Dan Fielding's Diary

May 20, 2004

So I tried to e-mail yesterday with a lengthy message and got access denied after all that.I think it's cause I tried to do it on the other forewarded message( you know- McHugh the son of america).If only he had known our next tune would have been Politician.
I had a terrible rehearsal Sunday. For that I apologize. The Samba tune has not left my head and yet, I still can't come up with a rhythym that wont hiccup. I remember hearing you or band you or Conrad was in doing that tune and I remember sitting in a cafe hearing Eddie Bruce sing to Samba down in St John's over break and realizing that one day I would have to step up to the plate and come through using a beat that works for that music. I remember seeing Gene Lake master it and thats when I thought about the possibility of taking lessons with him. With him, or whomever, Samba will be the first thing I would like to master.The question is, is it one of those things you have to be born being able to do, or is there still hope? By the way, I love the funky part where you seem to go lower on the strings in the middle.I can envision us being able to go to some far away places on that. And, I want to. So in one way ,I'm glad we're not doing that tune for the 2nd and, in another way, I can't wait till the day it comes together.
What I'm realizing....and this will eventually get into the diary, is that what I want to have happen musically is not necessarily matching up with what I can technically do at this point. I had the Micky Mantle syndrome about music for quite some time. Meaning, I thought my best days were long behind me. So for a while I jammed and had fun.Working with some very well rehearsed and technically advanced musicians like yourself(Jay) and Conrad and listening to their music teachers and artists who interest them remind me that, like anything good in life, you really have to focus and put maximum effort into things. I need more practice, I need to listen more and I'll need to take lessons. As a teacher, I have only become more interested in my subject area and find that I'm the one who is relearning everything. I tell my students that there is nothing constant on Earth except change. So I have to relearn the drums too. I hope you don't mind a few hiccups along the way. The good news is we're having fun and I feel driven. So it will get done. Stay tuned for 'Wednesday'....and more entries. D

May 25, 2004

These are great entries to share. I find myself vascillating( is that a word?) between wanting to go through a tremendous withdrawl( of all the drugs my psychiatrist now has me hooked on), especially when I realize thier cost and wonder what exactly they are doing negatively to my body versus what they are doing positively. In light of what you are saying about enzyme action, I wonder, are they destroying, neutralizing or enhancing enzyme activity in my body? Only this year, through learning and teaching Bio, have I discovered the importance of enzymes. It is clear that they help to build proteins. Thus, the 20 or so Amino acids, as well as our building block blueprints(DNA), depend on them.They are like the workers on Larry Silversteins #7 World Trade Center. Or I should say the money that pays them is. In other words, the DNA is there( and hopefully has not been too damaged) and that is like the buildings blueprints. Enzymes are like motivators to set action in motion. Like a paycheck, they help the workers to build and produce a building just as they kick into action protein building processes in our bodies.
Great! Easy to say. Now how are we to internalize this? I would say you are onto something Jay. By the way, I have heard recently that the way ice is blended in a fruit shake or nutrition shake even makes a difference as to how enzymes are processed or how they process other things in the body.All I know is I felt enzyme action( whatever it is) at work after Sapporo the other night( talk about awesome Sashimi).
What do I want to do with this info.? How, exactly do I go about doing it? That is the question.Once I went wholistic for a year. I went to a different kind of doctor who showed me my blood through a high power microscope. He showed me all the parasites that are in everones blood and promised to reduce them with a change in diet. Like the psychiatrist now, I found I was taking lots of, for lack of a better word, junk that didn't sit well with my stomach or the rest of my body. I began to grow weaker rather than stronger. I found myself having to detox from that. So I am skeptical. I also learned that what works in the metabolism of one person might not necessarily work the same way in the metabolism of someone else( a lesson learned the hard way and one that was the beginning of the end of my relationship with Leslee...as she insisted that I do it... as Frank once said...'her way'). This sounds different however so I am listening again.Let's continue the dialogue. It's good stuff. D

June 30th, 2004

The last few months have been some of the most exciting and fun of my adult life regarding music. I am very lucky to be with some of the most ambitious, committed and gifted musicians in Conrad and Jay. At first, the learning curb was tremendous for me. In some aspects, it still is. I was so rusty at first. Now, umpteenth rehearsals and 10 gigs later, I realize we are coming together and there is a different focus on what I need to work on. I continue to want to polish things and, recently, we discussed linking tunes with solo's or lead- in's.That also requires thinking in terms of themes. I found myself transistioning from one theme to the next too fast on my drum break at the C- note the other night. So I plan to spend a bit more time practicing on my own and I hope to find someone who can teach me the intracacies of the Latin Beats, including Reggae and Samba. I haven't played with a group of people that play the kind of music I want play, and have the desire to play, since the years during and right after undergraduate school in the late 70's and early 80's. For that I am grateful...and, at the same time, it kind of caught me off guard. So, in many ways, I have been playing catch up, including having to invest in new equipment. It is all so worth it though because, in essence,you really can't put a price on the music thats being created.
Now, how do we get the message out. In some ways, it almost seems that the music is evolving faster than our ability to market it. I think if we continue and focus our energies there in the not too distant future, we will have the same success as we have had with the music we're making. It's all good. Very good! Dano

August 3, 2004

Evolving with AOK has been fantastic! I am so impressed by our ability to build parts to our tunes where there are voids or something doesn't fit(sound) right and to break apart other parts that seem too full or busy. I'm learning how to give space to the music and let it breathe more. I have a long way to go. If we were to assess our time in the studio last weekend I would say we have achieved a great deal this year.
Yes!!!! Hear that??? Agents of Karma is here to stay as will the arrival of our first album.It only raises the bar for myself and all of us for this next year coming. We feel and know we have something to offer and we know you know that if you are visiting the sight before the advent of our first album.We appreciate that greatly! Now we just want everyone to know about the good Karma being passed on by the music of AOK.

A few weeks back I was up in Adirondack State Park Canoeing at the headwaters of the Hudson River. Boy do I wish my schoolkids could see that...to understand where the water they see emptying out into the ocean comes from.I think about the metaphor often...how do you complete something that began somewhere else with someone or something else?The awe of seeing a Placid clear reflective pool of water and bringing it back in the form of art...perhaps even music...I'm trying to bottle up things like that and save them for the right time and place in the right tune.In from one source and out somewhere else...like the Hudson( any way...I guess outsourcing is big right now).
Dano

September 4, 2004

This was a great summer, music continuing to be a central theme! Jay's diary entries describe well our gigs on Staten Island in July and our time in the studio the last weekend in July. I have to admit the experience was an eyeopener and I am learning a lot about what sounds good inside and out of the studio. My colleagues continue to push me and so far have gone a long way in emphasising my need to pare down and simplify my playing, keeping in mind always that it's about the music, including the space between the notes...a mantra Miles Davis lived by.There is always room for improvement and I continue to find the right balance that will improve the quality of the music and all of our abilities to play it. I'm trying to learn how to play with the grain and not against it.It makes things easier for everyone.
Our goals are big for this year and, in order to meet them, I'll have to achieve some, if not all of mine.They include learning about reggae beats a la Stuart Copeland and Samba, improving my footwork, timing and, well, everything...purchasing a wide width Snare Drum and at least one Modern Boom Stand( mine is ancient and can no longer be used for fear pieces will fall and impair a persons walking capacity) working to a full set and carrying equipment. I'm glad I'll be going to work again soon. It'll keep me from spending so I can slowly save to get these goodies.

In late August we went back in to record. We got seven tunes in however, one is a cover and I had difficulty keeping even tempo on some major changes on three others.So this will be the year of working with the metronome and ( eek!)..the Clicker if necessary.Yet we now have more than enough material in rough draft recordings for a Cd...at least 13 to choose from.So I CELEBRATE AGENTS OF KARMA for a good first year and job well done.Ya'll will get to hear what that sounds like soon.I also celebrate Geargia and Kat in the studio...great work they do and great people.I celebrate Louis in Colorado who paints the face of our website and seemingly is with us in spirit before, during and after each gig and rehearsal even though he is miles away in Colorado. And then there is HAN! What would we do without Han? He provides the energy and substinence for the band in the form of the freshest largest chunks of Sashimi you could imagine.His restaurant Sapporro, on Staten Island, is highly recommended for anyone who is considering, or on, the Paleo Diet( see Jay's entries) or anyone who loves good food( I guess that means everyone).

Life, as we know, is about balance.In order for me to balance the music and get inspiration for it I traveled. In all, I was away over 10 times this summer.Perhaps a bit too much.Highlights included Canoeing and Hiking near the headwaters of the Hudson river and surrounding lakes in Adirondack State Park in upstate New York.We saw lot's of Redtailed Hawks, deer and a Black Bear crossing the road rather quickly.The serenety and quiet was well needed and ingrained in my head for future inspiration.The park is a hidden( but big) jewel that I will spend more time in and that I recommend to everyone( like Sapporro). Since I teach about watersheds in Earth Science and live at the mouth of the Hudson I thought it appropriate to see where it begins. I wish my students could all see that...at least I can tell them.

Another highlight was having the honor of being best man for an old buddy from undegraduate school. In one of those six degrees of separation deals, the wedding took place on the grounds of the guy who manages the Dave Mathews Band( and yes they are taking care of that Chicago 'Crap' you may have heard about) and the whole Bonnarroo festival.What a pad and what a beautiful spot Jim and Carol had for the rehearsal and dinner...we're talking vinyards, lakes, mountains, outdoor circular pits for fires and the best barbeque ribs( I kid you not...the name of the marinating sauce was 'Squeal Juice'!).The valleys from Orange to Charlottesville Virginia and west are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen in the Appalachians, another recommendation for all you out there.

And then there was biking the trails of Provincetown National Seashore and staying at the Hostel in Truro. First off, the Truro Hostel has something magical about it.The 'Porch' is somewhere where you can meet people from all over the world and feel connected in a second.Some felt like beacons, messengers with good chi.Yes, the porch had an alluring quality about it.And, Robin, Janet, Paul and Lorraine...if you're reading this, AOK and NYC open our arms to you...see us on 9-11. The hostel is a short walk to the ocean and the acres of dune and wetlands near it is all protected...looks like it did in the 60's when I was there as a child with my family.We also went on a whalewatch and saw 30-35 foot Humpback up close. I celebrate Victor( formerly from the High School for Environmental Studies and now at Bronx Science) and Tom Vitti( who was my mentor and influenced my professional career greatly at the High School for Environmental Studies and, who is one of the most devoted fans of Agents of Karma) for making the trip happen.

I spent some good quality time with my mom in Philly and I celebrate her and the fact that she is in relatively good health. Each day, more and more, I think of how important it is to be with family...time is going by.

If I had any regrets this summer, it would be that my schedule was too full ( I cannot wait for teaching, my real job, to begin again for that reason so that the schedule comes back to normal and there is no room to pack too much in...except for music of course).
So one thing that took a hit was romance. I have been so busy single for such a long period of time that when romance knocked, I felt I was not as available as I would have liked to have been. I met someone very nice through another acquantance and I'm glad I did. Though we spent more time with e-mail or phone calls than actual dating, which I regret and take responsibility for, we recently reconnected for a date and there is some good energy. Most importantly, if someone or something can make you, or anyone, happy for even a moment, than that is good and good energy! So way to go Donna! I certainly don't want to sound like the Governator but we all need to see light and be positive to get through these times.I hope the romance continues too!

That being said...I celebrate you, our fan base, and all the support you have given us this past year. We want to thank you and keep the celebration going by inviting you to a very special evening of music and life with AOK at the c-note on the evening of Saturday 9-11. Our good friend Kwesi and the Soul River Band will also perform. If you need to be somewhere on 9-11...this is the place to be.You'll see why after you settle yourself in with a nice libation.
Peace and Go Light, Dano