CLASSICAL
MUSICIAN WANTED
Compiled by
Carson Arnold
The following are the selected letters I recovered from San Francisco
musician Jason Floyce during two weeks in 2003. They began shortly after he
posted this once upon a time:
"Hardcore,
experimental cellist breaking away, seeking musician to write original classical
compositions. Must be reminiscent to the Baroque period or late 19th century
passion. I have performed in various San Fransisco improvisation groups,
including Tihs-llub, and selected European trios, and wish to completely retrace
the roots of what is considered "contemporary music". Player should be
motivated and partially skilled in the field-- but most so, able to write from a
heart's passion. If interested, please write for auditions. -- Jason Floyce"
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jason,
hi, man. saw you perform once in Frisco at an improv venue in someone's
loft. you might've been with Tihs-llub, but I'm not certain, you were doing
stuff with the cello; turning it upside a playing with your teeth. a real trip.
somebody was next to you doing something with a turntable. i was visiting a
buddy of mine out in Berkeley and was digging around listening to a lot of Matt
Sperry's compositions and reading Bart Hopkin's mag, which influenced me to
start making my own instruments. i call it the "limbikal". I cut
branches off trees-- 10 feet long or more-- and arrange them as a xylophone
across the forest floor. i spend ten hours a day out there, man. your gig meant
a lot to me. so when i saw your notice advertised, it really confused me. i
can't figure out. your music was so strong. i thought Tihs-llub was a way of
getting people involved. whatever. peace.
-brian
Dear Brian,
Thanks for getting back. I too grow
nostalgic for those days in the lofts and galleries, bouncing around with sheets
of sound, cutting guitar strings with pliers for half an hour. Zip-zap! And may
Matt Sperry rest in peace-- his scores were an important force. You might
consider checking out an avant-garde artist in Brooklyn named Scott Rosenberg.
His orchestral scores are the strongest, even distinct to Stockhausen's middle
works with tone clustering. In regards to your confusion with my abrupt
transition, I recommend you come to the auditions. Beauty needs to be shed in
this day and age. I spent fifteen years devouring the instrument with little
acknowledgement to the scale, discipline, or patience. In fact, I barely knew
anything about the cello for years, and to go further, couldn't identify a
Beethoven symphony worth a damn. Not that this matters, but over time, I began
to only hear noise, not music. Hope that answers anything.
Be well,
Jason
Jason,
I found your piece in the classified section of the paper this morning
and am incredibly insulted to hear you've quit Tihs-llub. What sort of person
stops the "improvisational search" (to quote you) to indulge in 19th
century fartsy flowering besides a melodramatic waste-of-time??? I quit Julliard
to avoid that crap! My name's Meegan, but don't bother to write back, I'll be
burning cellos.
Dear Meegan,
I regret you have my home address. But of course, I'll respond! Your letter is
yet another example of the the obtuse structure I experienced while on the
"improvisational search", of which you referred to. A little
background. That comment was made when I was quite young and foolish, while
dogging out of various punk bands in the D.C. area (I later moved to Frisco
because the experimental scene was really growing and the New York outlets were
all clogged up with amateurs...not that I wasn't). Mostly leftovers of what
Fugazi had already started in the eighties, but instead of being sober and
crafty like them, we were a bunch of drunken misfits attempting to play our
instruments with not a solitary clue how to shape the main chords. The concerts
we gave in basements were just a polyphony of fuzz reverb, that for some reason,
people dug-- maybe because they could do the same thing I was performing. I knew
nothing of classical foundations, nor anything before Arnold Schoenberg, but
even he was too prolific. Cage, Coltrane, Sun Ra-- those were the icons, and
really, that mostly stemmed out of any interview Sonic Youth would give. So, the
"improvisational search", really, could've been quoted by and number
of us. It's just that I was recognized right after receiving my grant (and may I
add, while taking lessons at night). Your projection to 19th Century sound?
Ralph Vaughn Williams was an honest man, and appreciated people who lived
outside their work. Any need to change my locks?
Sincerely,
Jason
Dear Jason,
Knowing nothing of Tihs-llub, I was immediately
attracted to the controversy surrounding your recent departure from the improv
genre. I'm an editor for an online zine called Marvel Sounds and was wondering
if we could persuade you to contribute a few words to why you chose your
decision and what's to hope for within the hardcore experimental field. Sound
good?
Ben Hamill
Editor in-chief
Hi Ben,
Well, a few years ago I was in the middle of a space-folk festival
back east, illuminating a new interpretation of The Incredible String Band and
psych howling. I was visiting a friend who owned a lot of Vermont gongs, and the
plan was: to choose a backwood neighborhood, go into their homes, and play
whatever was in each person's kitchen without any prior notice we were coming.
It never happened, and we would probably be looked upon as a royal pain to the
natives. Besides, word had it, fiddler Dudley Laufman had already been doing
this in New Hampshire annually with The Ride. During the middle of the concert,
it occurred to me what I and many were creating was basically a tunnel that only
"artists" could identify with. I wanted humans, which is basically
what my earlier punk years were socially about, but for some reason floundered
into more conceptual patterns. Walking back to my car after the show, I realized
it was now probably easier for someone to perform fluxus scratching on a
turntable with a needle and a tin can than any street musician standing outside
freezing. Take John Zorn's Tzadik label-- anybody could record an hour's worth
of pencils falling on the floor and still there would be an audience scooping
the buck up. It's not that I no longer understood it, there was nothing to
really understand. Some might accuse me of being aesthetically deranged, but to
me, great improv always extended from an exploration of one's own persona
transcended through music. Jazz and classical was the essence of this. It
shouldn't be an excuse to play around. Or be weird. Or dysfunctional, which is
what I began to observe as computers took shape in the late nineties. And as a
quick thought (looking at that band Krackhouse) I'm not sure how smooth
contemporary music will age seeing it rarely expresses its motive, never mind
rhythm. Anyway, there are indeed unique parties of this territory. Phillip Glass
has become pleasantly redundant, whereas Steve Reich continues to invent his own
new scale and clef. Like I said, the Bay area scene is on quite a rampage, and
you can still locate some generous acts who are creating sound of some
substance. A lot of interesting folk music is coming out who can bind emotions
with obscurity-- a group in Rhode Island, Fern Knight. I received a promo from
this band in Maine called Cerberus Shoal, and they're a harbor of instruments,
mingling the avant-garde with thousands of other styles. I wouldn't mind playing
with them. Still, are they accessible? Who knows. And how many people care?
Hello Jason,
I am a professional violinist on the verge of retirement and
have played in numerous quartets and trios throughout the country. I am highly
interested in working with you upon the basis you described. My performance of
Bartok has been pronounced as "immaculate". A resume is attached
below. Hope to hear from you.
Yours,
Phil Morris
Dear Phil,
Your resume is quite impressive and very opposite of mine. My father actually
was a violist at weddings, so {I} have some affinity in the genre. Like
mood-music, the culture of wedding atmosphere has always fascinated me, although
this probably comes from more a cult perspective rather than professionally!
Elgar's opuses are indeed beautiful breezes (always loved his "In
Moonlight") and I'm sure you perform them well. Unfortunately, I'm
currently expecting an answer from someone else in Canada who fits the character
of the audition, not the personnel. I wish you the best of luck in your
pursuits.
Yours,
Jason
-----------
Dear Jason,
My apologies for not answering so soon, I'm so busy. I
must say I was quite distraught hearing you left Tihs-llub, but I've always
believed in your choices, and support your decision. I guess. Have you got in
touch with Pia Gilbert yet for an interview? Weather is cold and windy here in
New York. Just went to an exhibit that Alan Sondheim was hosting with a poet.
He's some sound artist, or was? Lots of cool things happening here in New
England; gigs every night, and Boston continues to dish out ecstatic groups.
Went to a show where the band droned for forty minutes. Fucking unbelievable! I
mean, really right on. When they got off, this other orchestra-group took the
stage and had all their old broken and cracked cymbals hanging from the ceiling
with chains. Must've been a hundred! I'm doing good. Rent is high, finishing up
my B.A. Thanks for the Messian record for X-mas. Hope you're well.
Love,
Becky
Dear Becky,
I was getting worried we might never speak again, it's been so long since we
listened to The Wall and watched Alice together, but nevertheless I'm glad you
enjoyed the Messian; Peter Serkin is a note-hunter. Yeah, I corresponded with
Alan Sondheim briefly when I was interested in some of his recordings on the ESP
label. Said he didn't have many copies but would burn me a few, plus, I gather
he's done some sonic soundscape work, too. What's he doing now? I've always
loved that ambient genre-- you can do so much by doing so little-- sometimes I
wish I kept journeying those days when I hung out in parking garages recording
all the sounds with tape recorders. In the end, I hid them throughout the garage
because I planned to record a construction crew the following day, but never
returned (they might even be still there). If you haven't, hon, I recommend
checking out the ESP label; a lotta of free improvisation; and the label kept
the spirit (another is Twisted Village). No reply from Pia. The Julliard office
says they've dropped her a line, but she's old, and I'm sure quite physically
elderly (though people like Richard Davis still keep at it over in Madison--
hell, do you know he played with Stravinsky?). One of the last survivors of the
old avant guard (pun intended). Supposedly she knew Schoenberg. Her compositions
are very vocal and makes astounding sound, like a painting. When I found her
record it was autographed, sold for a buck. Very depressing. I had a Glenn
Branca CD under my arm, too. Anyway, I understand your feelings about Tihs-llub,
and have been discussing the same matter in letters from other eager people.
But, I think I've found the man for the job. Mingus' Tonight At Noon on right
now. Write soon.
Love,
J
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jason,
interesting point of view, bro. i admire your move but don't know how
well this will go over with people on either side of the camp. i mean, the
kronos quartet has already been doing this shit for some time. are you one of
those who think's everything's been done?? why not alter the experimental stuff
with another form of music? heavy-metal even! why i'm writing: i do freelance
work and this mag just asked me to write an article on the "hardcore free
improvisational genre". deadline's the end of the month. mind if i use you
as an example? later. oh yeah, hope you're digging those brothers from Sun
Burned Hand of the Man, they cooked up a hellofa' show up my way until these
punks started a fight.
-brian
Hi Brian,
Morley Safer walks into a Rothko exhibit and
says, "Pictures At An Exhibition...what pictures?" Sure, go right
ahead, you can borrow my situation. If a magazine asked me to write that, at
this point, I'd tear my hair out. What's to say? You end up drowning in a
distorted menu of aesthetics, where you wind up sounding more pretentious than
the actual music you're criticizing or lauding. Simply, I wanted out from the
whole scene. I'm not being anti-contemporary, it's just that, PERSONALLY, the
old classical stimulates un-reactionary, un-jaded and tranquil feelings that
instead of questioning as an authority, I'd rather embellish in and learn. Call
me a sap. So obviously not everything's been done. Combining thrash-metal, maybe
that's something you should try, sounds good. You can even have do a metalized
version of Beethoven's ninth! (are you the guy who plays on dead tree limbs?)
You might consider sending some of your recordings to Arthur magazine for
review, they're a terrific source for that field. Who sunburned who? What?
Best,
Jason
-----------
Dear Peter,
My scavenger, are you still down there trying to score
an interview with Jandek? Leave him alone! You gave me a copy of his Ready For
The House album-- when was it, 87?-- the cement mix still brushed on the cover
when you crashed your car that winter. Ha! That reminds me: I heard this kid on
an anonymous disc the other night, goes by the name of Martian Subway, and has
an ultra high-pitched voice but with very infectious melodies-- one of the
better I've heard out of the whole no-rock folk...or whatever. Search him out.
And to answer your last letter, I believe we left all those gallon-drum barrels
in the woods; guess we weren't gonna use 'em as a drumset after all! I'll let
the remainder of Tihs-bull know. Lately, Hovhaness is the only one I'm listening
to, although I was riding in a car with a girl who remarked that the tuba
section in "Prayer of St. Gregory" was odd. Nevertheless, the man is
an example of beautiful and majestic contemporary music. No, sadly, the
auditorium I was hoping would let me perform reported my cello techniques
weren't sufficient enough to their standards, and get this: "why not
continue with the experimental scene of which I was actively contributing
to?" Out to sea. Awaiting word from a chap named Daniel in Canada who'll
surely collaborate, a few enquiries come in twice a day. Isn't it weird the
clash between the academia and the hip? You must interview the reactions between
two Debussy lovers: a garbage man and a professor: just to see the results. A
note out to you...
Your brother,
Jason
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Mr. Jason Floyce,
Hello. A teacher-friend of mine forwarded
me your want-ad, and I just might fit the description. A young, tenacious harp
player of many years (resume can be found on my homepage), and have written a
variety of original scores (including one opera). However, living in southern
California and having no prior knowledge of experimental music (a few hints of
Cage and Henry Cowell here and there), I'm anxious to hear more on what you're
proposing. Not sure if I understand your intentions, or how you would go about
writing music that, in my opinion, has long since aged.
Cordially,
Amy O'Brien
Dear Amy,
Engulfed in reading your last six years of
performing and will keep you in mind. The harp moves the vessels, it really
does. You might be aware of that record Harp Music For Ancient Temples-- it's a
rare beauty. I agree by your quotes, Susan Allen is a terrific player and
extremely delicate (she does a sincere job with Cage's "In A
Landscape", his most lovely and Satie-esque piece). Yet, I disagree that
traditional music has long since aged, it's only been merely cornered, and to
me, has thus become more beautiful in the long and overt run. Hovhanness, for
example, was a master at composing passionate, modern music. Even Morton Feldman
could do it, quietly. Maybe Tihs-llub and anything like it is a Renaissance
coming to pass. In the meantime, I shall strive to bring back some of the
clarity...is that what I call it these days? God, there's a lot. A year
ago I was making making boxes with hidden sounds inside them, passing them to
random people on the street with instructions never to open until a very
"seminal moment". I even sliced up the ribbon of a tape and wrapped it
inside. If someone were to glue the piece back together it was just me talking
gibberish.
Yours,
Jason
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Dear Jason,
Enclosed is your revised paragraph for Marvel Sounds.
Thanks. Be on the look-out for it sometime in September, along with a cover
story on Russian garage bands and a Michael Hurley retrospective. Have you found
someone to play with yet? Also, since you mentioned that Cerberus Shoal band in
your letter, thought you might be entertained by a quick review a staff writer
did for us on them in last month's issue:
"Immediately when
glancing at the cover of Cerebus Shoal's Chaiming The Knoblessone, I knew the
watercolor delight would bring forth a skull-splattering sound of beauty and
weirdness. Before climbing aboard, it took minutes to scan through the lush
pastels, where soon my ear spun like falling pennies in the sea of this jangling
improv pomp. Coming out of the woodwork of Maine, the album leaps through a
variety of sonic wells with the familiar arches of psychedelic Soft Machine-like
intoxication. At points, the music gulps into repetition and does demand a
listener of great tolerance and faith, but we're rewarded a ringing magic wand
in our hands in the end. --C.W."
Ben
Hammil,
Editor in-chief
Yo Ben,
Thanks for the review. They're better than Tish-llub,
that's for sure. They sing. Nothing like being trapped in a show with
instrumental garbage and no way to escape without screaming. That's why I loved
punk-- someone screamed, it was the music. Looking forward to the Russian
feedback. I never listen to Varese, yet I can tell you anything about him.
Sincerely,
Jason
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Dear Daniel,
It's been well over a week since I last heard from you in
regards to the two of us collaborating. If for some reason you're bound deep in
the Canadian wilderness and unable to respond to anybody, my apologies if this
note is in any way aggravating. Just wanted to further the branch in our ideas.
Can you believe I've stopped all connections to Tish-llub? Lost all contacts
with my European colleagues, too (remarkably, Paris was always very difficult to
perform free-improv). There is plenty of music, I don't see the complications of
criticizing. Maybe I just lost interest. As much as Berlioz's operas float
through the thrift-shops, I've been thinking how little experience I have for
the written scale, yet how I possess all the emotional ingredients to feel the
music, you know? Debussy, Teleman; it's all there in one vast uproar, but
extended from escaping from a source completely different. I know, all the
musicians, magazines, and spokesmen who worry about these petty things, and then
there's Woody Guthrie. Case closed. Still, take classical adagios-- they churn
something that a library takes years to fill, and yes, I agree with you, it's
like falling in love (did I tell you about the time riding on that train
listening to that Janacek opera?). You know it the best. I was intrigued to know
what you thought of my idea playing certain pieces backwards. Samuel Barber
would be the loveliest, and might find rotating his most melancholy scores
towards the end of his life would illuminate a sheer radiance. I'm up for it!
Let's leave the noise behind, old friend.
Yours,
Jason
Dear J,
Yours of the 23rd just in. No time to reply, Canada continues to
take me and Claire by the teeth. Music is an honest part of the land, and really
no sign of any avant-garde happening, or at least from eyes (not that I was
looking). I think your agitation towards the New York affair is brought on by no
more than the cosmetics and industry (which probably has contributed to its
arts). You were once a vital role in the "sound", which is no more
than it is, no? Now you want music. Sensitivity. Understandable. I've been
there, though, which is why I write to you on somewhat uncomfortable terms.
Tihs-llub has asked me to replace you. They're very excited, and have a
scrap-yard of work that's dying. Hate to pull this on you, old buddy, but I just
might have to take up their invitation. It's exciting and I don't wanna be
spouting the rest of my life with Debussyian hooks. Changes need to come. Hope
you can understand.
-D
p.s. let there always be a wanted musician, though.
-----------
Soon after, Jason drifted into obscurity and is among the small people who
attend both avant-garde shows and operas. Sometimes when the doors open into the
outside, you can still hear the crowd whispering his name as they march, shake
and scatter away. Any contributions can be made to the Good Music foundation.
Thanks to the Floyce family and all
parties involved. All letters used by permission.
copyright 2003 Carson
Arnold