#93
For several years, I've built a site with content from emails and online of interest to me and, obviously, others. Click the image to see the 93 posts I've saved there. Here, I will add other conversations.
WORDS. What do they mean?
As a musician and wordist, I have the opportunity to communicate with lots of people worldwide about the challenges of artists in this present economy. Actually, very little has changed for most musicians. We "play" music, therefore the larger society doesn't really take us serious. We're expected to pay all of our bills, but we're also asked to perform for FREE or next to FREE on more than one occasion. The account that follows speaks to this problem.
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11/18/2009
WATCH THIS VIDEO and realize MUSIC HEALS!!!
Patrick plays! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xwCG0Ey2Mg
Diva JC
November 18, 2009, 3:32 AM
Joan,
Thank you, thank you so much! I'm reading the book: The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidges. It's about neuroplasticity...and he is forever referring to cases about music and education. For the same reason, I have every hope for the Siamese twins that were just separated at the head. Now that the medical world and psychologists are recognising how we can shape our brains to shape ourselves and the information it absorbs, there are many ways to repair lost, damaged or traumatized cells. Ah Joan, I'm not sure why but I'm letting music teaching jobs slip by! I've passed with flying colours (100% for both assessments in my final semester). At this point, all I hear the universe saying is "sit tight". I have no idea why yet. I sit quite content in a government bureaucratic job. Either way, there is room for developing my own music - so it's like I would be juggling which path I travel down now. Hmmm. What your book can't address is when singers (namely me, on this occasion) have a dummy spit because the band boys are being too patronising, deceptive, controlling over the artistic output. Needless to say, the band I joined at the beginning of the year (with a view to Christmas functions work etc once we were out and about) is not on my agenda anymore. So. I'm back to square one. Well, not quite. I've found another interesting avenue writing lyrics/melody with a great musician who's put some soundtracks together. He and I have the same influences, so that's really special. He's got the best Blue Note collection I've seen in Australia. He totally loves Cuban to Brazilian music. And he's quite eclectic as far as world music goes. I know I've come full circle now and ready for the next phase because all the degrees of separation have kind of "imploded" down to ONE - no more than two, anyway!! I don't know if that's a good thing. We'll see.
How are things for you?
Cheers, Heather
2009/11/19
Heather,
First, let me say that your messages bring me such LIGHT! and I appreciate you even more than words can express. Next, I sent you an invite to a private ning network, www.this-is-jazz.ning.com
Please join and CAREFULLY invite other jazzers in Australia to join IF YOU KNOW THEY UNDERSTAND WHERE REAL JAZZ CAME FROM.
Finally, I've passed up lots of opportunities to teach in the school system here for one reason - I refuse to subject myself to the narrow views of school officials and the outright disrespect of students. At 61 (62 on Dec 7), I'm not in the frame of mind to be insulted on a daily basis. What I'm doing is promoting THE LAUDERHILL JAZZ SERIES and soliciting ads and sponsorship for this program so badly needed here since most of the jazz venues have become parking lots. I just put up new videos from our concert on Oct 17. See www.floridajazznetwork.com/fjnvideos.htm
About your band and music selections. The first group I worked with was Siembre, a Latin jazz band of 8 men and me. I was with them for 1 year in Philadelphia. I loved being the center of attention, however, after one year of them doing conga solos on EVERY SONG I SANG, including ballads like My Funny Valentine and In A Sentimental Mood, I decided to leave the band and form my own jazz group - Take Five with piano, bass, drums, sax and me. I got to pick all the music we did and sang my original lyrics and songs. This is what I'm teaching women to do - BE TRUE TO YOURSELF. If the musicians don't want to do your material, get some more musicians. Please let's continue this conversation on the ning network. It's very very important.
Love
Joan
November 21, 2009 1:47:19 AM
Re: Music heals alllllllllllll!
Yes, Joan. You are SO right. It's taken me 20 years to learn that lesson. Worse still, there have been open-minded (men) players around who said they are available for me! So I really need to get my shit together. I was so busy studying and stressed to the max with an ill man in my life! Dealing with one thing at a time and the job circuit and world is opening out. I also need to learn how to have valuable time for me and my energy so there's enough there for the creativity! As said before, I'm co-writing with a VERY talented individual. I think he and I are coming from the same page. Unlike me, he didn't stop doing music. However, he was burnt by a "starlet" - who rushed off to make $'000's (supposedly) at the drop of a hat after his composition, energy and production time put her where she is today. THAT to me is poor taste - no matter how hard everyone is trying for a paid gig. In a way, I guess it suits her - because she's the crowd control performer...not really creative. So it makes sense but left my pal bitter about musicians and their, shall we say, carelessness. Meanwhile, more Sydney venues have 'closed out' (as opposed to "shut down")...despite a change in local government laws which abandoned the licensing of live music venues. More later, I've gotta choof off for some FREEEEEEEEE creativity. : )
Heather x
November 21, 2009 8:33:50 PM
Re: Music heals alllllllllllll!
Hahaha - what a response! How do I answer all that? Ah, see the responses in purple. Hope it makes sense.
Cheers, Heather
Heather, This message is so full of FOOD FOR THOUGHT for www.musicwoman.ning.com
We need to break it down. From my point, here are some points to ponder:
HK: I was so busy studying and stressed to the max with an ill man in my life!
JC: WHICH ARE YOU DOING NOW? Men tend to be a great obstruction to a woman's musical career.
HK: Neither. Just finished study. Moved out in July, so the man is at arm's length. In recuperation mode (for both of us) - altho' he is still not at all well, and yes, I will look out for him but on my timetable. I'm now looking for permanent work, either in teaching or where I am in the Bureau of Statistics - Commonwealth job.
HK: Dealing with one thing at a time and the job circuit and world is opening out.
JC: IS MUSIC YOUR CAREER? Please expand on "the is world opening out."
HK: Kind of. To do music in this country, you need another job. For most, it's instrumental teaching - or an office job. For me, doing classroom music teaching was to keep a foot in both camps. I put my teaching start date off until next year. At the moment, I'm working a bureaucratic life in a government office but it keeps everything together while I get my creative feathers together again. (I stopped doing a lot of things musical for about 6 years.) So putting MY style of chart together has moved up the list, hindered a little by the fact that I used the piano as my tool, which was sold earlier this year. Right now, I'm in a home without a piano for the first time in my entire life. In a way, it's OK 'cos I have to clean up all the other mess in my life to make way, if you know what I mean. So it won't be a distraction for a few months. Once I clear the hoardings away, there will be room for a piano in the basement. The man I 'look after' said I could have his lovely Ronisch. He nearly sold it. I begged him to keep it for me until I had room...and he did. He's a good egg. His illness and side-affects filled my headspace with other angst that I truly didn't need at the time. So now it's up to me to get it all moving. It does depend a little on where the permanent work pops up! I'm breathing easy. For some reason, the universe has kept saying "sit tight"...so I'll just do things bit by bit and do JUST that!
HK: It makes sense but left my pal bitter about musicians and their carelessness.
JC: THIS IS THE BEAST WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH. How do we raise consciousness.
HK: I don't know. The government heads and administrators talk but hardly put action or money where their mouth is...I'm kind of hoping that the medical science world is the way to get music back high on the agenda. You see, a lot of prominent people say 'we all need music', yet it isn't reflected in attitudes among education or business people. The Arts is the first to suffer in the financial crisis, yet it is the substance that people need most at such a time. We don't have philosophers like Aristotle around anymore, even Dewey, to raise the consciousness of the wellbeing of mankind - and music is a big contributor to the way our minds develop and process thought. Local government laws which abandoned the licensing of live music venues.
JC: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Musicians are facing real challenges in society today. Our local government decided that if places were to put on live music, they needed to be licensed for such a purpose, as a POPE: Place of Public Entertainment. See: this article
HK: I've gotta choof off for some FREEEEEEEEE creativity.
JC: WHAT'S CHOOF?
HK: Run/go. I've gotta run, or I've gotta go. Taken, I think, from the sound of a choo-choo train moving out of the station. Gotta choof! (Aussie slang, from Queensland, I think...where I grew up.) I could be wrong but I haven't heard of another explanation. : )
Heather, I'm waving lots of flags. Here are some of them - www.floridajazznetwork.com
Here, the government is supposed to be "The People". However, when parents allow the arts to be taken out of school and give their children drugs to subdue their creativity, we definitely have a problem. Obviously, it's not just on this side of the planet. Your attestation confirms it's a disease around the world. Of course, Europeans appreciate the arts. Maybe we need to meet in Italy! Even there, they don't have much money to pay anymore.
What to do? What to do?
Let's keep talking and see if we can come up with a solution. We surely have a wide space in which to work.
America <---------> Australia.
Love and Music,
Joan
November 22, 2009 5:32:51 AM
Joan,
Yes! There's quite a number of us out there, so we'll need to wave some pretty big signs...and ask for help from above!
Thank you for your email. It's so weird to have this conversation with you, then have it in the park where I went for a picnic soon after! Lobbying the government will be the hardest part - as usual. Have a good week : )
11/22/2009
Understanding is a wonderful thing. See the new blog I started, based on an old site I've been building on my website for many years.
www.wordswespeak.wordpress.com
Be sure to follow the link I think all of what you've said is true about here too. POPE is more like POOP, Place of ODD People is what a jazz space is now. On October 17, we had 100 people at our jazz series #1. Tonight, at #2 concert, we had about 50 people.
Why?
Everyone in Florida is at the Classics. Now, you would think that means a Euro-Music concert. Nooooooottttttttt!
See: Official Site Of The Florida Classic
Negroes really know how to reuse Caucasian terms. Here, it stand for Sports! Go figure. About medicine and music, did you ever see www.healingmusic.com. I pay $50 a year to be on this site. Joan Cartwright [North America, Florida, USA] . Maybe, one day, the world will turn back from killing and competing to sweet soul music.
Let's hope.
JC