As you can probably tell from my hotlist
I'm enjoy alternative rock (techno and grunge), as well as classical.
But I consider myself an appreciator
of many different kinds of music, ranging from baroque to East Indian,
Hopi to the Blues.
In addition, one of my favorite pastimes is listening to street
musicians, regardless of the instruments they play. Well, actually, I
can't say I tolerate anything, but it's always better when
it's coming from someone or a handful of people with their instrument
case(s) open to collect the pocket change of passersby. I enjoy the raw energy
of a single musician, playing their own music, or at least lending their
own unique interpretation to an existing work. Again, that's not to say I
like everything I hear on the street, but at least I greatly admire anyone
who can put their heart on their sleeves in public like that, and run the risk
of rejection in an often difficult forum. I have some neat memories of
street musicians - I'll never forget the one I passed by on a streetcorner one
night in Berkeley a few years ago. He was playing some rockin' blues on a steel-string acoustic guitar
with a third-finger slide, and he was just tearing it up!!! I had never
heard anyone play guitar quite like that before in my years of listening
to acoustic guitarists, with the exception of the great Leo Kottke, although
Leo's more of a flatpicker.
The amazing thing to me was his anonymity - no one but me was paying any attention to this astounding musician. Was my perception of his music colored by some mind-altering drug? Certainly not. I felt like I'd stumbled across a gold mine of incredible music. That night, however, the friends I was with just walked right on by him, and I had to run to catch up to them, without even getting a chance to thank this guy for what he was doing, or even to ask him how life was and all that. Not doing that is one of the regrets I will always have, and for that reason, I make it a point to support street musicians any time I can.
But I don't just listen to music - I do occasionally play some of my own. I am a cellist and guitarist, although admittedly I've not been practicing for quite some time now. Among my favorite pieces for cello are the Dvorak Concerto and the Bach Suites. The solo from Messaien's "Quatour a la Fin du Temps" is also one of my favorites. Unfortunately, most of the pieces I list here are well beyond my playing skills. Years ago though, when I was in practice, I was making progress on the Boccherini B-flat and the the Brahms Double. Nowadays of course, it's all a memory. But my cello still sits in the corner of my room, and one day, not too long from now, I shall resume my study of this beautiful instrument.
On the guitar, I write my own music, with qualified success, I suppose. I do a couple covers, my favorite is Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" theme song.
Also, I've recently purchased a cheapo didgeridoo, or yidaki. My big goal there is to pin down the circular breathing process.
Last updated August 13, 1999