The Was

3/11/2019

Was: The past of be.
Be: Exist.
Was a moment that happened.
How did I start doing The Was?

Origin:
Food Porn, The start of my Was photos came from Food Porn. Everyday we are bombarded with social media instant gratification look at me moments. You are on FB minding your own business. You are scrolling down and one of your friends, or some stranger places up this amazing looking treat. You see this tasty morsel in all it's glory. Dang!!! mmmnn!!! Wow!!! I want that. But, u can't.. It is Food Porn. It is fleeting. You picture their spread and want to bite. But, you can not have the exact same tempting mistress. You do think of your lunch now and it was not as good as their pictured treat.
Or..maybe...

Origin:
Did the idea of my Was photos come from my love of seeing decay, disorder and chaos in a beautiful way? I love seeing rust on metal, pieces of colorful glass on a multi-colored gray streets, melted crayons, splashes of paint on walls, faded images on wood..etc. I see beauty in this. These items all had stories. They all hold some kind of memory. When I see the left overs, decay, memories get conjured in my own soul.
Why do some celebrate the beauty of the new in front of us, discarding the beauty of decay?
Or...did The Was show up..or Was it always there?

Origin:
My Daddy when he was fighting Blood and Bone Cancer there were some days he could not tell you the day of the week, but he could give full memory of my Mum and his first kiss. The aroma of her perfume, the feel of her dress. Memory is powerful. Memory can bring the one who remembers fully back to the start.
And..if we tell the story of The Was it that captured us it creates life in others. Then they tell their story and something wonderful erupts deep in us. We all have wonderful stories in us, they are waiting to come out more. The Was acts a primer. It is the first word on an empty page, the first stroke of paint left on a clean canvas.
The Was asks the questions. What was it, where was it, who was it done by, when was it, and why was it.

Origin:
I was on Instagram one day. I just placed a picture of a show , performed with some friends and Instagram read, PennyGruneFae ..
That is where The Was placed its roots deeper in me.
The Was. The remembering of an event you had. The memory of a happening. The taste of that damn good cup of coffee. That tear on the cheek, the spilling of blood on a street, the slice of Orange rind on a green table and so much more.

One can see something different when one takes time to take in The Was. There are details we will see, when we slow down long enough to see the captured moment.
What you may see in The Was may be different than someone else's look into The Was.
I placed up the after event of something i enjoyed on Instagram. I typed Was. That was the name that pop'd into my noggin.
When I went back to look at the image. Instagram read..
Pennygrunefae. Was.
I was there. The event happened.
My next thought was. Wow.. I hope when people see The Was, it would kindle a memory unique to the watcher's Was for them as well.
When my Daddy told me of his first kiss to my Mum's lips.. it opened the door of adventure me to see him as whole, romantic, high school kid in love with a future ahead of him.
The celebration of past events through what is left behind.
We are now and we all lived The Was.

11 Comments

penny grune-fae

Name: Penelope Rebecca “Penny”

Born: Shreveport, Louisiana
Location: Saint Petersburg, Florida
Formerly: Massachusetts, Rhode Island

Present Music Project: Penny Grune-Fae

Sound, it fascinates me, haunts me, and moves me. My entire life has been the exploration, application, and pursuit of sounds.

One question people have asked me over the last three years of my life in regards to my Experimental Music / Anti-Music creations is, “How long have u been doing this?” My heartfelt answer... as long as I have been alive. Until three years ago I just did not know what I was doing was part of a movement, community, or “A Thing” I just thought it was what it was, Having fun creating. I knew of Cage, Dada, Eno, Glass, and others. There are a few people I have come to know and respect in the Experimental Community that can tell us the entire family tree of a gazillion artists, their relationships to what we do and how it all got to here. That was never me. I am constantly learning.

It was about three years ago when I started focusing on penny music: taking down my sketchbooks, notebooks, napkins and started to see how it led me here. When I was younger, I made tape loops, tape manipulation on reel to reel tape recorder, captured field recordings, created soundscape recordings, did weird things to my percussion gear, and built contraptions to play with on stage because why not! I wanted to see how they would sound and how I could apply them to whatever music project I was working on at that time in my life.

I never knew all of this was really a thing. It was just fun.

Origin Point:
I was at a place called the Venture Compound, supporting a friend's project and started hearing and seeing some incredible shows. I started hanging out and meeting these creative people. I felt a connection to what they were doing and who they are. I felt a part of something bigger than me. I felt I could maybe belong. Then I saw SPNF, Pre-Inc and other insane shows. Mind Blown!!! Then one day I was looking up Mail-Art sites and came across Hal McGee and then I saw some of the same people who I
met on his YouTube account performing. Connections to Connections, like how a tree is connected to her roots, branches, leaves, ground and all that earthy nature stuff (LOL)

I grew as I was challenged. I wanted to create something my own. I started playing a few collaborations alongside people that were already actively creating. During this time I was doing poetry, playing drums, and trying to support others. I was asked one day if I wanted my own set. I said yes!

This is where Penny Grune-Fae evolved from. My first solo set was made of contradicting sounds mixed
into a soundscape. I used 4 mp3 players because they were cheaper than 4 Micro-Cassette Recorders. I saw Hal McGee's Dictaphonia Fest. That is where I wanted to start. That sounded so wicked Rad!!! The pursuit sounds and combining sound together. I started searching for Microcassette Recorders... man they were expensive though!! Mp3 players. So I got four, a mixer, did some insane research on pedals, bought some and started creating. I played my first set...it worked... it freaking worked!! People liked it. I
even liked it...LOL...I am, constantly hard on my self. Later that night, a few people compared me to
others out there who have been doing something like I just did... just with different gear... and professional as I said... I did not know it was a thing. I was asked to play other shows, met more killer people and I started to grow more. LOL... Since the start of this leg of adventure I now have one Micro-
cassette only 3 more to go...LOL... Hal McGee turned me on to another recording device, but that will be another story.

While there was an entire universe of experimental musicians doing their art I was growing through it.
When I was younger I was raised in the church. OOOOOH no!! not religion... Yup... LOL... In that time
of my life, I was given the choice to sit with my folks or go sit in the sound booth and learn sound. I choose to learn sound. During that time I also learned how to run lights, do spots, fixed stuff when it broke build stages, build instruments, program light boards, lay lots of duct tape, and get electrocuted, I was hungry to learn. I also choose to do technical support first before I had spots on me. I wanted to lift others up rather than just be "Look at me". I learned so much during that time, and I feel I am a better musician for it.

Percussion: I love drumming, I have been having a relationship with drums my entire life. From my Mum's heartbeat to playing pots and pans on my Mum's floor to doing some touring I have been
drumming. My foundation as a percussionist has greatly added to what I have been creating.

Other points of Interest that I enjoy exploring: Making friends, Mail-Art, Creating Asemic Manuscripts.
Sketching Future Noise Instruments. Roaring 20's Culture, Radio Dramas and doing Stand Up Comedy.

John M. Bennett link

3/11/2019 09:46:47

Some great fotos here!

Penny

3/12/2019 23:05:56

Thank u. I am glad u enjoyed them.

Aimee Naworal link

3/11/2019 09:53:46

Omg yes sister, I totally get this I too find beauty in The Was. The aftermath, the decay, the aged, the mistake, the messiness of life, dirt, abandoned objects, buildings structures and vehicles - I too can see the beauty. This is so cool I had a vague idea about Was I am happy to find out I am correct .<3

3/12/2019 23:22:29

Awesomeness Aimster.
There can be beauty in messiness. A flower sees the sky when it breaks through the dirt. Tru d@!!

3/11/2019 09:59:53

If we all in some way participated in sharing TheWas we admire on social media it can be easily found using a hashtag:

#TheWas

Rafael González

3/11/2019 16:42:18

Too much cool!

3/12/2019 23:23:10

Thank u!!

Phillip Klampe

3/11/2019 17:02:53

Very nice work! Even though we are visual creatures mostly, the other senses play a role in creating memories as well. Sense of smell might be the most powerful memory creator. Really like the first two pictures.

Chris Phinney

3/12/2019 15:54:37

Penny,

Love the photos,the great words TheWas, Decay is very beautiful actually, disorder, chaoas, I used to take tons of photos on 35 mm mostly b & w, but color as well of decay, crumbling buildings, everyday surroundings, carcasses, tombstones, you name it. Even recorded a track on a solo tape way back called " The Heat of Decay"

Memories yes, beyond the photo, we shot vhs, dvd, digital, videos all 3 formats, of video, yes we are now & we all lied The Was.

I don't do social media just email, text, phone & here at EC my social media, lol Great works my fellot EC compadre!

3/12/2019 15:57:07

That should have said lived not lied

3/12/2019 16:39:28

But of course we didn't have social media back then, only usps,phone got a pc when they came out or around, the social network then I think was Compuserve I never used it, but I know fellow EC artist Dave Fuglewicz could most likely shed some light on that subject.

The Was

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