So I sent my interview questions to the people who agreed to do interviews and am now just waiting for them to send them back. I got one back yesterday from this lovely…
So I sent my interview questions to the people who agreed to do interviews and am now just waiting for them to send them back. I got one back yesterday from this lovely lady who works in the Sonoma County Film department and she was gracious enough to answer questions about local festivals as well as the process for obtaining permits/permission to film in the area and stage events. Hopefully I’ll get at least two more within the next week or so …!
I also got my press credentials for the Sonoma International Film Festival, and will be attending this Saturday. Pretty excited about that! I’ll get to see a large-scale film festival event complete with after parties and special events such as panels and signings. I haven’t been to this festival so it will be a treat.
My website is all set up and is simply awaiting content. I’ll be tackling my timelines probably next week.
Not much else to report. I’ve been keeping up with my readings and am enjoying the music festival articles. Some notes I’ve taken (mostly for my own reference):
Branding, Sponsorship and Music Festivals:
- sponsorship as a vital income stream
- secure headliner acts to ensure ticket sales
- loss of sponsorship is one reason why many festivals fail
- countercultural carnivalesque
- utopian possibilities, freedom from social norms and expectations, to play, transform, or create new norms.
- commercialization and sponsorship are negatively linked to other trends such as the increasing regulation, standardization and domestication
- majority of festivals make use of sponsorship opportunities in order to provide financial support, additional attractions, and assistance in marketing, promo and media coverage.
- grants, donations, private organizations/individuals,
- gaining access to certain target markets
- association of “good times’
- captive festival audience – making a profit
- leveraging – badging – logo placement
- alcohol sponsorships
- playful, imaginative and memorable multi-sensory experiences associated with the sponsor
- partners vs sponsorships
- ideological or ethical decisions about which sponsors to work with
- ex: sustainability
- the right “fit”
- avoidance – without sponsorship support
- music festivals as consumer commodities and spectacles vs countercultural carnivalesque
- not real but treated as real (hyperreal)
- “shallow and manipulative forms of experience that leave little room for truly participatory activity.
- activities and settings staged for the benefit of the sponsors
- passive vs active festival-goers
- financial pressures in promoting festivals
- brand acceptance/avoidance
- “something for everyone”
Blues Festivals:
- House of Blues: study in contrast and irony
- mostly white clientele
- “look” joints, bbq shacks
- decentralized nature of blues tourism
- territoriality
- cultural tourism – Blues festivals serve as one means to promote the blues as part of Mississippi’s cultural heritage.
- “sanitize and repackage” the community in order to attract tourists to the area
- disappearance of “local color’
- blues festivals: homecoming/honoring musicians, preservation of blues culture, and integration/racial harmony
- “vanishing blues culture”
- abandonment of earlier styles
- a “temporary integrated” community
- Black Codes
- blues as a response to oppressive and violent environments
- Blues festivals funded by corporate sponsors, local businesses, individual contributors
- providing financial assistance to elderly, often destitute blues musicians
- Most audience members still arrive as a member of their respective racially segregated group. While whites and blacks may spark up conversations or even dance together, audience members are still closely connected to their primary group.
- In many ways, racial integration at blues festivals is limited to spectators simply occupying the same physical space
And that’s my blog for the week! 
I got in touch with Aaron Speight (Truman’s digital collections librarian) and Amanda Langendoerfer (Truman’s Head of Special Collections and Archives) and will be meeting with them tomorrow afternoon. I also contacted Adam Boyles (the current PMA historian) about getting together to show me any documents that may be helpful (I mentioned possibly doing an interview as well, […]
I got in touch with Aaron Speight (Truman’s digital collections librarian) and Amanda Langendoerfer (Truman’s Head of Special Collections and Archives) and will be meeting with them tomorrow afternoon. I also contacted Adam Boyles (the current PMA historian) about getting together to show me any documents that may be helpful (I mentioned possibly doing an interview as well, but stressed that I’m more focused on the archival research right now).
I have revised my project contract, but I’m still not sure about one thing: obviously, I plan to post photos (and maybe videos and music) on my site, but didn’t know if it would be best to have one paged dedicated to a photo gallery (or multimedia in general) or to have smaller photo galleries on the pages where I discuss specific events of the festival (e.g., the Judge’s Jam, the clinics, the main performance, etc.). I was also thinking about using photos in or alongside the text, so to speak, to literally illustrate what I’m talking about (e.g., “The Judge’s Jam is held at the Dukum Inn (see Figure 1)…” where Fig. 1 is a photo of Dukum), but didn’t know if this rendered the photo gallery(ies) superfluous.
Finally, I have started a very rough draft of my introduction and parts of my analysis. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me so I’m trying my best to stay on top of things… here goes!
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but I have some big (and past-due) updates! So far, I have completed three interviews (the PMA president, the PMA Festival Officer, and one of the professors in charge of JazzFest) all of which left me with a substantial body of information to sift through. I’m currently in the […]
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but I have some big (and past-due) updates!
So far, I have completed three interviews (the PMA president, the PMA Festival Officer, and one of the professors in charge of JazzFest) all of which left me with a substantial body of information to sift through. I’m currently in the slow-but-steady process of reviewing and transcribing these interviews.
JazzFest 48 is also over and seemed to be a great success. As usual I had a lot of fun attending the performances, but I also had the pleasure to sit in on the rehearsals and clinics, which gave me an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the festival from the music students’ perspective.
There’s a lot of work to be done in the weeks ahead, including follow-up interviews and archival research. I have set tentative deadlines that I really hope to stick to. With the stress of midterms behind me, I plan to front load the work for this class in hopes that I will have more time later in the semester to devote to actually creating and polishing my website.
Still, I am very excited to really start digging deeper and analyzing this festival. From my observations of the festival itself, I already feel like I have a better understanding of the JazzFest from the perspective of both the audience and the performers/participants/organizers.
Festivals Contract on Google Docs MISSION STATEMENT The key objective of this project is to research and analyze the Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival (JazzFest) (its patterns, rituals, participant behavior, values, status hierarchy among individuals, gestures, body language, clothing, vernacular speech, etc.) using ethnographic and anthropological methods in order to understand the festival’s cultural and […]
Festivals Contract on Google Docs
MISSION STATEMENT
The key objective of this project is to research and analyze the Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival (JazzFest) (its patterns, rituals, participant behavior, values, status hierarchy among individuals, gestures, body language, clothing, vernacular speech, etc.) using ethnographic and anthropological methods in order to understand the festival’s cultural and historical significance. I plan to conduct oral interviews and archival research, as well as document and analyze my experiences at the event from an ethnographic perspective. Along the way, I will build a WordPress website/blog to publicly exhibit my results.
TOOLS
As of right now, my WordPress site uses a simple theme called “Lovecraft.” I only have a home page right now, but I plan to add a few more pages on the final project. Ideally, I would like my homepage to feature my mission statement and a very brief overview of the festival. I also plan to have a pages dedicated to the history of the festival (including a timeline), JazzFest 48, a photo gallery (including pictures of performances, tickets, posters, etc.), and videos and audio recordings from previous festivals. I have not decided if it would be best to have a single page where I publish my overall analysis of the festival or if I should do this in each individual page, but I am leaning toward the latter.
In addition to WordPress, I intend to use YouTube (for videos of performances), Timeline JS3 to document the history of JazzFest (e.g. performance dates, quick info on guest performers, etc.), and (possibly) Google Maps mainly to show Kirksville in relation to some of the visiting high schools and middle schools from around the Midwest region.
DEADLINES
Since JazzFest 48 will took place in the middle of the semester, I was fortunate to be able to attend both public concerts (the “Judge’s Jam” at the Dukum Inn on February 26 and the main performance on campus the following night). In addition, I had permission to sit in on the somewhat exclusive rehearsals, clinics, and competitions that are offered to the music students on campus (especially those in jazz combos and big bands) and the visiting high school and middle school groups from around the Midwest. Thus, I have already completed some significant goals:
Feb. 20: First interviews with Zach Green (JazzFest Officer)
Feb. 22: First interviews with Prof. Tim AuBuchon (“Mr. A”) (PMA Faculty Advisor and Jazz Band Director)
Feb. 24: First interviews with Ryan Staines (PMA President)
Feb. 26: Attend JazzFest Day 1
Rehearsals 1:30-4:30
Clinic 5:00-6:00
Judge’s Jam 9:00-midnight
Feb. 27: Attend JazzFest Day 2
Rehearsals, Judged Performances, Clinics 8:00a.-6:00p.
Featured Concert 8:00
From here, my tentative plan is to complete the following no later than the indicated dates:
March 11: Clean up ethnographic notes/observations
Begin analysis
March 19: Meet with Aaron Speight (Truman Digital Collections Librarian) about audio/video recordings from JazzFest and archived newspaper/magazine articles.
Meet with Amanda Lanangendoerfer (Special Collections and Archives Librarian) about other archival records/documents (e.g., programs, posters, etc.).
March 25: Interview Adam Boyles (Current PMA Historian) and to see programs, tickets, t-shirts, etc.
Conduct follow-up interviews with Zach Green, Mr. AuBuchon, and Ryan Staines, reflections on JazzFest 48.
April 2: Review archived Echo books (Truman State University’s ‘year book’) for pieces on JazzFest over the years.
April 6: Rough draft of project
April 21: Polished, edited project
May 5: Final Project
May 10: Reflection Blog/Paper
May 12: Public Presentation and Peer review
The purpose of my ethnographic research into the Deep Roots festivals is to come to a deeper understanding of the influences, purposes and intended and unintended consequences of this annual festival. I plan to add to the exciting historical archive of Georgia’s original capitol by investigating the original and present-day cultural patterns and shifts in […]
The purpose of my ethnographic research into the Deep Roots festivals is to come to a deeper understanding of the influences, purposes and intended and unintended consequences of this annual festival. I plan to add to the exciting historical archive of Georgia’s original capitol by investigating the original and present-day cultural patterns and shifts in the Deep Roots planning, execution and aftermath. I will include an interactive time line documenting from the inspiration of this festival twelve years ago through notable milestones in its journey to 2016. There will be ample previously recorded material featured in this research. The main product of this research will be an interactive map that shows what parts of town, county and state history are embedded and have led to the creation and continuation of the Deep Roots Festival.
I wil utilize the following tools:
-interactive timeline
-interactive map
-voice recording software for map, timeline and interviews
-music from past Deep Roots festivals
Below is my tentative timeline:
- March 2: Submit interview questions to IRB
- March 8: Interview of Milledgeville City Hall employee, Transcription Complete, add to website
- March 15: Interview of Festival Music Coordinator, Transcription Complete, add to website
- March 17: Interview of Festival Volunteer, Transcription complete, add to website
- March 22: Record own and edit interview voice recordings, for Timeline and Map, Have collected music from past festivals, add to website
- April 5: Complete Timeline, add to website
- April 19: Complete Map, add to website
- April 26: All research completed and cited, add citation sheet to website
- May 5: Website completed
“What is your role in the Deep Roots festival?” “Why did Deep Roots originate?”, “Has it at all made an impact on the culture of Milledgeville?” “Is there a reason why it takes place so close to the university?” :”Has Deep Roots held true to its original vision?” “Would anything happen if Deep Roots didn’t […]
“What is your role in the Deep Roots festival?”
“Why did Deep Roots originate?”,
“Has it at all made an impact on the culture of Milledgeville?”
“Is there a reason why it takes place so close to the university?”
:”Has Deep Roots held true to its original vision?”
“Would anything happen if Deep Roots didn’t happen anymore?”
“Have you observed any trend among the participants or attendees of Deep Roots over the past twelve years?”
“Do you believe the identity of individuals of the town to be impacted by Deep Roots?”
“”How is the musical guest chosen for the annual festival?”
“Do you have any additional anecdotes of the festival that you’d like to share?”
I just finished my first oral interview with Zach Green, one of the students/PMA members in charge of organizing JazzFest. I’ve been thinking a lot about the articles we’ve read on how to conduct oral interviews and the idea of a “collaborative interview,” so I stuck as close as I could to my questions, but […]
I just finished my first oral interview with Zach Green, one of the students/PMA members in charge of organizing JazzFest. I’ve been thinking a lot about the articles we’ve read on how to conduct oral interviews and the idea of a “collaborative interview,” so I stuck as close as I could to my questions, but occasionally deviated from my questions when he said something that anticipated a later question or served as a segue to a later question (i.e. I jumped around a little). What’s more, I found myself asking additional questions on the spot to either clarify a response or get more information. I’m not sure how this would work with other projects that require interview questions to be approved by the IRB (multiple follow-up interviews?), but I was glad I had some degree of freedom to go “off book,” so to speak, because this led to more detailed responses and allowed me to explore things that I didn’t know to ask about before this interview.
Though the interview was a lot of fun… I can’t say I’m looking forward to transcribing. But as they say, “them’s the breaks.”
This semester I will be researching the Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival (JazzFest). JazzFest is an annual event that began in 1968 when the Upsilon Phi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha, a national music fraternity, was founded at Truman State University (then known as the North Missouri Normal School). February 27, 2016 marks the 48th […]
This semester I will be researching the Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival (JazzFest). JazzFest is an annual event that began in 1968 when the Upsilon Phi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha, a national music fraternity, was founded at Truman State University (then known as the North Missouri Normal School). February 27, 2016 marks the 48th annual JazzFest.
The key objective of this project is to research and analyze the JazzFest’s patterns, rituals, participant behavior, values, status hierarchy among individuals, gestures, body language, clothing, vernacular speech, etc., using ethnographic and anthropological methods in order to understand the festival’s cultural and historical significance. Over the next three months, I will be conducting oral interviews and archival research, and experiencing the event for myself from an ethnographic perspective. I will then synthesize this information to create a public website, to be published in May.
Since JazzFest 48 will take place in the middle of the semester, I am fortunate to be able to attend both the public concerts (an informal show at the Dukum Inn on February 26 and the formal performance on campus the following night). In addition, I will sit in on the somewhat exclusive rehearsals, clinics, and competitions that are offered to the music students on campus (especially those in jazz combos and big bands) and the visiting high school and middle school groups from around the Midwest.
Hello All! I am very excited to report that the pieces are falling into place with my festival research! I am so lucky to go to a school where the professors own local businesses and have hands in a lot of town activities! Jimmy Holder, the owner of Blackbird (a local coffee shop) agreed to […]
Hello All!
I am very excited to report that the pieces are falling into place with my festival research! I am so lucky to go to a school where the professors own local businesses and have hands in a lot of town activities! Jimmy Holder, the owner of Blackbird (a local coffee shop) agreed to sit down with me very soon and discuss the history of Deep Roots. Deep Roots is in its twelfth year in Milledgeville. It has attracted music, art and food from all over the country to our small town! I have attended this festival all four years that I have gone to school here and plan to continue well after I graduate! The Department of Theatre and Dance plan flash mobs and the school plans FallFest, a day where accepted students for the next term come to campus to see what awaits them, around the events of Deep Roots–it is truly an experience. My most pressing questions for Jimmy include “Why did Deep Roots originate?”, “Has it at all made an impact on the culture of Milledgeville?”, “Is there a reason why it takes place so close to the university?”, :”Has Deep Roots held true to its original vision?”, “Would anything happen if Deep Roots didn’t happen anymore?” and “Have you observed any trend among the participants or attendees of Deep Roots over the past twelve years?”. This is just a preliminary list, but my main interest is finding out how Milledgeville natives feel about the festival because our university has a reputation of being unnecessarily exclusive and considering its proximity to campus, I think that could be an interesting path to take. Jimmy has promised to connect me to some of those individuals in the community and I have a few of my own contacts! Needless to say, I am ready to get rolling!
