Music

New Year's Camp

Bob Reid — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:55:00 GMT

Each year, I wrestle with where to be on New Year's Eve. The answer usually winds up the same, though that doesn't lessen my struggle.

For the past 30 some years, I have spent almost every New Years' at the San Francisco Folk Music Club's camp.

I have watched the changes . . . watched young people grow older and people who weren't . . . come into being and pass through.

The place I feel the most connected is when I gather with those people I have known through their childhoods into adulthood.

I savor their presence and wonder at the people they have become. I am truly honored that they value me and my music enough to spend their precious camp time with me.

It is fuel for the new year!

Edges

Bob Reid — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:51:00 GMT

I am feeling my musical edges being stretched these days. It makes me think about why I am connected to the kinds of music that I am.

I have always felt that I was attracted to good music, good songs, but there were some places that I didn't feel as comfortable. I have been thinking about that this morning, in this darkness before the dawn, before the silhouettes of the trees become seen.

I remember sitting at the phonograph with the songs of Cole Porter, filling in the "Music Minus One" vocals. I enjoyed "Popular Music", and "Rock and Roll", as a kid, and later. I still do, but I would have to say that that world of people, did not attract me as much as the music.

When I found the world of "Folk Music", I felt a homecoming that I have not felt anywhere else . . even though much of the music was unfamiliar to me. I longed to play with the same kind of abandon . . . and connection . . . that I saw in the Old Time String Band folks and I picked up the fiddle and banjo. I gathered every Jimmy Rogers song recorded . . . and listened to them and learned to yodel . . . sort of. I sang acapella harmonies with the Gospel folks. There was something in the humanity of the music and the playing. it seemed so connected to the world I lived in.

Well, . . wait a minute! . . The feeling of playing the music helped me feel connected. . . I think what really brought me into the fold was the quality of the people I was exposed to. It was a collection of real characters with real character. They showed me, indirectly, the importance of Integrity. The way I am thinking of "Integrity" here, is that their lives seemed to fit together, seamlessly. One piece made sense with the others. I was used to being around people whose lives were fragmented, as was mine. I was looking for a way to live that made sense to me. They showed me a number of alternatives. The invitation was not to "be like them" but to to find my own version on what my life of integrity would look like.

I think that is what my connection to Pete Seeger always was. . and . . . in a more abstract way, Woody Guthrie. Woody was someone who existed for me on paper and in recordings, but how he actually lived his life, or even what his life actually was, was not as concrete. Pete, on the other hand, was an air-breathing person who had to navigate the same world at the same time and helped me to see things that I was not aware of. His choices not only helped me to see what was possible, but what was necessary, in terms of responding to the realities of this world we live in.

Pete helped me to see how arbitrary musical labels are. I am finding, more and more, that there is only "Good Music" . . . and whatever isn't.

These days, when I have difficulty finding my musical home, I have to look to the people. Who are they? What do they believe in? How does it feel to be around them? I am coming to understand that there is no destination for this journey . . . that it will always be changing. . . . and that each step determines where I am going.

I know songs that transport me . . that take me somewhere, and there are songs that assist my going even deeper into where I am. The incredible . . . soaring feeling . . . I can get when I have it working. It feels like catching a wave. I don't know where the energy comes from, but I feel it' s presence.

I have been singing like that lately. I remember what it is . . . what I do . . . and what I am here for. I have not been doing enough of it. I know that, for my life to be of one piece, that piece must be there.

It feeds the others!

Music

Bob Reid — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 07:00:00 GMT

A wonderful music teacher I once worked with in Goshen, New York, years ago, once told me about an encounter he had with Duke Ellington. He was excited to get a chance to have a conversation with him and he chose to ask Mr. Elliington what he thought of the popular music of the day. His reply was, "That's not music. That's money!"

I think that same music teacher told me of a statement that Leonard Bernstein made to the effect that ninety percent of ANY style of music is crap. It's the remaining ten per cent we must seek out.

Here are some music quotes I found valuable.

I have become inspired to reconnect with my music. I have dusted off some old projects that I had lost passion for and am looking at them in a new light. I think at least one will bear fruit.

Music has been my passion for most of my life. It has been a challenge to find ways to be involved in it that make sense, that don't kill the joy it gives me. I have found places where I fit musically, but it seems they are temporary. Some of the most wonderful moments I have had, have been in exploring and creating arrangements of songs, more so than the performing of them, though, I have found soaring moments there as well.

I know that presenting my music on stage is powerful for me. It has often been the place I feel most empowered to be myself. I have not been in that environment much in the last several years. I think that I have been trying to be true to my voice.

I have had the chance to fulfill some of my rock and roll fantasies by playing in an oldies band. I am happy to have had that opportunity. I didn't have to be the center of everything, just sing my harmonies, my songs, strengthen the rythym and try to remember the chords. It helped me to grow as a musician and made my voice stronger.

Now, it's time to get serious! I want to be able to throw myself into my music and feel that I am truly expressing my beliefs and values. There is so much to be said and so little time to be able to say it. I have learned that, if I want to be understood, I need to be focused about what it is I have to say, knowing that, in the end, misunderstanding seems to be the way of the world.

I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time. I feel energetic and purposeful. Things seem less arbitrary and more possible. I feel as though I am looking at the world through a different window.

Faith

Bob Reid — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 07:26:00 GMT

I am biting off a big hunk here.

I was going through some of my photos this morning and realize that I need to pay more attention to them.

I came upon this one that I took at the San Francisco Free Folk Festival. I had been asked to sing a song that I wrote in honor of Faith several years ago as part of the closing concert on Sunday night. The organizers had chosen to name the stages after Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Faith. I am not sure of the reasoning, but I am sure she appreciated the recognition, if not the adulation.

Faith has played a huge part in my life. Her photo is on my living room wall. I was going to recount our relationship here, but realize that mostly, I did it in song, so here are the lyrics I wrote some ten or so years ago.

Remember The Years We Had Faith
words and music ©1996 Bob Reid

Chorus:
Remember the years we had Faith
And now we must make do with hope
That somewhere inside us she's planted the seed
We'll carry and then pass along
When we raise our voices in song

Well I knew it was love at first sight
The first time I saw her onstage
About to go hitching to circle the world
And showing us all that her age
Was a springboard instead of a cage

When we met I was just 22
My wings were broken and bent
Her family had found me and took me inside
I found hope in a town made of tents
And Faith helped me heal my torments

Chorus:

We'd crowd in dodging the smoke
While she'd tell some bawdy new joke
There was never a twinkle in anyones' eye
Brighter than hers round the fire
as we sang together in choir

She'd leave us for months at a time
But there's a lot more of us than we knew
Songs would stick to her as she flew flow'r to flow'r
And some would remain in return
And we'd all have new songs to learn

Chorus:

She nurtured and tended the songs
She showed us the strength of one voice
She was a bridge to those come before us
and she asked us to join in the chorus
Oh! She asked us to join in the chorus

We sing this as if she is gone
Cause we want her to know while she's here
How much she is loved and while we have the chance
Let's sing her song so she can hear
So, sing it loud so she can hear!

Chorus:
Remember the years we had Faith
And now we must make do with hope
That somewhere inside us she's planted the seed
We'll carry and then pass along
When we raise our voices in song

A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

Bob Reid — Tue, 29 May 2007 21:23:00 GMT

I went to the Strawberry Music Festival over the holiday weekend. I had never been and was curious about what it was and whether I would find a place to feel comfortable. I drove up Friday morning, leaving at about 5:00am to miss the holiday getaway traffic . . . and I did!

I won't write about it all here, but it was a much nicer environment than I expected. I found the people who had invited me to camp with them, got acquainted with the layout, by getting lost repeatedly and fell into the groove.

There was enough good music to keep me happy, people I enjoyed playing with, time to explore and time to just enjoy. It was a visual and aural treat!

I was told that it had changed much in the last 15 years, that it once was Santa Cruz people and now it seemed to be Los Altos people. This was told to me by someone I knew from Los Altos.

I had a great time, spent too much money, brought home most of the food I took, enjoyed being in a different realm for a bit, though it was not without it's intrigue.

Tuesday

Bob Reid — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:50:00 GMT

Things have been hopping!

I have been working up in Felton at an elementary school, working on getting the Tres Pinos songs completed and working the horses that are getting ready to leave, or be shown, or weaned. Several foals were weaned over the weekend. They seem to be doing well. One colt refused to accept his fate and fought his way through the hot-wire to his mother. Luckily, there were no injuries.

It was my birthday yesterday. I ran into someone at the market who came up to me and asked if it wasn't my birthday, which was a surprise. I got birthday calls from my Mother, Brother, Sister and nieces. I spent it paying bills, after working with 4 classes of K-2 kids. I entered studio-land for the remainder of the night, playing electric guitar.

I was up at 6:00 this morning so I could make it through Santa Cruz in time to get to my first class at 8:30. I showed the video of the performance of "Water" at the United Nations to three of my four classes.

Tomorrow looks similar. I'll rush home to work horses again. There are not many opportunities before one of them leaves on Tuesday. He is not sold, he's going off to be started. I will be interested to see how he does.

This weekend there is a conference for Community Television stations in San Jose that I have volunteered to help at, if I am not there Friday night, I'll be shooting the Gilroy football game. At some point I've got to get these songs to the kids at TP. I'll get a breath on Thursday, I think!

Friday

Bob Reid — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:56:00 GMT

It was a l-o-n-g week. I finished my vocal recording with the Tres Pinos kids today and will now finish the recordings. I'm not sure what instruments I'll be adding, but that's part of the fun. I get to be creative!

The Community Television folks asked me if I could shoot the Gilroy football game tonight and I agreed, if they would loan me a camera to shoot the recording sessions today.They gave me the nicest camera I've yet used. That stetched me a little which was good!

I want to return and shoot them lip singing their songs a few times and edit it into music videos and see if I can show themm on the access channel. They would love that!

Today a reporter from the Pinnacles, one of the papers in Hollister, came out to interview the teachers, principal and myself about my project. Yesterday, they sent out a photographer to take some shots of me working with one of the classes. It will run in an article in the paper next weekend. The kids have been great and I hpe it is the start of a long relationship with the school.

I have realized that I am now returning to the rural schools that I first worked in 30 years ago with the Museum on Wheels. I had forgotten how sweet the rural kids are. I think that I could be quite happy doing only rural schools. That would be a little selfish. I know that my work is with a larger population. The suburban schools have a great need, as do the urban schools.

I am going to take a little time now before I have to run off to shoot the high school football game. It's hard work, but fun, and it improves my video skills.

Go Gilroy!

Busy days

Bob Reid — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:23:00 GMT

These days I have been working both jobs . . . handling horses and writing songs with kids. The school the kid are at is on the other side of Hollister, a few miles. It is a small,K-8 school with, maybe, six classrooms. I am writing with the 4- 8th grades, in four separate groups, writing four different songs. On Friday, we completed our songs and now I will need to give it a musical setting, my favorite part. The pressure of coming up with the songs under the time constraints keeps me from sleeping well those nights in anticipation. I wonder if I can still do it. It always seems like magic to me. I hope that it always does.

The topics the classes chose were. Freedom, Terrorism and War. Apparently, they had a visit from a military officer of some sort recently. I came to understand this after wondering about their topics.

I am very happy with the quality of the work that they put into the project. On Thursday, we will rehearse our songs for the recording session on Friday.

My role now is to create a musical environment for these songs to live in that will show that they have written valid songs. I am excited to see their reaction when they hear the arrangements. ;

I will be holing up with the recorder soon, to see what sort of magic awaits.

Fall

Bob Reid — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:10:00 GMT

I used to spend part of each October in New York, sailing the Hudson River on the Clearwater. It was an amazing time. I made many friends and had many adventures.

This photo was taken during one of the environmental programs that we would put on as we sailed the river. We would through a net into the river and then put whatever we caught into the aquariums for the day. I loved taking photos through the glass. These are my friends, Moraya and Tinya.

The boat would start in Albany and take two weeks to make the trip to New York City, surrounded by the incredible fall foliage. The colors were amazing.

. Along the way, we would stop and do the environmental programs for schools who bused their kids to were we were on the river. Some evenings we would do concerts. The musicians and storytellers would come from all parts of the country and volunteer for a week. I would often do my weekly stint and then stick around for the rest of the Pumpkin Sail. It was how I spent several birthdays, though few knew.

It was an exhausting time, catching sleep when and where you could. To make our schedule we would often need to sail in the middle of the night. What a great time it was! I remember being on board in the moonlight, freezing with the crew, as we looked for the buoys that showed the way into the harbors and waterways . . under the bridges. These are memories locked in a special place in my mind.

Cool Morning

Bob Reid — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 08:24:00 GMT

Last night, I went to Monterey to see some friends from Philadelphia, David and Jenny Heitler-Klevins, perform a kid's concert at the library there. It was good to see them. It has been a long while. There was a small turnout, but sufficient, and everyone had a great time.

It was a good way for me to mentally get ready for the schools I will be at in the next few weeks. I thought maybe I'd catch a new song that might light my fire again, but I left with renewed confidence in my material.

Tomorrow, I begin songwriting with four classes at a small school just outside of Hollister. I am a little anxious, because I haven't done it in a while, but that can be a good thing. I feel very fresh about it. It is a chance to approach it the way I think it should be, rather than having a pattern that I am attached to, as can happen when I have been working a lot.

This week, we write the songs, over the weekend I will give them a more formal musical setting, my favorite part, adding all of the instruments, or at least enough to give the kids the sense that these are "real songs". I will take them a CD to sing along with so that they are familiar with the arrangement, then Thursday will will rehearse together and I will bring my equipment in and we will record the songs at the school on Friday. I will do the final mix and then, if the school desires, have them duplicated.

I am interested in how I will approach the writing of the songs and how the kids will respond to being asked, "What do you think is important?".

I have to get ready to get those horses in the trailer this morning, tomorrow will be a different kind of work.

Nice balance!