Wednesday, October 10, 2007

working in circles



"There's no linear narrative to a creative life. People always say, 'Oh, I see, you did this to get here and that to get there,' which you can say in retrospect, but at the time, it is like a rolling stone, you do just kind of move forward." actress Cate Blanchet in today's SF Chronicle.

Muni instead of cycling to work this a.m. meant I actually read a real newspaper I could hold. Novelty!

Friend and Berkeley Artist Mari Marks (her work above) has a show going up soon:
Terra--Notes of a Season
Encaustic Paintings

Mari Marks
October 19--December 1, 2007
Reception, Friday, October 19, 5-8 pm
I space
Chicago Gallery of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
College of Fine and Applied Arts
230 West Superior
Chicago, IL 60610
Gallery hours: Tues.-Sat. 11-5

In the music realm, a couple of last minute cancellations made for a small gathering last night of The San Francisco Bay Area Songwriting Collective. The ever-changing group has been alive for six years, hosted by different folks throughout the years and attended by rotating cast of songwriters. We’ve now an unofficial core group of regulars, but a wider circle comes and goes. (It's kind of like a sourdough starter-lots of loaves are baked with the cultures from the original starter. Which reminds me, this group really had its genesis in NYC not SF.)
It can be a little daunting sharing a just-written, not-yet-sung-beyond-the-house ditty and a workshop format is a bit more gentle than an open mic. People might not love what you’ve created but they’ll tell you what works for them and what doesn’t. Well-mannered, constructive criticism is the goal (and the key to sustainability) of the group, not applause. Its great prep for performing in front of the wild card that is an audience.
Neither Alex and Aiden had any lack of material and after eating we each had time to play two songs. I’m looking forward to hearing more of Aiden’s well-crafted stories, and Alex never fails to astound me with his output of catchy songs, be they blues-inflected or pop (last night were of the latter). He just released a CD but he’s already got enough material for another one. As far as my oevre, the song I thought was a throw-away was the keeper of the evening.
Tonight, October 10 is the Songsalive! workshop. My bad as far as dates on yesterday's email.

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