Music is Everywhere, Not Just on Stage

Hearing harmony in everything, including our own voices, is healing

An owl hoots incessantly out my window as I write. And I am reminded that music is everywhere, not just on stages. We are strange creatures that put people on pedestals who compose and create cause, really, it is a natural thing for all beings. We feel much better when we can express ourselves somehow through song but…it is not always that way.

We of course revere those who learn and train and practice and have the sheer audacity to get up in front of others and perform, as well we should. And we should pay them well for the inspiration. But we should also try our hand at creating something ourselves, even just in the shower, or in traffic, or by reciting a mantra with mala beads in the morning (the repetition, 108 times, can often feel completely transformative:) The vibration of our own voices, the resonance created when it is joined by an instrument of any kind, well, that is healing my friends, real and true. Try it! And to do it in front of people…wow. I don’t list any open mics this week, or karaoke bars, but they are all around, easy to find, so try your hand and feel the joy!

In the meantime, I did revel in some truly talented performers last week.

On Tuesday, I was drawn by Leo Genovese on piano in the band that played before Bar Bayeaux’s weekly open mic night, with Diego Voglino on drums, and Sean Conly on bass. I caught the very tail end, but even that brief finale was grand!!

Wednesday brought the much-awaited live performance of my friend, bassist Ben Zwerin’s BZ Sounds’ tunes at Nublu. BZ Sounds’ recordings have brought together many of the musicians who Ben went to Berklee School of Music with back in the 90s, including guitarist Raed El Khazen, who first introduced me to Ben. Even though Raed doesn’t live in New York and couldn’t make it to the show, I heard in one song in particular some refrains that reminded me of when I first hung out with Raed and Ben in 2008 and they were in a band with lead vocalist and songwriter Asi Meskin and drummer Zack Jones called Running Still. “Raed wrote that one,” Ben told me afterward. I smiled, feeling the nostalgia of my introduction to the New York music scene through these talented gentlemen, amazed to see the progression of their world-class music.

The evening was spectacular, the music a sort of complex quilt of the myriad of international bands Ben has played as he toured the world with a variety of musicians. I’ve been in the audience for dozens of shows, always smiling to see Ben sing backup vocals in yet another language outside his native French and English, or in yet another style. To see Ben as the leader, to see and hear the music be so very him, the product of the path he has forged to get there, was nothing short of magic.

The trip down memory lane continued when a Swiss artist I met at Ben’s show told me she couldn’t make it to the sound bath I was having Thursday night because she was seeing a friend play music in Brooklyn. When I asked her where, and who, it was at Barbes, my local, and her friend was the saxophonist Troy “Mobius” Simms, whose band, Brooklyn Gypsies, is one of my favorite bands of all time. I hadn’t seen Troy in forever, so I sent him a note and headed over there after my sound bath, itself a lovely event with some new faces, old and new friends, some of whom are great musicians, which always makes me a tad nervous! But everyone seemed to enjoy, no snores but definitely relaxation. Anytime I can gather folks at my house on Third Thursdays for some snacks and sound, I love it!!

Seeing Troy play at Barbes brought back so many memories of amazing nights with the Gypsies. I fear this is going to happen more and more as I age (yikes), but I could picture him right there in the old Nublu where I first heard the Brooklyn Gypsies play, recall how I boldly walked up to him afterward and introduced myself, asking him SO many questions about the band and its various array of characters. I wasn’t as bold then, so but the music was so ethereal and compelling, hard to even place the origins (hence the Gypsy name…) The band he was playing with at Barbes was also great, and just to watch him play was a real treat after such a long time! Living Language is another of the afrobeats-driven band projects from the amazing guitarist/bassist Nikhil Yerawadekar. The smallness of the music world never ceases to amaze.

It was great to see Troy, and the band was awesome!

The week also included my Sunday evening Sound Bath upstate at the beautiful Studios on Main in Tannersville. Not a huge crowd, but the beauty out every window made the early evening great. I will do it next Sunday too, May 26th, and see from there what works for folks! Check out my events page at SacredBloomTribe.com/events.

A drink at the lovely Scribner’s Catskill Lodge in Hunter rounded out the week. Their patio, up on the hill, has one of the best views around! You feel like you’re floating up there, staring at the sunset over the mountains…lovely!!

Enjoy the week all!! Listen to music, make music, hear music all around you! Aah, harmony. If we tune in, we can make it happen:)) Below is a calendar of some cool things. These are just a handful of pics but let it be a jumping off point to check the calendars of these great venues, follow a fave musician…And let me know your thoughts, what you’d like to hear more (or less) about! Would LOVE the feedback…If you value it SO much, please consider becoming a paid subscriber, as little as $5 a month!!

XX

Peace & Harmony,

Steph

CALENDAR FOR WEEK OF MAY 20th-

monday, may 20

Tropical Vortex Presents: Locobeach + Guest DJs

Barbes

9 PM - 11:55 PM

This “Tropical Vortex” series of Latin tropical styles this night features Locobeach, with Jose Luis Pardo on guitars/vocals; Neil Ochoa on congas/percussion/electronics; Joshua Camp on accordian/keyboards/vocals; Edward Marshall on bass and Andres Fonseca on timbales and drums. PLUS DJs Sonido Chichadelico and Adrian is Hungry.

tuesday, may 21

Musicambia Benefit

The Cutting Room

6 PM - 8 PM

Join the Musicambia family for an evening of food and drink, performances by the Cambia Collective — the all-star ensemble of Musicambia Alumni and teachings artists—and an auction, all to support transformative music-making inside prisons. I promise this will be an inspiring evening. Musicambia events may be the best example of the importance of music to human beings that there is. SO COME! And, if you can’t make it, please go to musicambia.org to make a donation or bid on an auction item.

wednesday, may 22

Jules Garden & Friends

Barbes

6 PM-7:30 PM

Back to Barbes, maybe because it is SO close to my apartment, but also because it is a consistently stellar club featuring some of the world’s greatest musicians. So, on this night, saxophonist Jules Garden joins for this early improvised set with David Leon on woodwinds, Lesley Mok on percussion, Matt Moran on vibraphone and Mariel Roberts on cello. No pics could be found of Mr. Garden, which makes me curious…

thursday, may 23

Fleur Geurl + Where’s Beth + Minnie Jordan Quartet

Owl Music Parlor

8 PM

Cool combination on this night at the cozy Owl Music Parlor featuring Fleur Geurl, aka Danielle McConaghy, a “soft, atmospheric folk singer/songwriter,” then the folk-pop project of songwriter Sarabeth Weszely (Where’s Beth) and then contemporary jazz violinist/Texan Minnie Jordan, with Charlie Lincoln on bass, Evan Main on piano and Eliza Salem on drums. Always a lovely place to take in young talent!!

friday, may 24

UPSTATE:

Dust Bowl Faeries + Birdhouse Babes

Park Theater Hudson

8 PM-11 PM

Dust Bowl Faeries is said to be a fusion of “dark cabaret, gothic polka and post-punk music.” Intriguing…Followed by The Birdhouse Babes, which blends folk, vintage and jazz with soulful vocals and acoustic charm. Nice upstate array!

saturday, may 25

Sikh and Indian Punjabi Rock: Sonny Singh

The Local, Saugerties, NY

8 PM

Singer and trumpet player Sonny Singh’s “rebellious music” features Sikh devotional themes with an anthemic Punjabi sound. Called “a prayer for our ailing world,” Singh has pushed the boundaries of South Asian music, fusing its traditional messages with ska, reggae, funk, punk rock, bhangra, and more. He has been part of the band Red Baraat since the band's inception in 2008.

sunday, may 26

Honky Tonk Last Sundays w/The Hudson Valley Flyers

Colony Woodstock

7 PM (Come at 6 PM for a Country Dance Lesson!)

The Flyers perform two-steps, waltzes, shuffles, and western-swing music for dancing with a partner, drinking alone or just reminiscing, you choose:) Songs from the 1930s, '40s and '50s, from such greats as Hank Williams, Webb Pierce + Ernest Tubb. The band is led by Max Rainwater on guitar and fiddle with Geoff Harden on bass, Ambrose Verdibello on steel guitar, Alan Thomson on piano, and Dan Uttendorfer on drums.