Systemic Perspective
Michal & I joined Family Folk Machine recently after watching from afar for several years. From the inside, I’ve come to appreciate some rare and powerful aspects of what Jean, Alma, Jon, Aprille, and the rest of the leadership team have achieved. Dozens of people of all ages come together to perform beautiful and powerful folk songs, and history and context is naturally woven throughout practice and performance in a way that has made me personally feel more connected to my place in the community and the world.
A few weeks ago during rehearsal, Jean (Executive & Artistic Director) took a moment to speak to the emotional dissonance of trying to perfect the technical details of a piece about fear and danger in our community. We were focusing on whether a particular syllable was a quarter note or an eighth note, and it’s kind of hard to care about that detail when, at a higher level, we were also singing about our neighbors fleeing for safety.
I think this dissonance plagues a lot of efforts to improve things outside the choir as well. We read on anti-social media platforms that we are descending into one catastrophe or another, and it can make it feel unimportant to prioritize a visit to your neighbor. Only about 15% of us voted in this week’s local election. Who cares if you get tonight’s dinner from local farmers when the topsoil will be destroyed anyway? Why grow a vegetable garden when it wouldn’t produce nearly enough to fix the food system? Why ban cars from your lot when people will just park next door?
It’s a systemic oppressor - it seems unimportant to focus on details when the problems are so big, so we leave a lot of local power on the table.
It’s hard to focus on quarter notes when, at a higher level, we’re singing about painful things. But we are coming together to claim our local power in unison, and unison requires attention to quarter notes.
Some Ways to Connect to Quarter-Notes
I’m impressed with how Family Folk Machine resolves the dissonance. Rehearsals are organized so it’s very clear what to do and when, but they also encourage and accommodate all kinds of intersectionality. The barrier to participation is very low, but they also create important, well-defined roles for people who want to participate a bit more, and then a bit more. They’ve created a complete ladder of participation from “just come to our free concert” to “just show up to any of the practices,” to “help stack the chairs,” to “perform a small solo,” to “write a whole song,” up through “lead a whole section” and “join the board.” The leaders regularly connect the importance of a song to a global issue. Also, singing in harmony with others creates a sense of awe that just kind of slaps the doubt out of you - this is definitely important.
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If you’re interested in being part of this, or just interested in appreciating it, consider coming to the free Family Folk Machine concert this Sunday at 3 PM at the Englert!
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Other folks around town do lots of connecting as well. The folks on Maple St just had their 6th annual Blocktober fest, complete with food, drinks, and music from a Maple St band! A couple of these neighbors have taken out the fences between their yards and tend to the shared space as a team.
This might not seem important in the face of our many challenges, but it’s a quarter-note in the song playing on Maple St, and these folks are better able to react to whatever happens.
And here are some more things going on around town this week.
Today from 5:00 - 7:00 PM - Grand Opening of the new Immigrant Welcome Network houses!
Saturday at 3:00 - Community Sing at Full Moon Studio, 1210 S Gilbert.
Sunday at 3:00 - Family Folk Machine free concert at the Englert
Monday at 8:00 AM - Open Coffee at EntrePartners, in the cool space over the Iowa Artisan’s Gallery, 209 E. Washington .
Tuesday at 10:45 AM - Armistice Day Observance with Veterans for Peace on the ped mall
Tuesday at 7:00 PM - IC Threaded Together skill-building class - Visible Mending and Tote Bags - at the Wright House
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11:00 - We Do Recover (Narcotics Anonymous) at the RSFIC office, 1927 Keokuk St.
Thursday at 6:00 PM - Gentle Yoga w/ Jennifer at PS1 Close House
Next Friday at 7:00 PM - Secret screening of an unreleased film with reception & discussion with the film maker. Free at the close house!
RSFIC focuses on connecting small acts with big issues. We’ve produced about 20 short films with the amazing Josh Booth, and we partner with FilmScene to show one of them like a trailer before every feature. The idea is to keep connecting across the dissonance and support people who are claiming their local power.
In a couple weeks, we’re having our year-end Celebration of Stories of Community at FilmScene. We’ll be celebrating the 12 stories we highlighted this year, along with the people in them. We’d like you to please come and help us say, “we know this work is important, thank you!” Mark your calendars for 12:30 PM on Sunday, November 23rd. More details at FilmScene!
Peace,
Riley
Cofounder of RSFIC
