Evan Gedrich on (Failed) Love and the Arts

February 10, 2016

Sebastian Ortiz

What sparked your interest in playing the guitar?

Well I played the guitar in the 5th grade during a chorus concert and I took lessons for a week for that. Then I stopped for a few years and picked it back up during the 8th grade a bit more seriously, learning cords, songs, and fingering and picking patterns. That sort of thing. Its just a fun hobby. I love music so its great to be able to play it for myself too.

What kind of songs do you enjoy playing? 

Mostly older stuff, stuff you parents loved. That’s where its at for me.

What does love mean to you?

Love to me is an all encompassing term for any sort of positive feeling towards any other person, including acceptance, like, and enjoyment, all those things with people. In the strictest sense, its like a relationship with another person, whether with a friend or family member or significant other. Or its just as broad as a feeling of ‘I’m a human, everyone else is a human too, so I love humans.

Have you experienced any heartbreak? 

Heartbreak I think, personally, has been self induced. Like, ‘It’s all my fault for doing this thing that I built up inside my head and then tore down and then built up higher. Now I’m disappointed.

What was the toughest part of dealing with it?

The moving on from it, though that’s also the best part of it, getting over it, because that just teaches you for the next time, not just in regard to heartbreak but in regard to anything ending. It’s a growing experience.

Do you have a favorite Valentine’s Day memory?

 First grade was a great one. My little shoebox decorated in cardboard, paper, and doilies. Got at least half full that year. It was a good year. Had a lot of friends.”

Do you have a special someone you’ll be sharing Valentine’s Day with? 

Yes, indeed! Happily dating. It’s a good time.

Do you have any particular works of art that you feel embody love or heartbreak well?

I could be a bit more pretentious and say Mark Rothko Number 23. The red in that painting really makes me think of Cupid and blood and love. But then also Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Songs” is beautiful, or “Elephant Love Medley” from Moulin Rogue is just a bunch of love songs strung together in a nice, cheesy sort of roll call.