Since you heard from me last November 19, 2008
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, Notes to Self, Travels , add a commentMy life looks very different now than it used to. After a very turbulent year or so, the current instability doesn’t seem to be phasing me much. I’m doing pretty well now, thanks. Here’s some of what’s different:
- Last Year: Left my corporate job of 6+ years as an eLearning Developer for GreenPoint Mortgage. Within three months, the whole company folded anyway. Began consulting as an Instructional Designer, part-time and almost fully remotely. This kind of independence works great for my increasingly mobile and musical lifestyle.
- February: Separated from my partner of nearly 10-years, Mary Keydash. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Still suffering a bit on this one.
- March: Turned 32, started writing loads of new music.
- April-May: First Grand Solo Road trip, visiting folks all over from San Francisco to Portland to Colorado to LA and plenty of places in between. Along the way I rekindled connections with family and close friends that had gone untended for far too long.
- June: Incorporated as Snap Synapse, a media content production company shell for my consulting and music work.
- July-August: Taught at kids music camp, attended California-Brazil Camp, had a blast performing all over Burning Man.
- September: Decided Couchsurfing lifestyle (AKA no fixed residence) was working out so well that I would continue through at least June of next year.
- October: Graduated from my 3-year international rhythm training program, becoming a Certified TaKeTiNa Rhythm Teacher.
- November: finished new CD with The Irrationals, revamping One Mouth Band / Organic Human Music web presence.
Through all of the above I’ve been traveling all over both coasts and performing a lot. I plan to continue, but take it international. I’m currently planning trips/performances in Australia/New Zealand (January-February 2009) and Europe (May-June 2009).
If you’e like to get in touch, now is a great time to do so. My phone is the same as it has been for about 8-years now, and you’re welcome to email anytime! I look forward to hearing from you!
License to TaKeTiNa October 21, 2008
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, TaKeTiNa, Travels , add a commentIt’s official, I am now a fully-qualified TaKeTiNa Rhythm Teacher!
So what does that mean? Well, not too much in and of itself. It just means I can use the TaKeTiNa name to lead rhythm workshops anyplace in the USA. But this basic level certification is the result of the past 3-years of work and a whole life full of changes. This was the last remnant of my former life (of any structure, really) that I have been holding on to. This incredible training program was in fact a catalyst for letting go of everything, and its completion is big for me.
Now what? I don’t know. But I can’t say I’m too bothered by that question these days. Or by any others for that matter. How about that?
The Eight Irresistable Principles of Fun September 12, 2008
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, Productivity , add a commentAs you may know, I’ve been into David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology for a year or two now. Thanks to my recent trial subscription at GTD Connect, I found out about Michael Stanier and his work. It’s all cool stuff, but here’s something in fairly quick and digestible form that should provide the adequate inspiration to learn more. Click below and enjoy!
TaKeTiNa Rhythm Days September 9, 2008
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, Music, Recommendations, TaKeTiNa , add a comment
Okay, you’ve probably heard me rave about TaKeTiNa before, and maybe you’re curious but it usually costs money and stuff. Well, here’s your big chance!
There is a whole series of FREE TaKeTiNa sessions that you can attend in October near Portland, Oregon. They will be led by the members of my TaKeTiNa Teachers Training class as completion of our 3-year training. For these polyrhythmic adventures in stepping, clapping, and singing, it is very important that we have members of the general public who are not necessarily musicians, and have little to no experience with TaKeTiNa. This is a great opportunity for you to help me/us out while getting benefit for yourself at no risk!
These rhythm journey sessions will be held twice daily from October 1-12, at Still Meadow Community near Clackamas, just east of Portland. It’s pretty easy to get there, less than 15 minutes off of I-205. If you’re coming from out of town, don’t worry, there are a few places to stay nearby. All sets are free, and you can attend as many as you’d like. You just need to register!
Here’s a downloadable flyer, please feel free to forward it along to anyone else who you think may be interested. You can find more about TaKeTiNa here, or if you have questions about anything, just ask me! Thanks!
One Mouth Backup Band, at your service July 10, 2008
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, Music, One Mouth Band , add a comment
I’ve been frequenting open mics a lot lately. Portland, Charleston, and all over the SF Bay Area. One thing I’m starting to do more and more (and absolutely LOVE!) is being the rhythm section for other acoustic acts. Lucky for me, the other performers — and more importantly, the audiences — seem to love it too!
I’ve had the chance to do everything from folk to funk to jazz to pop to reggae to rock to blues to hip-hop to latin to indian to the indescribably genre-bending journeys between and beyond all those. I’ve channeled my favorite drummers (like John Bonham and Zigaboo Modaliste) on their own legendary tunes, juggled some killer vocal bass or keyboard parts in the drums, taken outrageous vocal guitar or trumpet solos, generally put a bunch of instruments where there otherwise wouldn’t be any. Every so often I throw in some actual, lyriced harmonies, too.
The best part for me is that I never know what’s going to happen next. I rarely if ever get any direction beyond “go”, and 80% of the time I don’t even know the song I’m joining in on. The best part for those I’m jamming with is that they get the energy infusion of a whole band for no hassle (and so far, no pay, but that can change anytime).
I am wide open to do more of this kind of work. If you have a favorite singer-songwriter that you think would spark well with me, please let me know. Thanks!
I’m crazy for Barbatuques! January 5, 2008
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, Music, Recommendations , add a commentMan, oh man! Half my life ago I had this fledgling idea of combining a percussive ensemble like Stomp with the purely human music of a cappella like Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra. This body percussion and vocal band would combine elements of music, dance, and theater to take down the wall between performer and audience. Keith Terry’s Slammin’ (I pestered him for a year to let me in) is the closest thing I’d found in the world…until now. Meet Barbatuques.
Okay, so it’s got a long buildup and the rap section may be a bit much, but my first urge at the above sight was to run away to Brazil and join this circus. I may still, I’m in a cool down period while I find out everything I can and learn to read Portuguese. I am still shocked that they managed to escape my attention for so long. There are so many connections and commonalities: they cite Bobby McFerrin and Keith Terry as major influences, draw on the beatbox movement, and use a CircleSinging-like model. This is all stuff I know well, and I am no stranger to Brazilian music either. I suppose I should be grateful that life still hands me these beautiful surprises.If anybody knows anything about these people, or can help me translate, please let me know! Thanks!
Yes Really: Trash can be minimized December 29, 2007
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, Randomnimity , add a comment
As consumers, we all have say-so about what gets made. We tend to wield this power poorly, but strikingly simple choices can have astonishing results. Here’s and example:
In my 2-person household, we generate only about one small cereal bag worth of landfill trash per week. How? I do most of the shopping, and I just don’t buy stuff that can’t be recycled or composted if I can help it. It’s that simple. We canceled our trash pickup and simply dispose of this meager refuse on our way in to the supermarket where most of it comes from.
What is left? Thin plastic packaging mostly, and that is truly hard to avoid. Usually dental floss and cotton swabs, bent staples and paperclips, broken rubber bands and any other small detritus not built for consistent reuse. Occasionally a spent lightbulb or toothpaste tube…
What’s not trash at our house?
- Glass, aluminum, paper, cardboard, etc. - This is all called recycling. Since we don’t have curbside in our neck of the woods, we sort it and drive it into town as needed while running other errands.
- Hard plastic - If it comes in plastic, we avoid it. If there are no available alternatives (yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.), look for brands that use either #1 or #2 plastic which is easiest to recycle. You don’t need to deprive yourself of essentials, there are almost always other packaging choices (i.e. roll-on deodorant instead of stick).
- Food - That’s compost, for the most part. Of course dead flowers and plants go this way too. We’re not vegetarians though, and any meaty/oily scraps go outside for the neighborhood cats and our resident raven to cart away.
- Batteries, broken electronics, etc. - These should not be trash at your house either because they are toxic. It’s actually illegal to put such things in your trash in California, so there are specific free recycling days for this stuff and facilities you can pay to take it off your hands anytime. Yes there are plenty of scandals and dirty secrets about what happens after that, but your local landfill is obviously not the solution.
- Used clothes & stupid stuff - Goodwill, Salvation Army, Hospice Rummage Shop, etc. are all great places to unload these.
- Styrofoam - Now this one is only for the hardcore. It used to be that it was accepted at recycling centers, but now it’s not because it seems nobody really knows what to do with the stuff. We don’t let it in the door if we can help it, but for the stuff that finds its way in, we have taken the intentionally drastic step of mailing it back to the president of the company that it came from. Yes, it costs some postage (not much, it’s light after all!), but that is offset from what we get from turning in our bottles and cans, and remember our trash pickup bill is $0. The ecological statement may never make it to the intended recipient, but at least there’s some justice in styrofoam again being the property of it’s creator.
So what is in your trash? Take a look at what’s there and ask yourself:
- What did it take to make this?
- Do I really need bring this in my home?
- What happens to this when it breaks / breaks down?
- Where will this be in the period between 50 and 50-million years from now?
It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be done. December 19, 2007
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, Notes to Self, Productivity , add a comment
So many projects are started with the idea, “I’ll complete this piece, then this piece, then the next…” and go through the subsequent agony of incompleteness. The problem is that you can’t usually finish the first part until you have a sense of the whole. Revisions are an inevitability of a job well done.
Take my recent instructional design work, I could “finish” module one, then work on module two, or any modules in any sequence — but a linear fashion. Or I could work the overall course first, parse it down to modules, and focus in and clean up or flesh out whatever parts look like they need work on any given day. Non-linear productivity!
I had temporarily forgotten my trademark “it doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be done” approach until just yesterday. This is not a cop-out or compromise on quality for me. What it means is that if I can give myself permission to produce something that merely meets the deadline (preferably before the delivery date), I can then spend the remaining time focusing and refinishing the product until it is actually good. Better in fact, than I could have produced given the same timeline and a loftier goal.
Work Bold June 8, 2007
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, Notes to Self , add a comment
Part of what gave me the confidence to call it quits and the comfy-cozy job I just left was posting my resume on Monster.com. All I did was update my resume and within 48-hours I had about 35 job offers. Most of them weren’t for things I want to do, but almost all of them were for things I could do, and for more money. Meaning if push came to shove financially, I would likely be just fine, and probably still better off. So there was very little to lose, and plenty to gain.
Upon reflection, I realized that I had been offered a job everywhere I’d ever walked in the door and wanted one (except the very first time when I was 16). I don’t know why that is, but I have a few ideas. By birth I am a white, English-speaking, male, and we just have it statistically easier than everyone else. I’m not particularly good-looking or strong, but can be courteous and intelligent (more than that, curious!). I tend show up like Forrest Gump and just do what needs to be done for a while. Then once I get the hang of things, offer some suggestions or shortcuts in a way that often makes people think they thought of it themselves. I can do all that, I can do it well, and in a pinch I will. But at this point, I don’t want to…
I don’t want to just be doing what needs to be done anymore. It is an honorable approach and served me well through my 20’s. Now my question is what can I best give? I want to put myself in situations where the very best things happen to me and through me. I am ready to work bold.
For me this means focusing more on my musical work (more on that later), and making more effective use of my computer work. So yesterday I had a job interview for a contract that stands to:
- use my skills (elearning, strategy, technical problem-solving)
- take less time (25-hours/week, give or take)
- pay more money (not the greatest compensation, but more than I’ve ever earned before)
- make my work independent of location (I only have to show up for meetings every so often)
I don’t want to jinx it, but I am very excited that my first steps out of my former worklife look so promising!
Now I went and done it June 7, 2007
Posted by onemouthband in : Inspiries, Travels , add a comment
Friday was my last day at GreenPoint Mortgage. It was a good job, a fine job, a job where I learned and grew a lot. But after nearly six-years, I just couldn’t get the flexibility to be the musician and traveler I want to be. Also, I figured out how to leave in a way that was empowering to those I worked with, rather than damaging. And none too soon, today the ax came down for a few of my friends there in the way of layoffs, but in part because I had already gone they didn’t make any further cuts to my immediate team (whew!). I was the last guy to get any kind of celebration or send off. Lucky me.
Now I am unemployed and trying to find ways to be only partially employed, that is, employed on my own terms. Perhaps I’m diving into my new favorite book, The Four Hour Workweek, a little too hard, but I really think it can be done, and I’m just the guy to do it. I’m giving it until October, that’s a good 4-months. The first step? Road trip! I need to get out and about and clear my head. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with family and friends, and connecting with some new folks along the way. Look for more frequent updates to this blog soon!
