Songwriting is paying for the food

Guess what I got in the mail today?

What did you get in the mail today, farmboy?

A royalty check!

Seriously?

Yeah! For the huge amount of $18.20! Which, when you have almost no money for food, is a pretty impressive sum.

Radio airplay?

No. It was from a singer who was in a duo and they recorded one of my songs a while back.

Cool!

Yeah. Cool! So we need to do some brainstorming. So I'm going to spend it on some fuckin' groceries. Let's round it off to twenty dollars and make a grocery list.

Okay. What do you need, first of all?

Let's see what I have. I have rice, I have ground turkey, I have some shredded mozzarella cheese, I have eggs, I have milk, I have butter...

Pretty good.

Yeah, I'm getting better at having some food at the end of the month.

How about bread?

Yeah,, I should buy a loaf of good whole wheat bread. That's, like, $3.00.

Coffee?

Yeah. I can get a can at Trader Joe's for, like, $4.00.

Okay, there's seven dollars. Thirteen more to go.

Some frozen vegetables. Like a bag of red, green, and yellow peppers. That's, like, $2,00 at Trader Joe's. I can also buy a bag of spinach there.

Gotta eat those greens.

So that's...let's say it's $2.00 too. What's the total now?

Eleven dollars. Nine left.

Peanut butter. $2.00.

Seven left. Need any meat?

I've got ground turkey in the freezer. I could buy a chicken, but that's not a big deal. Let's look at some other stuff first. Hey, tortillas! Two bucks.

Five left...

A head of garlic, that's around fifty cents. I have a big ol' onion. Some bananas, $1.00. Half & half, that's like a dollar if I get a small one.

Two dollars and fifty cents...

Ummm...lemme think.

Top Ramen?

I don't know, man, I'm thinking about staying away from that kind of stuff, all that fuckin' sodium and shit.

But pasta...For around a buck I can get a package of pasta.

A dollar and fifty cents...

A bottle of diet Pepsi, but I don't usually buy it unless I can find it on sale for, like, a buck. So that and...a...doughnut!

Okay! That's pretty good. You got some fruits and vegetables...

Probably not enough. I do have some oranges and tangerines. I have some broccoli. I have canned tomatoes.

You can always change this list. You've got whole grains, tortillas...did you say if you have beans?

I've got a couple cans of refried beans. Maybe I should have added soy chorizo. That's two bucks. I'll have to see if I want it badly enough to take something else off the list.

This sounds like a good starting point. So I want you to do one thing.

What's that?

At times when you're buying, cooking, and eating these things, I want you to think about how your songwriting is paying for it. Because when you can't afford food, you appreciate it a whole lot more. This food is being paid for by your music. I want you to think about that.

Okay...

I'm serious, farmboy. This is important. This isn't just money. It's songwriting money. It's money from your art.

I'll think about that.

Promise?

You don't trust me?

(Ignoring what was said) Promise?

Okay, okay, jeez, I promise. I will think about how my songwriting is paying for the food I'll eat this coming week.

Satisfied?

Yes.

Any more words of wisdom, oh great interviewer?

Yeah. Enjoy that doughnut, farmboy.