good afternoon, from a rested boy in the black hills
many thanks to everyone who came out to one of the ‘plays well with others’ shows in south dakota, or to hear “water music” at constellation in chicago.
it was a special 11 days of music, and i feel very lucky that i was able to collaborate with musicians and venue hosts in whom everyone believed in science, music, and love, as well as a serious distrust of our government. kyle paul, gustavo cortińas, and evan paydon are brilliant cats, and we put in nearly 30 hours of play time in seven days, while hiking in the black hills, exploring the badlands, drinking bloody mary’s in deadwood, and eating bbq.
water music at constellation left me speechless as cristal sabbagh moved through 65 minutes of composed and improvised music performed by isaiah spencer, mai sugimoto, artie black, anton hatwich, and myself, preceded and followed by the dopest of dj sets by king hippo. major thanks to all of the staff at constellation for maintaining a safe space to perform and enjoy new music in chicago, and thanks to katie sikora for documenting.
i thoroughly enjoyed connecting and reconnecting with many faces throughout the black hills, aberdeen, madison, and chicago, and i anxiously await the next time we are able to share space, once again.
the rest of 2021 leaves me with a great slab of projects to be working on: a LIVE SCORING of the original phantom of the opera (from 1925) with modular and granular synthesist chris puente (from chicago), the second ‘a christmas to remember’ produced by the massa brothers, a charity recital at calvary lutheran church, all while finishing my online graduate diploma with the film score academy of europe! and of course, a handful of local and regional gigs, collaborating with the brilliant and unique artists in the western part of south Dakota
through music, we are able to see the bright lights in our world. we are able to inhabit those spaces. this tour provided many opportunities to be in those spaces, which gave me a beautiful sense of hope in dark times, that i haven’t felt in awhile. while we move forward, and indeed we ARE moving forward, don’t forget to keep the light
love,
a
