John Beaudin - Hi Paul, it's great for you to talk with us especially while you're on tour in Japan!
Paul Armitage - Thanks, the miracle of digital technology.
John - How different are the crowds in Japan?
Paul -The Japanese are exceptionally polite and honoring. They are very generous in their expressions of appreciation. I suppose people everywhere are when they like something but the Japanese people I have met stand out in this regard.
John - You recently came back from Hawaii where you did some shows. Did you get a chance to check out the beaches?
Paul - The
event I performed at was at the Kawaii Marriott Hotel, a five star hotel
right on the beach in Kawaii.
Yes, I did have a chance to swim in very warm tropical water in the middle
of winter and it was quite a buzz!
John - One of the very unique aspects of your music is your Musical Portraits where you will tap into someone's energy and write a piece of music based on that. Tell me more about it?
Paul - The compositions are unique, one of a kind spontaneously composed instrumental pieces and they are usually about 45 minutes in length. My experience when actually bringing through the music is kind of like allowing my consciousness and body to be a conduit from which the music is 'downloaded' so to speak. It's really very similar to when jazz musicians improvise. However, the structure of the music is stylistically more classical in its chord progressions and melodies than most jazz music. My experience of the music is very expansive. I feel kind of like being in an altered state where I 'hear' the music in my inner hearing and translate it on the spot on the keyboard. Emotionally, it is a very gratifying and heart expanding experience.
John - Do you ever get people who role their eyes about a Musical Portrait?
Paul - Surprisingly,
no! I tend to avoid circles of people who are doubters and skeptics. I
think people in general these days
are more open to spirituality in music and art.
John - The whole New Age music movement was going very well in the 80's and early 90's but its lost steam since then. Do you have any ideas as to why?
Paul - I think many people are seeking a more tangible, grounded experience of their own spirituality than what is often being presented at New Age events. There are a lot of good people bringing through good information but often it is too intellectual and not enough of an actual experience that people can connect with emotionally. I have noticed in the last two years a major opening and receptivity to music and sound. People want more of that kind of experience. Music and sound are a direct link that enables people to have a more immediate connection to their own divine self.
John - We met about six years ago at Soul Journey, this channeled meditation group in Vancouver. You were one half of a team with Craig Russell, who channeled and you did all the music. How did Soul Journey start?
Paul - Craig and I met at a weekly meditation group. He was channeling at that group and his channeling was very powerful.
John - Why did you leave Soul Journey?
Paul - At that time in my life it was important for me branch out and expand my horizons so to speak. I felt called to bring my music to a much larger audience. Soul Journey was an amazing experience and opened many doors on many levels.
John - Haven't a lot of people from that group from different cities begged you to come back? Doesn't that tug at you?
Paul - Interestingly,
in the last six months there have been a number of individuals still connected
to Soul Journey who have
approached me desiring to see me contribute musically once again to Soul
Journey. I have always been open to Craig Russell and myself reconnecting
in some form that would enable us to work together in some capacity.
John - I've been meditating since my teens and personally Soul Journey never really did it for me and I found it really repetitious. The only thing that made me go back was your music. I have to admit I believe in channeling but I think very, very few people can do it. Your career seems to have soared since leaving Soul Journey and you have been traveling all over the world!
Paul - Many doors have opened and yes, I am very busy. It's a wonderful life seeing new places and meeting great people everywhere.
John - You strikes me as a very free spirit but you're definitely not a sensitive New Age guy. I'd say you're kind of a New Age cowboy and that's really refreshing!
Paul - Thanks, I don't really consider myself to be New Age anything. I appreciate Rock and Roll as much as refined classical music, as long as it can inspire and connect to a deeper truth it works for me.
John - Do you find it hard on relationships being on the road all the time?
Paul - I've had to redefine the form of some relationships but in many ways I feel more fulfilled than ever. I have many great heart centered connections with many people. It's just that I don't get to see some of them that often. Romantically, it can be a challenge but I think you just need to find the right person.
John - Does your family understand what you're doing?
Paul - I think they accept and recognize now that what I do works for me but they're a bit baffled by the spirituality involved. I know in the past they've worried that I was caught up in some kind of cult but I think that perception as evolved on their part.
John -You're a big fan of the 'Right Use of Will' books. Tell me about them.
Paul - I have found the information in those books immeasurably helpful on many levels. They speak to the actual mechanics of how we as spiritual beings manifest our realities. There are clear and simple teachings of the nature of Divine Will as it is expressed as our own individual will which is really our emotional body, that part of us that experiences desire, intuition and feeling which is really the feminine aspect of our consciousness. The books explain simply, yet profoundly, how to heal our lost will by allowing full movement in our denied suppressed emotions usually wounds and traumas from the past that have been blocked out or denied. In the healing of these old denials of emotion we reclaim our full spiritual presence by recovering lost will. The more we have our will fully present with us on a conscious level the more able we are to consciously determine right action that brings us back on to our destiny path enabling us to navigate through our lives in a more harmonious manner. Our will is that part of us that is supposed to guide us to the right place in the right time. Most people do not really know what they desire or want because they have been so conditioned by society and family upbringing to deny and not honor true feelings. The more we honor our true feelings, which is our will, the more our will can fulfill its function in our spiritual evolution by being able to guide us to right place and thereby bring us back onto the path the will fulfill our soul purpose.
John - The books seem to have really helped you.
Paul - These books were a profoundly clear validation of many insights that I had already realized throughout my life. They have deepened my understanding and helped clarify a deeper awareness of personal truth.
John - And you really liked the Conversations with God books.
Paul - Yes, in many ways they are saying much the same thing. Truth is true!
John - I know you're very out spoken about the dogma in the New Age movement but you also have a real love for the New Age personal growth side of things. Tell me the good and the bad?
Paul
- I see a lot of superficial, intellectualized, idealized information
that sounds good on the surface but is often quite irrelevant when it
comes to living our everyday lives. I see many people get caught up in
certain teachings or New Age beliefs that can actually take them further
away from connecting to their own inner truth, which is where all of the
answers are ultimately found..
John - I know you admire Matisha from Mount Shasta who really pokes fun at the New Age movement. Tell me about him?
Paul - He's a good friend, a very talented musician and playful spirit. He is very spontaneous in his humor and loves to make fun of New Age channelers who some people take too seriously. It's very refreshing.
John - New
Age channelers can sometimes be easy to poke fun at. 95 % of them just
seem like really bad actors who couldn't do a foriegn accent if thier
live depended on it. Is Mount Shasta really as spiritual as people say
it is? I've had some great
experiences there.
Paul - There is a very powerful presence near the mountain. I have had many profound experiences and connections with many very aware people who feel called to live or travel their.
John - Tell me about Wesak in Mount Shasta, that's the event Joshua Stone puts on right?
Paul - The Wesak celebration is an annual event celebrated in many places all over the world. It is actually a Buddhist celebration honoring the Buddha. Dr. Joshua David Stone's event every year in Mount Shasta is one of the larger events commemorating the Buddha and over fifteen hundred people usually attend each year in Mount Shasta.
John - You have met a lot of new up and comers in New Age music can you name a few that you really like?
Paul - James Twyman, Rebekah Edminster, Richard Hardy, Kathy Zavada, Matisha and Gary Cooper. Gary Cooper is a good friend of mine who lives in Mount Shasta.
John - Tell me about Richard Hardy?
Paul - I met
Richard performing at Wesak in 1998. Richard is an amazing sax/woodwind
player who has played with Carol King and many other famous artists over
the years. He is a great guy and a great musician.
John - What's the fastest way to peace?
Paul - To practice forgiveness of others but mostly of ourselves.
John - Contrary to public belief New Age dudes like to Rock.(laughing) I know we are both huge Toto fans and we both love Elton John. Tell me about both of these artists and the impact they have had on you?
Paul - Elton and Toto both combined elements of beautiful classical harmonic structure with great passion and intensity, an awesome blend of musical genius.
John - What else are you listening to these days?
Paul - Avril Lavigne
John - She is fantasitc. I love that debut album. Give your favorite 10 or 20 albums of all time?
Paul -
_______Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton
John
_______Crime of the Century- Supertramp
_______Captain Fantastic - Elton
John
_______Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morrisette
_______Tambu - Toto
_______So - Peter Gabriel
_______UK - Danger Money
_______Yes - 90125, Fragile, Talk
_______Trial by Fire - Journey
_______Works volume1 - Emerson, Lake and
Palmer
John - Considering the type of music you produce you don't listen to any New Age music?
Paul - Not very much.
John - What album do you never get sick of?
Paul - Any of the above in the top ten list.
John - What makes a perfect relationship?
Paul - Where both people can truly accept each other unconditionally.
John - Tell me about your latest album?
Paul - 'Healing of the Divine Mother' and it's a musical invocation calling forth the full healing of lost will.
John - My daughter Danica was born to your Ascension CD. Interestingly my in-laws and I were really not getting along at the time so you kind of set a nice peaceful mood on all counts in that delivery room. Thanks! (laughing)
Paul - Thank you!
John - So what direction do you want to go with the music?
Paul - Where ever God asks me to go!
John - Paul thanks so much for taking the time from your busy schedule to join us on Smooth Jazz Now.com.
Paul - Thank
you, John.
Interview conducted Oct/2002