The following is an excerpt of an email sent from Will to Art on 21 January 2015.
I hear you, Art.
I was more curious about some of the things you've hinted at in terms of exploring themes of racism and white entitlement. I'm cool with the idea that Arthur is just making his own music and that the there is something in the tone of both the church organ and Marvin Gaye that somehow unlocks Arthur's own voice.
There's a type of commentary on race relations that comes from just not dealing with the question at all.
It does make sense that as Will is amassing musicians that he doesn't leave his own comfort zone and never notices or scrutinizes any of the implications of who he chooses as a musician or how he treats a musician. If we peel back Will's lack of perceptiveness just a little bit, that may be all of the commentary we need, although it would be very subtle. Maybe if we pile up a family tradition of this lack of consideration, including the damage the family business does as it paves through Detroit without any eye toward effects on neighborhoods, that's enough. Entitled white guys just don't really think. That would stand in contrast to Arthur, who has a mystical connection to truth and channels it in ways that defy common sense and propriety.
Or maybe we need to go stronger.
I saw a documentary on Soul Train in which Don Cornelius was talking about Gino Vanelli. I guess Don Cornelius was talking about the importance of featuring black artists and Gino Vanelli said yeah, but I'm not black. Don Cornelius said, "I see you as off-white."
I was watching those videos some of those videos in a little more depth. The Gino Vanelli one on Soul Train is interesting to me because the song is just so intense and political and theatrical. It's a little too disturbing to dance to, and it has these elaborate 3/4 sections that resist dancing. Also, the band has strange instrumentation: no guitars of any sort--not even a bass--but three keyboards, drums and percussion, and a vocalist with musical theater moves.
What really hit me, though, was the Ambrosia video. What if we made a video just like that, but then slipped in costume changes so sometimes it's the 70's band and sometimes the band is in scrubs? What if when they superimpose the singer over the band in a special vaseline-smeared frame, we have a bunch of character faces? I could see the Sea Devils costume, and we could have a series of head-removals, in which we see Farthington's face, Arthur's face, Steffi's face, Will's face, Fr. Bernard's face, etc. Just take that very typical sort of late 70's/early 80's performance video, but stack it with imagery from our story but no narrative outside of the lyrics of the song. It would be pretty disturbing.
I think this video also influenced my vision of the Ambrosia video. Have you seen this yet? It's called Too Many Cooks, and all I'll say about it if you haven't already seen it yet is that Cartoon Network put it on Adult Swim at 4:00 a.m. when the infomercials are usually running.
No prior warning, nothing to let audiences know it's coming.
Showing posts with label father bernard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label father bernard. Show all posts
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Saturday, February 28, 2015
White Guys Playing Black Music (Part 5 of 5)
The following is an excerpt of a 20 January 2015 email from Will to Art.
"Langston Hughes" by Original uploader was Alsop1 at fr.wikipedia - Transferred from fr.wikipedia.
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
I guess there's a fifth type, which would maybe be when there's a mostly black band with a white sideman or two, but Arthur White isn't a sideman, so I've left that option out.
I've also left out all commentary because I'm more interested in yours.
The racial politics vary in all of these groups, of course. I'm wondering where you see Arthur's bands fitting in these continuities. It would make sense that The Sweet World would be an integrated group if Will sought out the best players in Detroit--it was a thriving time for rock, soul, and jazz.
I tend to imagine it as an integrated group, but also imagine that Arthur barely knows anybody in the band besides Will. It could be a breeding ground for racial tensions. We could go with an exploitative Will deliberately choosing all black musicians. It also could make a ton of sense that Will is just doesn't spend much time with black people and has more of a rock background and only hires white people. My hunch is that an integrated but very tense band makes the most sense.
Brand New Life is probably all white if we keep it down to a four-piece, just because Joe Lazarus and Fr Bernard are white, so that's math. There are still racial issues to explore. Arthur may be oblivious to them all, but Will might see a black sound as a commodity. Who knows. It seems like there has always been in America a controversy over whether white people who play music in a black style are paying a loving tribute that binds the whole country closer together or exploiting and robbing black people.
It seems like a tension we have to explore as we look at Farthington as a non-white Kurtz and maybe Steffi Humboldt as a female Marlowe who outdoes Kurtz. I guess Arthur is one part boat pilot and one part Russian sailor. Will is the office manager. Most of the musicians are the natives.
We are appropriating a ton of texts here, but I think a good guidebook as we throw Heart of Darkness in a blender is Langston Hughes' The Ways of White Folks, which really takes an alternatingly comical and sardonic look at the white attraction to the misguided white perception of blackness.
"Langston Hughes" by Original uploader was Alsop1 at fr.wikipedia - Transferred from fr.wikipedia.
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
I guess there's a fifth type, which would maybe be when there's a mostly black band with a white sideman or two, but Arthur White isn't a sideman, so I've left that option out.
I've also left out all commentary because I'm more interested in yours.
The racial politics vary in all of these groups, of course. I'm wondering where you see Arthur's bands fitting in these continuities. It would make sense that The Sweet World would be an integrated group if Will sought out the best players in Detroit--it was a thriving time for rock, soul, and jazz.
I tend to imagine it as an integrated group, but also imagine that Arthur barely knows anybody in the band besides Will. It could be a breeding ground for racial tensions. We could go with an exploitative Will deliberately choosing all black musicians. It also could make a ton of sense that Will is just doesn't spend much time with black people and has more of a rock background and only hires white people. My hunch is that an integrated but very tense band makes the most sense.
Brand New Life is probably all white if we keep it down to a four-piece, just because Joe Lazarus and Fr Bernard are white, so that's math. There are still racial issues to explore. Arthur may be oblivious to them all, but Will might see a black sound as a commodity. Who knows. It seems like there has always been in America a controversy over whether white people who play music in a black style are paying a loving tribute that binds the whole country closer together or exploiting and robbing black people.
It seems like a tension we have to explore as we look at Farthington as a non-white Kurtz and maybe Steffi Humboldt as a female Marlowe who outdoes Kurtz. I guess Arthur is one part boat pilot and one part Russian sailor. Will is the office manager. Most of the musicians are the natives.
We are appropriating a ton of texts here, but I think a good guidebook as we throw Heart of Darkness in a blender is Langston Hughes' The Ways of White Folks, which really takes an alternatingly comical and sardonic look at the white attraction to the misguided white perception of blackness.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Very Biblical and American at the Same Time!
The following is an excerpt of an email sent from Will to Art on 1 January 2015. It should be noted that, since 1 November 2014, all Art's emails have originated from Farthington's account.
"Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, MMA-NYC, 1851" by Emanuel Leutze - The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Bullet points of serendipity suggest rightness.
Absolutely, the Concert has become Arthur's dome in air. This meshes somewhat well with Farthington, although this is not some mythical location in the Far East, but one that is, at least according to our recent exchanges, the essential source and summit of the White American Dream in its inchoate, primordial, inarticulate form.
I agree that this could be a 1976/2016, always/never, show/not-a-show. I do like the Fr. Bernard frame story ("Thank you all for coming in support of Arthur's healing and wholeness," directly addressing the actual audience before the show begins) as our innocent-enough introduction to the larger conceit.
Could we do a series of these concerts leading up to the 40 year anniversary, 2016? Very biblical and American at the same time!
I like the 60's Hamlet idea, but I was, in part, cutting costs with the straightforward approach. I did want reality set up by Fr. Bernard at the beginning to break down in one or more ways, though, so we can go that route.
Other ideas to share:
After Father's explanatory intro, orderlies wheel me in, shaved head, unshaven beard in a straitjacket. As I get closer, I dive onto the stage, roll around, get up, trying to free myself. Orderlies tackle me, lift me up and place me before the microphone à la this iconic moment with David Bowie and Klaus Nomi on Saturday Night Live (by the way, check out some more Klaus Nomi if you haven't). Start undoing the shackles as I sing. They first of all tighten some ridiculously loose pants. I've got some other things that make me a patchwork of mismatched motley particolored patterns (I guess identifying me as high jester or Lord of Misrule). They put a ridiculous winter hat on my head, which I promptly take off and throw at you (hat motif: Will's attempts to comfort, confine Arthur's mind; rationalism in general, etc.).
At some point after that first song, I realize that it's really Rustyy Kryystyylzz over at the other microphone. I edge over there and have a loud, funny, whispered conversation with him into the microphone with an excessive amount of heavy breathing, plosive pops, and saliva. "Where'd they pick you up?" "You look perfect." "Why'd they dress me like this?" "Why are the band members dressed like orderlies?" Until someone says, "We can hear you! You're talking into the microphone!" I want a very West African/postmodern aesthetic that always seeks to make the listener aware of the instrument (as opposed to the European aesthetic, which tries to make as little of it as possible).
With the Farthington encounter, much later in the show, I want whoever that is to wander in and have a conversation with Arthur, either as the band members pretend to play on silently or go into some strange interlude. I would like someone to actually do the live text-to-voice typing and have that conversation be somewhat scripted but improvised. Essentially, we need to communicate some of what has happened to Farthington since the failed Concert for Iceland. Perhaps there is a shifting of text-to-voice personas until Farthington settles on a female voice and reveals herself as Steffi. I think this would be a good time for the obligatory Arthur leaving the building moment, walking out hand in hand with the Sea Demon.
This may be near the end, and as Arthur climbs up on the nearest pillar-type thing. Perhaps this is when Fr. Bernard does his closing prayer. Then, we can all run back in for a smashing finale (a reprise of the end of "Agniezscka's Song" or "The Ladder"?).
One last thought re: multiple shows. Were we to have them, I think we should build in some variations that would occur from show to show. Perhaps we could have more than one Rustyy Kryystyylzz (e.g. Russ and your cousin). Perhaps we could play a slightly different list of songs, swapping out 2 or 3 each time from a total of about 15. We could also identify a few other areas that could easily be shifted from show to show. Especially if there are plot elements that we disagree about, would these be opportunities for having multiple story lines?
As for practicing, we'll have to identify the personnel. Maybe the band can plan a big vacation weekend up at your place in early summer!
"Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, MMA-NYC, 1851" by Emanuel Leutze - The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Bullet points of serendipity suggest rightness.
Absolutely, the Concert has become Arthur's dome in air. This meshes somewhat well with Farthington, although this is not some mythical location in the Far East, but one that is, at least according to our recent exchanges, the essential source and summit of the White American Dream in its inchoate, primordial, inarticulate form.
I agree that this could be a 1976/2016, always/never, show/not-a-show. I do like the Fr. Bernard frame story ("Thank you all for coming in support of Arthur's healing and wholeness," directly addressing the actual audience before the show begins) as our innocent-enough introduction to the larger conceit.
Could we do a series of these concerts leading up to the 40 year anniversary, 2016? Very biblical and American at the same time!
I like the 60's Hamlet idea, but I was, in part, cutting costs with the straightforward approach. I did want reality set up by Fr. Bernard at the beginning to break down in one or more ways, though, so we can go that route.
Other ideas to share:
- I want a cheap program made for the show, with various diegetical/exegetical/fake biographical things included in its pages. One that I have clearly visualized is "Fr. Bernard's Corner" or "Chaplain's Corner" (scrawled in horrible with Blackadder font, perhaps with Comic Sans as the body font) where we let Father write a page of whatever he wants about the show. He obviously has some understanding of the show idea that resonates with him religiously. In some way, his is just one interpretation among many, but I do want to give him a couple spots within the overall experience that give him and his viewpoint some primacy (another one that I'm fantasizing is a closing prayer!). Other things would be a page calling for benefactors, guarantors, volunteers, etc. We could even potentially sell some advertising space to defray the cost. And by "sell," I want us to ideally take the approach of "Could you buy my costume, a straitjacket, a set of related props, scrubs for the orderlies, etc?" remembering that people prefer providing things not money.
- I want to enable a social media explosion, especially from members of the band. At the first meeting (after prayer, of course), I want to have everyone get Twitter, Instagram, and Vine on their phones. Whenever there is a spare moment to tweet (Twitter), to take a picture (Twitter or Instagram), or shoot a video (Instagram or Vine), I want us to do that, whether together or alone. Who knows, maybe it may even get built into the payout algorithm. In the show's program, I want to give people the Twitter hashtag #ConcertforIceland to allow them to do the same. Father Bernard can even make mention of this in his opening monologue: "Photographs with a vintage filter, in particular, will go a long way toward convincing Arthur that this actually happened" (Twitter has actually added a bunch of filters to compete with Instagram).
- A good money-making side thing might be a Concert for Iceland t-shirt drive. There are a lot of these sites out there nowadays, and it seems like a much better alternative to your usual Kickstarter. I was thinking black t-shirts with text like "Who is Arthur White?" or "Will is the finisher" or "Carlton Farthington died in the tunnels" or "Tough as Kryystyylzz" with an appropriate stylized photo. On the back, Concert for Iceland tour dates (which would be primarily locations in Iceland, I suppose, maybe kicking off in Tokyo, hitting Rome, Oslo, Detroit--the biggies). Do we have anyone who we could talk to about design? I have a pretty clear idea of the look.
After Father's explanatory intro, orderlies wheel me in, shaved head, unshaven beard in a straitjacket. As I get closer, I dive onto the stage, roll around, get up, trying to free myself. Orderlies tackle me, lift me up and place me before the microphone à la this iconic moment with David Bowie and Klaus Nomi on Saturday Night Live (by the way, check out some more Klaus Nomi if you haven't). Start undoing the shackles as I sing. They first of all tighten some ridiculously loose pants. I've got some other things that make me a patchwork of mismatched motley particolored patterns (I guess identifying me as high jester or Lord of Misrule). They put a ridiculous winter hat on my head, which I promptly take off and throw at you (hat motif: Will's attempts to comfort, confine Arthur's mind; rationalism in general, etc.).
At some point after that first song, I realize that it's really Rustyy Kryystyylzz over at the other microphone. I edge over there and have a loud, funny, whispered conversation with him into the microphone with an excessive amount of heavy breathing, plosive pops, and saliva. "Where'd they pick you up?" "You look perfect." "Why'd they dress me like this?" "Why are the band members dressed like orderlies?" Until someone says, "We can hear you! You're talking into the microphone!" I want a very West African/postmodern aesthetic that always seeks to make the listener aware of the instrument (as opposed to the European aesthetic, which tries to make as little of it as possible).
With the Farthington encounter, much later in the show, I want whoever that is to wander in and have a conversation with Arthur, either as the band members pretend to play on silently or go into some strange interlude. I would like someone to actually do the live text-to-voice typing and have that conversation be somewhat scripted but improvised. Essentially, we need to communicate some of what has happened to Farthington since the failed Concert for Iceland. Perhaps there is a shifting of text-to-voice personas until Farthington settles on a female voice and reveals herself as Steffi. I think this would be a good time for the obligatory Arthur leaving the building moment, walking out hand in hand with the Sea Demon.
This may be near the end, and as Arthur climbs up on the nearest pillar-type thing. Perhaps this is when Fr. Bernard does his closing prayer. Then, we can all run back in for a smashing finale (a reprise of the end of "Agniezscka's Song" or "The Ladder"?).
One last thought re: multiple shows. Were we to have them, I think we should build in some variations that would occur from show to show. Perhaps we could have more than one Rustyy Kryystyylzz (e.g. Russ and your cousin). Perhaps we could play a slightly different list of songs, swapping out 2 or 3 each time from a total of about 15. We could also identify a few other areas that could easily be shifted from show to show. Especially if there are plot elements that we disagree about, would these be opportunities for having multiple story lines?
As for practicing, we'll have to identify the personnel. Maybe the band can plan a big vacation weekend up at your place in early summer!
Thursday, January 22, 2015
This Ongoing Dream of Art-in-Itself
The following is an excerpt of an email sent from Art to Will on 1 January 2015. It should be noted that, since 1 November 2014, all Art's emails have originated from Farthington's account.
Okay, that last one was not something that a Will would like to hear from an Art.
I have this ongoing dream of art-in-itself, and any radiation would be a mere byproduct of ever-increasing inward-looking artness.
You are the finisher! I shouldn't have to do this!
Well, I am just getting over the flu and I should take a quick moment to say Happy New Year! I have been spending the last few days in bed, which is why I am finally coming to at 2 a.m. feeling vaguely queasy but beginning to think about the project (not to mention the planning and pile of papers I still have to finish by Monday).
What about another show?
I really think the one I mapped out where Arthur's doctors have recommended this as a way to bring him closure and hopefully getting him to stop climbing up on pillars was feasible. I think July 4th weekend might make the most sense, since that was when it was originally supposed to be held in 1976. The other option is around Christmas, since many of the songs are thematically tied to that season. I know that is when a lot of students are gone too, so I would be open to another option (May again?).
Why so feasible?
Father already has everything he would need for the show (clerical garb). We would just need each band member to buy scrubs (we could assign a color scheme and tell them where to pick it up; reimburse later?). Russ, as the real Rustyy Kryystyylzz, would be the only one who might need to get some actual duds. I'm thinking along these lines. And you already have some good has-been Will Witkowski duds. I would need a shaved head, maybe a wig, strait jacket, institutional garb, etc.
Beyond that, some cheap props that we could probably find.
Our musicians would not need to look like anyone in particular, since they are just orderlies at the mental institution who happen to play instruments. We don't need vintage equipment. We don't know who the original line up of the Concert for Iceland was supposed to be, but with this story, we wouldn't need to know.
I do have one big-ticket item on the wishlist for that show: a large, life-size mascot costume of Carlton Farthington, but altered in several terrible ways, à la deadmau5, but way more DIY and scary. I'm thinking red, gray, charcoal with x's in place of his eyes--a looming, terrible, demonic mascot that resembles the CFCC one, but does not infringe on copyright (so as to avoid this). I'm going to ask my cousins whether they might be able to do that. Other artists who do that kind of stuff?
If we do this, I'd also like us to set up some version of our payout algorithm mentioned before, to encourage every single band member to play full out in getting every single person they can to attend the show--and to reward the ones who do, at least a little more handsomely.
What do you think? I'm trying. I'm not a finisher!
 |
| Ron Asheton with Niagara |
I have this ongoing dream of art-in-itself, and any radiation would be a mere byproduct of ever-increasing inward-looking artness.
You are the finisher! I shouldn't have to do this!
Well, I am just getting over the flu and I should take a quick moment to say Happy New Year! I have been spending the last few days in bed, which is why I am finally coming to at 2 a.m. feeling vaguely queasy but beginning to think about the project (not to mention the planning and pile of papers I still have to finish by Monday).
What about another show?
I really think the one I mapped out where Arthur's doctors have recommended this as a way to bring him closure and hopefully getting him to stop climbing up on pillars was feasible. I think July 4th weekend might make the most sense, since that was when it was originally supposed to be held in 1976. The other option is around Christmas, since many of the songs are thematically tied to that season. I know that is when a lot of students are gone too, so I would be open to another option (May again?).
Why so feasible?
Father already has everything he would need for the show (clerical garb). We would just need each band member to buy scrubs (we could assign a color scheme and tell them where to pick it up; reimburse later?). Russ, as the real Rustyy Kryystyylzz, would be the only one who might need to get some actual duds. I'm thinking along these lines. And you already have some good has-been Will Witkowski duds. I would need a shaved head, maybe a wig, strait jacket, institutional garb, etc.
Beyond that, some cheap props that we could probably find.
Our musicians would not need to look like anyone in particular, since they are just orderlies at the mental institution who happen to play instruments. We don't need vintage equipment. We don't know who the original line up of the Concert for Iceland was supposed to be, but with this story, we wouldn't need to know.
I do have one big-ticket item on the wishlist for that show: a large, life-size mascot costume of Carlton Farthington, but altered in several terrible ways, à la deadmau5, but way more DIY and scary. I'm thinking red, gray, charcoal with x's in place of his eyes--a looming, terrible, demonic mascot that resembles the CFCC one, but does not infringe on copyright (so as to avoid this). I'm going to ask my cousins whether they might be able to do that. Other artists who do that kind of stuff?
If we do this, I'd also like us to set up some version of our payout algorithm mentioned before, to encourage every single band member to play full out in getting every single person they can to attend the show--and to reward the ones who do, at least a little more handsomely.
What do you think? I'm trying. I'm not a finisher!
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Output-Oriented Endeavors
The following is an excerpt of a 27 November 2014 email exchange between Art and Will. It should be noted that, since 1 November 2014, all Art's emails have originated from Farthington's account.
I'm getting ready to do the Basement Songs bit and here's the italicized note I have in mind for the top:
This, of course, is in the new spirit of (1) making people feel good about participating, (2) giving users autonomy, and (3) keeping the system as open as possible (Shirky). After the note, there's the embedded video of me playing the song, and then after that, there's the lyrics and chords. This is also in the spirit of Matthew 10:8: "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."
I'd like to prime the pump if possible, by requesting that a more inner orbit of friends send in some of these initial videos. That's kind of like the "play within a play" idea, wherein we script ideal audience members to model the desired participatory behavior for the rest. At some point, that wall between the scripted participants and the passive audience begins to break down as the passive audience members become active. And, if their content is posted on the blog, they become the performers as well, completing that circle.
It might be a final goal from the project to be able to walk away from it having created some kind of feedback loop!
So who do you think you could approach about doing this? And what do you think the goal is? Honestly, I don't have a clear goal in mind. I just want to put it out there and invite people. I want to be more inviting and see what happens. So this first step is good in the sense that I'm not just sitting on the songs anymore.
But it hasn't come to fruition until other people get involved.
So I want to get Father involved if possible. I want to get as many people into my basement as possible. And honestly becoming passive in the whole process may be the ultimate goal. I'm open to letting the songs go their own way if someone feels strongly about them. I don't know if that is in the cards but I want to entertain any possibility when it comes to the songs. I think opening up this output when it feels right will improve things on the input side of the equation.
I'm thinking that my resistance to output-oriented endeavors has stifled my creativity to the point where I am willing to consider anything.
 |
| Clay Shirky |
The purpose of Basement Songs is to allow our fans to play and sing along with Arthur's Concert for Iceland songs. We would like to encourage you to send us any recordings of your own renditions to carltonfarthington@gmail.com. Who knows, maybe one day you could be up on stage with Arthur White!Please revise the wording for that if you can think of anything better.
This, of course, is in the new spirit of (1) making people feel good about participating, (2) giving users autonomy, and (3) keeping the system as open as possible (Shirky). After the note, there's the embedded video of me playing the song, and then after that, there's the lyrics and chords. This is also in the spirit of Matthew 10:8: "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."
I'd like to prime the pump if possible, by requesting that a more inner orbit of friends send in some of these initial videos. That's kind of like the "play within a play" idea, wherein we script ideal audience members to model the desired participatory behavior for the rest. At some point, that wall between the scripted participants and the passive audience begins to break down as the passive audience members become active. And, if their content is posted on the blog, they become the performers as well, completing that circle.
It might be a final goal from the project to be able to walk away from it having created some kind of feedback loop!
So who do you think you could approach about doing this? And what do you think the goal is? Honestly, I don't have a clear goal in mind. I just want to put it out there and invite people. I want to be more inviting and see what happens. So this first step is good in the sense that I'm not just sitting on the songs anymore.
But it hasn't come to fruition until other people get involved.
So I want to get Father involved if possible. I want to get as many people into my basement as possible. And honestly becoming passive in the whole process may be the ultimate goal. I'm open to letting the songs go their own way if someone feels strongly about them. I don't know if that is in the cards but I want to entertain any possibility when it comes to the songs. I think opening up this output when it feels right will improve things on the input side of the equation.
I'm thinking that my resistance to output-oriented endeavors has stifled my creativity to the point where I am willing to consider anything.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Visually Spectacular Sequences
The following is an excerpt a 4 September 2014 email exchange between Art and Will.
Art:
Art:
So we're starting to get the conceptual foundations laid, but what does any of this look like in terms of a narrative or dramatic performance? I know we may not do another dramatic performance anytime soon, but I still think that's a good place to start in terms of envisioning it. Not relying on much spectacle may still be a good discipline to impose (we can always have one or more characters tell some of the more visually spectacular sequences).
I thought about this a little more. The number one thing is getting people a chance to hear the music. That rules out the novel as a mode.Will:
If the quest is to tell the entire story, I think the least expensive and resource-intensive way to go is a podcast, and if we somehow were to get access to gobs of money and resources, a TV series or series of movies would be great. I keep thinking visually, which makes the podcast less appealing, but the fact that it's doable is more appealing.
If we want to aim for another concert, perhaps late next summer to promote a record we make early next summer, that's certainly doable. I don't know what era I'd aim for. If we were to stick with the idea of a greatest hits record, than maybe the idea would be to do some sort of comeback tour...the same basic show in a few different places, and maybe it's a real lean production...possibly just you, or just you and I, or maybe we get Father in the mix. And maybe we look at Arthur about six months to a year after "An Evening with Arthur White" ended. We could shoot the video of Arthur getting wheeled in to an open mic night and use that as a little push marketing to draw people into both the record and the mini tour--not the full-fledged comeback, but sort of a precursor.
Maybe after "An Evening with Arthur White Ends," Arthur musters the resolve to bring his music back to the world, and maybe Will offers his help, but in a much more humble way. Really, it has to be humble: Will has no connections and no money to put behind the tour--he just knows how to use a phone, book a show, and drive a car. Maybe he enlists Fr. Bernard for a little strength. And maybe they make the greatest hits album and its really good because Arthur can multi track and they can get a few extra musicians, but it's still not the blow-out comeback that the Joe Lazarus, Jr. storyline would enable. I suppose that when Joe gets the envelope, it may take a long time to get to him. It went to his mom's house and maybe she doesn't want Joe to know about it.
Anyway, I think there is potential for some buzz if the little shows are impressive enough that people want the CD's, but then the CD's are far better than people would have expected. Maybe it does make sense to have Will have a stash of old records that he sells off. Of course, those are going to cost us way too much money and time. It would be really cool, though, to play a bunch of old guys selling stuff we did in the 70's to people who have no idea what is going on.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
The Monster May Actually Be Real
The following is an excerpt of an email sent from Art to Will on 20 August 2014.
Maybe a "staged" Concert for Iceland is an attempt by Arthur's therapists to overcome his psychic break. I don't know, maybe a post-ECT Arthur has become uncooperative, incorrigible. Although never violent, he becomes a danger to himself and others.
Maybe it's his stylite phase, climbing up on things.
Fr. Bernard comes on at the beginning of the show, explaining the whole concept: "Thanks for coming tonight, and thank you for your support for Arthur and his ongoing recovery and healing..." Fr. Bernard explains that the Concert for Iceland was a sham hatched by the charlatan cult leader, Carlton Farthington, and that Arthur was swept up in the story. At the recommendation of his therapists, they are trying to give Arthur an experience of closure: preparing for the Concert and performing it. The idea being that, once that is all done, he will have peace.
Finally, after the long explanatory intro, Arthur is wheeled out on stage by his nurse. Seems like everything is going according to plan. Nothing would need to be huge or amazingly produced because we're just trying to trick this borderline-catatonic guy that the Concert is happening.
But then we can have some weird stuff happen that makes us wonder whose reality is real.
Maybe he's a stylite and he's encouraging the other patients to do the same through his example. Maybe even some of the orderlies are being converted. Could he be wheeled in in a straitjacket and just do the singing? Could the entire band be made up of people from the sanitarium: therapists, orderlies, etc. (also Will and Fr. Bernard, of course)? Could we field questions from the crowd between songs (maybe even members of the media)?
And maybe he somehow gets away again in the end.
The crowd follows him through the streets. Could we fake a death with him falling from a pillar (there is a row of nonfunctional pillars on campus). Or could he just wade across the river and disappear into the darkness? That'd be some awesome footage, people tweeting it as they follow.
I think Will would be pissed and do it begrudgingly. But probably he also does it because there was nothing else doing at that point. Maybe this is the penance Fr. Bernard gave him for doing this to Arthur in the first place. There could be heated conversations between him and Fr. Bernard. Maybe Arthur has to go to the bathroom at some point so they wheel him off and Will and Fr. Bernard come downstage and have a conversation while he's gone. It'd be cool for them to be having that conversation the way they way people plot against each other in Shakespeare plays--not acknowledging the audience. But then have one of the media break down the wall by asking them questions, giving Will and Fr. Bernard a chance to field some uncomfortable questions, providing some more character development in the process.
I'm thinking we could get a large percentage of the story--including the apocalyptic ending with the sea monster--through diegesis, just telling it. A lot of what we've imagined would be very hard to show and I think it'd be better to start from the rationalistic perspective that these are just the dreams of a madman. Maybe we can get some scary scrawled drawings on a slideshow as part of the intro. Perhaps the head therapist comes in at this point and takes over the telling of the story.
As the show goes on, however, we should cast some doubt on these rationalistic narratives; the monster may actually be real.
Maybe a "staged" Concert for Iceland is an attempt by Arthur's therapists to overcome his psychic break. I don't know, maybe a post-ECT Arthur has become uncooperative, incorrigible. Although never violent, he becomes a danger to himself and others.
Fr. Bernard comes on at the beginning of the show, explaining the whole concept: "Thanks for coming tonight, and thank you for your support for Arthur and his ongoing recovery and healing..." Fr. Bernard explains that the Concert for Iceland was a sham hatched by the charlatan cult leader, Carlton Farthington, and that Arthur was swept up in the story. At the recommendation of his therapists, they are trying to give Arthur an experience of closure: preparing for the Concert and performing it. The idea being that, once that is all done, he will have peace.
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| St. Alpius the Stylite |
But then we can have some weird stuff happen that makes us wonder whose reality is real.
Maybe he's a stylite and he's encouraging the other patients to do the same through his example. Maybe even some of the orderlies are being converted. Could he be wheeled in in a straitjacket and just do the singing? Could the entire band be made up of people from the sanitarium: therapists, orderlies, etc. (also Will and Fr. Bernard, of course)? Could we field questions from the crowd between songs (maybe even members of the media)?
And maybe he somehow gets away again in the end.
The crowd follows him through the streets. Could we fake a death with him falling from a pillar (there is a row of nonfunctional pillars on campus). Or could he just wade across the river and disappear into the darkness? That'd be some awesome footage, people tweeting it as they follow.
I think Will would be pissed and do it begrudgingly. But probably he also does it because there was nothing else doing at that point. Maybe this is the penance Fr. Bernard gave him for doing this to Arthur in the first place. There could be heated conversations between him and Fr. Bernard. Maybe Arthur has to go to the bathroom at some point so they wheel him off and Will and Fr. Bernard come downstage and have a conversation while he's gone. It'd be cool for them to be having that conversation the way they way people plot against each other in Shakespeare plays--not acknowledging the audience. But then have one of the media break down the wall by asking them questions, giving Will and Fr. Bernard a chance to field some uncomfortable questions, providing some more character development in the process.
I'm thinking we could get a large percentage of the story--including the apocalyptic ending with the sea monster--through diegesis, just telling it. A lot of what we've imagined would be very hard to show and I think it'd be better to start from the rationalistic perspective that these are just the dreams of a madman. Maybe we can get some scary scrawled drawings on a slideshow as part of the intro. Perhaps the head therapist comes in at this point and takes over the telling of the story.
As the show goes on, however, we should cast some doubt on these rationalistic narratives; the monster may actually be real.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
The History of Arthur White: Brand New Life
The following is an excerpt of an email sent from Will to Art on 2 January 2013.
Will moved Arthur back into the family home and spent a few months nursing Arthur back to health.
He saw Arthur's downfall as his own fault and decided that he would do a better job this time around fulfilling his promise to their mother. He went to their local parish and got the name of Fr. Bernard, a priest with a counseling degree who was an accomplished musician and started bringing him by the house to counsel Arthur. Fr. B also spent a lot of time talking with Will and helped him realize the mistakes he had made with the Sweet World. Will decided that if he helped Arthur put a band together with people he liked who were living good, Catholic lives, and if he held back the pressures of touring and recording, Arthur would be able to become the person he was meant to be. Arthur loved the idea and named the group Brand New Life, which Will modified to Arthur White's Brand New Life.
The early days of Brand New Life were some of the best Will and Arthur had together. Will rented a home in the country and moved the whole band in together. Everyone, even Will, went to daily mass. Everyone played music, cooked meals, did chores. After a while, Agniesczka even visited with the children. Will was able to keep an eye on the company, which helped resolve some tensions with Anthony, who was still angry that Will completely dropped out of the picture during The Sweet World days. Arthur especially bonded with Joe Lazarus, a guitar player and recovering drug addict. The two of them became accountability partners and, for the first time, Arthur had a male friend he could trust other than his brother. He and Arthur both took to their therapy of praying while making felt banners, and together they made the album cover for the first Brand New Life album. The band played softball with the Rockets and other Detroit bands, which Will loved because it gave him a chance to goof around with his old buddy Johnny Bee Badanjek.
The success of Brand New Life was a complicated blessing. Arthur's therapy and prayer life helped him so much that he not only regained his ability to return to the Sweet World almost at will, but he realized that the woman was the Virgin Mary and her child was the baby Jesus! Arthur's channel to the divine reopened, and this time around, Arthur could enter it as a healthy adult. The result was that by the time Arthur was supposed to make the second Brand New Life album, he was ready to make an album of prophecy about Christ's redemption of a fallen America--not at all the sort of record Will wanted the group to make. Will was like most Catholic Americans: he believed in a happy medium of heaven and earth in which heaven is the optional cherry on top of the sundae of a productive life. He was like parents who get their kids Catholic educations to get them into college--not heaven. Will would see Kierkegaard's ethical sphere as the highest acceptable sphere of existence, but the religious sphere is just nuts.
Somehow, he never once had an experience of God that disrupted his concrete view of reality even for a moment.
Will moved Arthur back into the family home and spent a few months nursing Arthur back to health.He saw Arthur's downfall as his own fault and decided that he would do a better job this time around fulfilling his promise to their mother. He went to their local parish and got the name of Fr. Bernard, a priest with a counseling degree who was an accomplished musician and started bringing him by the house to counsel Arthur. Fr. B also spent a lot of time talking with Will and helped him realize the mistakes he had made with the Sweet World. Will decided that if he helped Arthur put a band together with people he liked who were living good, Catholic lives, and if he held back the pressures of touring and recording, Arthur would be able to become the person he was meant to be. Arthur loved the idea and named the group Brand New Life, which Will modified to Arthur White's Brand New Life.
The early days of Brand New Life were some of the best Will and Arthur had together. Will rented a home in the country and moved the whole band in together. Everyone, even Will, went to daily mass. Everyone played music, cooked meals, did chores. After a while, Agniesczka even visited with the children. Will was able to keep an eye on the company, which helped resolve some tensions with Anthony, who was still angry that Will completely dropped out of the picture during The Sweet World days. Arthur especially bonded with Joe Lazarus, a guitar player and recovering drug addict. The two of them became accountability partners and, for the first time, Arthur had a male friend he could trust other than his brother. He and Arthur both took to their therapy of praying while making felt banners, and together they made the album cover for the first Brand New Life album. The band played softball with the Rockets and other Detroit bands, which Will loved because it gave him a chance to goof around with his old buddy Johnny Bee Badanjek.
The success of Brand New Life was a complicated blessing. Arthur's therapy and prayer life helped him so much that he not only regained his ability to return to the Sweet World almost at will, but he realized that the woman was the Virgin Mary and her child was the baby Jesus! Arthur's channel to the divine reopened, and this time around, Arthur could enter it as a healthy adult. The result was that by the time Arthur was supposed to make the second Brand New Life album, he was ready to make an album of prophecy about Christ's redemption of a fallen America--not at all the sort of record Will wanted the group to make. Will was like most Catholic Americans: he believed in a happy medium of heaven and earth in which heaven is the optional cherry on top of the sundae of a productive life. He was like parents who get their kids Catholic educations to get them into college--not heaven. Will would see Kierkegaard's ethical sphere as the highest acceptable sphere of existence, but the religious sphere is just nuts.
Somehow, he never once had an experience of God that disrupted his concrete view of reality even for a moment.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Head Over Heels
Performance aired 30 May 1975 on the Detroit Public Television show All Things New with Fr. Bernard.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
"An Evening with Arthur White" Set List/Notes
Performance aired 30 May 1975 on the Detroit Public Television show All Things New with Fr. Bernard.
- Helen of Troy Suite (Invocation; Parts A, B, and/or C--we need to arrange)
- Father plays Invocation on organ to coax Arthur out of mind warp; Arthur rises to sings Invocation; takes over from Father at the keys to play two or more of the other parts as an introduction; Father finishes the song on bass
- Message of Love
- At end of "Helen of Troy," Will taps out tempo and we launch into "Message of Love" immediately
- Head Over Heels
- Songs 3-8 we may whittle down on the basis of what sounds best, but I’ve basically organized them to go from prosperity to adversity, as Aristotle would say
- We Won’t Give Up the Fight
- Hands Reach Through the Haze
- Losing Game
- The Splinter
- Father definitely needs to be on organ for this one
- Centerstage (sheet music available; not recorded yet)
- Helen of Troy Suite (Main song; possibly Parts A, B, and/or C--we need to arrange)
- Bookending the main set is "Helen of Troy," which is now heard from the standpoint of desolation and chastisement. At some point as the band is vamping the outtro, Arthur rises from the organ, sneaks to the front of the stage, places a tape in an envelope addressed to Joe Lazarus Sr., and drifts out through the audience and out the door. Will pursues.
- Encore: The Treatment?
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