New Music, New Thoughts: Measure for Measure

Charles Amirkhanian's address book contains everyone in the new music world you wish you knew. He cut his teeth as music director at Berkeley's KPFA and moved on to Telluride, Djerassi, and Other Minds, championing forward-looking composers all the while (he is also one himself). He dragged Nancarrow out of obscurity and is doing the same for George Antheil. This interview is in two parts.

Milford Graves doesn't just play the drums. His life is one grand spiritual free improv that takes him from teaching at Bennington to performing with Albert Ayler, John Zorn, and at John Coltrane's funeral. His quest for meaningful music has taken him into the subtle pressures and beats of the heart muscle. Get beyond the Ba-Boom in this two part interview with Philip Blackburn.

Milford Graves doesn't just play the drums. His life is one grand spiritual free improv that takes him from teaching at Bennington to performing with Albert Ayler, John Zorn, and at John Coltrane's funeral. His quest for meaningful music has taken him into the subtle pressures and beats of the heart muscle. Get beyond the Ba-Boom in the second of this two part interview with Philip Blackburn.

John Killacky is every artist's hero; an administrator that cares. He has been a dancer, a filmmaker, a curator for major performing arts centers (eg The Walker, Yerba Buena Center...), a queer activist, an advocate for artists with disabilities, a foundation arts program officer (currently at the San Francisco Community Foundation), and a humanist with a passion for the ways in which art can strengthen communities. Listen to wide ranging stories of Janis Ian, making art that matters, and where money and ideals fit into the picture. First of two parts.

John Killacky is every artist's hero; an administrator that cares. He has been a dancer, a filmmaker, a curator for major performing arts centers (eg The Walker, Yerba Buena Center...), a queer activist, an advocate for artists with disabilities, a foundation arts program officer (currently at the San Francisco Community Foundation), and a humanist with a passion for the ways in which art can strengthen communities. Listen to wide ranging stories of Janis Ian, making art that matters, and where money and ideals fit into the picture. First of two parts.

Alvin Lucier has been at the forefront of new musical ideas for decades. He has pioneered the use of electronics and their connection to space, often recruiting acoustic phenomena to provide the conceptual content of his pieces. "I am Sitting in a Room," for instance, uses a tape delay system to transmogrify a voice into the unique resonance of a room's ambience. Here, during a talk recorded at the 2006 Spark Festival, he reminisces about the good old days of experimental performances in the 1960s with some notable colleagues.

CalArts, founded by the visionary Disney family, is an extraordinary place to get an education. Students over the generations have proven to be some of the most adaptable, original and practical artists around. What makes this all tick? Is it something in the water or in the curriculum? Philip Blackburn talks with composer David Rosenboom, Dean of Music, and Steven Lavine, President of CalArts in this two part interview.

CalArts, founded by the visionary Disney family, is an extraordinary place to get an education. Students over the generations have proven to be some of the most adaptable, original and practical artists around. What makes this all tick? Is it something in the water or in the curriculum? Philip Blackburn talks with composer David Rosenboom, Dean of Music, and Steven Lavine, President of CalArts in this two part interview.

R.C. Nakai is a giant of the flute. His journey to bring recognition of the American Indian flute to the wider world parallels the struggles for acceptance of Native culture in general in the U.S. In this two-part interview with Philip Blackburn he talks about his career as performer and composer, as well as his visions for music education.

R.C. Nakai is a giant of the flute. His journey to bring recognition of the American Indian flute to the wider world parallels the struggles for acceptance of Native culture in general in the U.S. In this two-part interview with Philip Blackburn he talks about his career as performer and composer, as well as his visions for music education.

What do Franz Schubert, billboards, Russian royalty, and compositional linguistics/theatrical music have in common? Ask Rick Burkhardt, head of the Nonsense Company. In this two-part interview Burkhardt talks about music, language, politics, and making art that matters.

What do Franz Schubert, billboards, Russian royalty, and compositional linguistics/theatrical music have in common? Ask Rick Burkhardt, head of the Nonsense Company. In this two-part interview Burkhardt talks about music, language, politics, and making art that matters.

How do you value the creative process? In this age of product glut it may be the only thing left that's worth something. When Brian Camelio wanted to start a record label he asked some hard questions about the industry and came up with a revolutionary concept. Thus Artistshare was born. It redefines the role artists themselves play in making their work, puts them in productive touch with their fan base, raises funds in a person-to-person manner, and ensures tremendous buy-in from all participants. It's the patronage, career model and marketing of tomorrow, and something the big guys can't touch.

You've heard about the record industry. Well, new music is barely a crumb of that shifting pie but there are some giants keeping the flames alive: CRI (RIP), innova (of course), and New World Records. Philip (also head of innova) convenes in micro summit of non-profit new music indies here by talking with NWR's Artie Moorhead and Paul Tai about the triumphs and pitfalls of making CDs these days. The talk was recorded on the very day Tower Records went under.

New music in the USA has developed along certain familiar pathways; but what about its evolution in a place like Turkey? The dynamics, culture and economy are different so how did the composing ecology change over time and where is it now? In the 1960s Bulent Arel came to New York and became a pioneer of tape music; upon his return to Turkey his tape recorder was seized by customs. Now young laptop artist Erdem Helvacioglu is making up for lost time. He talked with Philip Blackburn during a stop in New York City.