Sometimes when planning trips nothing works out. No one wants to give you work to get out on the road. No one is getting back to you to house you in the city your where your destination lies. But last minute everything can change, and though I am sad to say I will not be going to Chicago, I am pleased with the way things have been lining up for Los Angeles/San Francisco.
It took one last minute iMessage conversation to change course 2000 miles from our (Me and Steve’s) initial origin of study. I was prepared to head to Chicago with no accommodations planned for my first night and no set price tag on the trip. I had an idea, a couple books, an interest in Blues and Rock n’ Roll, but no real structure. As soon as I had put the pieces together and got feedback from my connections, I knew I had made the right choice.
In the span of about three hours I got ahold of my best friend’s dad, William (Bill) Stromberg, who is a composer in LA, let him know what my plans were and asked about suggestions regarding places to see the most cutting-edge artists express the avant garde. After that Keaton, my friend (Bill’s son), texted me to let me know about what he’s been working on and I let him know about the field study. We will be spending time in Northern LA with him making music and all that jazz. He is musician/producer/x factor finalist. After thinking about how long I could stay and how to pay for food and other expenses I got one more text from an old employer who needed work and was interested in helping me cover the majority of my trip cost for some jobs around the house.
So, now I am to develop a new reading list and research question.
The real big intentions I have for this project are to immerse myself in a culture, and let myself become lost. See where I resonate in the city. What am I connecting with, what are they connecting with? Who am I connecting with, who are they connecting with? How do I connect and whats the result? I want to be a consumer and a producer I want to be apart of something and I want to be a bystander. The result I hope to have is an experienced music project. Music supported by visuals: video, graphic novel, sketches, website posts, interviews, etc..
This trip is loosely structured. Both connections that we will stay with have lives too and as our locations change the things we will see and experience will change too. The trip has potential to be very diverse with a possible, couple day/week trip to see the SF scene. As with all things, the opportunities will be what I make of them. It’ll be important to have an open mind and positive attitude but as I see it there isn’t anything much better than being able to get credit for traveling so lets get this show on the road.