Ah, labels. We all do it. I think it helps us to keep things sorted in our mind if we can put things
into certain categories. That’s especially true for music. From an industry perspective, labelling music as a certain type helps in promotion and sales. From a personal perspective, it helps us tell friends about our favourite style of music, or helps us make connections to strangers through a shared love of a certain style.
When I was first starting out in the music world, Nirvana had just exploded onto the scene. First question people had for me upon finding out I did music was, “Do you sound like Nirvana?” No. No, I do not sound like Nirvana (although I really like them!). When Stop Yelling was going strong in North Vancouver, Nickleback had just blasted onto the scene and everyone asked, “Do you sound like Nickleback?” No. We definitely do not sound like Nickleback!
Knowing that I would be labelled with “something” as my music became more known, I decided to label myself. But I had to create something that wasn’t super-generic and boring. A label that required a follow-up question upon hearing my answer. Sadly-optimistic indie folk was born… Although, my first self-label creation, “Liquid Folk” intrigued a lot of people too!
For me, sadly-optimistic music reflects how much of my life has been led. I am a realistic optimist, prone to self-doubt and pessimism… If you know me, you’re probably saying, “Yup, that sounds about right!”
It’s funny, after all these years of living a sadly-optimistic lifestyle, a few weeks ago my wife, Dianne, perfectly put it into words in a way I have never been able to:
“Sadly-optimistic is a mindset or a vibe of never losing hope or faith that things will work out.”
Through my music, I have always tried to be honest in my emotions and personal experience. It was not only therapeutic for myself, but I have always hoped that my music might help someone, somewhere, feel a little more positive. I have found that there is great power in the word sometimes… It appears in many of my songs.
There is great magic in that word! It leaves us with a way out of our current feelings - a path to move forward. I have always hoped for myself, and for others, that on the days that we felt hopeless, or alone, we would remember that sometimes we don’t feel that way.
Sometimes we feel sad. Sometimes we feel optimistic. That’s ok. And it’s even better when we are sadly-optimistic - never lose faith that things will work out.
See ya next time...
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