To be oneās true self is the goal in life. This blog series would not exist if it werenāt for a reunion with an old friend who had all the makings of a modern-day Mozart. But at a pivotal fork in the road, he chose the path behind a desk, instead of one behind a keyboard, which wouldāve honored his gift - like Mozart did. Now, 20 years later, heās unrecognizable, this friend who once had music radiating from every cell, especially when singing in random bursts of happiness. The years have taken their toll - not just in the added 20 pounds that donāt belong, but in the heaviness that comes when living someone elseās life, and not oneās true purpose. The life you came here to live.
As a writer, this inspired me to highlight the special souls who chose to follow their true path. The tougher path, but one that honors and expresses the powerful gift of music theyāve been given. To live the Mozart life. May some of their words help or inspire you to find your true calling in life.
A few years back, thanks to SiriusXMās Coffeehouse channel, I discovered a delightful song called āSide Streetsā from a band aptly named Saint Etienne, because the song made me feel like I was on the streets of Paris for some reason. It has a cool, hip (not hipster) vibe, and it immediately took me to another place, even though I was cooking in the kitchen. I immediately had to iTune it. The lyrics were not only animated, but at the same time in a funny way, relatable. I didnāt look anything up, I didnāt need to know anything about the band, I just enjoyed the song for what it gave me, and the vibe it provided me and continues to provide. So I was pleasantly surprised to find out now from Pete Wiggs, who wrote the song, that theyāre from the UK. While I can play songs on repeat to where I canāt listen to it again for up to years at times, āSide Streetsā has been my go-to song on the weekends, where itās on permanent repeat mode, especially when Iām whiling away hours in the kitchen.
Saint Etienne will release their new album June 2, āHome Counties,ā which is where they grew up. The first single is āMagpie Eyes.ā According to the press release, these ā16 new songs they have written about a day in the life of this doughnut of shires that ring the capital are punctuated by bursts of BBC radio to remind you what time it is, and all connected by train journeys - main lines, branch lines, commutes, escapes. The love/hate relationship people have with āhomeā is particularly acute in the Home Counties. Yet Saint Etienne understand that, if you squint, it could be almost utopian.ā The band will also be on their first tour of the U.S. in five years, starting on Sept. 24 in Boston, followed by two dates in New York City, ending in Los Angeles Oct. 6.
Pete Wiggs, who wrote āSide Streets,ā shares about writing the song, what it means, and how heās currently getting an MFA in composition and orchestration.
My favorite go-to song on the weekends lately, which Iāve put on permanent repeat mode, is āSide Streets,ā which I first heard on SiriusXM Coffeehouse channel some years ago. I even like and relate to the lyrics! Can you talk about that song, how it came about, what it means, was it meant to just be a cool, fun song, which is what it sounds like. Itās this cool, fresh little song that I never seem to get tired of, and usually I replay a song to death and then canāt listen to it again for a while.
When I lived in Croydon about 10 years ago Iād walk past a newsagentās board that had the latest headline from the local paper. Theyād always manage to find the most depressing story of murder, rape or abduction. It was relentless, as though Croydon was Gomorrah or something ā that gave me the idea of a song about shielding yourself from the onslaught of negative news. When Iād come home late at night I had the choice of taking the main road or the more āriskyā side streets. So itās about making these kinds of choices ā itās tongue in cheek though as the character - me I suppose - isnāt really very brave and is prepared to do a runner at the slightest hint of trouble.
How do you find inspiration for the music? Is there somewhere deep within where the inspiration comes from? Itās said that when weāre most connected to our true selves - for example, some of the best songs were written in minutes. Whatās your take on that, do you feel that in those inspirational moments youāre most connected to your true self? Have any songs come to you in that way, with such ease?
Funnily enough, I woke up one morning with the melody for āSide Streetsā fully formed in my head and ran downstairs to hum it into a dictating machine - old school. This doesnāt happen very often and when it does it leads me to believe I must have subconsciously ripped something off - hopefully I didnāt. Other days I can sit at a keyboard plugging away for hours without anything taking hold, but I shouldnāt do that. The shower and car are the places I get my best ideas, both of which unfortunately involve a fair amount of time in which the gem of inspiration to be forgotten - thanks to having to park, dry off etc. I suppose you are right though, itās when you are not trying that the best ideas come, so they probably are coming from your unconscious ātrueā self.
Do you have a daily musical process?
Itās not the same every day but about 80% of my days are taken up with some form of music or band related activity.
When did you know you had this gift of music and how did it manifest for you? How did you start to do the human discipline it takes to channel your gift, hone it and bring it forth?
I donāt think Iām gifted at all, itās a real struggle sometimes getting from an idea in my head to a finished piece of music. I never thought Iād be able to write music and didnāt really try until I was in my 20ās. We started out sampling things and humming things and are indebted to sequencers and musicians like Ian Catt who helped us to translate our ideas. Over the years I decided I needed to learn more and Iāve still got loads to learn, Iām doing an MFA in composition and orchestration at the moment. Iāve known Bob Stanley since birth almost and music was always a big part of our lives, we wanted to be involved, but it was the advent of samplers and relatively cheap computer sequencers that gave us a way in.
There are divine moments of serendipity, where a catalyst opens the door that leads to the path weāre meant to be on, the one where we live out the fullest expression of our true selves. What was that moment for you and how did it happen?
Bob and I used to write a fanzine called āCaffā and weād met a localish band called āThe Field Miceā and made friends with them, they said theyād used this studio with a great engineer, who could play stuff too (Ian Catt) ā you should go and record something. My brother Dan had just met a singer called Moira who had a great voice and Bob and I were having a Neil Young phase. So we went to Ian Cattās with Moira and made āOnly Love Can Break Your Heart.ā We played it to Jeff Barrett who Bob knew as the Happy Mondaysā press man and he told us he was just about to start a record label, did we want him to put it out? Serendipity all round.
What inspired this blog series was seeing an old friend who has a special gift of music, but didnāt choose that path, who, 20 years later, isnāt living the life he thought he would live. People who make music and get to travel the world doing so are a rare example of a life where one is able to honor and channel their gift of music. What are your thoughts? And do you feel youāre consciously living the life you thought you would be living?
I started out down the straight and narrow path and was working in an accountancy software firm! Always a bit nerdy and I liked computers, and the regular drinking sessions, but I was daily feeling this isnāt really me, what will life be like in five years time, etc? I was very lucky that the series of events above was taking place, things seemed to be moving, the music scene was very exciting in 1990 and I had a chance to be part of it. So I handed my notice in - weād been offered an album deal - so I thought this might be short term but Iāve been offered a lifeline, Iād kick myself if I didnāt take it. I am often very thankful that Iāve been able to stay doing this for such a long time, Iāve got some incredible memories and have made some great friendships and canāt imagine doing anything else.
Iāve said in that blog post about living the Mozart life, that it may be a tougher road to choose, but youāre fully living your true selves, being most true to yourself. Do you resonate to that? You did not choose the 9 to 5 path. But to embark on this path you chose, was that difficult? You didnāt know you would get here.
It was risky and could have all been over in the blink of an eye and the first year year or so we were really skint, we got invited to loads of flashy events but could barely afford to get a drink.
How did you know that this is your life path, your calling? How does someone know when theyāre on the correct path?
There was a funny moment just after Iād handed in my notice when I went to a work picnic on Highbury Fields and someone came up to me and asked me for an autograph. It had never happened before and it was like Iād set it up, one of my former colleagues said āI thought you were mad to leave, but good on you, youāve done the right thing.ā Once we met Sarah and started writing our own stuff, we became a thing, a unit, it felt right.
What is your idea of success, especially on the path you chose?
Some of my favourite music is like an entity, a world I can enter and momentarily lose myself in. If I can be a part of providing that for others then I have been successful. One of the best compliments I could receive is āthat brought tears to my eyes,ā not because Iām a sadist, but because it means the music has created an emotional response.
Life gives us catalysts, a release valve, which often is our lowest point in life, that allows us to push up to the next, hopefully better chapter. Like a desert, wilderness period in life, that helps raise our consciousness and stay true to yourself and your own path. What was that low point for you that helped you push yourself further, evolve and do better, and what did you do when you had that epiphany?
Having my first child Harvey in 2003 gave me a sense of purpose and a new lease on life as Iād lost my way a bit in the early 2000ās with lots of late nights, pub lock ins and wasting time playing video games.
Itās been a tough time for music, losing many of its legends or those we grew up with whose music was our soundtrack. What are your thoughts on time, how it seems to go by faster each year. Perhaps itās made you reflect on what you want to achieve in the time weāre given here? Do you think about time much and what you want to achieve in the time we have?
One positive side of music legends dying, is the realization of how many people their music affected or touched. They have a kind of immortality in the sense that they live on in their music and it peopleās memories. Time definitely goes by faster each year. Thereās loads of things Iād like to do in music and film. Iām not bothered about achieving anything in terms of ālegacyā and try not to think too much further down the line into old age. I still have a very childish sense of humor and in some ways havenāt changed much over the last 25 years.
Unlike any time in history, weāre in an overwhelming digital era. There is so much detritus, noise and schadenfreude. Whatās your view on that, and how do you find quiet in this era? What do you do to connect with your Higher Self, your true self? How do you ground yourself, focus on your own life path and purpose?
Apart from the shower and driving - alone - with the radio off, the closest I get to meditation is cooking. I can get totally involved in the ānowā of chopping, peeling and frying, etc. I often turn off the radio if I need to totally free up my brain. My wife and I listen to mindfulness recordings in bed too - exciting, eh!
Iām a firm believer in doing mitzvahs, especially in the tougher times of our lives. To give back, be of service in some way, to use our time most wisely, can only help us in the end. What are your thoughts and do you try to do your own mitzvahs to help others, even in the smallest way?
Itās a good philosophy. Sometimes I feel Iāve not been doing enough for others outside my immediate circle though. I think we should live in a society that looks out for everyone, and Iām saddened to see education and health services being eroded by cuts.
What advice do you have for people who have the gift of music, but donāt know how to start channeling it, to develop that gift and bring it out?
It depends what you want out of it. Thereās nothing wrong with playing just for fun or to no audience but yourself. Thereās so much stuff on the Internet that if you want to improve you can get loads of tips. Listen to lots of music, find out what you really like, watch music rockumentaries, go to loads of gigs.
What do you do to help pick yourself up when youāre feeling down, and help you stay the course? Is there a song you play that inspires you when youāre needing some inspiration or to pick yourself up?
Iām very easily absorbed by television or film, especially when watching something with my kids, so if cooking has failed and alcohol inappropriate, and the subject matter not closely related to whateverās getting me down, then a burst of that will normally do the trick. I wish I had a go to song for cheering up purposes, something random like āHello Dollyā but I donāt, any way Iām generally quite cheery.