COOL STUFF

This time around I have had all kinds of cool things to share! A lot from the music I listen to everyday.

For India:

Producer Timbaland works with singer Amar to record the song "Bombay".



For the middle east, one of my favorite band from my teenager years, the all Aremnian band System of a Down. Quite often in their melodies you can hear the middle eastern influence.



For blues, the immortal B.B. King and U2

"When Love Comes to Town"



And my favorite anime movie, some of you may have seen Akira. This is part of the score for the movie, and although it is a Japanese film there is very strong Indonesian influence. I'm not entirely sure but it may even to be safe to say it is in fact a gamelon.

My Mother and her Music

When I thought of who to interview in my family, seeing as I do not come from a long line of musicians, the first person who came to my mind was my mother. Although she always expressed herself through visual arts I can always remember her exposing me to music and talking about music. She taught me Beatles song, my first song being "The Yellow Submarine". A native to Greenville she grew up as the middle child of 4 kids. Her teenage and early twenties was a revolutionary time for music. I remember the stories she told and probably knew who Freddie Mercury was before anyone else my age did.

What sort of environment did you listen to music in?

I started off listening to music because my parents were music lovers. They had lots of albums, of course we weren't allowed to listen to any of them. Of course there was church. When I was a teenager collecting albums and 45s was a big thing. We went to the record shop at least once a week. If you were lucky you could get an album. The big thing in the seventies with album was the album art and the lyrics to the music on the album itself.

Another big thing when I was a teenager were outdoor festivals. A bunch of bands would play during the day in a ball field or a park, it was kinda an offshoot of woodstock.

How did your parents/teachers feel about your choice of music?

My mother really liked the music I listened to. This was a time when the use of cuss words were starting to be used. Usually nothing more than the word "damn" though. So, that was really looked down upon.

My father took my The Guess Who album, they used the words "god damn" in it, and it was the second or third song in. So he took my album and used his pocket knife to cut a groove in the record right where the words were used so it would skip over it. He could have taken the whole record but, he didn't.

I also remember the burning of Beatles records.

What happened when you became a parent?

Well I guess the big thing was that I raised you on muic I had listened to as an adult. Such as The Beatles, Van Morrison, The Cars, Sting, Queen, and Grateful Dead. So instead of teaching you traditional nursing rhyme songs I taught you Beatles songs. So you have to imagine my dismay when you started listening to all that music with that screaming shit. I could have also lived without the Marilyn Manson phase. I was happy you listened to Tori Amos and Ben Folds and that you were into Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel. I thoroughly enjoyed A Perfect Circle.

Did you play an instrument or sing yourself?

I attempted to play the guitar but gave it up after I learned how to play "Stairway to Heaven". I never sang. My expression was through my art.

I did have a lot of friends who were musicians. Mostly in my college years in Richmond.

What types of situations made you listen to music?

As of now if I don't listen to music while I'm working I lose my mind. There's certain music I listen to when I'm bummed, or driving down the road having a good time.

Because I was brooding teenager I listened to Neal Young, Joni Mitchell, and some Simon and Garfunkel.

Were you exposed to music outsdie your own culture? How so?

One thing that sticks in my mind more than anything was when I was in fourth grade and we had a field trip to the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. I was so excited and moved by it and thats how I fell in love with classical music.

What about music in your own culture?

When I was seven or eight or Dad took us to see Loretta Lynn. It was in a small venue, almost like a barn. My dad was a real advid Loretta Lynn fan. I'll never forget at the end of the show she did her Buck Dance barefoot.

Just like my mother I too was a brooding teen who turned to her music. Today we probably share more music tastes. I have made her a Depeche Mode fan and she has made me a fan of Simon and Garfunkel. Unfortunately, my Marilyn Manson phase is not over.

Cool Stuff

I know this is late...

However, growing up my mother would always play Incan/Andean music around the hosue. Therefore I fell in love with the pan flute. Recently I also fell in love with Swedish recording artist Fever Ray, and she usses the pan flute in her song "Keep the Streets Empty for Me". The song is rather long, the pan flute comes in at 3:37, but I encourage you to listen to the whole song for I think it's a beautiful piece!



Once again, with the influence of my mother, here is Brazilian artisit Sergio Mendes and the Brasil 66 singing "Mas Que Nada". Boogie down.



And, a throw back to my pre-teen years: Ricky Martin.
You ladies better love it.

Music and Gender

I can start off by saying that I believe gender plays a huge role in how music is sold, and how people's opinions of music are formed.

I was one of two girls in my high school marching band drumline. I at this time was small enough to fit in my own drum, and often liked to hide in its case. I played in a hardcore/alternative band when I was in high school, and I was the only girl. I still make music to this day, and sometimes find it kind of hard to be taken seriously.

When I first joined my band in high school, with was named Mirth, I started out playing the bass guitar. If it wasn't for the drummer I probably would have never been allowed in their he-man woman haters club. (Keep in mind these are boys ranging from the age of 16-17.) The guitar players were more reluctant and the singer didn't seem to care. Eventually, I took over the lead vocals and wrote all the lyrics and the band skimmed down to the drummer and his twin brother who plays guitar. Believe it or not, even though it was the year 2005, I heard every derogatory comment under the sun.

"She can't play. Chicks can't play guitar."
"She's just for looks."
and my favorite:
"I just don't think girls can sing as good as guys can. Especially when it comes to rock music."

I aptly reminded the people that told me these things that it was 2005 and women can vote now. Although Mirth never made it big, we played many shows and won every battle of the bands we participated in. To this day I still talk to the twins and we jam once in a blue moon.

Much like Kelly's story of her mother who wanted to play the drums, my mother went through the same thing and setttled for the guiatr ( which she traded in for a paint brush). I feel that today in our society women still have a struggle to be taken seriously, especially in music. Thinking back to the days of Britney Spears I have found a reoccurng theme that women have to bare it all and the music itself doesn't even matter. If you do happen to be someone of talent in the limelight (this is all subjective, mind you) such as Lady Gaga, Beyonce, or Madonna you have to deal with rumors about your sexuality and even your gender.

I was ecstatic to meet my hero, Lucia, the female singer of the band KMFDM. She is my favorite for many reasons; her talent, honesty, to be patient enough to be in a band full of men, and her ability to be sexy and keep all her clothing on. We touched on this topic and after becoming teary eyed when I told her she was my hero she told me to be myself, stick to my guns, and be "fierce and fearless". I wish we could see more women like her as musical role models.

I feel very lucky to have grown up in a home with parents who were supportive of me, even if playing drums and being in a band wasn't considered appropriate for a girl. I do hope that as time moves on things will balance out and women can be seen more as musicians and be in the limelight for their talent and not their rock hard abs and large bottoms.

Cool Stuff!!!

This is the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of Native American music. One of my favorite recording artists, Tori Amos, recording a quick song called "Wampum Prayer" for her album "Scarlet's Walk". The song is sung acapella and the contour and pattern reminds me of the music we heard in class. The song is an original composition telling the tragedy of the Trail of Tears.



To let you know we're not the only ones doing African drumming circles in class. Here are some Japanese folk doing the same thing.



This video shows the making of Djembe drum in Ghana. Enjoy!

What I've learned as UU

Growing up in a Unitarian Universalist church music was a huge part of the service and the religion. Music is used as a way to bring everyone together, and we had many community events and talent shows all focusing on music. Seeing as it is a church that is open to exploration of other religions and cultures we had all kinds of music. During services traditional Christian hymns would be sung, or sometimes a pop song would be played. During Christmas “Silent Night” was traditionally sung every year in German and with the use of sign language. It is a way to bring the community together, and seeing as we had a very well known choir it was also a way to raise money for the church. The choir was trained in the traditional western sense with some contemporary aspects. The performances, whether solo, an ensemble or you name it where expected to be engaging and, if incorporating another culture, respectful and fairly represented.
In my experience at the church, and at other churches visited, the music heard did contain what I found to be aesthetically pleasing. Seeing as there was so much music and all kinds of music there is really something for everyone. It exposed me to not only diversity in religion but also in the music of these religions. It helped me understand that music is a powerful thing in helping people communicate, pray, and tell the world of their faith. I have experienced the droning chants of Buddhists, and the lively music and voices of African American churches.
I would like to add that music is a powerful thing in itself. I know in my personal experiences at the church I would sometimes feel just as moved by a Christian hymn as I would a chant. This helped me to understand the connection the people find in their music and their religion, and why for some it is so important to have music. Whether it is a traditionally written hymn, which contains repeated verses, or a chant that has no written recording and comes straight from the individual, the music is an important tool.
I feel that I owe a lot to my experience at church. It has supported me in moving towards my goals and music and it has served as a form of comfort, expression, and spirituality.

Musical Autobiography

I would like to start off with saying I do in fact have a roommate and a mother that are obsessed with Bollywood. My first interaction with Bollywood was at the Indian Festival I attended in Greenville some odd years ago. With that said let me elaborate on my life and my musical experiences. My mother is from Mississippi so I am familiar not only with old country songs and bluegrass, but old gospel songs. She also comes from a Scot-Irish family, much to my dismay at times I was forced to listen to The Chieftans and other kinds of Gaelic music. My father is from Pennsylvania and comes from a long line of Germans. So, as a child I was put into a German magnet school in Charlotte, NC where I learned everything in both languages. I learned many songs in German (a lot like "Mary Had a Little Lamb) my favorite one being about the cat in the snow. As a teenager I grew obsessed with modern rock music from Germany, particularly industrial, with my favorite band being KMFDM, and yes some Rammstein. By the way, I'm still obsessed.

Also as a teenager I grew interested in anime (Japanese animation). Being a student of music and music being my main form of expression I was automatically drawn to the music of these shows, which in turn lead to an interest in Japanese pop music. This obsession, however, is not as prominent these days. I grew up in a Unitarian Universalist Church, a religion that thrives on music. I performed everything from hymns in the choir, show tunes from Cabaret and Chicago in the talent show, and performed a piano arrangement of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" for a service. We also visited many different churches where we participated in chants, one that sticks out in my mind was a Buddhist chant, and hymns during their service.

The most interesting thing I have seen recently was at a show in Atlanta this November. An opening band that was primarily industrial/drum and bass oriented incorporated Japanese drumming into their songs and show. Other than my German and Irish roots and classical training I have not been exposed to much from the African world and some of the Asian world. I hope to be inspired in my own music making by what I learn.

(If growing up in a place where people do The Chicken Dance at weddings, parties, fairs, block parties, talent shows, school concerts, pep rallies, or any type of social gathering. Then I would like to add this to my array of cultural experiences.)