Art and Community

It's been a rough few months, if I'm honest.

The cultural shock from moving to the woods is finally starting to wear off, I think. I'm used to the large trucks, the 'PRIVATE PROPERTY: KEEP OUT' signs at every driveway, the bad restaurants and long drives to get anywhere meaningful. When you get to know people out here you start to relate a bit more. It's a bit tougher to fit in with a smaller community, but I'm definitely starting to get some sense of that close knit, rural family.

In this type of setting self promotion becomes a lot more important. There is somewhat of a music circle on the Peninsula, and the potential for a full fledged musical career is here and happening, but the territory being covered is so large and sparse that it really seems to take time and a business-like swagger to solidify a reliable career. The city is a tough place to work, sure, but take away most of the venues, lower the average income and add a few hundred square miles and I think most fellow Portland cats would see what I'm talking about.

The toughest thing about the lack of work is that the day job becomes a much heavier weight. Corporatism is easily the most frustrating environment to work in, and it can really keep you out of that determined mental state needed to drive a working musician, especially in a new environment. I should stop whining though, and get to working harder at it.

Why? Well, it's because frankly it's tough out there for all musicians. The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the countries best musical organizations, has voted to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy. They were fantastic when I saw them on tour in Eugene, and the scariest part isn't that they are broke, but that the quality of the group might suffer. Philly has a fairly rich musical tradition, and the loss of a world class orchestra would be a terrible loss for the community.

While Philly is across the country, closer to home there have been similar problems financially for music. The Oregon Symphony and Portland Opera have had to cut some staff in order to meet their budget needs, but it seems for the most part that they are meeting their financial goals, which is a good sign in my eyes.

I think people tend to scoff too easily at the trouble large classical groups have from city to city, without realizing exactly how important these sorts of organizations really are to a local music community. A group like the Oregon Symphony is really the roots of a strong music community. Because of the space needed for the type of music, venues like Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland or the Hult Center in Eugene are built and maintained. Those sorts of concert halls draw national groups and artists, which in turn helps strengthen the community by adding variety and encouraging a larger interest in music.

A healthy art community encourages people to come downtown and spend money. It encourages young students to take up music, giving them a healthy after-school activity and a strong group of friends. Even a modest orchestra like the Oregon Symphony helps encourage economic growth, and I think it's continued health is much more important than most people would give credit.

One last example, as I've let myself ramble on for far too long by now. Lia is taking her band on a short trip for a local parade. The trip will cost her booster club close to $3,000. Sounds like a lot, but consider that more than half the money is going to local businesses to provide food and activities, and you start to see my point.

There, rant over. To get your mind back on track, here's the piece of the day from me. Anyone else think Michael Kamen stole the melody at about 5:15 and used it for the Band of Brothers theme? Maybe I'm just crazy...

-Slide Funk