You never know who’s listening

You never know who is listening. I write these pieces as a kind of writing exercise.  They are my way of learning the craft of writing, regardless of whether they are read by anyone. It’s lovely when someone does, but it’s not why I write. 

Creativity is a key value in my life and writing helps me express that which lies within me. My thoughts, feelings, philosophies, wonderings. All my life I have sought to express myself with words. Sometimes it has an impact on others and they let me know, but not always. It does have an impact on me. Somehow putting it on ‘paper’ crystallises my thoughts and I hear my inner world with more clarity. If that helps someone else then I am blessed.

Over the past few months I have been working with my husband, Glyn, to get ‘his story’ down. I convinced him he needs to write a book about his time in the music industry. When he was a kid growing up in Adelaide, he and his best friend, Andy, dreamed of one day making a gold album. They were little kids playing on cardboard box drum kits and borrowed guitars pretending to be rockstars. They called themselves ‘The Morteins,’ in opposition to the Beatles. 

They grew up and became an Australian Rock band, Stars. The stories Glyn is writing about include the touring days supporting bands like the Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, ACDC and others. They deserve to be told because those two Adelaide boys dreaming of making a gold album actually did it. Stars first album went gold practically overnight. 

It’s been a lot of fun reminiscing about the old days.  Glyn’s friend Andy was the main songwriter in the band. I was there when some of them were written and I love knowing the behind the scenes stories, it brings much more meaning to songs. Glyn’s stories are really more about his friendship with Andy than they are about the band.

It struck me that the only feedback Andy got, to the songs he wrote, was the immediate reaction of the crowds who came to see them. He may never have got to hear the impact his songs made on people’s lives because he died of melanoma when he was twenty-five, leaving us all heartbroken.  

Forty years or so later, in 2017, some of the original members of the band reformed for a reunion tour.

Soozie Pinder, the most amazing manager ever, organised ‘meet and greets,’ where fans could meet the band after the gig. This was a highlight for Glyn. He was completely blown away by some of the stories he heard. People whose lives had been changed by their music all those years ago.  Story after story of the impact in their lives. Glyn said he had no idea their music would have such a profound effect on people. 

Andy didn’t get to hear those stories but he wrote the songs anyway. He wasn’t thinking about the effect his words would have, he was just writing them down because he had to express that which was within him. 

Creativity is strange like that. 

Whether someone paints a picture or creates a sculpture or writes a deeply moving song or a simple blog piece, it’s not about the result, the end product, the piece itself. 

Yet until it meets the ‘other,’ the reader, the viewer, the listener, it is somehow incomplete. 

You are the one who gives completion to my art. My words are good practice at honing my writing skills, but for my words to have meaning, there must be you to read them. Thank you for reading my words and for allowing my art to be complete. 

You may never know the impact your art has on the world, create it anyway.