Endgame?

I haven't done my mood any favors in the last week by continuing to read Derrick Jensen's major work, Endgame, which is a sprawling twin-volume opus that does a very convincing job of supporting its central premise that human civilization is based on violence, is unsustainable and is going to kill the planet dead unless it's killed first. Actually, Jensen lists 20 premises, but they pretty much boil down to that main point. I'm not even close to finished but I had to take a break because the more I read, and the more I find myself unable to disagree with him, and seeing no hope for a solution, the more depressed I get.

It is very hard to face up to the conclusion I am coming to, a very pessimistic one, that civilization is going to have to collapse under its own weight and fallacy in order for the planet to be "saved." Sure, some might lend a hand in pushing over that which is leaning, but even many a concerned environmentalist or far-leftist or Earth First diehard is going to have a hard time understanding how to save the world when you realize that basically there are just too many of us, and unless enough of us were willingly or forcibly returned to a life where there are a lot fewer people and those who remain live in a stone age level of civilization, the planet is pretty much screwed, and it's time to fight back.

But how am I gonna fight back and still have my computer and my music collection, and my tomatoes year-round and my gas stove? Reading Endgame I am struck by how much I am unwilling to give up, even though I think of myself as far less materialistic and more conscious than so many other citizens of this culture. Is it largely conceit and an unwillingness to look plainly at the reality of where we're at? Jensen asks, why it is that we're willing to poison our bodies? Why are we willing to kill off our only world? Watching coverage of the Copenhagen climate summit on Democracy Now, I wanted to feel like a difference could be made, but reading Jensen I feel like the conclusion I'm being led to is that even if we get the governments of the biggest polluters to pay, and even if we reduce carbon emissions, and maybe even stop the privatization of water, we're all pretty much screwed.

But this can't be it, right? Is my role simply to live in a way that I can stomach, fiddling while Rome burns because it's gonna burn anyway? Or is my role to cheer on the burning? Or is the right thing to try to encourage revolution? Beats me, but I don't feel very hopeful right now. What feels like might happen is that for a few short weeks I'll look at everything in my life in a new way, seeing even those organic foods and recycled products as more than can be justified when species are vanishing from the planet, and I'll contemplate the ways in which our choices of candidates for office are pointless to contemplate because they only offer us differently-worded menus that serve the same doom to our world, or I'll see that while I would consider spending all my time growing my own food and making my own tools and clothes and living off the local land, I have to make money to pay rent to somebody, and my having made the choice to go caveman didn't affect the world much at all, because the drumbeat goes on, the trees are still being hacked, the land is being stripped, the mountains are being blown apart, the arctic ice vanishing... Most people I meet don't even want to consider not buying Nikes, let alone think about the idea of living in accordance with nature.

If the feeling does last, then where does that lead me? What is the point then of careerism and study? What is the point in watching a movie or working on my resume? Why should I bother voting, even for someone I really like? Well, I guess it makes me think about the things I can do that don't have to do with civilization. I can enjoy watching the snowfall with my girlfriend, and listen to the sound of my breath and be grateful for these things which take no resources of any kind to produce. I'll be curious to see if Jensen offers a way to live in the world with this. I know he lives and works for money and pays for things and lives in the culture. How does he deal with the problem of living? Meanwhile, how do I?

Commitment

Last night's Crackleknob set at the Douglass Street Music Collective was a deep pleasure, both for the music and the fact that in that small, somewhat stark room, we played to the largest crowd we've had the privilege to reach so far, and they were with us! I feel these days that a lot of the community I'm a part of in NY are less than psyched about free-improv groups, and are more interested in projects with some amount of composition, and I think I understand why (lack of a feeling of evolution, perhaps?) but the comments I heard from people afterwards made me think that the answer is a long-term commitment to a group, like this one, a project that--while we might be making it up as we go along--embodies a spirit of a longer journey at hand than the one set of music you hear us make on stage one night. Hopefully you can hear in a group like ours, now in our sixth year, that we have developed something through a process that gives us a deep foundation, while also having the chance to continue discovering new things.

That all sounds kind of aloof and academic to me, so let me say this: I love Nate and Mary as people and musicians and our great group chemistry (in my opinion) was not instantaneous, though the first playing sessions we had were fun. I think we enjoyed each other as people and admired each other enough to stick with the project unhurriedly over time and shortly before recording together found a trust and relaxation that we retain to this day. Now when we set up to play I have a great feeling of confidence and humility that is rare. I feel like we have the combined strength at our disposal of our individual talents and the experiences we've shared and I'm glad we finally got to share it with a number good friends, including Josh Sinton's Holus Bolus, who killed it right before us, and Tom Blancarte and Brian Osborne's duo set, which I missed, but all accounts were glowing.

airwaves & soundwaves

Hi everybody,

This has been a really odd week for me, starting with a very satisfying trip to play the Red Room in Baltimore with the great Jen Baker. Devin Hurd reviewed our performance at his (always stimulating and well-written) blog: http://hurdaudio.blogspot.com/

A sneak peek:

"The two minds at work displayed an uncanny sense of timing that allowed for natural contours to develop and the rare improvisational feat of collaborative conclusions."

We play our last gig of this run together tonight in Brooklyn at the Infrequent Seams series at Dakar in Clinton Hill. Come on down!

Next wednesday the 25th at 6pm eastern I'll be the guest on the Musician Show on WKCR. Listen at 89.9 FM in NYC or listen online from anywhere! wkcr.org gets you to the live feed. I'll be playing some of my music and that of the group Crackleknob w/ Mary Halvorson and Nate Wooley. Our CD is due out in 2 months on Hat Art. I'll also be plying lots of music by my friends and influences and no doubt some of these recordings will be a surprise to some. I really hope you'll tune in.

The other thing going on this week was that I had surgery to crush a giant stone lodged in my left kidney. It seemed to go well! The procedure I had is explained here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithotriptor

Fun to think that I was healed by sound. I was out cold at the time so I have no memory of the experience. I'm having to take it kinda easy today, but I'm not in pain, and that is a real blessing.

Point-Counterpoint

As promised, the new Point of Departure webmag has a healthy roundtable discussion with Jen Baker, myself, and Jon Raskin about the current state of creative music in such tricky times. Editor Bill Shoemaker seems to be especially interested in focusing on hardship, which I find a distraction from the more important questions we could be facing. After all, music is about a lot more than making it and getting paid for it. There's also hearts to inspire and our own characters to develop and grow! I think Jen did the best job of getting to the heart of things, and Jon did a great job of rounding up all the bottom line factors. I found myself somewhere in between. Funny to see how my own perspective lines up in the spectrum of voices.

Anyway, go read it for yourself: http://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD21/PoD21WhatsNew.html

Back From The Void

I was shocked to notice recently that I haven't blogged in a year. 2008 was a confusing and intense ride, with a lot of upheaval and chaos. Now that the smoke is clearing and there's so much newness in my life (and on the horizon) I think it's a good time to get back into it, and hopefully on a regular basis.

First, I want to tell you that this Friday, Feb 6th, 2009 at 4pm Eastern I'll be broadcasting 30 minutes of solo bass from my home as part of the Deep Tones For Peace NOW project. You can watch me from your computer at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/reuben-radding---deep-tones-for-peace and for more info on the project go to http://www.deeptonesforpeace.org/live/

It's great to have a reason to get back into solo playing. I didn't do as much of it in 2008 as I had the previous couple years. Since I'm going to be doing a lecture/demo at the International Society of Bassists convention this June the time is definitely now...!

Later this month (on Valentine's Day!) I'm returning to The Red Room in Baltimore, one of my favorite rooms in one of my favorite cities! This time in duet with improvising trombonist Jen Baker. The next day we're at the COMA series in Manhattan, and then on Thu the 19th at the Infrequent Seams series in Brooklyn, which happens at the Le Grand Dakar in Clinton Hill. Check out our myspace page for full info and sounds: http://www.myspace.com/jenbakerreubenradding

Jen and I have been participation in a roundtable discussion slated to appear soon in Bill Shoemaker's excellent online magazine Point of Departure, along with Jon Raskin of ROVA. Should be out any day now. I'll keep you posted!

inspiration and attendance

New York has an expensive reputation. The classic irony: live here to catch the amazing concerts and culture happening every night, and then end up staying home because you paid all your money on rent and bills. For the resourceful though there are many incredible and affordable treasures out there, whether it's the free night at MOMA, or free concerts at Downtown Music Gallery. This week, FOCUS! is hosting six free concerts of the music of Elliott Carter up at the Juilliard school in honor of his 100th year. I attended last night and the one before and experienced some amazing music and a further irony: light attendance!

On Monday I arrived at 7pm expecting a line at the door, but found only 3 people waiting. By the time they started letting us in, we were a line of maybe 9 or 10. By the 8pm start time the theater was maybe half full. Tuesday night there were a few more people, but not many. I wonder how many people stayed home expecting to have to fight a crowd. You could have showed up 5 minutes before the concert and still gotten a seat in any section. Totally bewildering to me.

Anyway, the music these last two nights has been a much-needed shot in the arm for me. Too many highlights to even talk about I guess, but special note must be given to their performance of Tempo e tempi (1999) which I know via the recording by Ensemble Sospeso. Soprano Jennifer Zetlan really was spectacular.

Carter was in attendance last night and for several minutes we applauded the man, 99 years old, still working, still writing. Unable to make it onto the stage itself, and too surrounded by well-wishers to be seen by most, he raised his cane above his head and shook it, a gesture of the aged but not infirmed...

Speaking of composers, Monday February 4th I have the honor of performing at the Cornelia Street Cafe in NYC with Guus Jansen on piano, with Thomas Heberer of ICP on trumpet and Harris Eisenstadt on drums. Harris, Thomas, and I have played a few times now but this will be a first with Guus. Should be exciting! Then Wade Matthews, Andrew Drury, and I have gigs in Philly and New Haven, and I have a couple gigs at Barbes in Brooklyn with Butch Morris, a hit at Zebulon with Mary Halvorson, Peter Evans and Kevin Shea, and another trip to Cornelia Street this month with Joe Giardullo, and Todd Capp doing Paul Motian's music.

Amidst all of this I'm trying to write new music for my string group which will be playing Roulette in the spring...

Exciting times.

Meanwhile: I had to leave my studio space in September and am starting to look around for another. If anyone has any leads on something in Brooklyn please let me know so I can continue the Studio STATS tradition. In the meantime I continue to mix and master projects for myself and others at my home. It's working out well and I like not paying an extra rent, but I miss recording groups. Your ideas are much appreciated.

revived

I was down for the count the last couple days, almost sick, not quite well, in that limbo in between...

The Denman Maroney Quintet conquered Baltimore this weekend! Thanks to Bernard and the crew from An Die Musik for treating us so well. I had a blast playing on Denman's evil charts, as usual. Ned drove which was as luxurious for me and it was fun to get into some iPod shuffle-play blindfold testing. Ned stumped me yet again with a Jaki Byard quartet date, and I got him with Alan Shorter's "Orgasm."

This friday we hit Real Art Ways in Hartford, and The Flynn in Burlington, and then it's back to Brooklyn to bring Denman's new thing to CIM on Douglass St. http://www.schoolforimprov.org/ Check it out...

Before I go I'm playing Goodbye Blue Monday in Bushwick with World on A String (Wednesday) and Thursday I'm at the Tea Lounge with Laura Cromwell's Queen Moonracer. Busy week!

Speaking of "revived," I'm doing a rare performance of my trio music on Nov 24th at the Jalopy Theater in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Details to follow, but we'll be playing the hits from "Intersections," with Matt Moran on vibes, and Matt Bauder on clarinets.

Another revival coming up soon is the Nate Wooley Quartet, hitting it at CIM on the 25th. Color me psyched!