*Second-hand men are rarely seen as a viable first-hand asset, their importance lies in how they supplement the goals of the alpha decision maker, the one with the greatest creative drive and the knowledge needed to see those dreams come to life; it takes loyal, war-torn foot soldiers to make sure the machine runs properly, to pull the trigger, and to endure all the labor necessary to power of the system and generate most of the hard-earned sweat, assuring a successful outcome. They are the order takers, the Yes Men, and the ones with a seed fear embedded deep within their mind believing that they could never do it on their own, and so they always rely on a sentient being who's more determined, with a more punctuated voice, who will not allow 'No' to deter them from their cause. There's a balance in this relationship, one desperately relies on the other, but the second-hand man can always be replaced by another, because the ratio is never in favor of the man taking orders, they are expendable, never willing to take chances, and the only escape is the bubbling brew of resentment building up inside the digressing cavity whose only purpose is to produce a final valid result. They implode under the pressure, they seek options, a destination of sole identity, an arena they can control, and although they have the credential ability, they are but a cog in that machine they're manning, an unqualified captain at the helm.
I never set out to write an album series that would tarnish the history of a creative engineer whose contributions to the world of animation are countless and continuing to ever change the field of animation, even to this day, and yet the more I uncover, the more I realize that the mystery surrounding Ub Iwerks, the unspoken truths, the undisclosed historical details behind his creative objectives, and the patterns of a man out of place on his own, these mysteries are simply consequential edits meant to protect a company he once helped create, and to polish and sanitize an image, deeply burying a reputation worthy of further darkening an already blackened stain; in the family-friendly, all-inclusive times soon to be laid out in front of him, profanity, risque scenes of voyeuristic sexuality, black face, and offensive caricatures of famous and highly popular actors and actresses, would only lead to long-term commercial and social backlash. And despite the social/political climate of those current times, it was evident it couldn't coincide with the expectations of a company destined to be the source of innocence and happiness, nostalgia eternally, for all the world to be welcome and eager participants. Ub Iwerks did not have what it would take to make his dreams a permanent successful fixture in his time. He was out of touch, not having the personality needed to engage the audience he was seeking, and instead isolated himself in an animated world of condescending anecdotes, socially inappropriate humor, and constantly without consistent creative direction.
The late 1920s was a very productive time for Ub Iwerks, unimaginably prolific, and the percolated acclaim generated by co-creating two major animated characters with Walt Disney, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse, and as sole/lead animator for cartoons responsible in solidifying the commercial success for Disney, these accomplishments made a personal impact on future prospects and ambitions, warranted attention from main capital roller, Pat Powers, who was also directly funding and supplying equipment to Walt Disney productions. Stifled by discredit and disrespect from Disney, and empowered by Powers' own Celebrity Pictures, Iwerks set out to create a studio entirely his own.
Selfish ambition is a path that can lead us to self-realization and success, yet it also has the potential of grinding us deeply into a hole of irreversible failures and countless burned bridges. The choices we make to pursue an ideal long-term goal, calculated and determined, and funded by those who have supportive belief in our dreams, may be the choices decided upon based on frustration, anger, and relentless competition, ones that blind us, deter us from the success we seek, and ultimately keep us just out of arm's reach of our dreams, choices that could be achieved with due diligence, compromise, and collaboration, or they can lead us full circle, back to where we once began, but instead now with a shameful badge of disloyalty, one that can never be white-washed, all the while tirelessly laboring under the thumb of a man who will never forget your treasonous and selfish actions, in scrutinizing company of younger more ambitious employees who also know the history of your sordid past.
credits
released July 3, 2020
Jamison Williams, solo game calls
Recorded June 2020
at (POP) nouveau [The Fraser District]
Produced by Vantage Bulletin
"Relentlessly creative, and challenging the boundaries of saxophonic extended techniques, Jamison Williams' role in defining the pursuit of expressive freedom through the use of the instrument cannot be understated."
Marvelous experimental music from this Tel Aviv musician that fuses outré noise with almost folk-like arrangements. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 13, 2022
