sense of anything? Looking at it that way,
obviously … but still, for me, I still would
love to run the city.
I think the mayor should be the stupidest
person in his or her office. Mayor Adams
was the oldest person in his office, and he
was also the smartest. But there were no
elders, so when the crisis erupted, they
didn’t know what to do ... they had no clue.
They made a bunch of mistakes. I think
the Arts Tax (and Jennifer Yocom is going
to kill me) … but the Arts Tax is a f--king
disaster.
SMB: It’s difficult.
TL: It’s not difficult, it’s a disaster. It’s a
pay cut. I have a mortgage to pay and a
construction loan to pay off. And 20 people
rely directly on the band as a source of income. So you look at it from the standpoint
of ... do I want to travel around the world,
play in every major city, get applause every
night, get lots of love and make people
happy and then flitter away to the next
place, and have enormous flexibility in all
ways? Or do I want to work under fluorescent lighting, facing angry constituents
every day and hostile people who have no
18
disaster. It’s poorly conceived, and [Sam
Adams’ administration] didn’t answer
questions directly asked of them.
SMB: Might you admit, though, that
there’s some good outcome in the scores
of arts teachers that have been added to
Portland elementary schools?
TL: Sure. Who doesn’t love arts education? The thing is, the structure is wrong
... there should be tiers. It shouldn’t be a
flat thing.
SMB: But you supported it.
TL: Begrudgingly. There were a lot of
ARTSLANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE JANUARY | FEBRUARY
promises, but none of those promises have
been delivered.
SMB: One last thing.
TL: Is this all sounding like a tirade?
SMB: No, you’re great. Resolutions are
the theme for this issue.
TL: My resolve is so …
SMB: Does it shift? Is it changeable?
TL: The thing is, at this point in my life,
I’ve found myself in positions that I never
thought I was going to be in. These things
you never thought you’d be a part of, you’re
a part of. I guess it gives me more empathy
for everything. Because everybody has
struggles. I think everybody is capable of
everything, and that can be great, and it
can also be not-so-great. It’s important to
remember that everybody’s human, and
that nothing adds up to a hundred percent.
My latest joke with my friend Kyle Mustang is, like, “60/20!” or, “90/70!” It’s more
or less than a hundred, but it’s not a nice,
neat package. .
THOMAS LAUDERDALE performs with the
Oregon Symphony on March 14, 2015 at
7:30p.m., www.orsymphony.org for tickets.