We were well into our residency at this point. In fact we had just returned from a quick trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan for a gig with GR locals Bennett. So, what I mean to say is that we had a few weeks of all kinds of different musical inspiration at this point, so how better to switch things up, or down a few notches (however you want to look at it) other than to spend a Sunday afternoon with "eyes cast down" ?
Greg stopped into our space a couple weeks earlier to introduce himself as a friend and colleague of a good friend of ours Eve Brownstone. Greg left us with a CD sampler of his ambient music and the promise to come and play with on April 1.
As previously mentioned, by this point we had worked with lots of different genres and styles so we were looking forward to the possibilities that we might encounter with eyes cast down. Greg and his wife showed up with their little car filled to over-flowing with musical and electronic gear. Greg proceeded to apologize for only being able to bring his small rig today... Tali and I laughed as this one man band proceeded to take over the stage that had previously contained up to eight musicians at once.
I was wonderful to have a relaxed atmosphere in the space, the door was open the fresh air filled with all the smells of the city wafted in as Greg took all the time he needed to set up his gear and get all
tuned up.
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| eyes cast down |
We of course knew that this would be pretty much and improvisational set, and just like the good old days, we really didn't know what to expect and it was exciting.
One of the beautiful things about ambient music is the subtle changes, and honestly between the sampled loops and layered textures those subtle changes and sometimes take many minutes to become apparent.
Greg is in heaven when he is making his music, it is obviously a passion that carries him away in the flow, and when he is playing that is the only place he is. When a musician is that into what he is doing it easy for us to be carried away as well. This session was just one of those times when time stood still, it just didn't matter anymore.
We were likewise carried away so that we just floated along and let the sounds and colors direct what would happen next.
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| eyes cast down paintings by Tali and Royce |
No one other than Greg knows how long the session really lasted because he recorded it all, but it really didn't matter as when he finally faded things to zero, there was a completeness and extraordinary quiet and calm in the space. We all just pretty much sat down together and soaked as much of it in as we could without really saying any words at all.
Check out the eyes cast down web site.
Wow - thanks Royce! Very nicely put. It was a fantastic afternoon playing with the two of you, and I hope we can do this again soon.
ReplyDeleteAll the best! Greg