there is nothing more personal to me than the music i write + over these past two months, the final component of my "lunacy + the second naïveté" project was to do a nine-week livestream residency (where i played each of the 9 "lunacy" songs, plus 9 other original songs + 9 covers). as someone who primarily does not play live - preferring instead to write/record/release carefully curated versions of who i am - these lockdown days seemed like a suitable moment to try something different; to challenge myself as a musician; to perhaps rediscover some sense of meaning/purpose. here are a few things that i learned: (1) i've gained a newfound respect for artists who excel at playing live. it's not easy. and though i've been playing music + speaking without fear in front of people for over twenty years, it's a completely different beast when it's one's own original songs. i've never felt more nervous + vulnerable. and it's probably because, (2) things rarely go as planned. anywhere from videos not saving, to the absence of people who i hoped would be there, to certain songs working better "unplugged" than others, to breaking a string during the last song of the final episode, etcetera. i like being in control. but when something is happening in real time, there are so many autonomous variables that can affect a performance (for good or ill). there is something unique about live videos though...a shared moment where those who show up become uniquely part of the inside of an experience. to this end, (3) while i'm writing material for my next project (a.k.a. "non sequitur"), i will be sporadically releasing instagram live videos (as part of a new series called the #guerillalivestream). what i found with the #redroomres streams is that it didn't matter how scheduled + promoted these nanoconcerts were...they always got significantly more views asynchronously. so, going forward, #closetjudas livestreams will happen guerilla-style...irregularly, unannounced (and then potentially published to igtv). until then, thank you once again to those who virtually spent time with me in the red room as i played some songs that i wrote. cheers. https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4DRfEpkTw/?igshid=1oanvtkbuwveu
