So, what's new?....
Arywn and I have officially begun working on our piece, but my portion of that effort has been to procrastinate. :) We're meeting again on Monday, and I am very quite almost sure that I will sit down at the drums tomorrow afternoon and do my homework. It's funny, I play every day (thanks to great regular gigs accompanying dance classes), lots of improvising; but I seem to approach work like this dance project as something wholly different. I have to "psych" up for it in some way.

First step was to stop off at Steve's Music to get some new sticks. My visit to Steve's was a social one as well, catching up with the friendly and helpful staff there in the Drum Dept. I ended up going home with all of the JohnnyRabb "Jim Keltner" sticks they had left (8 pairs). The JohnnyRabb company has gone out of business some time ago, but their JK sticks are some of best around. I used a pair of the JK Slims (sounds like a ladies' cigarette or something, I know) all summer with my Trio and they were great. The regular JK (apparently designed after a stick that Keltner used to use when he was kid in a marching band) is a great stick. If I take them out with Hot Buttered Soul or any other high-volume stuff, I break 'em, but for recording and more sensibly decibled stuff they suit me fine. They sound incredible on cymbals too. Anyway, if you can find 'em, buy 'em, or tell me and I will. I hope that some stick company convinces Keltner to sign another endorsement deal so they'll make them again...

So, yeah, new sticks, that ought to get me to start work. :)

What is this work? Well, we're on a search mission right now. Our initial inspiration is (seriously) a concept derived from 11th century Japanese poetry known as "aware" which in contemporary Japanese translates as "miserable", but its original etymology is quite different: It refers to a deep emotion evoked by an ephemeral thing. (i.e. the sound of the wind in the trees, the sight of melting ice, etc.)... I find really strong parallels in creative work in general. A creator (or "artist") may prepare and rehearse for huge amounts of time and energy for a single moment in front of an audience. The audience cannot honestly appreciate the work that led up to the event (they can understand it intellectually, but they can't really know), yet that fleeting moment in performance can still be deeply moving and have a lasting impact. Perhaps even more interesting is that we (both creators and audiences) give such weight to the moment of performance, that event where the creator sets the work free from him/herself and watches it live and/or die with the audience. It's beautiful, and I don't mean to be pretentious or elevate myself or any creator in any way. What makes it beautiful is the shared experience of the creator and the audience (be they in a live performance, listening via CD or watching on tape, etc.). It's out of control, yet so absolutely essential...

So, we're exploring that, firstly by "getting in shape". We're working apart from one another (improvising, composing short pieces, motifs, etc.) that reflect this "aware" notion. The hope is that the more we "get in shape" the more habitual and ingrained information we'll throw away and tune our creative selves to bring new work into the world. As we go we'll introduce narratives, contexts, etc. as they present themselves or we feel the work requires one. It's the real deal, this is the work that I have hoped to be doing. Of course, it has nothing to do with money or career (that would be too convenient that the best work would also be the best paying), but about this committment we (creators) make to the craft, and full circle, to ourselves...

One "trap" in being a percussionist without one particular specialty is that part of finding that new work is also a process of finding its voice. So, at this point I am not sure if it's hiding in my drumset, on a single cymbal, in my kanjira (a small south indian lizard skin tambourine), or maybe just my hands clapping. Stay tuned...

friday night we welcomed a piano into our home. after a surprisingly easy amateur/volunteer move of the device occured (thanks to all who helped!), it took its place in the basement. will it be the catalyst for a composing renaissance? who knows? at the very least, the piano stool that arrived with it is convenient for sitting while removing one's boots, Mr. Rogers' style....

over the weekend I started making notes regarding the direction of the new dance piece with Arwyn Carpenter and we meet tonight for the first rehearsal/meeting... during the note-making session, I re-acquainted myself with two great old vinyl LPs - "Improvised Music for Piano and Guitar" - Eugene Chadbourne/Casey Sokol and "The Amazing Adventures of Simon Simon" - John Surman/JackDejohnette... ECM vinyl (like "Simon...) is a treasure, easily my favourite cover art, and it made such great use of the large canvas that LPs offered...

anyway, stay tuned, stay warm!

So, how do you like the new BLOG format for the news page? To get back to my page just click on the link in the "LINKS" section on the right side of the page.

Now the news...

-Arwyn Carpenter and I begin rehearsing on Monday. We're going to have a DV cam recording us, so that lots of our process gets documented. In this ever-changing music market, this project's final resting place may be on DVD, or as a stream on the web, so I want to document as much video and audio as possible along the way.

The piece (currently with a working title of "aware") debuts in a work-in-progress form at Series 8:08, Saturday April 24 at the Metro Central YMCA in Toronto.

-tracking for MOVE2 continues and nears completion...

-it's been confirmed I'll be teaching weekly workshops for the Martha Hicks School of Ballet Summer Programme starting in July through until September