Frank Wyatt: Capturing The Zeitgeist!


by John A. Wilcox

When I think of Frank Wyatt I think of a man with an endless library of compositions to get to! From his days in Happy The Man, Pedal Giant Animals, and Oblivion Sun, you know all about those delightfully complex & melodic pieces that stay with you. Very satisfying music. Wyatt just finished a new project with a passel of his friends, and the result is Zeitgeist. We sat in a room full of Aurora monster models and shared high tea as we discussed the project...



PS: What was the seed for the Zeitgeist project?

FW: It was initially conceived as a proposal for a Happy The Man reunion recording project. I started putting rough ideas together to pitch the other members, thinking we could record our parts individually and cobble something together. We have never done that with HTM, but it seemed plausible given the tech available and most of the musicians having their own workspaces. I had to modify the plan when I started to be impacted by my illness, and then decided to invite everyone I had played with before, sort of a party, and see who was interested. In the interim as I thought it through more and started asking the guys if they were interested, I worked on a tune for the Crafty Hands Studio YouTube series, and started going through my files to see what songs would be useable.

PS: What was the 1st piece of work commenced on?

FW: I started with the piece Leaving, which was a response to my sincere belief that I was going to die soon. That is quite a trip. You go through some intense thought processes until, hopefully, you sort it out and find some peace and direction within yourself.

PS: Who was the 1st musician to jump on board with you?

FW: I am not certain, but it seems to me Stan would be the one. He is my closest friend and I would have discussed it with him before anyone else.

PS: Are these all new compositions or have some been on the drawing board for a bit?

FW: Some have been around awhile. I started The Approach back in 2000 when HTM was recording The Muse Awakens. Others are written just for this project.

PS: How long did the project take from conception to completion?

FW: 4 years....apologies to all who waited.

PS: Give me some background on a few pieces. Let's start with 12 Jumps.

FW: This song was written just for Ron Riddle. I had asked him if he would play on the project and didn't hear back for awhile, so when he did call, I already had three drummers and all the songs drum parts were covered. I really wanted Ron to perform so I wrote this piece rather quickly for him. I started with a distorted organ sound and some interesting chords. I remember thinking of Egg's The Civil Surface as I put it together. I recorded a synth bass part next to give Ron something to work with, and then a synth lead on top. Later Stan added a solo and doubled up the lead, David Hughes took the synth bass part and ran with it, and Ron really slammed it home with his fantastic drum part. It's one of those pleasant surprises from nowhere really...Twelve Jumps into reality from the abyss!

PS: The Approach.

FW: Written in 2003, this was environmentally inspired. I was/am very interested in the climate and in my youth thought of myself as an activist in that arena, although I did not actually do much more than write songs about it (ie;The Falcon). My interest in the subject had me reading and following many of the "scientific" publications and following the news. In this period of time, early 21st century, actually for several years leading up to it, I noticed an extreme divergence of the public dialog from the studied facts as I understood them, and as in most things this has turned out to be politically/financially motivated and part of what I perceive as a huge lie. We were then, and are now making consistent strides forward in controlling our pollution, and the stream of fabricated and misleading data that continues to be spewed out by the scientifically illiterate, the easily swayed, the connivers and the manipulative globalist handlers seeking to use the weather to shackle us and redistribute wealth remains one of the most disgusting abuses I have seen in my life. At some point in the future, assuming we have one, this will be looked back upon with utter disbelief. The Approach was written as I considered the time coming when the myth of "global warming" would be revealed, and this hypocrisy put in its place. I know it is unwise to even broach this subject from this point of view, the haters out there are unable to dialog about anything that they have not been told to believe, so I have tried to remain as opaque as I can be regarding my politics (or rather a lack thereof, as politics are entirely too conflicting to let near my creative soul) and positions on any social matter, but you asked about The Approach, and "approaching" my mortal end it seems belittling to not respond honestly.



So, what our readers here will not know, is that I, in the intervening few days since first answering this question for John, had a moment of serious doubt as to my willingness to expose my true thoughts about the construction of the piece, for the simple reason that I didn't want to be distracted by the inevitable backlash from the misguided climate alarmists. Having considered the matter further, and after a few days refreshing my neglected research into the subject, I have decided my original answer to the Approach question is in fact perfectly correct from my point of view, perhaps even too easy going on the alarmists, and as such my answer should indeed be used in the interview. I am actually somewhat ashamed that I had such a blatant weak kneed reaction to my previous forthrightness on the subject. Alas, my point is itself somewhat proven in the act, as this kind of thought suppression by the uneducated mob expresses exactly one of the causes of the fallacy of man-made climate change to begin with. The song Zeitgeist , referred to above in its mechanical aspects, philosophically is also about this greater malady, as we are spoon fed considerable fictions labeled truth on the various social media platforms. Our children are programmed and manipulated, denying that dumbing down of individualism every leashed step of the way. I am so saddened by what has become of them, as they "rush about, machine displays replacing their eyes". And so, my fortitude in the matter restored, let us continue onward through the fog and take what may come.

PS: Take me through the 4 movements of Perelandra.

FW: C.S. Lewis, in his Space Trilogy, written in 1938, 1943 and 1945 has given us a wonderful sci-fi adventure wrapped around the eternal story of good vs evil, and the emergence of good as the victor. I focused my attention in the Perelandra Symphony on the second book, by that same name. It is the story of an adventurer's journey to the planet Venus (Perelandra) and his experiences there.

Movement 1. To Venus depicts our lead character Ransom first in his lovely English garden, and then being launched into space to travel to Venus, wrapped up in introspection as he floats through the void to the planet.

Movement 2. The Green Lady: Ransom finds himself landed in a moving ocean,,as Venus is a water planet in the story, with floating islands few and far between. As he opens the "coffin" he has traveled in he is amazed by a series of beautiful and wondrous creatures, including a dragon. Eventually he sees the Green Lady on an island and meets her there.

Movement 3. The Golden Feast: To be taken literally, the movement depicts a great feast that includes a large golden fruit. Our nemesis, Weston, makes his appearance and interacts with Ransom and the Green Lady.

Movement 4. Blessed Be He. The resolution of the struggle between the good and the evil, and the presentation of the emerging species honoring the Eldila. Evil still lurks, as it ever seems to do.

PS: How are you feeling currently, my friend?

FW: I feel very happy to be productive. I believe I have come to terms with the place I am physically, and have no serious pains that I can't deal with. The fight continues using experimental drugs and I am very pleased that I can participate in what may save some others down the road. In my mind I am quite happy!



PS: What's next?

FW: Atlantis (it is music...another huge concept piece).

PS: Please tell me 6 books that added to your life.

FW:
Seth Speaks
Time Enough For Love
Dune (all of them)
The Dancing Wu Li Masters
A Dweller On Two Planets
Plato (selections)

###

All photos are copyright their respective owners.

Table Of Contents

Contact