what's in a word?

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Radio Wonderland - first album pre-release event (SEiZE THE MEANS)

I am trying to get myself back on track with two posts in two days.

Yesterday I was timely, this one is sort of timely because the official release date for Josh Fried's first Radio Wonderland album, "SEiZE THE MEANS" is next week, on November 7. These ~~two~~ three photos (I had to add one) - I have more but if I'm going to get this done, I'll have to do it in smaller chunks, were taken at the secret pre-release party on October 1 at Le Petit Versailles Community Garden on the border of the Lower East Side and the East Village.

Joshua performed his amazingly edgy, multi-beat can't put a finger on what it is except it's extraordinary and unique music and played some of the album.

In case you missed it, the album is "SEiZE THE MEANS" and it's performed by Radio Wonderland and produced by Radio Wonderland and Marcelo Añez. Though they may reach for it, there's nothing average about Radio Wonderland!

And if you've never seen and heard Radio Wonderland, here's your chance, the official release party at
TRANS-PECOS
915 Wyckoff Ave
Ridgewood, NYC
L train to Brooklyn; get off at Halsey St.
http://www.thetranspecos.com

Monday, Nov. 7 at 8PM, Radio Wonderland at 8:30PM.

Permalink

http://kayester.blogspot.com/2016/11/radio-wonderland-first-album-pre.html

And just in case you didn't know, if you click on the picture, depending on your browser, it will enlarge, or offer a slide show of sorts, so go for it.

Monday, October 31, 2016

Tuli Kupferberg Memorial at the Sidewalk Cafe - The first post in a long while

Wow, it's been months since I posted anything. It's not that I haven't been taking photos - because I have - but because I've been lazy about putting them together.

So why today? Simple: yesterday I came into the city to cruise around on a CitiBike. I first rode down to the Lower East Side, expecting to stop by The Van Der Plas Gallery on Orchard Street. Adrian was busy getting the next event put together so I said hi and goodbye and hopped a bike and rode up to the Sidewalk Cafe on Avenue A, expecting to have a beer and then head home.

When I got there I learned that there was going to be a birthday memorial for the late Tuli Kupferberg and instead of saying Fug- gedabout it, I stayed and took some photos.

One of the musicians, Rachel Swaner of the group R², emailed me to ask if any of the photos I took came out good. I think these did. Rachel Swaner is on the accordion and Rebecca Tilles is playing a guitar - not that you can see much of it in the photo - the guitar, that is.

If I get another chance to hear them, I will because they play well together and have a lovely sound.

Their next show is in Williamsburg (that's in Brooklyn for readers unfamiliar with NYC) at Pete's Candy Store on 12/10 at 8PM. Go hear them if you can.

And I will post a few more pics sometime soon - of other people remembering Tuli.

permalink: http://kayester.blogspot.com/2016/10/tuli-kupferberg-memorial-at-sidewalk.html

Monday, May 30, 2016

Sunday afternoon on the G train

Sunday afternoon, on a crowded but not packed subway, somewhere under Brooklyn, two young Canadiens, from near Montreal, visiting New York City. Someone gave the dark haired woman a guitar and she's playing and singing an odd little song about losing her friend, losing her dog, losing her mind, going from French to English and back, her friend harmonizing, both laughing when they get the words wrong. They are having a good time.

They said it was okay for me to take their photos and so I did. Nice people - I hope they didn't miss their station because they told me they'd missed it once already. They knew what a yo-yo is, but I don't think they got it when I told them that was what they were doing.

Once upon a time, the G train ran from Forest Hills to Smith and 9th Street. In the north it's an abbreviated line now, barely making it into Queens and chugging, four cars at a time, through several neighborhoods in Brooklyn but extended to Church Ave.

I don't know Brooklyn well. I know my way around Manhattan and Queens, and parts of the Bronx, but even though I've been there often, Brooklyn feels like a foreign country to me.
I kid around, telling people that when I go, I take my passport with me. I felt for these two women, trying to see a little bit of Brooklyn before heading back to Canada, but lost, underground.

Permalink

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Thursday, January 7, 2016

Walking around the East Village with Shalom Neuman

Shalom Neuman is a brilliant artist, a philosopher and all-around nice-guy. We met up on an unseasonably warm day in late December to walk around the East Village.

Walking around with someone like Shalom is an opportunity to see a corner of the world through someone else's eyes. Here are some of the photos I shot while we walked.