Music filled weekend...

This past weekend started off with an hour long trip on the Q train to see my friend Tania Stavreva perform a program of modern and impressionistic works from Satie and Stravinsky to up and coming composer New York composer Scott Wollschleger. The concert was in Astoria at a little cafe called the Waltz-Astoria. An unassuming little venue that hosts a variety of musical acts and also charges a drink minimum, one I was particularly at odds with that night because my only option was to buy 6 cups of tea to make the minimum as I was not planning on drinking (my week back at home was a little rough). I still enjoyed myself. In fact, an important highlight of the evening was that I got to meet Tania's violinist friend who will likely be performing "The Death of September" with Tania at some point in the future, yet to be determined. The piece that her friend performed with her was magnificient and was held off until the end of the program as a closer. I will recall the title of the piece at some point and post it here.

The following day, Lacy drove up from Philly again and we played Banjo Jim's open mic as I previously posted this weekend. Then, Sunday morning, as I also mentioned, the Brooklyn UU choir performed my piece (which I've just posted on the new site complete with program notes and soon there'll be a link to buy the score!).

The whole weekend was capped off by a voice recital in a church near Union Square. Remember a few months ago when I told the story of how I ended up sharing a livery cab with several stranded straphangers on a Sunday morning? Well one of the women who was riding with me is a singer and we keep running into each other on the train, heading to and from work and at random times of day. The other day I was coming home from Tania's concert and ran into her on the train platform at Dekalb Avenue. We had chatted before about her recital when I ran into her on the street a few weeks ago and she mentioned it again then so I decided I'd go instead of trying to get into one of the last few showings at the Tribeca Film Festival (next year, I guess). The recital was at the First Presbyterian Church on 5th Avenue and 12th Street in Manhattan. So, on Sunday, after having a brunch with a friend of mine in Brooklyn Heights and subsequently wandering over to Fulton Street in downtown to kill time there, I headed into the city to check it out. My friend performed Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis, all 10 of Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs, some Rossini and then finished out the afternoon with some Cole Porter.

A good weekend is one that is filled with live music, and a very diverse array thereof. Or so says I. I enjoy how I can so easily surround myself with opportunities to both see and take part in live music, these days. It does a lot for my psyche, to tell you the truth. Seven years ago I was doing nothing of the sort and living in Raleigh, discontent in my job and my home life. Now I'd say almost 50% of the extra-work activities that I take part in are of a musical nature. I count myself lucky that experiencing things like this is not outside the realm of possibility for me. And that it's sort of becoming par for the course! Anyway, there's no hustle here at work like there was last night but I'd better get back to archiving video.

Wherever you Go...

Yesterday morning, the choir at the Brookly Unitarian church premiered my choral piece, "Wherever you go." The choir did a terrific job despite having only seen the piece for the first time that morning at rehearsal. Luckily, my director brought his handheld recorder so we were able to get a recording of the performance and the last run through in rehearsal. Here is the recording from the service:



It is a live recording so be prepare to hear all sorts of chatter and bumps in the background. Adds to the character of everything.

Seriously, though, I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of this choir and this church. And I'm incredibly grateful to them for lending their talents to the realization of this piece. I was positively giddy all morning getting to hear the piece performed by performers of such a high caliber. Hope you all enjoy the recording!

More musings later on on what turned out to be a very musical weekend. Now, it's back to work. It's been a long night, what with the news of Bin Laden's death!

Banjo Jim's...

Just back from another open mic night in the East Village with Lacy. Open mic afternoon or evening is more like it. This one was at Banjo Jim's on Avenue C and E 9th Street. I've been to the bar before to see an old friend play with a blues band the first year I lived here. Historically, The East Village and Alphabet City has been one of my favorite neighborhoods and one that is still, in my mind, a quintessential New York neighborhood. There's something about it that's simultaneously edgy and homey, and the sense of history in it is everywhere. Some of my favorite New York adventures have taken place there, including the time I went to that speakeasy with Norah Jones' producer.

And I love the people in the East Village. This particular open mic had a really great neighborhood feel to it. All the musicians seemed to know each other well, like old friends, and they even knew each others' songs. Some of them started to sing along in harmony as the last few musicians got up to sing. You kind of got the sense that these guys had been supporting each others' careers for years.

At one point, an 8 year old girl got up to sing a song, a capella, that she had written. I found it very brave of her and in fact, touching, that someone that young could write something so heartfelt and get up and sing it in front of tons of other musicians. And everyone loved her!

We ended up having to go pretty early because there were some 20 people already signed up when we arrived. Our songs went over well though, I think. And we're getting better at playing together and more comfortable. We've kind of talked about how it'll be beneficial to start playing certain open mics over and over so we'll feel more and more comfortable with the crowd and be able to really rock things out. This is one of the ones I think we'll probably repeat a few times. Eventually we're talking about doing full sets as well in some of these places.

After the open mic finished up, we went to a great restaurant on Avenue A called Yuca where we sat outside despite the cooling temperatures. Mexican and Peruvian inspired cuisine. I had half a chicken and ate the whole thing, washed it down with a margarita while watching the bustle of Alphabet City breezing by. All in all a great evening that we capped off with a long-ish walk down to W. Houston Street to meet another good friend of mine at XR bar for one last drink before Lacy had to get back to Brooklyn and her car so she could head back to Philly.

And now here I sit typing this. Should be in bed though because tomorrow morning, the choir at Brooklyn Unitarian is performing my piece, "Wherever You Go." I promise a recording soon. I'm out for now!

Blurb #24

They're planning on performing my choral piece, titled "Wherever You Go," next Sunday the 1st of May or perhaps two Sundays later on the 15th of May at the Brooklyn UU. I guess I'll know for certain in the next few days but it all hinges upon whether the director decides that we need an extra Sunday to rehearse it. If that's the case, it'll have to happen after the weekend of the 6th through the 8th, as I'll be back in Raleigh then for a good friend's wedding. I'm traveling so much lately it feels like. Toaster just dinged and I want bread with nutella so stand by for more updates later in the week. Just wanted to get this info out.

Return trip...

Sitting in RDU airport, Gate C14, waiting for my flight. We're delayed by about 30 minutes which I'm assuming is due to the rain. Right now, though, I'm welcoming the time to reflect and relax. I've gotten pretty efficient at airport security lines these days, taking a cue from George Clooney's character in Up in the Air and wearing slip on shoes when I travel so I can get through the most uncomfortable part of travel as quickly as possible. What's more disconcerting than having all of your personal effects strewn on a conveyor belt while you hike up your belt-less pants and waddle in your sock feet through some kind of magnetic scanner wondering if you're being randomly profiled or if you actually look sketchy on that day?

Anyway, I had a fun time this week despite the fact that I'm certain I caught some kind of head cold from my petri dish-like nephews and niece. Last night's party at my folks' place (which they don't know I was planning on having) was low key but eventful and some friends showed up that I hadn't expected to see (thanks guys!). We tried to do a cook out, which worked out pretty well. Some brought sausages, others brought veggie burgers and I cooked hot wings and made a potato salad that got wholly neglected until my sister came over this afternoon with her kids.

The other days between Boone and my departure today consisted largely of me watching my parent's television and relaxing, a little yoga here and there, punctuated by a visit to my old TV station of News 14 and some time hanging at my favorite hometown brewery, Big Boss Tavern.

Tonight, an old friend from graduate school will be coming over to stay the weekend, while I go straight back to work tomorrow morning. Not too happy about that, but a guy's gotta eat, right? I'll get some time with my friend J. Scott. In fact, tomorrow night, I'm having a birthday dinner with some friends down in the West Village at Risotteria, a favorite restaurant of mine. (one at which I need to make a reservation before I forget!).

Finishing this blog as I sit at home finally unpacked and relaxing with my feet up, I now take back that bit about the most uncomfortable part of travel being the security lines. No, in fact, sometimes it can be that period of time when you're done taxiing to the gate but they still haven't turned off the fasten seat belt sign and decided to let you off the plane. I wasn't sure if I was going to like the return trip from JFK to my apartment, this being the first time I attempted it. I've ridden to JFK to meet people before (Karishma and her parents on different occasions), but never to fly in or out myself until this trip. Finding the AirTrain on the way out of the terminal was a bit of an ordeal, with me having to slide between temporary partitions and go down narrow hallways that I wasn't sure were leading me in the right direction. Actually riding the AirTrain, I kind of enjoy.

You're high up on a causeway at some points and you can see pretty far toward the city. I found myself smiling wide in spite of myself at that first glimpse of the skyline on the horizon. It still reels me in like that, this city. It reminds me of my journey and how far I've come and brings me back to the reasons why I'm up here. Never though I'd love a city this much. But here I am.

The rest of the train ride on the A was uneventful and thankfully the R train arrived fairly quickly forhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif my last connection but I was so tired of carrying bags (and having to blow my nose every five minutes) by then. So, it's good to be home home and readjusting finally. Katrina ordered us some Thai food which miraculously arrived seconds before I walked in the door. I think the delivery guy must have teleported out of my building because I didn't even see him.

Gotta love New York City. Anyway, by the end of the weekend I plan on diving back into my work on the score for Mohammad's film. Once I've got the Oud part scored out, I'll be sitting down to record that with the musician we've brought in for that. Then, I'm going to mix electronics and some samples and come up with a segue into the actual action of the film. Should be fun. Check out my new website meantime for new tutorial blogs as often as I can muster. See you around!

Tattoos and Tornados...

Currently enjoying the fact that I can stream HD episodes of Prison Break, straight to my parents' HD TV from Netflix. And I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and blog about the past couple of days of my vacation. The house is quiet and I've been relaxing all afternoon since getting back from Boone.

I rose at 7 this morning and left with my bro and his wife, heading into downtown Boone where I hung out at one of my favorite coffee shops, Espresso News for a few hours, working on the laptop researching ad agencies and the like in NYC. I left off from Boone around 11 and arrived in Chapel Hill to visit a friend and meet her six week old baby. From there we took a drive over to Jordan Lake with some salads I'd bought over at Trader Joe's. Even with that nice few hours sitting out by the lake I feel like I've been riding around in a car most of my day.

The mountains were a nice break too, even if the trip was brief. I left Monday morning and arrived in the early afternoon in time for a brisk hike at Rough Ridge Overlook followed by a yoga class at a local holistic health clinic and a nice evening in watching youtube videos with Paul and Rosalie.

All this taking it easy comes after a comparatively hectic weekend, marked by all manner of excitement and activity. Friday night there was a cookout at the Oakwood Inn in Raleigh, where the wedding ceremony was to be held. The bride's parents own the inn. There I met most of the wedding party and the family from both sides and got to catch up with old friends while eating two types of hot dogs, one made in Rochester where the groom was from and the other, a brand from Michigan where the bride's family is from.

Saturday daytime, I had to first plan getting my tattoo. Originally, my brother and I intended to each get one done at a parlor in Boone but Paul received a recommendation against the one where he had made the reservation. He called me up while I was at the cookout the night before to see if I could call up Blue Flame, a fairly well known Raleigh tattoo parlor, and find out if they could slide us in on Saturday afternoon, when he planned to arrive from Boone.

The guy at Blue Flame told me to come in when they opened Saturday morning and let them know what I wanted to get so they could determine if they could fit us both in.

So, I went first thing to Blue Flame and made sure we'd be able to come in later in the afternoon and get inked. After that, I went to the Pit in downtown Raleigh to meet my friend Emily at a bluegrass and barbecue festival called 'cuegrass. Unfortunately, the weather was threatening to put a damper on that whole endeavor. They were forecasting severe thunderstorms for the day and by the time we were heading to downtown there was already a tornado watch in effect for Raleigh and almost all of the surrounding counties. When we arrived at 'cuegrass, the wind was picking up quite a bit and people were frantically taking down the stage and wheeling all the food back inside. I ran into an old friend of mine from high school and after chatting with him for a few minutes, Emily and I decided to make our way to somewhere inside where we could get lunch. We decided on Brewmasters down on the corner of Dawson and Martin Sts. and ordered a few beers and burgers to wait out the storm. We were able to get most of the way through our meal before I noticed, through the wide windows facing Dawson St., the construction cranes a few blocks away, spinning wildly in the wind. While fixated on them and trying to shoot some video with my phone, I heard an alarm, and simultaneously, the waitress yelling for everyone to get back in the kitchen because the tornado was coming right down the street. In all the excitement I didn't think to actually try to get a glimpse of it (that has always been a dream of mine to witness a tornado from a safe distance). Instead, I took one wistful look at the remaining bites of my burger, one more gulp of my beer and spun on my heels and ended up being the first one into the kitchen. The waitstaff suggested everyone get into one of the two walk-in coolers but with the lack of space most of the 30 odd patrons in the bar just hung around where we could fit, as far from the door to the kitchen as possible where we all joked about the danger until it passed.

When I surveyed the damage later on, we couldn't even really tell where the tornado had touched down. And while we were out walking the rain started up again in earnest and we were stranded several blocks from our cars and soaking wet. It wasn't until the following day that I drove past some of the actual damage on the way to the wedding and then again in Moore's square where there were a few downed trees. Shaw University apparently had to close, I heard a few days later, due to a few buildings that were destroyed by the storm.

By this time, 5pm had rolled around and it was time for me to go get my tattoo. I had spoken with Nathan earlier and he said that one of their artists, Christy, would be able to do my tattoo and my brother's. I decided to go ahead and get started before my brother arrived to ensure that we would both get a chance to get our tattoos done. Christy found a suitable Om off the internet, which she then printed and made into a stencil which she placed on my back. The whole process of tattooing my back took about 15 to 20 minutes and wasn't nearly as painful as I'd been led to believe it would be...but it was painful. Felt a bit like someone dragging a needle across my back. And the residual sensation afterward felt a bit like I was missing a layer of skin or had been burned. But now, the center of my back has a nice Om symbol tattooed on it. See here. My brother showed up shortly after Christy finished mine and got the same tattoo from the same artist but lower down on his back, while I watched and made fun of him for wincing. He's been tattooed before after all...but on his finger.

After finishing up at Blue Flame we stopped by the Whole Foods and picked up some groceries for making Indian food and headed back to my parents' house. Later on we met up with the wedding party at Capital Club 16 in downtown Raleigh for another night of drinking and catching up.

Sunday, the wedding was scheduled for 4pm at the Oakwood Inn so we had plenty of time for breakfast with our sister in Durham before heading back to Raleigh to get ready. The ceremony itself was brief but beautiful, the weather perfect. The reception was held in the City Market area of downtown Raleigh in the building where Greenshields pub used to be. The power was still out from the storm so they had generators set up but that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves and dancing well into the evening. I even managed to sprain my thumb trying to break dance at one point. Here are some pics spanning from Friday afternoon through my trip to Boone on Monday and including the wedding.

Raleigh Trip Best of

30...something...

I have 10 days left in my 20s. I'm not at all depressed by that statement either. I'm looking at this next year as a chance to celebrate my life to this point and I have devised several ways to go about doing that. So, it's not a birthday celebration, nor a birthmonth celebration. Nay, it is a birthyear celebration. Wait, that doesn't make any sense.

Either way, the occasion is going to be marked by tons of things I've never done. Chief among them, getting my first tattoo, which will happen next Monday when I'm in NC. Beyond that, it's mostly NYC stuff. I have a pretty regular work schedule next month and normal days off so I can plan to do a ton of things. I'm already pretty solid on going to the top of the Statue of Liberty with an ex-coworker friend of mine (how have I lived here over two years and not done that!?). I think I'd like to tour NYC by boat, I even heard that there's an outrigger club that has lessons for people who want to paddle around in the Hudson River. There's plenty of opportunities to kayak as well so I may look into that, too. I have a long list of museums I want to visit, including but not limited to, the Queens Museum of Art, the Transit Museum and the Guggenheim. And I may even end up at a Mets game some Friday night.

This Friday, I fly out to Raleigh. I'm really looking forward to it. Mainly for a little time away from work...and I mean all work, not just the one I'm taking a vacation from. I'm spending it mostly chilling out, though, there is a wedding to go to on Sunday night and then I go to the mountains for a few days to hang out with my bro and get that tattoo I was talking about. Then I'm throwing a party on the actual day of my birthday and my last day in town.

I had wanted to do something a little wilder, maybe something Carribean or at least tropical but that'll have to wait until next year. Seriously though. Watch me.

Anyway, a little update on the VO stuff. I'm getting ready for a mailing campaign blitz type thing. I'm going to get a bunch of pens or post-its or something with my logo and do a few hundred emails and snail mails to all the casting agencies and production houses I can think of. It's going to take a while though to get it together so I'm taking my time to plan it out strategically. After a little over a week of getting bombarded with audition invitations from voice123.com but only being able to really audition for two of them, I've decided I can't rely on those solely to get started even. Plus, I really need to streamline the recording process at home. There are barriers to recording with the PC and using noise reduction to counteract whatever computer hum comes through my portable sound booth (i.e. noise reduction plugins are not fully effective) and then, while there's no noise in the bathroom, there's too much echo if I set up in there and use the Macbook Pro to record. Plus plus, I'm much more proficient at Sound Forge than Garage Band and Sound Forge can do more. So if I do it on the Mac while narrating in the bathroom, I'm tempted to bounce the audio over to my PC so I can edit using a program that I'm quick with. And that may take some time to smooth out that process. I have to try a few more things.

That's what I'm dealing with right now on that front. Maybe having a little time to clear my head will be good for me. Raleigh here I come!