The cornish landscapes are so juicy and lush, especially in this time of the year. You can observe all the possible shades of green and golden (I must think about Oregon`s tune with this title) ;-)

Today me and Asaf were running a Breathing-Rhythms Workshop at the Cornwall College in St. Austell. It is such fun to work together with Asaf and to see how we accomplish each others work, showing the youngsters some new ways and possibilities to improve their rhythm, physical awareness, coordination and breathing.
Running workshops in different cities or even countries gives a pretty good insight in the modern music education systems. I observe different patterns, that repeat no matter which age, nationality or cultural background you`re dealing with.

Each year more and more musical giants of our times are passing away (Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Charlie Haden, BB King, Prince, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Nana Vasconcelos and sadly many, many more others)...

Considering the fact that surviving in the music business gets harsher and that the music industry feeds us with the mp-3 oriented artificial fast-food it is still very refreshing to see how many young people want to become musicians today!

They work hard and are interested to master their musical skills. They got much more access to music - education and more possibilities than for example my generation in their age. Many of us are moaning that the music stars that accompanied us for the decades pass away and with them all the high quality music. The question is - is this the reality, is it true?

Are we so consumed by the commerce that the new generation is going to be too week to tattoo our culture with their greatness? In my opinion - not necessarily! Times are tough, that`s clear- the world is crazy and threatened by our own materialistic approach (...)

There`s this huge positive - “BUT” thow… This "BUT" is followed by the stream of the facts like: there are so many musical geniuses now in such a young age exploding with creativity - even if the medias try to feed them with junk. So many enthusiastic, hard working, inspired young personalities that are fighting their individual way through the artificial world of plastic values.
Look at those kids : Joey Alexander, Jacob Collier, Daniel Clarke Bouchard... Those are just several examples of the whole wave of the new generation...
I am seeing all those young people hungry to learn, explore and create free from stylistic restrictions and old fashioned - radical learning systems… It feels so good to see the musical future in the brighter light. It feels right to contribute this tiny bit to their development. I see them being stressed, sometimes overwhelmed, often under pressure of delivering, comparison or criticism. They fight with worthiness issues more than ever but still - this enormous wave of enthusiasm and passion about making music is too massive to be ignored. I feel thankful to see all that from this perspective. It makes me smile.

Ok, enough reflecting - time to get to the next venue and shake it`s walls a bit ;-).

The Bosuns is situated directly at the coast of Charlestown. The first thing we saw arriving to our destination were the huge old regatta ships anchored at the bay in front of the venue. What a beautiful view it was : sapphire - greenish water and the evening sun were a real treat to our eyes... :

The Bosuns is a spacious, cosy marine place serving some good sea food and other local specialities. The audience there was very calm but warm and enthusiastic…

Each gig is a treat with this band, no matter where we play and which kind of audience we`re playing for or how tired we are :-).
The ability to create this “musical bubble” on stage gives us the security of keeping our level of energy as high as possible and raising the vibe in each situation.

I had some moments of frustration when the effect board of my amplifier stopped working (It`s just been repared before the tour) and I had to improvise programming the effects on the mixer and adding them to the sound of my amp, which I`m also using as a monitor.
I forgot to mention before that we`re doing the tour using our own PA system, which means some serious physical activity at least two times a day ;-) but also the comfort of controlling and developing our own strong sound under any circumstances. At the beginning it was difficult for me to help “schlepping” the gear before each gig, then setting up the PA (which is my job in this set up) and then delivering a relaxed performance (and looking nice at the same time - hahah). I`m going to spare you guys the details of my dressing room - and make up survival experiences that I had to degrade to the cave-woman level in order to focus on the priorities :-D, gosh - still laughing recalling some situations. Not every venue has the luxury of a green room. Well, the tiny toilet space or even the car will do if necessary :-DDDD!

Anyway, fortunately I managed to solve the technical problems better then I thought I would. The gig went very well and everybody was happy.

We all enjoyed listening to some great music in the car on the way to the hotel. I used to choose the music adequate to the weather and the times of the day.

Tomorrow - The Bancourt Hotel !

See you there ;-)

Sylwia Bialas

Sirkis/Bialas IQ - Spring Tour 2016, Gig No.8 at The Bosuns , St. Austell, UK