Recital Date Change!

Hi, folks!

The Classical Cabaret recital is being pushed back a week - it will now be on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30. Will still be at the same venue, the Singers Forum.

-Maria

Classical Cabaret Night!

Come one, come all, to the Singers Forum on October 23rd, when Andi Smela and I will be doing a recital of Cabaret songs! We're working on some really great music - Cabaret songs from Schoenberg, Poulenc, and of course our buddy Kurt Weill. We're also putting together some fun arrangements of some Piaf songs - not to mention, of course, the *incredible* Polish Tangos. All of this for the incredible recession special price of: FREE!

Live Long and Prosper

Well, I never really watched Star Trek. I’d seen a few episodes here and there, and mostly think of William Shatner in the context of the infamous Twilight Zone “monkey-creature on the wing of a plane” episode, or his strange (yet endearing) version of “Common People”. But in honor of the new Star Trek movie (which we’re preparing ourselves for), Moray and I have sat down this week and watched the first few Star Trek movies, which I’d never before seen.

Obviously the acting is fabulous. The relationships between these characters are what it’s all about. But aside from that, I’m starting to finally understand the Star Trek mentality. An era of peace, exploration and enlightenment. Equality. Friendship. In the 4th movie, a woman from the 1980s asks Captain Kirk (as they get up from a pizza dinner to rush back to the ship), “What? I suppose you don’t have money in the 23rd century?” to which he responds, “No, we don’t.”

When was the last time we stopped to imagine our future? What is the best possible outcome for our society? As a kid, I remember thinking that there would easily be a day in my lifetime when wars would be a thing of the past. Whatever major issues we were dealing with, we’d find the intelligence and wisdom to make the right choices. It was just an assumption; through trial and error, we would eventually learn and prevail.

It’s been a long time since I could think beyond the present. There is a classic moment from my college days (which I endlessly love recalling much to my friend’s dismay) when our music history teacher asked us (after a huge historical build-up), “…and when the spaceship Voyager lifted off in 1977, carrying a Golden Record bearing samples of the best of human culture, the music of which composer do you think was included?” to which I, of course, yelled loudly: “Yanni!”

Although the answer of course is J.S. Bach, it begs the question: How will our era be remembered? If we were to now send a time capsule into outer space, representing the best, most representative works of our generation, would it contain Riverdance? American Idol? Can you imagine an alien life-form’s reaction to Kelly Clarkson? Or maybe a commercial for male enhancement? Do you think an equivalent to the genius and beauty of J.S. Bach could possibly be a product of our times? I fear when our 23rd century selves look back on the current era, they will be quoting ancient wisdom from “Oops, I Did It Again”, by Brittney Spears - the obvious modern-day wordsmith equivalent of William Shakespeare.

Picture it: The year 2267. Our real-life, future versions of Captain Kirk and Commander Spock are about to be blown to smithereens by Klingons. In a tense moment, facing the abrupt end of their mission (and possibly their own deaths as well as the deaths of their crew), the Captain searches for the right words of wisdom to inspire and comfort his crew. He closes his eyes and slowly recites from memory:

With a taste of your lips
I'm on a ride

You're toxic, I'm slipping under

With a taste of poison paradise

I'm addicted to you

Don't you know that you're toxic?

And I love what you do

Don't you know that you're toxic?


Sadly, I fear the Klingons will be confused and probably blow up the ship as a result of their brain matter spontaneously melting. I fear for our future.

Anyway, I ask these questions because I’ve been thinking a lot lately about our priorities as a culture, as a civilization. I think everyone’s version of “progress” probably varies a lot these days, and it’s becoming harder and harder to see how we as individuals (and in many cases artists and musicians) fit into the bigger picture. It’s not easy to think about creating something beautiful, intended to explore and share the human experience, when the majority of our personal experiences revolve around trying to pay rent, bills, and not getting cancer (again). Well, maybe that’s just me. But I figure we’ve all got our own stories.

Any of you creative types out there have thoughts on this?

Awards Season

There's so much we've neglected to write about lately. We've failed to chime in on the election, the economic meltdown, and the plane that landed in the Hudson. We haven't told you about our sweet foster kitty, our broken gate, or the hawk that landed in our back yard.

So what could make us finally break our blogging silence? A better blogger, that's what.

If you glance down to our list of friends' blogs (on the left), you'll see the link to Friend Michelle's blog. Michelle writes a witty, inspiring, and foul-mouthed blog called Thursday Night Smackdown. It's a food blog, and it's the perfect blend of sweet and savory.

And it's a finalist for a 2009 Bloggie Award!! This is a big deal. The Bloggie is to blogs as the Oscar is to movies.

Out of thousands of nominees, Thursday Night Smackdown is one of only five finalists in the "Best-Kept Secret Blog" category. If you're so inclined, you can help Michelle take home the Bloggie by voting here: 2009.bloggies.com . The screen scrolls to the right, and you have to vote in at least three categories for your vote to count.

Who knows? Maybe Michelle's success will inspire us to be better, more consistent bloggers. (Or maybe I've just diverted what's left of our readership to her...)

OHIJ Bi-Annual Update

Ahoy!

Boy, has it been a crazy week. First, Aaron Jerome Aroma moved into his new digs down the street, so now we are just a married couple, a recovering salvation army worker, and their two adorable, egomaniacal cats. Farewell, licensed flashdancing aesthetician, we will come visit you soon!!

Second, I turned 30. I have a lot to say about that, little of which is easily articulated.

Thirdly, our great country elected an amazing, capable leader named Barack Obama president, and a generation sobbed realizing that they actually have emotions and are capable of feeling passion and trust once again.

And we painted the living room. Always a nice way to start bringing about change, with a nice new coat of paint.

Aside from these spectacular achievements, I'd like to invite everyone to a few things happening about town! First, our good friend and spectacular pianist/composer David Shenton is giving a free concert TONIGHT in Sunnyside at the All Saint's Episcopal Church (43-12 46th Street):



Our own Mr. Moray Watson did a lovely job on the promotional poster.

Next! I'm playing a few upcoming gigs - I've been playing piano in an excellent show in Brooklyn called "LORD OXFORD BRINGS YOU THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION, LIVE!
being the necessary and appropriate response to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's suppression of the freedoms and dignity of the European-American settlers and their descendants in the Royal Eastern American Colonies and the inordinate conferring of special favours and privileges on the merciless Indian savages and the former Negro slaves, in the year Two Thousand and Eight"



It's quite awesome theater. The premise is "What if we hadn't won the Amercian Revolution and were instead at a taping of a highly-rated Lawrence Welk-esqe propoganda machine of the British Empire?" I'm leading a small stage band including myself on piano, along with accordion and bass. We are rocking-out friend Matt Van Brink's excellent arrangements. The show is at the Brick Theater in Williamsburg, Brooklyn - (575 Metropolitan Ave - take the L train the Lorimer, it's on the north side Metropolitan Ave between Union and Lorimer). Here's a nice review that does a good job describing the show:

http://www.greenpointnews.com/entertainment/the-revolutionary-war-as-a-reality-show

It's running Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 from now until Nov. 22nd. Please come! Very worth it.

Lastly, I'm subbing on piano for This Ambitious Orchestra on Monday night at 8 at Mercury Lounge (217 E. Houston Street). The bandleader/singer is our Lord Oxford accordionist Benjamin Ickies, and he's assembled a really cool group of orchestra musicians to play his wonderfully arranged rock songs. Really looking forward to playing with them.

Oh! Also, Andi, Erin, David and I are doing Carabet Cares again at the Laurie Beechman theater (West Bank Cafe on 42nd and 8th Ave) on Nov. 17th, so check that out as well if you can. Andi and I are going to do Alec Wilder's Blackberry Winter. Not sure what I'm going to play yet, thinking about working up a piano arrangement of "Reckoner". Anyway, here's the info for that:



*phew* I think that's everything.

Our Friends in Brooklyn, Sittin' in a Tree

The whole household got gussied up yesterday and headed to Brooklyn, where our gorgeous friends Susan & CJ tied the knot. Here are some photos, for your viewing pleasure.

The lovely couple.

Another lovely couple: Maria & Moray.

Moray with the bride's sister, Sarah.

Aaron does a quick touch-up on the bride.

Me with my handsome date, Nick.

Aaron enjoying a little celebratory vino.

The bride & groom. Blurry, yes. But I'm sharing it anyway because it was taken after two cheesy game show hosts (Dick Swizzle & Perry Combover) fitted Susan with a purple hat and CJ with an orange wig, and right before the couple busted into a rockin' karaoke version of "Livin' on a Prayer" to entertain their guests. And that's why we love them, blurry or not.

Forget-Me-Blog

Um, we've all forgotten to blog. I think it's been a good couple months, and there's really no excuse. I will now make some effort to update our readers as to our recent happenings in Our House In Jersey.

Well, first and foremost, this Friday is the day. THE DAY. For the first time in 7 years, I will be witnessing live, in person - the band, the myth, the legend - Radiohead. Yes, yes; I was THWARTED 2 years ago when they played in Madison Square Garden. Two years before that, I was thwarted again, when a kind soul Fed-Exed me a ticket to their 2 dollar bill show, only to be stuck in upstate NY because I couldn't get a flight to the city (this was back in the "Summer of Radiation"). So I'm really hoping it doesn't monsoon on Friday (like Moray keeps warning me it might), because lord knows, Liberty State Park likes to flood. Somehow I doubt it will be just like Glastonbury. In fact, last time I went to a music festival was Lallapalooza (not to be confused with Meat-a-Palooza) back in 1996. I'm quite sure Metallica was headlining. I distinctly remember hating every minute of it - especially when I got dragged into a mosh pit for the Ramones, and being the shortest person in the crowd, having hundreds of crowd surfers land on my head because I couldn't reach them. It sucked.

However, despite past festival disasters, this year I'm clearly psyched. If I may reminisce... Picture it: August, 2001. I'd been living in the city for just under a year - and let me tell you, it'd been a rough year already, and it wasn't even September yet. Anyway, my lovely friend Kristin was very good about inviting me out to concerts with her - after 4 years in music school, I was (ironically) quite out of touch with modern music. Kristin took me along to many interesting shows at Irving Plaza, such as The Doves, Jeff Tweedy, DJ Shadow - all things I'd never heard before. Admittedly, being the music snob I am, I wasn't really impressed with most of the stuff we'd see, which was why when she asked me if I wanted to see Radiohead with her at Liberty State Park, I was skeptical. Sure, I loved "Creep" back in 9th grade. But I could never understand how this band still existed. I had vague memories of fellow students at school getting really excited by this "OK Computer" album, but I'd never heard it. But luckily for me, Kristin persisted, and on one toasty August night, we boarded a ferry at the World Financial Center and set off to witness one of the most incredible concerts I'd ever been to.

Yes, I know we're entering a world of cheeze, but I am not ashamed! I was blown away. The next night, I borrowed Kid A from Kristin and listened to it on my old discman in complete darkness. It accompanied me to work and back every day for the next few weeks. Next thing you know, I was trying to figure out how to play "Subterranean Homesick Alien" on the piano. I would call Kristin and leave her voicemails of myself playing whatever new Radiohead song I had learned. Poor girl. She had created a monster!!! A monster I say!

So you can see my enthusiasm. Hopefully they won't suck. Ha! Just kidding.

Anyway, that's not an update at all really, in fact none of this has even happened yet! What HAS happened, you ask? Well, after 3 years of 1099s, no health insurance, and frequently watching my poor co-workers verbally assaulted, I've left my graphics job. So I am now sitting down and learning InDesign (and maybe Illustrator if I'm really motivated) and doing a bit of copywork/transcriptions to get me through the summer. Every few years I have one of these moments where my brain starts pulling itself into a few different directions (should I be a musician? should I get health insurance?) - and I think this time the finances (or lack thereof) are starting to win out. We'll see how it goes, I guess.

We've had some wonderful visits this summer - after not seeing each other for well over a decade, friend Allison and her husband stopped by over the 4th of July weekend! Beth Ann, Allison, Sue, Heather, Aaron and I used to cause all sorts of trouble in high school. Well, as much trouble as 6 honor students and a getaway van could cause, anyway. It was really wonderful to see her again. Earlier in the summer Moray's dad and step mom June came over for a visit, which was really fabulous. We got to show them the Jersey sites, and this time there wasn't even a blizzard! Moray's now an uncle - his brother Cameron is now a dad, his little one was born at the end of June - very exciting. There's a great photo of teeny Isaac Alexander on facebook in a guitar-themed one-sie. Pretty awesome. I will ask for permission to post.

Beth Ann has introduced us to a whole new world of awesome Jersey friends, for which we are very grateful. A bunch of the locals came to our Starbucks gig last month, which was really, really wonderful. Aaron did an excellent job hosting and keeping us smiling, and I managed to make everyone sob in return. If I learned anything from that show, it was that I really need to learn some up-tempo songs. All in all, it was a good night, and Starbucks said we could come back any time. :D Plus we got a coupon for a free drink, so, that was nice.

I shall now end the longest blog ever.

Signing off,

Maria