The Creative Train Podcast

This may go a bit "woo-woo" for you, but it is genuinely how I feel things like inspiration, motivation and creativity happen in us, and how things like childhood prodigies happen.  I believe it's soul fuelled, nothing to do with luck. In this episode I talk about how I foster these things in myself, my music students and maybe within you if you're having a slow season in your creativity. 

Remember when those AI pictures, voicevers, and stuff started appearing all over social media? How people kept responding with how it looks fake, and how it *should be corrected to look or seem more real? This, is my eyes, was the training of the monster. Now, the monster has most folks completely duped and completely happy with that fact. I'm going to shake my fist at the clouds again here and ta...

Ok, we all know artists are usually broke; so how do we end up creating and making things? How do we "find" the time? Wanna know? Have a listen. I actually no answers for you, but I do have a lot of things to think about that might make your creative journey a little smoother and more productive. 

No, I'm not being a meanie here, this is a story of a recent gig of mine which didn't go as hoped or expected but still turned out to be a good night! What could go wrong, did go wrong, but keeping my focus and integrity together, I got through it and a fine time was had by all.  Leave a comment about your own experience of when nobody's *really into it, but you keep going!

I had to submit a letter of resignation last week, to one of the best gigs I have had as a music teacher. It was surreal, as a typically self-employed person, to first find myself as an employee, then thriving in that environment, and then having to choose to leave.  Here's my story. Have a listen, it may help you with a difficult decision like I just had to make.

This is not just another old guy shaking his fist at the clouds, frustrated with the internet...  This is a positive story about how the online community can work together and support actual humans making real art in this age of artificially intelligent "creators".  

Some of us have a hard time putting a dollar value to our creations. It's not like we don't think our stuff has value, but the "vibe factor" of art is much more than just the cost of materials and a modest "wage" for us to pay ourselves.  In this episode I take a look at this from two perspectives- knowing the value of your services (if you are an instructor) and letting the actual piece of art yo...

I'm speaking from my own experience, as always, about folks who have deceived their audiences, co-creators and those who are seen as being against-the-grain and maybe you want to steer clear of them! Maybe this just sounds like I'm bitter and trying to "diss" certain folks, but no, names have been omitted but the stories you are about to hear are all true!

I get it, you're an artist struggling to find your place in a sea of other artists. What sets you apart? What keeps you feeling stuck? Well, here are some tips from my life as a musician and glass artist that may just help you out- it all starts with NOT getting in your own way! Enjoy, listen, like, sub and share, it's a wonderful form of social media currency!

I tried sitting down to write out my idea on this but it just didn't seem to flow, so this one is off the cuff and a bit of a rant about Ai.  Love it or hate it, it seems like it's here to stay; so how far do we as artists and creatives let this new "thing" into our creative process? I mean genuine creativity, the sort of product we want to call art... This is based on an online post I saw from a...

In this episode I'm exploring something a LOT of people say- that they hate the sound of their voice; however, I'm adding little pause-for-thought to this notion: is it the tone of your voice or is it hearing yourself recite your inner monologue that you *actually don't like? A nice, light topic here; have a listen and let me know what you think. 

Firstly, a HUGE thank you to all who have downloaded, played and shared this podcast, you make my day everyday! Two stories in this episode- one about a young musician whose mom tried to live out her fantasy of stardom through her daughter, creeping most people out in the process; and another involving an over-zealous musician who didn't seem to get the memo about over-sharing among your peers.  A...

Ah, recital season, which also means "audition season"...   Are you prepared, are you ready for the self-doubt, the anxiety and the woulda-shoulda-coulda after thoughts?   Well, artsie, maybe you can find some solace in my words. I've see the best and worst of folks when presentation gets confused with competition.    Art is not a competition. Expression is not a race. Creativity is not something...

Another true story from my life as a music teacher, but the message easily applies in any discipline. What happens when you raise the bar, you know, raise your expectations, up your game? Sometimes we exceed our goals, sometimes we feel like we're going backward.  It's a good thing to do this, but there can be some really tough moments when we hold ourselves to a new and higher standard.  I did a...

This episode is about accountability, not just to an instructor or mentor- but to YOU, especially YOU! As both a teacher and a student, I constantly check-in with myself to see if my lessons are clear, thoughtful and appropriate for each student as well as understandable, and relatable from a student's perspective. Here are a few things you can do today and into the future to help keep you and you...

A recent experience in the music biz left me in a familiar feeling place; one of being somewhat overlooked, or relegated to a "space filler", and because this is unfortunately common, I'm used to it. I'm Not Bitter, Just A Little Tart!

A timely follow-up to episode 71.  In this episode I'm shining a light into a dark corner of being a teacher of any sort- the student who thinks they have outsmarted everyone, including you!  What to do, how to handle and how to come to understand your place in someone's very particular learning process. If you can relate, leave a comment, let's have a conversation. 

What do you expect from a teacher? What do you expect from a student? Even if these things remain unsaid in the class/workshop, there is an understanding that something is promised aside from fees being paid. What is it that is promised? I outline my approach as a music teacher, but I really believe this extends into all fields and for both the teacher and the student.

This is not solely about angry artists, but rather those who seem to be crazed in their focus, determination and might look "crazy" or "weird" to those around them.  Here are some words of inspiration and a reminder about how and why you create. If you're just in it for the likes and social media presence- there are words for you as well! 

I'm happy to welcome two good friends on to this episode to tell us about some of the "blue" moments working in the arts.  From performance, to the behind the scenes tech, it seems we artsies have all been "through it" This episode explores the funny, the nasty, the awkward and the bizarre stuff we encounter when we work in the artistic/creative community.  If you're new to a career in the arts, t...

I'll call this episode 68.5, as I'm wrangling some guests in for the next big one, episode 69 (*smirk) in which we're going to tell stories, some "blue" some weird, but all are going to be about the strange things we encounter during performances, sessions or in teaching environments.  Should be some fun conversations for your listening pleasure! Stay tuned!

This episode has sat on the backburner for a while now, I was hesitant to release it until I saw a bit of a swell in this same sentiment among fellow creatives.  This is not meant to assign shame or blame on anybody in particular, but rather shine a light on the question of why the biggest supporters of our artistic endeavours seem to be strangers and not our closest "inner circle".  It's a very r...

Searching yourself up online can be a very weird experience.  Just last week I looked up "creativity coaches"- this is something I purposely did NOT do prior to setting up Creative Train as I wanted to let the site, podcast and everything else reflect me, my methods and in my manner.  So, now two years into this, I Googled my gig and was pretty surprised at what I found, and didn't find!

I thought I might do one ai podcast. Then I did another.  This is the third one. And the reason for it is- I've seen many associates businesses come close to the edge of failing because of past customers now resorting to the "free" ai options for graphic design, image creation, voice over, music "creation" and video for their advertisements and even entertainment.  I know, the world is not ending...

Are you being heard? Are your students actually listening? Do they understand your lesson material? How do you know when your lessons are working for your students? In my case, it was when I hear them citing points I've made in the past as the catalyst for their growth!