Begin: Player One

Most of the population has a standard 9-5 job out there. That's fine. The world runs on 9-5 people. It gives many a routine and income which satisfy. Get up, go to work, come back and help the kids with their homework, mow the lawn on the weekends. Maybe you'll treat yourself to a night out every now and then. Hell, you may even play your own version of 'Come Dine With Me' with that other couple you know because 'it's a bit of fun isn't it'. For others, a "normal" job is our idea of hell. The creative cannot stand confinement of such a mundane and rigid environment. Our time frame is our own. We may start working at 4am or as I'm doing now, 4:05 pm. It may be for one hour or twelve. There is no bitching about Carol from accounts by the water cooler. Carol can go fuck herself, I'm planning salvation from genocide with an alien antihero on a planet five galaxies away. Fuck your synergy promotions, your monthly targets and weekly plans. Fuck your cliched office party hookups, your pathetic office dramas and bullshit team building exercises. No one makes anything of themselves that way. Whilst Van Rockman might not follow that exact mandate, they are certainly following the beat of their own drum.

It's a common misconception that those with an artistic temperament are lazy. Far from it. You'll find that they are one of the hardest working groups of people out there. The Van Rockman lads are no exception to this. Earlier today I saw one half of the band heading into the studio to record demos of new tracks. Bear in mind we're only ten days into the new year. In ten days, songs have been planned out, structured, noted and played over and over again. Whilst some might think that's all that's needed they'd be wrong. After those demos are recorded the rest of the band will have their say. Some of those demos might not even make the final cut. Those that do will be scrutinised and shaped into perfection. Once a final arrangement has found it's form it'll be back to the studio with the full lineup. The creative process is like carving marble. Like any trade, it takes time to perfect. Even then it might take longer than you think to realise your full vision. Mistakes will be made and corrected. It's not that uncommon to start working when the sun rises and end when the sun sets. Van Rockman know this simple truth: You get out as much as you put in. Put in the world and you'll get the world back.