An Inspired Chat with David Fiuczynski of West Roxbury

We recently had the chance to connect with David Fiuczynski and have shared our conversation below.

David, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I think what I’m most proud of right now is watching former students come into their own. It’s been great watching former Planet MicroJam Institute alumni (@Berklee College of Music), who have taken my microtonal classes, start to develop their own sound and I’ve been privileged to collaborate with them. We all know who Miles Davis or Jimi Hendrix is, but do we know (or even care) who their teachers were or who the players were that had a profound impact on their music? If you click on the links below, you’ll see me playing guitar with amazing young musicians, who allowed me to help them formulate their own musical thoughts and in the process I’ve been able to learn more about myself. This goes far beyond what I would have ever imagined at a music school. Many thanx to MonoNeon (Memphis, TN), Hidemi Akaiwa (Japan), Yazhi Guo (China), Utar Artun (Turkey) and Giorgi Mikadze (Republic of Georgia)!

MonoNeon’s Southern Soul Micro
https://youtu.be/mREZgMXTcOY?si=izdaMxTWCtrmiuFp

Japanese MicroJamz with Hidemi Akaiwa
https://youtu.be/8HbLvrMNgoE?si=7Qat-SLd1Mwc_Cl_

Mid-East MicroJamz with Utar Artun
https://youtu.be/Y8S6mGv6tFw?si=D27Qv46D-Ni-hLHu

Giorgi Mikadze – Georgian MicroJamz
https://youtu.be/XJew2RfTdDg?si=eJQsDztFd3ILkYP0

Yazhi Guo – Chinese MicroJam
https://youtu.be/F3JyIDSB9tE?si=EkhGvCxl_ySrqeQp
https://youtu.be/ovYHa0Ae-HE?si=RzQ6zEIFJS1s5F4v

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! My name is David “FuZe” Fiuczynski and I’m best known for my underground cult band, the Screaming Headless Torsos. I also direct the Planet MicroJam Institute for microtonal studies at Berklee College of Music. Though born in the US, I grew up in Germany and because of my mixed background I guess I was always interested in mixing and “fuzing” different music elements. My recent music melds traditional melodic elements from the Middle East, Asia, India, and Eastern Europe, with rock, funk, electronica, and other styles. Currently, I’m trying to blend all of this into a new sound, something I’m calling MicroJamz.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
One of my earliest moments of feeling powerful was being invited to play with George Russell’s big band. I was by far the youngest in the band and I was sweating over the music for two months before the first rehearsal. It was very intimidating to see that some players were only subbing in the rehearsal and didn’t even know the music and consequently were sight reading everything on the spot! I thought, how am i going to even compete with these guys? Eventually though, it was the tenor sax player, one of the trumpets and myself who got most of the solos and in that moment I realized the power of having your own sound. As I previously mentioned, now as a teacher I really enjoy helping and watching young players start their own journey of musical discovery.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes, when I was 19 I had the great idea to practice 11 hours a day, but I was practicing the wrong things the wrong way and after 3 months the only thing I got out of this was tendonitis. My first year at New England Conservatory was touch and go but I think the universe was looking out for me because I met John Medeski (an incredible piano player) who was also suffering and he connected me with physical therapist Richard Zukowski (rest in power!) who helped both of us play again! This experience helped me overcome future hardships because I realized if you put your mind to it and take one step at a time you can climb mountains. Again major thanx to Richard!! Without your help I wouldn’t be playing over 40 years later and to John, glad to be playing with you on and off for the last 30 years.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I don’t think the music industry necessarily tells lies, but it’s unfortunate that in general there’s the idea that if you are not successful, your music isn’t good. I’ve dealt with many musicians who are more interested in winning over audiences than putting their real “face” or sound out there. I see players who measure their music based on how “the authorities” (the grammies, other award shows, top ten charts, lots of plays on youtube, IG, Spotify etc) quantify their “products” and not the actual music itself. Of course there’s nothing like success and making money, but I hope people would understand that based on this criteria alone, maybe we should stop listening to Mozart (who ended up in a pauper’s grave), maybe we should stop looking at Van Gogh (who only sold one painting in his life!) and before listing many other examples of great artists who weren’t recognized during their lifetime, maybe we should stop listening to Jesus Christ’s beautiful message of love, compassion and forgiveness considering “the authorities” nailed him to a cross? Can you image a publicist telling Jesus that he won’t get a lot of likes on Facebook for this and should rather stick crowd pleasing routines like walking on water and neat party tricks like turning water into wine?

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope when I’m gone, people will be inspired by my music, other players will be inspired to follow their own muse and I hope people will see that even in the latter years of my life, this dog could still learn new tricks!!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Ouriel Morgenstern, Bill Douthart, Oscar Marinn and fan pic

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