“I believe whatever doesn’t kill you, simply makes you… [takes off his mask] stranger.”
…transformed into another image, and another drifting away, without beginning, or end, to always be, and not knowing what to do next, trapped in time, and fading into the mists of history, a glimpse of blissful eternity…
Ahhh…eternity, we’ve hit upon that word. Again. THAT word, buried below, like some lost remnant on an island where time has no meaning; and space, even less, just the two concepts engaged in immortal combat, as it were, with each other. Climb aboard as we venture out there into eternal bliss (or, is it madness?) in the first episode of the fourth season, and a nod back to the final episode of the third season, with a journey through the American version of a science fiction novel written by Stanislaw Lem, Solaris.
Transformed into another image, this film was produced by James “I’m King of the World” Cameron betwixt his minor Kate y Leo celluloid ride upon the waves of joyful rompery before remembering that they are, in fact, on the tragic Titanic (didn’t they see the movie? Didn’t they hear about the iceberg?), and a tiny 3-D science fiction docudrama called Avatar, starring an evil jarhead, the cool Latino chick from LOST, a miscast Ripley Weaver, and a bunch of little fairies and birds that are quite fascinating to watch when a) high, and b) catching the overwrought film on a towering 26-story screen.
We’re not sure if everybody is aware, but looming here among us pesky wannabes here at Hidden Track is a true pro. Our very own Randy Ray has conducted over 100 interviews in his established tenure as a music journo, spanning a better majority of just about every established band in the jamband scene (and then some). Randy also contributes regularly to Relix, dreams up the awesomely named Peaches En Randalia column (or perhaps more accurately described; the flowing demiurgic locution of mayhem) at Jambands.com, and best of all, contributes the bi-weekly Hidden Flick column right here at HT.
Conducting this particular edition of the Writer’s Workshop has been an honest pleasure. Randy exhibits a truly unmatched dedication to this craft and this column reflects it (because of him, not me). In other words, read this shit. I think you’ll like it.
Ryan Dembinsky: If you had to take a crack at defining your writing style and approach to differentiating yourself, how would you sum it up?
Randy Ray: Organized Chaos (see above photo), which succeeds if I can plant unique visual imagery in a reader’s mind. When the writing fails, I am trying too hard. Style should be a four-letter word, Ryan! Let me attempt to quantify the intriguing madness that people may like about my work.
Everything returns to a circus theme with my writing, which is why I wrote three books about this somewhat childish yet timeless topic. Sometimes, I want the black and white words on a page to move like one is on a rollercoaster; sometimes, I want imagery to zoom by at random intervals like one is on a carousel; and then, sometimes, I’d like the portrait to resemble shattered pictures within a kaleidoscope. Sometimes, I haven’t a clue.
I like mystique, and I start off from an interesting point of origin, move towards clarity, and then return to that original point of mystery—hopefully, with some unique spin on things. I do my homework, and research my subjects. I also concentrate on the work, because the written word, after all, survives, so I keep that in mind with any project.
READ ON for more from Ryan and Randy about writing…
