I was also going to mention Hendrix as someone who de-tuned his guitar.
Harry,
Cool that you are into gagaku. If you ever do another similar ceremony and it is okay I would love to come check it out.
I first became aware of gagaku through the poetry of Steve Richmond and was fortunate to get to catch a performance of gagaku music up in Portland in the early 90s. I used to collect Charles Bukowski first editions and Buk was a friend and fan of Steve's which is how I found out about his poetry. Not sure what frequency he tuned his poetry to but am certain it was an unusual one....
"Steve Richmond, along with friend and mentor Charles Bukowski, dominated the outlaw post mimeo revolution poetry scene of the 1970s and 1980s. He was a friend of the iconic rock star Jim Morrison, who was also a poet. Fiercely independent and poised against the academic literary establishment—what critic Ben Pleasants called the “poetry mafia”—Richmond invented a poetical style influenced by Japanese Shinto court music known as “Gagaku.” Driven by inner demons and fueled by drugs he produced thousands of poems over a thirty year period prior to his death in 2009. Gagaku Reader, the Life and Poetry of Steve Richmond is a selection of his best work."
