Last night we met Connie at St. Mark’s basement space, The Ubisububi Room, to participate in the celebration to commemorate the one year anniversary of the launching of Gar’s Pond Patrol website. There was live music. First the 3-gal trio, Porlolo. An electric guitar, a violin and a gigantic bass fiddle that barely fit under the low ceiling. A Leonard Cohen type of bluesy sound. Then Josh Novak sang, accompanied by a drummer and Gar on electric bass. Openly gay Josh gangly cute, his nipples ever so perky under his pink T-shirt, as he sang his 60’s style rock and roll.
It is interesting to observe from my limited vantage point Gar’s life. He has gotten a good bit of printed PR about his website in conjunction with the Pond Patrol foto exhibit at St. Mark’s. Apparently the site gets tens of thousands of weekly visits. He has created this virtual world and many share in it. He plays his bass guitar in a relatively successful band. He leads a turtle club. He is married, seemingly happily enough, and owns a small residential compound. He has put together a life that seems to work for him.
Piano. Piano Pieces, by Russell Sherman. „Tension arises from insecurity, and insecurity arises from ignorance. Ignorance, in our line of work, means not knowing the notes – an umbrella charge covering a multitude of sins, such as not knowing how the notes are organized, related, structured, and composed. That is, one’s not knowing the composition leads to a good deal of insecurity even if all the tactile and mnemonic devices are functioning. Spurious gestures of liberation superimposed on a shaky foundation and insufficient grounding in the detail provide only a film of authority.
If, however, the notes are securely fastened and the mechanism is orderly, the answer lies not in the elimination of tension, for tension is the sword and glue of music, but in the distribution of tension. The spine, the arms, the shoulders, the legs, the torso all must share in the musical enterprise, and by their breathing and coordination convert it into a statement of convictions. Tension, nerves, psychic and metaphysical uncertainty are in fact the actual ingredients of musical pathos if properly balanced and explained.“ (pg. 33-34)