Musicians and listeners who grew up during the cassette revolution, listening to obscure and frequently off-the-wall musicians plying their often-homemade listenables through zines such as FACTSHEET FIVE, GAJOOB, and others will recognize the name Zzaj Rotcod. Known to the lesser mortals as Dick Metcalf, Zzaj has been performing solo and with others since the dawn of time (rumors that you can find EREH SAW ZZAJ carved into one of the monoliths at Stonehenge remain unsubstantiated at this date) and, since the late eighties, observing the scene and passing on reviews and relevant info himself, through the IMPROVIJAZZATION NATION. While he continues to be shrouded in mystery, one thing remains certain: he's possessed by the spirit of music and the joy of improv. Read on to unravel the mysteries of music, the underground, time, even the universe itself....

JUAN THE GARDENER'S QUESTIONS FOR ZZAJ ROTCOD:

DA: How and when did the Improvijazzation Nation get its start?

ZJ: It was actually around 1988... I'djust gotten out of the military and "retired" in Korea... I'd already been way "in touch" with the underground scene through 'zines (paper) like LMN-OP (Lost Music Network), out of of Olympia, Washington; SOUND CHOICE, which was a spin-off of that, GAJOOB, which was paper at the time... my job over there as a manager of a rather large Help Desk left me a pretty fair amount of free time, and I wanted to stay connected with all th' great music(s) that were being produced (at that time) on tape... so I started it off at around 12 pages (paper)... built up a fairly large subscriber base (around 50, which was large for the time)... expanded to 20 pages and kept it going on paper until 'round 1998. It was at that time that the web was just beginning to take off, and as the subscribers dwindled down to about 15 or 20, I decided that I'd just take the whole kit and kaboodle online. Ergo, what you see / read now... through I'm not a "web designer" by any stretch... what I've been told regardingmy pages is that though I'm (fairly) astute in th' subject matter, I really "digitize ugly."

DA: You're blogging now. Is this just personal musings, or another arm of the expanding Zzaj octopus?

ZJ: My son from my first marraige had started his own blog about a year or so ago, and said he'd give me some space on his server... ergo, I started th' blog. It is more like a "personal" space for ranting, but I haven't used it nearly as much as I should, I guess. Maybe in about four years, when I "actually" retire.

DA: I know you spent a fair amount of time in Korea while in the Army -- what kind of an improv scene, if any, did you find over there?

ZJ: Much more "formal", in the sense of instrumental music... everyone who plays is expected to have some level / degree of training... but with Korean folks, it's much more natural to sing; that's something I grew up with (people were not afraid to sing), so that was the biggest musical adventure I had (with the Korean people, anyway)... singing at parties... but that IS an adventure, in / of itself! I was there for a total of 15 years, so I came to enjoy the country, the people, and the personal freedom (believe it or not) that they have over there.

DA: I notice Improvijazznation doesn't review MP3 files either. Do you actually keep up with what's happening in the MP3 realm, or is there just too much out there?

ZJ: I started a "H-O-T" review section about four or five years ago, whereby I would ask people to send me LINKS to their MP3 files, and told them I would listen, but only review the ones I thought had appropriate levels of energy and fire... what happened out of that announcement is that I was deluged with requests for reviews, and (more importantly) sent a WHOLE BUNCH of MP3 files as attachements... it's for that reason I don't actively pursue MP3 files... because so many of the folks producing them don't understand that it's the REVIEWER'S choice, not theirs, and that when they zoom large files via email uninvited, they come across just like spammers!

I am kind of hoping that will change before very long, though, because I think MP3 is the WAY to GO for indie artists... I've got (over) 65 of my own CD's in my catalog, and I'd love to be able to have / get reviewers to "preview" them (via links I send to the reviewer), then tell me which songs / CDs they would PREFER to review!

DA: Elaborate, if you please, on your history as a practicing musician.

ZJ: Practicing? Well, I practiced when I was about eight, but I fell in lust with th' piano teacher, and she kicked me out... heh! heh!

I started performing around 1967, during my first tour (Army) in Germany. Little jazz shots here and there, a couple of "service club" tours, that kind of thing. I kind of "let it go" during the 70s, and th' results were disastrous... off into a whole cacaphony of booze, krank and all th' other krap-ola that was part of the 70s scene... therapy in 1978 (primal scream, at an Army ward, of all places) got me to start writing poetry (again), and when I returned to Olympia (Fort Lewis, Washington), I hooked up with a krew of poets and musicians at a joint called the "Gnu Deli"... coffee-house and sandwich shop, but it was a scene that was thriving... LOTS of good energies from the students who were in Evergreen State College... met some folks there who got me up on stage to perform the poetry, and gradually worked into performing live.

I moved down to Alabama in 1980, and continued to play (off and on) with improv artists like Davey Williams, LaDonna Smith, and Wally Shoup in (both) home studio and live venues, mostly in Birmingham. I didn't play much again until 1984-5, and by then, it was all remote, via four-track tape, simply because I was in Korea from 1984 through about 1995... during that ten years, I performed on (roughly) 70 tapes. One of the reasons I wanted to come back to the States is so that I COULD play live... got to do that quite often during 1995-1998. Carpal tunnel has begun to set in my hands a bit, but I still do about three CDs a year (or more), either studio, live recording, or through the mails.

DA: Do you find it easier / more preferable to perform solo or with others?

ZJ: I like the solo playing, in one way, because it allows me to "paint" different sonic pictures than might happen in a live performance. On the other hand, I almost HAVE to have a live performance once or twice a year, because it is those LIVE dynamics (whether studio or onstage) that move the artists in "new" directions!

DA: Where do you think all the action is musically these days?

ZJ: Well, with the proliferation of the internet, and the accessibility of equipment, I think (as I did to some degree in the late '80's) that the "salvation" of music in general will come from HOME studios. Most of the stuff I review in IMPROVIJAZZATION NATION comes from home studio artists... and it just seems to have more ENERGY than stuff that is produced by major studios.

DA: What's your opinion of underground vs. mainstream music?

ZJ: Underground is "where the people are"... mainstream is supposed to be a "culling" of the cream of the people's music, but it's so business-oriented (and probably always has been) that (like a politician) it can't be trusted to relate to what "i" (the people, I mean) want to hear... so the way I heard it, the ONLY music is underground!

DA: What do you think of the much-ballyhooed file-sharing controversy (Metallica vs. Napster, etc.)?

ZJ: Nothin' but horse-hockey! If an artist doesn't want his / her files shared, don't put them out there. I do feel that there should be a commitment between the artist and the listener, though... an "honor system," if you will... if I spend (some) $$$ on a recording from Sam and the Schmoes, I shouldn't repro THAT and offer it up for Napster, etc., unless Sam did! I also think that in the current environment, an artist who DOESN'T offer up some "freebies" from an album is NUTS!

DA: Are you excited about the technological advancements happening in music now, or do you find it all a bit suspect?

ZJ: I do really like some of the developments... digital signatures on MP3 files, online purchasing that lets the artist(s) market their own material DIRECT to consumers... what I DON'T like is when (some) "middlemen" (like record labels) try to insert themselves in the middle and rake away what the artist has made! Where will it all lead? If th' Shrub / Ashcroft monstah is let loose, it would (then) lead to some form of "digital censorship," I suppose. One thing I do know about technology, though... it always (has and will) move faster than politicians... so, if th' net-wise consumer stays on TOP of things, they should have a MUCH better choice of music THEY like, not what someone TELLS 'em they should like, in the next ten-twenty years! In this arena, I think that multimedia (integrated audio / video) will soon be a great force!

DA: What's your assessment of the impact the introduction of the portable home four-track recorder has had on the world of improv music?

ZJ: Oh, my Gourd! As we "undergrounders" used to say, it "killed" the music business... it was and is the BEST tool for documenting musical thoughts / ideas / realities... in fact, I still use analog for most of my collaborative projects, BEFORE digitizing. Once again, to look into the glass a bit, I think collaboration will move evermore "net-wards," though... peopel able to make music over th' net together, from places as divergent as China and Podunk... KEWL stuph!

DA: Any last thoughts you'd like to share with the audience?

ZJ: Hmmm... just that listening to HOME-produced music is a freedom that you need to exercise (more) regularly (if you don't already)... the more you listen, the more choices you'll HAVE (I believe). USE the freedoms that technology and the underground's use of it offer before th' "Blue Meanies" can have their way!