Liana Aghajanian, Welcome to Detroit!

Posted on 02/11/2016 by aratopouzian

I met a truly inspiring young lady last tonight, Liana Aghajanian. She is new to Detroit coming from Los Angeles as she is a recipient of a residency for two years, part of Write-A-House. She was one of 232 applicants from around the US and five other countries.

writehouselogoDetroit based Write-A-House supports journalists by inspiring creativity as they leverage (which are in abundance) distressed housing that will “promote vocational education, home ownership, neighborhood stabilization, and creative arts”. Grassroots level work that combines the arts community and Detroit’s neighborhoods is the mission of this organization. Basically, Liana was given a free house that she will live in for two years and then handed the deed to become a true homeowner.

Liana is of Armenian decent, born in Iran and moving to the United States when she was a little girl. She is an independent journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Foreign Policy, the BBC, Al Jazeera America, and The Atlantic, among other publications. She has been to Mongolia, Kenya, Germany, United Kingdom and much more. Her focus is on writing about topics others wont or don’t cover.

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Liana wih Steve Byrne

Sure, this initially caught my eye when I saw that an Armenian won this residency, but what made it extra special was that she is an artist (and a writer/journalist is just that) coming to Detroit. I was excited to meet and welcome her to Detroit.

A reception and conversation was held at Shinola in Midtown Detroit, one of the epicenters of redevelopment in Detroit. Introduction was made by Toby Barlow, Team Detroit. The conversation was moderated by Steve Byrne, Arts and Entertainment Editor of Detroit Free Press.

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Ara with Liana and Keegam

Liana and I corresponded online a few months back and even in her messages, you could sense the excitement of this new adventure she was about to begin. It was great to finally meet her in person. She was with her partner, graphic designer Keegam Shamlian. Keegam, I didn’t know until I got home, is the awesome inspiration behind the Ara The Rat clothing line for Armenian themed shirts. I can see Liana and Keegam make a good team.

Moving from Los Angeles (sunny and warm) toIMG_9038 Detroit (cold and sometimes sunny!) was no easy feat and you can see the excitement and adventure in her eyes. What struck me the most during her conversation with Steve was that coming from Los Angeles, she never experienced ‘quiet’. Always there was noise around her – family, friends – there never was the peacefulness that artists sometimes
crave in order to hone their craft. When she came to Detroit, she immediately felt the silence she never had and it made her feel at home.

Detroit has embraced her. Too often we lose talent to other areas around the globe, but this time we are all the recipients of this great talent that has come to Detroit to write, to learn, to be inspired and shed light about topics others wont or don’t cover.

 

Watch the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-73zMXpPG8E 

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Are you a Musicpreneur?

Posted on 01/21/2016 by aratopouzian

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Around this time each year, I seem to have the discussion with people about the fine line between being a musician and business professional. This topic probably pops up due to the timing surrounding when Kresge Artist Fellow applications are due and the complexity (and stress!) of putting an application together can have with any artist, especially those not familiar with the process of being able to promote ones self.

I have been fortunate that I feel I have a good balance between being a musician and understanding what it takes to market myself as a musician and the entire business that surrounds this industry. Sure, to a certain extent it is self-promotion, but that isn’t a four-letter word. I have always found it interesting that if you are a performer of any kind and you are doing self-promotion, it is considered (by some) shameless or not in good taste. No different than there was a time when professional service occupations like lawyers, dentists, doctors wouldn’t be able to place advertisements or create websites – it was considered “off limits”. A respectable professional should never have to do their own promotion, their services should speak for themselves. Sorry, I don’t buy it. Look at today, most if not all professional service industries advertise in one form or another. Social media certainly saw to this. To take it one step farther, I think independent musicians, artists, writers or any creative type need to have a sense on how to promote themselves. If you are not Kid Rock … being shy in this department won’t get you far.

Recently, I discovered Tommy Darker, a music educator that coined the word – Musicpreneur. What a great word! Per Urban Dictionary:   Musicpreneur is an independent, polymath musician who takes care of both their artistic and entrepreneurial aspect of their music career. This musician takes care of the promotional strategy, branding and revenue streams of the band himself; he’s a true musicpreneur. (Mr. Darker publishes an active blog that is worthwhile for musicians to follow.)

This word is very appropriate and I think I will adopt the moniker for now one. Although, having a name doesn’t solve the issues that I see artists face in today’s economy. Clearly, the independent artists that have adopted a musicpreneur methodology are far more successful and I can point to a number of different creative professionals in and around the city of Detroit, Michigan that proves this point.

I spoke in a previous blog about the Michigan House  that was located in a loft space in downtown Detroit during the auto show. Basically, a pop-up room filled with Michigan made products. I had a chance to speak to some of those artists and was truly amazed at the level of networking some of them would engage in with me. I was pretty happy to hear that not only were they proud of what they do – they were not embarrassed to talk about their success and dreams. This is what is needed in the creative industries, the ability to express what you do to others with a sales approach. Not creepy sales guy approach, but an honest and clear method of letting others know what you are doing and how you are doing it.

So to all the musicpreneurs out there, congratulations. You have much to be proud of and you continue to prove it to others. If you are still a novice musicpreneur – find a mentor, get out there, show people what you do. In the end, if you cant promote what you do, who do you think will?

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Michigan House – 5×5 Pitch Competition

Posted on 01/14/2016 by aratopouzian

Some of you that read my blog know that I am one of the Board of Directors for Creative Many (formerly Artserve) whose mission is to to develop creative people, creative places and the creative economy for a competitive Michigan through research, advocacy, professional practice, funding and communications.

IMG_8628.JPGThis is a big week for Detroit as it is the preview week for the North American International Auto Show. Perhaps one of the largest auto shows that takes place in North America – thousands of media professionals and industry experts converge to one location to check out the myriad of vehicles. What a perfect time to bring Michigan House to downtown Detroit and celebrate the creative industries.

Michigan House tells stories, shares ideas, creates collaborations all while showing the creativity our region has to offer. Michigan House is self-described as a “roving pop-up space which is a roving pop-up space where Michigan’s most dynamic companies, organizations, artists, and entrepreneurs tell their stories under one roof”. Sponsored by Creative Many, Middle West and Opportunity Detroit, each day/night features different events. It is truly amazing.

logoLast ngiht was the 5×5 Pitch competition. Five individuals, with five minutes, pitched their idea to help create collaboration and move the ball forward in Michigan. Last minute, I filled in as a judge and couldn’t have been more happier to help out. Having a chance to listen to five passionate pitches was outstanding. All demonstrated a genuine passion about what they felt would get people in Michigan to work together. The prize was $5,000 to the winning pitch, enough to help move the idea forward.

If you are in the Detroit area this week and want to see how creative Michigan is, you need to visit Michigan House. Click her to see the other events taking place.

 

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Powerball winner, musically speaking

Posted on 01/13/2016 by aratopouzian

Ok, so I have to admit, I have bought a few tickets these past few weeks for the unlikely event that I would actually win the Powerball. I have bought one $2 ticket each time the pool of money goes up. I have been in line where I have seen hundreds of dollars being plopped down on the counter with force as to almost show that this misguided soul will be the winner. Take that 7-11 employee!

inspirational_motivationalnfunnyquotesfromkimberlyskorner_caroldalyAs of today, the value is $1.4 billion with odds of 300 million to one. This is a world record of jackpots and the buzz it is creating is amazing. I heard that you have better odds getting struck by lightening while swimming or drowning in a pool.

It has been interesting to listen to radio programs discuss this all time high lottery. I have to laugh at some of the discussions that surround the topic of winning the lottery.

  • It is unhealthy to think you will win the lottery. The let down will be severe. Then an entire research study on this is discussed.
  • Fantasizing about winning the lottery and what you would do with it is healthy. Releasing certain hormones that actually make you happy.
  • The amount of money being offered is ridiculous and could feed a nation and whoever wins should donate it.
  • Got to love the legal advice being given — hire an attorney, CPA, financial advisor, create a think tank. A think tank?
  • Odds are better becoming the President of the United States.
  • Achieving sainthood. (yea..not sure about that one)
  • Stock advisors say stop buying tickets and buy stock. Well…that probably the most sensible comment I have heard on the topic.

The list goes on and will continue until a winner takes home the pot of gold.

So I started to think, what would I do – musically speaking – if I won this jackpot. Sure, we all know some of the first things we would do with the money as we fantasize about it, but just for fun – what would I do with the money that pertains to the arts and music.

So much could be done with that kind of money. Selfishly, having Armenian music schools around the globe — teaching folk instruments, teaching how to make folk instruments, teaching at all different ages; preservation of of Armenian music by way of documenting in both written form and a complete anthology of our music performed by some of the greatest musicians available. I mean the list would be endless.

You expected me to write more about this? Well, after all, I don’t think I will win the jackpot…but if I did…

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New year, new projects…

Posted on 01/05/2016 by aratopouzian

Happy New Year to all of you!

It seems that the last two years, coming up with new and exciting projects was a simple task. I remember telling anyone that would ask : “I have a million ideas and will never run short of projects“. Funny…now I find myself in a bit of an embarrassing spot….I don’t know what project to move forward on. It also seems that in the pursuit of the work I did and completed last year, I have forgotten some of those ideas. Small ones that were beginnings of potentially lengthy projects.

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. – Thomas A. Edison

Last year much focus has been on the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide and thus the projects were easy for me to put together. As a matter of fact, if I stuck to this same thread, there is more I could do.

I am caught in the middle of trying to preserve and move forward at the same time. Should the project focus deal with new music? Trying my hand at composing. I am not a composer and have only put together a few songs together.

I have also thought about doing a deep dive into the makams, the Middle Eastern scales that make up much of the music I perform in public. Learning new makams, experimenting with sounds, etc.

A film. Sure, I made one, should I do another? I have a few ideas, but ouch…a lot of work goes into that and I couldn’t do it without support from grants and such.

Probably should have wrote down all my ideas a few years ago when I had more of them. What do you think? I would love to hear from you about potential ideas to pursue.

 

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Thank You…

Posted on 12/18/2015 by aratopouzian

As we enter the final major holidays of the year, naturally to be able to reflect upon the past year seems to be an automatic for us, but in my case there is much to be thankful for and thankful to a whole lot of people.

I am very blessed to have experienced many things this past year it’s certainly it is been an emotional one for me.

I was able to realize a dream of producing a film documentary about a topic that is near and dear to me and had it air nationally on television. You really can’t complain much after that, can you?

This is such an important year for Armenian’s around the world and as we draw toward the end of the centennial year of the Armenian Genocide, I feel that in a very small way I did my part to honor my ancestry for the horrors they endured.

This is certainly not is a bragging point but it felt like more of an obligation that I have as an Armenian. This year has allowed me to present music to a non-Armenian audience (of all ages) and educate them not only about the Genocide but about the importance the music played (pardon the pun!) in our history.

I am so proud of the many musicians, artists, writers that I have created special projects in honor of the genocide this year. They are too numerous to mention in my blog, but I would venture to say that they too felt the same obligations that I did and still do.

So where do we go from here?

As both a musician and as an Armenian I am always looking for that next project to pursue. I cannot help but still think that the obligation and feelings I have experienced this past year should still continue. Recently at a concert I performed at, I discussed how the attention the Armenians received this year has been simply monumental. Celebrities that have gone to Armenia or have talked about Armenians and the Genocide in the media have never been so abundant his it was this year. Unfortunately I don’t think we will see that next year and that is truly a shame.

Check out some of the celebrities that brightened the Armenian map this year:

Conan O’Brien went to Armenia
Amal Clooney (wife of George Clooney)
Additional Armenian celebrities comment on Genocide

I grew up like every Armenian knowing about the Genocide but it was this year where it had its most profound effect on me. Just the sheer number of events that I have attended, lectures I have seen, artwork, videos – it has changed the emotion inside me as to how I feel about Genocide. It is almost heightened the feeling within me. I don’t think it should go away and as I look into next year and I hope that whatever project I look to pursue, I include elements that I learned this year.

I want to thank a lot of people that made this a memorable year. First and foremost, my wife, Della. She is constant inspiration for me and helps me out most of the time when I am in a mental jam. I would like to thank Brian Golden, a friend and a patient one at that. Brian and I worked closely for over a year putting Guardians of Music together and I am very proud of the work we did. Speaking of the documentary, I owe a big thank you to Detroit Public Television and the entire staff for airing my documentary and centering an entire pledge night on the Armenians. Finally, I would like to thank all of the musicians featured in the documentary and those current musicians I have worked with this past year. We cant do it alone, and I am grateful to all of you.

Happy Holidays and cheers to a wonderful and healthy 2016!

Ara

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The Kanun

Posted on 11/30/2015 by aratopouzian

Over the course of the last few years of my blog one might have thought I would have already covered or discussed this subject by now – the instrument I play, the kanun.

The two most common questions I am asked about (as it refers to the kanun) are: What is that instrument called and What made you want to play this instrument?

C017569iThe kanun is a laptop harp with approximately 76-strings. The amount of strings may slightly differ depending on its maker. The origin of the name comes from the word – canon, which can be defined as a fundamental principle or law. This definition is important because the instrument is said that this instrument set the tone and pitch for other musicians and singers and because of the mechanics of the instrument, you could not play an incorrect tone. The tones of the instrument could only be changed by depressing your thumbnail or fingernail down on the string, there were no levers (like there is today) in order to alter its pitch.

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Mandals for the kanun

The instrument itself is trapezoid in shape and each set of three strings sits on top of several levers (mandals in Turkish, orabs in Arabib). These levers now set the tone and allow the musician to change the pitch in micro tonal scales thus allowing us to play Middle Eastern music. The strings (made of nylon) also sit above four different chambers as they rest on a bridge. It has been told to me that the pressure alone on this bridge can be upwards to 10,000 lbs.

The name kanun is spelled different ways. I have always used the most common spelling of kanun, but it is also spelled: kanoon, kanon, ganon, canon, qanun, or qanoon are most common. The Greeks refer to the instrument as kanonaki. The origin of the instrument goes back to the 5th century and clearly is the grand-daddy of the piano.

What drew me to this instrument really doesn’t involve a magical story I’m afraid. The instrument didn’t come to me in a dream nor did it float down from the heavens onto my lap. Sorry to disappoint you. The reality is that when I was listening to Armenian and Middle Eastern music I was always drawn to two different instruments. The clarinet and kanun where the two instruments I enjoyed listening to most of all. I’m almost certain that the reason I enjoyed the sounds of the clarinet (and still do today) is due to Hachig Kazarian, a master Armenian clarinet player in Detroit. I must have seen him perform hundreds of times over the years and what better example growing up than to have the privilege of hearing him play clarinet.

Johnny Sarweh, a prominent Arabic qanun player originally from Detroit. I took lessons from him many years ago.

Johnny Sarweh, a prominent Arabic qanun player originally from Detroit. I took lessons from him many years ago.

As for the kanun, I was drawn to it for a number of reasons. The first involves the fact that it was not a common instrument played in the Detroit area, especially in the Armenian community. We had Armenian performers in the past play kanun, but no one was devoted to the instrument when I started to learn the instrument.  Predominately, Arabic musicians performed kanun in Detroit and if you wanted to see this instrument – it was rare and you had to go to some of the nightclubs (which at that point were dwindling).  The fact that this instrument was rarely seen had appeal to me. The complexity of the instrument both attracted and scared me. Here is an instrument with 76 strings on it and all I could think about in the beginning was how do I tune this darn thing? When I first started playing this instrument I was playing on inferior quality instruments and always had difficulty getting it to be an exact tune. The other reason that drew me to this instrument was its sound.  Unlike the other Middle Eastern instruments that I have heard the sound of a harp really attracted me

So I must admit that I felt there was an opportunity to play an instrument which was not as popular as some of the other instruments and this attracted me further to the kanun. Over a very short period of time I fell in love with the instrument and never regretted the decision to play this instrument. I have talked about Jack Chalikian in the past, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention him here and all of what he did for me to help love the instrument.

When performing live, I love getting questions about the instrument and its origins. In particular, as a musician, it’s important to me that children are interested in my music. Watching them watch me play is a wonderful thing. It’s not something that they will see every day and the more exposure I can give to the instrument, among children, the longer the music survives. That’s my opinion and outlook on it. I think all musicians would agree that demonstrating an instrument or playing music for children has the utmost gratification.

The instrument makers them selves have also come along way and they feel that their quality keeps getting better and better. Recently I became the proud owner of an electric kanun in whereas I am normally partial to acoustic instrument first this electric version his identical attributes to the acoustic one.

Finally, thanks to YouTube and Facebook for providing some fine examples of kanun musicians is both inspiring and entertaining. Of course I am partial to the instrument but I feel that it has more diversity to it than some of the others. By its design, complexity, and even the number of strings….enjoy!

Narek Kazazyan, a younger Armenian musician performs an improvised piece. 

Tsovinar Hovhannisyan and Lilian Martirosyan, Armenian musicians perform a rhapsody.

Jack Chalikian, Armenian musician performing on the Seventh Veil recording in 1964.

Manos Koutsaggelidis, Greek musician playing kanun and singing both in Greek and Turkish. 

Tamer Pinarbasi, Turkish musician that plays without picks but his finger nails. 

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Presenting at TEDx Oakland University

Posted on 10/26/2015 by aratopouzian

If you haven’t heard what TEDx is by now, you are missing out on some of the most inspiring and motivating presentations available to the public.

TEDTEDx centers around the theme of ideas worth sharing. The acronym stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Created in 1984 as a small conference, the concept of presenting TED talks has gone global. (There is even a TEDxYerevan) The small ‘x’ signifies an independently organized TED event. Each TED talk ranges in time no longer than eighteen minutes. This is great for those of us with short attention span!

If you are an enthusiast of TED talks, you have undoubtedly have a favorite presenter.  I have watched many of these presentations over the years, but some of my favorite presenters that come to mind are Ernesto Sirolli and Sir Ken Robinson. Who are your favorite presenters?

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Outside of Oakland University

On October 23rd, I had the opportunity to become a TED speaker. I was one of the speakers at TEDx Oakland University. What an unbelievable experience this was for me. Over 500 in attendance, the day was filled with some remarkable speakers and topics.

IMG_7501My topic was on Armenian music, 100 years after the Armenian Genocide. Certainly a topic which I have little difficulty in presenting, but the challenge was greater for me this time around. Not only was I going to speak about this topic, but play some music and click through slides in a matter of fifteen minutes. This made me a bit uneasy, however I think I managed well. (The proof will be in a forthcoming video link).

Not only was this enjoyable for me, but it was rewarding. I was able to present on a topic that means so much to me and to be able to educate an audience which has not been exposed to Armenian music is wonderful. Equal in satisfaction is educating the audience about the Armenian Genocide. This caught me off guard a bit as sometimes I take for granted that everyone has heard of the Genocide. I could tell by my discussion and description and by audience reactions, that wasn’t the case.

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No pressure…..

I would like to give thanks to Charlie Rinehart. Initially I wasn’t sure if I needed assistance in preparing for this talk, but Charlie offered to be a coach as part of the Ted team and I gladly accepted the offer. It was well worth it. A fantastic sounding board that offered clear assistance to me.

Finally, this was not an easy even to organize. Attention to detail was apparent and a big thank you to all of those involved in making TEDx Oakland University team is in order!

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Fender M80 Chorus Amplifier, Family Friend

Posted on 10/15/2015 by aratopouzian

Last week I sold my Fender M80 amplifier that I bought over twenty-five years ago when I started playing music. Surprisingly, I became a bit melancholy once I sold it. Rarely do I need to utilize a big amplifier like this, I thought it was time to sell it and move on. Also, it was big and bulky and I was tired of lugging it around to different gigs.

00707_dhvLRSCCTpx_600x450It was in excellent condition and I believe I sold it to a person that will take care of it. Wow, you would think I gave a pet away or something, but the amplifier holds a lot of memories and it played a lot of gigs over the years. When the buyer agreed to purchase the amp, after acknowledging the great condition it was in (point of pride for me!) I offered to wheel it to his truck and put it in there. As if it were the last walk we would have together. Silly perhaps, but that amp represented the first twenty-five years of my musical life and it still meant something to me.

I felt my amp deserved a proper send off and so goes this simple blog essay where I can publicly thank a piece of history and machinery. Thanks Fender, this was a great product.

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Guardians of Music Coming to Phoenix Theatres, Laurel Park

Posted on 09/22/2015 by aratopouzian

I am pretty excited to announce that I will be showing Guardians of Music: A History of Armenian Music in Detroit at the Phoenix Theatres, Laurel Park Place on October 1, 2015. Tickets are available online for $10 each. This plush theater has leather seats and they recline!

Ticket proceeds will go towards a new scholarship I am creating with Wayne State University that would expose music students to traditional Armenian music.

PURCHASE TICKETS AHEAD OF TIME TO SECURE YOUR SEAT ON OCTOBER 1st!

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