The Philadelphia Center

Experience

Q&A: Charlie Faye

Charlie Faye attended the program during the Fall 2001 and Spring 2002 semesters and interned at Central Committee for Conscientous Objectors. She’s now a songwriter and musician living in Austin, Texas. She can be found online on MySpace and charliefaye.com. Charlie continues to be a community activist as well.

Charlie’s sister, Rachel Burgreen, attended TPC during the Spring 2009 semester.

TPC: So, what drew you to TPC? 
Charlie Faye: I was going to school at Oberlin, and feeling a little isolated in the small college environment. I liked the sound of living independently in the city, and having a job and my own apartment.  
 
TPC: You’re from New York, so you were pretty familiar with big East Coast cities, but what made Philadelphia unique in your eyes? 
CF: It’s a really great first city to live in independently, an ideal spot for a program like this. You can get around on foot or by public transportation, which is key, it’s got all kinds of people in it, and an altogether pretty progressive feel. It’s just very accessible—it’s not too expensive, and it’s easy enough to learn your way around.  
 
TPC: If memory serves, you actually stuck around for two full semesters. Why?
CF: I originally planned to do one semester at the Philly Center, and then go to Buenos Aires the second semester. But I just loved the life I created for myself in Philadelphia so much that I didn’t want to leave. Buenos Aires would have been amazing, but I think I saw it as a departure from “real life”, whereas in Philly I felt like I was actually beginning what my real life was going to be. And I got to take another semester of classes from Mark Clark, who, to this day, is probably one of the most influential teachers I’ve ever had.  

TPC: Clearly you’ve gone in a totally different direction, but did your experience in Philly—living independently, hands on internships—inform the things you’re doing now?
CF: Yes. Actually, it was when I was living in Philly that I first played in a band. But also, having my own apartment for the first time, I think I had the space to start exploring music without feeling like there were a hundred people listening. It was there, that year, that I really came into myself and was able to explore my creative side. Without the experience I had that year, I don’t know if I would have ever had the guts to try my hand at being an artist.  
 
TPC: We spend a lot of time talking about experiential education. Do you think that this style of learning has served you well? 
CF: Yes.  For me, it’s the only way to learn. I have always been the kind of person who needs to try things myself to really “get it”.  
 
TPC: Can you “talk” briefly about your career and what led to it? 
CF: I began playing guitar and singing during the year I was in Philadelphia. After I graduated, I moved back and started going to open mics, and I had my first experience of being a part of the local music scene. Then I moved to New York and landed a gig playing with Dan Zanes and Friends, and had a blast traveling all over the world touring with that band.
 
TPC: If you could only pick one or two snapshot memories of your semester in Philly, what would they be? 
CF: I remember doing the reading for Mark’s Fiction and Film class, and how it hit home for me. And I remember sitting in that class and feeling like my voice was a real contribution. Which I didn’t feel all the time at Oberlin. So that was important for me. 
 
TPC: When you learned Rachel was considering the program, what did you have to say to her?
CF: I was ALL for it. I told her that it would be an amazing experience for her. I told her that it had changed me, and really started me off on the path to becoming who I am today. I knew she wanted more real-world experience and I knew she would get it there.  
 
TPC: Anything you think I should be asking and haven’t? 
TPC: You didn’t ask about friendships formed during the program. One person I met at the Philadelphia Center, Adrienne Seele, has become a lifelong friend. We met in the hotel room the first night in Philadelphia, and hit it off immediately. We were roommates for the semester, and have never lived in the same place since, but we have kept in touch over the years and across the ocean (she lives in England now), and I can’t overestimate the value of her friendship. Lifelong friendships formed at the Philly Center. Good stuff.