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Dave Ruder is the person responsible for making this website. That is a picture of him over on the left. Dave is a young person who resides in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn (aka Fort Greene East aka Williamsburg South aka Bed-Stuy West).
Dave's reasons for making this website are varied; having music as a base artistic area of pursuit, one becomes conditioned to sharing what it is that one has made, if one is interested in writing more than solo music for his or her instrument. I, like a proud, mouse-hunting cat, have a need to share whatever I've just put together with someone who I like. And that's you in this case. Somehow, the sharing of the creation makes the creation more important. On top of this, there comes a time when a person might feel the need to set his own terms, regardless of how similar or disimilar
these terms are from the prevailing terms. I guess it's just my time to say, hello, I'm a creative person, and here are some things that have come out of me.
I have put together this website not necessarily so that what I have produced may be consumed, but I guess it's more about affirming the existence of my own creative exploits. I hope that some things that I have done bring you some kind of pleasant experience. That's what this website is about, and frankly the implication is that I would enjoy it if you, whoever you are, did the same with your creative exploits and shared them with the world for no compelling reason beyond sharing things with the world. I would particularly like to point out the fine sharing of creative exploits that happen here as well as here.
As for who I am, I'm generally considered something of a musical guy. I write music, I play the following instruments with some gusto: clarinet, guitar, analog electronics (like cassette tape recorders with distortion or simple feedback systems), my own voice, some keyboards, some sorts of percussion (I have played a number of Gamelan instruments well at various points), various whistles and flutes, you get the idea. I usually spend part of four days a week working on musical things, and sometimes I do musical work when I ride on the train (I live off the G train right now, used to live off the R and the F trains - I also love buses but do not do much work while riding them). I have been involved in many varieties of music, and I will not name them, but rest assured I enjoy the experience of getting within a musical system and working through its conventions and such. The music I make tends to stem from one of two things: a short and pleasing melody (or tune) or a systemic idea. Part of my growth as a person and a musical person is trying to figure out how to hone those separately and together. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's not. Recently I've been thinking of making another run at harmony.
If you want a traditional bio, here it is in a sentence: I studied music (composition, etc.) at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, with such people as Mark Nelson, Anthony Braxton, Ron Kuivila, Sumarsam, Neely Bruce, and some other great people, and then I moved to Brooklyn and I briefly studied Counterpoint at Juilliard (where I work) and clarinet privately. I've worked a number of music-related jobs around New York City, but creating music is not what I make a living at, as they say. I don't mean to imply that my music life just suddenly began when I was 18, so let's say: when I was a teenager, I thought a lot about music but not about making it. I played in some bands that were fun and I knew a lot about music that a lot of people know about. And I played the alto saxophone from ages 9 to 14, but now I have a hard time doing that. I also want to put in a plug here for music at Wesleyan, the people, program, the music - it's one of a kind and life-changing.
It's problematic for me, the times when I see myself only as a composer, because frankly sometimes I do not compose. What is a composer who does not compose? This is a strange animal indeed. So I call myself a creative person. Thus, I can do things like, for example, make this website. This is the first website I've made, so let me know if you think there's anything wrong with it. It's an interesting experience, making a website is, and I'd recommend it if you've never done it and you spend a lot of time on the internet.
As for being a visual artist, I have no legitimate claim to be a studied one. My mother, her mother, two of my father's sisters, and even my father's father can claim some background or experience in the visual arts (no one in my family is especially musical), so maybe it's just a genetic will to doodle. And I feel I'm as much of a writer as many people of our day; I know that writing for me feels as understood and measured as composing feels. Just as playing the English horn helps you be a better tuba or accordion player, I make visual stuff and write because being creative makes being creative better all around, if my thoughts on the subject are to be believed. I'm as much of an all-around amatuer as anybody else who enjoys what they do. And cooking? Whew. Boy howdy.
So welcome, welcome. Let me know what you think, in a subtle or not-so-subtle fashion. Right? And thanks for investigating.