Month: November 2018

When it comes to the arts, I consider myself a writer first and foremost. I’m best as a writer, but I’m also an acceptable musician. I can sing pretty well and every now and then someone says I have a nice voice. I’ve composed over one-hundred songs, some of which have held up over the years. I tried at one point to get a record contract in Nashville, but I gave that up with some bitterness and headed in a much less artsy direction, eventually to a career in insurance claims. It wasn’t me, but I felt I was doing what I had to do. In this post, I want to share what has happened in my music life lately without much effort on my part.

You have probably heard the term, “Go with the flow.” Its popularity was at its height decades ago, but it endures as a saying for those who realize it would be better to accept the momentum and direction of certain activities or general forces rather than resisting. It’s a philosophy about life with which I resonate. In my novel Boundless Trust, I draw on this philosophy a great deal. The main characters start trusting this natural flow that life follows and they explore where it takes them. Going with the flow isn’t necessarily easy, leading sometimes to its own set of problems, but I believe eventually order is restored for the greater good.

It was two or three years ago when I began a little musical journey that has almost taken on a life of its own. A friend of mine bought a house across town from me and he created a music studio in his living room. He invited me, along with a number of his friends, to start playing music with him there on Tuesday afternoons. I accepted the invitation with a measure of hesitation, not really wanting to commit to a regular jam. I figured I should let it into my life. It was music, after all. Around the same time, my wife and I joined our church choir. It wasn’t long after that when we made an agreement to start having dinner with another couple every Friday evening, playing music afterward. This goes on for a couple hours on the average. All of these have continued to the present. I had already been playing at an open mic event with friends monthly for years. I play with a few of those folks on the side semi-regularly as well. I have recorded some of my songs with the group across town and another good friend I met at another church.

I didn’t really want to get this busy with music, but something within kept telling me not to impede the flow of music in my life. I sensed that if I just allowed whatever musical activities coming my way to happen, it could lead to something interesting or even wonderful. I recently realized that I now play or sing with seven separate groups or individuals. Each has its own charm and style. They all contribute something to my life and I contribute to theirs.

The group across town has really developed. From chaotic to organized. Even with as many as twelve of us playing simultaneously, we make some good music, downright magical at times. It’s turned into something very special. Also, over a year ago I invited another music friend to come play with this group on Tuesdays. He began attending, along with one of his band mates from their group Kindred Spirits. They area trio and make beautiful, original inspirational music that may fit into the category of folk rock, though I find genre categories inadequate in this and many cases.

Because one member of Kindred Spirits travels a lot, they had a need for a replacement for him when he couldn’t make one of their gigs. I was asked to be that replacement as needed. I am honored to be playing with them now and some of my original material is being incorporated into the sets. Last weekend, we provided the music for Artists of the Southwest. Their art show went two days and we played for four hours each day. The venue was outside and we played facing the Catalina Mountains in clear, cool weather. The sound system was tremendous. The artists and the kind people attending were appreciative. It was perhaps the best time I’ve ever had making music. It would never have happened if I hadn’t said yes to music, over and over, opening myself to what may come. I will continue to do so and the future may hold even better moments.

Go with the flow. Say yes to what is offered you, within the framework of your ethics and integrity. Adventures await.

It is normally my preference to steer clear of politics in my blog. This is about the arts, not the struggle for power or domination of an opposing faction. With the recent election still fresh in my mind, I feel as though I can’t entirely ignore the political world and its effect on our artistic endeavors.

The Arts in World Affairs

I can’t claim to know the first time politics showed up in someone’s art. In a documentary I tuned into briefly a few days ago, there were some pictures drawn on cave walls. They depicted some people or perhaps gods whose eyes and body language communicated their power. The narrator suggested they could be those in charge who were to be feared for the control they had over others. This type of artwork could be the first commentary about early human political domination.

When language enters into it, plays and books with at least some political content arise. In 441 BC, Greek culture and Sophocles brought about a play called Antigone. It was a story of a dictator’s cruel treatment of a soldier who died in a civil war. The ruler orders that the body not be buried. His sister Antigone won’t accept it and strives to have her brother buried properly. The story is more about the characters and the situation than a political commentary, but there is at least this defiance of a tyrant. Although Greece is an imperialistic state, the Greeks are proud of their democratic government and the play is a reflection of their dim view of dictators.

Shakespeare’s plays were sometimes set in the arena of politics, including Macbeth, Hamlet and Othello. He wrote a number of other plays centering around kings and their political endeavors such as war. These works of art are among the most enduring pieces ever. They were tales of intrigue in court life and battlefields, but they shone a light on the dramatic and tragic lives that political leaders experience.

Using Art to Sway Political Views

According to britannica.com, “the political cartoon is a drawing (often including caricature) made for the purpose of conveying editorial commentary on politics, politicians, and current events. Such cartoons play a role in the political discourse of a society that provides for freedom of speech and of the press. They are a primarily opinion-oriented medium and can generally be found on the editorial pages of newspapers and other journalistic outlets, whether in print or electronic form.”

Political cartoons have been known to carry a lot of weight and influence the views of many readers, thus voters. Newspaper chains usually have a tendency to be liberal in their views and attempt to push citizens to the left side of the political spectrum. On the flip side, there is the potential for the ruling class to produce art that works to align its subjects to its own ideologies. Many propaganda films have been made to persuade the masses on ideas of right living and wrong thinking according to whomever is in power.

The Heart of the Matter

Art at its apex in aesthetics is humming along at high frequency vibration levels. The beauty found in nature tends to inspire high frequency art. Without oppression, greed, hunger for power, corruption and violence bringing down the common denominator of a being’s vibration level, art would be focused on the highest ideals and dreams. It has been said that love is of high frequency while fear is a low frequency vibration. You can imagine, with this in mind, where you might find anger, hate and resentment.

When people are under the thumb of fascist dictators who care only about themselves, the people suffer. The politics absent of love are easily seen in extreme poverty, rampant disease, exclusion and genocide. When a leader starts taking us down such a path with divisive behavior, the lower emotional frequency seeps into the world of art. Songs are written in protest and warning, such as the old hit Eve of Destruction. Posters are thrust upon us such as the one that shows a World War I soldier and screams, “FIGHT! War keeps the peace! Join the war to ensure safety at home!” While I do get the point that a world bully needs to be dealt with strongly, I see this as a misuse of the artistic muse. Yes, waging war drove the Germans down, but did it KEEP the peace? No, I would say it’s more accurate that war begets war, hate begets hate and taking a nationalist rather than a global view sows the seeds of discontent, leading eventually to violence.

Art imitates life. In a world of peace, love and understanding, art will thrive as it’s meant to be–a beacon of life’s highest aspirations.