Friend of All the World

My mood is decidedly better today. Sitting here in Kuta with time to kill until we have a chance to plead our case tomorrow morning to the Australian Consulate has afforded me the opportunity to marinate on a few things (as my old hommie Shane Love would say) and even to find a bit of inspiration (inspiration can be a funny thing, coming when you least expect it and under the most oppresive of circumstances).

As only a few of you know, I had a project I was attempting when I set out on this journey almost a year ago. With music providing a major context for my life and informing many of my life’s decisions, I wanted to incorporate it some way with my travels. The original plan was to record audio from around the world, from ethnic music to ambient street sounds, and edit these recordings into a composition at a latter date that I hoped would serve as a sort of musical documentation of this trip. I wanted to create a concept album that I hoped would capture a feeling or a general vibe representative of each area that we would travel through.

Unfortunately, on December 26th, all the recordings that I had made thus far along with my recording equipment were lost forever. The fact that Radka and I emerged relatively unscathed from the Tsunami made this loss easier to accept. I just had to push the project out of my mind…until now. My ambition to see this project through to fruition has been renewed and the scope of it (at least in my mind) has been expanded. I now envision it moving from a mostly personal audio based record of our travels into a tool through which to share an insight into the varied cultures of the world that we have had an opportunity to interact with. I hope to accomplish this through the medium of music accompanied by a multi-media production that would provide photos, maps, stories and first person interviews and background information on the people and cultures that I interact with and document.

Although I have nothing now in the way of actual recordings, I have gained a wealth of information and a deepened appreciation for the mosaic of cultures that comprise this amazing planet. I’ve also had much time to reflect throughout this trip on how culturally insulated my own country is. America, in all it’s pig headed power, remains intent on exporting its definition of what is culture as well as its value system throughout the world without ever letting much from the outside penetrate into its homogenized interior. Many American’s understanding of other cultures is based on what little they glean from media reports which, obviously, provides a slanted view.

Music has always been a tool for creating unity and is often cited for its universal nature (who doesn’t respond to the beat of a drum?). What better way is there to move our understanding of other peoples and their cultures beyond mere stereotypes? How better to show people what connects us all despite our superficial differences? We are all citizens of the same planet (as opposed to just citizens of a “State”) and the sooner we can visualize ourselves being a part of a global community, as opposed to isolated pockets of self-interest, the better off we will all be.

Of course in America, the land of the gated community (which has always s been more about the “gate” than the “community”), this is no small task. Fortunately my expectations are modest. Consciousness and understanding can be changed one person at a time and all I can expect to do, or any of us for that matter, is make whatever small contribution I can towards achieving something positive in my lifetime.

Facing ones mortality can have a clarifying effect on ones outlook on and sense of purpose in life. We are all here for a finite amount of time and then we are gone. If an opportunity to create something of some value and relevance is afforded to you, no matter how small, I feel it is your obligation to pursue it.

The musical pseudonym under which I wish to produce this project, Friend of All the World, is taken from Rudyard Kippling’s novel, “Kim”. It’s the nickname bestowed upon the tittle character by the native peoples he meets on his travels through this “great and terrible” world. I like it.

I hope in voicing this idea, even in this limited forum, is the first step towards seeing it through to completion. Of course, it will take much time, effort and money to even begin the process of compiling the necessary audio, video, photographs and stories, but it is my great hope that I will maintain the necessary level of determination to make it happen and to leave something worthwhile behind.

Of course the first step is getting out of Bali ; )