Balkan Beat Box Speaks the Universal Language (Huffington Post)

Balkan Beat Box is a globally conscious floor shaking explosion of sound and energy. Started by Israeli musicians Ori Kaplan and Tamir Muskat in 2004, BBB takes many shapes and forms incorporating a changing roster of musicians, dancers, and stage effects as they tour the world. Their live show has the energy of George Clinton and P-Funk in their prime, or Fela Kuti and Africa 70 utilizing the rhythms and melodies of their Mediterranean and Middle Eastern roots combined with an eclectic concoction of influences from the rest of the electric and organic world. Their third full-length LP Nu-Med Remix was released April 7, 2009 on JDub Records.

Wailing horns, booming bass, winding guitar lines, thumping drums and screaming vocals all combine to make up Balkan Beat Box's live presentation. The crowd is dancing, if not jumping, rhythm is reverberating from all angles and directions as percussionists, horn players, vocalists, and dancers all rotate around the stage. Objects, substances and people fly on, off and around the stage as the show romps and raves from set to set. There are very few live musical experiences quite like a Balkan Beat Box concert.

Diversity is a concept Balkan Beat Box champions. Their stated mission is to erase borders musically and politically. "I think our 'mission' is more a natural reaction rather then a task. It's the music which comes out by default, and the emotions and political attitude that is a default for us. We are musicians committed to making great music, but aware of the power of music to change hearts and lead. We see it work one by one as listeners talk to us on the road," Ori Kaplan commented.

Kaplan grew up in Israel but moved to New York in 1991. It was in the musically rich environment of New York City in the late 90's that he grew as a musician playing with bands like Gogol Bordello and Firewater, which spearheaded the Eastern European cultural revolution taking place in the city. It was also in New York that Kaplan met Tamir Muskat.

Muskat hails from Tel Aviv, Israel and moved to New York in 1995 at which point he had already established himself as a leader in the Israeli rock scene as a drummer and producer. He joined Firewater and began his career collaborating with Kaplan. In 2004 along with other members of Gogol Bordello they created J.U.F. (Jüdisch-Ukrainische Freundschaft), and released Gogol Bordello vs. Tamir Muskat, an album which acted as a precursor to what became Balkan Beat Box.

New York musicians such as Jeremiah Lockwood, Dana Leong, Itamar Ziegler, and Peter Hess all joined the party as Balkan Beat Box began to evolve. The collaborator that leaves the biggest imprint on BBB, however is without a doubt Tomer Yosef. Yosef began his acting career as a stand-up comedian and film actor in Israel in the early 1990's. Tomer moved to New York City in 1998 and along with Itamar Ziegler started a nine-piece band called The Zion Train. He appeared on BBB's debut album as a guest vocalist before becoming a full-time part of the team. Yosef is the perfect front-man for Balkan Beat Box. Very few vocalists could match the energy and sensibility of such a powerful ensemble, but Yosef does so and then some. Jumping off the stage, throwing water in the crowd, stripping, it's all part of his routine

Their next album, will be a continuation of the BBB global mission. They recorded parts in Belgrade, Serbia with some local Gypsy musicians and also plan to implement elements of Latin American musics that have infiltrated their sound as they tour. "We feel like something new is happening with the new record, (which is almost ready) more personal content i would say, more lyrics, we speak about how we feel about politics, cultural issues and love. This is something we didn't do much before," Tamir Muskat commented.

Balkan Beat Box is one of the most dynamic live shows on the planet. Their energy, seamless fusion of heterogeneous elements, attitude and sensibility all combine to make the entire crowd jump song after song. Coming from such a segregated area of the world has informed them with a powerfully unifying perspective that is truly an inspiring example for their homeland and the rest of the world to follow.

BalkanBeatBox.com

Album Review: Extra Golden-Thank You Very Quickly (Farafina Magazine)

Extra Golden is a powerfully vivacious Kenyan-American ensemble that fuses Kenyan Benga and American rock. They are currently touring in support of their latest release, Thank You Very Quickly, an album composed in the wake of Kenya's post-election violence in 2008 and released March 19, 2008 on Thrill Jockey Records.

Singing in both English as well as Swahili and borrowing guitar riffs from everyone from Jerry Garcia to Djelimady Tounkara, Extra Golden has a unique sound. All six tracks on Thank You Very Quickly are rough and fierce. Using time signatures like 12/8 and employing a distorted, bluesy guitar style, Extra Golden breaks the mold of most African guitar bands. Unlike the clean sound of Congolese Soukous or more traditional Kenyan Benga, Extra Golden sounds dirty and rugged.

Extra Golden was born during 2004 when Ian Eagleson, Alex Minoff and Otieno Jagwasi began fiddling with each other’s compositions in an apartment in the Buru Buru neighborhood of Nairobi. Eagleson was completing Ethnomusicological field work in Kenya at the time, and what started as casual jam sessions have evolved into three albums and an international touring schedule.

Extra Golden go about their work with a few simple goals in mind: to write songs that tell stories of life, love and loss; to praise people and places that are dear to their hearts; and, most of all, to create a sound that people of different backgrounds and generations can enjoy.

If you like to rock regardless of where you're from, I highly recommend Extra Golden's third album, Thank You Very Quickly.

ExtraGolden.com

Emmanuel Jal, Child Soldier Turned Activist Rapper, Uses Music To Fight (Huffington Post)

"I believe I've survived for a reason, to tell my story to touch lives." Emmanuel Jal is a child soldier veteran of the Sudanase Civil War, who released his third full-length hip-hop album earlier this year, War Child, on Sonic 360 Records. A documentary about his life with the same title is currently touring the international film circuit, and a book about his life with the same title was published earlier this month on St. Martin's Press.

Jal was born in the village of Tonj in Southern Sudan in the early 1980's (he's not certain of the exact year). When he was about seven years old, his father joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). His mother was killed by soldiers loyal to the government, and his aunt was raped in front of him. He was then taken to Ethiopia with a group of kids who were promised an education in the neighboring country, but upon arrival, they were forced to become soldiers in the SPLA. Jal returned to Sudan to fight in the civil war, and for nearly five years, he was a war child, forced to fight carrying an AK-47 that was taller than he was.

In the early 90's, Jal was rescued by a British aid worker named Emma McCune who smuggled him into Nairobi, Kenya to raise him as her own. It was there he first heard hip-hop. Tupac Shakur, Public Enemy and Biggie Smalls were some of the artists that affected him the most early on. "The things they used to talk about is what I wanted to listen to. Talking about being chased by police, drugs in the community. It was like they were communicating, and that made me interested in it."

While he draws his inspiration from contemporary hip-hop artists like Kanye West and Nas, Emmanuel Jal is nothing like a typical American rapper. Songs off his latest album like "Skirt Too Short" and "No Bling" speak out against what Jal sees as being wrong with the hip-hop industry: rampant sexism, materialism, and violence. However, Jal doesn't blame the rappers themselves. "It's the record companies that are pushing products that are not constructive to the community. MTV won't play anything that doesn't have half-naked women. Anything that has violence or sex they love it. Violence and sex sells. But the thing is, we have to think about the children, because the children then think, 'ok this is how the world is supposed to be.'"

In his song "50 Cent," Jal singles out the American rapper and tells him he's "being played by the man." Jal takes issue with 50 Cent's glamorization of violence and drugs and feels he has a harmful impact on those who idolize him. "I took a shortcut picking 50 Cent because in this generation 50 Cent is the top. Today, everywhere you go in Africa, in America, every kid wants to be like 50. So I say to him, 'Look man, you gotta be careful, a lot of kids look up to you. You can make a lot of money but you're going to do a lot of damage to these young peoples' lives.'"

Jal asserts musicians should be conscious of the role they play in society and use it to effect positive change. "Musicians should think and reason because we're in a time of crisis. To get people aware of what's happening, the shortcut is music. We gotta inform people, music can help pass informational messages easily. It's time for us to talk about issues affecting our nations."

As someone whose life has been ravaged by war, Jal feels an obligation to use his platform as a musician to fight against the oppression and suffering of his people. "I have no choice. I had no childhood. I had no family to take me to school, pay my school fees, play video games, play football, have a life, get Christmas gifts. I didn't have that. My childhood has been stolen. The only thing I have is to talk about what happened to me, to spread the voice of those kids that have none. My country is still at war, people are still dying."

According to the United Nations, 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes in the Sudanese Civil War. Jal uses his music to tell the world about his experiences and that of those who don't have a voice. "The way I look at it, I'm writing down history. I'm bringing what happened in my life to the international community. I feel responsible, I'm like the voice of those people."

Through his music, his book, and the film about his life, Jal aims to bring notoriety to the struggle of his people. Jal started his own charity--Gua Africa--to help rescued child soldiers start over in life similar to how he was given a second chance. His mission is to build a school in honor of the aid worker who rescued him, Emma McCune. He is currently only eating one meal a day until he raises enough money.

To find out how to volunteer your time and/or money to help the people of Sudan and Emmanuel Jal's cause, go to www.gua-africa.org.

For more information on Emmanuel Jal, check out his website, MySpace page and this Youtube video.

Asa: The Next Generation's Voice Of African Protest (Huffington Post)

What do you get when you take a little bit of Bob Marley, a chunk of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, add some India Arie pre-mixed with Miriam Makeba and Angélique Kidjo and finish it off with a whole lot of Yoruba classics like King Sunny Ade? Asa, the Nigerian singer who's first full-length album "Asa" hit U.S. markets January 27, 2009 on Downtown Records' new imprint, Mercer St. Records.

Asa has a politically conscious yet sweet sounding vocal presentation that with the help of her dreadlocks and guitar is exceptionally reminiscent of Bob Marley. After she was born in Paris, Asa moved back to the homeland of her parents, Lagos, Nigeria, at the age of two. It was there that her identity musically and otherwise took shape. "Growing up in Lagos, you get to see the realities of life. Things were not perfect. My parents were struggling parents. We were always looking for a better future, but in my time I think things haven't changed, they've only gotten worse. You can't escape the political sides of life when you live in Nigeria. I felt I needed to use my music to talk about this."

Asa's father exposed her to music from all over Africa as well as the United States. "I grew up around music, my father had a lot of records, Aretha Franklin, Miriam Makeba, Yoruba Classic songs I listened to all kinds of music, I drew inspiration and picked pieces from everybody. Angelique Kidjo, Femi Kuti, Keziah Jones, Lagbaja, they all inspire me in different ways. Coming from the Yoruba culture there's a strong musical identity blending with my language to create what I do."

The Yoruba people of West Africa have one of the most pronounced musical traditions of any culture in the world dating back multiple centuries. International African superstars such as King Sunny Ade and Fela Anikulapo Kuti are two of the most famous examples of Yoruba musicians, but there is a long history of lesser known Yoruba folk music in a variety of styles such as Fuji, Juju, Highlife, Apala, and others that all influenced Asa's cultural development.

Asa represents the next generation of Yoruba musicians, along with other contemporary Yoruba artists such as Keziah Jones and Femi Kuti, to continue the tradition of using music as a common ground to bring their culture to the attention of the world. "I come as an African singer, someone who originated in Africa but talking about things that relate to everybody. I also use it as way to introduce myself, my culture and my language. I don't like to be seen as World Music, that's a misconception. I am a singer who puts my roots down in Africa for you to see, but it doesn't matter my nationality."

While Asa's music has a sweet, aesthetically pleasing overall sound, it does have a social commentary message. Bob Marley and Fela Anikulapo Kuti, two of the world's biggest icons of musical protest and Asa's stated two biggest influences, taught Asa to use her music as a weapon to effect positive change and increase awareness of the world's unrecognized realities. "Fela used to be like the newspaper. You would get up in the morning and read the newspaper like listening to Fela to know what's going on. People who were educated and informed were listening to Fela. While I was growing up and listening to this man, I saw a lot of things, I saw courage, I saw the ability to use music as a weapon to educate and inform people and also to connect other people, Africans, to give them hope and also have the rest of the world informed about Africa and its people and the world at large. Fela has helped me see this way to use my music, not only Fela but Bob Marley, today we still listen to him, we use his lyrics in our everyday experiences. They used music as a weapon, and as a tool to bring people together."

Check out her "Jailer" video here.

Yas: Iran's Hip-Hop Sensation (Huffington Post)

Since its genesis in the South Bronx in the 1980's, hip-hop has become one of America's most prolific exports reaching places you might expect, like Africa and Latin America, and places you might not, like Iran. Yas, a 27-year-old rapper from Tehran, first heard hip-hop at the age of 16 when his father started bringing him Tupac albums from his business trips abroad. Since then, he has become the first and only rapper to legally release his music in Iran and tour
internationally playing dates in Dubai, London, New York and Los Angeles.

Yas doesn't speak English, but once he heard the rhythm, rhyme schemes, emotion and passion in Tupac's voice, he was extremely affected by the power of hip-hop. When his father died abruptly, Yas became the sole provider for his family at the age of 18, and hip-hop was the only outlet for his emotion and anguish. "When I started to listen to the music and I heard the strength of his voice I really started to feel the energy of the music coming through. I really enjoyed the way he flowed and rhymed on the beat."

While Yas could feel the power and emotion of hip-hop without understanding the lyrics, it was when he began to translate Tupac songs that he realized the real power of hip-hop's message.

"After a while I started to pay closer attention to the music [and] I realized there was a lot more there to it, he was talking about real issues. I started to translate the lyrics and realized he's singing about society and the culture, about his perspective. I realized then that any kind of music that was going to stick around and have any kind of lasting effect had to say something real. It had to have a message and a deeper significance to it, in any kind of genre."

Persian culture has produced some of the world's most esteemed poets. Yas was inspired by Tupac's style and message, but he was also inspired by his own life and culture. "Hip-hop began in America, but Iran has had one of the longest traditions of poetry of any in the world. Poetry is in our blood. If he could sing about his life and pain and his culture, why couldn't I do the same thing in my own language, and that's where it all began."

Any music, books, or film to be released publicly in Iran have to be approved by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. I asked Yas why he's been able to get past the censorship, "The more you limit something the more it becomes popular. Rap is a new style of music in
Iran. The people that censor things don't acknowledge rap as something to be taken seriously just yet. Even though it's extremely popular."

Yas was quick to point out American hip-hop artists like Tupac faced similar barriers and biases. In the early 90's, Dan Quayle was only willing to acknowledge hip-hop as being obscene and offensive, denying its legitimacy as an art form. "Nobody wanted to believe that hip-hop
would be a legitimate art form, just like nobody would believe there'd be a black president in America just like Tupac said in Changes. He said we'd never see it. It's very interesting to see that changes are happening and no one would've believed hip-hop would be popular in Iran,
but now you walk down the street, and there isn't a single car that isn't listening to hip-hop."

Yas is an ambassador for music's ability to bridge gaps and break barriers. He would like to see the United States and Iran as allies and would like to use music and culture to facilitate that friendship, "I can see from coming to the US and having seen both sides, the people of Iran want peace and want good relations with America, and people over here want the same thing, from what I've seen. I think right now is a good time to open up a friendship and change directions. It's important that we use music to show that the people have no issues with each other, that the people have no problems with each other.

"Our two cultures are a great match. One of my goals when I'm here is to work with a great American rapper to help me get my message out to a wider audience. I'd like to take a step forward with American hiphop." Yas is cognizant of the international appeal of his music
and tries to stay conscious of that when he writes in order to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, "One of my main goals is to put Persian rap on the map, but my biggest goal is to get my voice out to the world. Why should it matter that my language happens to be Farsi? My words are about my culture but also about the world as a whole."

Check out Yas on Myspace and YouTube here and here.

Album Review: Femi Kuti-Day By Day (Afropop Worldwide)

Day By Day, the first studio album by Femi Kuti in seven years out November 18th on Downtown Records, re-established the prince of Afrobeat as a voice in the contemporary Afrobeat community. His trademark punchy horn lines and passionate vocals represent Femi's style having grown but not changed significantly. He still has his own style, his own sound, and his own message, different from his father Fela and brother Seun.

As the son of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Afrobeat pioneer, African musical icon, and international protest figure, Femi played in his legendary father's band, Egypt 80, from a young age. He later broke away from Egypt 80 to start his own band, Positive Force, which played at The Shrine, Fela's home club in Lagos, Nigeria, one night a week. Femi has long displayed his father's passion for social justice and political action, but has differed from Fela on many fronts including his religious views and AIDS.

A few of the tracks on Day by Day are studio versions of songs performed on Africa Shrine, Femi's live album and Concert DVD such as "Oyimbo" and "One Two". Almost every song on the album has a strong political message like "Tell Me" and "Demo Crazy". Several of the tracks have a soft, jazzy feel at times such as "Tension Grip Africa" and "Untitled". Using the organ, guitar, trumpet, and various percussion instruments, Femi creates a soft backdrop against which the powerful horn section of Positive Force clashes.

"Do You Know?", a track that starts off with a funky bass line and Femi asking, "Do you know Miles Davis? Do you know John Coltrane? Dizzy Gilespie? Duke Ellington? Do you know Billy Holliday?" has a particularly funky groove. The guitar and organ parts are emphasized in a sly, scratchy manner in the early part of the song before the horn section comes in as a whole and then solos. Femi has been honing his keyboard skills for the past several years. His progress is evident on this track as the funky jazz vibe furnished by the keys and guitar parts is especially accentuated.

A few of the tracks are studio versions of songs performed on Africa Shrine, Femi's live album and Concert DVD such as "Oyimbo" and "One Two". Almost every song on the album has a strong political message like "Tell Me" and "Demo Crazy".

When younger brother Seun released his album Many Things earlier this year, a lot of people in the music community were ready to forget about Femi. People were ready to ordain Seun as the leader of the next generation of Afrobeat. Seun and Femi are very different and Day by Day is a clear example why. Seun, playing with Egypt 80, is picking up where his father left off, playing the same style and representing Fela's legacy. Femi has never been concerned with being the next Fela. Postivie Force and Egypt 80 co-existed for several years before Fela's death. Femi has always had his own style and sound, and Day by Day is a continuation of Femi's legacy of originality.

Femi Kuti

Brooklyn Country (Block Magazine)

Twangin guitars, grinding washboards, and ballads about whiskey, guns, and wild animals having sexual encounters with mountain men--not what you might expect to hear in a packed saloon in Williamsburg on a Tuesday night, but that's exactly what concert-goers got when The Defibulators and Andy Friedman and the Other Failures hit the stage at Zebulon July 24th. Both bands are based in Brooklyn and both bands are living proof as to why the Brooklyn country music scene is not just alive and kickin but downright thriving.

Most people would be surprised to hear there's a blossoming country music scene in Brooklyn, NY, a place more widely recognized for bagels, bridges, and brownstones than bluegrass, ballads and back country hoe-downs, but in a place as diverse as Brooklyn where most people who live here moved from somewhere else, anything is possible according to Andy Friedman, "There's probably a blue male monarch butterfly collecting scene in this city that's as big as the Brooklyn Country scene. Everything happens here, and everything comes from all over the world and seems to meet here, and that's why it's a great place to live."

Andy Friedman grew up on Long Island before he moved to Brooklyn at the age of seventeen. He first heard a pedal-steel guitar in a Billy Joel song--The Great Suburban Showdown on Streetlife Serenade, his second album--and was first introduced to country music by exploring the influences of Bob Dylan. It's in the Dylan tradition of songwriters that Freidman sees the Brooklyn Country scene today, "To me, the Brooklyn Country scene is a descendent of what was happening here in the late 1950's and 1960's around Washington Square Park and the West Village, or at least I like to think it keeps that spirit (and scene) alive."

The Defibulators are perfect example of the Brooklyn Country music scene. They're comprised of musicians from all over the country representing Texas, Wisconsin, California, and New Jersey. They started out as a traditional rock-a-billy band, but have grown to include elements of bluegrass, honkytonk, blues, and regular ol' country. They describe themselves as "Hee-haw on mescaline."

"I moved up here from Texas, to go to school, and to get as far away from country music as possible," said Bug Jennings the band's lead singer and banjo player. "I bought my first country music record at Tower Records on 4th st., Best of Hank Williams." Jennings never heard a Hank Williams song in his eighteen years growing up in Texas and despised what he heard on the radio. He only truly discovered country music for himself when Roadblock, the band's lead guitarist, lent him a classic country cd after they met working at a restaurant in Manhattan. He now lives in Brooklyn and finds the positive reception his band gets here appropriately refreshing, "Our following makes sense to me because nobody who lives in Brooklyn's from Brooklyn. Everybody's a transplant."

Metalbelly, The Defibulators' washboard player who comes from Austin, Texas originally and dons flannel red one-piece pajamas to every show, pointed out a lot of good country music has come from New York City, "There's a lot of country and folk music that originated up here. There are a lot of original bands and a lot of original people that come out of the melting pot that exists up here." When it comes down to it, Brooklynites love to dance, and there's an undeniably infectious energy that flies around any venue at which The Defibulators play, "We love nothing more than playing for people in a crowded room and seeing what happens."

Andy Friedman and the Other Failures tour all over the country, and their reception doesn't follow what stereotypical expectations might dictate, "I would like to say the further south we go the better the crowd reception gets, but it's not true. We enjoy terrific crowds in the south, but Minneapolis and Chicago are two of our favorite spots, as well. We love the west coast, and liberal arts colleges like Oberlin, Pitzer College, and Warren Wilson. The thing about playing in Columbia, South Carolina, though, is that each time we play someone from the crowd sends us home with a jar of corn liquor. That's tough to beat. What I do notice down south, however, is that's where most of the 'how does a band from Brooklyn end up playing country music' questions most often come from. I always answer the same way: there are plenty of punk bands playing in Alabama."

Activists Take Steam Out of Gas Plant Plan in Greenpoint (Block Magazine)

When you think of what Greenpoint and Williamsburg need, what comes to mind first: a 28-acre waterfront park or a power plant? If you went with park, the elected officials, community boards, residents and activists of the area agree with you.

North Brooklyn got one step closer to adding Bushwick Inlet Park to its résumé when the State officially killed TransGas Energy's plan to build a $2 billion power plant on eight acres of land along the East River between North 12th and 14th Streets on Kent Avenue. The State siting board put the nail in the coffin on March 20th, due to the fact their proposal failed to meet health and environmental requirements. TransGas has tried to push through their power-plant agenda several times in the past, most recently 2002.

While this was a decisive victory for the park, TransGas Energy (TGE) is expected not to give up yet. Legal counsel to GWAPP (Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning) and Open Space Alliance board member Adam Perlmutter broke down the legal wrangling still left to unfold, saying, "TransGas has filed a petition for a rehearing. The City and Columbia Environmental Law Clinic compile their briefs in opposition in 10 days, on which the board will rule in 90 days."

If and when TGE's appeal fails, they then have thirty days to file an appeal with the appellate division second department on the grounds that the Environmental Siting Board used its discretion in an arbitrary or capricious fashion. Perlmutter said that TGE's chances of success at this point are extremely slim. "Those are extremely high standards to meet,” he asserted. “To say we don't expect TransGas to prevail doesn't convey how strongly I believe they're really not going to get anywhere."

Steve Hindy, OSA Board-member and Founder of Brooklyn Brewery, threw a party to celebrate the community's victory over TransGas. Community activists in attendance included Joe Vance, a prominent Williamsburg Architect and GWAPP and OSA Board-member. He commented on the long fight the community has undertaken with TransGas at which he's been at the front. "It started back in 2000 when Con Edison tried to build a power plant in Greenpoint,” he recalled, “and that's when GWAPP was formed, Greenpoint Williamsburg Against Power Plants."

Gerry Esposito, District Manager of Community Board One was also there to celebrate. His comments reflected the battle that lies ahead: "We're very fortunate that we won the battle, we're lucky to have a community to have fought so hard. Now the battle to be fought is to convince the city to volunteer the necessary money to build the park."

One can't help but admire that resolve and generosity with which people in the community lend their time and money towards fighting special interests such as TransGas.

The victory was largely possible because there is more solidarity today than ever before. "Before 2000, there were certainly six or seven groups in the community doing good things, but the problem was none of them were united,” recalls GWAPP board member Joe Vance. “There were too many little voices. The officials at the time really used that. They would say, 'Oh well, we don't see a consensus.' And that was really when we got together and decided we had to work together."

Vance was not the only person to notice this trend.

"I don't think that another community that hadn't been as organized through formal organizations and long-term planning process taking control of its land use would fare as well as we have,” Adam Perlmutter commented. “It's not just GWAPP and others; it’s the community boards 197 planning process [and] the fact that the community has taken it upon itself to become extremely sophisticated in the area environmental protection and land use. The proof is in the pudding."

Baye Kouyate et les Tougarakes at Joe's Pub-July 15, 2008 (QuietColor.com)

Baye Kouyate's performance at Joe's Pub Tuesday night was a celebration of West African music: musicians from several countries in West Africa, the United States and Europe put on a world-class show that got the entire crowd dancing by the night's end. Baye Kouyate is a talking-drum master from Mali. He descends from Griots, a family line of musicians, historians, and dispute mediators, and is one of the most up-and-coming African musicians on the NY scene.

Baye's Band, Les Tougarakes, is a collection of international all-star musicians with griot master Yacouba Sissoko of Mali on kora, German international recording artist Leni Stern on guitar, Senegalese master drummer Samba Guisse on djembe and sabar, Gbatokai Dakinah of Denmark on bass, griot balafon master Famoro Dioubate of Guinea, and Adam Clark, band leader of the Superpowers, an up-and-coming Afrobeat band out of Boston, on trap drums. Les Tougarakes represent both a wide range of musical styles within West Africa and the wide spread influence of West African music's diaspora.

Kouyate paid homage to the several-hundred year griot tradition from which he descends Tuesday night. Musical energy emanates from him with his beautiful smile, matching voice and talking drum which he makes sing. The virtuosic, rising and tumbling kora and balafon glided gracefully over the serene rhythms of the djembe, trap drums and bass. Leni Stern, who has collaborated with Salif Keita and Baaba Maal in addition to traveling extensively throughout Africa, added a special colorful touch to the ensemble, infusing a bluesy African jazz guitar feel.

Tuesday night was most definitely one to remember. Baye Kouyate is not only an amazing musician but an amazing person. Before the show was over, he paused to thank everyone who has ever helped him get to where he is today, especially the owners of Zebulon. It was in the Williamsburg venue that he made his first connections in the New York music scene and played his first shows.

Even though he descends from a long line of Malian griots, Baye does not see himself as simply an ambassador of African muisc, "I see myself not as a Malian Ambassador but as a Human Ambassador because my music is not just about Mali - it's about the world. My music is about the fusion of traditional and the modern, it's about love and peace in this world. It's about sharing life and no discrimination - it's about who we are as human beings, not just black and white, and together we all can save this world."

Book Review: The Arguement by Matt Bai (ShortandSweetnyc.com)

Over the last five to eight years, a progressive left political movement has been growing in the United States. These days you can feel it when you walk down the street and Obama '08 signs and buttons abound. One might think the country has simply had enough of the right-wing politics of the Bush-Cheney administration, but The Argument, a book by Matt Bai, a political writer for the NY Times magazine, gives you a behind-the-scenes look at exactly how the left has re-claimed its share of the American political debate.

Bai travels across the country tracing the steps of Howard Dean with his 50-state approach, Moveon.org and their nation-wide house-parties, and the liberal blogosphere that fostered an environment for progressives to flush out their grassroots movement. He provides insight into exactly how the left took back the fight, where it started, and for what they're fighting.

After reading this book, you'll know exactly why Barack Obama disposed of Hillary Clinton and her out-dated centrism in the Democratic primary and is leading Jon McCain in the polls. It's not just a pendulum swinging back and forth from left to right that controls American politics; it's a concerted effort by interests on both sides to frame the debate and influence the outcome of elections.

Nomo at Zebulon-July 12, 2008 (QuietColor.com)

So many people came to Zebulon to see Nomo Saturday night, they literally had to turn people away. For those who managed to squeeze themselves into the cramped Williamsburg venue, they were not disappointed.

Nomo brought an uncontrollably infectious energy to the Zebulon stage, their favorite club in the city. Throughout their first set, the crowd seemed not to know what to make of them. People simply sat in awe trying to comprehend the complex sounds emanating from the seven-piece ensemble. That all changed during the second set when the crowd thinned out a bit, and the remaining concert-goers got up and danced like they knew they should.

Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Nomo is a seven-piece band whose sound is too unique to put in a genre. They fuse dubbed out 80's hip-hop synths with Tony Allen afro-funk drums and hard bop jazz horn lines. Even their arrangement is unique featuring two drum sets, electric bass, guitar, tenor and baritone saxophones, two trumpets, congas, timbales, bells, mbira (Zimbabwean thumb piano), and a combination of electric distortion effects.

Ghost Rock, Nomo's third full-length album came out last month on Ubiquity Records, and they're touring across the country promoting it playing thirty-four shows in fifty-five days in thirty-two cities. They are without a doubt, one of the most inventive, talented bands I've ever had the privilege of seeing live. Their ingenuity of arrangement and wide span of influences put them in a class by themselves. After listening to their records for the first time in the last six months, I had extremely high expectations for their show Saturday night, and they totally blew them away.

Nomo Myspace

Chin Chin at Joe's Pub-July 13, 2008 (ShortandSweetnyc.com)

Chin Chin proved why they're one of the funkiest bands in the city Thursday night at Joe's Pub. They came out firing an all cylinders with their 9-piece band and brought a unique attitude and sound that said, "We're here to party and you better be too." Lead singer Wilder Zoby brought so much energy to the performance he was literally bouncing off the walls.

Chin Chin is a rotating group of highly talented musicians from the Brooklyn scene. Thursday night's show featured among others, Torbitt Schwartz on drums, Jesse Boykins III on backup vocals, Jeremy Williams on guitar, and Eric Biondo and Aaron Johnson of Antibalas on trumpet and trombone respectively.

Their infectious energy and groove make Chin Chin the perfect party music. You simply can't help but move with them on stage. They have a show coming up on the 24th of August at McCarren Pool. If you like to dance, check them out.

Chin Chin MySpace

Seun Kuti, Afrika Bambaataa and U-Roy with Love Trio at Central Park Summer Stage-July 6, 2008 (ShortandSweetnyc.com)

Central Park Summer Stage took its Afrocentric programming credibility to a new level last Sunday when Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation, and U-Roy with Love Trio put on an energy-packed show that kept the crowd dancing from start to finish. All three acts are icons of their respective genres, and all three lived up to their prestigious reputations.

U-Roy and Love Trio opened things up. U-Roy is a legend of Jamaican music and founder of the reggae sub-genre dub. In the early 60's he pioneered toasting, or rapping over popular songs in dancehalls to liven up the party. He used his same signature style on Sunday, acting as lead vocalist with Love Trio, bridging the generational gap between a founder of dub and those continuing the tradition.

Next on stage was Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation, one of hip-hop's founding fathers. They kept the crowd jumping and gyrating while interjecting Afrocentric and political charged messages into their rhymes. Some were more overt than others; Afrika Bambaataa spoke only once at the end of the set, "Peace, Love and Unity, One Nation Under a Groove, and Fuck George Bush."

Closing out the show was Egypt 80 and Seun Anikulapo Kuti, son of Afrobeat pioneer and international protest figure Fela Kuti. Seun took the climbing energy from Afrika Bambaataa and U-Roy and vaulted it even higher. Egypt 80 took the stage first warming up the crowd and setting the Afrobeat groove. Seun made a dynamic entrance and automatically demanded the attention of the crowd. Everything from his appearance to his sound was highly reminiscent of Fela. His dance moves reminded me of his father the most, but when he introduced himself as "the best singer in the world," I knew the apple couldn't have fallen far from the tree.

Seun Kuti Myspace

Album Review: Nation Beat-Legends of the Preacher (QuietColor.com)

It's not often you'll hear Portuguese lyrics sung over a cajun blues backdrop, but Legends of the Preacher, the new album from Nation Beat, set to release July 15th on Modiba Productions, has a groove and character all its own. Blending sounds of Southern blues with Brazilian maracatu and a whole lot more, their sound is definitely unique. With Liliana Araujo's beautifully full, soulful voice gliding gracefully over the red hot multi-layered rhythm section composed of Mike Lavelle on bass, Scott Kettner and Eduardo Guedes on percussion, and Raphael McGregor and Sky Steele adding their southern blues sounds with lap steel and fiddle, Nation Beat maintains an intricate multi-layered melody and tight groove.
Legends of the Preacher displays a delightfully wide range of sound and influence, which comes as little surprise from a band that is at the heart of the Brooklyn music scene, one of the most diverse in the country. In a given song, Nation Beat will give you a taste of bluegrass, funk, Brazilian macaratu, and rock. They blend it all together to create their own signature style which is downright infectiously danceable.
As if Nation Beat didn't already have a style jam-packed with different influences from all over the musical globe, they recorded three tracks on Legends of the Preacher with Grammy Award winners The Klezmatics, a klezmer-fusion band out of the East Village. The Klezmatics, particularly their horn section, add to the already rich texture of Nation Beat's non-traditional sound.
Nation Beat personifies the growing trend in contemporary popular music--fusion. As the world, and the music industry, become increasingly globalized, sounds from all over the world are not nearly as far away as they once were. Bands are incorporating more and more diverse sounds into their repertoires, and appreciation for heterogeneous danceable music is growing as well. The energy and passion exhibited on Legends of the Preacher is even more in-your-face and alive in their live concert. If you like to dance, make sure to check them out as they will be touring all over the east coast and mid-west with dates in Montreal, Milwaukee, New York and Boston to name a few.

nationbeat.com

The Blue Method at Crash Mansion-June 13th, 2008 (ShortandSweetnyc.com)

After my friend Linh and I sat through two terrible, hipster, indie-rock bands at the Crash Mansion Friday night, I thought to myself, "The Blue Method better be as good as I remember them." Luckily for us, they were better. Their bass and guitar lines were funkier, lead singer Brian Williams was fatter, his voice was more soulful, and their drums rocked even harder.
The Blue Method is a 5-piece funk band out of Philadelphia that has a sound like a ten-piece ensemble. They opened with a couple tracks from their latest album, followed them up with a James Brown cover, and then played the funkiest version of Van Morrison's "Caravan" I've ever heard by far. Brian Williams is a big man with an even bigger voice whose energy and passion accentuates the band's infectious on stage attitude.
Featuring Brian Williams on lead vocals, trumpet and trombone, Tom Long on saxophone and rhythm guitar, Mike Patriarca on lead guitar, Rah M. Sungee on bass, and Theron Shelton on drums, their live show features a soulful mix of covers and original tracks off of their two studio albums Kill the Music Vol. 1 and 2. They have an incredibly tight sound, and they will make you dance all night. They tour all over the east coast on a regular basis, so definitely check them out whenever you get the chance.



www.thebluemethod.com

Album Review: Tristan Prettyman-Hello (Shortandsweetnyc.com)

"If someone were to say to me, 'Tell me about yourself,' I would just hand them a copy of Hello and say, ‘Here, this is everything you need to know,'" those are the words Tristan Prettyman uses to describe her second full-length album, Hello, from Virgin Records, a twelve track storybook collection of thoughts, musings, and portraits that are at the same time enticing and edgy.

Prettyman has a sexy, smoky, bluesy alto voice that glides perfectly over the musical backdrop of steel-pedal guitar, Rhodes, bass, strings, and drums throughout her album. She’s got a signature style of blues/folk/pop. Her voice is deep but lively, feminine, and sexy.

Put simply, Prettyman has character. She plays the type of music that has depth if you care to listen, rhythm if you care to dance, and soul if you care to feel. Hello explores Prettyman's love of country-blues and folk from the '60s and '70s, artists like The Band, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan. "There's something really pure and uncontrived about what they do," she says. "I really connect with that simplicity.”

www.myspace.com/tristanprettyman

The Sway Machinery-May 25, 2008 (QuietColor.com)

What do you get when you take bluesman and Balkan Beat Box guitarist Jeremiah Lockwood, add the Yeah Yeah Yeah's drummer Brian Chase, two horn players from Antibalas, Stuart Bogie and Jordan McLean, and bass saxophonist Colin Stetson of Arcade Fire and Tom Waits' band? The funkiest bar mitzvah band on the planet, The Sway Machinery. I first heard about the Sway Machinery from Stuart Bogie six months ago while interviewing him for an article about Antibalas and had been eagerly anticipating seeing the band in concert ever since. I checked them out Wednesday night at University Settlement on the Lower East Side. They totally blew away my extremely high expectations.

The Sway Machinery is a project inspired by Jeremeiah Lockwood's grandfather, the legendary Cantor Jacob Konigsberg, who exposed Jeremiah to Jewish Cantor music at a young age. Lockwood sings in Hebrew perfecting the other-worldly sound the musical arrangement creates. The Sway Machinery is definitely like nothing you'll see or hear anywhere else. They have a harsh, powerful sound anchored by the bass saxophone and enhanced by the rest of the horn section. Their set exhibited great range going from slow, deep, dark, and mysterious to fast funky, happy, and danceable.

The Sway Machinery are playing several upcoming shows this summer: June 8th at 92YTribeca and July 20th at Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park If you like music that pushes the envelope hard, go check them out. With the amazing roster of talented musicians on stage, there's no doubt it will be an amazing show.

swaymachinery.com myspace.com/theswaymachinery

Night in Slovenia Preview-May 28, 2008 (QuietColor.com)

Saturday, May 31, 2008 8:00 pm

The Town Hall* 123 West 43rd St
Ticket Prices: $15-$20

Have you ever wanted to travel in Eastern Europe? Have you dreamt of backpacking through hillside villages, sampling the local foods, drinking local wines and taking in the unique cultures? Well, this Saturday night, National Geographic Traveler is presenting A Night in Slovenia, a night of music, food, wine, and culture that could bring you as close as you'll ever get to the real thing.

A Night in Slovenia is a celebration of Slovenian culture--music, food, drink, and dance. The night kicks off at the Hudson Theatre in the Millennium Broadway Hotel (145 West 44th Street) for a free pre-concert wine and cheese tasting featuring, of course, traditional fare from Slovenia.

Then the music starts. First on the bill is Laibach a Slovenian experimental music group, associated with industrial, martial, and neo-classical musical styles. They are an edgy controversial group who, through their use of lighting and special effects, has made a great impact on the musical culture of Slovenia.

Continuing the night in "accordance" with its theme is American-born accordionist and composer Guy Klucevsek who will be sharing the stage with fellow Accordion Tribesman Bratko Bibic, a Slovenian accordionist who first came to prominence as a rock musician, playing in the ensembles Begnagrad and Nimal in the 1980s. Klucevsek is one of few accordion players active in jazz and free improvisation. He has released 16 albums as a leader or co-leader, and has recorded or performed with Dave Douglas, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Laurie Anderson and many others.

Third in line is jazz performer Vasko Atanasovski, one of Slovenia’s most creative composers and musicians, who will be performing with Marc Ribot and Greg Cohen, two premier musicians of the jazz field. Ribot has collaborated with a ridiculously long list of musicians, Tom Waits, John Zorn, David Sylvian,Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, The Lounge Lizards, Arto Lindsay, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Cibo Matto, Elysian Fields, Sam Phillips, Elvis Costello, David Poe, Allen Ginsberg, Foetus, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Susana Baca, The Black Keys, and the Lucien Dubuis Trio. Cohen boasts a similarly long list, most notably including Ornette Coleman, Elvis Costello, Lee Konitz and David Byrne.

Next on the bill is Brina, named after its lead singer Brina Vogelnik – the ensemble was established in 2003 with a desire for a fresh and bolder musical approach. Brina's seven-member ensemble draws its musical motifs from traditional music, which is brought back to life and rearranged, producing a repertoire consisting of original pieces. Brina's latest album Pasja legenda remained in the top ten of the World Music Charts Europe for a remarkable three months.

As if that weren’t enough, next up is Zlatko Kaucic, a Slovenian drummer who has performed all over Europe with an incredibly wide range of musicians. Zlatko’s specialty is a unique solo percussion performance that expresses his own personal style. He has played the North Sea Jazz Festival twice and currently plays with his own trio, which tours Spain regularly. He also plays with an octet and composes music for theatre and dance groups.

Taking things down a notch will be Silence, a Slovenian electronic, synth pop and soundtrack music composing duo consisting of Boris Benko (singer and songwriter) and Primoz Hladnik (keyboards and arrangements). Their music is characterized by melancholy experimental sounds and vocal arrangements, and they are known to incorporate live instruments, including the piano, violin, viola, double bass, cello and valiha. The duo is recognized for their vast involvement in music writing for contemporary plays in Slovenian theatre.

Closing out the night will be Katalena an ensemble that emerged from a workshop that was originally meant to be a one-time only musical project. Its members are derived from different musical backgrounds, including classic rock, folk, blues and hip hop. The band believes in the legacy and timeliness of Slovene folk music, and they are known for recreating and performing it in their own unique way.

This will undoubtedly be a night attendees will never forget. The musical lineup is nothing short of legendary. If you’ve always been a Slovenian music enthusiast, are into expanding your musical spectrum, or simply want to see a night of great live entertainment, you owe it to yourself to check out this amazing celebration of Slovenian culture.

http://www.ngtslovenia.com/

Album Review: Nomo-Ghost Rock (QuietColor.com)

Do you like music that's unique, music that takes elements of music
you love and transforms it into something totally different and
amazing? If your answers to those questions are yes, then you need to
check out Nomo's new album Ghost Rock.
Nomo is a jazz fusion band out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. While they
have a sound reminiscent of Afrobeat, they're simply too unique to
classify. They have an aggressively dynamic horn section that cuts
hard horn lines over an even nastier rhythm section.
Ghost Rock, the band's second release with Ubiquity Records,
accentuates an other-wordly electronic vibe that brings in an entirely
new element to their already incomparable sound. Nomo will
simultaneously make you dance and expand your mind. If you haven't
heard their first full-length album, Nu Tones, go out and buy it today
to tide you over until Ghost Rock comes out on June 17th.

http://www.myspace.com/nomomusic

Album Review: The Superpowers-Revival Time (DecentX.com)

The Superpowers' 2007 release Revival Time is a groovtasticly aggressive Afrobeat album that will leave you dancing from start to finish. Presented by the Boston Afrobeat Society, this nine-piece Afrobeat ensemble is a burgeoning group on the cusp of an even hotter Afrobeat scene. Their nine track release is a tightly arranged pulsing Afrobeat monster fit to be named "super."
The Superpowers are all graduates of New England Conservatory where they came together under the leadership of Adam Clark, the band's drummer and founder. They started playing Fela Kuti tunes and found Afrobeat to be an amazing new medium through which to express themselves as jazz musicians.
While the Superpowers are definitely an Afrobeat band with an aggressive Afrobeat sound, they incorporate elements of several musical styles including jazz, funk, soul, reggae, and rock. Their horn section delivers lines one would expect to hear from Earth Wind and Fire or the JB's over pulsating Afrobeat grooves laid down by their proficient rhythm section. Their guitars and keyboards incorporate the perfect amount of distortion effects to add a psychedelic rock/dub feel.
What's really great about Revival Time is the range the album encompasses. There are slower smooth tracks like "Cosmic Spiral" and "Moonlit Heart" to chill you out, more upbeat lively tracks like "Abbey Rockers #1" and "Abami Eda" to make you dance, and more unconventional, unique sounding tracks like "Revival Time" to give you something you haven't heard before.
What's best about Revival Time is the extent to which it exposes and accentuates the influences and components that led Fela Anikulapo Kuti to create the genre, particularly the American elements of funk and jazz. The rhythm guitar lines are extremely funky as well as the horn lines, but at the same time, the keyboard and horn solos are extremely jazzy. A lot of Afrobeat bands will prioritize staying true to the Afrobeat tradition. The Superpowers aren't afraid to deviate from the accepted Afrobeat sound, and that allows them the freedom to develop a much more unique and interesting style.
Half the Superpowers live in Boston and half live in Brooklyn, so they play a lot of shows in both cities. They tour most of the northeast hitting cities like Providence, RI, Burlington, VT, Northhampton, MA, and stops in between. Their sound is growing, and so is their fanbase as they are at the forefront of a booming Afrobeat scene. Bands like Antibalas and Akoya are spreading Fela's message, and The Superpowers can hang with any Afrobeat band out there. Their horns are tight, their rhythm section rocks, and their attitude and sensibility set them apart from the rest.

www.myspace.com/thesuperpowers

Proposed Grand St. Rezoning, a Step in the Right Direction for Williamsburg-February 1, 2008 (Block Magazine)

"While we're sitting here they're out pouring concrete." Those are the words of Tom Burrows, a deeply concerned Williamsburg resident whose sentiments echo those of the community. I spoke to Tom at the January Community Board One public hearing where the primary topic of discussion was the rezoning of thirteen blocks of Grand St. in Williamsburg.
The resolution in front of the board for review is a proposal by the Department of City Planning to rezone thirteen blocks of Grand St. bounded by Berry, N Third, Fillmore, Hope, Marcy and South First, from R6, with C1-3, C1-4, C2-3, and C2-4 commercial overlays to R6B for all blocks along Grand Street and north of Metropolitan Avenue and R6A for the entire block bounded by Berry Street, Metropolitan Avenue, Bedford Avenue, and North 1st Street. In other words, the city would be imposing height limits to protect against real estate developers erecting tall apartment buildings that would ruin the character and consistency of the neighborhood.
The meeting room of the Swinging 60's Senior Citizens Center was packed with Hasidic Jews, hipsters, activists, angry citizens, rabbis, priests, students, lawyers, and journalists. Board-members and bystanders alike, over a hundred people filled the room to capacity. There was a solidified consensus of outrage and resolve as community members took the microphone one after the other to voice their concern for the future of their neighborhood. The angry citizens weren't opposed to the passing of the resolution; they were angry it's so limited.
Williamsburg is, and has been, one of the most sought after areas in the city for developers and builders. Last year alone in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, nearly 1, 400 permits for new buildings, alterations, and demolitions were issued, a 46% increase from 2002. The increase in development has coincided with a steady increase in construction-related complaints; 784 emergency 911 calls involving mishaps in Greenpoint and Williamsburg were logged last year - a 300% jump from 2003. Calls to the city's 311 hotline more than tripled as well with 1,662 construction complaints recorded last year, up from just 487 in 2003.
Williamsburg residents have just about had it with real estate developers coming in and disrupting their neighborhood. Nancy Wechter, a long time resident of Williamsburg, is concerned for the future of her community and is encouraged by the action being taken, "I'm very disgusted with the changes that are going on in the neighborhood. The whole fabric of life is being ripped apart. I applaud city planning for doing the right thing, and I feel that as a community, and a community board, seeing this small change go through quickly is one of the only things we can do to restore any quality of life in the neighborhood." Wechter is fed up, and the cheers her words garnered from those in attendance let her know she wasn't alone, "I'm just tired of things being done for the benefit of one or two developers at the expense of the entire community."
Elizabeth Hynes, a representative of Assemblyman Vito Lopez, spoke on his behalf, "We would like to applaud the dept. of city planning and Community Board 1 on their effort in putting forward this proposal. We feel this goes a long way towards addressing the issues and concerns the residents of the neighborhood have about height density and a design concept, however the resolution doesn't go far enough. For the rezoning to stop just north of Grand St. presents a problem for us. We feel south of Grand St. would like height restrictions and be a good fit for contextual zoning as well. We look forward to to working with the Department of City Planning and Community Board One on expanding this proposal and having a healthy dialogue moving forward."
Several other community members spoke at the meeting all delivering the same message, "This is not what we want for our neighborhood." Ken Fisher, an attorney representing a real estate developer in the area, was the only one to voice opposition to the rezoning for obvious reasons. Everyone else in attendance stood unified against the overdevelopment of the community.
Community members are concerned the time needed to complete the review process will allow developers more than ample time to circumvent the zoning changes and rightfully so. The rezoning legislation is in the midst of a five step public review process. After the Community Board One review is over, there are 30 days of Brooklyn Borough President Review, 60 days of City Planning Commission Review, and 50 days of City Council Review. If developers can get a shovel in the ground and make enough progress in their project before the new rezoning laws are enacted, they will not be subject to the changes, a practice that leads to a lot of rushed construction and shoddy planning.
Only time will tell what the future holds for Williamsburg. Already, neighborhoods like Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant are being increasingly populated with young artists, students, and other recent transplants due to climbing rent in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. While moving further out along the L-train may be fine for artists and students, long-term residents of Williamsburg like Nancy Wechter, Tom Burrows, Laura Newman, and all the other angry community members who raised their concern at the CB1 meeting are looking to save their neighborhood while they still have the chance.

Obama Picks Up Steam-February 1, 2008 (Dejourmagazine.com)

Friday January 4th, 2008, the day after the Iowa caucus, every news channel on television is talking about Barack Obama. Commentators on Fox News are debating whether or not Oprah won the election over the other candidates, Chuck Norris is on screen with Mike Huckabee, and everyone is showering Barack Obama with praise. What his supporters have been waiting for all along is finally happening, people are starting to believe in Barack Obama.
He's been there all along, nipping at the heels of Hillary Clinton, narrowly edging Jon Edwards and the rest of the democratic field, but in the weeks approaching the nation's first primary, he caught fire. His relentlessly hopeful message of "change" resonated with the people of Iowa, something the whole country eagerly awaits.
The Democratic Party has been waiting for a candidate like Barack Obama and so has the media. Ever since his speech at the 2004 Democratic convention as a newly elected senator from Illinois, his name was connected to this election. After John Kerry and Al Gore, the democrats felt the same "urgency of now" Martin Luther King channelled into Barack Obama and decided they couldn't trot out another boring, bland candidate even though Obama was short on experience. Doubters cared less about experience every day Obama's camp preached their idealist message, and Iowa bought it hook line and sinker.
On the news hour with Jim Lehr, the sound cut out during a round table discussion, and the producers cut to Barack Obama's victory speech. He talked about kids, senior citizens, and republicans who have all taken a new interest in politics because of him. His powerful, passionate, eloquent delivery stood in sharp contrast to Hillary Clinton's distressed, worried, nagging voice trying to fend off the effects of a crushing defeat, and Jon Edwards' glowing ebullience after finishing second.
Obama's timing couldn't have been better. The media went from doubting him and questioning his experience to praising him lavishly. Now Obama is taking the lead in New Hampshire, and America is inching closer and closer to its first African-American President. With every poll that shows his lead is growing, to every talking head gushing over him, Obama picks up more and more steam. All he needs to do now is not screw it up.
The media would be more than happy to rain on his parade much of the same way they pounced on Howard Dean's mishap in 2004. Every channel on television might be singing his praises for the next two weeks, but the nomination is far from his. Any number of things could happen to derail his hopes, but Obama doesn't appear to be worried. It's almost as if he's been expecting it all along. His genuine, calm, level-headed, self-posessed demeanor hasn't wavered, and it doesn't look like it will be tested anytime soon.

Antibalas-December 7, 2007 (Block Magazine)

Antibalas, one of the latest Brooklyn grown bands to reach international fame, hit the BAM Opera House stage as the headliner of their Takeover all-night party the first Saturday night of November. There was a line out the door and around the corner down St. Felix St. to get into the multi-faceted all-night party. Five bands, four films, three djs, art video installations throughout the building, and berlesque in between musical acts on the main stage kept the party going into the early hours of the morning.
Antibalas has played all over the world, from Japan to Portugal making stops throughout Asia and Europe along the way. They've performed all over the city as well from Central Park Summer Stage to Rikers Island Prison Facility, but they are and have been a Brooklyn band from the start. Bringing their pulsing afro-beat grooves to the BAM center stage was a new honor all its own.
"That opera house bestows honor on whoever's fortunate enough to play there," said Stuart Bogie, the band's tenor saxophone player and influential band member since 2001. He's seen the band grow extensively both musically and in fame since their founding by Martin Perna in 1998. Many critics have dubbed them as the torch-bearers of afro-beat, the genre pioneered by Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his band Afrika 70, however, none of the band members see themselves as catering to that role
"A lot of the critics have said our music has become more and more our own and less and less imitations of Fela's music. Which I think is totally wrong. I don't think the opposite is true, but I think that's the most invented trash I've ever heard. Antibalas didn't understand Fela's music when they started. They loved it and were inspired by it, but they weren't equipped to imitate it. They didn't have the technique. We have that now to a much greater extent."
Antibalas has released four albums to date. Their latest, Security, came out earlier this year and received widespread critical acclaim. Security represents the progression of Antibalas' sound in different ways. When I spoke with Stuart Bogie, he elaborated further on Antibalas' progression, "We're better at breathing with in the afrobeat style. Technically the dynamic element has grown a lot in our music. The swell, the push, the subtle ways of playing the ostenatos and patterns, so that they still dance with each other. Afrika 70 was very adept in that way."
Like most members of Antibalas, Bogie takes part in a number of musical projects, some with other members of Antibalas. One such project is Sway Machinery, an amalgamation of middle-eastern and African sounds and influences, of which Antibalas trumpeter Jordan McLean is also a member. Bogie has collaborated with an extensive list of musicians including Celebration, TV on the Radio, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Burning Spear, Sinehead O'Conner, The Wu-Tang Clan, Rana, Dub is a Weapon, Congo Ashanti Roy, and Tony Allen just to name a few.
Antibalas is almost entirely composed of Brooklyn residents. Bogie lives in Williamsburg, Amayo, the lead singer/percussion player lives in Greenpoint, and Martin Perna, the baritone saxophone player and band's founder lives in Bushwick. Their keyboard player, Victor Axelrod, lives in Park Slope. Gracing the stage at BAM's opera house adds some hometown love to the extraordinary list of venues all over Europe and the United States including a castle in Portugal, manor houses along the French Riviera, Bonnaroo, and the Filmore at Irving Plaza.
Antibalas shared the stage with Be Your Own Pet, The Exit, Heartless Bastards, and Dirty On Purpose. The ladies from Ubiquita NYC, DJ Reborn, DJ Moni, and DJ Selly, kicked out the jams for a rockin dance party in the upstairs ballroom accompanied by Vikter Duplaix. Films curated by the critically-acclaimed BAMcinématek were showing all night as well including a tongue-in-cheek Lindsay Lohan Mid-Career Retrospective and the violent, edgy cult favorite Pusher Trilogy by Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn.
As always, Antibalas made sure to impart some inspirational anti-establishment words between songs. Jordan McLean implored the audience to stay in touch with the news as a new Attorney General is appointed. He also posed a question to the audience asking why it was so important for the United States to define its position on torture. Following in the tradition started by Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Antibalas uses its music as a medium for anti-establishment protest.
Antibalas has enjoyed a steady rise in fame and critical acclaim since their formation in 1998. Almost ten years in, it will be interesting to see where the band goes from here. They've already traveled the world spreading and keeping alive the afrobeat tradition representing Brooklyn the whole way. It will be interesting to see if they can keep their momentum strong as they continue to evolve together and grow as musicians.

Medeski Martin and Wood Rock The Music Hall of Williamsburg-October 5, 2007 (Greenpoint-Williamsburg Gazette)

Medeski Martin and Wood, one of the hottest jazz trios in the world, played to a raucous, packed house at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last Thursday night. John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums and percussion, and Chris Wood on double bass and bass guitar played a two set, one encore show that lasted approximately three hours from start to finish, leaving the sold out crowd still wanting more.
Medeski Martin and Wood, or MMW as they're known to their fans, have been playing together since 1991 in D.U.M.B.O., Brooklyn. Medeski and Wood, students at Boston's prestigious New England Conservatory of Music, decided to move to New York City, with intent to explore the late-night underworld of the city's burgeoning jazz scene. Bob Moses, who had performed with both John Medeski and Chris Wood, and was Billy Martin's instructor, introduced the three to each other. Their first performances together were at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village.
Throughout the early nineties, the trio toured and recorded their first albums. Their music, chemistry, and performance style were all cultivated through their routine of playing all the New York jazz hot spots, touring the northeast, and recording. The three formed a strong musical relationship as well as friendship in those years that stays with them today.
The three musicians were looking to create music that reflected who they were, individually and collectively. They experimented with contemporary hip-hop beats and other non-traditional sounds. Their aim was to stay as dedicated to their sense of creativity as possible and trust their instincts, "In the beginning, as it is now, we went by gut instinct," said Chris Wood. "We have a natural connection between us, as people and as musicians, and we just let things flow in whatever direction they went."
MMW is renowned for their ability to improvise, and that is exactly how they opened the show. They started by having a conversation with their instruments for the first ten minutes, exploring the sounds they were all capable of making. Eventually, Chris Wood initiated a groove with the bass playing a repeating line for the first time. Billy Martin then supported it on the drums, and they immediately established an extremely deep pocket.
That was the pattern the entire first set followed--they would improvise for a while, feel each other out, say what they had to say, and then kick back into a deep groove. What impressed me the most about the trio was their transitions. They would seamlessly change from a ten-minute long free improvisational conversation to a hard groove perfectly time after time.
Developing and playing together for the last sixteen years has allowed for them to play flawlessly in sync with each other. They know exactly how much space to give each other and how to feed off of one another. It was as if they would take turns rotating who would explore and who would keep the groove established. Most of the time it was John Medeski on piano exploring, but from time to time, he would play a riff on the piano or organ and let Chris Wood take an elongated solo. It was as if the two of them would keep the third on a leash while they wandered around investigating their sound.
Medeski and Wood both utilized acoustic as well electronic sounds extremely effectively. Medeski switched on and off between his grand piano, electric organ, synthesizer, and melodica frequently. He would even utilize them together in a call and response format. Wood switched between his upright bass and electric bass. Both utilized distortion effects as well, stretching the scope of sounds one might expect to hear.
The second set was more groove oriented than the first. It featured slightly less improvisation and more lively rhythms. Medeski did less exploring and more jamming, playing more consistently melodically as well as rhythmically. It was as if they wanted to push things and make people feel uncomfortable in the first set, and then they wanted to make everybody dance in the second.
Towards the end of the show, they covered two jazz standards. The first was "Mercy mercy mercy" a tribute to the recently deceased Joe Zawinul who wrote the song with Cannonball Adderly in the 60's. The second was "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles which they played during the encore. They played both songs in their own distinctive way making their own mark on the songs exactly as you'd expect.
MMW is one of the biggest names to play at the newly opened Music Hall of Williamsburg yet. They have an enormous following in Brookyln, their hometown. The crowd was pumped before the first note was played, and they left satisfied. My roommate, Jake Lewis, toured with MMW as a sound technician last summer, and he said the show rated as one of the best he'd seen them play. I own several of their albums, but it was my first time seeing them live. I was extremely impressed. Not only was their performance progressive and free, it also managed to keep a steady consistency and cohesiveness to it. MMW is a world-renowned act, so next time you get the opportunity, do yourself a favor and check them out.

State Assemblyman Joe Lentol Secures Grant Aimed at Helping Local Artists-October 5, 2007 (Greenpoint Gazette)

Rising housing costs are causing artists to be priced out of Greenpoint and Williamsburg. One popular way to fight for your cause in North Brooklyn is ally yourself with a community organization or non-for-profit and if you're lucky, a local politician. Such is the thinking of the thousands of local artists who are members of Fractured Atlas, a national non-for-profit organization that provides services and support to artists and arts organizations, who recently received a grant from the state government championed by Assemblyman Joe Lentol.
Greenpoint and Williamsburg are home to some of the best artists in the country. Museums, concert halls, art instillations, and film shoots are all commonplace on almost any corner. With housing costs escalating, however, Greenpoint and Williamsburg are becoming less and less of a destination for artists. What attracted artists to the area to begin with, cheap housing, has been replaced by some of the highest rent in all of Brooklyn.
That's exactly the consensus that was reached last October at a community outreach meeting held at Galapagos Art Space. Assemblyman Lentol and Fractured Atlas co-sponsored the event along with Robert Elms of Galapagos. Adam Forest Huttler, the executive director of Fractured Atlas, described the event that set things in motion, "We began modestly, we co-hosted the event at Galapagos. We expected 20-30 people to show up for a panel discussion on economic development in the area. The place was packed, wall-to-wall, with angry artists waiting to be heard. It was a great event."
Both Lentol and Huttler acknowledge the event as the catalyst for the action. Huttler elaborated, "It became pretty clear that night that the community was desperate for someone to get everybody organized and provide a vehicle for success. We also know we had a very sympathetic ear in Joe Lentol who's a great guy, a powerful state assemblyman who's represented the district for decades, and comes from strong ties to old Williamsburg but has also developed strong relationship with new residents."
Lentol had this to say on the artists' role in the community, “The artists have been in Williamsburg for a long time now. They have become an essential part of our community, and by helping Fractured Atlas, we can help the artists.”
What does Fractured Atlas plan to do with the money? They are using it as a kick-start to their fundraising campaign for a massive outreach and organization project they are currently undertaking. They are in the words of Huttler, "going door to door" mapping out all artists and art-organizations on a publicly accessible map, and asking what their biggest issues are. They are also simultaneously conducting a sweeping voter registration drive to force more politicians to pay attention to them.
They are in effect setting out to organize the artists of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, "We have seen a lot of cases in the past where certain groups have hit a wall of much more organized and focused opposition from other groups who have been there for a long time. We're trying to work with as many local groups as possible who have our common goal in mind to form a unified powerful voice for the artists."
In a community with as many community organizations and non-for-profits dedicated to letting their voices be heard and seeing their interests met, local artists need Fractured Atlas to act as their loudspeaker. Not only will Fractured Atlas speak for the artists, they will help them network, give them a forum for discussion, help promote and market them, help them find health insurance, etc. etc.
If you've never heard of Fractured Atlas before, their website (fracturedatlas.org) has a ton of easily accessible information about donating or becoming a member. They have a benefit coming up November 8th, but they are always accepting donations and new memberships. If you love art and want to see it stay in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, do what Assemblyman Joe Lentol did, give to Fractured Atlas.

Citywide Bike Safety Campaign Inspired by Death of Greenpoint Woman-September 28, 2007 (Greenpoint Gazette)

In September of 2005, Liz Byrne was struck and killed by a truck while riding her bike on McGuiness Blvd. in Greenpoint. Last week, two years after the tragic accident, due to an initiative spearheaded by Byrne's sister, a publicist from Seattle, Washington, New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan joined NYC Deputy Health Commissioner Lorna Thorpe, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White, and other representatives from the NYC Bicycle Safety Coalition to kick off the 2007 LOOK bicycle safety campaign.
Created pro-bono by the international advertising agency Publicis for which Byrne worked, the LOOK campaign aims to prevent collisions between motorists and cyclists by educating the public about bicycle safety and encouraging cars and bikes to share the road. LOOK campaign advertisements will run on bus stop shelters, bus tails, phone kiosks, taxi tops, at gas stations and on postcards that will be placed in restaurants around the city. The ads will be featured in Time Out NY and New York Magazine, and radio advertisements will be broadcast on local stations.
"At DOT we've committed to expand the City's bicycle network at an unprecedented pace, and today we're asking all New Yorkers to do their part to make our streets safe," said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. "The idea behind this campaign is simple - we're asking everyone to accept the responsibility to look out for each other on the city's streets."
The LOOK campaign was developed for the NYC Bicycle Safety Coalition following the 2006 release of the first comprehensive analysis of bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries in New York City. The report showed that nearly all fatal crashes were the result of poor driving or bicycle riding behavior, particularly driver inattention and disregarding traffic signals and signs. This LOOK campaign was designed to combat that.
In addition to improving motorist and cyclist awareness, the City, last year, committed to doubling the number of on-street bicycle lanes and paths in three years, improving data collection, analysis and reporting of bicycle injuries, and increasing enforcement to keep cars from parking in bicycle lanes.
"Nearly 3,500 NYC bicyclists were injured by cars between 1996 and 2003, and 225 were killed," said Lorna Thorpe, the Health Department's deputy commissioner for epidemiology. "The City is making tremendous strides toward a safer cycling environment, but motorists and cyclists have critical roles to play."
"Improving bike safety is a two-way street," said Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. "Drivers need to know that bikers have a right to the road and bikers need to know that drivers are looking out for their safety. That's why we all need to work together to take simple steps to share the road and keep our city streets safe."
"These forceful ads will prevent collisions, save lives, and affirm cyclists' responsibilities and rights to the road," said Paul Steely White, Transportation Alternatives' Executive Director.
The advertising campaign stemmed from a collective effort to not let Liz Byrne die in vain. “The ‘Look’ campaign would not have been possible without the family and friends of Liz Byrne. Thank you,” Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives said. “Thanks to the dedication of Liz’s family and friends, these powerful images will instill everyone with a simple message: look out for one another.”
"All road users must share the responsibility of following traffic laws and exercising caution for safety's sake," said Robert Sinclair Jr., manager of media relations for AAA New York. "The LOOK awareness campaign will provide the timely reminders we all need to make safety our number one priority when we're on the road."
LOOK represents a collaboration between T.A., the New York City Bicycle Coalition, the City Departments of Transportation, Health and Police, the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission and the Office of the Public Advocate. "The Police Department encourages motorists and cyclists alike to be aware of their surroundings and to heed traffic regulations for both the sake of safety and courtesy," said Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.
LOOK is an unprecedented campaign both in its scope and its collaborative nature. Multiple organizations both governmental and from the private sector are coming together to put a stop to bike-related traffic accidents so that tragedies such as the one with Liz Byrne can be avoided in the future. By "looking" out for each other, hopefully that wish can become a reality.

Williamsburg Jazz Fest Blooms at Rose's-September 28, 2007 (Greenpoint-Williamsburg Gazette)

The Williamsburg Jazz Festival kicked out the jams for another night last Friday with three great bands--Mark Guilana's "Thing," the Pheeroan Aklaff Duo, and Greg Heffernan's Sauce. Admission was ten dollars at Rose's on Grand St., right in the heart of Williamsburg. While it was the first night of the festival to charge more than a one drink minimum, concert-goers got their money's worth and then some.
While some of the acts from previous nights such as Aviv Cohen's Pocket pushed the envelope by using non-traditional instruments or played what some might call "free jazz," Friday night's festivities took things up a notch. Each band played progressively more aggressive or experimented more. Each band outdid its predecessor providing an increasingly aggressive, experimental sound.
Rose's provided an intimate atmosphere. It was crowded but not packed, allowing for a nice crowd while still allowing for adequate breathing room. The bar had some great beers on tap for five dollars--Hoegarten, Brooklyn Lager, Sierra Nevada. The kitchen was in full service for the evening as well, so concert-goers could enjoy a nice meal with their jazz.
The first band of the evening, Mark Guilana's "Thing," had an aggressive sound. Mark Guilana, the drummer and band-leader, kept a solid groove and seemed to know how to get just the right sound out of every inch of his set. Playing in a trio, he often dominated the stage, stealing the attention away from his bandmates. They rarely kept a consistent melody, so everyone had a ton of room to let their voices be heard.
The trio was rounded out by Nir Felder on guitar and Panagiotis Andreou on electric bass. The group seemed to lack cohesiveness. They seldom played with any melodic continuity. They all seemed to solo at once which provided an interesting sound but lacked a consistent thematic drive. The guitarist Nir Felder wasn't on the same level as his bandmates musically, but everyone was outshined by Mark Guilana whose aggressive style dominated the performance (I was almost hit by a flying drum stick during one of his solos).
As aggressive as Mark Guilana's style was, he was weak when compared to the night's second performers--Pheeroan Aklaff and Mixashawn. They performed as a duo with Pheeroan on drums and Mixashawn switching between tenor sax and mandolin. The duet grew to a trio for two songs when a friend of Pheeroan's sitting in the crowd equipped with his trumpet, Rasul Siddik, jumped on stage and started blowing away.
Pheeroan Aklaff is an avant-garde free jazz musician who originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. According to his website, "His desire to perform music professionally was driven by sensing the power of music as a catalyst for collective transformation. His concern with national decline grew with the Detroit 1967 riots, the King and Kennedy assassinations and losing his cousin to the Vietnam War. These impressions led him towards activism, and the musicians who articulated responses to such in their work. His High School days as an influential student organizer of the Free Angela Davis committee, a member of the Pan-African Congress, and listener of John and Alice Coltrane was encouraged by his famed Detroit teacher Chester Littlejohn."
He attended Eastern Michigan University and began to study the drums. He then relocated to New Haven, Connecticut where he started to collaborate with other avant garde jazz performers such as Wadada Leo Smith, Oliver Lake, Anthony Davis, Michael Gregory, and Henry Threadgill. In the early eighties he relocated again to Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire where he explored urban popular music with Frank T. Fairdax and Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Since then he has travelled all over the world performing and recording. He currently holds teaching positions at Wesleyan University, Elisabeth Irwin High School, and New School University, is a founder of Seed Arts Inc. a non-profit organization for the promotion of healing arts and international awareness, and an Advisory Board member of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.
Pheeroan's performance Friday night lived up to his billing as a free jazz pioneer. He combined vocal outbursts with aggressive dueling solos between him and Mixashawn on sax or mandolin. While the night's first act had no cohesion, Pheeroan and Mixashawn were bound together by their unending aggression channeled through their respective instruments. Long hard-driving solos poured out of each of them, neither of them stopping for a second. Pheeroan had an endless bag of sticks and mallets from which he kept drawing as he was constantly breaking them (he broke three sticks and a mallet in thirty seconds during one roaring solo). Mixashawn employed circular breathing to uphold his unending stream of musical aggression and hysteria.
Pheeroan described his approach as such, "There's a wall between you and your expression that could be seen as many things. If you are interested in designing yourself to be presented a certain way and get a certain response, you might be there for a while or you might have a wonderful spurt. The everyday experience of pushing your personal envelope of getting past your own experience is what I live for."
The third and final act of the night. Greg Heffernan's Sauce, made its own distinctive mark on the night. The Sauce performed as a six-piece ensemble with Heffernan the band leader playing cello and controlling the laptop computer that was playing an electronic sampling track, Myk Freedman on lap steel guitar, Todd Neufeld on rhythm guitar, Ohad Talmor on tenor saxophone, Rich Stein on percussions and Josh Myers on upright, and electric bass.
The Sauce had a very unique sound in a night full of characters. They knew how to blend electronic sound perfectly with acoustic. Lots of different colors and sounds were present in the wide array of instruments and effects. They established a deep groove without employing a drum set. For a group so big and diverse, they knew how to seam together very well. Their solos were well defined in an extremely crowded ensemble. They focused less on individuality and more on unity. The upright bass played a big part in keeping everything locked together nicely. Rich Stein added the perfect amount of character as well.
They had a sound that made you not quite know where you were. Their instrumentation provided elements of quite a few styles and characteristics. Every time I looked the drummer was employing some different kind of instrument (brushes, sticks, djembe, floor tom, shakers, strange percussion instruments I didn't recognize). An electric drum track provided an elevator jazz element combined with live percussion that brought the audience into the performance. The guitarist and sax player navigated the intricate rhythm section and glided over it. The guitar treaded more lightly than sax. Their sound reminded my friend Molly of belly-dancing music with a Cajun twist supplied by the cello and slide guitar.
The 5th Annual Williamsburg Jazz Festival concluded Saturday night at Laila Lounge on North 7th with festival-organizer Rick Parker's band the Rick Parker Collective, the Yosvany Terry Quartet, and For Living Lovers. As I've written before, the Williamsburg Jazz Festival is the best deal for quality live jazz you will ever find in New York City. This year, the jazz was great, the venues were nice, and the crowds were lively. Next year's festival will come sooner than you think, so start getting ready now.

Aviv Cohen's Pocket from the Promised Land Hits their Groove at Spike Hill-August 21, 2007

The second night of the 5th Annual Williamsburg Jazz Festival jammed to the beat of Aviv Cohen's Pocket from the Promised Land Monday night at Spike Hill. The festival kicked off the previous night with festival-founder Jesse Selegnut and supporting band Noir's performance at Surf Bar. Aviv Cohen's Pocket performed as a special trio with Yotam Silberstein on electric guitar, Dana Leong on cello, and Aviv Cohen on drums, a break from their usual formation with Jason Lidner on organ.
Spike Hill served as the venue for the Jazz Festival's second night after it opened at Surf Bar Sunday night to a packed house. Spike Hill was crowded as well with a lively crowd of jazz fans. The bar is divided into two sections--a bar room and a room with a stage. Some of the noise from the bar room leaked over to the venue side only when the music was soft. The crowd at Spike Hill loved Aviv Cohen. While I was interviewing him in between sets, three different people interrupted us to tell him how much they loved his music.
Aviv Cohen is originally from Jerusalem, Israel. He moved to New York two years ago to pursue his music career and lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn. While he is predominantly a jazz drummer, his influences range from hip-hop to electronic drum and bass to African music back to jazz, all of which are apparent in his aggressive playing style. He commands a certain attention and presence on stage. Not only does he solo frequently, his sound had little competition in the trio.
The Pocket's performance pushed the envelope. From their instrumentation to their style, their sound is truly unique and original. Elements of funk, free jazz, reggae, rock n' roll, and electronic music were all present in their presentation. Their music was filled with long grooves, and as advertised, an incredibly deep pocket. Dana Leong's cello had just the right amount of distortion from his effect pedals to bring a deep bass when plucked and a colorful melancholy bow.
While the fist set was outstanding, the second set took things up a notch when Assaf Yuria was invited onstage to play his tenor saxophone. His presence in the three numbers on which accompanied only enhanced the funky jazz dynamic of the performance. He rounded out the ensemble perfectly. His aggressive improvisatory style meshed with The Pocket perfectly, and his chops filled a melodic void. Yuria, Cohen, and Silberstein are all childhood friends. They represent the wave of young Israeli jazz musicians migrating to New York.
Their sound was so sly. All the instruments were perfectly in sync with each other playing intricate rhythms and executing changes. They seemed to creep to a steady beat, extremely effectively using space. While playing as a trio, the band had a minimalist style that allowed the instrumentalists to let their voices be heard, not outshined by each other.
Dana Leong especially benefited from the transparent sound since the cello isn't the loudest instrument in the world. Being able to hear him so clearly drastically improved the sound of the entire ensemble. The cello provided a beautifully unique sound. When plucked, it resembled a bass, but when bowed added a the voice of the classical cello that added a non-traditional element to the jazz ensemble. Leong's cello was amplified and distorted by his effect pedals to add another electronic dimension to the mix.
With the cost of admission being one drink minimum per set, the Williamsburg Jazz Festival is the best deal for quality live jazz in New York City. The cost of admission doesn't rise until Friday night when ten dollars gets you four hours of live jazz at Rose Live Music and then again Saturday night at Laila Lounge. Don't miss the opportunity to hear world-class live jazz for a fraction of the price one might pay at the Blue Note or Jazz Standard.

Tango Intervention Hits the Williamsburg Bridge-September 21, 2007

When the Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903, thousands of immigrants living in deplorable conditions packed into tenements on the Lower-East Side walked across the bridge to a new life in Williamsburg. They migrated to Williamsburg for economic reasons, changing the cultural landscape of both Williamsburg and the Lower-East Side. Sunday afternoon, thirty tango dancers made that same migration across the bridge, tangoing the 2.1 miles in a performance art instillation organized by Robert Lawrence, a professor of art at the University of South Florida.
Lawrence chose Tango because of its historical significance as a dance of immigrants. It originated as a combination of many different influences brought by immigrants from Europe in Buenos Aires combined with ancient African dance forms. Robert Lawrence explained, "Tango is a dance of immigrants, great migrations, colonization, globalization and hybridization of cultures. Tango is born and shaped by the forces of migration and re-migration. It was conceived in the rich soup of creole mixes that followed colonialism, and since then it has been groomed by the cultural hybridity of historical and contemporary globalization. There is a way of looking at this social dance where you can see clearly that every step, every gesture, every note is informed by these historical, political and economic forces beyond the control of individuals. Simultaneously it is also an intimate conversation between two individuals, and a path created between the past and the future."
Tango has migrated all over the world from its birthplace in Buenos Aires, Argentina starting in the early years of the 20th century when dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires traveled to Europe. The first European tango craze took place in Paris, soon followed by London, Berlin, and other capitals. Towards the end of 1913 it hit New York.
Robert Lawrence has conducted several "tango interventions" in several American cities including Seattle, Washington, Tampa Bay, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois. The idea originally came from one of his students, Preston Poe, who is now a professor of art at Salisbury University. Poe organized a jug-band intervention while conducting research, and that spawned the idea to use tango in an intervention format.
Lawrence employs the internet as a tool extensively in his work both as a means of recruiting people and a way to educate people, "Over the last ten years all my work has had a physical component at an outdoor site or gallery, and an internet component which both acts as documentation of what's in the gallery or on the land and informs the public as to what's going on. If someone sees this project, they see 24 people dancing where they're not supposed to be dancing. If they look on the website thats posted on the dancers backs, they read up on the historical background and the significance of what's going on."
The tango intervention pushed the envelope of what to expect while walking or biking across the Williamsburg Bridge, as well as the endurance of the dancers involved. The bridge itself is 2.1 miles long and the dancers tangoed almost the entire way. Lawrence explained, however, that much of tangoing closely resembles walking, "Tango is a lot like walking, but in tango a walk is much more than a walk. The cliche in tango is that it takes 15 minutes to learn a figure (a turn or a spin), but it takes 15 years to learn how to walk."
The tango intervention had many aims and goals. Lawrence hoped to interrupt business as usual, recreate stereotypes and then undermine them, and be apolitical in performance and political in evaluation. Lawrence also wanted to, "demonstrate how immeasurably rich life is. There's meaning hidden in places where we would not expect it. I'm interested in giving a historical context to contemporary geography, to what people think the Williamsburg bridge is. I want to show people the meaning of the the bridge is deeper then what we think it is."
Most of all, the tango intervention was a testament to the strength of the New York tango community. Almost all of the dancers were simply people who got an email from their weekly tango list and came to dance their favorite dance. Pat McShane came on Sunday after receiving an email about the event. "Tango's my main hobby right now. I got into it through dancing Flamenco when my partner suggested I try tango. I dance with a group called Tango Porteno that takes a boom box and a group of dancers and hits places every Sunday night. I'm having a great time today, we should do it again."
Lawrence plans on doing exactly that--organizing future tango interventions. With the turnout as great as it was for the first planned event, one can only imagine how many people might show up next time after all the participants spread the word about this intervention. Everyone involved had a great time, and the fun continued after the intervention was over when Lawrence bought us all a drink at the Lodge, a pub on the corner of Havemeyer and Grand. For anyone interested in participating in future interventions or information about Robert Lawrence's work, go to tangointervention.org or h-e-r-e.com.

New EPA Study on ExxonMobil Newtown Creek Oil Spill-September 21, 2007

To anyone who lives in Greenpoint, the Exxon-Mobil oil spill of 1950 is old news. What you might not know is that the spill is much larger and far more damaging than earlier established estimates. According to a study compiled by a team of United States Environmental Protection Agency biologists, engineers, hydrogeologists, geologists, risk assessors, attorneys and EPA contractor geologists and engineers, the spill could be twice as big as originally thought and leaking toxic vapors into Greenpoint residences. City Councilman David Yassky called the report "a searing indictment of ExxonMobil's complete failure to clean up the toxic mess they created."
"The ugly truth is that an estimated cleanup at this rate won't be completed until 2026; the ugly truth is that homes in this area are without a doubt being impacted by this spill," said Rep. Anthony Weiner, who commissioned the report along with Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
Greenpoint has been heavily industrialized and the site of various petroleum industries for more than 140 years. Large quantity petroleum storage and refining began in the 1860s. By1870 more than 50 refineries were located along the banks of Newtown Creek. This tidal-area of salt marshes along the creek was severely impacted and saturated by the waste discharges of the industries and refineries in the area.
The first signs of an oil spill entering Newtown Creek were detected by the U. S. Coast Guard in 1978. A subsequent investigation concluded that the area of the spill under the Greenpoint area was in excess of 52 acres. The total spill volume, as estimated in 1979, was approximately 17 million gallons (Mgal) of petroleum product. New studies suggest the amount of spillage is closer to 30 million gallons.
The study also showed high levels of hazardous methane gas were found during vapor samplings at nearby commercial establishments. A sampling of 45 properties in the spill zone found "chemicals were detected at all locations in each home, but not in a pattern that would typically represent a vapor-intrusion phenomenon."
"This report confirms what we have been saying all along," said Basil Seggos of the Riverkeeper organization, which has been at the forefront of the fight in the cleanup effort. In July, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sued ExxonMobil over the lack of action in the cleanup effort. Homeowners have also filed two class-action suits, and another suit has been brought by Riverkeeper. The report is expected to bolster the suits.
"We recognize that there is more to be done there, but we have to also recognize that significant progress has been made," oil company spokesman Barry Wood told the New York Daily News. "ExxonMobil has accepted responsibility and we're going to be in Greenpoint until the job is done and the job is done right."
The report called for more studies to be done to gather more information and discover the best strategies to complete the cleanup. The EPA study asked more questions than it answered, but if nothing else, it is drawing more attention to the issue, increasing the scrutiny from the public eye. While it is encouraging to see local politicians commission a study to gather information and make recommendations, talk is cheap. This problem has been around for decades, and like my father always told me, actions speak louder than words.

Williamsburg Jazz Festival-August 14, 2007

The 5th annual Williamsburg Jazz Festival kicks off this Sunday night at 8pm when festival founder Jesse Selengut and his supporting cast Noir take the stage at Surf Bar. The festival lasts the entire week with live jazz every night at five different Williamsburg venues. The Williamsburg Jazz Festival has garnered critical acclaim both for its quality of music and dedication to promoting arts in Williamsburg. This year's festival is the biggest and best yet.
The Festival has grown from a small concert series to a renouned music festival in four fast years. Festival founder, Williamsburg musician, Jesse Selengut recapped the festival's growth, "When we started it, we were just getting our feet wet. We didn't have any contacts or any money. By year two we had some sponsorship and we were able to get some big-name headliners and that put us on the map. Each year it's gotten bigger. It's been a big success from a music standpoint, attendance, ticket sales, energy, it's been great. We're real excited."
The festival's mission is "to bring you great music, to honor great artists where they live and to re-invigorate our culture with honest, impeccably crafted, present tense artistic expression." With the lineup set for this week, they will have no problem accomplishing exactly that. Selengut reflects on past festival performances, "Great music is about communicating ideas in sound. It's about connecting with the listener in a personal, immediate way. Were you there when Van Gogh painted 'La Sieste?' Me neither. But I was there at Galapaos when Donny McCaslin took his saxophone and carved a hole as wide as the sky into the Williamsburg night. I was present when Mike McGinnis constructed pristine acrhitecture out of thin air. These were materpiece performance right before our eyes. Everyone felt it and knew: 'That was amazing and will never happen again.' It was a perfect moment at the nexus of inspiration, craft, skill. Better still, hundreds of people were there to hear it. That's our mission."
The Festival's opening night goes down at Surf Bar. Located at N6th and Bedford, Surf Bar boasts a great seafood menu with a beach style atmosphere equipped with sand covered floors. It's easy to get to as well, one block away from the L-train stop at Bedford and North 7th. Admission is free.
Monday night's festivities take place down the street at Spike Hill, a classier establishment than the previous night. Aviv Cohen’s Pocket from the Promised Land will be supplying the jazz while Spike Hill's bar serves 12 beers on tap, over 50 different bottled beers and microbrews, a great selection of fine single malt scotch and a full range of cocktails. Aviv Cohen' s Pocket from the Promised Land brings their experimental, electronic sound all the way from Jerusalem, Israel. Admission is free.
The music continues the next night a few blocks further up Bedford Ave. at My Moon Restaurant and Bar with Williamsburg artist Gavin Fallow Quartet featuring Greg Ruggiero, Pete Rende, and Jordan Perlson. My Moon is an exquisite venue situated in a converted warehouse space. They have a full dinner menu and wine list to compliment the evening's music. Admission is free.
The action returns to Surf Bar Wednesday night when Williamsburg artists Tin Pan Blues Band featuring Jesse Selengut, Clifton Hyde, Tuba Joe, and Adrian Mira take the stage. Tin Pan Blues Band bring audiences back to the days of the early 20th century with their old-school jazz style. They harken to the days of Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton with their raw, gritty, old-fashioned sound. Admission is free.
Thursday night action returns to My Moon where James Carney Group with Josh Roseman, Chris Lightcap, and Tom Rainey will perform. Thursday is the last night that admission to the show is free. The music starts at 8pm.
The music continues Friday at Rose Live Music (located at 345 Grand St.). While the ten dollar admission price is ten dollars more than festival goers will have had to pay any other night, three top-of-the-line performers will grace the stage. Try finding that for ten dollars anywhere else in the city. The night starts off with Mark Guiliana Trio featuring Nir Felder and Panagiotis Andreou at 9pm. Then at 10:30, the Pheeroan akLaff Duo with Mixashawn play a set. Then, if you can stand any more jazz in one night, at midnight Greg Heffernan's Sauce with Myk Freedman, Ohad Talmor, Todd Neufeld, and Josh Myers close the evening's music out.
Saturday night marks the closing performances of the festival at Laila Lounge (113 North 7th). The night begins at 8pm when Williamsburg artists Rick Parker Collective featuring Xavier Perez, Sam Barsh, Gavin Fallow, Kyle Struve jazz it up. They are followed by Yosvany Terry Quartet with Osmany Paredes, Yunior Terry, and Justin Brown at 9:30. The final performance of the festival starts at 11pm when Brandon Ross's For Living Lovers featuring Stomu Takeishi and Tyshawn Sorey start. The admission is ten dollars for Saturday night's festivities as well.
The Williamsburg Jazz Festival is getting bigger every year. Take advantage of the free admission and availability of seating while you can. Even when you have to pay ten dollars to get in on Friday and Saturday night, that is a steal for the quality of music you will hear. In ten years, the Williamsburg Jazz Festival could be internationally famous, known as one of the best jazz festivals in the world. Go now, support Williamsburg artists, and hear some great music. You will not be disappointed.

Restaurant Review-Sapporo Haru-September 7, 2007

Sapporo Haru Japanese Restaurant
622 Manhattan Ave.
718-389-9697
Mon.-Thurs. 11am-11:30pm, Fri. & Sat. 12:30om, Sun. Noon-11pm

Are you in the mood for sushi? If you live in Greenpoint, you have a plethora of restaurants serving Japanese cuisine from which you can choose. Sapporo Haru, on Manhattan Avenue near Nassau, would make a great choice. Its name literally translates to Springtime in Sapporo, the fifth largest city in Japan, and although their sushi bar serves a wide array of tasty sushi and sashimi, their menu also includes a wide range of Japanese cuisine including soups, salads, noodles, tempura, teriyaki, and hibachi dishes.

On a beautiful summer day like the day my colleague Alice Shin and I went to Sapporo Haru, sitting in the backyard outdoor garden area is delightful. There are several tables in the patio area which are shaded by overhanging trees and awnings. The interior dining area is nice as well. It is an intimate setting with Japanese prints hanging on the wall and paper lanterns from the ceiling. They utilize a clean modern motif with hardwood floors, chairs, and tables. Everything has a glossy finish making the colors in the art and food stand out.

When it came time to order, I took an easy way out. I ordered the Maki Special, two sushi rolls with miso soup. I chose the yellowtail and spicy crunchy salmon roll. Both were delicious. The spicy salmon roll could have been spicier, but I was definitely satisfied. Alice made a far braver selection: the chirashi lunch special which is 12 pieces of raw fish over oshinko rice served with a miso soup appetizer. The twelve pieces of fish consisted of three pieces of mackerel, tuna, salmon and white tuna. The tuna and salmon were great—fatty and tasty, but the mackerel tasted just "ok" almost as if it was partially cooked. According to Alice, it did not taste fresh because it tasted, "a little too salty, a little too oily, and a little too fishy." Japanese pickles were also mixed in with the rice to provide an acidic taste alternative. Our waitress brought over a chilled sliced orange with our check which provided a refreshingly delightful end to the meal.

Sapporo Haru's menu is enormous. There are a multitude of different styles and flavors represented that will cater to any Japanese cuisine enthusiast's tastes. Their menu includes thirty-seven appetizers, fifteen of which are sushi, six soups, and eight salads to start. They have six noodle soups and seven bento boxes, or combination plates. They have fifteen Teriyaki dishes, four Tempura, and four Hibachi. Their sushi menu is extensive as well. They serve thirty-two different sushi rolls and twenty different "Chef's Special" rolls. Their alcoholic beverage menu includes beer, wine, and hot and cold sake. They even have five different options for desert.

We both ordered from the lunch special menu, so our meal only came to approximately twenty dollars before the tip. My sushi and soup cost $7.25 and Alice's Chirashi and soup cost $11.50. You can find cheaper sushi if you are on a tight budget, but you can definitely find more expensive sushi as well. The décor is nice and the food is tasty. The service was excellent as well. Having been to several of the sushi/Asian fusion restaurants in the neighborhood, I can confidently say Sapporo Haru is one of the best. It is great value for its price, and there are few places around where you can find such a wide array of styles and flavors of Japanese food.

Restaurant Review-Brooklyn Label Brunch-August 22, 2007

BROOKLYN LABEL
180 FRANKLIN ST.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
phone: 718-389-2806
Hours Monday-Wednesday 7am-11pm
Thursday, Friday 7am-12am
Saturday 8am-12am Sunday 8am-4pm

Sunday is the first day of the week, a chance for a new beginning. What better way to start out a new week than with a big Sunday Brunch? If you are in Greenpoint, you owe it to yourself to find your way to Brooklyn Label, one of the best places for brunch in the city. Their delicious breakfast/brunch menu was nominated for Time Out NY's 2007 Eat Out Award, recognizing the quality cuisine the Greenpoint coffee house has to offer.

Located on the corner of Java and Franklin, Brooklyn Label is in the heart of Greenpoint, a stone's throw away from the East River and the subway stop at Greenpoint and Manhattan Avenue. The atmosphere is of a bustling coffee shop, but Brooklyn Label has the best food of any coffee shop to which I've ever been.

The owner, Cody Utzman, came to New York three years ago with the intention of opening a restaurant. He was living on the Lower-East side and quickly realized that would not be a good fit. Some friends of his turned him onto Greenpoint, and he quickly fell in love with the neighborhood. Not only did he choose the area to open a restaurant, he moved here too. He wanted to open a restaurant that could keep up with the influx of young people into Greenpoint, like himself. "Really what it comes down to is what does the neighborhood need? A lot of the services in the neighborhood haven't caught up with all the new people moving into the neighborhood. Most places shut down around 9-10 o'clock. We're open from 7 in the morning until Midnight 7 days a week."

The opening of Brooklyn Label did more than add a great new coffee house to the neighborhood. All of the employees are Greenpoint residents, and the vast majority of the food Brooklyn Label prepares comes from local businesses such as the Rseszokow Bakery, and the Polish Meat Market next to the Garden on Manhattan Ave.

Brooklyn Label opened on January 2^nd of this year. One Sunday in March, they decided to serve a special brunch menu. Without advertising it at all, 170 people came in that Sunday. That inspired Utzman and his chefs to make the brunch menu a permanent institution. Now they serve 500 people every Sunday, and their brunch menu caught the attention of the editors of Time Out NY magazine nominating Brooklyn Label for their 2007 Eat Out, Best Brunch/Breakfast Award.

When it came time to order, I had a very difficult time deciding between the French toast, made with locally baked Rseszokow challah bread, lots of pure casmian cinnamon, cranberry-pecan butter and pure maple syrup, and the waffles, which come topped with fresh seasonal fruit, pulugra butter, pure maple syrup and fresh whipped cream. I ultimately chose the French toast with a cup of coffee, and I was not disappointed.

Although it was rich, the French toast was delicious. It was light even though there were two thick slices of challah. The cranberry-pecan butter added a nice fruit presence while still maintaining the meal's sweet flavor. If you get bored eating only French toast, side dishes of fruit, hash-browns, eggs, bacon, and sausage are all on the menu, but I could not imagine eating anything more than the two massive, rich slices of French toast.

The girl sitting next to me at the bar seemed to be enjoying the "Brooklyn Label Granola" which includes toasted organic oats, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, raisins, chopped walnuts, and sunflower seeds served over yogurt or milk. If you get to Brooklyn Label late and are only in the mood for lunch, the brunch menu has chili, soup, and a cheeseburger to offer as well.

Possibly the best thing about going to Brooklyn Label for breakfast or brunch is the full coffee bar. If you need an espresso, cappuccino, laté, or any other specialty caffeinated beverage to wake yourself up on a hung-over Sunday morning, you can get it at Brooklyn Label. Or if a regular cup of Jo is all you want you can get a bottomless cup of the house blend for two dollars.

While Brooklyn Label is not cheap, my meal came to 15 dollars with the tip; you get what you pay for. You're not going to find gourmet food and coffee like this at some greasy spoon diner where you can get Sunday brunch and coffee for a few dollars. Brooklyn Label is a destination for a nice meal in a relaxed café atmosphere where the food and coffee is gourmet. When I was there at 2pm, it was packed, but a table shouldn't be more than a ten minute wait.

I had fairly high expectations for Brooklyn Label, and they were exceeded. If you want to make your mouth water you can check out their menu on their website at BrooklynLabel.com. The brunch menu is their pride and joy, but their lunch/dinner menu has all kinds of appetizing salads and sandwiches. I highly recommend Brooklyn Label for brunch on Sunday, breakfast any other day of the week, or a late anytime. They have free Wi-Fi internet access, and they serve food from 7am until 12 midnight. It's only a short walk from the Subway stop, and it's even worth dealing with the G train.

Fu Arkist Ra Returns to Zebulon-August 22, 2007

I thought I was ready. I thought I had prepared myself for what I was about to see last Saturday night at Zebulon when Fu-Arkist-Ra, an afrobeat-experimental-jazz band, shook the foundations of Zebulon to its core. I fully expected to see an amazing energy-packed show that would keep the crowd engaged and dancing the entire time. I expected the music to be unique and artistic. I thought I had an idea of what to expect, but I had no idea. I could have never expected or foreseen what took place that night.
I could have never expected to see a show that left the entire crowd dancing and singing for ten minutes after the band stopped playing. I had no idea the bar would be so packed, people were hanging from the ceilings, standing on chairs, and basically standing on the stage. I knew people would be dancing, but I did not expect people to not stop grooving and dancing to the music from the first note that was played until after the show was over. I knew I was going to see a great show, but I had no idea I would see the best live musical performance I have ever seen.
Fu-Arkist-Ra is a side project of Duke Amayo, the lead singer of Antibalas, a brooklyn-based afrobeat band whose fame is growing to international stature. He describes his music as "an explosive blend of African spiritual rhythms, traditional Chinese lion rhythms, highlife, funk, and jazz, infused with passionate activism." Amayo is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, the largest city in Africa, from which Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the creator of afrobeat and arguably the most famous African musician of the 20th century, also comes. He came to the United States at the age of sixteen looking for an athletic scholarship to an American University. He was successful in his pursuit when he was awarded a football scholarship to Howard University where he graduated with honors with a degree in Architecture and Commercial Arts.
Amayo is also a Sifu, or master of Kung-Fu, he brings a lot of the same approach from martial arts to his music. Anyone who has seen Amayo perform either with Antibalas or Fu-Arkist-Ra knows his energy and delivery style is unmatched in its aggressiveness and passion. I was curious where he gets his inspiration and passion from. He told me he uses the same methods of preparation for his kung-fu as he does his music, "the rituals I do before I go on stage are like martial arts for me. I do breathing exercises, push-ups, meditation."
The variation and spontaneity of his performances is also something that inspires him. He never seeks to play a song the same way twice, "It's like doing a martial arts form. There's a million different ways I can approach it. That's my approach to composition, that's the jazz element of it, that no two performances are the same. One song can become a million different songs."
The members of the band and instruments represented fluctuate from performance to performance, and one of the most dynamic aspects of the band is its instrumentation. Saturday night, the instruments employed were drums, bass, electric piano, saxophone, flute, cello, djembe and chakara or shaker. Not all of the musicians could fit on the stage, so the crowd-musician interaction was extreme.
The name "Fu-Arkist-Ra" is a highly symbolic philosophical name. It has a layered meaning: FU (foo). 1. Philosophically rooted in Kung Fu. 2 The art of excellence. 3. Building from within thyself. Arkist (ark ist).1. Musical bridge builders. 2. Spiritual connectivity to the temple of the mind. 3. A keeper of the Underground Spiritual Movement of Afrobeat. 4. An aspirant of the highest order of compositions. RA (ra) 1. [Egyptian] Sun God Ra. 2. [Yoruba] Derived from the word Irawo meaning: a star that appears when the RA (the sun) has set.
Fu-Arkist-Ra is coming back to Zebulon on the 31st of August. If you are a live music lover, afrobeat fan, jazz fan, or simply need something to do next friday night, do yourself a favor and check these guys out at Zebulon. They will rock you hard and long leaving you dancing long after the show is over. I guarantee it will be a concert you will not soon forget.

Restauran Review-Erb Thai-August 15, 2007

Erb Everyday Thai Restaurant
681 Manhattan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
718.349.8215

Are you tired of eating bad Thai food? Do you love Thai food and trying new Thai restaurants but hate being disappointed with bland greasy food that doesn't deserve the right to advertise itself as being authentically Thai? Well I am, and if you're not you should be. That's why I'm letting everyone in on Erb Thai Restaurant.
Thai restaurants are abundant in most parts of New York and Greenpoint is no different. On Manhattan Ave. alone, there are several choices if Thai is your ethnic food craving. What sets Erb Thai apart from the rest of the Thai restaurants in the area is its authenticity. The owner is a Thai immigrant who came to America in 2000 for college. He saw how popular Thai food is in New York and decided to open a restaurant. The owner's family owns and runs a restaurant in Thailand, so he uses his family's restaurant back home as a model for success.
Everything on the menu is prepared the same way as it would be prepared at a restaurant in Thailand. The owner wants Erb Thai to be known as an authentic Thai Restaurant, not a Thai-American fusion restaurant. Staying true to Thai food's authentic taste is a priority. That includes cooking with authentic spice. Anyone who has been to Thailand knows authentic Thai food is significantly spicier than any Thai food one might find in the United States. While Erb Thai does not cook its food authentically spicy all the time for fear of spoiling an unknowing customer's day, if so desired, they can cook your meal authentically spicy upon request.
I went to Erb Thai for lunch with my two co-workers Kevin Dugan and Kerry ___. Erb Thai has a lunch special menu from which all of us ordered. Kevin had spicy basil leaves and tofu, sauteed with chili, peppers, and onions a dish served with a choice of beef, chicken, tofu, shrimp or vegetables, Kerry had Red Curry with chicken, coconut milk, mixed vegetables and basil leaves, and I had a Basil Eggplant with chicken dish sauteed with chili, peppers, onions, and basil leaves. All fifteen meals on the lunch special menu are $5.95.
The regular menu has thirty-four different options for an entree including six vegetarian dishes. Add that to six soups, seven salads, and twenty-one other appetizers for the rest of Erb Thai's menu. That's not including the six deserts.
The food is delicious, the price is very reasonable, and the atmosphere is great too. The dining room is smallish, but if you are ever worried about getting a table, you could order in since Erb Thai delivers all over Greenpoint. If you have never tried food and would like to, or you are a Thai food connoisseur, you will love Erb Thai. Even if you already have a favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant, give Erb Thai a try--not only will you get a change from your normal Thai food, you might find a new favorite Thai restaurant in the neighborhood. It's great for vegetarians, and it's definitely worth a try.

Antibalas Rocks Out at Governor's Island-August 8, 2007

Antibalas, a band out of Bushwick, Brooklyn, proved why they are one of the most up-and-coming acts on the planet last Saturday at Governor's Island when they played to a lively crowd of several hundred people under the sweltering sun. The band released their forth album, Security, earlier this year to rave reviews and set out on a nation-wide tour thereafter. As if that was not enough, they toured Europe and played in Amsterdam, London, and Paris to name a few.
Antibalas is a twelve piece Afrobeat band styled in the tradition of Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Afrika 70. Fela is arguably the most legendary figure of African Music of the 20th century. He was a radical political icon in Lagos, Nigeria from the time he became famous in the 1970's until his death in 1997. His music was, and still is, immensely popular throughout West Africa and has become extremely popular throughout Europe and the United States. His music was so unique and original, he had to give it its own name, Afrobeat.
Much like Fela, Antibalas' music is known for its funky rhythmic backdrop facilitated by the guitars and bass, its hard driving horn lines played by the powerfully large horn section, its Latin influenced percussions, and politically charged, anti-establishment message delivered through their song lyrics. The band members consist of Martin Perna–Baritone Saxophone and founder of the band, Duke Amayo–Vocals, Congas, Victor Axelrod–Organ, Electric Pianos, Clavinet, Electric Celeste, Synthesizers, Eric Biondo–Trumpet, Stuart Bogie–Tenor Saxophone, Marcus Farrar–Shekere, Vocals, Marcos J. Garcia–Guitar, Vocals, Aaron Johnson–Trombone, Nick Movshon–Bass, Luke O'Malley–Guitar, Jordan McLean–Trumpet, Flugelhorn, and Chris Vatalaro–Drums.
Almost all of the band-members live in Brooklyn. Even Amayo, the band's lead singer, lives on Manhattan Ave. in Greenpoint although he is originally from Lagos, Nigeria. Amayo serves as the band's strongest link to Fela and his music. If the rest of the band members ever need any information about Fela they could not simply get from his music, they could ask Amayo as he grew up in the same neighborhood as Fela in Lagos and went to Fela's nightclub, The Shrine, on a regular basis.
I had the privilege of sitting down with two of the band members for an interview before the show on Saturday, Martin Perna and Stuart Bogie. My first question was how their music has been received throughout their recent tours. Martin responded, "When we go to France and we do an interview, they bring a lot, like we dont have to explain anything. Here in the United States we have to explain our whole genre and our influences where it comes from, but if someone's playing hiphop or blues or rock, they just jump into it and ask. 10 years after we started playing this music, we just wonder when people are going to figure it out. Although on the other side of it, there is so much different music in the U.S."
I was curious as to who Martin and Stuart would call the band's biggest influences besides Fela. Stuart's response was not entirely surprising, "I think everybody likes different stuff in the group and it's real difficult to pinpoint any one thing. Our biggest influences are each other." I was also curious to see if they viewed themselves as the contemporary embassadors to Afrobeat, as many critics are giving them that label. Stuart responded, "Music's that's circulated all over the world, and re-issued, and inspires musicians all over the world doesn't need an ambassador. Fela made it, he called it Afrobeat." Martin also added, "I think maybe in a defacto way we have just because we have been playing the music for ten years, but it's nothing that we would ever request. It's something that someone else has to give you, and even then it's like a fruitcake or something. Like what do we do with this thing, nobody's going to eat it?"
Fela Kuti was not just a political figure through his music; he was an organizer, a national hero, and he actually ran for president at the height of his popularity under his own political party. I was curious if the band had any political aspirations of their own. "A lot of us are politically active outside the group in how we donate our money and projects we start," Stuart said. Martin added, "I'm doing that right now, I'm hoping to start the first bio-diesal factory in Brooklyn. We start construction in December, and we'll be in production by March. I used to teach at a high school in Williamsburg, and we did a lot of research on environmental racism and how there are higher incidences of asthma in the Greenpoint-Williamsburg area and a lot that has to do with truck traffic because a lot of trucks are burning diesel fuels. We just want to get other people involved because you can only do so much for the community."

Restaurant Review-L.A. Ristorante-August 1, 2007

If there is any debate as to where to find the best deal for lunch in Brooklyn, L.A. Restorante and Pizzeria quells the argument. Whether you are looking for a quick couple slices and a drink, or you are interested in sitting down for a hot, homemade Italian meal with your coworkers at lunchtime, L.A. is the place to go.
Most people know L.A. as the neighborhood pizzeria and Italian restaurant, but for those who are unfamiliar, L.A. is a quaint, charming Italian eatery and pizzeria on Manhattan Avenue three storefronts away from the subway stop on the corner of Greenpoint and Manhattan Avenue. They are best known for their pizza, but their menu also includes a wide range of Italian meals. Helping to disparage the myth that all Italian food is served with red sauce, they serve veal and chicken milanese, marsala, francese, and sorrentini. They also have a wide range of seafood dishes including shrimp, filet of sole, calamari, clams and mussels.
What sets L.A. apart from the rest of the crowd, however, are their lunch specials. From 11A.M. to 3P.M. every weekday, they have a special lunch menu that simply cannot be beat. Meals like chicken parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, veal parmesan, and spaghetti with sausage are all available for five-six dollars. Included in that price is a soda, fresh Italian bread hot from the oven, and a choice of salad or pasta side dish. For those desiring a hearty salad at lunch time, a cherry salad is also on the menu.
The service is great, the owners, husband and wife Emilio and Raffeala Gallo and their partner Cono Manzolillo, are all friendly and accommodating, and the food is not only delicious but authentically Italian as Mr. and Mrs. Gallo are both originally from Salerno Italy. As someone who grew up with an Italian grandmother who set the bar extremely high for my standards of Italian food, I give L.A. Restorante and Pizzeria a glowing recommendation for lunch, dinner, or simply a quick slice of pizza. If you happen to make it for dinner, ask to be seated in the back room. The food and the atmosphere will make you feel as if you have been transported to Southern Italy.

An Alternative Plan for the "New Domino"-August 8, 2007

When Community Preservation Corporation Resources head Michael Lappin made the plans for the "New Domino" project public, he simultaneously pleased and disappointed the community. Many Williamsburg residents appreciated the plans to install affordable housing, while others worry about upholding the historical integrity of the site. Some worry about transportation issues that will arise once the construction begins, while the developers simply see the money they can make selling the finished waterfront properties several years down the road.
One group of community members have seen a different vision of what they would like to see done with the old factory site. A group of artists and investors led by Brooklyn artist Greg Stone and gallery owner Joseph Amrhein have made public their wish to see the site converted to an art galley. Many would expect the artists of the community to make such a request, but these artists are making more than a simple plea for the arts: they are pointing to a remarkable success story across the pond in London's Tate Modern that points to immeasurable potential in the Domino site.
The Tate Modern in London is a world-renowned art gallery that stands in a converted industrial site once home to the Bankside Power Station. The London galley is the city's third-biggest tourist attraction and brings in $200million on a yearly basis. It has led to the creation of over 3,000 jobs, and the rejuvenation of the part of the city with a large ripple effect bringing in economic development in the form of restaurants and hotels in the surrounding area.
Of the many things standing in the way of the artists' vision becoming a reality, the CPC and Isaac Katan's $1.3billion plan is the biggest. The property is privately owned, and the CPC's plan to convert the plan to low-income housing has already been submitted for approval to the city council. There is, however, room for a compromise.
The building the artists see as most desirable is the same building the developers see as most unfit for residential conversion--the sugar refinery. As the building with the most character and historical significance, it is one of the buildings on the property with the highest likelihood to have its facade preserved. It would be a great way to appease multiple parties if the refinery were to be converted to an art gallery while the rest of the land on the property could be used for the high-rise buildings planned to be erected by the CPC.
The Tate Modern not only serves as a perfect example of what could be done, but what should be done with the Domino Sugar Factory site. The entire community stands to benefit from a world-class art gallery filling the vacated space and would only make the real estate more valuable to the developers. Williamsburg has one of the most burgeoning art communities in the country. Why not follow the blueprint of one of the most famous art galleries in the world to bring international notoriety to an already growing art scene?

"New Domino" Unveiled-August 1, 2007

The mystery surrounding the impending development and transformation of the Williamsburg Domino Sugar Factory was revealed when Community Preservation Corporation Resources head Michael Lappin gave an on-site press conference last Tuesday. The CPC bought the property in 2004 in conjunction with Isaac Katan for $55,831,875 and plan on undertaking a project estimated to costed $1.3 billion and take 6-8 years to complete.
Public debate has centered on the site since Katan and the CPC purchased the property. Before the plans were made public, multiple preservationist organizations such as the Waterfront Preservation Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint and Williamsburg weighed in on the project publicly, "The Domino Sugar Refinery is one of the last major industrial sites on Williamsburg's waterfront. WPA supports the redevelopment of the site, provided that architecturally and historically significant buildings such as the refinery, Adant House and Power House are preserved as part of the redevelopment. We believe that a comprehensive preservation program, combined with high-quality new design and affordable housing will best serve the Williamsburg community."
One thing the CPC definitely plans on doing is using the space to provide affordable housing. In the outlined plan, 660 units, or 30% of the 2,200 housing units to be built on the 11.2 acre site will be set aside for "below-market" priced housing. 100 units will be for families making $21,000 a year, 330 for families making $40,000, 100 units for seniors who make 50% of the median income of the community, and 130 affordable units for families earning in the $90,000 a year range. The units will be spread throughout multiple towers of varying heights, the tallest reaching up to forty stories.
The project also calls for 120,000 square feet to be used as commercial space and 100,000 square feet set aside for community space. Under the plans, the central refinery building will be preserved. Developers plan to "in effect scoop out of the insides of the building," and possibly build an addition to its roof said Lappin. At this point, it looks as if the classic "Domino Sugar" sign will be preserved as well although the building across which it reads will not be. The sign will most likely stretch across a free-standing structure or a new building.
The development marks "the first time in several generations that this part of the waterfront will be open to the public," Mr. Lappin said, denoting 4 acres of publicly accessible open space, as well as a new pier for water taxi service connecting the development to neighboring sections of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Developers are optimistic the public review process will be completed by mid-2008 and break ground by the end of that year.