The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

When I first started writing for this blog I didn’t want to do the obvious albums like this one. So much has been said about the greatness of this album. We’ve all heard it. It’s one of those things that’s accepted as GREAT!  Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is synonymous with an artistic album achievement.  When Musical artists are looking to make a great album that’s the pinnacle of their creative abilities, they refer to it as “their Sgt Pepper”. There’s a Time/Life  History of Rock n’ Roll documentary where Todd Rundgren refers to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon as that band’s pinnacle “Sgt Pepper” moment. 



I hadn’t even thought about writing anything about Sgt Pepper. But, I was writing about Cheap Trick awhile back and I started sampling through all of their albums. One of the recent albums is a Live performance of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The band had been asked by the Hollywood Bowl to be the band to perform the album in its entirety. If you've ever followed Cheap Trick, there's been parallels to the Beatles throughout their history
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Rick Nielsen has a Hamer guitar with the faces of the Beatles on them. Rick Nielsen and Bun E Carlos were asked to play with John Lennon for the Double Fantasy sessions. They recorded a cover of Day Tripper on their All Shook Up album. That album was also produced by longtime Beatle producer (and fifth Beatle) George Martin.  On their Greatest Hits package they cover Magical Mystery Tour. So, that prompted me to pull out my Beatles CD and put it on my MP3 player so I could listen to it on the drive to work. WOW!! It’s definitely an album that greets you like an old friend but then you discover new things about it every time you hear it.
I wrote so much about my own Beatle obsession on the anniversary of John Lennon’s death.  So, I honestly don’t feel like repeating myself about the Beatles. I grew up with the Beatles in my home. My older sisters were Beatles fans. I share a birthday with Ringo Starr. Ringo was my first drumming hero.  But, my love for the music of this album started from the often dreaded and despised 1978 Robert Stigwood movie production of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees.  I could deny that I loved the movie or that the Beatles catalog of songs from the Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road album were so sacred that no one should ever try to cover them…..especially in a movie musical form. But, I won’t! I really liked it….and why?…..even back in 1978, I liked the songs. I liked the music.

I remember putting my tape recorder up to the radio when I heard this version being played. Remember doing that kids in the days before “boom boxes” and “Ghetto Blasters”?  It wasn’t long after the release of the movie and the soundtrack that my sister Kathy had a copy of the soundtrack as did my neighbor Brad. Brad and I had seen the movie at the local Movie Theater Triplex.  I loved the embossed look on the album cover and I loved the music. At the time, I’m not sure I knew that it was Beatles music. I just knew I liked it. I would see the album at many different retail outlets. I remember riding my bike to the local Ben Franklin store and as I would flip through the records and tapes, I remember just taking in the colors of the soundtrack album cover. I even bought the novelization of the movie from the Scholastic Book club. That year I asked for the soundtrack album for Christmas. As I stated in my John Lennon blog, my parents actually gave me the original Beatles album instead of the Frampton/Bee Gees soundtrack.  I was originally disappointed that I had been given the album by the Beatles instead of the soundtrack.  But, that didn’t stop me from listening to the album over and over.  Turns out, my Mom knew best.
The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album had the song lyrics printed on the back cover. The novelization of the Frampton/Bee Gees movie also had the song lyrics printed in the book. The movie featured songs from the Sgt Pepper album along with cuts from Let it Be and Abbey Road as well.  Brad and I had this crazy idea to record our voices singing along with the Soundtrack album. We had the lyrics in the book and the Beatles’ album too. So, we set up a simple tape recorder and played the album in the background and recorded it. I remember thinking neither one of us wanted to sing the songs that had been performed by the females in the movie. Looking back, That’s kind of funny considering the songs were originally recorded by 4 guys. But, singing these songs definitely had an impact on me and soon became part of my musical DNA.

I don’t know what it was. But, something happened where I stopped yearning for the 1978 Soundtrack versions and I fully embraced the 1967 original.  As I grew in my love for music and the Beatles, I learned that the album was originally released on May 26th, 1967 (UK) and June 2, 1967(USA). I was born in July of that same year.  Ringo and I share the same birthday.  I grew up thinking that the Ringo probably celebrated his birthday that year on the road touring behind the Sgt Pepper album.  I obviously became educated about the history of the band and later learned that this album was the first in a new era for the band where they DIDN’T tour behind the album.  Paul McCartney tells the story that a mere days after the album was released that Jimi Hendrix had learned the opening song and performed it live.

In the 1982 Beatles documentary The Compleat Beatles, Musicologist Wilfred Mellers expresses that when Sgt Pepper was released

“The most distinctive event in pop music’s brief history and it marked the turning point(of course) when the Beatles stopped being ritual dance music and became music to be listened to”

It may be strange to think about popular music in those terms in today’s 21st Century world. I would assume the Beatles had grown tired of writing catchy pop tunes for teenage girls from 1962 through 1966. It’s obvious by the subject matter of the songs on albums like Rubber Soul and Revolver that they had grown tired of the “lovable moptops” image.  They had toured constantly for four years and endured the crowds and the incessant screaming. The Beatles had begun to question their own musicality.  This was a chance to make a musical statement that didn’t need to be expressed on tour or on a stage.
The songs are so rich in the musicality of it all. We start off with an introduction to a fictional band that supposedly started “20 years ago today”.  Right there, you’re taken on a small journey of the mind and imagination to think of this band. Then, the listener is introduced to “The singer’s gonna sing a song and he wants you all to sing along….the one and only Billy Shears” and a seamless introduction into A Little Help from my Friends.  I stated earlier of hearing the movie version. When I heard the Beatles version, I wondered to myself “Who is singing this? Is this Paul or George? This person has a very different style to his voice than Frampton did.”  I learned later it was Ringo singing. With my obvious bond to Ringo through our birthday and as drummers, I accepted this song as my own personal statement to the friends in my own life.  I get by with a little help from my friends.  My friendships mean so much to my own life and often coincide with music that resonates me as well.

I remember being a little cautious of With a Little Help From my Friends when I first heard the lyrics “I get HIGH with a little help from my friends”.  I was afraid my parents from another generation would be suspicious that I was getting into some new lifestyle of smoking marijuana on a daily basis. I even remember my Mom asking about that lyric. I think I eventually told her it was an expression that really didn’t have anything to do with the intake of the herbal jazz cigarette.
The inspiration for the next song came from a picture John’s son Julian made called Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.  Of course, the myth and rumor when I was growing up is that this was yet another drug reference that the Beatles put in their music and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was about LSD.
When the Beatles released their Anthology back in 1995, Paul made the comment that he was proud that he and John always seemed to write songs with a positive theme to them. The next song may be one of those songs as well.  I’m talking about Getting Better. I’ve obviously heard the story that Paul likes to tell as he was writing this. He would sing “Getting Better all the time” and John would be right there with his quick wit singing “It couldn’t get much worse”. I don’t know what it was that I loved about this song. Maybe it was the simple song title and the catchy chorus. I just remember liking this song at first listen. As I listen to it now, I love the sound of the rhythm guitar and they way it just rings and chugs along. Ringo plays straight quarter notes on the hi-hat along with some congas in the mix as well.

The next track is Fixing a Hole. Looking back, it’s hard for me to not think about the George Burns version from the Frampton/Bee Gees movie.  If you grew up watching the talk shows and variety shows of the 1970’s, George Burns was everywhere.  Here he was again as the “mayor of Heartland USA” in the movie. In fact, he narrated the entire movie. But, as I think back and have listened to this song as a part of the album, I find myself singing it out loud as I do with the entire album. 
She’s Leaving Home spins a story of a mother and father telling of a daughter who branches out from the family nest. The song is told through the eyes of the parents as they see her leaving home.  As much as I love this album I really didn’t grow to appreciate it as much until I heard the live Cheap Trick version.

As much as I love the studio albums and especially the classic ones like these, I love to hear artists pay homage and love to these tracks as well. It’s gives me a new perspective on someone else’s love for these songs.  Since the Beatles never performed these songs live, you can’t find a live video of them performing stuff from this album. Although, Ringo and Paul would end up singing these songs as part of their solo sets. 
Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite is a fun song that John Lennon wrote as inspiration after he obtained a 19th Century poster and quoted the acts on the poster almost word for word. I always enjoyed this song for the playful circus atmosphere.

For the benefit of Mr. Kite
There will be a show tonight on trampoline
The Hendersons will all be there
Late of Pablo Fanques' fair, what a scene
Over men and horses hoops and garters
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire
In this way Mr. K will challenge the world
The celebrated Mr. K
Performs his feats on Saturday at Bishopsgate
The Hendersons will dance and sing
As Mr. Kite flies through the ring, don't be late
Messrs K. and H. assure the public
Their production will be second to none
And of course Henry the Horse dances the waltz
The band begins at ten to six
When Mr. K performs his tricks without a sound
And Mr. H will demonstrate
Ten somersets he'll undertake on solid ground
Having been some days in preparation
A splendid time is guaranteed for all
And tonight Mr. Kite is topping the bill

a performance from the Beatles Rock Band video game

The opening of Side Two is a George Harrison song entitled Within Without You. When I first heard this, I didn’t get it. For my middle of the road/mid Nebraska upbringing, this was a weird sounding song and I just chalked it up to some kind of Eastern sounding drug induced song and I wanted nothing to do with it. Years later, my brother would use the sitar drenched intro as the backing music for a message on the family answering machine. He even supplied the Maharishi imitation. I still laugh about that one.
Lennon & McCartney are now heralded as one of the greatest songwriting teams of the 20th century along with such noted tunesmiths like Rodgers & Hammerstein. In fact, Paul has said that as songwriters they had aimed to write songs for the likes of Frank Sinatra. When I’m Sixty-Four is one of those songs that Paul says was a song that he kind of aimed as a Rodgers & Hammerstein type of song.  When the first edition of Trivial Pursuit came out in the 80’s, I remember playing with the family and one of the questions was “What is the name of the 3 ‘grandchildren on your knee’ in the song When I’m Sixty-four?”  Even then as a Beatles’ trivia buff, I remember struggling to come up with the lyric. The answer: “Vera, Chuck and Dave”
I’ve always loved the next track called Lovely Rita.  I loved the harmonies. I loved to play along to the very simplistic drum fills that Ringo plays on the song and the ability to rhyme Lovely Rita, Meter Maid always amused me.

Since 2014 is the 50th anniversary of Beatles arrival in the United States, I took it upon myself to educate my (almost) 10 year old son about the historical significance of the event. So, he’s been listening to a lot of Beatles with his daddy lately. This past Sunday, I woke up in a bit of a grumpy mood. We jumped in the car and I said “I need some music to put me in a happy mood.” Before I finished my sentence, he answered exuberantly “THE BEATLES!!”   and I put on Sgt Pepper.  Very soon thereafter Lovely Rita had been ringing through our ears and he was singing it in the car, the store, the bathroom. “Dad, I can’t get that song out of my head!”  I pat myself on the back for planting another musical seed in his head.
From there is yet another up tempo sing-along with Good Morning Good Morning.  This past year before I moved closer to my son, I was working at a job in Central Nebraska where I didn’t want to be and the lyric from this song rang in my head on my daily commute to work.

Going to work…don’t wanna go feeling low down

The continuing love of the Beatles and the Sgt Pepper album have continued with my son from week to week. This past week, I dialed it up on my mp3 player and we drove in the car and just sang our hearts out to the songs once again and then we got to the Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band – Reprise. 

My son and I were all smiles and we sang out loud. There were cars passing us and just looking at the sight of this man and his son singing and smiling.  For years, I’ve loved listening to all of the Beatles’ albums. There’s always something intriguing for me. At times, I had grown a bit tired of it. I put it away and I don’t listen to it for a few months or a few years. Then, I pull it back it out and see how this music touches my son and it lights him up and all of sudden we’ve created a brand new father/son moment and memory that will be eternally special to the two of us. As I was winding down on this blog, a friend of mine reminded me of a recording of John Lennon and his son Sean singing “A Little Help From My Friends”.

This is such a fantastic father/son moment that I can truly relate to as I’ve sang these songs with my son and I used to sing John’s Beautiful Boy to my son Joe as a lullaby. 
The album winds up with A Day in the Life. This has always been a song that many talk about the complexity of the composition. It’s been said that John wrote the parts of “I read the news today Oh boy!” and Paul wrote the “Made my way upstairs and drank a cup. Somebody spoke and I went into a dream”. Then the wind up and build up of the music and the sound of an alarm clock to signal the next part of the song. Alarm clocks have been used as part of musical soundscape since then. But, had it been used before? Years ago, I found a live version that Sting had done with his band and it was refreshing to see a band conquer it in a live sense.

I have been writing the blog for weeks and months and even years. I have talked for so many years about how much I loved the Beatles. My friends realize that. My family realizes that. As I drove across town, I thought about the memories this album has generated for me. I listened to the music of this album from various artists who obviously found a connection to it.  I discovered this music as a boy and grew to love it.  After seeing Paul McCartney live in 1993, I was listening to a lot of Beatles on a road trip with my brother. So, I have precious memories sharing this album with him. Now, in 2014, I have memories of sharing the music, the songs and the smiles with my son which just warms my heart and takes this music to another special memory in my life.
Is this an important album in the history of musicians, Rock n’ Roll and 20th Century culture? ABSOLUTELY!  According to BM in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,

Because its boundary-pushing was matched by scintillating songwriting. From McCartney’s rousing opener through Lennon’s kaleidoscopic ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,’ to the duo’s astonishing ‘Day in the Life’, every one is a gem.

But, for me, it has become something more personal that some kind of cultural and musical cornerstone. This is something I’ve shared with friends, musicians, fans and now a new generation through my son that touches me on a deeper emotional level.  Thank you for reading and helping me “Get by with a little help from my friends”. I hope you enjoyed this read. Because as they say in Day in the Life… “I love to turn you on!”

John Mayer-Continuum

For me, I can associate a variety of emotions and memories from many different albums from various points in this journey known as life.  In this entry, I am going to re-visit a time and an album in my life not so long ago where so many songs, lyrics and sounds seemed to resonate with me on an emotional and musical level. I've been working on this blog entry on and off for a couple of years. I dive into the songs and the emotions that I was going through come flooding back and I shelf the blog for a bit.

Awhile back, I had been making full use of my DVR and great channels for music like AXS TV, Palladia(now known as MTV-Live), and VH-1 Classic.  One concert that I recorded that I had wanted to see for years was Where the Light is-John Mayer Live in Los Angeles.   Back in 2006-2007, I binged heavily on Mayer’s albums Heavier Things and especially Continuum.  By the time this live CD and DVD was released in 2008, I was interested but wasn’t ready to dive into a double live CD. I had seen clips from this concert and knew that I would probably enjoy it. But, I never got around to watching it until years later.

So, I bring up this concert on my DVR and start watching it. It features 3 sets from Mayer. One set of acoustic numbers of just himself and guitarist Robbie McIntosh(formerly of the Pretenders and Paul McCartney’s solo band). The second set is the John Mayer Trio featuring bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan. If you’re unfamiliar with these two, let me briefly educate you. Pino is the session bassist that Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend called to replace the late John Entwistle for the Who when he died back in 2002. Steve Jordan is a longtime favorite drummer of mine who was the original drummer for Late Night with David Letterman before Anton Fig. He was the original backbeat behind the Blues Brothers band when they first played together and recorded.  When Keith Richards got tired of waiting for Mick Jagger to write and record new material in the late 80’s, he formed his band the X-Pensive Winos with Steve Jordan on drums.  So, when John Mayer employed these two musicians, he had my attention. The 3rd set of this concert is a full band set of multiple guitars, horns, keyboards and drums.

As I start watching this show, I am loving the musicianship of Mayer and the funkiness of Palladino and Jordan. I’ve been a sucker for the blues trio format for years.

His full band is top-notch as well. But, when the band kicks into Mayer’s 21st Century blues number Gravity, I was transported both psychologically and emotionally to the Winter of 2007 and the thoughts of loss. That was the year I was dealing with emotions and heartbreak from the separation of my marriage and eventual divorce.  I alluded to this album on a review of his 2012 album Born and Raised and my “listening habits of 2013”. But, I’ve yet to write and spell out what this album meant to me.

When my son’s mother and I separated in the Fall of 2005, I went through a series of thoughts and emotions of “Why is this happening?” and “What can I do to change her mind and get back together?” When I finally came to grips that the divorce was going to happen, I turned to something like music to get my mind off of the failed marriage. But, the music had a way of drilling into those emotions when I wasn’t expecting it.

I had heard Waiting on the World to Change at the tail end of 2006. I had begun to see John Mayer in various music circles of artists that I followed. He had done an episode of PBS Soundstage with legendary bluesman Buddy Guy.  I saw him playing guitar with Derek Trucks, Robert Randolph and members of Gov’t Mule on a music showcase called “The Jammys” that featured bands like the Allman Brothers Band, John Scofield and Gov’t Mule.  I had sampled through some of his John Mayer Trio CD and I liked what I had heard.  I bought the Continuum CD, ripped it to the computer and synched it up with my MP3 player and started a routine of Mall-walking around the almost abandoned Imperial Mall of Hastings Nebraska after I would get off work. I was alone in this mall with my walking music and my thoughts. This collection of music was in heavy rotation on my MP3 player and in my mind and heart at the time.

Waiting for the World to Change – In the days and months after the separation, I would wake in the morning and ride the stationary bike and watch VH1 morning videos.  I remember seeing this video. I liked how the song felt and moved.  After I bought the album, I remember playing this song in the car while my (then 2 year old) son was seated in his car seat behind me. He originally would sing along to the song on the chorus especially on the “WAITING” echo part.  He told me at one point that this sounded like “Uncle Mike” music and that he equated this music with my brother(his Uncle) Mike. Mike later commented that he hadn’t heard it. But, appreciated the comparison.

I Don’t Trust Myself in Loving You – my first thoughts when this song came on was that I hated the snare drum sound.  But, that’s my own drumming issue. When the sound of the snare lends to the tone of the song, then it works and it didn’t take long before the song sucked me in. 
It was a time of separation from my wife and a time of accepting the fact that we may never be together as husband and wife.  Over time, the one issue I keep coming back to when I think about the idea of remarrying and moving into another relationship is TRUST.  Can I trust another woman to stay with me in marriage for the long haul. The lyrics rang through my ears and mind. As much as I wanted to remain married, did I trust myself and her in loving again. Would I ever be able to date again and love another woman or even trust another or (as the song states) “Trust myself in Loving you”

Belief – This song had a cool sound and grooving beat that helped me to pick up my step while walking.  While I walked the (almost) deserted Imperial Mall in Hastings Nebraska.  The heat would be turned down in the mall and there were little to no stores open anymore in this mall.  I was alone in my thoughts listening to this album as I would walk.  Although Belief has some heavy lyrics about believing, beliefs and how people have their own and it’s hard to change and it’s can be used as a weapon or a shield.

Gravity – The heaviness of this song would hit me as the upbeat tempo of Belief would wind down. 

“Gravity is bringing me down”
“Gravity is working against me”
“Gravity is trying to bring me down”

at that point the modern blues of this song was hitting me as the world around me was bringing me down. I was looking at a divorce in the months ahead of me.  I was living apart from my wife and son. I missed them both. But, the line “Keep me where the light is” would offer me just a glimmer of hope to carry on.

Heart of Life- At the time, I was rather active on MySpace communicating in a daily blog entry and seeking feedback from friends. I was in frequent phone conversations with my friend Scott who I had reconnected with in recent months. I had conversations with my lifelong college buddy Bob and my compatriot from my days at the community theatre Bill S as well as my college friend Kelly. I had commented that this album was big for me and how much I was digging it at the time. I met up with Bill one day for lunch. Bill had been a fan of John Mayer and he burned a CD of his favorite Mayer tunes. When I hear this song, I think how the love of these friends shined through for me in my personal darkness.

“Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won't all go the way, it should
But I know the heart of life is good

You know it's nothing new
Bad news never had good timing
But then the circle of your friends
Will defend the silver lining”

The line about a “Circle of friends will defend the silver lining” rang true for these friends who were there in my times of ranting and venting about my hopelessness and my (soon to be) ex-wife. Still to this day I think about these individuals when I hear this song.
Vultures – I don’t remember this song hitting me or resonating with me in any emotional way. The rhythm was steady enough that made for good walking pace. But, as I look back, the lyrics may have been subconsciously strengthening me.

“I’ll Walk through the fire
if this is what it takes
to take me even higher.
Then I’ll come through like I do.
When the world keeps
testing me, testing me, testing me”

Stop this Train – A nice easy going acoustic number that incorporates a nice little train beat. It touches on all the things I was thinking. I was months away from the finalization of the divorce. Something I didn’t want and I kept hoping for a moment of reconciliation and we would be back on track as a married couple and family of 3 again. I feared the future and the uncertainty of the future. I wanted this emotional pain out of my heart and emotions. I wanted to “STOP THIS TRAIN” 

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room – For me, the song wrapped up my marriage in a 4 minute song. As I walked, everything said in this song was what I was feeling or had felt in the time we were together. The arguments, the attempts to reconcile, and the moment where I felt us grow apart all came back rushing back to me in memories and I would feel this heaviness in my heart. I looked back on all kinds of points in our relationship that should have been red flags. I would stop walking, lean against a wall in a secluded corridor and fight back the tears that were welling up in me. 

"Can't seem to hold you like I want to
So I can feel you in my arms
Nobody's gonna come and save you
We pulled too many false alarms  

We're goin' down  

And you can see it too

We're goin' down
And you know that we're doomed
My dear
We're slow dancing in a burnin' room"

Bold as Love- Ah yes, a Hendrix cover. One of the things that had turned me on to the music of John Mayer was a sample recording I had heard of the John Mayer Trio live where he, Pino and Steve Jordan were rocking some Hendrix. This was a welcome relief to the heavy emotions I was feeling at the time and the musician side of me was able to rock to these sounds. I wanted to sit behind a drumkit and rock out to some Hendrix at this point. 

Dreaming with a Broken Heart- Here is a song that touched the barest nerve of hurt and heartbreak that I was living at the time. The opening lyric voiced the emotions I was feeling in that months between the separation and the divorce.

"When you're dreaming with a broken heart,
the waking up is the hardest part,
you roll out of bed and down on your knees
and for a moment you can hardly breathe
wondering
Was she really here?
Is she standing in my room?
No she's not cause she's gone gone gone gone. "

I was dreaming of our life together still going on. We were still together as a family. I wasn’t living with my parents and spending time away from my son. Then, I’d wake up and there I was back in my parent’s basement and worrying about my future and what I could say and do to win my wife back. 

In Repair – This was a song that described where I was in my emotional state. I wasn’t in a blissful happy state. I wasn’t broken down as I had felt many months before. I was “in repair”. I remember spending time on MySpace and writing in my “status” field that I was in repair.  I had a friend of mine at the time that basically asked me “What the hell does that mean?” I always felt it was self-explanatory.
I’m Gonna Find Another You -  At the time, this song felt like a bit of closure for the inevitable divorce.  The marriage was over as much as I didn’t want it. I had finally accepted it. The song says,

“It’s really over
You made your stand
You got me crying
As was your plan
But when my loneliness is through
I’m gonna find another you.”

I didn’t really want to find “another you”. I wanted to find someone different than what I had been through. I still haven’t found someone new. I don’t look for someone. I’m more concentrated on my own self-improvement and my own happiness.  I figure when the time is right, the right person will enter my life. I am not desperate for a new mate.
It’s been over 10 years since this album was part of my daily listening habit and daily routine. It’s taken a long time since I can listen to the album and not have the emotions I was feeling to come flooding back. Even this blog entry has been an ongoing writing process. I have finally come to a point where the hurt has dissipated. I can look back at this album and a statement that helped me grow. It comforted me at a time when I needed that comfort. The music was honest, bluesy and resonated with my emotional state.  I have testified to the music of this album to many friends of mine over the years. I can only imagine the lives this album touched apart from my own whether it was musically, lyrically or a combination of both.
As you read this, understand that this memoir was part of my own healing process. I’m happy I’ve made this journey in life and anticipate the next step of the journey. I also hope that this will help others in moments of heartbreak and getting through those troubled times and storms that many must push forward through. 
I have more blog entry drafts in my mind and my computer waiting to be finished. I’ve had more people ask me about my blog and it feels like a renewed way of sparking my own creative writing to get more finished and eventually published.