If you\u2019ve ever seen the 2002 cult horror classic \u201cGhost Ship,\u201d you\u2019ve heard his eerie scores. And the score for 1997\u2019s \u201cAlien: Resurrection\u201d? Frizzell worked on that one too, among a long list of other TV and film credits.<\/p>\n
As a multi-instrumentalist, Frizzell became interested in bluegrass later in life. But he\u2019s attended many jam sessions and festivals within the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept noticing at so many bluegrass events, there seemed like a lot of people on the spectrum,\u201d Frizzell, who got a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1 as an adult, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something about bluegrass about maybe the patterns. It\u2019s such pattern-oriented music, it\u2019s [so] detail oriented. The hyper focus is so effective in practicing and learning bluegrass. It just seems like a natural fit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That got Frizzell thinking about what an inclusive meetup for fellow musicians on the spectrum might look like.<\/p>\n
Enter Spectrum Bluegrass<\/a>, a new group dedicated to connecting neurodiverse people through bluegrass music.<\/p>\n The Spectrum Bluegrass Band <\/p>\n The idea is something that made perfect sense to Spectrum Bluegrass co-founder Steve Sidney, whose 43-year-old son, Joel, lives with autism and is an avid bluegrass player.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, people with [Autism Spectrum Disorder] oftentimes tend to get an obsessive disorder. At 9 years old, he became obsessively interested in bluegrass music. He\u2019s probably one of the most knowledgeable people, I\u2019m guessing in the world. … He reads everything about it,\u201d Sidney said.<\/p>\n Building confidence through music<\/p>\n Spectrum Bluegrass has had a few meetups at festivals and other events, with more than a dozen people participating in jam sessions over the past year or so.<\/p>\n This spring, the Spectrum Bluegrass Band performed at the Greek Theater for the group Autism Speaks\u2019 \u201cLight up the Blues\u201d concert. They were in good company with performances from Neil Young, Cat Power and others.<\/p>\n Joel got to play on stage with the Spectrum Bluegrass band.<\/p>\n Sidney says being part of the bluegrass community has been extremely important for his son\u2019s social life. Playing bluegrass with other people has been soothing and centering for Joel.<\/p>\n Joel Sidney, left, L and John Frizzell perform at the Greek Theater.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me he was clearly pleased. He looked very happy and relaxed on stage, which was pretty amazing because he\u2019s never been in front of an audience like that … a nearly full Greek Theater down in L.A.,\u201d Sidney recalled.<\/p>\n Spectrum Bluegrass recruit Melanie Biesecker brings her experience in the nonprofit and charity world to the new endeavor. She said part of the idea is to have open invite jam opportunities at California Bluegrass Association events.<\/p>\n She\u2019s also working to put together resources for jam leaders to be more inclusive and even have people come in to talk about employment opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the spectrum or not, if you go to a jam and you\u2019re able to play along and call a song and lead a song, everybody\u2019s really excited for you. That\u2019s a really great feeling to have and can build confidence in or outside that social interaction,\u201d Biesecker said.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just the Spectrum Bluegrass folks noticing how music can be life changing for people with autism.<\/p>\n Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson<\/a>, a clinical professor at UCLA, says it\u2019s no secret that music can be a really powerful form of communication.<\/p>\n \u201cBut this can be particularly true for those who have difficulty with spoken language or social interactions, which is true for many autistic people. And so there have been many studies which have shown that things like music therapy can improve things like social engagement,\u201d Laugeson told LAist.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also research showing that many people with autism can have natural musical talent too, Laugeson said. They often have excellent auditory memory, heightened pitch perception \u2014 and sometimes even perfect pitch \u2014 at rates that are significantly higher than the general population.<\/p>\n And she said the benefits of playing with a group can stick around long after the jam session.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a lot of autistic people who have experienced peer rejection or social exclusion, difficulty connecting with other people, participating in a group with some sort of shared purpose like music-making can be very empowering,\u201d Laugeson said.<\/p>\n Frizzell said that\u2019s really the goal for Spectrum Bluegrass, even if they\u2019re just getting started.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love to look back in 10 years and go, \u2018Hey, you know, there\u2019s this many hundreds or this many thousands of people on the spectrum who had a great time playing bluegrass and just clocked in a lot of beautiful hours of feeling good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Next event<\/p>\n The next Spectrum Bluegrass meetup is slated for Nov. 6 at the South State 48 bluegrass festival in Carlsbad<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/scpr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/9f21beb\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2560x1920+0+0\/resize\/792x594!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F79%2Fbb%2F5a1374a44d2ab58eb6ef666a967e%2Fspectrumbluegrassband-scaled.jpeg\")
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