In August I was accepted for a 3-week artist-in-residence program at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida. It popped up as an idea at the end of July. Not a lot of time to plan.
ACA does 4 residencies each year inviting three “Mentor” artists who then invite 8 “Associate” artists. 27 artists total – 8 musicians, 9 writers, 9 dancers (One musician had to cancel at the last minute.) We were housed, fed and turned loose on a state-of-the art 50 acre campus on Turnbull Bay to be artists. The care provided us was amazing. “Need a patch cord? I’ll run to town and get you one!”
Jeremy Kittel was our Mentor. He’s a renowned strings performer/composer/arranger and smart guy. I met Jeremy in 2015 at Alasdair Fraser’s Sierra Fiddle camp where we were both on staff. Maybe the most disciplined musician I ever met and it shows.
Our cadre included Casey Lipka, Ava Camaj, James Ross, Henry Webster, Xavier Leahy & Okay Khan under the leadership of Mr. Kittel. All accomplished and talented pros.
Jeremy offered us one hour per week of one-on-one brainstorming and 3 or 4 gatherings where he showed us some tricks. Good tricks. I learned a lot. Aside from that we were left to our own devices. At orientation Ren Morrison, our ACA liaison, explained that if we wanted to just sleep and and go to the beach that was fine. No expectations. That was not what happened.
I have been at songwriting gatherings before and know how to grab coffee, paper & pencil and go to work. That first Monday morning I cranked out a couple of verses based on a book I was half way through reading – Tobacco Road. That afternoon I met with Jeremy for my first one-on-one and we played with it for a little while. The second day I read more of the book and wrote a third verse. The third day I finished the book and wrote a fourth verse. Ta da! I like to avoid figuring out new songs on guitar. My fingers can only do so much and are pretty set in their ways. The music room had a gorgeous Steinway grand piano and nobody else seemed to need it much so I figured out a melody there. Nice piano!
Three weeks is a good chunk of time. I learned the neighborhoods and rode bike to the beach. We stayed up late and played and danced. We made friends.
ACA
The Atlantic Center for the Arts will be celebrating 50 years in business in 2026. I’ve spent a good bit of time working with arts non-profits and didn’t know such a place existed. It’s sole purpose is to nourish artists. Facilities include housing for 24 artists, cottages for the Mentors, a dining hall, library, music studio, painting studio, sculpture studio, dance studio, computer arts building, 200-seat black box theatre (all just for us and closed to the public) and a gallery/administration building/amphitheater that are open to the public. All beautiful, well maintained and connected by elevated wood walkways through the jungle. Most of the buildings have decks attached. The music studio has a ton of well-maintained gear (but no engineer – figure it out.) The food is great. We were provided with bicycles and basket balls. In October we could totally swim in the ocean. Highs in the 80s. I made friends with neighbors who took me out on the Bay in their boat.
CREATIVE PROCESS
Songwriting is something I seem to do when forced. I have a vague memory of Jerry Garcia saying he’d just as soon have dental work done as write a song. It’s not that bad but it’s definitely work for me. And there’s not a lot of impetus. I have plenty of songs sitting around. Just use one of those!
At Troubadour Camp with Mountain John & Moe Dixon I could pretty much knock out a song a day. On my NOLA Woodshed in 2023 I wrote and recorded 5 songs in a month. In three weeks at ACA I finished and recorded one song with a crackerjack string section and got started and side-tracked on a couple more. I didn’t push it but I kept at it. It was fun to play piano. I don’t usually do that.
TOBACCO ROAD
In September I found Erskine Caldwell’s Tobacco Road on a shelf at the Boho Manor on the Russian River where I play regularly. Good read. The characters are so poor, ignorant, superstitious, racist, misogynist and corrupt it’s disturbing. That it got made into a hit comedy on Broadway in the 1930s is a puzzle. John Ford turned it into a movie. There were times I had to laugh at how deeply flawed and pathetic these characters and their circumstances were but it’s not a funny book. There’s something in it that applies to today’s circumstances. Recommended.
ARTS
I have to say that I was never treated so well as an artist. The fact that there is a beautiful well-run place dedicated to nurturing ARTISTS is frankly shocking. There is nothing even slightly scruffy about the Atlantic Center for the Arts. I’ve worked in several arts organizations and often things become problematic when the actual artists get involved. Arts boards and administrators work best when the artists stay away – just make art and leave the rest to them. Hats off to Doris Leeper for not only coming up with the idea but pulling it off in spades.
It made me realize that the arts isn’t a side show. In the big picture of life, it’s more of an entree. A basic human need. Gives meaning. That’s not obvious and I am grateful to have it made clear to me by the amazing team at ACA.
And to that point, I’m pretty sure all 26 of us at ACA Residency #195 came away with some good work and fodder for the mill.
Finally, big thanks to Ren Morrison. (And Natalie.) Care in action.
