Scott Clark - ToNo

2018 release

ToNow is a contribution in music to the protests that took place at Standing Rock for much of 2016-2017 and remain ongoing. Four songs represent four different aspects: “Plains” (the landscape), “Stand” (Standing Rock reservation), “Red, White, Yellow” (colors on the reservation flag) and “Cantapeta Creek” (the epicenter of the protests). ToNow is meant to be listened to as a suite, continuing the through-compositional voice heard on Bury My Heart (2016), inspired by the events in Dee Brown’s book of the same name. Clark continues to explore the meanings of his own Native heritage in an improvisational and collaborative context, with returning personnel on bass, saxophone and trumpet and two additional guitar voices. An enervating and elegaic post-rock, post-bop format.

On the Title: ToNow comes from something that my daughter said to me one day, “No dada not today tonow” and I thought that was brilliant. It applies to my thoughts on the events at Standing Rock and a lot of other current issues. We can’t wait until tomorrow or even today, things need to happen ToNow.

On the Recording: I would send some pictures or links to stories to try to have the musicians coming from a similar place emotionally when we would go to play it on a particular take. That’s the most important thing–trying to capture what the piece is and the emotion of what you’re playing.

On the Cover: The cover painting happened to be finished on Columbus Day. I like the idea of the colors falling down and there being no stars. It means many different things to many different people.