8. Music, Improv, and Sustainability

A conversation with Josh Frederick. We discuss: the Alaskan town of Sitka, the special skill required of three-man bands, one of Josh's old bands: Idle Empress, the studio recording process, Agbekor (a music/dance style of Ghana), Jazz, my musical background as a very bad drummer, the soullessness of typical piano lessons, the 10,000 hours rule, talent vs effort, Josh's experience learning to play guitar, electric vs acoustic guitars, harmonicas and embouchure, Rush, singing in front of people, improv comedy, Glassworks Improv, how it seems counterintuitive to practice improv, integrity in improv, teaching and stand-up comedy, improvisation vs composition, scat singing, Josh's time living in Eau Claire and in Minneapolis, Josh's band Softly Dear, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, how Bill Gates and the Beatles became experts, how Josh became interested in sustainability and ecology, global warming and the prospect of future conflict because of it, the Planthropocene era, community gardens, intersectionality, Milwaukee's socialist mayors, democratic socialism, taxing the rich and how middle class republicans work against their own interests, misinformation and political polarization, aspects of conspiracy thinking, and Josh's book recommendation: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Idle Empress: https://idleempress.bandcamp.com/ Softly, Dear: https://softlydear.bandcamp.com/album/softly-dear