open stage
Last Monday there was a guy who played Long May You Run by Neil Young. From the first note he sung it was clear he has spent about 50,000 hours […]
Bob Wiseman
A blinking biped in the age old tradition of song and dance.
the night gwen stacey died from the green goblin
Looks like I need to do some comic book research in order to write the story as accurately as I desire for my thesis. I’m thinking the night Gwen Stacey […]
the improviser’s sub
John Coltrane’s cousin Mary’s sister-in-law’s friend’s dentist heard about a band teacher working in Boissevain, Manitoba who was a remarkable improviser that practiced the same objective in life as in […]
shits fucked up
I attended Daniel Brooks play about his life, living with lung cancer and attending a Vipassana retreat. I wrote him after to get the name of the book he referenced […]
clusterwood
I like playing clusters so much and trying to also be melodic with these shapes. Part of it is because people positioned as musical experts often dismiss certain sounds as […]
the 40s
Started writing something in D major where I tried inserting diminished chords instead of the usual diatonic changes I might explore. Immediately reminiscent of cadences in romantic classical music. While […]
when elton’s teacher didn’t cut their punches
Student: I keep playing the same things over and over and not getting anywhere. Teacher: Isn’t the answer obvious? Student: Stop complaining? Teacher: Play new things. Student: Right..but it’s hard. […]
better to burn out than it is to rust
Student:I want to say something about someone in my song but I don’t want to get into trouble. Teacher: Then don’t be a songwriter. Student: But I like writing songs. […]
the greek therapist
The latest issue of Improvnotes out of Guelph includes my interview with Coleman Hughes and a link to his startling video Blasphemy. There are a lot of provocative ideas and […]
epiphanies
I watched an improvisation at the beginning of the Sun Ra concert in the mid 80s in New York in a small theatrical space adjacent to the Chelsea Hotel. It […]