Beautiful Photo by photographer of Nashville

A concert hall in New Orleans

I believe in Bonn

do you?

• Talk to Jacob
• Get books

Preparatory Tasks: Build web-based academic journal Read books and articles relevant to my research inquiry Confirm travel plans and accommodation arrangements Research events and purchase tickets Budget and document expected financial expenses

Make online academic journal.

Things I need to do before I leave this spring:

Book flights

• I’ve booked all the flights I need to get to my destinations and get back home.

1. Seattle – Dublin
2. Dublin – Edinburgh
3. Edinburgh – Paris
4. Paris – Dublin
5. Dubllin – Seattle

Find Lodging

• I’ve booked a great hostel in Dublin right near all the action called Isaac’s! And they have guitars you can borrow to practice with!

• And so far I have two of the seven nights in Scotland. In Edinburgh I booked at this little backpackers hostel in the downtown area called the High Street Hostel.

 “Articulating the connection between music and the outer world remains devilishly difficult. Musical meaning is vague, mutable, and, in the end, deeply personal. Still, even if history can never tell us exactly what music means, music can tell us something about history.”

– The Rest is Noise, Ross

Click here to view the embedded video.

The thing about New Orleans is that it is so rich in history, architecture, food, people, and music. The streets are steeped in a history of influences from Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and more. The more research I do on this city, the more excited I am to immerse myself in the soundscape of a new place. As I investigate the influence of music in this city, I expect to listen to a lot of live music, all over the city. I plan to walk into every music venue that I come across, taking note of the what the music tells me about the history of New Orleans.  This investigation is not about objective listening, in fact I’m not quite sure that exists, but it is about listening and really hearing – allowing myself to hear the parts and the details, in constant search for something I haven’t heard before – working to identify the origin of the sounds.

I’ve dreamt of visiting New Orleans for years. I love jazz, I love food, and I love going to places that are different than what I know. New Orleans embodies all of the above. I am going to be transparent when I say that I am going into this dream with a lot of expectation. I have a pre-conceived idea of what I think the city is going to look like, sound like, taste like and even smell like. I am not worried that I am going to disappointed, but I think it is really important for me to be taking note of my expectations and how they affect my experience throughout the trip. Being aware of what I am bringing to this new experience will help me to set them aside and be present. I am fortunate to have a roommate who is from the south. She has hooked me up with a few of her college friends who have offered me a place to stay and a tour of the city. I am really grateful to have some guidance from people who know the city well!

In light of being able to spend some time with locals – I thought it would be great to spend some time volunteering in the area. I found a really awesome organization whose mission  is to engage, empower, and transform our community through volunteer service. This organization has various volunteer opportunities each month varying from reading to second graders to rebuilding community centers. I feel especially excited about this part of my trip because I have always had a deep passion for community, and I believe that there is much to be learned from spending time around people who have had different life experiences than your own. This organization is excited hosting out of state volunteers and sharing life with them for as long as they are willing to stay. I won’t be needing the hosting services, but I am really looking forward to working with and meeting new people. 

I was not at all surprised to discover the handful of musical festivals happening during my trip. It is almost as if the answers to my questions are being handed to me with some of these festivals! I am most excited about the Jazz and Heritage Festival – its purpose is  “To promote, preserve, perpetuate and encourage the music, arts, culture and heritage of communities in Louisiana through festivals, programs and other cultural, educational, civic and economic activities.” The line-up is pretty incredible and I look forward to spending time listening to good music, eating good food, and talking with locals about their experiences living in New Orleans. 

Overall, this trip really is a dream come true. I am so excited that this program is going to challenge me to dig deep in my understanding of the city – I won’t just be a tourist, but a student that is eager to listen and to learn. For now, I need to solidify my schedule, get a head start on some literature, and day dream about beignets, jazz and bourbon street.

(Here’s a very tentative itinerary)

Week 1: The Garden District

Volunteer w/ HandsOn New Orleans – Community Service Day

http://www.handsonneworleans.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Search_Page  

Week 2: Musical Festivals

French Quarter Festival http://fqfi.org/press/detail/2/French-Quarter-Festival-is-April-9-12-2015

Jazz & Heritage Festival http://www.nojazzfest.com/

Click here to view the embedded video.

Week 3 : French Quarter

W New Orleans – French Quarter Hotel  http://www.wfrenchquarter.com/

Bourbon Street Traditional New Orleans Gospel Brunch at Antoine’s http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturaltraditions/gospel.html

Week 4: Julia Street

Gallier House Architecture Tour

Julia Street

NOMA – New Orleans Museum of Art

Before I leave this spring…

After much debate as to whether or not I would be able to go on this trip, I have in the last few weeks pulled together a plan to be able to go to my initial city; Los Angeles! I will be renting a room from a man named Olivier Ferrand, who is a music producer and has an in-home studio. Having recorded for artists such as Iggy Pop, he will have a vast knowledge of the history of the Los Angeles music scene, as well as a cheap room to rent out.

My experiences with Los Angeles have not been the most cherished. I remember leaving with a feeling of artificiality, and found the city to be very hard to connect to. However, having been to Los Angeles only twice, and for extremely short periods of time (a culmination of two days), I am really looking forward to spending more time in the city. I have never traveled to a city to academically study it, and I really hope to break my pre-conceived notions as well as the ones that I quickly conceived on my own. Before I embark on my trip, I plan on reading a few select chapters from both City of Quartz and Musical Metropolis to give me a layout of what I am going to see when I arrive, and to give me more context on locations and history. Musical Metropolis also comes with a CD, so that I can listen to the songs discussed in the book before hand as well as while I am reading. I will also be conducting internet research to learn about the history of real estate, tracking the movement of money through the city. Being one of the biggest cities for entertainment industry, the arts have played a crucial role in the creative and monetary capital that the city holds. This has given Los Angeles the   illusion of the “City of Dreams”, where musicians, actors, and anyone trying to become famous, migrate to reach their dreams. However, this is not the case for many who live in the city.

As of March 2014, the unemployment rate in the city is marked at 8.0% (where 6.8% is the national average). Along with this, the percentage of people living below the poverty line is 21.2% (14.9% being the national average). With these figures in mind, it is mind-boggling to read that the cost of living is 30.4 percent above the U.S. average. The wealth is extremely high concentrated, and thus has raised the prices of everything in the city.

This type of extreme wealth gap doesn’t happen overnight, and took decades to get to the state that it is in now. To understand how such a thing happens to a city, one must examine where power lies and how the forces that be have shaped the city into the image that we see today; a bustling metropolis built on a fault line surrounded by desert and no fresh water whatsoever. Not only is the city a biological anomaly, but it is also a cultural one as well.

I am also very excited to see live performances when I’m there and talk to musicians about the current scene and their opinions on Los Angeles. There are a plethora of free shows happening every night in the city, which is something that is very new to me. Back home, most shows at venues cost at least 10-20 dollars, not including coat check. To get the most eclectic results, I  will go to free shows, as well as a few paid shows, of any genre, and observe. I hope to be able to talk to some of the performers after their sets, and get their opinions on the current music scene and how thy view themselves in the context of L.A. and how the price of living has effected music production within the city.

My Itinerary: