As much as I love music, there are also times when the most exciting thing you can do is to find ways to integrate music into new areas, or come up with unusual combinations of art forms. Local musician/filmmaker/writer Mark Nichols is doing just that, with the creation of a book and music project called “Big Jam Stories.”
When Nichols was working on a film project, he started learning about the early history of the Ferndale area. In the second half of the 19th century, as European settlers were beginning to arrive in force, Ferndale was known as “Jam,” in recognition of the massive log jam that made the Nooksack River unnavigable.
Inspired by that image and by stories of the early days of Native and European people dancing together to fiddle music, Nichols crafted a set of stories about a kid living on top of the big jam. The stories take the form of fables, with plenty of communication between species, and also incorporate songs and instrumental music. The overall feeling is mythological, cryptic and symbolic, while still featuring plenty of linear narrative.
Nichols has an interesting background. He’s originally from Ferndale, and in the ‘90s he was very involved in the Seattle music scene, including doing orchestral arrangements for artists on the Sub Pop label. Around this time he even recorded a musical theater piece of his own for PopLlama Records. Over the years he has created a huge variety of work, including albums, plays and films. In recent years he’s been involved as a composer, editor and filmmaker for Children of the Setting Sun Productions, a collaboration which led to some of the original inspiration for this project.
Over the course of nine nights this fall at the FireHouse Performing Arts Center, Nichols and a rotating crew of collaborators will present stories and songs from the manuscript. The performers include readers, actors and musicians. The series kicks off with performances on Friday, Sept. 6 and Saturday, Sept. 7, both starting at 7 p.m. After that, the shows take place across scattered Thursdays and Fridays throughout the fall, wrapping up Nov. 22.
Although it might be fun to make it to all of them, it’s not necessary in order to understand what’s going on. The shows are free but donations and RSVP are encouraged. The show is appropriate for kids, so it could be a fun family outing — but the narrative offers plenty for adults to chew on as well.
These stories have not yet been published in book form, so the audience at these shows will be the first to experience them. Head down to the FireHouse to experience something truly unique and new.
News
There’s a new Open Mic night! Schweinhaus is hosting one every Thursday with sign-up at 6:30 p.m., and music at 7. For a while there it seemed like all the open mics were getting packed together on Tuesdays, so it’s good to see one starting on a different day.
The debut studio album from Biff Got Killed is almost here, and they’ll be releasing it with a free show at Ritual Records on Friday, Sept. 6. They’re definitely one of the best groups in town right now for twisty, spiky guitar rock, a style that’s been oddly lacking over the last few years.
Speaking of Friday, that’s also going to be the last round of the Downtown Bellingham Busking Program for the summer. If you’re out doing the art walk, make sure to also keep an ear open for the excellent buskers sponsored by this program.
Jesse Stanton's music column, The Beat Goes On, appears weekly. Reach him at jsbhammusic@gmail.com; @JSBhamMusic. Check with individual venues to make sure events are still taking place as scheduled. Live music events in Whatcom County: http://www.cascadiadaily.com/category/living/arts-and-entertainment/music/music-calendar
