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What would you recommend as the best course of action for someone who wanted to begin as a creative musician?
Play your instrument. Learn as much about your intrument and other instruments as you can. Play. Learn about aesthetics and question then. Play. Learn about yourself and question your values and tastes. Play. Immerse yourself in music. Play. Read Derrick Bailey's book on music improvisation. Play in as many situations an with as many people as you can. Listen to how instruments interact in all types of music. Play. Play as much as you can. Play until you can't play any more, then give up or keep playing. Learn about sound and acoustics, and their physical and spiritual manifestations. Keep playing. Respect other musicians.

What is your typical day like?
Since having kids my life has changed a great deal. It seems both more fragmented and more regimented. I wake up around 6:30 and help take the kids to school. I come home, do some e-mail and then practice or rehearse. After lunch, I continue practicing, rehearing or taking care of business or errands until the kids need to be picked up from school. I have a handful of students. I've overcome my overly ambitious desire to play every single gig in the world. I value time with my family and private time for refelction and daydreaming.

What do you see in the future for creative music?
There will always be a future for creative music. You can't digitize it. You can't replace or counterfeit a live improvising musician. There will always be people who want to dig a little deeper and express more of the mystery than is commercially accepted. With the internet, there's a lot more knowledge and resources floating around!
How would you describe the music you make to someone not familiar with it?
I hate describing music to people I don't know. I would encourage them to listen and have their own reactions. For example, When I sing and play into the flute, it may remind some people of Ian Anderson (from Jethro Tull), while it may remind others of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. It may remind others of Bantu pgymy music.
These are all personal influences, but I would rather that people listen open-mindedly and use their own imginations. I'm involved in many projects that have various aesthetics, so to ask people to listen for a particular thing would be misleading. I aspire to playing music that people can listen to. By that I mean, listen to on its own terms and not have to have some video or fashion statement tied to it.

What drives you to make the music you make?