Lin-Manuel Miranda: Figure out what is the thing that only you can write
But you have to get there through trial and error.
Songwriter and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda:
After I saw Rent, I wrote a bunch of 15 minute musicals that sounded like Rent. Yeah. And I think what happens is you form your taste. You chase the things that you like, and you're gonna fall short. And then, like, if you chase enough different stuff, you'll end up sounding like yourself. Yes. I think that's the whole thing. That's it. You will sound like the heroes you're chasing at first, and then you will figure out what is the thing that only you can write. But you have to get there through trial and error.
(Source: Working it Out podcast)
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Tour: Upcoming shows in Miami, Seattle, Victoria (BC), and NYC. Info here.
From Simon Reynolds’ Retromania:
“W. David Marx, a journalist and the man behind the website Néojaponisme, told me that almost every rock band in Japan starts as a cover band before they begin to work original songs into their set. He explained that ‘artistic tradition in Japan has always been about following Old Masters’ until the point of ‘creative confidence is reached. There is no penalty for being seen as “copycat” or “derivative”. In fact, that’s exactly what brings legitimacy.’”