[NewMusic] not much happening - same as it ever was?

[Scott R. Looney]

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> http://www.amazon.com/Francisco-Tape-Music-Center-Counterculture/dp/0520256174
>
> I've certainly a number of "scenes" come and go and they tend to follow
> the cycles of the artists that make them up and the how the concerns of
> group play out over time.  I help run the Blue Dolphin and the Farm in the
> 70's.  That they ended when the participant burned out is part and parcel
> of the coming and going of the scenes.  I'm still making music with people
> I first met coming to San Francisco and were part of the scene.  Ideas are
> generational and non generational.  We worked on conducting improves at
> the Blue Dolphin and at one point Butch Morris came and did one,
> connecting us with Charles Moffets work.  I participated in conducted
> improves at Johnston College through Barney Childs and Gino studied with
> Barney.  There is a wealth of history that remains unconnected and
> confined to the participants.  There have been some histories, Tom Nunn
> and Tim Perkis come to mind but not comprehensive.
>
> I go back, again, to say it's important to know the history of the music.
> The swells of energy and creativity that continue to happen in the Bay
> Area.  It is dynamic and cyclic. It isn't nostalgia to remember hearing
> Chris Brown and Tom Nunn's group, Confluence, perform in the band-shell in
> GG Park and Henry Kaiser playing solo electric guitar.  There's no pining
> for the good old days but it does allow the understanding of the arc of
> the ideas that presented that day. The free music festivals at the
> Koncepts Cultural Gallery, the music series at Olives, Radio Valencia,
> Venue Nine,  The Blue Dolphin, The Metropolitan Art Gallery.  There are
> things that I was involved with but there are ones that I wasn't and that
> doesn't mean I don't want to know about them.  I didn't hear the sessions
> of Glenn Spearman in the early 70's, go to the Electronic studio on
> Divisidero, hear any of Terry Rileys evening long jams but I'm glad to
> know about them heard the
>  participants have to say about them.  What was it like at the Moffet
> house when Butch and David Murray were playing with the group?  I regret
> missing Pops Foster before he died, who was at the beginning of jazz and
> played with john Coltrane, of not seeing more bands at the early Mabuhay
> but glad to have heard the blues at Dottie's Stardust lounge.  I'm glad
> about the connection of the Divisidero studio and Mills College and that
> the instruments are preserved and studied.
>
> Having a focus for your art is essential, knowing and supporting the
> greater community is essential.  Keeping your life together is essential.
> I'm not sure who the "barb" of the nostalgia or political comment were
> meant for.  I don't really encounter the narrowness of view that seems
> implicit in the comment and more often than not am surprised by the depth
> of knowledge that I find on the scene about other art forms and music.
>
> I would posit  that working on the music and learning the trade doesn't
> guarantee a career or recognition.  (By the trade, I mean how to put
> together a group, organize concerts, make a recording, go on tour, etc.)
> Spending time shedding on your instrument doesn't equate that you will add
> to the canon of the music but that doesn't negate the effort or the worth
> of the commitment. Success in the financial sense is elusive and
>
> There isn't enough pride or recognition for the music that is made here,
> which is why looking back over the Beanbenders concert list is a good
> thing.  Props to the Beanbenders crew for presenting a great string of
> work by local, national and international musicians at a musician run
> venue.  It would great to review a list from the Luggage Store or 21
> Grand.
>
> Heyl, don't get pissed if I still remember Moe!'s solo at a previous 21
> Grand location where he did, Buster Keaton inspired musical fall down a
> flight of steps.  Truly a highlight performance.
>
> Jon Raskin
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: weasel walter <weaselw at juno.com>
> To: newmusic at music.mills.edu
> Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 3:06:12 PM
> Subject: Re: [NewMusic] Yes, Streifenjunko
>
> the rise and fall of united states musical scenes is very patternistic
> and somewhat predictable in nature. in this case, it's just like all the
> others - the arc is the same. someday i'll probably have to write down my
> whole thesis about it, but right now, i don't have the time, so i'll just
> point out something particularly pertinent.
>
> what i'm seeing here is rampant factionalization and a resulting lack of
> unity in relation to the bigger picture of the scene. it's not that there
> was any particular unity before, but now any notion of that possibility
> is studiously avoided. when a scene reaches this amount of musical
> saturation, it's natural for most people to choose tightly focused camps
> and stay exclusively within them for reasons of support. of course, the
> viewpoint within these camps is generally that of "we're the only/main
> thing happening". if the isolated camp is not well received by the
> public, the camp assumes nothing is happening at all.
>
> there's plenty always happening. it's just a matter of whether or not one
> can relate to it.
>
> ww


i'll chime in here with my recollections and observations. i got here in '96
and was absolutely amazed at the plethora of weekly series. Staring Tuesday
there was Hotel Utah, then Wednesday Venue 9, Thursday Luggage Store,
Friday/Saturday Radio Valencia and Sunday w/ Beanbenders. little did i know
i was getting here at the zenith of the weekly series, and that we had
nowhere else to go but down as far as that went, as either presenters or
venues got tired of little to no audience and doing the show week after
week. i imagine it's probably a cycle going on here. although we have a lot
of gigs going on in the area - possibly even more than before.

i'll wade right in here and state that beanbender's was an excellent series.
sure they may not have booked everyone who deserved it, but all of these
types of series are run completely by volunteers, and they define the
procedures by which bands are selected. beanbenders was probably a bit more
selective than other venues have been, and some may not have agreed with
their choices - but hey, it's their series, they can do what they want.
they're not required by a charter to book X amount of one type of music vs
another. overall i believe they did a great job, and brought out many high
profile acts to the area. i remember Matthew Shipp/William Parker duo, Georg
Graewe solo, Gerry Hemingway's 4tet, as well as many great luminaries in the
improv scene like Perkis, Tom Nunn, Ron Heglin and many others.

notables besides the beanbender gigs in 96-99:
leo smith ensemble, radio valencia,
Moekestra! doing Death of a Piano at a place in SF in the Mission -
Commotion?
GC with his beautiful band at radio valencia  - great charts!
philip G - schoenberg project - radio valencia
Ben Goldberg/Billy Mintz - Luggage Store
Francis Wongs Improv workshop sessions in SF
Gallery 2310 - Kaffe Matthews, Bhob Rainey/Jack Wright duo
Starry Plough - Theo bleckmann/John Hollenbeck duo

overall i think the scene nowadays is vibrant and pretty far flung in terms
of styles and interests, but i do think the cliquishness is fairly
extensive. i do like very much that we have rather large get togethers
occasionally like Illuminated Corridor, Skronkathon, Sperry Fest, Drone
nights, and the Garden Of Memory. although not every clique is represented
perfectly at each of these events, it plays a role in at least getting us to
inhabit physical space next to each other, if not actually play on the same
stage. other things are sites like Bayimproviser and this list, and the
Transbay Calendar. it may not be the most ideal, but to me its at least an
attempt to corral the various wild cats of the improv/experimental music
scene, and getting them to relate to each other. whether it's successful or
not, it is useful making each of the atomized particles know about the other
ones.


scott