In this video I’m talking about the creative process—specifically what I do when my writing starts to feel stale. For me, the answer is usually to introduce a little chaos: change a variable, get uncomfortable, and force myself to look at the instrument differently. I peel back a layer of the onion on my band Modern Witchcraft too—our self-titled record dropped February 2024, but we actually wrote it back in early 2020 and finished recording in 2022, so by the time it came out, the material already felt “old” to us. When I started writing the follow-up, I hit a stalemate on my usual six-string baritone in the weird open tuning I’ve used for nearly 20 years. So I jumped to a seven-string baritone in a super low drop F# setup. That gave me more “standard” tuning logic again—normal chord shapes on the top six strings, plus an extra-low note that pushed me into new ideas immediately. The funny part is, after living on seven for over a year, going back to my old six-string/open tuning now feels fresh again too. The takeaway: if you’re stuck, try something different for a while—swap tuning, swap instrument, write from bass/drums/piano first—and you’ll often come back to your “home base” with new ears and new inspiration.