I’m currently reading “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell and studying and researching man’s relationship to duality… and of course all of this always leads to Carl Jung.
In the mist of discussions, musing and thinking out loud on Campbell and Jung’s philosophies, my friend recently shared this quote by Carl Jung, and I love it. I wanted to share it with you for your own musing:
I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to spend my year…
I’ve been hiding out this past month, since my return from touring and performing so much in 2011. I LOVE travel and touring, but it takes a toll on time and energy. And when it comes to recording, staying put is the key. (At least it is for me.)
So now that I’m on the ground and staying put in Los Angeles, I’ve been working hard on the new album that will be released this year. The recording sessions have begun, the wheels are turning on the big production.
The new album is a narrative and will tell a mythological story that is full of archetypes and characters from this world and beyond. Like many stories are told, this album will be released in three parts. My goal for releasing Part One is in the spring of 2012. As for when exactly, I’ll reveal as the production develops… but my goal is May 2012, so stay tuned. The entire project will be around 20 songs. This project is big, beefy and will be very juicy for your ears. My overall goal is to have the entire project released by the end of 2012.
I wish I could clone myself to make execution happen as fast as possible. But since cloning is a new technology and relatively freaky, I’ll just have to settle with being patient and keeping my head down to get the project out. Sigh… oh, patience, you test me so often!
Other new-ness to share with you? Next month I will be unveiling a new website, and will also share video performances from my concerts in Oaxaca, Mexico.
As for gigs, I won’t be playing much until Spring and Summer, so that I can keep focused on recording and releasing the new work. But there will be gigs, oh yes, so stay tuned there too. Lots of surprises are planned for you.
Life is amazing, and I am inspired! And now that I’m stationary, I can find the creative time to write more blogs. Thank goodness, because I always want to share more with you than I do. But as you know, timing really is everything… and time is always on our side. (Note to self.)
Phew, life is moving fast. I’ve been back from Oaxaca for a few weeks, but have had to jump right into this upcoming concert tour in Seattle, which begins this Thursday evening.
I love Seattle. The people are juicy, thoughtful and kind, and like Oaxaca, Mexico, their appreciation for art and creativity runs deep. The passion there is determined passion, relentless and intentional.
And they definitely dig the viola!
If you’re in the Seattle area or have friends who you’d like to introduce to my work, here’s the info for all four concerts. Thank you to Ryan Southen for the photography and Bea Alvarez for designing the photos.
I’ve just returned to Los Angeles after spending three weeks in Oaxaca de Juarez, the capital city of Oaxaca, Mexico. I gave five concerts, ate world-class cuisine, even brushed up against danger. I took so many photos and videos that I’m contemplating how to share it all with you, too…
Oaxaca is a place we can learn from. It is artistic, colorful, revolutionary, and the attention to detail in the design, architecture, cuisine and culture is outrageous. The prime industry are the arts and tourism, so life is juicy and always vibrant. It was my second time there and my love affair with the city has only grown.
Where to begin? I suppose we should begin where my heart is lingering from the entire trip, the Museo del Ferrocarril (The Train Museum).
The Museo del Ferrocarril is one of the portals into the creative underground of Oaxaca, and the venue for the 5th and last concert of the trip. It is an old, unused train station that has been taken over by a collective of artists from Mexico and beyond. Scattered all over the compound are installations, sculptures, paintings, and drawings.
The energy of the place is vibrant and the art is alive and always changing. I was so grateful for the discovery; it was just the kind of community I adore. The collective of artists are of all ages, and they are inspired, determined and committed to their creative work. Yes, please.
I was invited to perform here by Gabriel Coto, a Cuban-born artist who now lives in Oaxaca, by way of Argentina. Gabriel attended my concerts at Café Central the weeks prior, and we became fast friends. He is full of talent no matter what medium, whether it be painting, sculpture, installations or simple sketches.
At my first show at Café Central, Gabriel sketched these images of me on a napkin using a marker:
Beautiful, aren’t they? He sketched six images in total. The one where my hands is close to my face was drawn while I was playing the harmonica.
It was then that I was asked to give a concert at the Museo del Ferrocarril, where Gabriel is a resident artist.
I was invited to give my concert in front of the trains, but it was a bit too cold outside for such a thing, so I performed inside of a giant building. I took this photo while we were preparing the stage, which was a railroad platform on wheels.
They brought out the chairs, they had food and vendors serve food and fresh, warm punch made from figs, apricots and cider. The perfect drink for a fall evening.
And as I performed the 90-minute set, I noticed my shadow against the blue wall in the side, dancing with my every beat. My friend Bea captured all five of my concerts on video, so I’ll share some moments soon.
After the concert I discovered that Gabriel had been creating paintings of me on canvas. I was elated when I first saw them… and I’ve been debating whether I should share them with you since they are not finished, but works in progress. It is a sensitive thing to share a work in progress.
I am going to show them to you, because I want to celebrate Gabriel’s talent now, in the moment. But let’s honor Gabriel and not distribute these images since they are not the finished. (Thank you.)
This first image was inspired by the insert that comes with my debut CD Vol. I: Battle Cry. Face isn’t finished, of course…
And this next one I like very much too. During my last night in Oaxaca this past Friday evening, I posed for Gabriel so he could get the lines of my face right. He even captured my favorite newsboy hat that I’ve been wearing a lot this year.
Ah, Oaxaca… the city kept a piece of my heart, a part of my soul is still there. I’m going to go begin another blog now so I can share more stories and photos.
There is to be said about Oaxaca. The architecture, the political history, the 2006 revolution, the food… oh, the food. The indigenous Zapotec, the colors, the cathedrals, and last but not least, the Day of the Dead.
In the meantime, here is another angle of Gabriel Coto’s studio.
I custom-designed my new bass guitar even more. I changed all of the tunings of the strings so that they match the viola. Here’s what happened:
A bass guitar’s tunings are usually in 4th intervals, and the notes of the strings from lowest to highest on a 4-string bass (they can also come with 5 or 6 strings) are typically E, A, D and G. Now, just like the viola, my bass is tuned in 5th intervals, and the notes are C, G, D and A.
I also put on flatwound strings, which I hear are used less because they are slightly less dynamic in sound. But I chose thse because my li’l viola-trained fingertips have callouses that are unique to the viola, and I don’t want to get the monster callouses that come with the regular roundwound strings of the bass as they will interfere with my viola’s needs from my fingertips.
They say that flatwound strings are a bit less dynamic, but in my case things rules don’t always apply because of the circumstances: I have the Reggie Hamilton edition bass, which means I have the incredible ability to change the tones of the bass internally as it in itself is a dynamic bass. I also have multiple effect processors to run the guitar through that can manipulate the sound.
There will be no lack of dynamics in this camp, because there are no rules.
