dorey kronick: 04/01/2011

Thursday, April 21, 2011

inspire

www.doreykronick.com

today i'm realizing how much i am constantly searching for inspiration for myself, and yet, often, i forget how important it is to inspire others.

some of my friends seem to be having hard times lately... everyone has been kind of in a bummer mood today, at least.

today, when i briefly asked a friend how he was doing, he immediately started spouting off his doubts, frustrations and worries for the future.... complaining about his feelings regarding his lack of impact in the world, not knowing what he was doing with his life, feeling unsuccessful and useless, yada yada...

"are you really going to make me give you a pep talk right now?" i asked.

i wasn't prepared for this soul searching conversation with my musically talented friend, [who is in a popular and successful SF band], at this very moment in time. i wasn't thinking clearly. i wasn't focused. i wished i had had a script pre-written with words of wisdom to give immediately off hand.

"you're an inspiration to our friends and families! you're talented. you're living the dream."

(some words to that effect blurted out of my mouth all at once.)

(i forget that other people have mental break downs at times. sometimes i guess i think i'm the only one.)

this would have been my perfect time to shine and spit out some meaningful sentences of advice, encouragement, intelligence, care....

instead....

i went to my computer and looked up an old e-mail i've been saving in my inbox from Chor Boogie -- a san francisco artist that i'm greatly inspired by.

(((a little bit of background history: a couple of years ago, i found out about him through Project One Gallery. my boyfriend[of the time]'s mother worked as an interior designer at a firm right down the street, knew i was an artist and told me i had to show my art there some day.

"your work would fit right in," she told me.

i checked out the gallery and later on the gallery website, and learned about several new artists, all of whom i am now a big fan of today. chor boogie didn't have work up when i went into the p1sf gallery for the first time, but he was on their website, and i was automatically drawn to his brightly colorful, spiritually uplifting work.

i started researching him... exploring images of his paintings and murals online... reading articles about him... going over his artist bio.

"this guy is legit," i thought.

so i wrote him an e-mail. why not?

i wanted to know how he did it. how he became a working, breathing, valuable, living artist. it's not an easy task. i wanted to know if he could give me advice. encouragement. support. anything. i needed help. i was feeling stuck. i didn't know how to take the next steps in my life and career as an artist. i didn't know how to get into the art scene or how to even appear somewhat enticing to the art scene.)))

chor's response to me:

Re: chor, i need your advice

From:	chor boogie <chorboogie@gmail.com>
To:	Dorey Kronick <smartkronick@yahoo.com>

NICE WORK.... STAR

WELL WHEN I ASKED AN ESTABLISHED ARTIST THIS SAME QUESTION YEARS AGO... I WAS TOLD ..

MARKETING..

. PROMOTING YOURSELF IS A MAJOR KEY TO SUCCESS... ITS THE WORLD WE LIVE IN WHEN IT COMES TO FACE VALUE...

ME PERSONALLY..MY BELIEF SYSTEM HAS MUCH TO DO WITH IT AS WELL...SO IF YOU ARE DEDICATED AND DISCIPLINED IN YOUR WORK....AND BELIEVE IN YOU SO MUCH WITH OUT A DOUBT... THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS...

UNDERSTANDING THOUGH...

ITS NOT ALL ABOUT THE FAME... SUCCESS....AND MONEY

REALIZING YOU DID NOT START THIS MAKING MONEY OR BREACHED SUDDEN SUCCESS..

YOU ARE BLESSED WITH A GIFT... RESPECT IT..DON'T LET YOUR EXPECTATIONS GET IN THE WAY...IF THERE IS NO FAME OR MONEY... REGARDLESS... KEEP PAINTING AND BEING CREATIVE..

ALL THE ADDITIONAL FLAVOR THAT COMES WITH THE TALENT..FOLLOWS...AND WHEN THERE IS FAME AND MONEY... YOU CONTROL IT...DON'T LET IT CONTROL YOU MENTALLY ,PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY.

ESTABLISH AN UNDERSTANDING AND A MEANING FOR YOUR WORK WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU...

LET THE WORLD KNOW WHAT THAT MEANING IS...

PATIENCE... AND TRUST..STAR...

THANKS FOR ASKING...ITS AN HONORED PLEASURE.... STAY TRUE...PEACE

point being -- when my friend came to me in his time of doubt, his moment of confusion, feeling like he wasn't valuable, as though he wasn't making a significant impact, or doing enough in the world... i couldn't find many words to inspire him with off the top of my head. i resorted to the words of inspiration that someone else gave me in my time of need. and in his e-mail, he referenced someone else he had asked for advice, in his own time of need.

i've kept that e-mail in my inbox for almost two years now. i refer back to it when i'm feeling lost or forgetting who i am and where i'm going. i was happy to be able to share it with my friend. and now, i'm happy to be able to share it with you.

this story keeps going though... (i know, i talk a lot.)

later on in the day, i get a private facebook message from a guy that lives with another friend of mine in sf. he's in a band, [one of which i've never seen or heard before], he's feeling like they're in a rut, he doesn't know how to reach out to the community, book more shows, get more fans, etc...

i rarely talk to this guy. heck, i've met him like 3x, maybe? but he sought me out just to ask for how he could get in touch with the very band that my friend from earlier in the day was worried about. the guy who sent me the facebook message wanted to know how to make a bigger impact. how to get people interested. he wanted advice and direct connections specifically to and from the band that my housemate is in -- the housemate who was freaking out about his own life from earlier today.

i smiled when i read the facebook message.

everything happens as it should.

i wrote a message responding to the guy on facebook, telling him to make great music, perform it well, and believe in what he was doing. and to top it off, i sent him a quote from my inspirational chor boogie e-mail.

i forwarded the facebook message to all of the band members he was seeking advice from (-- i'm just going to go ahead and say their name now -- BATTLEHOOCH). i wrote my own message to go along with it, first congratulating them on their upcoming show at a popular sf venue -- The Independent!!! i receive their e-mail newsletters with show calendar updates and also found out today that they're officially booked to headline there on july 1st of this year! what a milestone! that venue is awesome and i've seen many wonderful shows there. so stoked to have the boys make an epic musical performance there.

"I just thought I'd make it known that your music is inspirational, fun, and attractive to people. Your performances are equally important, impacting, and influential to people. And together, Battlehooch brings people together, gets people dancing, and proves that art and music can be whatever we want it to be -- you just have to go out there and make it, share it, believe in it, and do it.

Do it guys.

Thank you for being an inspiration and means of bringing friends and families together guys <3 You're family to me.

love love love,

xoxoxoxoxo"

i feel like singin' that one song, "Home," by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros:

"Ah, home
Let me go home
Home is wherever I'm with you"

along with that electronic deed of the day, i also updated my personal facebook status to something i'm sure all the ladies in my life don't hear nearly often enough:

you're beautiful.

lastly, i just wouldn't feel right without posting my favorite songs today that have been on repeat, probably driving my housemates nuts:

Feather by Little Dragon

Composure by Warpaint

and

Lover's Spit by Broken Social Scene

inspire.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

mercury

A great song for today: "Secret Mobilization" by Deerhoof

I think after you listen to that song you'll be able to understand why I can't stop saying "This is not based on a true story."

Do you ever feel like your brain is just a bunch of birds flying in all different directions? I've been feeling like that lately. This is a photo I took in the summer 2010 on a magical day at the beach spent with two really wonderful friends and musicians Justin Levine and Ryan Clark.

And this is what happens when I turn the sky purple.

I can't think straight.

The Battlepad, the house that took me in [actually the place that begged me to move in] when my life was falling apart in San Gregorio, and the place where I started this blog, is moving out on April 30th. I've mentioned this in previous posts, but it's coming up faster than ever. We've been avidly searching for a new creative space to call home.... Myself, Ryan Huber, and Grant Goodrich that is. Presently, there are only us three, and Peter Landucci left in the house. Everyone else has moved out and the large crazy house has turned into quite a quiet dwelling. I'm sleeping in a room with a bed... but all of my stuff is in my old room.... I've been calling it my office. AJ took his bed, which I was borrowing since I started subletting here in July of 2010, and it's actually really disorienting.

We still haven't found the perfect spot to move into yet, but we're searching every day and have found a few leads. Originally, I wanted a warehouse... but after checking out different kinds of unique spaces, I've broadened my concept to any kind of creative space. We want a unique space that will allow for art and music practices to take place within. Several of the places we've looked at either have no kitchen, no shower, no doors, or no walls... We're on the verge of finding something epic, even if we have to build essential items ourselves. One place has already offered to give us one free month of rent if we build our own shower and install a washer and dyer ourselves. Who would've thought?

New creative community in the Bay Area, here we come. We're ready for you. Are you ready for us?

Inspirational conversations happening all over the place.

Advice of the day: Do favors for people and help people out when they ask you or need you. Karma points are worth racking up. The thing about karma though, you can't expect for it to pay you back when you want it to. Good things happen to those who wait.

Anyways, speaking of music....

‎Radiohead just sent out a Thank You e-mail to all who purchased their latest album online ♥ Attached was a link to download two new free songs: Supercollider & The Butcher -- Thank you Radiohead. Thank you.

The Butcher is definitely a new favorite that will be on repeat for daaaaays over here.

Supercollider is a long one with a fat beat and quite thought provoking as well.

Monday by Jon Brion, from the soundtrack of I <3 Huckabees, is a perfect way to explain how I feel today.

Drone by Panda Bear, the song I couldn't stop listening to last week and the week before. Noah Lennox has a new album out -- you can listen to the whole thing by searching it on Pitchfork's website. Or find live versions on Grooveshark, which I actually LOVE because many of the songs sound different live than on the recorded album.

And since I mentioned Panda Bear, I had the wonderful pleasure of seeing Animal Collective live last Wednesday, [a sold out show that I tried to buy tickets to, but could not because they were gone in 2 minutes. I lucked out though because I got the job @ Great American Music Hall shortly thereafter, specifically with the goal of getting into the Animal Collective show in mind, and got in. Score!] amidst the chaos on my life. They played a bunch of new songs -- one of which, [I assume,] was called Mercury, [because they repeated that word over and over in the song]. I couldn't stop thinking about the song afterwards, not only was it pretty incredible, but because Mercury is in retrograde right now, and it's definitely affecting me and everyone around.

All of my friends and housemates think I'm crazy because I'm presently waiting for Mercury to be out of retrograde before I make any confirmed life-altering plans in the next week or so regarding our housing situation and my own personal job situation.

The opening band for Animal Collective was SF band, Sun Araw. They were also quite wonderful. I figure if you're going to open for Animal Collective at this point though, you have to be good.

Magical show really. Visual displays that blew minds during both bands. Sound waves vibrated my brain inside my skull and thoughts exploded all over the place.

I was thinking about life, about friends, about music, about art, about my future, my past, my career, my goals, the city, the earth, the universe, the planets, man kind, poverty, spirituality, purpose, nature, electronics, children, technology, parents, video games, lights, animals, animations, trees, plants, soil, fungi, ocean, everything... just everything.

I actually went to the show, hoping to gain some clarification on all of the overwhelming situations going on in my personal life. Hoping for a spiritual awakening. Answers to my questions.

Instead.... I think I came home with the opposite. [And I am not complaining.] My mind and soul were vibrated so radically through the music and art that I left the show feeling even more overwhelmed, more unsettled, more scatterbrained, more confused, and filled with more questions without answers.

My soul was shaken. My heart woke up. "What am I doing here?" "Where do I want to go?" "What do I want to do?"

Wait, I can still answer those questions.... I'm Dorey Kronick, I'm an artist and designer, I want to go all over the world and spread the creative vibrations with anyone I can, and I want to inspire all of my friends and family. I want to enjoy every day of my life. I want to create things that are beautiful. I want to make other people think harder. I want to hold hands, touch hearts, kiss lips, share wavelengths, spread good energy... shoot rainbows out my finger tips, out of my heart, out of my eyes, and mouth...

I actually came home afterwards and wrote a list of creative goals on a huge piece of paper in my room [or office], on the floor, and pondered about feelings and the next phases of my life.

Why is it that I always get the most energy, the best ideas, and the most inspiration to do work late at night? Ideal jobs would let you work when you have the most energy, set your schedule, and do whatever you needed to do to inspire yourself and do your best work when you can. Gosh I'm lucky that I'm an artist. I don't know what else I'd do if not for all this creative hoo rah.

To finish this post with a lighter topic, click below:

Watch an extremely short but extremely awesome of Thom Yorke vs a dancing bear