A few years ago, I was one of the featured composers/performers on the ASCAP Foundation’s Thru The Walls concert series. The initial plan, devised by curator Martha Mooke and members of the ASCAP Concert Music staff, was to have Marc Anthony Thompson (aka Chocolate Genius) M.C. the concert. Unfortunately, that fell through shortly before the concert happened.
What would happen if new-music concerts were M.C.-ed by artists who have their feet firmly planted in the indie-pop/rock world? Among other things, I think it would counter the viewpoints of some new-music connoisseurs that pop/rock musicians have no interest in adventurous art-music. My experience has led me to believe that this is patently false. Sure, there are some who couldn’t care less, but I think that many pop/rock artists are well-versed in contemporary art music. They would probably be happy to lend their star-power to advocating for us less-commercially-oriented (or less-commercially-embraced) composers.
We should approach songwriters like Chocolate Genius, Sufjan Stevens, Jamie Stewart, Suzanne Vega, Andrew Bird, Joanna Newsom, Michael Stipe, and others. These are all people who have been explicit about their interest in present-day composers and improvisers. Maybe they’ll turn us down. Maybe plans will fall through at the last minute like with the Thru The Walls concert. Maybe we won’t be able to pay them enough. Maybe we’ll be accused of selling out. (Maybe we’ll literally sell out.) But, really, I can think of no significant reason why we shouldn’t try this. Can you?
Vega made a great host for the American Mavericks radio series.
I don’t see why we should stop at just inviting these people to MC or curate a series, though. The Wordless Music series proved that you can actually combine contemporary classical music and contemporary indie rock on the same concert without the the world coming to an end.
Corey replies: Or if the world would come to an end as a result of programming indie-rock and contemporary classical on the same bill, perhaps we could compel Pastor John Hagee to fund the concerts.
Re: Pastor Hagee. You’d want to be sure everyone in the audience had their barf bag ready for the group exorcism 🙂
A while back, James Hall introduced me to Marilyn Manson at a show (James was touring with the band Brad) and touted my string arranging capabilities. Marilyn wasn’t feeling it, but it was one of many positive experiences I’ve had when musicians from different scenes not only exchange information but collaborate creatively.
And of course, many musicians in rock have projects that delve into the music and techniques of so-called “new music” or the avant-garde. Michael Jerome who played with James for some time has a ambient quartet called Halls Of The Machine that have performed in galleries. Many of my collaborators come from the world of indie rock and they in turn have projects outside of that world exploring the lines between composition, chamber music, world music, and avant-garde jazz.
Last summer I shared a bill with my dear friends Ballroom Dance Is Dead where we as an ensemble (that included Lewis ‘Flip’ Barnes on trumpet who plays in William Parker’s Quartet) played Ballroom tunes as well as premiered my composition Shanty Town Suite. One of the many things I took away from this gig was how to play rock music properly. We did two shows, and the first was a subdued chamber music styled gig that was nice but… Second night, the Ballroom took me aside and basically told me we all had to turn our sh-t up. There was more to it than that (we played without a pause and I kept my audience banter to a bare minimum ), but what was important was figuring out what communicated to the audience and was just sat there as pleasant wallpaper.
Corey replies: Nice to hear that your experience with “crossover collaboration,” for lack of a better term, seems to have been mutually rewarding. I am 30 years old, and I think I was going through my conservatory training at a time when the walls between genres and ways of working were collapsing but still somewhat in tact. It seems people who are even just a few years younger than me think and talk routinely and comfortably about cross-genre influences, which of course is a good thing, IMO.
Hi Corey,
For the first several seasons, ASCAP’s Thru the Walls series featured guest hosts such as Tony Visconti (producer of David Bowie, T-Rex, Gentle Giant), Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of the Tom Tom Club and filmmaker Alex Steyermark.
The goal of these showcases, besides featuring innovative ASCAP composer/performers, was to attract audiences that might not typically attend a “new music” event, yet would be curious enough to see why a rock and roll personality is involved. And it worked.
Over the past 8 years, Thru the Walls has attracted the likes of David Bowie himself, Fred Schneider of the B-52’s, Richard Barone and many others. It’s also spawned collaborations (I have since performed and recorded with Bowie) and many performers have returned to the venue (NYC’s The Cutting Room – not a typical “new music venue”) for their own productions.
The bottom line is we’ve got to be super-creative to keep/attract audiences listening to our sounds and coming out to our concerts. It’s about evolution, adaptation and embracing new ideas. I’ve worked my career so I can play Beethoven, a Broadway show, a Philip Glass soundtrack and an MTV Unplugged in a week. If that’s Selling Out, I’m Buying In!
Corey replies: Hi Martha. Obviously your strategy paid off. The big question is: How does one gain access to some of the more-famous personalities you mentioned? You must know some people personally from performing with them. Is that the best way to go about it?
i agree with this. the divisions between the various “styles” of music are becoming less and less important to listeners, and performers and programmers should join the audience in broadening their scope. Interestingly, i played in the cage piece on the bang on a can fundraiser last week, and apparently david bowie was in attendance. “no interest in adventurous art music” indeed…
Corey replies: And Bang on a Can is to be commended for their recently more-pronounced embrace of artists like Owen Pallett, Dan Deacon, Juana Molina, and others who have performed on the marathon concerts.