Liam Dryden

New video! Guys guys guys

This is a response of sorts to my friend Charlie’s video “I’m Scared”, as well as all the responses he’s received from some of my friends and colleagues.

It seems a lot of content creators are going through a sort of reassessment of their future right now, and I’m no different. I’m bloody terrified; scared of trying new things, of letting the stuff I make become overdone and stale, of disappointing or boring you guys and ultimately just letting myself fall into complete irrelevance to the point where doing something I love just stops being fun or feasible.

For a long while I’ve been bottling this up, acting like I was the only one going through it, and letting it consume me so much that I just haven’t been making anything at all. But when I saw Charlie, Raven, Jazza, the goddamn Oatmeal and so many other people come out and confess to the same fears, it inspired me. I realised I can do whatever I want, because we’re allowed to be scared. This is still all very new for everyone and we’re never going to know what will stick unless we actually throw it at the wall in the first place.

So instead of joining in with the discussion, I decided to take that shared fear and inspiration and channel it into making something new, something that would challenge me. This video is something I’ve kind of been wanting to do for a long time, or at least something like it. I’ve realised over the past couple of years just how much I really like making music and I’ve mentioned a few times about how I’d like to do some things of my own, beyond Chameleon Circuit. I’ve been writing for ages and though I’m not exactly instrumentally inclined, that’s an obstacle that can be crossed at a later point.

So for now, there’s this! An acapella cover of “Do It Anyway” by Ben Folds Five. I felt it was kind of appropriate, because the message of the song is pretty much that we’re all going to go through some crap or have to face our fears at some point, but it will all be worthwhile if we just buck up and go for it. It took a day to record, and five long, mentally exhausting days to edit. It’s the first time in ages that I’ve put some serious work into a video, I’m really proud of it and I’m hoping that you guys will make it feel worth the effort. Enjoy! :)