Try hard : creative work in progress / Max Kerman.
"Frontman of the multiplatinum band Arkells shares unpretentious stories and inspiration from a life spent chasing his creative passions and making things with friends. Max Kerman might be one of the biggest stars in Canadian music, but it's not for lack of trying. Being a self-professed "tryhard" is a big part of what keeps him going. While some tout the magic of creativity and others imagine creativity as a river flowing in and out of us, Max's thoughts about creativity reflect the realities of everyday people and their everyday lives: If you want more creativity in your life, it's as simple as leaning into your passions -- the things that keep you entertained -- and figuring out how to see your creative ideas through. Try Hard is a book for anyone looking for some daily inspiration to follow their creative instincts or to bring more creativity into their lives, even if being creative doesn't seem like part of your daily life. For Max, creativity is about self-generated action and momentum. It's about keeping yourself entertained and surrounding yourself with people you admire and who make every creative riddle one worth solving. Through formative stories growing up as a pretty average kid in Toronto to lessons he's learned grinding it out with his bandmates, Max shows us how not having a rigid creative process is, in fact, a process, how to find things in common with even the most unlikely collaborators, and how bringing a creative mindset with you into everything you do can lead to a life that leaves you feeling energized"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780735248854 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 229 pages ; 22 cm
- Publisher: Toronto, ON : Viking, 2025.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Kerman, Max > Anecdotes. Arkells (Musical group) > Anecdotes. Creative ability. Rock musicians > Canada > Anecdotes. Singers > Canada > Anecdotes. |
| Genre: | Autobiographies. Anecdotes. Biographies. Personal narratives. |
- Penguin Putnam
INSTANT BESTSELLER!
Funny, conversational, and relatable, Try Hard is for anyone looking to make sense of their own creative pursuit or bring more creativity into their life, offering a framework for how to do it and where to begin.
Letâs say you see a familiar musician from a globe-trotting, touring band hanging out at your local coffee shop, reading the newspaper and typing away on his laptop. This doesnât look like a musician at work. He seems approachable enough, so you ask him what exactly he does all day. With a grin on his face, he admits the job might not be what you think. So you take a seat, and ask him every question youâve ever had about how it all works: the nuts and bolts of writing a song, preparing for a show, marketing a band, and the day-to-day business of a creative life.
With each answerânone of it about talentâyou realize this musician is a bit of a…try hard. And the mystery of being a creative person isnât actually mysterious at all: itâs just exploring ideas with an enthusiastic and determined curiosity. Over and over.
Max is that musician in the coffee shop, and this is what reading Try Hard feels like: one-of-a-kind tales from a dynamic frontman, and a companion to your own creative work in progress. With a brick-by-brick attitude, Max explores his own growth in the craft of storytelling and performance, the pleasure to be found in collaboration, and the creative spirit required in sharing your art.