Friday, May 30, 2014

Silas Digresses at Cat's Art MusikCircus

Reviewing my own shows is not hard as all I need is a machete for slashing myself.  However, chopping myself up will not bring smiles and Spring flowers to Cat ... so, on to the show.

The "Death March Digression" progressed out into the light at Cat's Art MusikCircus and I have replayed it.  What I heard was a booming bass, piano bass notes that could be overpowering, and, at twenty-five minutes, a tune that went way too long.  So that will do for the slashing part.

The song goes more directly to anything I want to do musically than anything ever has.  Cat said the show sounded beautiful and we've covered before that she isn't one to be gushy plus I would not like it if she were.  I have not talked with her about it yet but my epiphany yesterday in making the song is that it should not have a smashing crescendo in the end but rather in the middle when all those guns start shooting each other.  Angel voices come at the end when they're all dead.  I really don't know how well this worked and I have listened to the recording but objectivity gets wobbly with that part so I'll leave that for now.  My purpose in mentioning is to state my intention.

There is some very fast guitar playing when the guitar is cranked up hard and the object was not to grandstand but rather to show all these guns shooting at each other.  It doesn't bother me telling you what I was trying to paint as that doesn't try to tell you what to feel.  That part is on you.

Cat heard it last night and Yevette has a copy of it now.  She hasn't heard it as she was away because some guy said he had some unicorn goats he wanted to sell.  He said they could fly so it sounded pretty cool.  I haven't talked to her about it but I haven't seen any goats so I guess she didn't buy one.  It's not my purpose to tease you with it as I have no intention of uploading it anywhere and this is all a part of some twisted music Zen for me in which I really don't want to record anything.

There's a fairly long line of people hating me right now for my positions on things and this leaves me with two choices.  I can take the Prozac and come on over to the barbecue or I can do what I do.  I will continue doing what I do.  I prefer people do not hate me but I will not compromise what I say.  My opposition to personal weaponry is steadfast and will not change.  I've had death threats over my opposition to war so apparently those who don't like me don't understand irony very well.

The compositional potential in a looper is severely-limited in some ways but is extraordinary in others.  Composing things in GarageBand or any other multi-track editor is all very predictable as in record a track and, do de do, record another one, do de do ... and so on.  With a looper it all happens in real-time thus giving something similar to the 'stream of consciousness' some poets try to achieve.  The "Death March Digression" goes about twenty-four bars and this is an eternity in looping but it still has more liveness than back tracks can ever have.  (I've done loads and loads of back tracks and I rarely use any of them.)

The 'stream of consciousness' approach to it was strong last night as that comes from 'just play something.'  The looper on the GT100 doesn't connect to drums so, yes, good.  I can't use keys that way but, ok, that's good.  OK, play something.  Make it work.  Pianists or at least good ones will often do this and they will ask the audience for some chords.  Give me some chords, any chords.  They will make up a song from them.  It's a trick but it's a very good one.  The thinking is similar as in go with whatever flows into your head.

Part of music is making yourself receptive and one of life's most delicious mysteries is trying to find that which we make ourselves receptive but I know we do it or at least I know I do.  When I feel that connection, there is more purity to the notes and people have tried for centuries to describe how, why or whatever so I won't presume to be able to describe it now.  There are some parts from last night in which I don't know what I played.  For some this is chaos but for me it is the closest I can get to musical impressionism.

But closing it was still "Ich Liebe Ratten" because, well, I have no idea why.  It's just a hoot to do it.

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