RE: Hazmat Modine planted a seed...

["Chris Michalek" <chris@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Finding a demiurge is not difficult as long as the seeker is an
original power as well. In this case like forces attract. 

If your basic musical interests are texas blues, country blues and
chicago blues then your chances of finding a highly unique player is
less than if your tastes were blues, ju ju, ska, chorro and
bluegrass.  

The one thing I have found to be common amoung the very unique and
unusual players (regardless of instrument) is  the extremely high
level of spirituallity.  Also in that realm you will find people with
a high degree of self-confidence, obsession/compulsion and anger. 

Since I can't speak for others  will use my personal experience as an
example for a distinctive musical collaboration.

My musical tastes are: Blues, Jazz, Bluegrass, Armenian, Celtic,
Latin, Country Western, Arabic, Hindustani, Carnatic and Asian

My collaborator is into Jazz, Funk, R&B, Hindustani, Carnatic,
Hungarian, Asian, Latin, Classical, West and East African

As you can see there are several styles that overlap.  Both of us
have been forced to play one style or another but have not had to
opportunity to fully explore the music outside of that which is
indigenous to the US. Now that we've found each other we are able to
fully utilize our other influences and infuse it into our own
completely original and extremely diverse music. It's also no
surprise that he is very similar to myself - which gets a bit
nerve-wracking...

Want to meet an interesting player?  post a message to a local
musicians board and site your most obscure musical reference. 
Another person who will pick up on that will more than likely be as
steeped into your music as you.  For me, I tend to mention a few
people: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Shaid Parvez, Simon Shaheen, Nikil
Banerjee.  Nusrat is more famous than Michael Jackson outside of this
country so I expect most potential collaborators to know who is...the
others are more obsure.  My current musical partner knows them all.
You probably don't want to mention that you are a harmonica player. 
That immediately makes people think a certain thing. People are
spiritually open to new forms of music will not care once they've met
you. 





>
>
>
>---- Original Message ----
>From: scorcher@xxxxxxx
>To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: RE: Hazmat Modine planted a seed...
>Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2004 13:38:17 -0700
>
>>
>>Seeing that post on Hazmat Modine got me thinkin'...
>>
>>Some of the bands I ~really~ like to listen to don't play any kind
>of music
>>I can describe very well.
>>
>>Oh, sure there's Paul deLay, Rod Piazza, Kim Wilson, Brendan Power,
>Toots,
>>etc....
>>
>>Of course all the ODBGs...
>>
>>And then Bill Barrett, Mitch Weiss, and Jason Ricci....
>>
>>But then there's Tom Waits, The Latin Playboys, Hazmat Modine, They
>Might Be
>>Giants, The Rugburns, The Whitestripes...
>>
>>and THEN there's "alt country", Old Time & Jug Bands...
>>
>>OK, OK, I'm all over the place here. - Let me try to re-focus.
>>
>>Many of you have found very unique voices on our instrument (Richard
>Hunter
>>& Ironman Mike Curtis are two more wildly divergent voices that come
>to
>>mind)
>>...in the case of the last 2, y'all have made your own way (almost
>>conspicuously) solo, but in the case of many of the others
>(especially
>>Hazmat Modine, I believe) it's really an ensemble thing, so the
>music that's
>>made is really a group effort, and the whole is greater than the sum
>of the
>>parts (not to take anything away from y'all as INDIVIDUAL artists!).
>>
>>Now, I realize that ANY musical group is going to produce a "group
>effort",
>>but some ensembles are very predictable ("mannered", as Bill Barrett
>would
>>say), and some are just...OUT there!
>>
>>So, for those of you who have been involved in dyanamic, unusual,
>creative
>>ensembles, where the heck do you FIND people like that to
>collaborate with?
>>Is it a matter of just happening to hear a tuba player you dig at
>the local
>>cafe? Was your brother-in-law a busking banjo player? Did you write
>to the
>>2nd chair oboe player at the philharmonic and invite him to sit in?
>Did THEY
>>all gravitate to YOU?
>>
>>-Scorcher
>>(solo)
>>
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