James Dangerous & the CIA - Rate of High Speed - Ian Kinney

I'm particularly excited about this project because I'd love to encourage more of this sort of thing. Ian has taken a music video made by his own band, James Dangerous & the CIA, and written a creative piece in response to it. I know for me, and a number of my creative friends, music has been inspiring the work I do for years and years. Ian's work comes from 2010 and I'd love to include more projects that are gathering cobwebs or collecting dust in your hard drives. David Latos also used material from before A4A ever existed and once wrote to me in an email: "it might not otherwise have been shared. . . it brought relevance in one fashion to a piece of art by me that already existed." Like David and Ian, if anyone has projects they want to share, I'd love to add it to the blog. So, here is Ian discussing his band and creative project:

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My submission to Art 4 Art differs from others since it was written long before the blog existed. Below is a piece I wrote in 2010 in response to a video that my band posted on youtube while I was studying French in Montreal. The band, James Dangerous & the CIA, formed more less organically in 2007. A group of musically inclined friends got together to help James with a studio project. A dedicated and talented artist, James Dangerous wanted to learn how to record and develop a full length album so that he could one day become the professional musician of his dreams. But from this studio project, a proficient live band was born. James Dangerous & the CIA plays gigs at pubs across town, raises funds for a variety of charities, and are hired to play at business parties year round. Described simply, James Dangerous & the CIA are a psychedelic hillbilly blues band. More accurately, the CIA are a community of professionals; shows have anywhere between three to nine performers at a time, and this flexibility makes every show unique. It allows the band to continue causing chaos in Calgary even if most of the band may not be in town.

Members of the CIA (Community of Intelligent Artists) refer to themselves, somewhat ironically, as Agents. Prior to a gig, James might email the band its "mission" or set list, and sometimes afterwards we might receive a mission report that sums up and congratulates us on another awesome night of hopped-up, foot-stompin' raucous entertainment. While I was in Montreal in the Summer of 2010, I noticed the band post a music video in my absence. Despite the quality of the recording, I immediately missed the band and needed to share with them my own adventures in Montreal, and so, using the conceit of military vernacular, I wrote a reconnaissance report for the CIA.

Here is the music video recorded in my absence:

La Musique a Montreal

A Spontaneous Reconnaissance Report based on the investigations of the month of June

by

Ian Glen Kinney

Second Lieutenant, Community of Intelligent Artists (CIA)

during his leave in the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM)

VOL I
Based on recommendations made by Lieutenant Bates and Lieutenant Commander Hall-Meyer, musical armaments now include harmonicas in the keys of C, G, and E. A harmonica holder permits harmonicas and percussion to be played simultaneously. Second Lieutenant Kinney's proficiency with said armaments improves daily.

Following a free concert by the 'Arcade Fire', Second Lieutenant Kinney encountered a musical duo playing the banjo and the fiddle on the campus of UQAM. The Second Lieutenant immediately joins the jam with his harmonica and bodhran ensemble. The music generated can only be classified as somewhere between country and blue grass, but with a hint of celtic folk: more research is required. Both musicians claim to not only be biologists visiting Quebec for a Foresters conference, but they also claim membership in the folk/bluesgrass band "Pinned" located in Edmonton. CIA contact information was subsequently exchanged and their was much rejoicing.

Details regarding the free concert by the 'Arcade Fire' is available upon request. It should be noted, however, that many faces were melted during the show. We must discover the Indie Rock secret to success and steal it for ourselves.

VOL II

A Concluding Reconnaissance Report in two parts based on the investigations of the month of June

part i. 

"The Log Driver's Waltz" could easily be part of the soundtrack to the Second Lieutenant Leave of Absence. Those familiar with the Kinney's zeal for the song can easily imagine his reaction when the fiddle player from 'Pinned' begins to play this iconic Canadian classic. Knowing the "Waltz" by heart, Kinney immediately begins to sing and play along. To compliment this spontaneous encounter with the "Waltz", during a mission au Cinerobotheque (the National Film Board's digital library), which is operated (and likely owned) by French robot overlords, Kinney saw versions of the animated short in both French and English. In this agent's humble opinion, the French version of the "Waltz" cannot compare to the English. Commander Prang agrees. 

Commander Prang was enjoying some Rest and Relaxation in Montreal following his Officer's training in Quebec City. Second Lieutenant Kinney and his partner, Ms. Martin, rendezvoused with Commander Prang at approximately 1600 hours on Friday, June 25th 2010. Having not eaten for some time, the party dined at the most accessible restaurant on St. Denis: Pizzadelic. It was here that Kinney and Prang ate pasta to excess. Afterwards, the party drank Mojitos and played poker in the Second Lieutenant's accommodations in UQAM. In games of chance, every possibility, not matter how improbably, must occur. Only this maxim of mathematics could possibly account for how seasoned gamers, Commander Prang and Second Lieutenant Kinney, could lose every single hand to the amateur Ms. Martin. Bust, as the French saying goes, "C'est la vie!"

part ii. 

Never before could the Second Lieutenant boast the same sort of callouses as Commodore Dangerous or Captain Yip. For every Sunday at a weekly drum circle known as "Tamtams", the Second Lieutenant plays percussion under his fingers bleed. The Second Lieutenant plans to coordinate a similar sort of event as part of this year's Choose Yer Own Festival. And while Kinney's improved skill with the harmonica is not yet harpoon sharp, his proficiency with the instrument improves daily. He often carries a harp in his pocket and enjoys playing the blues on his way to French training. Passerby's take little notice since this sort of behaviour is common on the streets of Montreal. 

Second Lieutenant Kinney concludes his Leave of Absence from the CIA with a combination of agitation and anticipation. Montreal is a buzz with jazz, blues and folk rock at almost every corner downtown. But despite this melodic menagerie, Montreal lacks the musical camaraderie that the CIA has to offer. Kinney leaves Montreal dejected that his Vacation must end, but elated that he may once again resume his missions with the CIA. Recent reports indicate that there are many missions forthcoming. Kinney must fully familiarize himself with the band's most recent strategic operations before he can incorporate his new percussion (and possibly harmonica) ensemble to the unique sound of James Dangerous and the CIA.

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Ian Kinney, percussion attack agent. He and James Dangerous have almost cracked the secrets of perpetual motion. They're stuck on how to break the second law of thermodynamics. And the first one. Ian is a poet working towards his MA at the UofC, he is also the Former Editor of NoD Magazine, Assistant Poetry Editor of filling Station Magazine, zombie-slayer and lucky bastard. 

Learn more about James Dangerous & the CIA at www.jamesdangerous.com.