In April, Hammond notably delivered his fifth TED Talk at the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Michigan State University in Lansing. He has also presented at TEDx events in Detroit and Muskegon.
In advance of his fourth appearance at The Brightside, he reflected on his professional journey and current tour.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Q: What makes The Brightside your regular stop in Dayton?
A: I love that place. It feels like a little oasis. I like that the space is flexible. They have an intimate listening room, which I think is where we’re going to be, and they also have a bigger stage. So, if you want to have a massive wedding or a bigger concert with 500 people, you can do that too. (Event creator) Libby Ballengee has been great. She’s awesome at supporting music and helping get the word out. (She) also (takes) a chance on acts that are off the beaten path.
Q: What was corporate life like?
A: I was very lucky. I’m a geek and I got a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science. I had a very successful technology career. At that time, I was living in Lansing, and I was director of technology for a couple of successful start-up companies. I was doing well in the world. I was making good money and my parents were proud of me. They didn’t have to worry about me anymore and then I quit.
Here’s a link to a live sampling of Dixon’s Violin:
Q: What prompted that?
A: I had a life change in 2005. I went to a festival that opened me up, frankly. I realized I was around these people that were just operating from the heart, and I was always operating from my head. I’m still a very logical dude. I’m still a geek but I was very closed off from some of my emotions. When I saw other people that were being more free with their emotions, it really caused me to look inside myself. I went, ‘Wow, what am I ignoring here? What am I afraid of?’ So, I changed and part of that was musically because I had been playing classical music as a hobby since I was 10 years old. I had been approaching it from a very logical, analytical way. It was very technical.
Q: How did you break out of the classical mindset?
A: One of the changes I did several years later was to improvise and try to produce my own sounds and express my own feelings. It was scary at first. Improvising is uncharted territory. You don’t know what you’re going to play. I make up stories in my head like, ‘What if people don’t like it? What if I made a mistake?’ I just had all this fear and yet I just went for it. I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to make mistakes. It’s OK to make mistakes.’ So, I started to experiment, and I found my voice and that led to where I am now.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Q: How did you go from using guitar effects pedals to designing your own specialized gear?
A: I had these ideas in my head, but you couldn’t buy anything that does what I wanted to do. Then about three or four years ago, I scrubbed it all and I used my geek background to actually create my own system. I dusted off those parts of my brain. I’m like, ‘Oh, my god I’m programming. I haven’t done this for years.’ I literally wrote thousands of lines of code myself on a laptop to have my new system. I love it. I can get a soundscape that’s really unparalleled. I have a wide array of effects and looping options I can control in the moment and see where the spirit takes me. It’s a lot of fun and I’ve found nobody else is doing this. It’s really going well.
Q: How does that feel?
A: I’m very blessed to have done over 1,000 concerts now since I quit the corporate world. I’ve been all across the U.S., Canada and Mexico and (also) South Africa. I’m still learning. The curve balls and changes make me feel like I’m still an awkward teenager trying to figure out how to make my way in the world. It’s still shocking how fresh, new, unknown and weird it is and how much I’m still fumbling along and figuring it out as I go along. It’s easily the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
Who: Dixon’s Violin with J-Rose Loops and Zak & What Army?
Where: The Brightside, 905 E. Third St., Dayton
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17; doors open at 7 p.m.
Cost: $15 in advance, $20 day of show
More info: 937-410-0450 or www.thebrightsidedayton.com
Artist info: www.dixonsviolin.com
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