Inner Rock Star – Part 1 (Intro and Background)

- Thus begins an extended post broken up into (number of parts, as yet unknown) parts where I try to reflect on the “Inner Rock Star” event/performance/installation thingy of last weekend and the days that led up to it. -

For the sake of background, Felix runs Schwelle7, a large studio in Prenzlauer Berg where he holds a variety of events, parties, workshops, etc. He, and those who take part bring a strong passion for theatre, music, dance, and all forms of improvisational art. I went to a party there a few weeks ago and was very taken by the energy there, and so last weekend I thought I’d email Felix to say “hello” and to see if he might have some use for a guitar player at any point in the future. He welcomed me to come by for some sort of music improv workshop that was happening there all week and forwarded me some general info about it which tickled my sense of intrigue (among other things).

I got to the studio on Wed. at around 3 with guitar and BOSS ME-50 in hand, and a strong desire to play some improvisational music somewhere less tangible.  I had little to no idea what I was to do there – was this simply a party that I would play at along with other musicians? an audition perhaps for future events? preparations for an experimental music/theatre work? a 60’s San Fransiscan-style acid t… wait, go back one.

Pipaluk Supernova (do names get any better???) of Copenhagen-based organization Half Machine (an artist collective performing interactive art and dance installations, among other things) was the creative director behind the project.  She has a wonderful spirit for improvisation, which was really a good thing in the case of my arrival, because it soon became apparent that this day’s workshop had been going on since noon, and it was the 3rd in a series that was to run from Monday to Friday, noon to 6pm in preparation for a “performance” which would run throughout the weekend.  But I was really just stopping by to check things out, maybe meet some new artists and musicians to play with, and have some fun.  My impression from Felix was that I was generally welcome to drop in and leave as I please, and this impression was more or less supported by my interactions with Pipaluk who always graciously and gracefully incorporated me into the circle and referred to me at one point as a dignified “guest star”.

Just to put that term in context, I should explain a little bit about the concept of the piece.  Titled “Find Your Inner Rockstar”, the general idea was to create a space and structure within which improvisation could take place openly, by assuming the roles and attitudes of generally perceived rock star mentalities. To clarify that somewhat vague description, the idea was not really about playing a character, and certainly not about mimicking a known personality, nor was it about creating cliched rock music.  Rather, it was more about taking the essence of the uninhibited superstar persona, free from the concerns of the judgments of others (or of the self), and using that freedom to create. So the idea of being a “guest star” was wonderfully appropriate.

But at this point it didn’t really matter. I was just stopping by, hoping to meet others, talk to a few musicians, perhaps find someone in need of a guitar player for a paying gig… whatever.