Episode 17: The Audio Diary of Pete Sutherland
This episode of VT Untapped™ is part of a six-part series built around our “Listening in Place” project. We’ll take you into six different Vermont communities where we’ve spent some time listening to what people are going through and what they’re thinking about during the pandemic and beyond.
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“This is just day one of one person’s journal about isolation in the time of the Coronavirus outbreak worldwide.
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Back in March 2020, Pete Sutherland opened up the voice memo app on his phone, hit record and said “This is just day-one of one person's journal about isolation in the time of the Coronavirus outbreak worldwide.” In the following nine months, Pete continued to hit record and share his thoughts with what he calls “the vault” on his phone. Sometimes he discusses the COVID-19 Pandemic, other times he reflects on walks in the woods, his family, teaching, or the 2020 election. In this episode of VT Untapped™, we bring you excerpts of Pete’s COVID Diary.
Pete is a longtime friend of the VFC and a vastly influential contributor to traditional culture in Vermont. He is prolific as a musician, teacher, visual artist, composer, writer, and storyteller and his way with words comes through in this diary. Beyond the words, the sonic experience of the diary transports us right into Pete’s world; many of his entries are made “on site” as he goes about his daily life. So take a seat and join Pete on his journey through COVID times.
In addition to providing material for this podcast, Pete has donated his diary in its entirety to the VFC archive where it will add to our growing collection of materials documenting the COVID-19 pandemic and our Listening in Place project. We are profoundly grateful to Pete for agreeing to share this personal account with us.
Read on to learn more about Pete’s career as a musician and artist and hear his reflections on the practice of keeping an audio diary in a short interview excerpt below.
meet pete
A warm voiced singer-songsmith and accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Pete is known equally for his potent originals and his intense recreations of age-old ballads and fiery fiddle tunes. The American Festival of Fiddle Tunes said Pete “covers the map and shines with a …pure spirit which infuses every bit of his music, and cannot fail to move all who hear him.” He has been on staff at dance and music camps coast to coast and is a widely known year-round teacher and performer at home. Sutherland is a veteran of many touring and recording groups including Metamora, Rhythm In Shoes, The Woodshed Allstars, Woods Tea Company, Ira Bernstein’s Ten Toe Percussion and is a founding member of the long running ‘contradance jamband’ The Clayfoot Strutters. He is also a producer with over 80 projects under his belt, and a prolific songwriter covered by the likes of Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, Nightingale and Altan. His latest ensemble is the multi-generational trio Pete's Posse.
Bonus Interview
In the course of making this episode we stayed in close touch with Pete, discussing the process and purpose of sharing this material. Assistant producer Abra Clawson and VT Untapped™ host Mary Wesley sat down for a (virtual) interview with Pete in November to hear more about how he decided to start making an audio diary and what he’s learned from taking up the practice.
LISTENING IN PLACE
The Vermont Folklife Center believes that a pathway through anxiety, fear and uncertainty lies in the act of listening as much as it does in the act of telling one’s story. This is what Listening in Place is all about. One of the reasons Pete decided to share his audio diary with the Vermont Folklife Center was the hope that it might inspire and empower other people to take up the practice themselves:
Tips for creating your own audio diary, in the time of COVID and beyond:
As said by Pete himself: “Get over yourself, get over your shyness.”
Any recording device will do, a smartphone or computer, or even a small handheld recorder that may be lying unused in a closet somewhere.
If you do want to be able to go back and listen easily, consider logging the topics you cover on different days so you can search through the clips more easily.
Set aside time for yourself to slow down, think, and hit record. It could be daily, weekly, monthly, or just whenever the inspiration hits.
Not sure where to start? Try talking about your surroundings, why you feel like recording, the day and time, the weather, or what’s happening in the world around you. These topics might lead to other ideas, or they might just be a good marker of the moment.
If you’d like to learn more about creating and sharing your own audio recordings please click here to learn more:
Interviews from this episode:
Pete Sutherland was interviewed by Mary Wesley and Abra Clawson on Zoom on November 11, 2020.
Pete Sutherland audio diary excerpts were self-recorded between March 26 and November 7, 2020.
To access the full recordings please contact the VFC Archivist.
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The views and opinions expressed by participants of this project are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Vermont Folklife Center.
This episode of VT Untapped has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
