David Greenberger - Aug 16, 2006 9:55 am (#8 Total: 9)

I wouldn't say it was necessarily harder, but it was a very different way to work. The similarities for me were in having the time with each of the people I recorded. I'd have moments in my head that were the "keepers" but, as with all of my work, was surprised by what I found later when going throuhg it all. In this case the issues had another overlay: fidelity and sound quality. There were rooms that were noisier than i'd realized, or people who spoke of subjects that resonated on the page, but were flattened out in their own voices. I do look forward to drawing further from this material for printed pieces. there's a wealth of stuff that will work beautifully on the page.

David Greenberger - Aug 16, 2006 10:01 am (#9 Total: 9)

I'm used to positioning music a bit differently in the other pieces I've done - which are shorter pieces with music running right throuhg them. Here again though, music was used to heighten or continue an emotional mood. The project was conceived with David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos doing the music. Their sensibilities mirror my view of the elderly whom I interact with in that they draw from deep traditions but are also unabashedly modern at the same time. In all of my work I like the music to underscore the sense that these are people alive right now, rather than framing them in a nostalgic way. An example of the latter would be programs which use the sound of a scratchy 78 to accompany an old person's voice or story. I like the music to anchor the person in time - now.