Hello everybody. I'm Skyler and I will be spending this semester mentoring at a local recording studio. I've been playing music since fifth grade and have been writing now for a little over a year. I have a lot of influences ranging from video game music to folk songs to stage musicals. Some of my favorite bands are Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Arcade Fire, etc. I really like unconventional and alternative music that is constantly changing my perception.
The studio I'm mentoring at is owned by a man renowned in the community for his experience of 20+ years in the music industry, his production of other local artists, and his own music records. I hope to learn a great deal from him not only in music recording and production, but also his own musical theory. I feel very confident in this mentorship and am very excited to begin.
There are many lessons I gained from last Monday's lapdog retreat. I learned about how everybody has special talents and that it is the responsibility of the team to use everybody's talents to be efficient. I learned that good teams have conflict within them because it shows that the members care about what they are doing; the teams that resolve these conflicts become better teams. Trust and respect in the workplace was a large overtone with each exercise as they usually required the mutual commitment of everybody to complete a goal.
Synergy is defined as the outcome of the whole being greater than the sum of its individual parts. It is when individuals come together to strive for a common interest. Quite frankly, synergy is teamwork. A product produced through teamwork is usually greater than one that is not.
I don't really have a quote that defines my philosophy of life. What I do have is a quote that strikes an emotional cord with me every time I come in contact with it. It's a song lyric, but the way the words are written and the metaphorical meaning in it is so strong that it has had a profound effect on me. I personally believe that it is one of the most beautiful lyrics written. It reassures me that even in a world filled with destruction that innocence and love can always find a spot to grow.
"When you were young you were the King of Carrot Flowers
And how you built a tower tumbling through the trees
In holy rattlesnakes that fell all around your feet
And Mom would stick a fork right into daddy's shoulder
And Dad would throw the garbage all across the floor
As we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for
And this is the room one afternoon I knew I could love you
And from above you how I sank into your soul
Into that secret place where no one dares to go
And Mom would drink until she was no longer speaking
And Dad would dream of all the different ways to die
Each one a little more than we could dare to try"
- Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, "King of Carrot Flowers"
By the way, I implore everyone to look them up. :)
