Last Friday Bossa Saravah played a set for Looptopia 2008, the second annual all-night art and music event in downtown Chicago. We were in the Pianoforte Studio recital hall in the historic Fine Arts Building, which is a non-air-conditioned building. It was really hot and humid, but we managed to sweat our way through. It was a 30-minute set, so it felt like we were The Ramones.
This time, Paul brought home his "work guitar" so I'd have a nylon string to play. What you see is fueled by Shiner Bock, as well as the spicy lemongrass beef at the Sunflower Vietnamese restaurant we went to for dinner.
Thanks to a work trip to our Austin office, I was finally able to meet up with Paul Sonnenberg, one of my first YouTube friends. Although we only had a few hours, somehow we managed to squeeze in a video. I really love that Alvarez acoustic Paul lent me; apparently a bunch of his friends got it for him as a gift about 20+ years ago; sounds really great. I'll be looking forward to my next trip down to Austin for more Threadgill's food (especially the side dishes, like the spinach and mushrooms, and San Antonio squash) and music.
Before Bossa Saravah, there was Tiny Band. The spirit of Tiny Band lives on to this day.
The Galaxie is a great arts center run by my friend Nicolle Wood, who also happens to be a superb dancer and dance teacher. Once a month the center is having a Date Nite event, and last night my friends Rhythm Futur played for an appreciative crowd of dancers. It was fun to watch, and I didn't even get itchy to play. Plus, I finally got some video of Nicolle dancing, which made it all worthwhile.
The only reason to be out on NYE is because you've got a gig, and this year we did have one. The place was packed, as expected, and a few people even seemed to be listening. I'm not much for holidays in general, and NYE in particular seems like a big nothing, but it was fun and great to be with this group. We haven't even known Marylee for a year yet! So much happened in 2007, and I think this year will be the same way.
Complete photosets at my Flickr page.
It's really impossible for most musicians I know to only be in one band; there's too much material to cover.
Three-fourths of Bossa Saravah spent Thanksgiving in Austin, Texas, this year. I couldn't go, and hate traveling on Thanksgiving more than traveling on any other holiday, so it was fine by me. They played a couple of nights at La Dolce Vita, thanks to our YouTube music pal Paul Sonnenberg, and Paul was smart enough to record a number of songs. Check out Janet playing a chair instead of a drum!
OK, I won't bore anyone (least of all myself) with how cute the new kittens are, but they've only been here less than a day and they've settled in well. Red Door Shelter seems to be a good place; they have a lot of rabbits, if anyone needs a rabbit.
Max is the darker calico (female) and Benny is the one who looks like a Dreamsicle.
Friday was a good day. Pita Inn field trip at lunch, decent workout at the gym, and great show at Elastic seeing Barbez with thereminist Pamelia Kurstin. She's a serious musician who plays mesmerizing theremin, when she's not playing upright bass, piano, violin, and some other instruments. There were some ground problems with the equipment, so there was a lot of buzzing, but the music was beautiful and her playing was precise, emotional, and inspiring.
I only found out about her a month ago, when I happened upon a documentary about Robert Moog on either IFC or Sundance. She appears playing a walking bass line on theremin for Robert Moog himself, and I was so impressed I had to find out who she was. She lives in Vienna now, but was coming back to the states to tour with Barbez, a Brooklyn-based group. Hard to believe that a few scant weeks later, I was watching her play live, and even got to say hello.
I was only able to get a short video of her warming up (sorry it's really dark) and took one picture, but there are other videos on YouTube. There are also sound sample on her website and on that of Barbez. Even if you're not interested in electronic music, check it out. I may have to get one of these eventually.
on marylee