It's Been Awhile
It’s been awhile. Yes, life. Good. Bad. The last few months has seen a light dusting of bullshit, and my absurd little life, as predicted, has been shifting thru the many-tiered levels of chaos/pandemonium/bedlam. But to be honest, across this past summer and early fall much of life has been good -- just a hair under nice enough -- though the spiritual equivalence of cheap fast food and berry flavored tums seems to shadow my every move.
One great thing did take place this summer, over the pond in the UK, at the BFI London Film Festival. The film RHYTHM 06 by Ross Lipman premiered -- I composed the music for his film. I think it might be my best score ever, if I do say so myself. Ross is an award winning film maker, he was the senior film restorationist at UCLA for years, and couple of years ago he directed/wrote the documentary Notfilm about Samuel Beckett's lone film, Film, which starred Buster Keaton in one of his final roles. I wish I could have been in London, downing a few pints! Instead I imbibed in a season of vodka sodas, popping ibuprofen and watching my calories and blood pressure.
The most significant Some’tet gig this summer was our Vashon Center for the Arts gig in early September. We videotaped it. We recorded it. We played well. Will we ever see a live release from the gig … who the hell knows? One of the highlights of the gig was the drumming of Dylan Savage. New to the northwest, new to Some’tet, he is something to hear! Nuanced, poly-rhythmic, almost reckless but soulfully controlled. His touch is light yet he pushes the band. The closest thing to Paul Motian I have ever played with. Angels sing, seraphim dance. The gods light up a pipe. The devil is dismayed.
What’s new? I’ve switched from vodka to rum for fall. It appears I am out of another day gig. One of the local Vashon organizations we played for this past October seems really uninterested in paying us fully for the gig. Shitbirds. But I finally caught up with all the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost movies. And a new batch of compositions is ready for Some’tet to start playing. Talk of recording this winter is still in the air. And funny, even after more than a decade up here in the northwest I’m still learning about winter. Being a SoCal native, this cold and rain isn’t my natural environment. But what I’ve surmised, and I’m still a bit dim on it all the particulars, this is when people regroup, work on new ideas, dig in and and divine rebirth in Spring. Sounds a bit fluffy and fleecy to me, but what the hell, I’ll bite! So, not all is bleak, even as we explore the infinite abyss.
Our next big gig is our yearly rendezvous at the Red Bike on Vashon Island. I’m looking forward to it. Definitely not to be missed, I’m really digging where the Some’tet sound is heading and I suspect we’ll blow the socks off many folks attending. Come on out, tap your toes, drink a beer, eat some sushi, bop your head to some of that post-jazz, nu-jazz boogaloo.
