friends in the past: first the music, then the name. You have to earn the name.
So I decided to go with The Coastal Service. 🙌 It’s sort of a play on The Postal Service, an amazing band with one of my favorite albums ever. I am not a Postal Service tribute band; their name just inspired an idea.
“The Coastal Service” is meant to invoke a sense of mystery and fog and awe and danger. It’s about meeting the ocean: like life, it’s big and dangerous and beautiful and meant to be explored.
I also like the idea that this fictional “coastal service” is there to serve humanity and is broader and more secretive and than, say, the US Coast Guard. It’s somewhat inspired by a Wes Anderson vibe, especially Moonrise Kingdom.
I also played around with some sketches on the iPad just for fun.
So there you go: The Coastal Service is born.
I still don’t know if I’m a real artist, but I did ship. 🚢
In one of our regular before-school conversations at Mozart’s Coffee, my daughter and I were talking Instagram.
I told her I keep pretty high standards on what I post. “Each post has to be unique and interesting – something nobody has seen before, and preferable well-composed.”
My daughter, who is 17 and posts anime edits regularly, caught onto a hint of perfectionism creeping in and encouraged me to post more often and just archive what I don’t love.
“Dad, it’s not National Geographic,” she said. And then, knowingly, after a little pause, “Or The New York Times.”
My daughter speaks wisely, and she knows me better than I know myself.
In another life, I may be a jet-setting New York Times photographer or even a reporter tracking down warm criminals. But in this life, I’ll be happy with posting some cool photos around town.
I love it when people I know tell me wise and useful things.
Mental Break Town 