On Playing Music for Underserved Communities

Jon Silpayamanant

September 13, 2008 by Jon Silpayamanant

0 votes

One of the pleasures of doing what we do in il Troubadore is playing music for groups of people that would rarely, if ever, get the chance to hear live music that they enjoy.

Imagine, if you will, being constantly surrounded by foreign music. You go to the grocery store, or the mall, or turn on the radio and the music is in a language and style that is foreign to you--for the sake of this example we'll say it's Turkish music. You go to the record store, and most everything is some variant of Turkish or Central Asian music genres: a little Turkish Rom here; some Azeri Mugham there; Some Classical Ottoman music in the back corner, etc. The only American music is in a special "World Music" section mixed in with the African, Indian, Chinese, South American, and Celtic music.

Imagine going to a live music club and only being able to hear Tarkan, or Kemani Cemal, or maybe Taksim Trio.

For some people in this country, this is what it's like being here. I hinted at this scenario in a previous post.

Last night we met yet another Arab-American (from Jordan) who was very appreciative of what il Troubadore is doing. The wife said at one point her really perked up during our version of "Garoon Garoon" (a classic Armenian Dance tune) and said something to the effect of 'I know this song--I've heard it in my country!'

Now setting aside the fact that technically speaking, the US is now his country, and just last night he did indeed hear that song in his country played by us, but the point is that if it weren't for us, he would likely have never heard a tune "from his country" played live in his new home. I have yet to hear any Thai Lookthung played live here in the States.

The ease and availability of recordings makes it much easier for ethnics to at least aquire music originating from their home countries that they like. It's not like when my generation was growing up with slowly deteriorating cassette recordings of music from our home countries constantly being played in our homes till the tapes can no longer be played.

Playing for bellydancers is another joy altogether. Though most of them aren't ethnics like the Arab_american gentleman we met last night (Judy Hanna is actually Lebanese and a distant cousin of Issam Houshan, the tabla player for the Bellydance Superstars ) This is a sub-population in the US that very much enjoys alot of world musics. They also do not get as many opportunities to hear music they enjoy hearing and dancing to and because of that are also another underserved community.

WHat I've been finding interesting is the culure of Bellydance, at least in this country--it's grown into as much of a performaning art as any other performing art. But it has a very specific demographic--namely women, of course. I've always felt that this is a cultural response to the male-dominated world of US popular music (not like classical music where the proportion of women to men is roughly equal).

This is interesting for many reasons, because here we have a consumer population, that has to, like everyone else, divide their resources (money and time) between many choices. I cannot even count how often we have played to a roomful of women--in some cases members of il Troubadore being the only males present. It's a very different concert environment than we get at a club like the Melody Inn.

And in many cases, this audience also doubles as collaborators. Sure, open dances generally are like any other place--people get out onto the dance floor to dance to music. With the exception that it's a dance floor full of women often in full costume doing a form of dance that still has so many negative connotations associated with it. But in the course of an open dance, sometimes there will be gems--where a few or one dancer gets left on the floor making the piece their own usually because of the recognition that they or she has become an active performer rather than just an active participant.

Sometimes we'll know who will dance to what (when an audience gets to know your repertoire so well, they will pick their favorites to dance solo to) and sometimes we will play a particular song because we know that someone is there and that will turn the stage into an active collaboration. Sometimes someone will practically demand that we play a particular tune for her.

This is the real beauty of playing for bellydancers--the amorphous nature of the audience member/performer. It's a whole different set of "concert" rules--and one not so strictly dictated by a male-dominated genre.

Posted in groups: Local musicians network

Forum: Music

Tags: 

world music, belly dance, Bellydance, Arabic Music, Turkish Music, il Troubadore, Amirah, Hafla, Jon Silpayamanant, Judy Hanna, Robert Bruce Scott, Paul Radecki, Wendi Wampler, Northwood Christian Church, Issam Houshan, Bellydance Superstars

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6 comments

bridgetid
bridgetid, September 13
0 votes

I applaud your efforts. I know what it feels like to be in a different culture and need a taste of home. Hearing live music that connects you with that familiar feeling of home can be very comforting.

Jon Silpayamanant
Jon Silpayamanant, September 14
0 votes

Thanks for the words of encouragement. DId you live outside the US for a bit then?

bridgetid
bridgetid, September 20
0 votes

My fiance lives in England and I have visited his family. I have had the opportunity to be left on my own for a few days to wander around and try to find my way back...without really knowing where I was in the first place. I spent most of my time window shopping and wishing I had a map. I eventually stopped in a shop that was playing some music that reminded me of home and found my fiance's sister, who luckily knew where I was staying and how to get back there.

Jon Silpayamanant
Jon Silpayamanant, September 22
0 votes

AH, I see--in which part of England does your fiance's family live, then? I had similar experiences when I toured the UK back in '95--the cities, especially the big cities like London, seem so...compressed, if that makes sense? I actually had a map of London while wandering around, but still managed to get a little lost until I realized that I hadn't traveled nearly as far as I had thought. I had to rethink my concept of "big city" and adjust it accordingly--I suspect most European cities (and probably even smaller towns) are more like this than American ones (though the East Coast has a bit of that feel, too).

bridgetid
bridgetid, September 23
0 votes

They live in Retford, which is a small town actually. However, I find that any size of town can be daunting when you have never been there. Or if you are like me and are directionally challenged no matter where you are.

Jon Silpayamanant
Jon Silpayamanant, September 23
0 votes

Haha--I hear you! And especially if it's in a foreign country!

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