Bumping Into... is a series of mini-chats with a variety of peeps that you might run into in some of our local music communities. (There's a bit of an intro and my thoughts behind the series here.)
How are you? Where are you?
I have my good days and bad. Riding the wave. Trying to stay positive, taking proactive steps to avoid getting too low. My partner Sonia and I decided to skip town for the winter because of covid and because we are about to have a baby, so we are in Alberta with family right now. We should be back in dear old Toronto just in time for all of us to sit in a park again listening to someone play a solo saxophone set.
What have you been up to since March or so?
When the pandemic hit I was lucky that I had some mixing work, so for the first bit there I mixed the Luka Kuplowsky 'Live at the Golden Lion' video that we did in January, and the Kind Mind record that was also recorded in January. Also I was really lucky that Sonia was able to work from home right away, so we settled into a chill home life. At first my regular rhythm of life seemed kinda normal, cause I generally don’t go out that much when it’s cold, and having work was a good coping mechanism. But once work dried up and the reality of not being able to play music with people set in things got dark, ya. And I also didn’t feel inspired to make things. I think there is this false narrative that says “hey, free time, we should make stuff”. But in talking to friends, I got the feeling that the darkness was too much to overcome for some of us. It was nice to find out that I wasn't the only one feeling a bit paralyzed in that regard. I tried to force it, but quickly learned that was pointless. I think really what we all needed for a bit was time to mourn what was happening.
Once the weather started to get better, I started to feel more of a pull to be, hmmm, productive is the wrong word. I think the word is maybe constructive. So I got back into practising, and also friends started to send me tracks to work on. I also decided to treat this time as a residency, so I reached out to bassist /improvisor/grandpa i wish i had Barre Phillips to take some lessons on Zoom. That has been a complete game changer for me, both in terms of my approach to my artistic practice and for my mental health. It was like being able to talk to Yoda for an hour or so every month. It really encouraged me. His journey had a lot of parallels to the time we all are facing. So to see how he’s approached his life as an artist removed from a big city (he lives in a small village in the south of France and spends a lot of time working alone), he's shown me the value in taking a deep look in the mirror.
So yeah, my time with him has set me on a constructive path. Not with any ambition, because Barre said it himself, he has no ambition. But really just going about the work of looking inward. Anyways, I’ve been doing that, oh and I was able to have a dreamy recording session with Luka Kuplowsky and the Ryokan Blues band, it’s gonna be an amazing record. And then like I said, temporarily relocated out here to Alberta to have a baby, and play ping pong and chess. So yeah, that’s more or less what I’ve been up to.
Have you found any new ways to do old things? How are you feeling about the shifts in how music is being made/shared/listened to?
Spending time with Barre, I’ve found lots of new ways to do old things. New ways to play my bass, new ways to practice. Something that I’ve slowly been coming around to is actually spending time discovering who I am and not just practising the bass in the traditional sense. We can all practice all the stuff we are told to practice, technique, tunes, sound, bla bla bla, but my time with Barre has really pushed me to start figuring out what are the things that make me me, and then to really develop those, and truthfully be okay with that, being okay with who you are and what you do, that’s a tricky one for me. Actually looking back now, full credit should be given to my time studying with William Parker and Taurus Mateen in 2017, who both in their own way were trying to push me that way as well, I just didn’t see it at the time.
As for how music is being made/shared/listened to. Obviously I very very very very much miss playing at the Tranzac. Damn do I miss that. But in terms of making music, emailing tracks back and forth has long been a part of the way I've done things probably for over a decade (see Thom Gill’s “is my living in vain”). So that part is not new to me at all, and in some cases I prefer sitting alone at home obsessing over constructing a bass part rather than being in a studio with time and pressure. But yea, I do miss hearing friends play at the Tranzac yes, yes I do. But to be honest that's really the only part that for me has changed, the rest of what I do and how I experience and share music is just about the same. People post their records on facebook and I listen. That's still the same. But yea gigs man, nothing will ever replace going to see or playing a gig, the magic that happens in music at a gig and the community/friendship that exists around it. At the end of the day emailing and texting friends never feels as full of love as being in a room rehearsing or recording together, or sitting in the back of the tranzac listening to Ryan Driver make bloops with on his MG-1, hanging out by the doors between sets talking to friends and watching raccoons get into the garbage, then walking home at 1am with a smile digesting all the beauty you just heard.
Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?
Do the Psalms count? Ya know the ones in the Bible. They’ve been a light for me in this time, it’s poetry right? That's art. Lots of records, listening to lots of solo bass records cause I'm just there right now. Arthur Russell’s world of echo has been helping me sleep. Listening to what all my friends have been making has helped me feel connected. I remember when Prince Nifty released “we’re not in Kansas anymore” like a month into the lock-down? I was like damn I love that guy. Also Phil Melanson played on this Sam Gendel record “Satin Doll”. I kinda think should of been ‘jazz’ album of the year (not that that stuff matters but seriously it’s so good and hit me in the best way). And I'm super happy for Phil cause I think he’s finding who he is with that vermona synth drum thing he’s doing, and his thing, it really comes out super clear on that record to me at least.
Oh yeah, and watching lots of Star Trek TNG, but I mean who isn't eh? That show is so zen.
How are you feeling about 2021?
I'm hesitantly optimistic. I'm optimistic this vaccine thing is going to help and we’ll be back playing music with each other more regularly by the summer. I also am going to be a dad in 2021 so that should be fun eh? That being said there is a lot to mourn, so I fully expect 2021 to have its fair share of mourning and lament, I think it's important to go through those things and process the sorrow so many people have felt and to cry together sometimes physically and musically.
Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?
Gear, right? We’d chat about cool pedals. I only bought one pedal this year (funds are tight), a cheap vibrato pedal. Joe, I wanna see you make a youtube channel of some of the cool stuff you do with pedals, but also you shouldn't do that, cause I don't want people to steal your tricks.
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