Between the shores of Seattle and Vancouver, and the 7000ft-high Crater Lake in Southern Oregon, between the small churches and the rowdy high school classes, I’m reminded of the immense priviledge it has been to be a guitarist. These opportunities of meeting people I’d otherwise never meet, staying with them, sharing stories and thoughts with them, the opportunities of seeing so much of the west coast in 2 weeks — this is one of the stories of my life, told in part through music.

Artist Francesco Clemente once said that, “Life is the priviledge of sharing your story”, and my joureny up and down I-5 was exactly that. Some of the things were a bit stupid along the way. Driving in 7-hour shifts pretty much kills every nerve in your body. I waited about 2.5 hrs trying to get back into the US from Canada. Traffic sucked at times. Sleeping at rest stops definitely reveals the less glamourous, less adventurous side of road trips.

But, on the other hand, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The crisp, cold air up at Crater Lake. The warm smiles of my hosts and audiences. The jolly beers at the local bars. All those tall redwoods. Seeing Mt. Shasta from a distance, then watching it tower over the horizon ask you near it, and feeling some sense of awe and power as you drive past its shadow. Visiting an old friend from high school. Listening to every NPR station from CA to OR to WA. Even the stench of skunk or the unfortunate remains of roadkill as you drive along the interstate. Just to give you a reason to make a face.

Now that I’m back in California, I need to say that I’m very thankful to the schools that I teach at (Northern California School of Music, Music Land School of Music, Kwan Music) — they’ve been very understanding and very supportive of my erratic teaching schedule.
Again, I feel lucky to be a musican and grateful to have had the opportunities that I’ve had along the way.

As for the outreach last night, I must be honest, it was a difficult experience. I didn’t mind the small turnout — neither of us realized when we booked the event that the third and final presidential debate would be happening at the same time. But I’ve played for small crowds before and can work in an intimate environment. The listeners seemed passive and spoke very little. I tried everything in my repertoire and used everything from my experience to try to promote interactive listening, but somehow there was no response to my energy. A few seemed familiar with the music, the guitar, and even Spanish music and composers, so it must have been something else. The ones that didn’t really speak said they liked the music, just that they weren’t “analytical”. But even then, I’ve gotten too-cool-for-school high schoolers to perk up and share a few words.

Last night did give me an opportunity to re-emphasize my belief that classical music wasn’t superior — just a different kind of music expressing familiar human thoughts, emotions, and events. That idea seemed to work. In any case, I’m in this outreach thing for the challenges, not the walks in the park. Whatever I was supposed to learn by coming to Yakima and playing for the group that I did, I can only hope that I’ll gradually figure out soon. Maybe the wine will help, maybe talking to the locals might shed some light too.
(Thanks so much to Eliot Fisk and my lovely friend Nadia for sharing their thoughts. )

http://www.delcamp.net/forum/en/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32582

Michael Millham, guitar professor at Gonzaga University, helped organize my concert last night. It took place in the big rehearsal room in the music annex. It was great to see a lot of young faces, both men and women. I’m not sure what their motivation was–was it the black & white poster, was it NPR, was it word of mouth, … grade incentives? They were also in the middle of their mid-term week, so I understand the pressure. Regardless, it’s great to play for young adults. Went out to the Elk afterwards. What a cool name for a bar. Tried a bunch of hot sauces as well.

Wow… I’m nearing the end of my NW tour. Played my last concert. Just 2 more outreach presentations left.
Abe’s such a cool guy, too bad I don’t have more time to chill with him. Driving to Yakima today. Vineyards here I come!

Oct. 9 - Visited my dear friend Nadia in Vancouver. First time in Canada! Wished I had more time.

Oct. 10 - Crossing back into the US was a pain in the ass! Waited 2 hours at the border. But played a decent concert in Bellingham, or at least I thought it was passable. Many thanks to Dake Traphagen, a really great luthier and a great guy. Drove back to Seattle that night. Thanks to Elizabeth again for staying up an extra hour to open the door for me.

Oct. 11 - Concert in Seattle at the Frye Museum. The auditorium was beautiful and the crowd was very generous. Thanks to Michael Partington for having me up here. Had a bite at the Sorrento afterwards. Also good to see Michael Nicolella and to meet SCGS President Virginia Ryan.

Oct. 12 - Did a technique session and master class for Michael Partington’s students at UW. Walked around with Ali Rahmani and had a great concersation; he then invited me over to his house for a little dinner party. So cool! In the afternoon I went to check out Seattle’s classical guitar store, Rosewood, and played some nice guitars. Coffee with Partington, good times.

Oct. 13 - Outreach at Newport High (Bellevue) and at Ballard High (Seattle). Kids ranged from attentive and responsive to don’t-give-a-#*@ and obnoxious. But both the teachers, Nancy and Courtney, were very supportive. I’ll be getting the responses soon. Looking forward to reading them. Then the long drive to Spokane…

Then, after making small talk with random urinals and sneering past a couple McDonalds, a transformation occurs. Your brain starts going numb and you turn into some kind of mush. You’re a semi-conscious zombie going at 65 mph. Something very scary and very surreal.

But aside from that, Elizabeth Brown very graciously hosted me at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. Did some technique, some outreach, then some master class. I hope I was helpful. I’m back in Seattle now and driving down I-5 and seeing the city sprawl before me was amazing. I’m not sure I’ll have time to visit this city on this visit though.

For now, looks like I survived another piece of my road trip.

My hosts here again Southern Oregon have been extremely generous and have extended their hospitality to possible future visits. I only hope that I will have another opportunity to come out this way again in the near future. Certainly I’ll want to hike a few more of the trails around Crater Lake.

In the wave of this massive grassroots-generated support and passion for Obama, I’ve come to realize how we can make our voices heard. I’ve also realized how much the characteristics of grassroots initiatives are reflected in my own work in conducting outreach — in taking my guitar and my music into churches, hospitals, libraries, and other community venues.

In 2005, Eliot Fisk and I founded the Boston Guitar Project, hoping to bring our music into the community and to share the privilege of being a musician with new audiences. Joined by guitar students at New England Conservatory, we began spreading our music all over Greater Boston, from churches in Cambridge, to Latino community centers in the South End, to Jewish retirement centers in Roslindale. In the process, we unknowingly began to change public perception and conception about the guitar.

Without intention, Boston Guitar Project reflected the values of grassroots movements–a core group of dedicated minds, working together for a greater cause, and in the process, discovering a greater sense of meaning and worth within our community. I see this value embedded within Obama’s campaign, and that’s just another reason why I support Obama. I believe that in the same way a group of guitarists were able to get together and warm some hearts, a new wave of young and mature voters will be able to join Obama and Biden in bringing the change we need to Washington.

PS. During the Republican Convention, Rudy Giuliani took special care to ridicule and mock Obama’s work as a “community organizer”. As former Mayor of NYC, where there must be tons of grassroots activity and community organizing, he must understand the value of community work. (What else would you call the community response to 9-11?) In the past few weeks, McCain and Palin have also taken their shots as well. So, either the three of them are just hypocrites, playing into the distasteful and dispicable narrative that politicians have dug for themselves, or they simply “don’t get it”. Or they’re all of the above — clueless, distasteful, hypocritical politicians. Whatever the case may be, these attacks, and the mentalities that allow them, represent an insincere and disingenuous attitude towards ordinary citizens that can not possibly serve our country well.

At a rally in Tallahassee on September 27, Michelle Obama specifically mentioned art and music while speaking about the importance of education. Most political speeches center around math and science, and understandably so–I, myself, love math, probably as a result of having absorbed it from my mom. As a musician, I know that having art in our lives allows us to engage more fully in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s a beautiful thing to hear from Michelle that we muses and our work matter.