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'm OK. In and around my apartment in the Trinity Bellwoods area most days.
What have you been up to since March or so?
Practising guitar far more than I have in the last 10 or so years. Over that time most of my playing has been either in the space of writing material, recording and/or playing with bands in practice spaces and of course playing live. I took to playing guitar for many hours upon hours everyday. Just sheer practice. Realized how much I actually missed that and I have managed to improved some abilities and squash some bad playing habits. It was also a very good coping mechanism against the dread and anxiety of March and April. Surprisingly I didn't record very much throughout all this. The focus ended up being largely on finishing unfinished and neglected projects from the last few years, some of which will see the light of day soon. Uxvae, my band with Marty Adem, did record something new and release something old however. A new piece we recorded amidst the chaos of spring, and a live recording of our very first show, which happened in the (cat) Tiki room at The Tranzac.
Did a live stream drone day set with Cetacea that ended up lasting for 16 hours. I slept and ate meals in between sections of the set. So that was pretty interesting and bit of a bucket list item to do a extended performance like that. Never thought it would happen from within my apartment though. I recorded about 8 to 9 hours of it so a release or two is sure to materialize eventually.
The other main thing has been completing the new GATES record 'Vas' which has been in the works for several years. There is a new track out and an accompanying animated video which I am very pleased with and the album is due for release in March.
I also spent a good deal of time on my deck drinking coffee and reading from Spring to Fall.
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?
I've taken a lot of time to really appreciate solitude and not feel the pressure of having to go somewhere, which in turn has really uplifted just how special and amazing my connections to other people are. That being said I'm definitely feeling the smallness of the world right now. It's strange having a window out into pretty much EVERYTHING ELSE happening while you are sitting at home trying not to go out too much. Otherwise, many long walks, biking and hikes out to more remote locations has kept me feeling somewhat balanced. Overall, I think my appreciation for all of these things has amplified.
What's happening with music right now is hard to quantify. Being involved in underground/DIY culture, what have you, for the better part of the last twenty five years it's obvious that there is no shortage of people putting out physical music formats and rallying against the tyranny of the big streaming services and social media. Same things, different eras, new faces to the mass media. I'm feeling like more people than ever are starting to see the absolute importance of directly supporting artists and holding each other up. The tide of that has been growing for many years now though, seems this year just really pushed a lot of things forward. I'm optimistic about that while at the same time seeing that there are going to be a lot of new challenges to face in the coming months and years. Support your community. Give money directly to artists whenever you can. Buy records, share those records with your friends and try not to use those "services" who shall not be named in this sacred space.
Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?
Devin Townsend's music and his whole world has greatly contributed to many positive things in my life and general outlook and that goes for much of the time in lockdown. I think there a lot of people who misunderstand his music and his whole trip but I highly encourage people to give it a chance. Go check out 'Empath', 'Ghost' or pretty much anything else he has made. There aren't many people who can make incredible music and also make you feel good about simply existing like he does. You'll have to explore to know what I mean :-)
I recently finished Aion by Jung which is a fascinating read that brings together many of his key concepts of psychology and essentially ends up centering on integrative principles of individuation, which in essence, is about realizing you are both an individual and intrinsically connected to everyone and everything else in the world and that not accepting and living with that leads to a fractured psyche and dissonance with the world. So you could say it's fitting for our current times. See the GATES video for something that explores some of these concepts! Shamelessly plugging my work, I admit it.
Watching all episodes of Columbo with Marty has been a key diversion. Though it has relevance to now. Watching a lower class citizen take down wealthy elites who literally think they can get away with murder is very satisfying.
How are you feeling about 2021?
We're all still suspended in mass uncertainty and how things are going to turn out still seems like a day by day, week by week forecast. Looking towards continuing to deepen positive connections of community, both local and international, while doing the best I can taking care of myself and those closet to me.
Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?
We'd likely dive in to some deep rabbit hole about the mythology surrounding a particular band or obscure film et al that would spiral out into wild proclamations about what it all means. Looking forward to that happening again in the hopefully near-ish future!
I'd probably also thank you for doing what you do Joe. You're a pillar!! Thanks for putting this together.
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