#notmusic
I’m supposed to work hard.
Grind it out.
Keep pushing.
Practice.
Write.
Make videos.
Book gigs.
Play gigs.
Work out.
Eat right.
Drink water.
Be responsible.
Be on time.
Be positive...
Tired yet?
Yeah. Me too.
Now don’t get me wrong—I believe in all of it. And most of the time, I do all of it. But I’ve learned the hard way: it’s not healthy for me to do only those things.
Sometimes, for the sake of my creativity, my sanity, and honestly—for the people around me—I need to do something else entirely.
So I did.
A few weeks ago, I rented a camper van in Las Vegas and drove to Death Valley.
I’ve always felt drawn to the desert. I’m not sure where it started… Maybe my favorite film, Lawrence of Arabia, planted the seed. Something about the desert—its vastness, its quiet authority, the way it gives nothing easily—feels honest to me. It’s open, expansive, subtle… and also harsh, unforgiving. There’s a reason not much grows there.
I call these activites #notmusic.
Sometimes it’s a road trip, time in the garden, a walk, lunch with an old fried…
Sometimes it’s a museum, a play, a poetry reading…
Or just a movie on the couch.
What matters is this: stepping away gives me renewed energy.
Without fail, I find some spark—an idea, an image, a phrase—that lodges itself in my brain. It may not show up in my playing or writing right away… but it always shows up. One day. Maybe a year later. And it’s always worth it.
Then I come back to all the “supposed to’s” with new insight.
And it feels a little more doable. Joyful even.
What do you do when you need to step away?
Drop your favorite #notmusic thing in the comments
