HYE Times

When I started to prepare for my ArtXDetroit concert and lecture last year, one of the Armenian musicians I had to get in touch with in order to receive some verbal history was Simon Javizian.

Simon has been a friend for many years and we have shared many laughs and kef (party) together along with his late wife Alice. Back in 1997, we even traveled to Armenia (my first and only trip there). He is a warm and generous man of both his time and heart and has given back to the community. His wife Alice had a heart of gold and one of the fondest memories I like to share happened several years ago when we would go on a Caribbean cruise focused on Armenian and Middle Eastern music with dozens of talented musicians. Simon and Alice always had the cabin next to me and when I would go on the veranda for morning air..Alice would reach around the partition with a pot of coffee for me. She kept an eye out for me for sure on those cruises. Good people. Back to my story about Simon…

Simon Javizian and his original Ardziv ensemble

Simon (or Si as his friends call him) was a clarinet player and vocalist that formed an Armenian band in Detroit called Ardziv. The name was in dedication to his uncle who originally used this name for his group. As you can see by the picture in this story, the types of instrumentation used from the 1920s through the late 1960s is a bit different than traditional bands of today. (Note the drum set and mandolin in Simon’s band)

When I met with Simon early last year, I asked if I could document our conversation on video and he was more than happy to help out. He is now in his early eighties and his mind is sharp as a ever. He loves to discuss the “old days” of playing and listening to music and tells it with passion and enthusiasm that I am sure he had when he was playing music. He talks about seeing some of the old masters of music such as Udi Hrant (blind Armenian oudist) and Marko Melkon play on stage and at different house partys. It’s great to see his smile as he willingly tells stories about who played and when and even some great anecdotes about his playing years. He retired from playing music many years ago, but you can still occasionally hear Simon at a khnjook (Armenian party) in Detroit belting out his signature song: Hayde Kaleh!

There are many musicians I plan to interview for the Detroit HYE Times documentary, I only wish I accomplished this project ten years ago as I would have been able to have gathered stories from a half a dozen musicians that have now passed.

Their music and memories will always live on.

Well, after putting all of my work together, I have decided on a launch date of February 1, 2014 for my Kickstarter campaign. You may think that picking a date shouldn’t have been this hard, but I lamented over and over again on what date would attract the greatest activity. I thought..well, right after the holidays isn’t good as we all are paying bill off from the holiday spending; launching after tax season will put me behind in my goal to have the documentary finished; and is Sunday better than Wednesday?!

I was driving myself crazy until I read a great article in Kickstarter’s website that said it simply doesn’t matter when you launch as long as you have all of your information ready to launch. The product matters and if you believe in it, then go for it. So true. I have much invested in the success of this documentary that I feel confident in putting a launch date together (something Kickstarter recommended)

The web link will be announced on February 1st, the campaign will go for 45 days and you will see the goals along with the incentives I have provided. I hope I can count on all of your support in making this documentary a reality!

2013 was indeed a great year for many reasons, much to be thankful about as I have said in the past. Looking forward to a busy 2014. Will start my Detroit Hye Times project with a major push in several weeks. I hope you will consider partnering with me on this project. Much help is needed. Thank you for everything!

Happy New Year!

Check out my latest blog….

In 2012, I was fortunate enough to become a winner of the prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship. I can’t express enough the doors this opened for me musically and how it changed how I looked at traditional Middle Eastern music. In many ways, it became a game changer for me. It created the ability to build relationships with other fellow Kresge winners and we have now become part of a fellowship class that will always be a close-knit group.

This class of artists are outstanding in their own right and come from vast backgrounds. The passion they portray for their art is amazing and I for one, had not seen this level of both love of their art and committment at this point in my life as a musician. Indirectly, they motivated me as well. Listening to their stories and hearing about what they wish to accomplish was simply amazing to me.

Through the talents of Artserve and Cezanne Charles, our fellowship was not just about the cash award we received, but the mentorship and training we received throughout the year. I met and created many new lifelong friends through this program and it really was “chicken soup for the soul” for me whenever we would get together as a group once a month and share our ideas and progress within our projects.

Receiving this award meant a lot more to me than I would have imagined. I am not bragging, but I applied for the first time and was confident that I wouldn’t win, but figured I would apply just the same. I don’t think I was prepared to win, especially when I knew how many artists applied for the fellowship. This award gave me my own validation that I am moving into the right direction and opened my eyes in a way that showed me several projects and goals that I wish to accomplish as a musician.

Perhaps this video, produced by Stephen McGee Films highlights my thoughts as an Armenian musician. This excellent video was produced as part of my fellowship.