Calculated Discomfort by Tommy Carroll

“Calculated Discomfort” has both positive and challenging connotations.

On one hand, it’s the idea that stepping just beyond your comfort zone to experience things that help you question your assumptions without violating your way of existence is an essential part of personal growth (and can become enjoyable once you do it enough).

On the other hand, it encapsulates this idea that some people constantly have to balance the fact that their presence creates social discomfort with their desire to have a good time.

I’ve come to accept that 90% of people haven’t interacted with a blind person before, so anytime I go to a public or social space I have to be ready for people to panic or be nervous to some degree. Like working out, you get better at it, but it’s never pain free.

Last November I invited 15 of my closest friends and collaborators from jazz projects, classical music, and metal bands to join me for a largely improvised recording session. I came armed with a few compositions and sketches, but the main goal of the session was to see what a group of great listeners, out of their comfort zones, could create on the fly with some gentle direction.

We recorded more than six hours of glorious sound over the course of two days, and we did it almost exclusively the old school way: all in the same room without do-overs.

I spent time with all that sound and have paired it down to a 45 minute musical journey.

Drummer / composer / producer from Chicago seeking to create the soundtrack to a more inclusive world.

tcdrums.com
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