WEDNESDAY 29 April 2020: The Egoism of love

There’s not a whole lot to update at the moment as it seems we’re all in the same sinking boat. Yes, I can be a pessimist, but I’m also re-reading Camus’ The Plague. It turns out we, as a collective group of social creatures, haven’t learned much despite the digital revolution and our self-proclaimed prowess of communication. Despite empathy we’re still pretty selfish, if not totally.

I stopped running in the park due to too many joggers not wearing masks. One recent day, as I was sitting in the park, sun-drenched, enjoying my existential polemic, a man called out a woman for not wearing a mask. She immediately disputed the issue with a fair amount of belligerence telling him he was ‘sick in the head’. I started to wonder if I was sick in the head. Paranoid? Taking precautions too far? Is being too careful actually a problem in this scenario? Either way, I felt uncomfortable and I went home to finish the chapter. I do pretty well on my own having spent a lot of years in small practice rooms once I decided that there were sacrifices I had to make. At this moment I feel like Henry Bemis right when he discovers the library (luckily I don’t need glasses to read).

Many of my gigs and recording sessions have been cancelled, of course, and I can only speculate on the next installment of my livelihood. In the meantime I am revisiting the basics of technique on the upright bass; long-tones, arpeggios, coordination, and string crossing. Also working up the prelude of Bach’s 2nd cello suite. Soon I will dig into writing some new music, most likely the next trio-convulsant effort. And some of that other stuff I mentioned in a previous blog.

The SpermChurch recording is finished. I have to have it mastered and figure out what to do with it. Physical release or digital only? Label or self-release?

Oh did I mention Mr. Bungle did some shows? I think you may have heard about that. The shows were a blast and we immediately went into the studio and recorded the whole damn thing. It felt like the right time to bring back some ‘80s thrash metal and thank Satan we got that work in before this stupid human pandemic kicked in. In my eyes this is one variation of the band known as Mr. Bungle. We typically call it Raging Wrath Bungle. It remains to be seen if “Bungle Proper” will ever see the light of day but any certainty of future events is a bit ambiguous, no? A lot of people ask me about Danny and Bär, and trust me, I communicate with them.

I also added two new releases that came out this year: Kris Davis’ Diatom Ribbons and a split cassette with myself playing solo on one side and a duo based in Utrecht on the other. As I mention in the blurb about that one, if you at $5 to your purchase of my duo CD “Baltimore” (physical copy) I will toss in that cassette. Maybe even write you a personal note for what it’s worth. There’s a new Starebaby on it’s way as well as Brian Marsella’s trio doing yet another epic, through-composed piece of madness by Zorn.

Ok, I should get to answering some of those questions you lunatics have piled up over the months. Take care of yourselves out there and show a little compassion for your neighbors, would ya?

—Trevor

video of the month: https://vimeo.com/16392274