You're Not Just Telling Stories

Months ago I received a phone call from a stranger.  I knew as soon as the man introduced himself why he was calling.  He asked to speak about a matter I thought I'd never have to discuss again on someone else's terms.  When I finally agreed to speak with him in person, I contacted one of my closest friends and expressed how distraught the call made me.  I told her how I was tired of the situation and wondered when the ghosts of my past would finally remain in my past.  She told me something that changed my perspective on the situation: "You've told the story before.  You can tell it again.  You're good at that - Ke'opu the storyteller."

Her words helped me remember how important storytelling had been to me through the winter of 2009 and 2010 - be it songs, fiction, or non-fiction.  It took her words for me to recognize that all the many songs I wrote between October 2009 and April 2010 were telling the stories of everything that had occurred over about a one-year period.  Between October and April the story evolved and so did my songwriting to help deal with everything going on.  And, when both the story and the storytelling was finished, my songwriting again changed.  In fact, I can see a distinct difference in the subject matter and style of the songs I've written since April.

As much as I thought the story of everything that transpired between April 2009 and April 2010 was done, it's become apparent over the last few weeks that I'm still very much affected by it.  I wrote my way through a great of deal of it, hence songs like "Lie to Me," "Worst Enemy," and "I Stand."  I wrote short stories and prose to work through the pain.  I've grown to learn though that there's a little more processing that needs to be done before I can fully close that chapter of my life.

So, what I've decided to do this Fall is work on recording an album telling the story one more time.  It's been a project I've thought about undertaking for a bit but never quite with this focus.  It'll take some time, but I'm hoping it will be worth it to re-work many of the songs that I play most frequently, adding other instruments and revising lyrics and melodies.  Expect to see more blogs about this project as I'm sure the process will yield a great amount of writing material.  I'm nervous.  I'm scared.  I'm really excited.  This is a new chapter in my life that will help turn the page on another.

Oh, the project and album title?  "Nothing Sexual."

Until next time...peace.