The Rules

At last week's show I broke a simple rule ("Don't open with new material") and paid a predictable price (blank stares). Which made me realize a few things about creative "rules".

First, as they say, "learn the rules before you break them."

Creative rules aren't so much restrictions or prohibitions as they are the collected wisdom of those who have gone before. "Hey kid, do whatever you want, but thousands of artists before you have found that X, Y and Z. Do your own thing. But ignore this at your own peril."

The moral of the story ... if I'm gonna break the rules, I'll do it for a reason.