Taking Your Ears on a Little Trip Around the World

photo credit Ieva Weaver

Whoops, I did it again, well in this case, it was no accident but another happy opportunity to play a radio DJ once more. This was my second turn at the web-powered microphone for the Latvian online radio station tirkultura. My first time was back in February of this year, which I related on my other, comix-related blog, The Reluctant Sadist and Other Wanderings in the Comix Underground. Yes, I have two neglected blogs. Always the overachieving underachiever. 

Michael Holland (check out his show on OnoTesla - NTS) once more was my producer and studio engineer as he was for kuš! radio. This was a good thing as I needed his technical expertise and moral support to try and pull off my ambitious upgrade to my first outing. I wanted to go beyond just working through a playlist with a bit of yammer in between the tunes. I wanted to take my listeners for a trip around the world with me on a show that I called, "Wherever You Go, Well That's Where You Are". With that plan in mind, I set to harvesting golden moments I had captured on my various travels and intended to weave those found sounds together with appropriately themed songs. With Micheal in my corner, I knew all I had to do was show up with the bits and pieces and he would put the cables into the right sockets and we'd be off. Now, I did not map out each and every clip as I wanted to build the story on the fly and let our conversation lead us where it may. This loose approach did result in a few technical hiccups, which felt jarring to the point of disaster in the live moment, but on later listens actually adds to the charm and authenticity of the show I think. You be the judge, here's the show:

Tīrkultūra · 030 _ Hal Weaver _ at the Summer Gallery

It was an exhilarating process stitching this crazy, patchwork sonic quilt together in the moment. I was playing mp4 video of travel clips so Micheal and I could watch them together and comment. We agreed ahead of time to let the clips, music and talking overlap to build unexpected sounds and make room for happy accidents and I think that works as much as it doesn't. All that overlapping though meant that the source materials were consumed much more quickly than I expected, so we had to do a little scrambling at the end to fill time. Here's the playlist -

01 - India_Varansai_Religious_Procession (Travel clip)

02 - On the Road Again (Willie Nelson)

03 - Morroco_Desert_Dancing (Travel clip)

04 -  Spread Your Wings (QUEEN)

05 - Bali_Ubud_Furneal_Procession_01 (Travel clip)

06 - I'm a Ramblin' Man (Waylon Jennings)

07 - Japan_Tokyo_Folk_Dancing (Travel clip)

08 - Japan_Yokohoma_Dragon_Dance (Travel clip)

09 - Niamey Jam (Nomad- Bombino)

10 - Vietnam_Ho_Chi_Mihn_Broom_Machine (Travel clip)

11 - Vietnam_Hanoi_Street_Karaoke (Travel clip)

12 - High Plains Drifter (Beastie Boys)

13 - Thailand_Bangkok_Thai_Boxing (Travel clip)

14 - Thailand_Chiangmai_Pop_Singing (Travel clip)

15 - Singapore (Tom Waits)

16 - Hong_Kong_Slyvester - (Sonny Rollins - St. Thomas) (Travel clip)

17 - Bali_Ubud_Shadow_Puppets_02 (Travel clip)

18 - The Crystal Ship (The Doors)

19 - Nepal_Gandaki_Mule_Train_on_the mountain (Travel clip)

20 - Myanmar_Bagan_Ice_Cream_Man_Rap (Travel clip)

21 - Road Trippin' (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

22 - Morroco_Marrakech_Night_Music (Travel clip)

23 - Cambodia_Siem_Reap_BATS (Travel clip)

24 - Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland)
25 - India_Varansai_Ganga_River_Night_Ceremony

26 - Lawrence of Arabia (Movie Soundtrack)

27 - Bali_Gainyar_Ceremony (Travel clip)

28 - King of the Road (Roger Miller)
29 - Here At The End of The World (Alex McMurray)

30 - City of New Orleans (Johnny "Doc" Criner)

What do you think? Should I do some more radio shows? 

Keep smiling,

OK HW

52 Fridays - A Case Study in Good Collaboration

I've been creatively collaborating with my friend Neil Bruce for over fifteen years. Our first project together was on my short animated film, "ZANK", back in 2005 for which he wrote a fittingly zany music score. (Catch up on "ZANK"'s history here). Our next project was a few years later when I created a music video for one of his songs "A dream of life". Neil is an idea  and creative machine, and always has several projects going on, including a podcast called "There is Another Way" aimed at anyone pursuing a creative life, multiple YouTube channels and album projects. Check out his website for more information. 

I'm grateful for Neil's friendship and particularly enjoy the creative sparks that fly whenever we get a good chat on. Through the years, we have generated more movie, art and music ideas than we could ever possibly finish in our lifetimes. Finding a good creative collaboration partner is as rare as finding a good romantic partner, both contain an element of mystery and chemistry that can't be explained or quantified. Collaborating is a tricky dance as there are egos involved, so care must be taken to honor each other's point-of-view, while talking honestly about the value of the ideas and whether they support the overall vision. Beyond the alchemy of idea creation, then there's the practicalities of crafting the ideas into a coherent plan and finally accomplishing something. For all of this to happen, all parties involved have to maintain communication and enthusiasm for the project until the end. I've seen too many projects die-on-the-vine because one person or another starts "ghosting" the thread and the project sinks beneath the waves of day-to-day life. If you want to get something done, you either make it happen or make excuses. The best of creative partners can help keep your creative life going, particularly when the well runs dry. Just as it is with a running or exercise buddy, it's easier to stay on track when you have someone to answer to and share each other's struggles.

Which brings us to my latest collaboration with Neil, his weekly music video project called "52 Fridays", found on his "Light Before Sound" channel. 

I have contributed four videos for his music on this project so far and will likely have a couple more before it is finished. 

If you find your creative life is stuck in a rut, then think through your circle of friends or people in your network who might be good to collaborate with and reach out to them and give it a try. You might be surprised where it might lead. Remember, you can go faster alone, but further together.

Thank's Neil!

OK HW