Peter Janson is, as Wind and Wire's Bill Binkelman declares, "one
of the
best acoustic guitarists recording today." I hear many of Peter's
influences
in his playing (including as he credits: Martin Simpson, Michael Hedges,
Pat Metheny, Leo Kottke, Ed Gerhard, Doyle Dykes, Alex De Grassi and
Dominic Miller), but what really emerges, for me, is a distinct and
creative
voice.
Sometimes From Here, Peter Janson's newest solo acoustic guitar
album
follows in the footsteps of his highly regarded debut Across
The Bridge
("Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of the Year - Finalist" New Age
Voice
Music Awards, July 2000). Sometimes From Here has done
amazingly
well on radio staying in the number two position for three consecutive
months!
To learn more about Peter, check out his web site:
easternwoodsmusic.com
Jamie:
I often write music to express things that I'm not able to with
words. For me, it's all about the feelings I'm able to convey to
the listener.
I want the listener to have an emotional response to my music. I
know
some composers are very interested in the structural elements of
music
-- the relationships with a piece -- and aren't too concerned with
the
listener. How do you relate to your music? Does the listener come
into play when you're writing?
Peter: It seems right off that
you and I have much in common. To me, it
makes sense to use music to express those things which words can
not.
We don't have much verbal language for the spiritual aspects of
life, nor for
music - at least not without utilizing complex metaphor. And once
we do
that there is a tendency for the complexity to obscure our vision
of the
truth, which I believe is simple to understand if we don't try to
use words
to describe it. Also, it makes sense that we want to elicit a response
from the listeners. After all, we're trying to communicate with
them
through our music.
Even trying to use words to describe the writing process is difficult
- but it is a great question so I'll try.
Although I have no dispute with musical artists who do their music
without concern for the listener, and certainly I have written a
couple
of pieces that way, for the overwhelming majority of my songs I
need
more than self absorption in order for me to find the music. I compose,
and perform, with one ear of a listener and one ear searching for
the true
sounds from my heart - the music I must express. Perhaps this may
sound a bit strange to some folks, but it is the best way I can
describe
my procedure, and it shows some of how I relate to my music, myself,
and to others through my music. It's not that I'm schizophrenic
or
anything, but as I said, using words to describe music is inherently
difficult if not impossible. Of course, now that I've said that,
I'm thinking
that I title every song in the hope of offering some idea of what
the song
is about. So I guess in that way I'm using words to help the listener
understand the music that is about those things I can't find words
for. Hmm.
Jamie, how do you come up with the titles of your songs? And why?
Jamie: Well..... I have
to admit I'm terrible at coming up with titles.
Sonya (my wife and keyboardist for A Perfect Tomorrow)
comes up
with many of my titles. I have a general idea or concept of the
piece
and she kind of puts my ideas into a.... coherent form. The other
thing
for me is that not all of my music is programmatic -- it doesn't
always
directly relate to an event. I think I know what you're saying about
expressing something spiritual through music. For me it's often
the
feelings that I can't convey in any other way than through music
that
interest me the most.
How do you start a piece? I seem to have a million ways to get going
--
what ever works! -- but some artists have a very specific way of
working.
Are you up at the crack of dawn? Writing in the middle of the night?
Peter: Here again, we have
much in common. I use the "what ever works"
method too. Sometimes I get music ideas while browsing an art gallery,
or driving in my car, or walking in the woods, or just noodling
on the guitar.
A few times songs have come to me in my sleep. Once in a while a
song
will come to me while I'm meditating, which is not exactly what
I would
want to have happen at a moment like that - but that's OK too.
I do get up very early in the morning now. My wife, Bernadette,
introduced me to mornings. Before I met her I was a night person.
Not for any particular reason really, but I think early or late
are easier
writing times for me because all the daily distractions tend to
happen
during business hours. Still, sometimes I get up at 5 am and then
when I go to bed it's 5 am the next day!
Once you get a piece going, do you ever deliberately try something
unusual? What is the strangest thing that you've done that led to
a
cool piece of music?
Jamie: First off 5 A.M.?!?!
Wow! Doesn't it hurt getting up that early?
For me nothing is too "inside" or "outside" when I'm working on
a piece,
but I want the music to feel seamless. I'm not really into doing
something
for an effect -- unless that's what the music demands! I think the
thing that most changes how I approach a piece is how I conceive
the flow of the
music. Am I floating on top on the music? Playing in the pocket?
Should
the music feel like it's passing over the listener, actively engaging
them
or both? Once I figure out how I want the music to feel, everything
else
comes from that. All of the music comes from the general feel and
arc
of the tune.
You mentioned that you're into meditation. Unless you consider music
a form of mediation, I've never meditated, so I'm curious, how does
meditation affect your music?
Peter: I'll start with
the last question first.
I think my meditating effects my music indirectly, but in a strong
and positive way. It helps to clear my mind of clutter. And this,
in
turn, allows me to be open enough to truly hear the music as it
comes from/through me. I think this is essential in order for the
music to, as you say, come from the tune. Also, meditation helps
me to focus more effectively. And I need to be focused in order
to
know if I am playing in the pocket or floating on top.
I'm curious if you think a technical aspect, like "playing in the
pocket",
has a pre-determined effect on how the listener will perceive, sense,
and feel the music? And if so, what would that be?
As for getting up at 5am - and if that hurts... well... On the mornings
when I have trouble getting up, I just remind myself that it's noon-ish
in England. Piece o' cake!
Jamie: Getting up at noon
seems about right! The rhythmic feel of the
piece is extremely important to me and I think to the listener as
well.
I don't think the feel should be obvious -- it should just move
the listener.
I always used to say to my students who had a computer/MIDI
setup to try out this "experiment". Put a basic 4/4 drum rhythm
into
your computer. Bass drum on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, and eighth
notes on the hi hat. Quantize the pattern. Now go to your snare
and
start pushing and pulling the time. Go one click at a time and listen
to how the feel of the pattern changes. Try the same thing with
the
bass drum and the hi hat. I find it amazing how much the feel
changes! After you know what to listen for, start checking out
your favourite records and listen for how the feel affects the
recording. It sure was an ear opener for me! Does any of
this make any sense to you?
Peter: Yeah, the rhythmic
feel and general feel of a piece of music have
such a subtle and sophisticated presence that it is extremely important.
Your student exercise is an excellent one. I'm willing to bet that
you are
a great teacher! I know you're an awesome musician.
I was recently listening to "Small Pleasures" from your
A Perfect Tomorrow recording, and I think that is an excellent
example of sophisticated and subtle rhythmic feel. Not obvious,
yet completely effective.
Jamie: Thanks! Ballads
are probably the greatest challenge for me.
If I'm hyper or just generally not in the mood, I find that I really
can't
find the "spine" of the ballad. A teacher of mine once said that
you
can tell how good a musician is by how well they play slowly. That
rang true for me and I still remember what he said.
Could we talk a little bit about your gear? I know you do a fair
bit
of live playing, how do you transfer your great sound from the studio
to the stage? Any "tricks" you can pass along?
Peter: My preference, always,
is to use a microphone or two when I
perform.That's the way I record my music, and it therefore makes
sense to recreate that sound for performances. And in some venues
it's easy to do. Yet, in others there is no way to get any real
volume or
presence while using mics because of feedback. In those cases I
use
the under-saddle transducers or the blender-type systems. A few
times
I've used a combination of under-saddle transducer and microphone.
There are so many good sounding mics now that I really love using
them whenever I can. Of course, the sound-person is usually the
one
to select the type and model of microphone. This is usually great,
but
if I hear something I don't like, or if it seems they're not quite
sure what
I'm looking for then I make suggestions on selection and placement.
I guess part of why I can use mics is because I play sitting down.
I move
my body and guitar quite a bit, but I'm always aware of the mic
placement
so it still works great. Other than that, if the venue is dry sounding
I'll add
some reverb and light delay to help recreate the ambience - in the
French
sense of the word.
There are no tricks that I'm aware of. A good guitar and a good
mic
equals a good sound. Although I didn't think of it before, perhaps
I'm
a bit of a minimalist when it comes to sound reproduction. Will
this
be the spot in our conversation where we discover some differences
between us?
Jamie: HaHa! Not at all!
My own live set-up is probably as simple as
your own. I play a Takamine CP-132SC guitar and I plug into a Tech
21
SansAmp Acoustic DI. I bypass the eq on the guitar. I go straight
out
of the Acoustic DI and go into the board. I add a little reverb
from an
Alesis NanoVerb. The amount of reverb depends on the venue, but
I've been moving towards a drier sound lately. I wish I could say
there's
some kind of esoteric gear or techniques involved, but I agree with
you
in that the less gear between the guitar and the listener the better.
Almost all of my music is ensemble music. I know you work both
as a soloist and as part of a group. Do you have a preference for
either setting?
Peter: Well, that's a difficult
question for me to answer because first
and foremost I love making great music. And it makes no difference
to me whether it's with others or as a solo performer. That said,
however, I should point out that I mostly write, record and perform
as a solo artist. There is a particular kind of freedom to performing
solo that I find very compelling and attractive.
For example, I recently performed solo at an outdoor "Harvest Fair"
type festival for a large audience that was congregated both immediately
in front of the main stage and out into the surrounding woods. While
I
was beginning one of my songs, the wind started to pick up which
resulted in the trees making quite a bit of sound. And it was the
perfect
place for me to extend and develop (improvise) the introduction
to the
song - using the sound of the wind through the trees as a part of
the
song. I based the intensity and phrasing of the intro on what the
wind
was doing. And when it subsided I moved right into the composed
parts
of the song and continued on. It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day
that
I was able to integrate more closely into my music because I was
performing solo. It would have been impossible to do that with a
group,
I think. One could almost visualize the full sound of my acoustic
guitar
moving and dancing with the wind through the trees.
This brings up an interesting point I think. When I'm performing,
I perceive
the entire area as part of the performance - audience noises, birds,
wind,
heating systems, whatever - and I try to use those things to make
my
performances more personal and special for the audience. Not in
a
kitschy or silly way, but rather with subtlety and style and grace
that is hopefully unnoticeable to the audience. Do you ever do
such things when performing live?
Jamie: I really wish I
could say yes to this, but unfortunately no. I think
this is so creative -- using your environment as part of the music.
It would
have been great to hear you at that gig.
Live music is, for me, such a different animal than recorded music.
I
usually try to go with flow of a gig, but sometimes I get bugged
(at times literally) by all of the distractions at a venue -- people
talking, glasses
clinking, refrigerators turning on and off, wasps landing on my
head. I
have to admit, I've never considered using those elements (well,
maybe
not the wasps) as part of the music. Thanks for the insight!
So what's up next for you? Are you working on anything now?
Peter: Right now I'm looking
forward to a pause in my performance
schedule. I've done about 50 shows since Sometimes From Here
was released and I need a break. Then soon I'll begin writing for
my
next CD and doing all the usual business things.
And I want to write a duo guitar piece for the upcoming CD: would
you be interested in checking this out and possibly participating?
Jamie: Definitely! I love
collaborating with other artists and I think I'd
especially enjoy working with you. I guess I'd better start practicing!
Thanks for doing this conversation and good luck -- talk to you
soon!
|
