newbassplace

traveltime

2007-02-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

traveltime

here i go.....

cleveland agora
MARCH 2ND w/ kevin mCcarthy (www.corkmusic.com)
cd release party! a sort of a homecoming....

SXSW w/ WATIV (www.wativ.com)
MARCH 16
playing southbysouthwest w/ my new orleans brothers...

Nasqbandhi sufi zhkir
MARCH 18 in L.A.
playing illahis w/ ZEKV ensemble (my sufi brothers and sisters)

... .. . hope 2 c all my friends in cleveland during my short stay there and looking foward 2 meeting new ones in austin and l.a... .. ...

b sure 2 checkout www.jeremybleich.com for more details and events.

2007-01-27T12:59:00.000-08:00

past these mountains as they sleep
(in savassana)
wont break the dream
even to acknowledge their brother
as i drive by
all the thoughts in this world
couldnt move them to see

the hawk up there
sloping across her bare breasted lover
lover as mountain
loves visible returns
through this place
as though it matters much
as if to see it
is to touch
timeless beauty
inspite of us

inspiration

2006-12-22T11:06:00.000-08:00

i just wanted 2 post about my friend molly sturges who is a brilliant singer and member of the santa fe community.
she was recently diagnosed w/ toungue cancer.
she, her husband chris jonas and her sister cree are maintaining a blog @
http://www.mollysturges.blogspot.com which is an amazing inspiration 2 all of who struggle w/ illness and all of us here who are blessed w/ health.

i highly recommend reading the posts and sending ur prayers of support for this woman who is truly a light of divinity and peace through her music and life.

peace and blessings,
jb

newbassplace

2006-12-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

-- - - - -- - - -- - -- --
- - - - --- - - check www.jeremybleich.com - - - - --- - -

god is a verb

2006-10-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

i find myself face 2 face w/ the concept of truth all the time these days. .. . what is it.?
is it perception, perspective?
can it b expressed at all in words? how does it relate 2 our responsibilites 2 ourselves, our community and intimate relations, and how do we express it....

st. francis (who was one heck of a guy) said "preach the gospel of christ at all times, use words if necessary"... . ... this clear expression of truth always moves my heart because it relays the importance of putting the priority of one's relationship w/ god and his/her community on action 1st and words 2nd.

another variation on this comes from an apache saying "it is better 2 have more lightning in the hand than thunder in the mouth"... . ...

i believe truth dwells in action, talk is cheep,
&
god is a verb

give it away

2006-07-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

i give this need - take it from me
w/ faith in greater things
deflect these praises to a good i couldnt approach
in deed, awareness, time
or power
grant the strength to give it all away

this is my prayer

spin all these strong winds into a powerful service
dissowning all these treasures
they dont belong 2 me anyway

(i) the messenger
point 2 heaven - the message
make a circle all around
this death - my death

nothing gives everything
in service 2 all
delivering me from myself

waterfall

2006-06-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

somewhere inside u there is a waterfall
under the rock it lays waiting
my heart beats like a drum
this rhythm can break it free

ciphen out this love until
flowing full and complete in your
freedom
in your passion
joining this river in a free fall
dance of desire

take advantage of the time left 2 us.
this is what we were made 4

in love, pleasure is gods greatest dance.

soaking wet i dive into it
tapped,
gushing,
rushing in your riverbed
the tide - a rhythm
the muted sounds
of i melting into u

folded inside,
complete,
once again one

together we ride this wave
together we ride the water

one voice set free

- food 4 thought - digging deep

2006-04-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

- definitions ... . . . . . ..

time - an abstraction of actual experience. an organizer.
space - becoming more and more important 2 me. i used 2 think it didnt matter where i was, now i find i change frequencies in different spaces and feel the need 2 move about the dial more and more 2 keep fresh.
connection - perhaps the most important thing in this human world.
wondering why sometimes i make some of the strongest connections w/ people on first meeting and little chance of return and dont share that w/ folks who are/have been w/ me through most or all of the journey.
it goes beyond opinion or interest.
im convinced its frequency (harmony).
vibration - sound, light, matter, creative expression, existence.
vibration is the grand unification, the bottom line, the greatest common denomintator and the key to god's plan and our connection to the divine.
i must learn to find and stay in tune, adjusting when the pitch changes,
.. . ... . . .. .inshalla . . .. . . . . .
receive - tune in, stay connected, wait 4 instructions.
transmit - share the truth.

checking out: - thomas merton "new seeds of contemplation"
nusart fateh ali khan (everything i can find of the qawwali),gillian welsh, much morrocan music.
action: - making quiet music w/ my computer/oud/sampler/mics/drums
and toys. . . ... . . . .. ... . writing words/taking photos

self realization

2006-03-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

self realization - the absence of personality?
if i am a stranger 2 myself
does that indicate i am on the right path?
is it when i suprise myself that im closest to the truth,
viewing my actions as a detached voyouer
a passenger in my own car.
losing control or is it
leaving me, crawling inside 2 such a place 2 leave body and consciousness unmanned......

like in music - playing as a listener barely aware of action, only the sound
is this refinement?

who is this person anyway?.....

from our brother, thomas merton

2006-01-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

A theology of love cannot afford to be sentimental. It cannot afford to preach edifying generalities about charity, while identifying "peace" with mere established power and legalized violence against the oppressed. A theology of love cannot be allowed merely to serve the interests of the rich and powerful, justifying their wars, their violence and their bombs, while exhorting the poor and underprivileged to practice patience, meekness, longsuffering and to solve their problems—if at all, nonviolently.

The theology of love must seek to deal realistically with the evil and injustice in the world, and not merely to compromise with them. Such a theology will have to take note of the ambiguous realities of politics, without embracing the specious myth of a "realism" that merely justifies force in the service of established power. Theology does not exist merely to appease the already too untroubled conscience of the powerful and the established. A theology of love may also conceivably turn out to be a theology of revolution. In any case, it is a theology of resistance, a refusal of the evil that reduces a brother to homicidal desperation. (Faith and Violence )

cactus metaphor

2006-01-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

i had the day off thursday, packed a lunch, a book ("atom from the sun of knowledge" by sufi shaikh lex hixon), and a camera and walked up my street until it became a path heading up into the mountains. within 5 minutes the city had dissapeared and i was alone w/ a jungle of cactus and other hostile plants and animals.

after hiking to the top of a small mountain, finding a flat vantage point to eat and view and read, i found two things - one in the book and another on the mountan top....the basis of this revelation.

since moving here i have been focused on one cactus in particular. its a kind of yucca that has numerous spines that fan out in a 2 foot diameter around the base of the plant and a 12 foot stalk that shoots upward from the center. at the top there are several pods that contain the seeds. when the seeds are ready, the plant dies and falls over, spilling the seeds...and one did in front of me as i was reading a collection of suras from the quran selected by lex hixon as one of several versus favored by the people of tasting (sufi).

so the verse is .....

"in any and every direction you turn, there is only the face of the beloved." - 2.115

....the singular purpose of the life of a plant, especially a desert plant became for me a metaphor. the simple fact that its whole life was lived for this single moment, selflessly continuing the creation even after its own death, w/ everything it needs to protect itself in this hostile enviroment - and in its goal giving it all up in the end. viewed in this way, the plant is the perfection of evolution and we are at the bottom of the progression.
maybe divinity created the perfection first in plants, and it evolved further and further away from the source, and now here we are to struggle w/ this journey back to the source....tied up in our intellegence, emotions, complexity. seperated from our true nature - the singular purpose as creators, the protectors, the perpetuators....a reflextion of the image of god

my new goal, live life as a cactus metaphor.

music as religion....

2006-01-08T18:29:00.000-08:00

how
should those who know of god
meet and
part?

the way
an old musician
greets his beloved
instrument

and will take special care,
as a great artist always does,

to enhance the final note
of each

performance.

- hafiz

new....yr...day....hour.....moment.......?

2006-01-03T07:43:00.000-08:00

to my friends and family.....happy new year, i miss u who r there (wherever that is) and am thankful for the amazing light and warmth i feel from u regardless of distance......

the return to bisbee from cleveland affected just about every part of me. the marathon drive (2000 miles in 38 hours -2x in 10 days) pushed all the emotions into the sureal, and i still dont have a concrete idea how i feel about anything....i know it was a fantastic trip and that i miss my friends and making music w/ my favorite musicians and at the same time was exicted by the idea of returning to my new friends and beautiful landscapes of bisbee.

its funny how a place will fade once youve left it. i was amazed by how different the color of cleveland was all white and grey and once again by az, bright blue and red. and after the initial shock of temperature and view i forgot all about my new home-not the people or any of the events or responsibilities (i brought my laptop and did work for my new job in between all the gigs and sessions in cleveland - i think if have a work addiction or fear of stagnation or some such thing) it was the feeling of where i was that made me forget the feeling of where i lived both coming and going from cleve....but now im back - - -- - new years in bisbee is by far the most interesting place ive been. the town is filled w/ the freakest people, hobos and hippies, burning man folks, gypsies. all come to town to celebrate the clean slate, living in the mountains, playing music and doing tricks. its like a circus of dirty transience for about a week or so. colorful, though.

you all should come and check this shit out....

home

2005-12-20T13:03:00.000-08:00

so here i am, back in cleveland.
it hasnt been that long since i left, but it feels quite different.
although i havent really made it home. im in elyria right now, staying
w/ mindi's folks. heading to the eastside tomorrow to see mine and start the
cleveland gig marathon (check www.jeremybleich.com for schedule).

speaking of marathons......when i left bisbee sunday night, i drove to
santa fe and stayed w/ my friend carlos (of highmayhem), and began driving
monday morning stopping here tuesday afternoon, bout 2pm.

fun times.

need sleep.

need water (hot to soak in)

hope 2 see many faces at the shows. lots of good music bout to happen in the land of cleves.

jb

2005-12-18T12:40:00.002-08:00

found an old poem.....appropriate i think 4 the journey home...

we spend all our time in the air breathing.
confused fish,
thirsty and dry
searching for the river again.
- remember when?
we shared the air, the space together
my breath, my body inside you
until -
swimming through the sky

to fly

across and
away from me

confused and lonely....

me too.

remember when i moved in you?
one voice, one breath, one body
a taste of the divine water
not yours, not mine.
just a drop from all this love.

.....thirsty?

2005-12-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

justice and fairness, not religion or atheism,
are needed for the protection of the state
- hakim jami (15th cen)

words4home

2005-12-14T00:18:00.000-08:00

time 2 return, 2 play music, 2 visit
2 remember who i was and who i am becoming.

1 moreprayernyc
2 my friends and brothers there.
w/ love from bisbee

from the brothers 2 vegas-the holy hour past.service in silence speak only of god and music.the eternal music at once divides us, conquers and admires us in adoration that 2 some defines-thus leading a life w/out longing....sever those ties binding 2 fly across the road, the sky winding through this fantastic landscape.still filled up w/ so much strife.dissect the body just 2 see and remove the malined if diseased now is the time if it pleases thee lord.im ready now unerneath this bridge in brooklyn town.the vast and free part sloping down friends&music a life @ peace w/u my brothers 2.why send this gift that grows so slow is it patience testing all the time.pass it on pass it on.
which elemets to be removed.and w/ so much 2 learn and time spent under the knife.distractions of beauty,bills,drama as it boils down 2 a simmer in bisbee,arizona.

... . . . .. ... .i - sperience
u - sperience . ..
them - sperience - conjugated reality
. ..
realizing the classroom im sitting in.

blogs r 4 blogs

2005-11-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

im shifting my professional postings over to the www.jeremybleich.com
site and keeping this address 4 musings, poetry, stories, and general writing as is the blogway...

you can visit the jb site for info on gigs, recordings, promotions and the like.
you can also purchase the eftah disk there, listen to audio samples view pics, make contact, every little thing your heart desires....

so
im finally settled in bisbee. i have a full time job (nonmusic related) an apartment, an arizona license (and plate), a whole new batch of friends, and plans to travel home for the holidays.

bisbee is a small town, a liberal community of artists/filmakers/musicians/gallery and restaurant owners and old hippies. i live on the mountain in the old part of town.
people here are smart. people here are openminded, well read. most have very interesting lives and stories to tell. i have met alot of cool folks through my friend arik who is from israel originally and we met because he heard i play oud. he has since hooked me up w/ work, an apartment and even a gig. my first gig - tomorrow night in bisbee. i played on the radio last night (oud) and im going to do an electronic duo next week on the air w/ that film maker. i work for an artist who makes metal sculptures. my kids are near me all the time. now all i need is furniture....chairs mostly.

i have much more time to reflect and write than i used to. i feel this place will return me to an inward space spiritually and artistically. not associating music w/ money in the old cleveland way is a good thing. everyone here knows me as an oud player, not a bass player...or perhaps just as that tall new guy.

here is a bisbee poem dedicated to the friars of the fransican renewal in the bronx NYC
who w/ the mountains of arizona inspired it.....

past these mountains as they sleep
(in savassana)
they wont break the dream to acknowledge
thier brother as i drive by - I.
all the words in the world couldnt move them.

the hawk up there
sloping
across bare breasted lover,
lover as mountain
loves visible returns
cirlce
this place as though it matters
much
as if to see it is to touch
timeless beauty
inspite of us.

purpose is action
- god is a verb
we adjective describing THE.
truth of a life lived w/ purpose.

right action
bread for the world

jb

2005-10-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

welcome to the jeremy bleich homepage. here you can find links and information about events i am presenting and collaborations i am involved with.

eftah
(jeremy bleich - oud / andrew stoltz - digital audio)

i am very pleased to announce the release of eftah the fruit of 12 months of careful development of composition/form/improvisation and electronic manipulation sourced from this amazing ancient instrument.

this music began as a collaboration between andrew stoltz and jeremy bleich for an art installation but changed shape when the duo got invited to perform at the nweamo international electronic music festival (www.nweamo.org) and high mayhem (www.highmayhem.org). the focus was then shifted to produce a full length recording made available for the fall festival tour.

the oud is used as the main sound source (w/ some voice and clapping added). the instrument is recorded in complete performance and sampled as individual sound and then manipulated via computer to create the final recordings.

there are also 3 short songs included- solo oud pieces recorded using various techniques.

go to www.jeremybleich.com and click audio to hear a sample and purchase the disk.
travel blogs
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Monday, October 10, 2005

high mayhem in santa fe

it is accomplished (almost)

drove from san diego to santa fe w/ a stop in bisbee az to drop off my stuff and pickup my kids enroute to the high mayhem festival. .... left sandiego @6:30 am... arrived in bisbee, az @3:00pm. left @5 and arrived in santa fe @12:30am. 18hours total driving on saturday. then we hooked up w/ my sister andrea and her husband keven and headed out to tecolote diner for breakfast. there we met josh smith, kurt kotheimer, eva mendoza, mustafa stephan dill and family and we all had a great breakfast. off to high mayhem and the performance.

last chance for the loneliest kitten (josh smith/kurt kotheimer/eva mendoza) played an amazing set of acoustic/electric soundscapes. the group sounds fantastic.
andy and myself played a set later. it was a great scene filled w/ friends and family and great music & art.

across from the space was the anarchestra. it was a room w/ a collection of homemade metal instruments of various kinds resembling horns, thumb pianos, upright basses and various percussion. my kids spent hours peforming in the anarchestra. the whole thing was recorded....hours of people wondering in and out of the space and playing.

chillin here in santa fe for a few days w/ carlos santisteven and the santa fe crew.
doing a session w/ mustafa and andy tonight. waiting 4 the rain to stop.
then its off to bisbee to find work and a place to live.....

Thursday, October 06, 2005

2 the land of suntan lotion

here we go once again....2 pack up the downlow volvo88 and head southward toward the l.a. and sandiego.

checkout www.builtforwalking.blogspot.com (andy's blog) for some great pictures of our trip.

must pack car....the last leg is upon us.

sandiego then santa fe. w/ a stop in bisbee to pick up the kids! cant wait....

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

sanfrantastic!!!

andrew and i arrived this afternoon in sanfrancisco. after a wonderful drive down the coast we came across the golden gate to the neighborhood of the same name to stay w/ my friend scotty barkan (of barky!)....it seems scotty has abandoned his nyc home for better fruit, cleaner coasts and kinder views.

playing tonight @simple pleasures (w/ the eftah duo doing one set and kevin mCcarthy/scotty b and myself doing a set of keven's music).

meeting my good friend michael 4 dinner shortly.

i love sanfrancisco. very happy 2 b here.

life in transition

travel/think/talk/make music/eat/sleep/b friends/drive2the next place and do it again, only this time i will stop someplace new . . . .. . .. . ... . .. ....

Saturday, October 01, 2005

portland...

finished the second performance of the nweamo festival.

portland is a great city w/ many restaurants, great architechture, much coffee and art. great campus (we performed at the university)...and great hangs w/ ben dewey.

the performance went really well, and andy and myself expanded the piece 2 b 2x as long.... moving foward on the music, gearing up for the next thing across to new shores.

next stop, san fran to play w/ keven mCcarthy....

more later after sleep.... . . . . . . .

Thursday, September 29, 2005

utah

after an amazing day in wyoming and nebraska i have successfully entered the third and last day of my first leg on the eftah/relocation tour. i slept in 4 and then a 2 hour shift last night (in the volvo) and hit the road just b4 dawn. i am currently in ogden utah just north of salt lake city. the scene here is amazing. just west of the continental divide, i am travelling up in the mountains through a canyon full of color and vegitation.

i have been taking pics, but i only have black&white film (language barrier in mexico left me w/ 100sp b&w film). the shadows this morning left some impressive images i hope to capture w/ the dynamics of b&w....

i have 700 miles or so to go b4 i hit portland tonight. the performance for nweamo is tomorrow night.

i plan to post photos tonight or tomorrow when i hit ben's place, so look for those either here or at my website

www.jeremybleich.com....that still feels funny to say or type.

..been thinking alot about what is next when i settle in az, and have a few ideas in mind for new music projects and a few ideas for writing (words) as well.

in the meantime, next up is nyc in november where i play w/ rick elias and record w/ brook martinez and possibly joe tomino and mike gamble (if the stars line up) for the cleveland based infinite number of sounds label.

looking foward to journeying to the eastcoast once again and am hoping to stay there a minute or 2.

im also looking foward to the release of the 6 recordings i made before i left cleveland including keven mcCarthy, paul stranahan, sarah vail, david mansbach and mike hovansek...all done in the space of one month.

(not to mention the eftah cd which is available on this tour and through me - just send me an email if your interested)

.....more later

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

words from the road....

finally left this morning on my big trip...solo from cleveland to portland for the second leg of the nweamo festival. it was an amazing adventure full bad food/ wrong turns and no shortage of aggressive drivers laughing at my downlow 88 volvo wagon stuffed to the gills w/ mostly uneeded things i need when i finally get to az.

15 hours in the car w/ a mishap which left me in chi-town during rush hour was broken up only by the need for gasoline and the search for wi-fi. it seems iowa likes to advertise free wi-fi at the rest stops, but doesnt deliver (i think its a plot to sell carbonated sugar water to otherwise healthy internet addicts like myself).

i find myself now in a hotel in omaha nebraska....

going to put in another 13 tomorrow and 9 on thursday...

the performance in portland is friday. im looking foward to seeing my good friend ben dewey and meeting andy who is taking the easy way (air)....then we hop into the volvo together for a trip down the coast to the land of sanfrantastic!

....viva la eftah!....

Friday, September 23, 2005

mexico city!!!!!

this is an amazing city. we had a great performance and heard some really great music from the other musicians/composers on the festival.

i also participated in a lecture on electronic music and spoke about the oud and the process of making the eftah piece w/ andy for the students at the university.

the accomodations/food/sites/festival were all fantastic. we had an opprotunity to see a cathedrial dwntn that was built over top an ancient aztec structure and used much of that material. we also saw some murals at the art museum. there is art everywhere. great graffiti too....

...i will be posting photos in the near future.

right now we are stuck in the airport in mexico city because of hurricane rita. hope to be home later tonight....

also my website www.jeremybleich.com has been launched. checkit....

peace and blessings from mexico,

jb

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

viva mexico!

so here i am in mexico city. 24 million people, give or take. the city is huge, spralling in a little valley inside a beautiful mountain range. the visiones festival is cutting edge electronic music and the performers are from many different places including chile, san diego, tucson, portugal, cleveland(!) mexico...etc. today we listened to talks on the subject of electronic music and have been hanging all day at the university. we are getting ready for the performance tonight, sound checking and such.

so far every meal has been killing, and the tequilla, well...

realizing my spanish is pretty bad, but functional when neccesary. i do have my trusty lonely planet mexican/spanish phrase book.

i will post more tonight after the performance.

peace and blessings,

j b

Friday, September 16, 2005

gearing up 4 mexico

the countdown to project leaving cleveland is well on its way.

first stop, mexico city.

eftah (andrew stoltz-laptop/jeremy bleich-oud) will be performing @ the nweamo international eletronic music festival there on thursday next week.
www.nweamo.org

very excited to be in one the oldest cities on the planet playing cutting edge music!
i will be blogging on the way, hopefully w/ many pics of the city w/ one of the oldest continuous civic memories....

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

links4u....

- 2me

www.birthsound.com
www.newbassplace.blogspot.com
www.jeremybleich.com

- other places you can find me.

www.brookmartinez.com
great NYC percussionist, the other half of daya duo.

www.norumba.com
oud/sarod/fretless guitar. leader of SAMA duo/trio (w/me) santa fe nm

www.corkmusic.com
keven mCcarthy's site - great singer/songwriter in sanfran

www.experimentalbehavior.com
online art/music community in cleveland started by my friends in Infinite Number of Sounds....big&growing

www.nweamo.org
international electronic music festival andrew stoltz and myself (eftah) are performing on in mexico city,portland and san diego.

www.highmayhem.org
great experimental music festival in santafe.....

checkout my blog www.newbassplace.blogspot.com for more links and info....
i will be blogging the trip w/ pics at my myspace site.
also be sure to checkout the brand new www.jeremybleich.com !!!!!!!
follow this link http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&Mytoken=F05A10BB-BF83-4559-BDDF7C3A1A78F9631160206953
for pics and info....