15 Questions to E. Ryan Goodman

E Ryan Goodman may be living in the „over-stimulated“ twenty first century metropolis of New York City. But in his music, bittersweet acoustic guitar-excursions „steeped in americana“, time seems to be suspended. Instead of giving in to the kind of hectic release schedules that have come to define the modern artist, more than two years separate the two albums which make up his entire discography and constitute the epitome of his artistic ambitions. The cover image of his most recent full-length, Halves, depicting two boys having a blast on a swing, leads the listener straight into a time when the blues was nothing more than an idea and Mississippi John Hurt still a young boy earning his living as a farm hand: Packaged in lovingly designed, vintage-style cardboard sleeves, the album doesn't feel like a product of the new millennium, but rather resembles a precious antiquity one will happen upon by chance in a dimly lit side-alley vinyl store. The pieces contained on this 37-minute short work, too, have an anachronistic quality to them, taking their time and unfolding their tastes, smells and sounds slowly and at a carefully measured pace. Using nothing but a guitar, his imagination and his fingertips, Goodman embarks on a journey towards the heart of the blues, the essence of folk and the gold of the moment. His work is infallibly split down the middle between improvisation and composition – in fact, these are the very halves the record's title is alluding to – always precisely structured and forever searching at the same time. Much like photography, they intend to intensify or bring back a very particular moment in all of its tactile sensations rather than describing a storyline, delineating a narrative or devising a plot. This, of course, is exactly what lends them their unmistakable air of intrigue: You can literally loose yourself in these short but never miniaturist pieces, whose meticulous sequencing on the album creates a kind of aural radio play. And yet, Goodman is neither a hermit nor a purist. He enjoys the raw force of a formidable riff as much as the flow of an otherworldly Thelonious Monk solo. If he were to organise a festival, it would feature both his colleague Jim McAuley and Brian Eno. And next to his still fledgling solo career, he is busy in a variety of band projects in as many different genres. It may be dealing with nostalgia, but the heartbeat of New York City is always pulsing through his oeuvre, too, imbuing it with an uplifting, life-affirming energy. The worlds of E Ryan Goodman may be suspended in time – but they are always suspended in the here and now, not in some faraway dreamland.

Hi! How are you? Where are you?
Hello Tobias, I'm good! I'm in Long Beach, New York.

What's on your schedule right now?
Work, practicing and juggling various music projects.

What's your view on the music scene at present? Is there a crisis?
I used to think there was a crisis. Nowadays, I just don't know. Nothing stagnates for long; something always comes around and stirs the pot. The good and bad about music-making presently are the easily attainable free means of getting music. It does and doesn't help the artist.

Do you see yourself as part of a certain tradition or as part of a movement?
Not at all, I play the guitar the way I play the guitar, that's it. All of my influences and life experiences are filtered through me and my outlet is the guitar - what you hear come out of my instrument through an improvisation is the end result.

What, would you say, are the factors of your creativity? What "inspires" you?
My personal creativity is the direct result of my accumulative life experiences---that's the bottom line. I truly believe that the subconscious reveals itself in the moment of free improvisation, and once recorded, that moment in time is captured. It's a very special (personal) thing. Everything around me inspires me on a daily basis. Hiking, meditating and like-minded musicians also inspire me.

How would you describe your method of composing?
It depends on what I'm working on, but mainly an improvisation reveals an odd melody or circular pattern that strikes a curiosity, then I go from there. Then I sort of transpose what I found and it develops slowly over time. If I'm working on rock stuff, I find chord progressions and/or an interesting riff and play them over and over again, eventually I get somewhere with it.

How do you see the relationship between sound and composition?
On a very basic level, sound inspires composition. But I've been paying closer attention to this relationship from reading Jim Mcauley's 15 Questions interview. The sound of something generally evokes my need to improvise and/or compose. However, as Jim beautifully described; to really pay attention to every aspect of a tone, "the texture, the feel, the weight, the timbre of the note," can truly inspire. My playing is definitely changing for the better because of this tidbit.

How strictly do you separate improvising and composing?
I'm not strict about it at all. You either leave a piece an improvisation or you delve deeper into an improvisation to compose. My recent album has both. I actually really enjoy short succinct ideas that don't go anywhere else but stay within their own rules. I think I may have subconsciously taken that from my years listening to punk. I like short songs. But don't get me wrong, I like long songs too!

What does the term „new" mean to you in connection with music?
My ears have opened up more in the last few years---I guess I am becoming more mature. It's all beginning to just be music now. There was a time when I used to be more rigid with this term. When I first heard Shorty's "Fresh Breath" and U.S. Maple's "Long Hair in Three Stages" I said to myself, 'now this is new music!' They furthered my curiosity and excitement all the way up to Acre Thrills. Ever since they broke up I have found nothing to take their place.

Do you personally enjoy multimedia as an enrichment or do you feel that it is leading away from the essence of what you want to achieve?
I thoroughly enjoy multimedia! Give me more, more, more! I believe that it does seep into an individual's creativity, but I can only imagine that being a good thing. Sometimes I feel that I am over-stimulated here in New York City, but then most of the time, once I make it to the woods for a few days I'm cured for a stretch. However, I wish the world could live with less advertising.

What constitutes a good live performance in your opinion? What's your approach to performing on stage?
Keeping up the listener's interests and curiosity constitutes a good live performance to me. I don't really have an approach yet. Still ironing out that stuff.

Do you feel an artist has a certain duty towards anyone but himself? Or to put it differently: Should art have a political/social or any other aspect apart from a personal sensation?
That's up to the individual artist, but I like to think that instrumental (especially, improvised) music stands on its own.

How, would you say, could non-mainstream forms of music reach wider audiences without sacrificing their soul?
I'm not sure. I doubt improvisers would ever sacrifice their soul to reach more people. I myself would never do that. I like to think if you remain true to what you create and keep at it, that you will eventually receive a bigger audience and a wider appreciation. Only time will tell. True musicians/artists create because they have to ... Once you put it out there for human consumption the rest is up to the cosmos.

You are given the position of artistic director of a festival. What would be on your program?
Not sure what order to put these guys in but the program would consist of the living and the deceased: Andrew Hill (solo, trio, quartet, sextet and big band settings), Deerhoof (Reveille era), Brian Eno, Harmonia, Robert Wyatt, WIRE, Working for a Nuclear Free City, U.S. Maple (Long Hair/Sang Phat era), Pere Ubu (Modern Dance era), Thinking Fellers Union Local #282, Thelonious Monk (with Sonny Rollins & John Coltrane), Duck Baker, Jim McAuley (playing every instrument in his arsenal), Eric Dolphy, Captain Beefheart (original line-up).

E. Ryan Goodman Discography:
Under the Lamp (Lone Lamp) 2008
Halves (Lone Lamp) 2010

Homepage:
E. Ryan Goodman

Tags: jazz, usa, improvisation, experimental, interviews, blues, guitar, e ryan goodman, folk

Community

Reviews

Features

About

15 Questions to E. Ryan Goodman

Search

Related articles

Partner sites