Sundance Film Festival. How to strech your comfort zone.

Sometimes you do things as an independent musician without any real sense of how things will turn out. I like to trust that something good always comes out of everything I do. About 3-1/2 hours into my trip from Las Cruces to Salt Lake City I had an omen but kept moving on. I had smelled an acrid odor that I thought was either an Acid spill on the interstate or a cloud of wicked smoke. I usually travel with nuts, fruit, peanut butter, some bread and always a bottle of Tabasco. When I stopped to get gas in Bernalillo I was digging around my paper sack for an orange and found the source of the eye burning smell—my bottle of Tabasco had come open and spilled all over the bag and my back seat. Arrrgh! No wonder my nose was running and my eyes were red.

So fast forward to the Sundance Film Festival. First of all there is no parking in Park City, Utah during the festival which is ironic. You will get fined or towed, period. I parked at the Park and Ride about 7 miles away from Park City that is of course after driving the mountain pass from Salt Lake. Let me tell you what Mormons repress in every other aspect of their lives they make up for in their driving. As I waited for the shuttle with two Hang drums, a heavy case of flutes and a bag with my CD’s, maps, passes etc., I thought about what I was doing there and a shiver of doubt ran through my bones. I said to myself you are here, 14 hours away from home, so do it and make the most. Walking uphill to the venue dodging wealthy people with Bluetooths and fur I was a little ragged by the time I got there. Okay so the gigs in the pub/clubs were okay. I know the promoters took a chance bringing someone like me to an atmosphere that is like Hollywood meets Mardi Gras with a touch of Spring Break in the Snow. I appreciate the chance to showcase what I do. That being said my brand of peaceful music that is as mystic as it is ethereal requires a little, shall we say, attention. But hey, I figure these people need peace too eh? I wasn’t daunted and played my ass off for whomever….which was usually the other musicians and the bar staff. The highlight, as always, was meeting the other musicians and hearing their work. There is a camaraderie knowing we all must give 100% regardless. Still the surreal quality of me playing my Hang, Native flutes and singing in the midst of deal making and celebrity gawking is the stuff of independent film. Hmmm any directors taking note out there?

As I was clinging to a tiny bar on the shuttle going back to my frozen car at midnight completely weighed down by my cases which were literally cutting off the circulation in my arm I was trying not to touch the man’s butt accidentally with my numb fingers. I just laughed. I overheard a girl from Buffalo reading off the list of celebrities she had seen to a woman she was sitting next to, a stranger. She rattled off, Mariah Kerry, Nick Cannon, all the Baldwin brothers, Paris Hilton, Allie McDowell, etc. etc and Ashton Kutcher whom she said was a jerk because he saw them coming with a camera and lowered his head and dashed into a café where they had to wait an hour for him to come out and he ignored them. Imagine that. Ummm it’s called Stalking. Adam Durtz of Counting Crows was in a pub where I was playing and a buzz quickly filled the place making its way back to the upstairs, tiny lounge room where I was playing. It’s okay he couldn’t have got through the crowd of 700 or so and since no one knew we were back there it didn’t matter. I’m being sarcastic a bit because I would have rather played closer to the “Front Door.” It took me 30 minutes to get out the door and I must have bruised 30 people with my instruments and I tried to get to my shuttle which had its last run at midnight. I flew downhill only to slip on the ice and wreck my already aching ankle. I sat next to some film maker from New Jersey who went on a diatribe about “my people.” I think he meant Indians, or maybe musicians who the hell knows? He offered to do a shamanic energy healing on me but I declined. Too funny.

One of the Sundance venues I played was the Rose Wagner Arts Center. There are several theaters that were screening films. I played in the lobby in-between films. My sets were acoustic and it was the strangest thing. People are so desperate to document their Sundance experience they were taking pictures of themselves in front of the Banner with my name on it as well as standing next to me playing. They were all qued up for the film on these ascending stair cases and would applaud after every song. That was wonderful. A guy came over and was asking about my instruments, like always happens, but he seemed really curious and specific and he listened and bought some CD’s so I was extra patient. I introduced myself and he said he was Robert Townsend and his film was about to screen. I shook my head and said, “Oh you have the film ‘Black Comedy’ which I thought was about dark comedy.” He pointed to his skin and said, “No it’s Black comedy.” D’oh! Color me stupid. He was really cool though and I finally took my HAPI drum over to him and had him play while I played a duet with him on flute. Talk about awesome. The picture is a little dark because I had the flash off. Now that I’ve been back home I’ve seen Robert Townsend in practically every show and series on TV. Isn’t that how it always is?

Overall I made some good contact and know if I had more time to prep I would actually see some films and make better use of my time. Living with arthritis can take its toll however. Being in the frigid icy cold, 9000 ft. elevation, driving, standing and hauling my gear around then slipping on the ice wasn’t fun. One day I took 12 Aleve just to function.

It takes courage and trust to put yourself in a position you aren’t familiar with. Stepping outside the comfort zone of Native American flute festivals and churches is something I do all the time. I do it for several reasons. 1. I need to make a living. 2. The peacefulness of my music needs to reach as wide an audience as possible. 3. I grow from the experience. So maybe some people heard me and carried some of that stillness home with them and maybe I was humbled even more knowing I was not as important to the promoters and club owners as some of the other, more sexy, acts were. Maybe the delusions I have about being my own celebrity is why I’m not intimidated by anything. Who knows? I’ve played as a street musician, in front of thousands, done countless live TV and Radio interviews and have probably made of fool of myself every time. One thing I did come away with was what M. Night Shyamalan said in an interview I saw. He said that his film, and Tarrentino’s, Robert Rodriguez and a few other indie directors all debuted at Sundance the same year and what he finally learned was to be as much himself, to embrace his own style as much as possible. That way no one can compete with you because no one else IS you. I take that to heart.

Enjoy this slideshow. Wish I had some of that video and pics I saw people taking of me. Maybe they will share.
Randy

Dancing to keep the lights on. Illinois gig travelblog.

“I’m just one little Indian/Dancing to keep the lights on
One little Indian/Singing to light the sky
Just one little Indian/Dreaming of the old ways
One little Indian/Looking for the Red Road home”—Randy Granger

I’m back in New Mexico from a Midwest gig trip and appreciating the drier climate, bigger vistas and Green Chilie. This trip took me up to South Elgin, Illinois to perform at the World of Fairies Festival with stops in Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Albuquerque. Being a musician in the southwest USA means you travel quite a vast distance for paying gigs. In the Atlantic northeast area, west coast and some part of the south you can book shows where you only need to drive 90 miles to the next town and sometimes closer. It is about population density and out west cities are far apart meaning you cover hundreds of miles—ah the things we do for fans…

Having just completed a tour up to Wisconsin I wasn’t too excited about a repeat 23 plus hour drive but a traveling companion agreed to come along up until Bloomington, IL. It helped having someone to talk to and laugh at how there seems to be a black hole of time between Amarillo and Oklahoma City that slows down time. Maybe it is the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere along I-40 that warps the space/time fabric. Whatever it is it is one of the longest 260 miles known to human kind. St. Louis is quite nice. I stayed in the Soulard District with its brick buildings and streets. I imagined how St. Louis must have been so beautiful in its heyday. I will say it was so hot and humid there that the word sultry didn’t suffice. The next morning I walked over to take a photo of the Archway to the West the famous landmark. It was so smoggy that only the top of the Arch peeked above the haze giving a creepy, surreal quality to the morning. I-40 through Missouri has giant billboards about every twelve miles advertising XXX Video Arcades, Stores etc. They are invariably located next to churches with or without steeples. One XXX is right next to a billboard for a church and a giant Bowling Pin. We looked and looked for a bowling alley or something but didn’t see one. What the enormous bowling pin is doing there is still a mystery. The XXX Arcades usually adversities free trucker parking and have names like The Lion’s Den, Pleasure Palace and Big Louie’s Too. Too funny. I was in too much of a hurry to explore them further.

I did visit Abraham Lincoln’s tomb and his home in Springfield, IL. Climbing the stairs and gripping the same handrail he and his family touched was moving. He had so much weighing on him I imagined he paced quite a bit. His tomb is gracious, austere and understated. Much like the man.

The World of Faeries Festival was mostly beautiful people in as beautiful setting along the Fox River west of Chicago. People drifted along in canoes and the crowd was dressed up in costumes somewhere between pixies and Middle Earth. I met some really wonderful people including The Gypsy Nomads and Knotty Bits. I heard some excellent music and got a chance to see other performers which is always a wonderful privilege. My own sets went really well and I was just awed at times thinking I’m bringing my music, my stories, and my culture to people 1500 miles away. I debuted a new story I perform with Indian Buffalo Drum where I tell the story of how Wind brought the first flute to the people because he was lonely and didn’t have a voice. It was fun. Playing the Native American flute and Hang drum for total strangers and winning them over is a tremendous amount of work and also a real honor. If there had been more people in attendance I would have sold many more CD’s—enough to cover the new Struts my car needs….yikes.

Such is the life of a working musician. We need to be paid for the work, investment, energy, rehearsing, preparation, travel etc. that we put into our act. We bring an intangible quality to venues. What we need from venues is to advertise and get the word out as much as possible. I usually send out my own press before gigs but the promoters get touchy about that so I stopped doing that. I’m not complaining about any one in particular mind you, just some thoughts in general that the outdated adage of “Well at least you made enough for gas money..” line we’ve all heard from bar owners for years is an attitude that leads to mediocrity and lack of professionalism. It’s like me saying well there weren’t many people out there so I just gave 40%. You know what I mean? Hey 2 or 2000 I’m giving all I got regardless. I, like many others, work really really hard to make sure when you come to my show that hopefully something transcendent will happen. You know, those moments when we all feel connected and know that an unseen inspiration is at work through this unlikely goof on stage. That requires a commitment and willingness on my part to get out of the way and bring all my training, gifts, talents and inspiration into focus and give give give everything. It is hard work. It is exhilarating and draining and it what I do everyday. And sometimes I make enough for gas money and sometimes I don’t…….ha ha ha. There is a line from one of my songs that goes, “Are you one of those legendary souls/Who hears God’s whispers?/I said I really do not know/Right now I’m living at my sisters….oh oh oh.”

Here is a video of various people dancing and a fire eater I made between sets. I love any festival where people feel free enough to dance. The song is Hang Jig from my 2008 release The Roswell Incident.

Be Well and thank you for reading these blogs.
Randy

DANCING THE HANG JIG

Wisonsin Road Trip - INAFA Convention

Well about two weeks ago I set out on a tour that would end up in Wisconsin at the 2008 International Native American and World Flute Association convention. I was driving so set up a couple of gigs along the way to break up the 23-hour drive. First night I stopped at the KOA in Amarillo, Texas. It was pleasant except that it is wedged between the railroad lines and the airport. I played my flutes and Hang drum for a group of nice people and sold a couple of CD’s. I headed down to Palo Duro Canyon south of town. It is a beautiful canyon reported to be the world’s second largest canyon. The history of the Native peoples, Spaniards and outlaws who lived there is interesting. I stopped and had lunch and played my flute as a Buzzard circled overhead. Next night was in Oklahoma City. The drive between Amarillo and Oklahoma City is where time actually stops. It felt like an 8 hour drive. There is the world’s largest crucifix along the way and it is huge. Kind of surreal really.

I wanted to attend the monthly Oklahoma Flute Circle meeting in the historic Jacobson House. I did. It was a nice turnout considering it was the 4^th of July. I met some really great fluties who even showed up the next night to hear my play at the Borders Books in Norman, Oklahoma. I had a great time and was grateful for the review in the previous day’s newspaper The Norman Transcript. The audience was attentive and bought quite a few CD’s. I was thinking hmmm maybe I should have brought a lot more…. I played the flute and Hang and sang and people seemed to enjoy it. Afterwards some of the people from the flute circle and I went to eat afterwards and had a really nice visit. As I was driving back to OKC there were fireworks going off everywhere and especially downtown. It was cool.

The next day I was scheduled for another show in Kansas City but as sometimes happens in the music business the person I booked with originally was several people ago. I had been trying unsuccessfully to confirm and skipped that town altogether and head on for Des Moines, Iowa. I had scheduled an extra couple of days in Minneapolis to see the Modern Art exhibition at the Walker Art Center and the Sculpture Garden next door. It didn’t disappoint. Seeing the modern art pieces up close and personal always has such an impact on me. The great restaurants, bars, lakes, coffee shops in Minneapolis’ are really fun.

The INAFA convention was pretty awesome. Between the beautiful flutes, amazing musicians, workshops and concerts I don’t think I slept much. I presented a couple of workshops as well a concert that were so much fun—and a lot of hard work. Working hard is the part that comes naturally and from the feedback and CD sales the work connected with people, something I’m always grateful for. I stayed in the dorms which did not have air conditioning, ventilation or fans and it was humid beyond what I’m used to. My dorm mates were great and we all developed a sense of camaraderie I think. I feel I made some amazing friends and that is always worth it. Some of the highlights for me were hearing Michael Allen, Joseph Firecrow, Bill Miller, Skip Healy with Mark Bachand among others. I was honored to be invited to lay down a song for the INAFA compilation CD that will be used for fundraising. A huge honor was to be included in the INAFA All Star’s concert the closing night. Sharing the stage with R. Carlos Nakai, Peter Phippen, Mark Holland, Skip Healy, Mark Bachand, N. Scott Robinson, Sara Maurer and a few others was amazing and even though I was exhausted and dripping once we got started those wild endorphins kicked in and all was fantastic.

I drove back over a couple of days listening to music and was glad to be home. Work continues on music with interviews this week and mailing out of more CD’s. I sold out of The Roswell Incident pretty quick and need to get more for my next trip to perform at the World of Fairies Festival in South Elgin, IL August 2 & 3. Here is a short slide show of some pics. I haven’t developed the film yet.

There is nothing like performing your music for people live. That exchange of energy, the interplay and suspension of time and hopefully the transcendence is meaningful. Knowing that what I’m playing will only exist in this form in this moment is precious. When they come to you afterwards and mention a specific note or word you said it is humbling and reminds me to be present and aware every time I play. As a performer you are in it “with” the audience and it is a responsibility and a privilege and I don’t take it for granted when I finish a song and people applaud. See you down the road.

Randy