Words & Fire

BY ZEP

Well I've finally decided to step out of my comfort zone in the world of music.

I've been playing behind a drum kit for five years, with various people and different bands, but all the while I've been writing my own stuff. I first picked up the pen (or pencil) in 2005 to start writing songs, and while most of them would probably never be audience-worthy, I've always felt that most of my lyrics fell into a different niche than the songs I write with my current band.

I have a decent (read: not amazing, but not god-awful) singing voice...though there isn't anyone who would really know, as I've never truly sung in front of anyone. There are two things that have always been holding me back though.

1) Guitar skillz

I've never been good at guitar, and that's probably because I've never practiced enough. I know enough chord progressions to make simple songs, but my goal is to practice enough to be better than decent.

2) Fear

I've never known exactly how music is formed in our heads, what chemicals create that raw reaction of emotion and heart, but baring it for others to see and hear is something difficult. Your lyrics expose who you are, how you think, what you feel -- they are almost the very depth of your person, and revealing them to someone else can be torturous...no one likes to reveal emotion, because sometimes, emotion implies weakness. However, recently I've decided that I can't keep living my life in fear. I want to be able to share what I create, and hopefully people will like it. Some may laugh, some may scorn, but I'll press onwards.

Hopefully it all amounts to something.