I slept late today, good thing we turn the clocks back tonight. If I next wake up 24 hours after that I’ll be right on schedule. That doesn’t help me get things done today; things like blogging. Good thing I have something to write about.
It wasn’t planned but yesterday was a mental health day. It was Friday so I had therapy; my therapist had to cancel the previous two weeks, so I needed it. Did you pick that up from my blogging? Or the lack of substance to my blogging? What I wasn’t saying, spoke volumes.
Therapy was just the start. My Gentle Readers should know what I mean by a mental health day; it’s going to involve music and food. The centerpiece for the evening was seeing, Our Band at the Greenwich House Music School. Guess where that is? You’re so smart. My Gentle Readers should know who Our Band is as they played the last edition of John Platt’s On Your Radar. If you don’t know, don’t feel bad, just try to be a more careful Wise Madness reader henceforth. Our band is the joint venture of Justin Poindexter and Sasha Papernik. Folkies might know Justin from Silver City Bound, previously the Amigos, previously the Tres Amigos. Clearly Justin has an issue with band names. Sasha is his wife, she’s a pianist, singer, and songwriter. They decided they should tour together and formed, Our Band.
The first step in my mental health was dinner at Pomme Frites on MacDougal Street. I had poutine. I haven’t had that in ages, no wonder I’m having mental health issues. Not eating poutine is to mental health what not getting a flu shot is to physical health. How can I expect to function without fresh cut French fries covered with cheese curds and meat gravy? Want to know why Canada is so happy? It’s poutine. It’s also inexpensive, a one course full meal for $9. It’s not as good as at the Mile End Deli in Brooklyn but Pomme Frites is still great.
I had a lot of time before the show started but decided to just walk to Greenwich House and wait there. I’d help set up if needed, otherwise I’d read. As I walked down Barrow Street, I heard a woman’s footsteps walking purposefully behind me. I thought to myself it might be Sasha, then said, that’s silly, what’s the odds that it’s her. Then I hear someone call my name. it was Sasha. She recognized me from behind because of my ponytail. Hey, Christine Lavin, you can now put me in Prisoners of Their Hairdos.
As I arrived with one of the performers, you can tell I was early. When they started rehearsing and sound checking I read. When it came time to set up the chairs, I pitched in. I’m not a stalker or a parasite, I’m in a mutually beneficial symbiotic relation with music. At least that’s what I tell myself.
Right after we set up the chairs Tara O’Grady showed up. That’s not too surprising as Justin and Sasha have both played with Tara. Folk is a small incestuous world. Pete Kennedy has also played with her, multiple worlds intersecting. I used to see Tara all the time, one of her regular hotel gigs was my default plan. But the way things have worked out I haven’t seen her in over a year, maybe more. Since then she wrote and published a book. She’s working on a new album. I’m going to have to make sure and see her perform soon. When the new album comes out, she’ll be featured on Gord’s Gold.
Our Band had a special guest, David Amram. Justin met David at the same NERFA he met me. I had seen David before but that was the first time I spoke to him. Talking before the show yesterday someone said to David, “You’re a legend, right?” He said, “No, I’m still alive.” If you don’t know him, just look him up on Wikipedia. To give him his due I’d have to devote so many words I wouldn’t be able to tell you about the rest of my day.
Sasha and Justin come from adjacent but different musical worlds, and what Our Band does is bring them together. Sasha’s parents are from Russia and she has a great interest in Russian and Russian American music. You know you’ll hear some Irving Berlin when you see Sasha. You’ll even learn that his real name was Israel Baelin. There was a typo on the sheet music from his first published song and his name was written, I. Berlin, and thus a stage name was born. I always liked that both his real and stage names are geographical. Like so many Jews of his time he took a more American sounding name, and the geography moved form Israel to Germany. He came from Russia. Justin’s background is more in Americana, the two meet at jazz. In fact, that’s literally true as they both worked at Jazz at Lincoln Center, as did Tara. That’s a block away from the NYIT where I was teaching at the time. Like I said, it’s a small world.
Our Band hits one of my sweet spots, conservatory musicians playing popular music. There is just so much there there. Their music is like an onion, layer on layer to dig through, if you want. Or you can just listen to the beautiful songs on the surface. I would be happy just listening to them talk. They educate the audience about the music without being at all pedantic. It’s funny and I love watching them be a married couple interrupting and becoming exasperated with each other. The eye rolls alone are worth the price of admission. They finished with Johnny and June’s Jackson, which was perfect.
After the show I had one more mental health stop. Greenwich House is only a few blocks form heaven on earth, Cones Ice Cream on Bleecker. Sure, it was a bit chilly, but we are talking the best ice cream on earth and I was craving it.
Therapy, food, music, and friends; that’s my prescription for mental health. Give it a try.
Wise Madness 