We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jacob Slichter. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jacob below.

Jacob, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I’ve learned the most by doing. This applies to all of my endeavors — writing, drumming, teaching. There’s no substitute for being thrown into the work and struggling to figure things out. For example, I’ve read a lot of books about writing, but I’ve learned more by producing sloppy work, cringing as I read the pages, and then realizing what I can do differently the next time.

I think the biggest obstacle to learning is the fear of producing something flawed. Better to embrace the certainty of putting out something flawed and getting to work.

Jacob, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m best known as the drummer for the band Semisonic. (Our song “Closing Time” put us on the landscape.) I wrote a memoir about that experience (So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star—published by Broadway Books, 2004), and I now teach writing at Sarah Lawrence College.

As a drummer, writer, and teacher, I worry less about setting myself apart from others. Instead, I try to offer something that feels natural to me, because I’ve learned that’s all I’m able to do—be myself.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best support for artists would be to create a world in which creators (and would-be creators) are not saddled with such things as massive student debt, runaway health-care costs, and unaffordable housing.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The essence of creative work is tackling an important problem. Often the problem feels too big for words. The most rewarding part of the work is finding a way to articulate the problem, and in rare cases, one has the joy of coming up with an answer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://portablephilosophy.com
• Facebook: jacob slichter

Image Credits

Photo by Charles Robinson