Bumping into... Pete Johnston

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

I seem to be fine, making life happen as best I can in my apartment at the Fred Dowling Co-op here downtown.

What have you been up to since March or so?

As an educational content delivery drone, I have found myself quite busy delivering my courses online. It has gone reasonably well, but I'm finding that teaching music online is similar to watching a streamed concert - it's ok, but better to be in the room with other humans as you take in music together. The preparations for online delivery have really monopolized my time, leaving me little leftover time to do any music. Plus my eyes are exhausted by all the the computer time so my usual composing/recording practices are less appealing than they might otherwise be. So it's time to develop some work/life balance and more analog composition practices.

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 have been putting together some new music digitally with my group Stranger Still (Rob Clutton, Randi Helmers, Mim Adams and myself). I wrote new music for this band in the spring, and as we can't rehearse we have all been recording our parts separately in our home "studios", and then I've been knitting them together. These recordings will just be demos, a kind of socially distanced rehearsing to prepare us for whenever we can actually get together in a recording studio. We've also done a few Zoom/phone chats about the music, which have been nice. I find it helpful to set up situations for social interaction where the pandemic has little chance of becoming a topic of discussion; these "rehearsals" fill that function for me. It's been a fun process.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

I've been diving deeply into the Hubro Records discography, finding some serious joy and inspiration on some of their records. It seems that Bergen is the place for me at the moment, as many of the sounds that have excited me lately are from musicians from there. I've also been reading through the works of N.K. Jemisin, which were recommended to me by Mike Smith. I read the Broken Earth Trilogy, and am now half way through the earlier Inheritance Trilogy. Great stuff.

How are you feeling about 2021?

Time is a flat circle, so I feel the same about 2021 as I do 2020. I'm holding out until 2112, when all of the planets of the Solar Federation will finally be rescued from chaos.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

I'd like to know more about Joe's walking daily routine, so I would ask about that.

Editor's note: Pete didn't bring it up, but some sweet See Through musics came out earlier this year:

Bumping into... Shawn William Clarke

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

I'd say this whole year I've been mostly good with moments of existential dread.

What have you been up to since March or so?

I've been home mostly. Thankfully there's been some Gov money to stay there and try to stay safe. I reignited my passion for cinema, and learned how to knit. Those two things frequently go hand in hand these days.

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 had some recordings from a few years back that I've been sitting on. Being home all the time, I was able to get creative and remixed them into a project called "Spectral Acoustics Vol 1" that I'm very proud of.

Pre-Covid, me and some friends used to get together in the basement of Wenona every Sunday night to put on shows, be creative, commiserate. We moved that to online with a mixtape project called In Basements On Sundays, it was about being creative using our limited means at home and there are some really magical songs on those comps. We also managed to raise a good chunk of money for the TOArtist COVID-19 Response Fund.

Personally I can't get into live streaming. I've only watched a handful, and performed a couple myself. As for listening I jumped ship from Spotify to Tidal, since Spotify is the worst. Tidal pays the artists a little more than the other major streaming services, so until there's change I'll keep using that as a consumer (even though their playlist situation is dire, and the search function is embarrassing).

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

I've spend the last three months digging into Italian Giallo / Horror films from the 70's /80's. I can't quite explain why this sort of stylish trash has been speaking to me, but it's doing the trick. The soundtracks to these films can be fantastic too, so I've been digging deeper into the genre music from Ennio Morricone, Goblin, Bruno Nicolai, etc.

How are you feeling about 2021?

Not great. I don't see there being any shows for most of the year, nor do I see there being many opportunities for travel. I also imagine financial support will dwindle as the months roll on, forcing more people back to work where they can catch and spread whatever is going around. It seems like people are expecting bad things to stop when the clock rolls over into 2021, I'm not so optimistic.

Creatively, I do have another album in me, so hopefully I can find ways to work on that. But dang, I'd be great to hang with people again.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

I'd ask you how your night at Wenona is going. Since that's not happening anymore, I guess I'd be curious as to how your community is keeping it together.

Bumping into... D Alex Meeks

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

O man, I'm doing big at the moment. Feeling an expansive lonesome gravity, like the magnanimous patience of the locust. I have moved to Kentucky, where I am making watch and rambling like a hermit. It's wonderful and strange and I miss everyone in Toronto a great lot. I'm so very glad to have bumped into you!

What have you been up to since March or so?

On March 13, I was on a bus back from a John Oswald performance in Buffalo that I had been working on with Christine Duncan and some beautiful Element Choir folks. As part of that piece I was asked to deliver a sermon, which is something I used to do regularly in the Element Choir's early heyday, now more than ten years ago! (Joe, I think you once referred to me in a blog post as "the talking guy" before we knew each other.) In the intervening years I've grown somewhat shy about being that guy, so I was having to psych myself up to get in the zone - noting the number of banisters in the balcony, naming all the flavours of stained glass, and plying for divine information that I hadn't been asking for in some time. It's a hard thing for me to rehearse. You just gotta be ready to grab the eel when the curtain comes up, like the old proverb says.

Over the week of developing the piece, the pandemic vibes were really starting to roll in, and by the night of the performance, with global heaviness increasing like an ominous tractor-pull, maybe 10 people came to a show that was supposed to fill a church. We had ourselves a real plague mass. It was kind of perfect, but I sure was spooked on that bus back home. Lady across the aisle was coughing coughing coughing and I was stoically freakin' out.

After that, I stayed at home in Toronto for three months with famous comics artist and powerful Aries Georgia B Webber. Of course we eventually went crazy, but for what felt like a beautifully sustained moment, we lived one of the happiest rhythms I've ever known. I practiced guitar and handwriting, and Georgia drew all the things. Our lives revolved around food and silliness, and I remember being very aware of how the light changed throughout the day. G was helpfully insistent that I go for walks, which I did at night in East York. The stillness was wonderful. It was a real "huh" moment, and after I realized that I wouldn't die if I wasn't out playing music every night, I got pretty interested in how I could export that pace into the rest of my life.

Now long stories aren't short, which is to say between the last paragraph and this one, I up and moved to Louisville. One of the reasons is so that I can attend the Kentucky Derby with Ryan Driver. If you need to find me, my house is the one with the triangle above the door.

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?

O my gods, the internet is real!

I never thought I'd go for it, but in April I started taking guitar lessons from a friend in Cape Town over the video phone, which meant getting up at 6am every day to play kora cycles and Bach before being properly awake. It was (and continues to be) the best.

I am very lucky to be able to play big loud DRUMS at my new place, so I am giving real attention to home recording for the first time, and working on a number of projects with folks in Toronto and elsewheres. I've never traded recordings over the 'tarnets like this before while working in isolation, but it turns out it's pretty fun! (Who knew? I guess everybody!)

*Clearly, the isolation part isn't always as much of a hoot, so if anybody knows any good weirdos in Louisville I ought to know, please send them my way and we'll meet in a park or down by the river or something... and as always, if anyone needs expert clatter of any variety, you know who to call! (Phil Collins.)

~

I haven't felt much of a connection to the few live-streamed events I've experienced during this time (they mostly just feel frustratingly insufficient), but the Titillators performance for Array back in October is an absurd delight that I have enjoyed more than once. Though I'm an interested party, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

On the other hand, my engagement with recorded music has become more and more intimate over the last few months. I am deepening my appreciation for recordings both new and old, with an intense and loving gratitude especially for the music of folks whose hands I've held and whose air I've breathed.

It is easy to take for granted that the currency of our culture is a miracle.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

Phil Elverum's music has been in my life for a long time, and this year he released a record explicitly about making music in the world for a long time. The ribbon of his work winds back through so many years and places and transitions and spaces and feelings for me, it's a real special thing to return to and hear as everything continues to unfold in its funny way. If very-long-form songs and semi-mystical mundanity is your thing, "Microphones in 2020" is a beautiful one.

How are you feeling about 2021?

I am optimistic. I think the world is about to crack open like an egg. The sort that lives in a nest.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

Joe, I'd throw my arms at you. I really appreciate all that you do for the community. Thanks so much for bumping in.

Here's a little Rambler ditty from where I'm at. (Headphones please!)

XO

DA

Holiday Rambler - Kentucky Locust (field recording dated 2020-10-15)

Bumping into... Ilyse Krivel

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

I'm pretty good! I'm in Toronto but still dreaming of escaping to some forest or mountain somewhere.

What have you been up to since March or so?

I've actually been super creative which feels great. Once the initial anxiety settled down a little I've basically just been hunkering down and making stuff. I've been making lots of music, doing various photography and video projects. I had two albums come out, one for my solo project eternalrealworld and one for my project with Colin Fisher, Indweller. I also released a couple more tracks on bandcamp. Other than that, as many hikes as possible.

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 tried to get into the livestream thing but to be honest I'm not really into it. I really miss live shows more than anything else from The Before Time.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

For whatever reason I've noticed I haven't been listening to as much music this year. Podcasts have kind of replaced a lot of that down-time aural space. My desire to ingest information has been pretty insatiable, and I guess it has kind of replaced some sense of socializing. At the start of the lockdown we watched every episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm from start to finish which was a pretty pretty good distraction from the stress.

How are you feeling about 2021?

What the world will look like feels like a pretty big question mark. But I'm feeling very inspired creatively so I'm excited about that.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

We'd probably talk about what we think the music /art scene will look like after all this is (if it ever will be?) over. That this city feels less and less like a place for dreamers everyday, and that we all need to band together and take over some abandoned town and just forage, farm, and make art.

Bumping into... Marko Cindric

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

I'm okay, I think! Currently hunkering down in a shoebox apartment at Bloor and Ossington with my partner Hailey and trying for the occasional long walk / bike ride to remember that the rest of the city exists. It's wild to think about how many different neighbourhoods I used to spend time in before the pandemic hit, how much smaller my scope has become. I miss it. But I'm holding up, all things considered!

What have you been up to since March or so?

Sometimes it feels like I've been up to absolutely nothing at all, haha. But in reality it's been a pretty big year! My band Loji finally released our first EP this summer, with some help from the lovely folks at Safe Sounds. And after losing my job when all the restaurants shut down during lockdown #1, I decided to enrol in Ryerson University's New Media undergrad. Looking forward to learning new ways to make weird and wacky art!

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 have so much faith in Bandcamp! Haha. But in all seriousness, it's been a wild shift. I only just got back to Toronto in February after being gone for more than a year, and I came back with such a renewed faith in, and energy for, the local music scene, so it's been weird finding out where to put that while in-person shows aren't happening. That said, I've been enjoying all the livestreams and compilations people have been doing. Even just seeing familiar names in the chat feels so nice. I've been trying to spend less time on the social media monoliths lately, so things like livestreams are great since it feels more like a communal event and you kinda get to catch up with a bunch of people simultaneously. Or just quietly have an experience together, which is also nice.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

I've been listening to so much stuff on LINE Imprint lately, probably because most of their releases totally baffle me and sound nothing like anything I know how to make. And I've also had the new Actress album on heavy rotation. Definitely in a sort of moody cerebral phase lately, which feels fitting.

How are you feeling about 2021?

I think it's gonna be strange times socioculturally, but in a way that I'm optimistic about. Lots of important conversations "started" this year, or at least reached the mainstream to a particularly potent degree, and hopefully that'll continue so we can figure out where to go from here as a society. I think the idea of "community" is going to be particularly important moving forward as well — makes me feel especially grateful for the community that is the Toronto music scene. In terms of tangible stuff like when the world will reopen, I'm feeling a bit reserved but keeping an open mind. Hopefully soon! But even if not, I have faith in our resilience (including faith in you, whoever is reading this).

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

Honestly, I still feel so excited about being back in Toronto even though the music scene's gone totally virtual, so I'd probably spend a bunch of time asking you questions about what you've discovered lately (thank you for filling one of these forms out yourself!), and also reminiscing about shows that have stuck with each of us. But also just expressing how grateful I am to see you given how wacky this year has been!

Bumping into... Rob Clutton

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

Up and down, here and there.

What have you been up to since March or so?

I have been walking, watching squirrels, ducks, and a hawk (I think it’s the same hawk that I see from time to time, not sure about the squirrels).

I spent some time in the summer making an album of Nick Fraser’s music, 5 electric bass tunes with multi effects pedal, some multitracking, plus one live double bass tune that you recorded at Track Could Bend back in 2019. That will come out in early 2021 I think.

Lately I’ve been practicing music by Pete Johnston, and a bit of Bach, trying to remember (and be in) my body, breathe, notice the jaw relaxing...

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 didn’t want to listen to music for much of this year, but have been listening more lately. I find livestream to be heartbreaking and look forward to listening to people making music in the same room. Also look forward to playing music with people in the same room. For now I mostly listen to vinyl and talk on the phone with friends. A bit of remote interaction by recording, sending it to someone who then records, it’s sort of how we’re rehearsing Pete’s music right now. Zoom has also been ok as a way to keep in touch with some people, occasionally.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

Rich Brown did a beautiful solo set for Act 4 Music back in May or June; it was pre-recorded, heartfelt, gorgeous, carefully-presented, masterful music. And the first track that is available to listen to on the new Bernice album (out in 2021) sounds amazing. And Lina Allemano’s solo album Glimmer Glammer that came out earlier this year, the whole thing is good, but the last track, One Man Down (for Justin) is the best thing anyone has ever done.

In other forms, I get to see creative visual art by Randi Helmers that is continually inspiring. And I read a book by William Fiennes called The Snow Geese that is a unique exploration of migration and “home”.

How are you feeling about 2021?

Hopeful but also worried.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

I’d be interested in knowing more about your musical process, some more details about the music making of your new trio project.

Editor's note: Rob was too modest to bring it up, but this fabulous album, performed alongside Karen Ng and Nick Fraser, came out earlier this year:

Bumping into... Colin Fisher

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

I'm good! Suprisingly! Peaks and Valleys. Definitely feel some great uncertainties but i somehow still have faith in humanity.. and I'm still here in downtown toronto. Now known as bro-town :)

What have you been up to since March or so?

A lot of recording.. by myself. Practicing too much. Walking/hiking a bunch to balance out the greater amount of sedentary life. Working on multiple releases in queue.. two that already came out (our water is fire - duets with chik white & indweller - living gem.. which is a collaborative recording project with Ilyse Krivel.. and a solo record coming out in march on Halocline Trance, David Psutka's label.. recorded by Jeremy Greenspan. Thats the tip of the iceberg.

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?

The old things are updated by new ways of playing or practicing. I feel hopeful about our music practices as a whole. It would seem one of the positive effects of all the navel gazing going on people are thinking about their effect as consumers and producers of music.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

I guess a lot of things. So much beautiful current musics being made as well as dipping into musics of the past. and not as an egocentric gesture i'm feeling a great light in my own playing that is serving as an inspiration to continue especially under some heavy existential dread and uncertainty. Diversions - watching all of curb your enthusiasm and delving deeper into Star Trek.

How are you feeling about 2021?

Honestly i think it will be another year of suspension.. i think of the hanged man in tarot - engage in the new perspectives suspension offers and receive greater subjective field of experience/imperience. (this of course does not negate action)

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

How have you been? You ever think about curating an online version of your monthly series?

photo by Ilyse Krivel

Bumping into... {AN} EeL (a.k.a. Neal Retke)

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

I am so so. I am currently in Peterborough, Ontario. As it has for most of us, this year has been a real roller coaster. My mood will probably change during the course of this interview multiple times.

I do want to say this - Really, how are you. We need to ask this more - To ourselves, to others. And keep asking. Because the answer, it can change

What have you been up to since March or so?

Well, I've been following quarantine & COVID protocol - As such, have been struggling a bit with financial issues and such. But that's just a monkey wrench in the spanner, as this is often true. In the good part of this answer, I've also been having a very prolific year - Played several virtual fests, Including Quarrentinefest, Colour out of Sound ( ! ) and have over 100 albums I've participated in including some cover art, which I really enjoy doing - So, lots really

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 think the new ways of doing old things that are emerging are awesome. One thing I feel gets lost in people kvetching about how bad 2020 is remains the fact that everyone was bitching about how much things needed to change just prior ~! I also want to say this - I think people are really lamenting some of the things that are going away, and while I'm well cognizant & possible about 23% Nostalgia myself, a lot of this is undergrowth that needs to be burned off for big changes to happen. Having said that, I've been a big fan - Both as participant & audience - of a lot of the ways the virtual festivals are being handled - I've been party to several chats where people were amazed at how fluid & dynamic these sort of seemingly antiseptic virtual conditions can be ! Well, I don't think we'll know how sustainable they are for a while, they're at least as good as much of what was out there, and in many ways I think better. And on that note - I have to add this. I think to me old ways of doing new things is kind of my path through this - Due, being candid, to my vintage & nature I think the straight up new is a bit beyond me. But old ways of being new ? Hell, I think I've been doing that the whole time

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

Honestly, Bandcamp Fridays. It's nice to have a corporation even give lip service that goes against the horrible PAY TO PLAY model, and since that's been so successful I think it's been a morale boost to people who use bandcamp ( As I do ) and sees slightly elevated results during these - But also, really gives me a chance to financially support projects I'm interested in - I'd have to specifically single out Poverty Electronics, Caroliner, Electronic Cottage & Ronald Shannon Jackson as either having re-emerged or released some amazing material this year

How are you feeling about 2021?

Like not taking any bets or predictions

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

I'd ask you you are keeping busy - I know you went to a over the top number of shows when you were able to - And I also know you spent a lot of time documenting these - The blog seems go be going at about the same pace - What are you doing in lieu of Joe ? Inquiring minds want to know ~! I'd also like to have a real chat with you one of these days about the music " Scene " and it's ups & downs - Specifics, boring stuff that might scare people a little bit if they overheard us - But I suspect we could go into depth on the subject

Editor's note: Neal didn't single anything out, but I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you to go visit his thriving Bandcamp page, sporting an inspiring range of solo and collaborative works.

Bumping into... Liz Lima

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

Good! North York

What have you been up to since March or so?

Dog - grant writing and then research and composition - some rehearsing (yes!!! Covid careful) planning - a little online playing - zoom voice lessons

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’ll have to get back to that one but I find it hard to have only an online platform. Very difficult to watch concerts on a 2 dimensional platform when it’s not encompassing screen/film as a second medium.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

Bach - the canon of classic horror films - the movie Swiss Army Man - David Sedaris books - Oliver Sacks

[Editor's note: Liz messaged me after sending her comments with this following addition] I forgot to mention exercising with 80-90’s videos from Richard Simmons, Kathy Smith and Jane Fonda. That was a huge lift

How are you feeling about 2021?

Hopeful optimistic and kind of neutral

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

I have a Christmas tree and listened to my classic Sinatra Christmas, nightmare before Christmas, Elvis Christmas...

Bumping into... Jakob Rehlinger

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

How am I? Ha! I feel like I’m emerging from one of those machines at like Home Depot that mixes the paint by vigorously shaking it. Anyhow, I’m at home, of course, on my couch watching YouTube videos with the kid. Weird to run into you here. Why are you in my house? WE’RE IN THE RED ZONE DON’T YOU KNOW?

What have you been up to since March or so?

Just being a homemaker. I’ve done some freelance graphic design work. I’ve recorded and released a few Heavy Moon albums, I guess. I always forget I did that.

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’m still enjoying not feeling guilty about missing shows. There’s been no change in the way I make or consume music.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

Ezra Furman’s song “Every Feeling” reduced me to a blubbering mess the other day. So there’s that.

How are you feeling about 2021?

It’s promising to be a very significant year in my life. So I’m pretty optimistically apprehensive about that.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

I imagine Stargoon would come up. I’d make my rote joke about my lifestyle only changing about 10% during the pandemic and I’d suspiciously oversell how well I’m coping.

Bumping into... Debashis Sinha

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.)

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How are you? Where are you?

I'm doing ok. At home in Toronto but currently teaching (in person!) at National Theatre School in Montreal.

What have you been up to since March or so?

Making lots of new music (coming out next year on Establishment), doing research on machine learning and AI and sound (and the adjacent issues around justice, oppressive tech, etc headed by the amazing scientists and activists at radicalai.net), getting more involved in teaching, doing lots of homework with my kid and cooking a lot.

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 feel like we're coming to a new equilibrium after the initial pressure to play live online. I've done a livestream but this was more recently and with a lot of infrastructure - for some reason I resisted the urgency at the beginning of this all - partly because I was overwhelmed and partly because I was privileged enough to remain relatively secure financially. As for now, I work a lot in theatre and many companies are moving towards making audio dramas, which is super fun as it is a genre that I love listening to and making (here's one, written by Andre Alexis and produced by Volcano Theatre). I'm grateful that my practice has intersected with many different performance and exhibition contexts as the technical and storytelling knowledge I've gained in various places and through various work is all coalescing as the ways of making and sharing music and sound shift and change. I'm learning a lot.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

Cooking! And I've been reading a lot. "Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies" by Dylan Robinson has been blowing my mind. He writes about Indigenous systems of knowledge and their difficult relationship with the genre of western art music - but it's much more than that. When I think of some of the more culturally specific work I'm interested in making, his writing has been a great template to organize my thoughts.

How are you feeling about 2021?

Um. Well. I'm not sure. I have a failure of imagination. I just want everyone to be safe, and for everyone to do the things that keep everyone safe, especially those hit disproportionately by this virus. I do know I'm going to keep wearing masks all through 2021 and probably longer.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

I'd want to say you're looking great! And I miss you and we all miss you and the beautiful work you do in the city to make music and all of us feel welcome.

Bumping into... Joe Strutt

Bumping Into... is a series of mini-chats with a variety of peeps that you might have run into in some of our local music communities. (There's a bit of an intro and my thoughts behind the series here.)

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How are you? Where are you?

Feelin' fine, in my apartment in North York.

What have you been up to since March or so?

Mostly living quietly. I've been privileged enough to be able to mostly stay close to home. I go for a good long walk every day, which is my favourite time to soak in new music.

I'd been saying for a couple years that I was more or less ready to ease back on the intensity of what I've been doing with the blog, so having live music shut down put that into effect in a more immediate way than I was expecting. I must confess, I've really enjoyed having more free time (not going to shows or editing audio from shows) to get back into other stuff I like doing.

I've been puttering away at music and have a couple cool things in the pipeline. I'm most excited about Our Way to Fall, my trio with Liz Lima and Del Stephen. Our album will be out on January 1st, so you'll be able to see something more on our bandcamp soon.

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 been catching everyone's livestreams when I can, though I must confess I find it hard to watch/listen with the same intentness of purpose I could in person. And I really miss the social element of shows, probably more than the show part of shows.

I've done a couple things online and it's been... okay. As a performer who's such a beginner in listening to/reacting to people in real time, I feel like I'm really missing the cues of body language, etc. when playing with others.

In terms of consuming music, it's been interesting to shift away from physical media into pretty much 100 per cent digital. I'd been buying physical copies of things mostly at gigs for the past few years now, and I've found the shift to just buying stuff on bandcamp has been less of an issue than anticipated. I'm buying/listening to more recorded music without shows to go to and not actually missing having the "thing" to put on a shelf.

For sharing music, I've been doing drone mixes, and more recently "everything" mixes to go with letters I've been sending to my nephews on the West Coast. (It sounds a bit like a Hard Times headline: "Would-be Influencer Uncle foists jazz and Gen-X alt-rock on Nephews.")

And for new tricks, I'm trying to learn how to work with Resolve and make videos more elaborate than something made with Windows Movie Maker. We're in the early stages here, but I'm satisfied with this:

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

Definitely been watching more TV shows than I have in more than a decade. I watched Twin Peaks for the first time recently. Been tackling original series Star Trek for the first time since voraciously consuming it in syndication as a kid. Best TV show I've seen lately is probably the hilarious BBC show Detectorists, which plunges into an unfamiliar minor subculture in a way that denizens of other subcultures (like music) can appreciate. For films, watched a whole bunch of old Westerns. Earlier on in the shutdown times, when Space and Emptiness were such in-your-face existential concerns I was simultaneously obsessed with L'Année dernière à Marienbad and After Last Season.

Also been reading a bit more lately... Sarah Pinsker's books stick out.

And so much music... I'll try and prod myself to do some sort of wrap-up on the blog, so it's unfair to single too much out. But maybe I'll point out here how phenomenal a year Telephone Explosion has been having, releasing a whole bunch of The Simmering Grooves These Times Require.

How are you feeling about 2021?

I tried to take the long view from when things first shut down in March, but it's hard to not feel in a rush for things to develop, especially in view of all the Vaccine Headlines clogging the feeds at the moment. But there's still a good chunk of staying separate before things change.

I don't know when venues will be opening again (if there are any left!) but I suspect the next place I'll be hearing (performing?) live music will more likely be in a park once the seasons turn again.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

That Wilco song just popped into my head: "When we came here today / All I wanted to say / Is how much I miss you". Hopefully this series will help people feel like they're touching base a little.

Bumping into... you

Okay, so here's the thing. As much as I miss hearing music live, I miss the community of hearing music more.

There's a lot of people out there — some people I'd call friends, some not-friends-yet, and some just nodding acquaintences — that I really like to run into. And in the past, by and large, I never had to work at setting anything up to run into them... I'd just head to a show and someone I wanted to see would be there. There's folks that I'd run into all the time, at The Tranzac or The Music Gallery or The Baby G, and also folks I might only see once a season or a couple times a year... but it would still be sweet to stop and pause and exchange a few words and catch up.

So at the risk of spoiling the soufflé with enforced mingling, I'm going to try and do some of that. Starting with myself, I'm going to post some little "what's up" conversations and see if we can revive that convivial feeling of running across a friendly face. There's so many people I want to run into, so I'll run as many of these as people want to submit — and try to get in touch with different peeps in different sub-communities who do different things. (So, not just peeps who make music, but those who listen to music and who make music-things happen).

Some nights you might run into me and I'd barely nod, and some nights I'd talk your ear off. I filled out my own questionnaire and turned out to be in a chatty mood — hopefully others will be as well. This is the starting point — you can click the "bumping into" tag below to find all the responses.

Sunday Playlist #48

Sunday Playlist #48: In memoriam Ron Gaskin

We lost one of the good 'uns this week with the passing of Ron Gaskin, a sender of sounds and a listener of note. Under his Rough Idea banner, RG was a huge part of this city's out-music history, specializing in bringing musicians to town who were too creative or adventurous for the more conservative institutional presenters. As a storyteller and conversational improviser, RG could make strangers feel like friends and as a presenter and host, his generosity of spirit and freewheeling associational logic encouraged audiences to enter into a dialogue with musicians earnestly and wholeheartedly. His presence will be missed by so many.

These selections from my archives are from shows where my memories of my encounters with RG are as vivid and precious as the actual music. (It's certainly not meant to be comprehensive in any way!) I also did a bit of a digging to find some moments from a couple of those famous intros — and we get to hear his voice as well, in character, playing the part of William S. Burroughs in the multimedia presentation of "Rub Out The Word".

The Swyves - Arc-Eye

• Recorded at Lee's Palace, May 18, 2011.

Matthew Shipp Trio - Psychic Counterpoint

• Recorded at Lula Lounge, March 10, 2013.

Peggy Lee - [excerpt 1]

• Recorded at Ratio, December 18, 2016.

Perch Hen Brock & Rain - RG intro

Perch Hen Brock & Rain - [first piece, first section]

• Recorded at Array Space (TONE Festival – Show #4), June 20, 2017.

Cactus Truck - RG intro

Cactus Truck - [excerpt]

• Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (TONE Festival 3.6: Peter Gough Presents), June 27, 2019.

Rub Out The Word - The Penny Arcade Peep Show

• Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #9), December 1, 2015.

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Sunday Playlist is a semi-regular feature that brings back some of this blog's previously-posted original live recordings for an encore. You can always click the tags below to see what I originally wrote about the shows these songs came from.

Concert Listings Roundup #361

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.

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Special note:

For the past six-and-a-half years, I've faithfully been cranking out these listings every Monday. Because of the unprecedented situation we now find ourselves in, this week's listings remain blank. Stay safe and sheltered.