Pics

I've realized that my blog entries seem much cooler if there's a picture attached.  Note to self.

New Tricks

I wonder if you can really be too old to learn something new.  

Clearly, things become much more difficult the older you get - in a physical sense.  We become less flexible, we have more ticks and bad habits, and in general our bodies have tuned themselves to do the specific things they are used to doing.  And perhaps more importantly, "mature" people have less time to spend creating muscle memory.  The days of hanging out all afternoon learning how to shuffle cards are far and few between, if not gone. 

Our minds aren't that different - although I think there is more hope.

When it comes to subjects completely out of our box (like computers are for the elderly, card games are for the kid who read comics, or comics are for the kid who played football), the pathways in our brains' are very slow.  It is difficult to make connections to unrelated subjects.  But for things that are similar (the avid reader learning to write poetry, the soccer player learning tennis, or, in my case, the pianist learning guitar), there are distinct possibilities.  

Unfortunately, however, our minds are more like muscles than we would like to think - practice is the only way to make any information come quickly (which is the sign that something has truly been learned).

This of course is just a very small part of the discussion.  But, for me it's a start.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Success

"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way."  - Anonymous

Creation

I think there are two types of creativity - two ways of going about creating something:

New from the Old

  -and-

New from the Abyss

I'm more of an Abyss guy, but only time will tell.  I think most of us take a crack at one or the other at some point.  But eventually something clicks.

To be a new from the old person you really need to be an expert - have your history down pat.  There's very little bullshit when it comes to new from old.  People that know all the ins and outs of 80's hip-hop, for instance, are the people that reinvent that sound.

The new from the abyss is much more trial and error.  Many shots in the dark are taken before anything comes of it.  It is sometimes weird, but always hard to classify.  That's what makes this kind of creating difficult - you don't need to be an expert - but you have to be comfortable without a home.  The abyss waits a long time for mainstream recognition, but when/if they get it, they last and last.

If you have a minute, download my new album for free at http://www.mediafire.com/charliechristenson

I don't remember the 90's

There's something about the sound of the 90's that's very smarmy to me.  Perhaps it's the juxtaposition in my mind of Barney and Nirvana...  I think early 90's music is something that I won't really ever like.  I remember being very in to classic rock at the time (60's and 70's mostly) - maybe I just warped over that decade.

Although, with my current obsession with the 80's, maybe the decade that follows won't be far behind... or ahead.

Close

Close only counts in hand shoes and horse grenades.

Think about it...

I'm on my way to California for fame and fame.  I'm also hoping to get super famous.  Wish me luck.

ON this eve of travel, I thought I would share my thoughts on gigs.  Going to people's - and having people go to... them.

FIRST off, I'd like to say that getting people to gigs is really the bane of a musician's life.  We seem to live and die by the numbers.  Of the course the music is important, but that's likely to happen regardless.  We play music out in public so that we can share our music with others.  Sure, you're sharing it with the musicians you're playing with, but for that you could check out a room somewhere and have at it - no need for a press kit or posters.  So people are an important ingredent in this gig stew - and it's generally hard to get people to do things.  At the begining of a musician's career, one can really only expect to see friends in the audience (save maybe a few randoms - and they're almost always drunk).  Now friends are very nice, it was very nice of them to show, but friends typically always want something in return.  A spot on the list, a free drink, a student discount or, wait for it, recipercation.  Yeah, they want you to go to their next gig - and all the ones after that.  See, if a friend shows up at your gig (especially if you didn't have to beg them to come, they just came because that's how awesome they are) they basically own you.  You are now expected to show up to their next 15 gigs, at least - and you're supposed to love it.  If you can't make it or you don't care to go, you're now the jerk who doesn't go out to other people's gigs.  I know it, I've been on both sides - and it feels weird both ways.

SEE, I think two things need to happen.  First, more people need to start going to more gigs.  Secondly, people need to have less crappy gigs.  Crappy gigs are all over the place.  Here's the headline for Joe Shmoe's next gig: "Joe Shmoe plays at crappy expensive bar with all the kids at school that stink so hard they didn't have a previous engagement tonight!"  Wow, I'm super excited for that one.  Good thing he came to my last gig and now I get to have to go to his.  Just super.

DON'T waste time getting crappy gigs where no one gets paid, no one shows up, and you feel like a turd afterward.  We've all been there.  Playing gigs is important - but crappy gigs are like playing two negative gigs, in my opinion.  Just book a room, play a session and record it.  Listen back like you're listening to a live at the Village Vanguard and actually get something out of it.  I've listened back to so many of my crappy gigs - if I can actually hear the music it's a plus - more than not, the just of the recording is two wieners who sat too close to the microphone and spent the whole time talking about which Justin Timberlake video they prefer.  Personally, I like them all.

SO, to summarize - gigs are tricky business.  In general, we fail as both musicians and audience members.  It's hard to put yourself in the other's shoes (even though we do a fair share of both), but it's absolutely essential.  Every time you have a gig think to yourself, "would I leave my apartment and ride the train for a half-hour both ways to pay $15 to hear me?"  If you answer yes, you either have a annoyingly bloated ego, or you've resisted the urge to settle for every crappy gig that falls into your lap.  If you answer no, get over it, no one's coming to your gig - and if they do, they own you.

Alright, like I said, off to be famous now.  Leave me alone - my publicist will call you back when she gets a minute.

Yes, you should get over it

Sometimes we forget that it feels good to forgive.

We forget because it also feels good to be mad at someone, to be better, to be right.  We try to be right, we try not to mess up, and it feels good to succeed where others don't.

The thing about forgiving is that we feel good, but we also let go of the time and energy we spend thinking about the person or thing that did us wrong.  It's important to let people know when they mess up, but it's just as important let them know that you're over it.  And yes, you should get over it.

These things take time

I have attempted to keep expectations low lately - thinking this was the key to happiness - which I guess I was defining by the lack of disappointment.  Clearly, this is not the most accurate definition...

I played a few dates at this "club" in Harlem where the owner would constantly ask me where I was playing next, when was the big gig, the date at Birdland, the big recording, the big break...  My response was always some stumbling version of "these things take time," which always made him completely unsatisfied.  He would then ramble on about how thinking it makes it so - positive energy and all that.  I always thought he was crazy, and still do... but, I guess lately I've been thinking it's not that bad of an experiment to try.  Think of everything I want in my life, and, instead of assuming it probably won't happen, assume that it probably will.

...Sorry, my fruitiness counter just went off the deep end.  Anyway, I'll see what happens, and let you know.

A SIDE NOTE:  the whole world seems to smell bad today - if you guys could get on that that'd be awesome.

10,000 Hours

My roommate is reading a book that says you have to put at least 10,000 hours into something to transcend the norm and become extraordinary.

I guess that means I'm a master sleeper.

I think I've known it all along.

David King on Phil Collins

Here's a funny entry in what is probably my favorite blog out there - Do the Math "the bad plus blog and webzine."  In this entry Ethan Iverson, the band's pianists, and David King, the band's drummer, discuss the drumming of Phil Collins (one of my favorites).  There's not much actual information here, but boy, if you want emotion- forget about it.

You can read the blog entry here.

Fistfight in Heaven - A few thoughts

A few things I'd like to write about briefly.

First of all, the idea that most artists do their best work on their first try - when they are young.  I do think there is something to this.  Looking at the world with fresh eyes, a different perspective.  Perhaps missing the details, the fine work of a craftsmen - but striking out in a new direction - to use a Star Trek phrase, if I may - a new frontier...  Going where no man has gone before... (Okay, I'm done)  Or maybe just putting two pieces of something together that no one has thought of before (the peanut butter and bananas concept).  Young artists first work will hopefully reveal something that they will continue to cultivate for the rest of their lives.

What if you haven't found your peanut butter and bananas yet?  Well, I think you look for a way to buck the trend.  Break the mold, if there is one.  That's the great thing about statistics, about the majority - it never applies to the individual.  A trend only applies to you if you fit the trend.  No one's saying you will or you must.  You might.

And secondly, I saw I Love You, Man tonight:

I thought it was a semi-interesting take on a wedding setup.  The groom has to find a best friend.  All the characters are super lovable and funny - and that's really what the movie is about.  Absolutely nothing in the plot is surprising - nothing.  But that's okay, because the whole idea is as follows: "Hey, here are some sweet people you would really like to be friends with.  Watch them walk around and talk to each other."  The ending is uneventful, even for an adult comedy.  But that's kind of okay.  I left the theater in a good mood, but sure to forget most of the movie by the time I got back to my apartment.  If I were to invent a scale, I would say it was a CCC out of 5 C's.  Hey, my initials are CC, after all.

Finally, there was someone on the subway tonight reading a book called The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.  The title is intriguing to the point of actual action.  We'll see though.

Jazz is Dead?

I've made a slight habit of saying things are dead lately.  It is fun to be so bold.

I told my friend, singer Julie Hardy, that jazz is dead the other day, and she said, "I hope not, I'll have a hard time teaching it if it's dead."  To which I said, "I don't know, they teach Latin, and that's about as dead as it can get."  She agreed and so do I.

Along with 4 out of 5 doctors.  And that's a hell of a lot.

The Only Way

At some point, we get over it.

WE see, hear, feel the reality of a situation and we let it go.

It is the only way.  And I've been doing it a lot lately.

Here's the Hook

LIVE performance is dead.

PRETTY much, anyhow.  

WE live in a world where live music has become a novelty - something for tourists and birthday parties.  Hardly a shadow of what it once was - the primary way of experiencing music has become the rare way of experiencing it.  Here and there, every once in a while, on the special occasion, when we happen to stumble upon it.

HOW many times have you gone to a bar that had live music?  Okay, that's a fair amount.  Now, how many times was the music at your local pub any good?  How many times did you see professional musicians?  ...How many times did you see the guy that works at the guitar shop...  How many original songs did they play?  Do you think they even got paid?  I sense the answer to these questions - and we all have to admit it's kind of lame.  Sure, music is live and well - the fact that it's being played at all is something.  And yes, the phenomenon of crapy bands in bars is new by no means - but, is this the best we can do?  Is it better to hear a crapy band in a bar than a great jukebox?  ...or a crappy dj...

MUSICAL enthusists do, indeed, of course you're right, go to live concerts.  They fill in the venues large and small - the size of the hall in proportion with the shortness of the skirts.  And they cheer, and they sway, and they fall in love.  But is this activity really about listening to music?  Or is it just one big biggest fan meeting?  Concertgoers screaming for the most popular songs and the coolest collectables.  Is there anything surprising?

BUT perhaps this is not the goal.  The recording is the true headhunter, the real go getter, at the music party.  It ropes people in - it gets the tunes stuck in their heads.  When you leave a concert, you're more likely to remember that cute girl in the 3rd row than that great new song you've never heard before.  But no one BUYS music anymore.  There is no commitment.  You're more likely to buy something you already know you like than give something new a shot.  And I don't blame you.  That's what we're supposed to do.  Who can afford to throw away their money, time, energy, enthusiasm??? 

AND who tells you what you like?  Well, there's both more and less of them in the world today.  The actually physical stores selling music are drying up faster than a cup of water on the sun - and the record companies that create that physical incarnation of music are dying as well.  BUT, ha ha, and this is a big one, the INTERNET grew up fast - and it's pissed.  It's the little brother that's been beat up for 18 years in a row but now he's bigger than you.  The internet and iTunes grew so quickly that it's leaving everyone involved with the creation of music (musicians, producers, studios and distributers) out in the dark with a crappy flashlight we in the biz call Google.  What's a boy to do?  

WELL, first off, get a computer.  Drink it in.  It always goes down smooth.  Get some recording software (I like Logic).  And get a going MOBY.  You want to live in New York?  Great, but you don't have to.  Live in Oregon - the internet doesn't really care.  In fact, it might be cooler that you live on the side of some mountain in Colorado.  Or on the beach in Texas.  There used to be rules to all of this, with very few exceptions - BUT NOT ANYMORE.  Not for the last 9 years, at least.

IF the album is the hook what's the gig?  The gig's the line and sinker... I guess.  But what's that any good for?  It's for reeling in the fish once you have the hook set.  Well, what do you do if you don't have a hook? WELL, I GUESS YOU DON'T GET THE FISH!

I GO TO shows here in NYC.  Jazz shows.  Maybe once a week.  If the show's awesome - if it's the top guys - the audience consists of the following percentages : %50 Foreigners / %25 Tourists / %15 Locals that got in for free / %5 Journalists who got in for free / %10 Staff and the band that's on next.  Yeah, that's it.  Isn't that awesome?  Sure, it's okay.  But when you're not one of those top guys - when you didn't record with Miles or Coltrane or Sunny - guess who's in the crowd?  It's that %10 Staff and the band that's on next...  Maybe a few of your friends if it's your birthday or something - but that's it.  So, why would any of us do it?  I guess it's fun to play music...  I guess we all want to be one of the top guys someday...  I guess someone told us if we want to be musicians we have to get as many gigs as we can...

THE thing is - we don't have to get gigs to be musicians.  The gigs aren't the hook - at least, not anymore.

I have a few thoughts.

The hard part is not taking that first step - It's deciding in which direction that step should be.

I have a few thoughts.

Thoughts on Freedom

Nietzsche writes in his seventy-five aphorisms:

How much a spirit needs for its nourishment, for this there is no formula; but if its taste is for independence, for quick coming and going, for roaming, perhaps for adventures for which only the swiftest are a match, it is better for such a spirit to live in freedom with little to eat than unfree and stuffed.  It is not fat but the greatest possible suppleness and strength that a good dancer desires from his nourishment - and I would not know what the spirit of a philosopher might wish more to be than a good dancer.  For the dance is his ideal, also his art, and finally also his only piety, his "service of God."

More on this later, I think.

the blow

I've invented a new band... that is to say I've found them... I mean I've heard them.  The Blow.  Check them out (Parentheses is my favorite).  I've recorded one of their songs for my upcoming album - more on that later.

Let me know what you think.

Yeah, Perhaps.

I'm really worked up right now.  I haven't been in this kind of a lather in a long time.  Perhaps a big change is on the horizon?

Yeah, perhaps.

Cat

I wonder if seeing a white cat is good luck.  I hope so.

Who Watches the Watchmen?

I saw the Watchmen last night, and it was awesome.  It made me want to go home and watch all the movies I own.  Something about a fun movie - it makes other movies better.  Like Michael Jordan...  Enough said.

I recommend reading the book.  One of the most interesting, entertaining things I've ever read.