CURRENT MISSION

Deepen my musical sense while working to cultivate a greater disposition of wonder toward the world

ABOUT ME

I tend to dedicate myself most earnestly to music -- studying it, playing it, composing it, teaching it. I also love meeting new people, the outdoors, drinking Portland beer when I'm lucky enough to be there, and of course being with my friends and those I care most about. Right now I'm studying Jazz Piano at Manhattan School of Music, working to further my artistic endeavors.

PHILOSOPHY

The more I learn about the world the happier I become.

I know there's a tremendous amount of injustice and inequality in the world, but I still believe in the fundamental goodness of people and in humanity's tendency to move away from inequality and oppression and toward justice.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Any way I can! Hosting, taking someone out for a drink, showing them around my neighborhood, teaching, learning, talking, listening.

Interests

Being in the world, music, food, learning, love, people.

• culture
• dancing
• dining
• beer
• drinking
• music
• jazz
• piano
• outdoor activities

Music, Movies, and Books

Amalie, The Dreamers, The Godfather I & II, Up, Blue Velvet, Garden State, pretty stuff (Avatar, etc etc) lots lots more that I can't think of.

Music is way tougher, there's so much! Radiohead, Dirty Projectors, Biggie, Bjork, Venetian Snares, Sufjan Stevens, Elliot Smith, Jesca Hoop, Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros, Efterklang, mum, Iron and Wine, Aphex Twin, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussein, Bob Dylan, French Kicks, The Beatles, Jaga Jazzist.

As far as jazz goes, Miles, Trane, Bird, Herbie, Art Blakey, Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch, lots of others. Love funk and brass band too!

As far as classical music goes, the guy that is by far the deepest for me is Brahms. And I'm really into John Adams right now too. Ravel, Debussy, Gorecki, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Vaughan Williams are great. Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart too.

Books . . . lol a little embarrassed to admit I haven't read a good one in a while! Oh wait, not true, I've been reading a lot of Slavoj Zizek lately, great writer, bewildering ideas. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins is probably one of my favorites. Parts of Dharma Bums and On the Road.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Oregon.

Teach, Learn, Share

Lots lots lots about music. Jazz piano stuff obviously. Theory, harmony, formal analysis, score study. Right now I'm trying to learn about Konnokol too, it's the South Indian rhythmic solfegge system. That shit is hard! I always love learning about the music of other cultures, as well as other cool elements of culture, language, food, dancing. I don't think I'll ever learn everything I want to but I'm pretty thrilled about that.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Canada, China, France, Japan, Monaco, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

•