OCT-09 MUEN INTERVIEW

MUEN MAGAZINE
Ploy of Oracle
Dallas, TX- October 2009

BY BC BLONDE

MUEN: Hi Greg, it's good to be able to hook up and see what’s going
on with you in Dallas! So what is going on over there these days?

Ploy of Oracle:
My pleasure BC. It’s a fine night in Dallas. I’m sitting outback enjoying the smell of a summer storm, listening to drops falling on a metal roof with an orchestra of thunder crawling across the sky. Each roaring crack chasing the next until it fades out and gives way to next burst of pressure that transforms the atmosphere. Lightning is flashing like a strobe and spreading out like veins across the sky . Simply beautiful and calming. Perfect backdrop for a discussion with you Madame.

MUEN: I always ask about band names and now I will have to ask you what
does "Ploy of Oracle" mean for you? What does it represent? I know
what it means but there are many out there who do not.

Ploy of Oracle:
well, as a solo artist who does my work under a band name and concept, I felt it was really important to choose a name that was reflective of the point of my work and what I am ultimately trying to achieve with it. The name Ploy of Oracle is more or less a paradoxical representation of the way I view the motives of the human mind, which is the foundation of my concentration. We all have some form of autonomous sense of self, or personality based on our ideas, opinions, and views of the world and its inhabitants as we see it. In a sense this is one’s own “oracle” and each is unique in their own right. In some manner, whether it is on a grand scale or not, I believe people have a need to express themselves in way that shows their individuality and most long to be loved or accepted for who they are. I have always felt that a band or an artist is the pinnacle of this. All of us have a different purpose for what we do. Each a different voice, message, style, or attitude. Whether you want to be a huge commercial success or an underground respected cult icon we still have to reach out and try to create something that is unique and that lures people to your work. So in a sense we are often devising a way to capture another’s attention and mind in order to share our work. I see this as our “ploy”. That is how the name came about, and what it ultimately means to me.


MUEN: How long have you been actively pursuing your musical career? How would you describe the journey?

Ploy of Oracle:
well , I would say I have done this completely backwards when compared to most bands or artists, and I am not sure if that helps me or hurts me. I have been writing the songs and stories that became this album, and will also become the next 2, over a span of 9 years. I made some decisions as a young man that caused me to put this dream on the shelf a few times. When I was around 23 I read a quote by Abraham Lincoln that I turned into my mantra for being patient with my career as a musician. He said, “ If I had 6 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 4 sharpening the axe.” It all made sense to me that I had to plan my work and work my plan. I spent the next 6 years more or less living and learning from mistakes, and growing as a person and a musician. This past year I decided it was time to do this, and I virtually came out of nowhere with this record on May 29th 2009. So it has been less than 6 months. I never wanted to just throw something out there just to say I did it. I wanted to make sure the timing was right for me and the work. So far, this part of the journey has been rewarding, humbling, and educational; mostly in a business sense. I am reassured daily, as sad as it is, this is no doubt a business. One in which I am learning more and more about each day, and thus far I have been fortunate to meet some great people. I have a lot of exciting things coming up in the next few months.

MUEN: Greg, you play several instruments on this album whereas most
people only master one. When did you first pick up that guitar?

Ploy of Oracle:
“Play” is really the right word when speaking of all the instruments except for the guitar. Piano, keyboards, bass, and even singing are not my strong suits. I am a guitarist first and foremost. By no means though have I even become close to mastering it. I don’t really think anyone can ever master the guitar. I think Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughn were the closest, and I feel that came more from the mastery they had within themselves to let the instrument speak for them. There are a lot of great players from a technical side of the guitar, but the guitar players who touch me the most are the ones that even though someone can play their work, it just doesn’t sound the same being played by anyone else. Their aura attached to it is what makes them so special. I will never forget the moment I knew I wanted to play a guitar. I was 9 years old. I saw Guns n Roses video for “Welcome to the Jungle” on MTV; back when MTV actually played music videos. That was it for me. I begged my dad to buy me one. We didn’t really have a lot of money, and I don’t think it would have mattered at that time even if we had. I borrowed one from a friend for about a year. It was just too hard. I didn’t have the drive or the patience, so I gave it back. A few years later I bought one with some money I saved up. Same story. It just sat there for the most part. Around 16, I had really got into music, and I was starting to experiment with all the things most teenagers do. All I thought about was being able to play the guitar, so I finally decided I was ready to learn. Just sat it my room and tried to figure it out. For hours on end. Day in and day out. I shared a room with my younger brother and he would beg me to shot off the amp and go to bed, so he could sleep in peace. I literally stayed up all night. I would try and play along with albums of bands I loved. Learning each part of the songs. As I got better, I just kept going up the ladder. Once I was playing Hendrix and Zeppelin and artists like that, I started to get more confident as a player and that is when I started exploring my own sound, and writing my own songs. I still play about 3-4 hours every day, and I am still getting better every day, and have a long way to improve as a player.

MUEN: How do you describe your musical style?

Ploy of Oracle:
In my mind I am a blues rock artist. When I write an initial riff, that goes on to be a song , it almost always starts out as simple blues chords. The more I play with it, and let my feelings pour into the idea, it kind of morphs and eventually comes out a lot heavier in structure. I hear the word “southern rock” from a lot of fans, peers, and people within the music industry, but I am always curious if that is solely due to the fact that I live in Texas, and wear a hat and boots. If I had to pick one genre that would be hard, because the songs could fall in Rock, Blues, Metal, or Alternative. I really don’t think about what the style is when I write a song. All I care about is that the music fits with the story I am trying to tell. Each song is it’s on story, and they are all part of a bigger story. All the songs for the next record are written. The heavier songs are much heavier and far more progressive. the bluesy songs are much more of a traditional blues style, and the slower (softer songs) are even slower and softer. So, my style will become more apparent; I am just not sure what exactly it will be called. I am comfortable with “Rock and Roll”. That allows me a broad brush.

MUEN: What has been your most definite motivator in making and producing this album?

Ploy of Oracle:
There were a lot of factors that motivated me. Doubt, fear of regret, naysayers, pursuing a dream I have had since I was young, putting my past behind me, and dealing with all the thoughts and pain I was still going through. i guess if I had to choose the most definite motivator, it was pain. I have been through a lot in my life. making this album was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. it was something that had to do for me. It may be just another record from just another artist; sent out into a over flooded industry. However to me, and those who are close to me( that know what I have been through, and what I went through to make this album) and all who were a part of it, It was so much more. I feel it shows.

MUEN: Your CD insert is uniquely put together, in the physical sense.Very nice. Your songs and the order of the songs are entirely different that what I am used to seeing on CD covers. It's rather cool, where did this idea come from in such a creation? And thank you for autographing
mine.

Ploy of Oracle:
You are quite welcome. This album told such a story, one that is so very real. One that is still unfinished. I let what style song it was, or how to make it flow musically, take the back seat. I focused more on the songs flowing within the story correctly. The more I looked at the album, and the story, as a whole, the more it just made sense. It had a play or operatic quality. The hardest part for me was thinking up I wanted to structure it visually. To word it tastefully. To show that it was not some joke or gimmic. Also, that the design and wording I came up with still required the listener to put it all together. that was just as important to me. I lot of thought went into it, and overall I was pleased with how it turned out.

MUEN: Your songs tell a story of addictions that you have had in the
past, in fact the entire CD is based upon this. That's some raw
material there. Real emotion from you and your music. Could you please
share with me and our MUEN readers what exactly went down? Tell us
about the good fight of a man called gill t. freeman! And how you
turned this experience into a creative medium?

Ploy of Oracle:
I will do my best to give you the facts. Otherwise, we could talk all day and night. which I am fine with, but I am sure you are a busy gal. Also, the fact that I am no one special just yet, leads me to believe that the readers would like me to spare the details. So here is pretty much the just of it. I was a drug addict/alcoholic. I Made a lot of bad decisions and mistakes. Some I payed for more dearly than others, some I still indirectly pay for. About killed myself a few times, in a few different ways. Never tried to take my own life, but accidents, and brushes with death based on foolish decisions, ego, and pride. It took me a little bit to understand that I was the one causing all these problems for myself, and I had the power to change. It was a very bumpy road, but I did just that. The problem is life doesn’t stop just because you get clean, or become a better person. So then you have to learn how to live all over again in a sense. I have been 100% sober for 8 Years, and I am still learning every day. Life is hard no matter who you are, where you are from, what you do, or what you have done. We always have the choice to have our life’s be what we want them to be. It’s just not going to be easy. It’s going to be a fight. One that is worth it. This album represents not only the fight to grow up, and get clean, but it also represents doing something with my life that was not going to be easy. Which was take a dream, and try and make it real. Music was that dream, and it is what I focused on. This album gave me a chance to put all that behind me, and I have. As for Gill T. Freeman. That is more complex. That answer will come later.

MUEN: How did you find the strength and courage to ditch it all? I know
that you have decidedly kept the cigs and women though! Yeah we all have
a little somethin' going on don't we? :laughs:
Ploy of Oracle:
(Laughs exhaling cigarette smoke) women? Who me? never. Yeah, we all have something, no doubt. Ditching it was a day to day battle. Just had to face the facts. Some people can do drugs and drink and not mess up there life to the point where I did. Some can’t. I am one of the ones who can’t. I am an all or nothing type of person. I tried all, and it didn’t work so well. Besides, at some point you get sick of hurting yourself, and others. At least I did. I got in enough trouble that I had no choice other than to quit for a while, and it gave me a chance to see what I was doing to myself, and others. When I had the chance to go back to that life, I decided not to. I have been focusing on music ever since.

MUEN: What is the best part of being a musician? What is the most beneficial part of doing what you love?

Ploy of Oracle:
The fact that there is no satisfaction. You have to earn it. In today’s music market good music is not enough. You have to put in the time and be dedicated. It’s funny really. With all the different websites devoted to helping artist spread the work, and all the live shows and festivals you would think it would be simple to just jump on ship and set sail. It just doesn’t work that way. You can always do better work. There is always someone better than you. That drives me a lot. I don’t care if I am a starving artist forever. I am doing the only thing I want to do, and I love it. The most beneficial part, for me, is taking something that did not exist and turning it into a song that I believe in. The most rewarding part is sharing it with others, and having them tell you they can relate to it, or that they love it the same way you do.

MUEN: I can hear and sense the passion, the pain, and sorrow in your
music. I've always felt (quite literally) that pain helped me in my
creative projects. Were there times like that for you as well?

Ploy of Oracle:
it is often said the only 2 things guaranteed in life are death and taxes. They should have thrown pain in there as well. It is just a basic part of life. Everyone has something going on, and the more people I meet the more I learn that we all really are the same. pain can often be a debilitating force for most. For an artist, poet, writer, or anyone who delves into any sort of creative medium; I think pain can drive you to do your best work and be not only therapeutic to yourself, but others. To feel pain means you feel. The alternative is a lifeless, apathetic, numb existence, and I would rather feel all the pain in the world and live to write about it, then be as a sheep waiting for the slaughter in that state of being.

MUEN: My second to last question for you Greg is about God. You thank God
on your album (as well as your fans) but you thank God. He didn't
write, produce or contribute lyrically or musically to it. (I've got my
own issues with religion :laughs:) Just curious, so answer up darlin'

Ploy of Oracle:
Next question. Haha. No, I have no problem answering this question, and I am actually glad you asked it. more people than you can imagine ask me about this. I am assuming because some of the more sexual content in some of my lyrics mixed with the other songs content that seem to combat the same so-called “demons”. this will give me an opportunity to go on record about this, and ATTEMPT to make my views, opinions, and beliefs clear. However, my answer will be a lengthy one, so just remember; you asked. First I will address the lyrics. This record is about the little devil on one shoulder and the little angel on the other. Most of us have each voice in our ears throughout our days. I try to always listen to that angel, but a lot of times I don’t. I am far from perfect, but I seek to get better every day and be the best person I can be. My music is me. Flaws and all. A place I can let each go to the extreme, and I not only find comfort it that I also hope it helps people relate to it as well. As for God, The truth is this: I spent a good number of years studying all types of “religions”. even the years when I was using a variety of mind altering substances. My focus was pretty much always on exploration. Whether that was music, physcology, or spirituality. As I was getting clean, and changing my life, I guess you could say I went through a soul searching period, and I really explored many different avenues of thought, and myself. I wanted to know each at their core. I was more interested in tracing each one back to the actual men they were attached to. For example, Jesus, Buddha, or even more current figures such as the Dali lama, and Ghandi. The more I read and the more I delved into book after book, one thing became very clear to me. I could not judge any religion based off of the way the followers of it chose to live it. Meaning, in today’s world most forward thinking individuals who hear, or see, the word “God” almost always attach it to an image of a man in a suit on a Sunday morning on television asking for money. I think that coupled with the cynical and judgmental nature of most who claim to be “religious” leave not only a foul taste in others mouth, but also defeat the very idea of “God” and togetherness. I consider myself a spiritual person. I believe in God. My decision to do so is based on personal experiences and faith. I have the upmost respect for the wisdoms of many religions, spiritual leaders, and prophets. Also, some of my favorite artists were not shy about their beliefs. artists like b.b. king, son house, Mississippi john hurt, Johnny cash, and countless others, but , mostly the wide variety of blues artists, attached a level of soul in their music by opening up the listeners to more than just the surface of who they were. Most even sang a lot of gospel songs. Even jimi Hendrix, who is my all-time favorite, spoke freely of and often of God. I don’t write directly about it, but I won’t hide it either. People have a right to believe what they want, and I am not trying to push it on anyone. If people chose to like me or dislike me on that alone there is not much I can do about that, nor will I lose a wink of sleep over it. I thanked God first, because of the presence I feel has helped me in this life, and everything I have gone through has shaped me and thus my music.

MUEN: A quote off your CD is: "I dedicate these songs of mine to broken
hearts and troubled minds. To those who lie awake at night. To those
who tremble full of fright. For here you'll find a place to hide. A
place to leave your pain behind. For open ears and open eyes, their
arms are always open wide." Signed Gregory A. Bardasian ~~That's a
pretty cool dedication that I think all of us with broken hearts and
troubled minds can appreciate.


Ploy of Oracle:
Sometimes all it takes is one person to be there for u, or believe in you, and it can make all the difference it the world. If a person listens to this album , and is in this category of people , (as am I) they will know I meant these words. I hope the music will be enjoyed by all types of all backgrounds, but I wrote this album with these type of people in mind. If they can draw any type of solace, comfort, or escape from my work; even if just one other human is touched or inspired, then I have done what I set out to do , and I will consider it a success. Obviously, I want to share it with as many as I can.

MUEN: Thank you Greg it has been a pleasure. My best to you and good luck with everything. Rock on!

Ploy of Oracle:
Pleasure has been all mine, BC. I thank you for your time, your interest in my work, and the opportunity to share it and connect with the MUEN audience. I look forward to talking to you again in the near future.