#anxiety #cognitive #singersongwriter #guitar #acoustic

"worst thing" can be quite a tongue twister... jeez. I think it wasn't until the seventh take I had it right.

Over more than twenty years of participating in February Album Writing Month (FAWM), I’ve settled into a workflow that lets me capture a solid recording almost as soon as a new song exists. Everything begins with a guitar progression and a melody I’m humming into place. Once a few words surface, the actual songwriting kicks in. Even with all the digital tools available today, I prefer to keep things grounded by playing real instruments. I print the lyrics in large type, hang the sheet above a camera, and run through the song a few times. Usually the fourth or fifth take is the one I keep. FAWM taught me early on not to get stuck chasing “perfect.” After recording, I pull the audio from the video and drop it into a mixing program. Most of my effect settings are locked in beforehand. Then I add extra vocals and additional instruments—guitar, banjo, piano, keyboard. Once the mix sounds clean enough, I sync it back to the video. Every year I pick a new two-tone color theme for these recordings. If a song is captured this way during FAWM, it’s considered finished. After the month ends, I usually have three or four keepers that I test live on stage. Performing them helps the songs develop, but I never rerecord them. Around ninety percent of everything I’ve written in the last two decades began during FAWM—simple, consistent, effective. These days I use ChatGPT to check my lyrics for grammar and spelling and to offer suggestions; before that, I leaned on native-speaking FAWMers. The audio mix I upload to Bandcamp is identical to the one in the videos.

Podsafe audio: https://studio273.bandcamp.com/track/catastrophic

Catastrophic thinking Anxiety I know I will survive but it still plays tricks on me

I’m checking every shadow Listen to every sound My heart is a drum that keeps spinning me around

What is the worst thing that could possibly happen right now? right now?

Prediction of the future Worst-case scenarios I hate the physical pain It suddenly comes and goes

Breathing in the chaos Trying to let it go It keeps me awake at night for reasons I don’t know

It’s only fear It is only now Breathe it in and let it out

What is the worst thing that could possibly happen right now? right now?

Learning to be gentle with the fire I hold inside Turn the shaking into dancing Turn the fire into light

What is the worst thing that could possibly happen right now? right now?

What is the worst thing that could possibly happen right now? right now?

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