YOUR QUESTION

11/22/2019 Deanky

Hello, Mr. Dunn

- I think you might have answered this one loooong ago but if so I can’t remember said answer and I haven’t been able to find anything so apologies if you did. ‘Cusp’ on John Zorn’s Filmworks V appears to sample ‘Everyone I Went To High School With is Dead’. Were you involved in that or was it just something he did? Or am I wrong and they just sound similar?
- If you could choose one animal to become hyper-intelligent and start a new band with you, which one would it be? This one is important
-This one is more broad music stuff in general and might not be something you can answer, but how does one even gain the patience for, really, anything in music? Been wanting to actually make fully formed songs and stuff for quite a while but even though I know it’s an unrealistic expectation and all, every time I try and sit down to do any musical thing, I usually just end up getting frustrated that I don’t immediately know how to do everything already. Any tips or such for this kind of thing?

Also there’s a guy in my class also named Trevor Dunn and I told him he had the same name as a musician I like and he went like “I know” but I don’t think he was actually listening. It’s OK though. I understand

MY ANSWER

I believe that was just something he did, and in fact that record was made quite some time before I started working with him in the studio. Not sure I’ve actually ever heard it, only heard about it ; )

Praying mantis.

Patience is a muscle that must be developed like anything else, and in fact, has nothing to do with music. You need to learn it, let it evolve and then apply it to whatever aspect of life you choose. I think it is sort of a lost skill in the world. It takes work. Study a piece of music you like. Spend a lot of time studying it and if there’s something you don’t understand then find out what that is and study that. If you are frustrated by not achieving instant gratification then you have a larger problem to address. I’ve been working at music for over 40 years and I’m still far from understanding everything much less being able to execute or control it. Maybe try a martial art or meditation to help build the skill of patience. But you also have to have discipline and be willing to make sacrifices.