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TUESDAY WAS A HOLIDAY HONORING ONE OF THE SAINTS. ACTUALLY, IT WAS MORE OF AN EXCUSE NOT TO WORK, THE FAVORITE NON-PASTIME OF MOST MACEDONIANS. THE ORTHODOX CHURCH WAS JUST DOWN THE STREET AND I DIDN’T SEE MANY PEOPLE ATTENDING ALTHOUGH I DID HEAR THE BELLS.
MACEDONIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN MISLESEVO
AFTER A BREAKFAST OF TOMATOES, BREAD, CHEESE, BOLOGNA, AND TURKISH COFFEE NIKOLCE AND I DROVE 4 KM TO STRUGA. THERE WE SAT AND DRANK MORE TURKISH COFFEE FOR AN HOUR AT ONE OF THE MANY STREET CAFES. FRIENDS AND RELATIVES OF NIKOLCE WOULD SEE US AND COME OVER TO MEET “THE AMERICAN’. OUR MISSION IN TOWN THAT DAY WAS TO DOWNLOAD MUSIC MIDI-FILES FROM THE ONLY INTERNET PLACE IN TOWN EVEN THOUGH NIKOLCE'S COUSIN OWNED AN INTERNET CAFE JUST HALF A BLOCK FROM THE FARM. WE SPENT AN HOUR DOWNLOADING CLASSIC ROCK HITS--SONGS THAT EVEN MACEDONIANS WOULD RECOGNIZE--THEN TRANSFERRED THEM ONTO MY PORTABLE HARD DRIVE.
IT WAS NIKOLCE'S IDEA THAT I COME TO MACEDONIA TO PLAY AND TEACH HIM ROCK AND ROLL--ELVIS, THE BEATLES, ROLLING STONES--FUN DANCEABLE STUFF. HE SAID THE BANDS THAT PLAY THAT KIND OF MUSIC MAKE THREE TO FOUR TIMES AS MUCH. NIKOLCE HAD TOLD ME TO BRING A MIXER, VOCAL HARMONIZER, AND LAPTOP COMPUTER. THE PLAN WAS TO BE A DUO AND NIKOLCE TOLD ME THAT HE WOULD BE PLAYING WITH ME. I HAD ASKED HIM IF HIS BAND WAS GOING TO BE MAD AT HIM AND HE EXPLAINED THAT WHEN HE HAD GIGS WITH THEM DANIEL WOULD PLAY WITH ME. I ASKED HIM IF HIS BROTHER WAS AS GOOD AS HIM AND HE INSISTED THAT HE WAS.
BACK AT THE FARM WE DOWNLOADED THE SONGS ONTO NIKOLCE’S COMPUTER. ALL FREE MIDI-FILES SOUND CHEESY SO WE SPENT SEVERAL HOURS MODIFYING SOME OF THEM WITH OUT-OF-DATE SOFTWARE, AN IMPROVEMENT BUT STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO PRESENT TO AN AUDIENCE. NOW THE PLAN WAS TO CONTACT BROTHER-IN-LAW NICK WHO HAD THE EXPERTISE AND THE SOFTWARE TO GET THEM UP TO SNUFF.
THAT EVENING DANIEL AND I WENT TO THE LOCAL NGO HEADQUARTERS WHICH WAS AN OLD HOTEL ON THE BEACH IN STRUGA. I MET SOME OF HIS INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS WHO WERE LEADERS IN THE ORGANIZATION--SONIA FROM SLOVENIA, KRISTINA FROM GERMANY, AND ALBERT FROM MONTENEGRO. THE NGO SOMETIMES PUT ON EVENTS FOR THE COMMUNITY--A JUGGLING FESTIVAL, CHILDREN’S CONCERT, ETC. THIS NIGHT THEY WERE HOSTING DANCE TROUPES FROM BULGARIA, SLOVENIA, ALBANIA, SERBIA, AND MACEDONIA.
DANCE TROUPE FROM SLOVENIA--OR WAS IT SERBIA?
HECK, THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME!
BULGARIAN BABES
THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE SPENT EDITING SONGS AND REHEARSING WITH MY “MIDI-BAND” IN THE LIVING ROOM. I USED HEADPHONES SO ONE COULD ONLY HEAR THE FAINT SOUND OF MY SOLID-BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR. MOST OF THE FAMILY WAS WORKING ON THE HOTEL DURING THE DAYS SO I HAD THE FARMHOUSE TO MYSELF.
NICK ARRIVED FRIDAY MORNING BY BUS FROM BITOLA, 70 KM AWAY. AFTER OUR INTRODUCTION NICK REINSTALLED THE OPERATING SYSTEM IN MY COMPUTER ALONG WITH COMPLEX MUSIC EDITING SOFTWARE AND A MIDI PLAYER. I PRESUMED HE WAS GOING TO SHOW ME SOME FUNCTIONS OF THE SOFTWARE BUT INSTEAD HE PLAYED ME AN ASSORTMENT OF HIS COMPUTER MUSIC THAT WAS CREATED BY PASTING TOGETHER PREPROGRAMMED SOUNDS. I WAS PATIENT AND POLITE AND OFFERED HIM PRAISE WHEN HE WENT INTO DETAIL ABOUT IT. WHENEVER I ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD TEACH ME ABOUT THE SOFTWARE MY REQUESTS WERE ALWAYS GIVEN A TERSE RESPONSE. "YOU ARE TOO IMPATIENT," HE WOULD SAY. OR "HEY--YOU JUST START DOING IT." AFTER MORE THAN AN HOUR OF LISTENING TO HIS NON-MUSIC NIKOLCE CAME IN AND WE SAT DOWN FOR COFFEE. NICK SHOWED US THE MOCKUP OF HIS CD ARTWORK AND EXPLAINED HIS PLANS OF RELEASING IT. NIKOLCE THEN BROUGHT OUT MY CD THAT I HAD SENT HIM (REAL MUSIC RECORDED IN A REAL STUDIO) AND SHOWED IT TO NICK. "I WILL LOOK AT IT LATER," HE SAID.
DEALING WITH ARROGANCE IS NOTHING NEW IN THE MUSIC BIZ--LORD KNOWS I HAVE ENOUGH OF MY OWN TO DEAL WITH. BESIDES, I NEEDED NICK’S EXPERTISE TO GET THE ACT OFF THE GROUND. HE WAS GOING TO BE HERE FOR THE WEEKEND SO WE WOULD HAVE TIME TO WORK TOGETHER. I NEEDED AT LEAST FORTY SONGS AND I TOLD HIM I WOULD PAY HIM $5 PER SONG, HALF AS MUCH AS IT WOULD COST ME IN THE U.S. BUT MORE THAN TWICE WHAT IT WOULD PAY IN MACEDONIA. "EXPERT" AS NICK WAS, I REALIZED HIS ARROGANCE HID THE FACT THAT HE LACKED TEACHING SKILLS. THAT NIGHT HE AND NIKOLCE WENT TO STRUGA FOR COFFEE AND BEER WHILE I STAYED AT THE FARM AND REHEARSED WITH THE FILES I HAD.
THE NEXT MORNING AFTER BREAKFAST NIKOLCE, DANIEL, NICK, AND I CRAMMED INTO THE MAGIC CAR AND DROVE TO A FIELD JUST NORTH OF STRUGA WHERE THEY HAD A “CAR MART” EVERY SATURDAY. THERE WERE ABOUT A HUNDRED VEHICLES FOR SALE AND ONLY ONE WAS MARKED WITH A PRICE. I SURMISED THAT MOST OF THESE PEOPLE WERE MAKING A LIVING BUYING AND SELLING CARS BECAUSE THEY HAD "HUCKSTER" WRITTEN ALL OVER THEIR FACE. AFTER INQUIRING ABOUT SEVERAL CARS I WAS AGHAST AT THE OUTRAGEOUS PRICES FOR THEIR BEAT-UP PIECES OF JUNK. IN THE STATES YOU CAN FIND A CAR THAT RUNS FOR $500. IN MACEDONIA ANY CAR THAT BARELY RUNS COSTS $1500-$2000. I COULD NOT JUSTIFY BUYING A PIECE OF JUNK FOR A LOT OF MONEY. EVEN IF I DID I COULD NOT BE THE LEGAL OWNER SINCE I WAS NOT A RESIDENT OF THE COUNTRY.
AFTER A COFFEE SESSION IN STRUGA WE WERE ON OUR WAY BACK AND HAD TO PULL OVER FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES TO LET THE PRIME MINISTER OF MACEDONIA AND HIS CONVOY GO BY. IT WAS A PRETTY BIG DEAL TO EVERYONE THERE. (IMAGINE SEEING THE PREZ OF THE U.S. DRIVE BY!) THE P.M. WAS ATTENDING A WEEK-LONG NATO CONFERENCE IN THE NEARBY CITY OF OHRID WHICH HAD TO BRING IN OVER 5000 EXTRA SECURITY POLICE. I GUESS THAT EXPLAINED THE NATO JETS FLYING OVER THE LAKE EVERY HOUR.
ON SUNDAY WE DOWNLOADED THE MIDI-FILES ONTO MY COMPUTER AND NICK AND I STARTED EDITING THE SONG FILES. OUR TASK WAS TO CHANGE THE INSTRUMENTATION AND ARRANGEMENTS TO SOUND LIKE THE ORIGINAL SONGS. BY NOW I HAD GIVEN UP ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SOFTWARE. HOWEVER, SINCE I WAS INTRICATELY FAMILIAR WITH EACH SONG I MADE SUGGESTIONS WITH WHAT TO DO WITH THEM. MY SUGGESTIONS WERE USUALLY MET WITH A LACK OF COOPERATION EVEN THOUGH I WAS PAYING HIM. THE WHOLE SESSION WAS A TUG OF WAR OF WILLS BUT I TREADED SOFTLY AND WAS PATIENT. EACH TIME WE WOULD COMPLETE A SONG HE WOULD HEAP PRAISE UPON HIMSELF. WE COMPLETED ONLY FIFTEEN SONGS THAT DAY BEFORE HE DIZZIED FROM THE WORK. I PAID HIM $100 EURO, OVER ONE WEEK'S WAGES FOR HIM. I SAID, "THAT'S FOR THE SONGS AND THE SOFTWARE." I STILL NEEDED HIS SERVICES SO HE ARRANGED TO COME THE NEXT WEEKEND TO DO MORE.
THE NEXT DAY AN NGO FRIEND OF DANIEL’S FROM SKOPJE CAME TO VISIT. WE WERE INTRODUCED AND I WAS THINKING “SEEMS LIKE A NICE FELLOW”. DANIEL EXPLAINED THAT I HAD A CD AND POPPED IT IN THE COMPUTER. ABOUT FIVE SECONDS HAD ELAPSED WHEN THE YOUNG MAN REMARKED IN A RIDICULING TONE, "OOO-COUNTRY MUSIC." HE THEN DID A LITTLE MOCKING DANCE AND LEFT THE ROOM.
IT TURNED OUT THAT NIKOLCE'S BAND WAS BOOKED SOLID SO PLAN B WAS PUT INTO EFFECT. LOOKS LIKE I WAS TO RELY ON DANIEL TO BE MY PLAYING PARTNER. LIKE MOST 23-YEAR-OLDS HE WAS PRETTY FULL OF HIMSELF AND I WONDERED IF HE WOULD TAKE DIRECTION. CONTRARY TO WHAT NIKOLCE HAD COMMUNICATED TO ME DANIEL DIDN’T OWN A KEYBOARD AND HAD TO BORROW A CHEAP MIDI-CONTROLLER KEYBOARD FROM NICK. IT WAS DEPENDENT UPON MY SOFTWARE TO GENERATE SOUND SO THAT MEANT HE COULDN’T PRACTICE WITHOUT MY LAPTOP.
DANIEL AND I SPENT ONE NIGHT CHECKING OUT THE CLUBS IN STRUGA. THERE WERE ABOUT SIX POSSIBILITIES BUT ONLY TWO HAD THEIR OWN SPEAKERS AND POWER AMPS. (NIKOLCE HAD TOLD ME ALL THE CLUBS HAD SPEAKERS AND POWER AMPS.) THE BEST OF THESE WAS CLOSE TO THE LAKE AND HAD OUTDOOR ROCK MUSIC. THE CROWD OF YOUNG POSERS SPILLED OUT ONTO THE MAIN STREET, OFTEN STOPPING TRAFFIC. I NOTICED THAT NO ONE EVER DANCED AT ANY OF THE CLUBS. “MACEDONIANS DON’T DANCE,” DANIEL SAID.
WHEN I STARTED TEACHING DANIEL THE SONGS IT WAS IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS HE COULDN'T
PLAY VERY WELL. SABOTAGE TIMES THREE. HOWEVER, HE INSISTED THAT HE COULD SING AND
WANTED ME TO LEARN A BUNCH OF SERBIAN SONGS, SOMETHING I COULD EASILY DO BUT IT WAS
FAR FROM MY AGENDA. I THOUGHT OF SEVERAL SCENARIOS HOPING TO COME UP WITH A FEASIBLE
PLAN BUT MY DILEMMAS WERE NOW NUMEROUS:
- DO I LET DANIEL, AN AMATEUR, DICTATE THE ACT?
- HE DOES NOT OWN ANY EQUIPMENT OR A CAR.
- HE IS A MEAGER PLAYER AND IS NOT SELF-MOTIVATED TO PRACTICE HIS INSTRUMENT.
- OTHER THAN SINGING AND BEING AN INTERPRETER WHAT WOULD BE HIS ROLE? (I AM AT LEAST AN EQUAL SINGER.)
- I OWN THE EQUIPMENT, I PAID FOR THE MIDI FILES, AND I AM REHEARSING FOR HOURS WITH THE HARMONIZER TO PERFECT THE SONGS WHILE HE IS OUT WITH HIS FRIENDS DURING HIS FREE TIME. IS HE TO BE REWARDED BY LETTING HIM SING?
FOR YEARS I HAVE OBSERVED THE "SINGER MENTALITY" IN BANDS. THEY ARE OFTEN GLORY HOUND PRIMA DONNAS THAT ARE TOO LAZY AND UNDISCIPLINED TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT. IN MOST CASES IT IS THE MUSICIANS WHO DO THE WORK (PRACTICE, ARRANGE, ETC.) AND OWN THE EQUIPMENT BUT IT IS THE SINGERS WHO GET THE ATTENTION ON STAGE. NO PROBLEMO IF THEY ARE EXTREMELY TALENTED AND PROFESSIONAL.
I CONSIDERED DOING THE ACT ON MY OWN BUT I WOULD STILL HAVE TO BUY A CAR AND THEN LINE UP THE GIGS WITH THE CLUB OWNERS. THAT WOULD BE TOUGH ON BOTH ACCOUNTS. LOOKS LIKE I WAS SOLD A FALSE BILL OF GOODS. IF I HAD TO SCRAP THE PLANS OF PLAYING MUSIC IN MACEDONIA I WOULD JUST MAKE THE BEST OF IT, DO SOME WOODSHEDDING, AND ENJOY THE SUNNY WEATHER.
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