The record started to sound like a broken record, driving me insane. Plagued by my demons, criticizing every line, every note. I just couldn’t finish the damn thing. Fear is a terrible friend but a convincing one. Putting yourself out there, terrifying! Way back when kings owned the land, there was one fellow who made a career out of this. He was one of the few who dared to speak his mind. A wild card, poking fun at so-called serious problems. Singing, and dancing with trouble like no-one was watching. Playing his part in the drama of life while at the same time seeing straight through it. He seemed like more than a good laugh, however people called him The Fool. Could he have been on to something or was he just mad?

 

“A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool,” William Shakespeare wrote around 1600. These words are so profound. They made me realize I was playing to win, trying to impress. I wasn’t really playing at all! I was draining the fun from making music, from life, turning everything into work. I’ve got that down to a science, best believe it. No wonder I was easy prey for doubt. For two years I’ve been fighting my insecurities and gathering my courage. One thing I know for sure now: for as long as I’m alive, I will keep tearing down the walls to come to that place of innocence again. That special place where you spend all of your time playing. That one place where being a fool is the coolest you can be. Today I can proudly say: I will not die with my music still inside me. I’ve got to go out and play!