The Secret Mission of the Folk Musician - Part 1
post 27 - Interview with Jon Stotian - truth and honesty
Jon Stotian is one of my favorite musicians and Wisdom Catchers. Many things I’ve seen him do reflect a simple, yet profound, understanding of life and how it works. The other day, I spoke with Jon about his experience as a “folk” musician, but the wisdom he shared applies to a wide array of endeavors, including leadership.
Tonight, the president will give the State of the Union Address. Election season is heating up and we are hearing competing stories from competing candidates. Since folk musicians and candidates are both public figures who draw audiences that listen to what they have to say, I would like to share some of what Jon said about truth and honesty.
First, Some Background
Paul Mugwart and I drove to Jacobstown, New Jersey to see Jon perform a house concert. The 63-seat “great room” was sold out. The concert was spectacular. Everybody, old and young, sang along. Not just to familiar folk songs, but also to songs Jon wrote himself. People laughed, cried, and hugged each other.
After the show, Jon stood at his merch table for well over 30 minutes listening to people’s stories and signing things. He sold a ton of T-shirts, coffee thermoses, and CDs, knowing that more than half of the people who bought CDs no longer owned CD players. But they wanted to support Jon’s work and wanted something physical to take home. Jon was mildly excited about the money. But he was ecstatic about the love.
Here’s an edited version of the first part of our nearly hour-long interview:
Spook: “Where do you live these days?”
Jon pointed toward the stage: “Do you see that stage over there? That’s where I live. When I have a guitar around my neck, a microphone in front of me, and a crowd of beautiful people in the audience. It doesn’t matter if it’s in California, Italy, at a festival, or in someone’s basement. When that first note is picked on the guitar, that’s when everything comes to life.”
Spook: “Can you describe that?”
Jon: “Actually, it begins when I walk in the door. Or maybe it’s when I step out of the car. It’s like I’m stepping into a fresh new world. Everything becomes clear. To my eyes, my mind and my heart. I can hear an ant crawling on the grass across the street or smell the buds on flowers swelling as they prepare to unfold. Most of all, it becomes starkly obvious what I need to do.
Spook: “And what is that?”
Jon: “It starts with listening. You know this. Pete (Seeger) taught us that. Listen. The audience will tell you what will most benefit them. Then you deliver it in the best way possible. With honesty, integrity, truth, and compassion.
Spook: “How do you do that? Tell us about truth and honesty. Is there a difference?”
Truth
Jon: “They are similar but different. By truth I mean tell the story correctly. You listen to the story as you tell it. But it usually doesn’t come in words. So you have to find the right words – the right adjectives and adverbs. You have to be careful not to let your attention stray from the story into tangential thoughts – into your personal agenda. If you do delve into history, facts, or other background, make sure they are correct. Keep it pure. Keep your editorializing to a minimum. And when you do editorialize, tell us.
Spook: “So you’re talking about a certain kind of truth. You’re not saying you have some monopoly on truth.”
Jon: “Not at all. The mission is to be true to the essence of the story. Like you want the alignment of your car to be. True alignment makes it goes straight toward the goal and not veer off. ‘True North’ is not ‘kind of’ north. It’s as north as you can get. That kind of truth.”
Spook: “And honesty?”
Honesty
Jon: “By honesty I mean tell us where you stand in the story. Is it bigger than you? Is it weird? Is it natural? Does it happen often? How do you experience it? Don’t sugarcoat it. Don’t puff up your feathers. Don’t over-embellish it. Tell us your unadorned experience. Do you know for sure what you’re saying is correct? Or are you making your best guess?”
I next asked Jon about integrity and compassion, but I would like to save that for a future post and skip ahead:
Spook: “That sounds like a lot of responsibility.”
Responsibility
Jon: “Look, not everyone will agree on this. But I believe you have a responsibility to shepherd forth the story as honestly, and as best as you can. But, once you share the story it’s a whole new ballgame.
“You are sharing a vision. If you share it honestly, you are not responsible for how people respond – what they do with the gift is their choice. It’s like you are standing on a path and pointing toward a vision. Let people decide for themselves if they wish to walk toward that vision. Who are you to judge? Right?
“But if you tell the story dishonestly, if you flub the facts out of laziness, or you intentionally lie or insight violence or rebellion, then you are responsible because you are pointing people in the wrong direction. You’re telling people that the vision you describe lies in a certain direction. But you are really pointing to a cliff. And if people believe you and want to pursue that vision, then you are leading them astray. And if people get harmed, or cause harm, or end up in jail because of what you told them, then, yes, you are responsible.”
To be continue. Until then …