A conversation with San Francisco-based musician, artist-activist, and man on the scene, J. Lee, whose solo album Starry Skemes was recently featured on ScripterNet.
Dlinc:: I've been loving listening to your new album Starry Skemes, and find it fits nicely into my playlist from mid-morning until well after dinner. Congratulations on the album! Putting out this music at this time seems like a perfect response to the pandemic, recent politics, and the trend of climate crisis that has engulfed our attention all the last year. Do you feel there is a perfect time in the 24x7 cycle for music? When do you reach for music to guide your consciousness?
Dlinc:: Starry Skemes strikes me as an idealistic mix of love songs and protest songs merged across a unifying voice with some fairly traditional instrumentation. Where do you see this set in your repertoire?
Dlinc:: I know you put this out during the pandemic — did you see an opportunity, like having time to work on your music, or is there more to the timing? Also, how do you feel in general about how the pandemic has impacted the culture around you?
Dlinc:: Some of these tracks seem less political for you. I am thinking of Alien Home or Hello Fellow Traveler which seem to bring together several disparate, even conflicting themes about our personal lives taken in larger contexts — do you see some light at the end of the tunnel for the local-global dichotomy we've endured these last few decades; can all the struggles possibly unite us somehow? I am thinking about basal conflict in places like Afghanistan where seemingly irreconcilable differences between hardened positions birthed endless wars there — how do you feel about fundamentalists, for instance, knowing that they are breathing the same air and eating (more or less) the same foods as the rest of us? Is there any chance of reconciling all these contrasting ideologies?
Dlinc:: What's your relation to the internet? I love the title — was it important to tweak the spelling of Skemes so it stands apart from undesirable search engine results? I pulled up some links for “cons” and “scams” when I googled “schemes” a minute ago. I could be reading too far into this but, did you consider the way this album will be discovered and sampled as a part of your total composition process?
Dlinc:: Thanks for bringing up Swan. I didn't know his name at the time but he sold me a pair of sunglasses once for $2. Later I followed his states and moods when I noticed him in the neighb, and he seemed to be seeing more than everyone else. That's a great connection for me with your album! I'm curious if you'd like to share any other thoughts and sources moving you during the song writing, editing, and production of Starry Skemes? How did these songs come together, and what if anything did you feel that you had to leave out?
Dlinc:: Just a bit more about who is moving the culture for you now. What sources of unity and hope can people track from their silos and isolation? Are we making progress against the sensation shit-show that is continually saturating our limited fields of attention? Please share any strategies you may know about.
Dlinc:: Any plans right now? I know this is the all-time most predictable last question, but I can't resist asking — what's next for you?
Dlinc:: Thanks for your music and thoughts. And congratulations on a great album!
Dlinc:: I've been loving listening to your new album Starry Skemes, and find it fits nicely into my playlist from mid-morning until well after dinner. Congratulations on the album! Putting out this music at this time seems like a perfect response to the pandemic, recent politics, and the trend of climate crisis that has engulfed our attention all the last year. Do you feel there is a perfect time in the 24x7 cycle for music? When do you reach for music to guide your consciousness?
J. Lee:: Thanks David! My consciousness is largely guided by silence. Silence is required to hear the music in my head. It’s a lot easier to write a song if I already hear it than if I sit down to write a song and have to fish around on a guitar.
Current events and concerns always influence silence. Our inner voice is always in dialogue with the perceived world. This is why clever poets and lyricists are an age-old threat to authoritarian regimes, lol.
For other people’s music, I sometimes check in on what people in my orbit are putting out. My favorite times to listen to music are when riding my bike or walking the dog.
Current events and concerns always influence silence. Our inner voice is always in dialogue with the perceived world. This is why clever poets and lyricists are an age-old threat to authoritarian regimes, lol.
For other people’s music, I sometimes check in on what people in my orbit are putting out. My favorite times to listen to music are when riding my bike or walking the dog.
Dlinc:: Starry Skemes strikes me as an idealistic mix of love songs and protest songs merged across a unifying voice with some fairly traditional instrumentation. Where do you see this set in your repertoire?
J. Lee:: Starry Skemes is a good starting place for those who have never heard my music. It’s less lo-fi and experimental as a whole and is pretty familiar sounding material. It fits nicely into the larger oeuvre of my stuff. There’s catchy melodies and inventive clever arrangements. Dave Mairs plays drums and helped out constructing and engineering the music. I never really thought of this as an album. I was just getting stuff out of my head while I was excited about it and, lo and behold, there was enough for a complete work that flows together.
Dlinc:: I know you put this out during the pandemic — did you see an opportunity, like having time to work on your music, or is there more to the timing? Also, how do you feel in general about how the pandemic has impacted the culture around you?
J. Lee :: During the initial lockdown I was able to write and record the last songs which ended up on Starry Skemes. You can hear a shift into more quiet, less fierce bombastic music as the album plays on. I also took up painting and making mobiles, and started studying Spanish. So besides maybe getting COVID in January before the official shutdown, I haven’t personally been affected.
US economics has become monopolization and speculation of the basic necessities of a dignified life, including housing and health. This leaves about 95% of the population either holding on to what they have as prices go up, or worse, going destitute. I would say, culture in America is not inspired and is poetically spiraling downwards, as more and more individual subcultures and diversity are laid to waste by the oligarchic class. The pandemic has greatly accelerated inequality.
I am a dedicated amateur — not to be confused with having hobbies. Amateurism as in having a normal job to pay for life expenses while doing the highest caliber creative work without the pressure of careerism. Sharing, uplifting and being uplifted, growing creatively and making community is my cultural motivation, and I am not alone.
US economics has become monopolization and speculation of the basic necessities of a dignified life, including housing and health. This leaves about 95% of the population either holding on to what they have as prices go up, or worse, going destitute. I would say, culture in America is not inspired and is poetically spiraling downwards, as more and more individual subcultures and diversity are laid to waste by the oligarchic class. The pandemic has greatly accelerated inequality.
I am a dedicated amateur — not to be confused with having hobbies. Amateurism as in having a normal job to pay for life expenses while doing the highest caliber creative work without the pressure of careerism. Sharing, uplifting and being uplifted, growing creatively and making community is my cultural motivation, and I am not alone.
Dlinc:: Some of these tracks seem less political for you. I am thinking of Alien Home or Hello Fellow Traveler which seem to bring together several disparate, even conflicting themes about our personal lives taken in larger contexts — do you see some light at the end of the tunnel for the local-global dichotomy we've endured these last few decades; can all the struggles possibly unite us somehow? I am thinking about basal conflict in places like Afghanistan where seemingly irreconcilable differences between hardened positions birthed endless wars there — how do you feel about fundamentalists, for instance, knowing that they are breathing the same air and eating (more or less) the same foods as the rest of us? Is there any chance of reconciling all these contrasting ideologies?
J. Lee:: I feel like we the people need to get rid of words like fundamentalism along with left-right, Red State-Blue State, right-wrong, up-down, etc.. We need to get rid of “the US says this” or “China says that”.
Let's zoom out a little.
This is the language of divide and rule and if we are going to take on the big bad issues and make systemic changes, we need the voices of all those not in power [to be] included. Trying to make the “other side” look or feel stupid is counterproductive and is following the elitist narrative.
This is also true for individuals. Don’t label yourself. You are just putting yourself into an identity box. Life is too complex so why get all uptight about your personal opinion? Put your mind into gardening or reading or making something cool or fixing something.
Let’s take a look at the Taliban for instance, since you mentioned Afghanistan. What’s the shariah policy on opium cultivation, distribution and use? I would assume in their ideal world [that] addicting millions of people to dope, causing mass suffering to addicts and their families and loved ones, would not be ok. How about dealing opium to Western narco-pharma cartels? Is that ok? I can’t really say they have a great claim to fundamentalism if they are putting capitalism over their religious laws.
Same goes for supposed fundamentalists Christians. Who would Jesus bomb? Who would he persecute? Would he stand up for ruthless corporate anti-labor exploitation, mass media disinformation, monopolies, the military industrial complex, and hierarchical pyramid power structures?
What about self-identified racists, classists, [those with] “mini-me” aspirations, and other shock troops of the failed status quo? What’s at the core of these beliefs? Fear. We all have it. Where fear rules, empathy and change is possible, even in the most unlikely person.
Btw, I get called out all the time. I call it learning. I am open to being taught.
Let's zoom out a little.
This is the language of divide and rule and if we are going to take on the big bad issues and make systemic changes, we need the voices of all those not in power [to be] included. Trying to make the “other side” look or feel stupid is counterproductive and is following the elitist narrative.
This is also true for individuals. Don’t label yourself. You are just putting yourself into an identity box. Life is too complex so why get all uptight about your personal opinion? Put your mind into gardening or reading or making something cool or fixing something.
Let’s take a look at the Taliban for instance, since you mentioned Afghanistan. What’s the shariah policy on opium cultivation, distribution and use? I would assume in their ideal world [that] addicting millions of people to dope, causing mass suffering to addicts and their families and loved ones, would not be ok. How about dealing opium to Western narco-pharma cartels? Is that ok? I can’t really say they have a great claim to fundamentalism if they are putting capitalism over their religious laws.
Same goes for supposed fundamentalists Christians. Who would Jesus bomb? Who would he persecute? Would he stand up for ruthless corporate anti-labor exploitation, mass media disinformation, monopolies, the military industrial complex, and hierarchical pyramid power structures?
What about self-identified racists, classists, [those with] “mini-me” aspirations, and other shock troops of the failed status quo? What’s at the core of these beliefs? Fear. We all have it. Where fear rules, empathy and change is possible, even in the most unlikely person.
Btw, I get called out all the time. I call it learning. I am open to being taught.
Dlinc:: What's your relation to the internet? I love the title — was it important to tweak the spelling of Skemes so it stands apart from undesirable search engine results? I pulled up some links for “cons” and “scams” when I googled “schemes” a minute ago. I could be reading too far into this but, did you consider the way this album will be discovered and sampled as a part of your total composition process?
J. Lee:: Starry Skemes coming up in a search engine minus all schemes is a real plus! I honestly never thought about that! The misspelling of Skemes comes from hanging out with the SF street poet [and] pamphleteer Swan. He had his own visual phonetic language, misspelling words for emphasis and effect.
In this case he wrote something like —
In this case he wrote something like —
the burning bush raised a twig to the heavenly firmament and said I Am Arch Angels diving through dope smoke Holy Ghost rising up to the starryskienAs for my relationship with the internet, I’m pretty behind the times regarding IT, but I will eventually make an art-music-info hive and online store. It will probably look like it’s from 1987 and be everything they tell you not to do in the art-music-business career book, like being opinionated and distracting. It’s bound to go viral, lol.
Dlinc:: Thanks for bringing up Swan. I didn't know his name at the time but he sold me a pair of sunglasses once for $2. Later I followed his states and moods when I noticed him in the neighb, and he seemed to be seeing more than everyone else. That's a great connection for me with your album! I'm curious if you'd like to share any other thoughts and sources moving you during the song writing, editing, and production of Starry Skemes? How did these songs come together, and what if anything did you feel that you had to leave out?
J. Lee:: Starry Skemes is the first album I’ve done where much of the music was written on modular synth and then transposed to rock band. It was fun because I really love patching the synth but that process is very ephemeral. As soon as you turn it off or unpatch it, that particular piece can never be played live again, kind of like a Tibetan sand mandala. Making it a song and adding lyrics cements the piece of music into a longer lasting and more shareable, understandable work.
I try and maintain an eclectic songwriting approach and am selecting dishes off the “great buffet” of my influences. I try and mix in some nice melodies with a palpable amount of ferocity, some protest-politics, some love songs, a little utopian dreaming, some Eastern philosophy, and maybe a little nod to death every once in a while for good measure, lol. The music mostly comes first and then it’s a matter of prosody or having the words make union with the music. I never leave anything out. I get motivated to bring these songs to life though sometimes it takes a few tries to get it right. I’m always tinkering in the studio so each recording will come out with a different spirit. When I get enough songs down for a complete work, I take a nice long break from studio operations to put a little space between what has been and what’s next.
I try and maintain an eclectic songwriting approach and am selecting dishes off the “great buffet” of my influences. I try and mix in some nice melodies with a palpable amount of ferocity, some protest-politics, some love songs, a little utopian dreaming, some Eastern philosophy, and maybe a little nod to death every once in a while for good measure, lol. The music mostly comes first and then it’s a matter of prosody or having the words make union with the music. I never leave anything out. I get motivated to bring these songs to life though sometimes it takes a few tries to get it right. I’m always tinkering in the studio so each recording will come out with a different spirit. When I get enough songs down for a complete work, I take a nice long break from studio operations to put a little space between what has been and what’s next.
Dlinc:: Just a bit more about who is moving the culture for you now. What sources of unity and hope can people track from their silos and isolation? Are we making progress against the sensation shit-show that is continually saturating our limited fields of attention? Please share any strategies you may know about.
J. Lee:: We are up against an establishment that values mass ignorance and obedience as a means of maximizing profit and consolidating power. Sounds depressing right? We are well aware of the big problems of sociopathic oligarchic control and the profits over people death trip. How much more info needs to be minced about it, considering? These issues never resolve so if you are following along closely you will be held in a constant trance state of limbo.
Best way to fight it is with acts kindness, sharing, love, creativity, and self- and community-education. If you focus on one or more of the above, you are using your power to make a better world. You were handed the torch, pass it on.
The real movers and shakers for a better world are unknown and many. They are people who don’t care if you know their names. They are too busy activating and raising the bar in their communities.
One tip I have is to exercise and eat right. It feels good. Another tip is make friends everywhere you go. We are all a great planetary family. The more and varied people you meet, the richer your life will be.
Best way to fight it is with acts kindness, sharing, love, creativity, and self- and community-education. If you focus on one or more of the above, you are using your power to make a better world. You were handed the torch, pass it on.
The real movers and shakers for a better world are unknown and many. They are people who don’t care if you know their names. They are too busy activating and raising the bar in their communities.
One tip I have is to exercise and eat right. It feels good. Another tip is make friends everywhere you go. We are all a great planetary family. The more and varied people you meet, the richer your life will be.
Dlinc:: Any plans right now? I know this is the all-time most predictable last question, but I can't resist asking — what's next for you?
J. Lee::
Lots going on for future projects. We look forward to rebooting the band, the Rabbles. I want to release a modular synth LP. I got a possible gig lined up at ATA doing Farfisa organ music for experimental films, and a new batch of recordings are underway. I’m making mobiles and painting landscapes, which has been really relaxing. Besides all that, I’ll be hanging out with [partner and daughter] Marina and Maizie.
Dlinc:: Thanks for your music and thoughts. And congratulations on a great album!
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