Talented People

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I think one of my most favorite things to do is to listen to talented people speak about their craft, or even better to watch them work.

What brings this about is that I once more heard Billy Joel speak to Howard Stern.

As usual, Billy was brutally honest in the assessment of his work and his talents. He was listening to ‘Honesty’ being played for him as Howard said how much he loved the song, and Billy was making fun of how he sounded.

“I hate it!” He said.

I also love hearing about the inspiration behind the songs. For ‘Big Shot’ he said that he imagined a dialogue between Mick and Bianca Jagger being hungover and Mick yelling her down.

Good stuff, and I’m also fascinated by how a guy like that handles sudden wealth and fame.

Billy Joel like Townsend and Springsteen and so many other truly creative people suffers with major depression issues.

At the start of his successful run, he tried to kill himself by drinking furniture polish.

Crazy.

A little later on, we watched a Springsteen interview and he talked about writing and how following an idea it seems like the fountain flows for a little while, and how that’s the greatest feeling in the world.

That I have felt!

Amazing days of complete clarity when you’re writing and you just know…

…this is good stuff.

And you hope the spigot stays wide open for a long, long time, but it doesn’t.

It closes, and then you chase it again.

What’s really weird is that all that creative stuff goes on in an area of the brain that you don’t use in your real life, and it isn’t understood by those who share your every day moments.

And as a writer, you do need to get back to that place, over and over and over again.

My 2nd book of the year was released this week.

I have 2 more done in the vault and I’ve started a bunch of new stories.

“When will you slow down?” Kathy asked, when I showed her the new cover.

“I guess never,” I said.

Billy Joel doesn’t write new music now. Instead, he goes out and plays from his massive catalogue.

The Stones are back on the road as they get close to their 80’s. Bruce won’t ever stop creating new music.

And it is certainly looking like I can’t shut up either. A much smaller scale, obviously, but the need to communicate something.

Yeah.

I know that feeling.

Will chase it until they close the lid on the coffin and finally shut me up.

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