Bugolgi Apparatus

Finding someone as passionate about your music as you are-and then finding you make a good fit together. With LC Varella in Greenpoint.

1. If you’re a friend, I’ll give you the art. It’s a postcard. It’s an extension of us and our friendship that has enriched the work.  2. If I like your stuff, i'll buy it. It’s a way of showing that something has resonated. Something has taught me about the world or myself. It'll actually be a pleasure handing you the money. It's money I would have wasted on a bad meal or another guitar. I probably won't be able to afford anything much more expensive than that, though. 3. If you’re a band, I’ll pay up to $10 on a weekend to see you. Some of you are professionals and have families; I respect that. $20 for a national. $25 for an international; I can’t afford more. The live experience has as much to do with non-music factors as the music.  4. If I'm hiring you for one of my little projects, I don’t expect you to charge me your corporate rate. I assume you’re working with me because you like my work. I recognize that you have bills to pay, too, but I’m not a co...

I still buy a fair amount of new music every month. Technology has allowed us the ability to swap whole music collections with friends- this is amazing. I believe that critical listening to the other artists is completely essential to developing as a songwriter. It sounds obvious, but what is also apparent to me is how many of my peers fall back on familiar sounds and motifs essentially derived from their earliest listening experiences. Books like This Is Your Brain On Music  have documented how the music of our adolescence is deeply imprinted on our consciousness. We'll always have the sounds we love the most, but there is a process of stretching yourself as a listener that is crucial. Helping you along the way is connecting with other music fans, reading up on writers, and being engaged in trying to get behind the illusive answer to the question, "Why something works and why it doesn't." Before I ever wrote a song, I spoke to friends endlessly about favorite t...

Sometimes it's better to wait. Let those babies gestate, grow into teenagers that cause problems. Wait for the people that get you, that are on your wavelength. The non-careerists. Then let those teenagers out into the world.

is the best. There are many great authors. Check out Modern Indian Poetry in English  by Bruce King (2001 Oxford India) for hints. Here is something by Vinda Karandikar (from The Sacred Heresy ): The Ganges of Sweat The Ganges of Sweat knows no pause. She flows on gaspingly from infinity to infinity, pounding rocks with the thrust of her head, breaking all the cliff and crags, skimming over hill and dale. The Ganges of Sweat knows no pause. She breaks all bounds and barriers of country, religion and blood. She waters soils, both black and white. Look, how she flows over the entire world, how the boat of life canes on her stream! The Ganges of Sweat knows no pause. She flowed in the past, flows in the present; flows day and night morning and evening; as much in summer as in winter. A fuming cobra as it were, She bites the one who stamps on her. The Ganges of Sweat knows no pause. She flows onward in sheer abandon. She flows behind those ploughs in the fi...

I have made friends with Brazilians. They have happiness technology. This is important for songwriting as there are many reasons to be depressed and they make for crappy songs. Brazilian artists for the most part have respected the division between the poet, musician, and singer, which has led to a very rich tradition. I first started listening to Brazilian music when I was in my early 30's. I had tinnitus so perhaps I was subconsciously attracted to softer sounds. I don't make Brazilian music. I'm not a wannabe, but I am constantly amazed by the culture's rich output. I befriended a circle of people through Suely Mesquita, an interesting writer with whom I've worked with in several roles. Now, I'm the Brazilian Songwriter Embassy in the Bronx. Bethi Albano visited me last week. It felt like a 4-day conversation that never flagged. She's a great composer and will finally be releasing an album of her own next year. "Collaboration lies at the heart ...