sometimes it’s profoundly unavailable
william gibson on how the creative part of writing is sometimes profoundly available
I have to force myself to turn up every day, in case the writing also decides to. Often, it doesn’t choose to. There is more of that at the start of a book than later, mercifully. The book builds its own momentum, though each one has a different momentum. That momentum is what calls the shots, imposes the regimen.
The part of me that’s writing this, now, is utterly incapable of writing a novel. The part of me that just wrote a novel is profoundly unavailable, right now, and will remain so until the next time I have to go out and walk for miles, whistling for it, convinced its finally run away for good and all.
People don’t ordinarily meet the part of me that writes novels, and when they do, they must assume I’m not not doing very well. Which as a human being, right then, I’m not. In direct proportion to how well I might be doing, right then, as a novelist.
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a case against working for the king
“It is no secret that Ms. Monk rarely does commissions. It seems the current count of commissions she has accepted over her entire career rests around four or five. She explained the reason is because the artist is then working on someone else’s deadline. Not to mention she does not believe in “made to order art.” Benn clarified that Ms. Monk does not even work on her own deadlines, but the project’s deadline. Meaning that she spends the time getting to know the project so that it takes on a life of its own within the creative process, and after working diligently on the project, it reveals to her what it will be ultimately.”
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a little balance
over the last few weeks it’s been interesting getting into photography as a hobby/creative outlet b/c i have discovered a new way of scratching my urge to make things (and even perform). part of the the major changes i have been going are trying to find a balance between my different personas (creative/teaching/personal) and it looks like photography is going to be just what i need.
i think it’s interesting that for quite a long time i have been an active photography enthusiast, always taking my camera with me to document and capture life as it rumbles along, but what has got me interested now how you can you photographic technique (perspective, color and light) to capture (i.e compose) a shot. calling it a composition (in the musical sense) is really a misnomer, b/c it’s really much more like counterpoint in music except you are using a camera as digital tool to adjust the light, shadow, and color to create the heightened reality through the illusion of balance.
i guess at this point of my life a little balance could go a long way
Principle of Sufficient Irritation
some pieces you ‘compose’ and other come out fully formed. “Principle of Sufficient Irritation” (POSI) is one of those pieces that sprang out of me almost fully realized almost exactly 4 years ago. even though i’m just a part-time adjunct teaching monkey, fall has always been very busy for me and not really a good time to compose and by the time november rolls around i’m itching to get some new pieces written. thinking back in 2005 it’s pretty telling that i remember most of the details around this piece.
Background
i know i had some rehearsals coming up with the PBE and really wanted to get some pieces written, especially something modular and improvisatory. besides having played terry riley’s “In C” the lloyd rodgers group had been performing many of his very simple and effective ‘black book‘ improvisations. i had already written one decent modular improvisation (tong aesthetics from the music from summerland CD), and i really wanted to explore another approach than the large through-composed pieces that were common in the late 60′s and 70′s. the funny thing is that when POSI was created (we originally referred to it by the day it was created. 11/25/05 was the original title) the particulars really didn’t matter anymore, i just needed a piece for a rehearsal and using improvisation as process sounded like a great way to create something new in a short time.
Writing Process
the process creating POSI was pretty simple; play a lick on my trombone, plug it into the sequencer and loop it while i improvised another one. i pretty quickly realized that the first gesture worked so well in canon that it was almost a piece by itself and after the initial inspiration my only goal was to “make it change”. my luck/the god(s)/karma must have been smiling on me that day b/c although i have never been good at writing canons, that day i figured out that i’m pretty good at improvising them (at least in this modular style). the rest of the piece pretty much wrote itself and needless to say i was pretty excited for my upcoming rehearsal.
1st rehearsal
well… here’s where i tell you that i took it to rehearsal and the group ‘got it’ and we played it down the first time. but actually the group was pretty stumped and it took us 3-4 rehearsals to get the hang of it. and it took a few tries of figuring out how to move from section to section and what the “rules” of the piece are. the main thing i remember is that when we finally played it like it was in my head i had that feeling of completion and pure joy that i experienced when i first wrote it and immediately became the piece that we ended all rehearsals with promising a frolicking good time at the end of every rehearsal (and performance)
Improvisation, Performance and Recording
even though the licks are written out, one of the best feeling of performing a modular improvisation (like POSI) is the ability to not worry what to play, but how to play it. each performance is like you get to visit something musically familiar, but each time you can experience it differently. i think performing a modular improvisation is very similar to giving actors an outline for a scene and telling them what needs to occur.
this recording of POSI was our last take of a two day session and in which we were all pretty mentally tired and loopy. if you were listening to the piece while looking at the score i’m sure it would be pretty hard to follow along, but if you listened a few times you should be able to hear that we are basically playing variations of variations of what was originally written down. i think its a great example of the pure improvisatory and musical joy that the PBE creates during many of our live show and i know that getting it on tape in a semi-artificial studio setting (in which the vibes and clarinet were recorded in separate rooms without being to see anybody else) is a testament of the great musicianship of scott, ryan, carl, bruce and eric. overall the way we were playing that afternoon i think we could have recorded the album over the phone and still have captured a great performance.
enjoy,
paul
Principle of Sufficient Irritation (originally 11/25/05)
* Paul Bailey, Trombone
* Bruce Gallego, Electric Guitar
* Eric Hendrickson, Keyboards
* Scott McIntosh, Clarinet
* Ryan Nunes, Vibraphone
* Carl Stronach, Bass Guitar
Recorded and Mixed by Paul Bailey and Marlon Luna
Recorded at California State University Fullerton and Swing House Studios Hollywood
Bookmarks for August 23rd through August 29th [del.icio.us]
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Bookmarks from August 23rd through August 29th:[del.icio.us]
- How To: Find Out How Much Your Insurer Sucks -”When you’re shopping for an insurance company, check the insurer’s complaint record — especially if it’s a small insurer that’s offering a good rate, but you haven’t heard much about its reputation. Saving a few dollars per year in premiums can backfire if the insurer hassles you at claim time.” To access this information, go to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Consumer Information Source. Type in the name of the company, the state where you live and the type of insurance. (Under “statement type” and “business type,” click on “property/casualty” for home and auto insurance or “life, accident and health.”) The site then provides the insurer’s national complaint statistics.
- The Industrial Jazz Group » Put Another Nickel In -”Donate $50,000, and get a copy of the new CD, the high five, the shout-out, the photo, the bit part, the personal liner note “thank you,” plus my Volvo Station Wagon, a historic vehicle which was used in seven IJG tours on the west coast (and which still displays some of the wear and tear from same).”
- Stew is still stewing over L.A.’s snub of ‘Passing Strange’ — latimes.com -”When were we going through the classic L.A. club grind,” he begins, speaking of his days this decade with the Negro Problem, “at a certain point, we were selling out Spaceland like you’re supposed to do. But when we didn’t get handed the brass ring of the major label deal and we didn’t get handed the brass ring of the hip, indie label deal, it was like a lot of the powers that be were sort of looking at us like . . . ‘what good are you guys?’ “
- School board approves plan to open up schools to outsiders — latimes.com -”The Los Angeles Board of Education voted today to open up 250 schools, including 50 new multimillion-dollar campuses, to outside charter operators and others. The move came after a nearly four-hour debate on a 6-1 vote, with board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte opposing. Under the proposal by board member Yolie Flores Aguilar, nonprofit charter groups and the mayor’s group that oversees 11 schools could compete for the chance to run these schools. Ultimately, it will be up to Supt. Ramon C. Cortines to select the winning bid for these campuses. Labor unions were especially opposed to the plan, with teachers union head A.J. Duffy saying the district needs to be collaborative if it wants to reform schools.”
- Dream of a Common Language. Sueño de un Idioma Común.: Texas Monthly September 2009 -”In traditional bilingual classes, learning English is the top priority. The ultimate aim is to move kids out of non-English-speaking classrooms as quickly as possible. Students in dual language classes, on the other hand, are encouraged to keep their first language as they learn a second. And Ysleta’s program, called two-way dual language, is even more radical, because kids who speak only English are also encouraged to enroll. Everyone sits in the same classroom. Spanish-speaking kids are expected to help the English speakers in the early grades, which are taught mostly in Spanish. As more and more English is introduced into the classes, the roles are reversed. Even the teachers admit it can look like chaos to an outsider. “Dual language classes are very loud,” said Steven Vizcaino, who was an early student in the program and who graduated from Del Valle High in June. “Everyone is talking to everyone.”
- Part 1: iTunes and the pen | theCLog -”What about all those other authors out there, banging away on their keyboards, giving life to characters, and telling stories that resonate in the lives of their readers? Do they need music to work? Is it simply a background, or does it find a way into their words? It wasn’t really a surprise to find a lot of the writers I spoke with had similar, lyric-less requirements when it comes to their own writing habits.”
- Alexey Steele, Classical Underground impresario — latimes.com – scott timburg on alexey steele’s los angeles classical underground series “Certainly, at the Classical Underground concerts, art and music seem vital indeed. Not only for the audience, but for the players. The August concert included an austere, resonant Bach Cello Suite, a Prokofiev piano sonata rendered with sterling clarity by a pianist raising money for her CD release, and several melodic pieces by lesser-known composers. Afterward, many of the musicians came back and played; the cellist improvised on Bach. (Some nights, these after parties go until dawn.) “I don’t play it! I don’t know notes!” Steele exclaims. “I didn’t get one music lesson in my life! And I need it. I’m proof that people need it. I’m living proof that classical music lives!”
Bookmarks from June 15th through June 16th:[del.icio.us]
Bookmarks from June 15th through June 16th:[del.icio.us] the arts monastery project – “The purpose of The Art Monastery Project is to produce art that is relevant to the contemporary world yet is informed and inspired by tradition. Our strategy is to apply the disciplined efficiency and contemplative serenity of monastic life to art production. As [...]