Monday 5 March 2012

FAWM Reflections 2012




FAWM is over I wrote (or co-wrote) 16 songs.

Things I learned from FAWM this time around


  • It's important to have a game plan. That way you have something to defenstrate when life happens.
  • I figured out how to use the jukebox….it's cool
  • Last year I decided to get hosting from FAWM. This year I did. Eventually. It was way better.
  • I did more collaborations. Not only will people you write with often come up with better stuff than you it will often be something totally different from anything you would ever write
  • Beware of working titles. In FAWMland the craziest label will be seized upon. This happened to me with Sadie's Sister and Space Monkey Mafia. I narrowly avoided writing a song called The Greatest Song In The World…Ever with Steven Wesley Guiles (and yes if you want the title you can have it)
  • FAWMing opens up a weird filter in your brain. You start hearing and seeing song ideas in everything. When I went to the Edinburgh fringe festival once I managed to screw the apartments kitchen tap so tight it came off in my hand and we couldn't shut it off. FAWM is like someone doing that to your brain.
  • 2011 was FAWATYCMM (February Album Writing And Tearing Your Calf Muscle Month). 2012 was FAWAHAFESM (February Album Writing And Host A Foreign Exchange Student Month). The combination of a sofa bed and an 8 year old who is part rooster means I'm approaching hallucinogenic levels of sleep depravation. Which, to continue the previous analogy, is like a plumber coming along to fix the tap by ripping the entire sink out.
  • I seem to have developed an obsession with monkeys


For more serious reflection you can read last years posts on what I did right, got wrong and learned about myself and FAWM - all of which I pretty much stand by, and my game plan now is to ignore my FAWM song for 2 weeks and just listen and comment on other people's songs, rerecord and clean up for 2 weeks then post a free album on bandcamp.

You can find my FAWM songs here (be patient - they'll all be up soon)

Other free songs by Matt Blick