Oregon Literary Review

(Interview by Julie Mae Madsen, Video Arts Editor.)

What motivates you to record and post your music to the internet in video format? Just another audience.

How old were you when you first picked up a Cello? 8 years old. Did you know then that you’d be playing still? Once I started playing, I couldn’t stop... so if I ever thought that I’d be alive at this age I would have known. But I can’t remember if I thought that or not.

Where were you trained? My parents gave me private lessons in middle school and high school and I continued in college. I took lessons from Anne Alton at Skidmore College when I was in high school and from Daniel Harp at Brown University while I was studying painting and sculpture at RISD. Was there someone who inspired you to keep playing? Well, both of those teachers were excellent... truly... they each inspired passion and musicality and technique and a consistent practice schedule. There kept being more to learn and that’s what kept me going... no destination. When there’s no destination you just keep going.

How much do you practice? Everything is practice for me now. At some point practice and performance just melded together and became life. Do you have a standard pattern of practice? I play every time I feel inspired. But its different each day. Some days I play a few hours and some days I play all day long. It depends. But music is my job now so I don’t have to worry about making money doing other things. I don’t have to say “I’d rather be playing music” because nothing is keeping me from it presently.

Is your family musical? My parents are great appreciators of music. They took me to hear music all the time. They spent time helping me to experience musical sounds as deeply and as completely as I could. They still do that when ever we see each other.

You tour quite a bit. What is that like? Yes, its kind of an ongoing tour, branching out and playing for new people and meeting people. I like playing in different places all the time. It is all experience. What kinds of venues and audiences respond to your work? It varies and is slightly unpredictable, but I’d say that people who appreciate traditional Middle Eastern/ Indian and other “World Music” are most enthusiastic. And when I get to play with belly dancers then, of course, its better for everyone! I get more out of sharing my music in places where people can pay attention: concert halls, Churches, Temples, music venues and sacred music events.

Many Cellists have remarkable instruments. Does yours have a story? I just made this 5 stringed instrument that I call a “Diablo Cello”. She plays like a cello but looks different and has an extra high string. I like her, she’s got a little more gypsy in her. But, my acoustic cello has been with me nearly since I started playing. We’ve been through a lot together. A good instrument. I feel uncomfortable if I’m too far away from my instruments. They are my family.

One of your videos shows you in a field (Cello 2). Where is that location and why did you chose it for a film? That’s a place that I go occasionally with friends. I always have a good time there. We never see anyone else, its beautiful. It has good memories for me.

What environmental factors can hinder in recording at a location? Its only bad if someone doesn’t want you there. That’s it though, really. Sounds just become a part of the music and music becomes a part of the sounds. Do you find you need to stage your circumstances? In as much as I think about a specific place and go there and play. It is as much to find out what the music will sound like there as it is anything. Sometimes there’s an audience, and sometimes there’s a video camera, and sometimes there are birds flying around.

What video equipment are you using? Just a mini DV. Are there tricks you’ve developed to capture the look you want? I’m just playing around... its like making a painting, you just keep doing it and experimenting with it and you finish one take what you’ve learned and move on to the next. The decisions are intuitive. The more one practices, though, the more one learns what works for them and what doesn’t. What about capturing the sound you want? Please elaborate. I definitely record the sound separately. Video recorders don’t do a good job with sound. I am concerned with getting an acceptable tone from the recording. Tone is part of the music. But, again, this requires artistic decision making and listening to it a million times.

Are there people in Portland that you would like to thank for their contributions? Dominique, Maggie, Sean, & Amreet

Do you feel your work fits into a category such as Jazz or Classical? No... Those categories have such heavy connotations. If one considers one’s work fitting into a category then one is subject to all the preconceptions about that category.... I improvise. Sometimes I use a drone. Sometimes I layer two improvisations together or play along with a previously recorded improvisation. There is a great tradition of improvising. I’m an improviser. But if I had to choose a category I’d prefer World or Gypsy. They are more open ended.

You indicated your work is improvisational. What is the difference between Jazz and Classical improvisation? If one begins improvising by limiting oneself to a category then I guess one would find the answer to that question. I don’t know the answer to that. I limit myself to tools: my cello and my drone. Different melodies come out. Sometimes they sound Classical, sometimes Middle Eastern, sometimes it doesn’t sound like music at all but its still made with my cello.

How long have you been doing improvisation? With the cello since 1993. Is there a point when you know you’ve nailed a lyrical line that resonates? Not a point, but after a few hours of playing then music starts to happen. Thats when I can enjoy myself playing. That’s when the instrument plays itself.

Is Avant Garde Cello (aka Cello 3) inspired by another composer? Cecil Taylor maybe?... I’ve recorded things like this in the past, full abstract symphonies... but they are hard to listen to. The CDs are not available right now.

How have your travels changed the way you approach Cello playing? Traveling means seeing other cultures. Its great to see musicians all over the world making music. I don’t care if they are street musicians or concert hall musicians, they are all doing it and that gives me faith in humanity. Being exposed to different music makes me want to play things other than Western Classical. Other people are already good at that. I never really wanted to be good at something that somebody else was already good at.

Do you have any collaboration planned? Some more belly dance stuff. Are there other musicians that you would “die” to play with? No, the musicians I enjoy the most are my friends. If I don’t get along with someone then the last thing I’d want to do is play music with them.

Please speak to how you see video as a tool for self-promotion in our internet-driven age. Yeah, well, its a fixed performance, just like a CD only you get to observe the musician. People can look at it several times if they so desire... and they can pass it to their friends. You just have to make it and put it out there and forget about it. They are more like paintings than performances. You end up with something slightly more tangible instead of something that only exists as a memory. I mean, you have to live with it. Nothing’s perfect or everything’s perfect depending on your perspective. I wouldn’t do a painting for the soul purpose of promoting myself but in an odd way the more prolific one is, the more he/she is promoting him/herself.

How do you think video as self-promotion allows you to develop your public image as a musician? People experience things in different ways. I just make something, and then I make something else and its different. I mean, my public image is just made up of a bunch of different individual views or non-views of me. But it is inspiring because once I put something out there then I immediately need to put something else out there. All different facets of expression.