Music

I had heard rumors about this band... I have listened to them for years (Vaseline was in the prime of my middle school-MTV watching years) and have heard they put on an amazing spectacle but had never seen them live until last night in Poughkeepsie. This rumor turned out to be completely true. The show was at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center and they transformed a drab empty space into a vivid party; giant balloons, confetti cannons, giant bug costumes and hundreds of laser pointers distributed to the crowd accompanied by joyous music made the evening a truly special experience. But…

I had a few great karaoke experiences this week. On Saturday night, our crew traveled to Koreatown for the classic room rental and sang and screamed into a microphone to various selections from our cultural history. The background music is cheesy MIDI accompaniment, and the words are superimposed on ridiculous Korean films, but it is still one of the most fun activities I can think of participating in with my friends. There is something very intoxicating (besides the copious alcohol consumption) about belting out a song that you've listened to passively hundreds of times. When you are given license to…

When I was in Peru, I was entranced by this 10-stringed instrument and found a workshop where I watched a craftsman making these Andean ukuleles. I had to have one. It is a beautiful instrument with a haunting sound that I had heard forever in the subways and streets of the world, often accompanied by a flute called a zampona. My charango makes a cameo in my latest Record recording, around 2 minutes in. Peruve it!

When I first heard Fela Kuti, I was a senior at Middlebury and it sealed the fact that I needed to visit West Africa as soon as possible, which I did eight months later in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali. Unable to visit Nigeria then, I was transported on Wednesday to Lagos (sort of...) on Broadway and treated to some great Afrobeat courtesy of Antibalas and (an actor portraying) Fela. He was an incredible character and fierce musical guerilla warrior, constantly antagonizing his oppressors and receiving due punishment. The music he created is hypnotic and powerful, wise and inspiring, and…

In my music classes, I love to sing an old Australian folk song called Kookaburra: Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree Merry merry king of the bush is he Laugh Kookaburra Laugh Kookaburra Gay your life must be It's a nice melody and a beautiful round and I had never known who the original writer was until yesterday. Marion Sinclair wrote the song in 1932 and died in 1988, with publishing rights currently held by Larrkin Publishers, who just won a lawsuit against the band Men at Work claiming copyright infringement for a flute solo on their classic 80's…

Alaina and I were in line to buy tickets to The Road when the call came: would you be interested in seeing Phish at MSG tonight? We quickly postponed our apocalyptic film plans for one of my all-time favorite concert experiences. This was no ordinary ticket miracle-- it was free, courtesy of a friend of a friend at Bank of America and their corporate luxury box, including food and drinks and an amazing view perched near the ceiling. Tempted though I was to call out our hosts on their shameful industry-leading financial support of CO2 coal-burning operations, I opted instead…

As a birthday wish of Anje's, six of her friends assembled a band for her annual party at Monkeytown. We chose a setlist of 70's, 80's and 90's tunes and had an amazing time playing for a raucous crowd. It is rare for me to play the bass these days, but having played every day in high school and college, I was immediately reminded of how much I love this instrument. It is fun to rock. Many Thanks to Anje, Blake, Dan, Zach, Andy, Josh, Graham and Lucas for making this happen. Black or White Sultans of Swing Money For…