Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 10:04AM As we celebrate the beginning of a new year (in our western world), I want to wish everyone a year of peace and hope for a more equitable and just world.
Happy New Year,
Cathy
NYCSubwayGirl
Sunday, December 18, 2011 at 2:40PM Wishing everyone a happy and festive Holiday.
Some years back while in seasonably warm Key West, Florida, I recorded a version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," it was featured on an NPR affiliate radio program called "Do You Hear What I Hear? A Holiday Folk Tour" with Judy Collins hosting and produced by Paul Ingles of KUNM, Albuquerque, NM
Here's a free MP3 of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, enjoy (and yes that's me whistling!) recorded at Private Ear Studio Key West, Dan Simpson engineer
As the end of the year approaches, I divvy up some of my subway earnings and make contributions to non-profit organizations I feel are making a difference in this world, like Peace Talks Radio, Playing For Change, Pete Seeger's Clearwater, or Eve Enslers V-Day to name a few. I have a section on this site called The Champions I Support, with links. Maybe you'll consider joining me.
Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 2:43PM what a wonderful event performing at Hudson New York's 15th annual Winter Walk. The street became a sea of pedestrians of all ages and number of feet (many many 4 legged kind). I sang in a wonderful design, furniture and home goods store called Culture+Commerce Project. I had a speaker on the sidewalk and people either looked in through the storefront windows or joined inside the warm shop. It was fun to perform for people whose reason to be there was the event, to stroll, to come upon chance moments of performance, the stilt walker, the tango dancers in the bodega window, the saxophonist in a hair salon, lovely. Community in all it's splendor. And me performing in a store. Passers by would fill into the shop, spill onto the street. Straying from my original repertoire with a nod to Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree,' spontaneous dancing and singing filled the air, but when later I sang Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone" I turned to see and hear a crowd singing along, loud 'How does it feel?" I reminded people that years ago most homes had a piano and people spent hours singing along to favorite tunes. At that moment we were a big family home for the holidays and sharing in our love for music to possibly help ignore our differences, if but for a moment.
Here's a clip of me performing and the various people that stopped by.
Culture+Commerce Project Warren St Hudson, NY
I kept repeating "I'm performing here where industrialized steel meets reclaimed wood, and the NYCSubwayGirl is singing out from the underground to the metaphorical one above ground." In the subway, rushing commuters are on a mission, and many give a smile, a thumbs up, and shrug of shoulders as if to say..."if I only had more time....", Winter Walk provided a welcome change. Participants had plenty of time and the people showed it with their support and love of the event. I was also happily surprised to find up the street, Paul and Marc Mueller of Mecca Bodega, my Music Under New York buddies, a wonderful duo of hammer dulcimer and various percussion performing on a sidewalk to dancing children and enthralled listeners. Small world, Hudson is a special town and for a moment between the festively decorated main street USA, known as Warren Street and happy togetherness, there was a glimmer of what we are all capable of. Occupy Love leapt into my mind of possibilities.
Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 12:07PM Here's a free download MP3 of my song Fallen Friends written for my cousin Peter and many of my fallen friends.
AIDS continues to be a huge global health issue. My personal world was rocked in 1989 after losing my cousin Peter VanderPutten to AIDS. He was among many of my friends who succumbed to this disease. Back in 1989 it seemed the world was ending, then friends started to live, some today are still on crazy cocktails of drugs, but living practically normal lives. But AIDS isn't going away, it's a horrific illness and is the source of huge loss to our global communities. I continue to be mindful of this truth every day.
Today I think of those lost. In Peter's memory and to those continuing to be infected daily around the world. We can and must do better. Life saving yet expensive drugs are not available to all. Education must be focused towards the removal of cultural stigma and aloofness among those too young to remember the early days. Ignorance that endures with the cruelty of troubling and confusing information only make things worse.
link to World Aids Campaign
Cool People Care post on World Aids Day
Take a moment today to remember, inform and be safe.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 1:52PM Happy Thanksgiving,
I hope that you can take the time to enjoy family and friends this Thanksgiving. To all my non-American friends may this message find you able to take time to be Thankful in some way. Here in the US, I'm saddened that mega consumption, through internet sales and early store hours minutes after our meal is finished, has set a place at the table. Thanksgiving Day which has been the least capitalistic holiday of the year is being co-opted by the right to shop. Can't we have one day off people?! So between eating the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, we'll be seduced into logging on and firing up the credit card. And 'Black Friday' lures people into impulse buying because of a discount. It gets nuttier and nuttier. We should instead be sharing a story or try to be in some kind of stillness. Friday after Thanksgiving should be a wonderful shut down day, to be whimsical, a day for reflection, not shopping, or working.
I'm loving the Buy Nothing campaign seen popping up around the net. Buy Nothing Day to give Thanksgiving new meaning. Cool People Care's Sam Davidson writes on his blog "Nada For Me," pledge to buy nothing this Friday and stay out of the shopping whirlwind.
and Adbusters who encourage a Buy Nothing Day. Adbusters uses grassroots capitalism to start business ventures, spreading indie culture and providing ever more alternatives to buying from mega corporations.
We Americans work so hard at working hard and take little time to just decompress. Now becoming contagious throughout the world, this is not some American invention we should be proud of.
So try and pledge to stay away from online sales Thursday, and the stores on Friday.
Look to the sky, find a star, make a wish, smile at someone, anyone. Makes you feel good. Or if you absolutely have to go online, watch some of my "What's Your Inspiration?" clips where I have filmed many commuters happy to chat and share their stories, their challenges and loves, and of course their inspirations.
Check out my "What's Your Inspiration?" channel on youtube.
I'll be back in the subway December 5th.
NYC Subway Girl
I've been receiving lovely comments to this posting, here's some excerpts including a wonderful Illustration from artist Dianne Engleke.
image by Dianne Engleke
Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 10:32PM I met artist Noah Scalin and his sister Mica in Grand Central Station to talk about the release of his book Unstuck, in which I am a contributor.
Unstuck, (Voyageur Press) provides 52 ways to keep your creativity flowing, with projects that are curiously effective as they are inspirational. As Noah was developing the book, I submitted how I get unstuck when in a creativity rut and happily was included. So what do I do? Here's my blog about it.
What's also cool besides the book and Noah's amazing art, is that as a socially conscious designer he created a design for the Occupy Wall Street creedo "The 99%"
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 12:36PM
I met Cathy at the Staten Island Ferry terminal, she shared with me her recent loss of her father and how my music was healing to her. Inspired by her daughter Ashianna to come over and chat I also learned Cathy could sing. This clip is a wonderful inside look at how I engage and am engaged by the amazing commuters that feel so comfortable to chat and allow me to record.
Talk about grace, Cathy at the end gets the audience to applaud. So this is a perfect example and peek into my world of performing in public spaces. Thanks to another commuter and singer Justin who gladly took my camera to capture Cathy and I singing Amazing Grace together.
Public spaces are being put in the spotlight with Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park inhabited by the People, juxtaposed by Citigroup representing a corporation buying the rights to Bryant Park to install a skating rink.
Maybe instead of a casual place to sit on a bench and read or walk across a park, for a time, a public park is a place for public protest against injustices, or one that becomes a skating rink surrounded by shopping kiosks. My view is we need to understand the rights of all aspects of our community by the people and for the people, live within our beliefs of Democracy and Freedoms, and use ethics and reason to guide our laws. I am hopeful. I sing it and see it every time that I sing in public spaces.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 11:58AM Here's another impromptu moment with commuters joining me in singing. Justin had just filmed me and another commuter Cathy singing Amazing Grace and shared he too is a singer. Justin sings while Cathy films and joins in harmony at the end.
I love these spontaneous moments precious because they're not trying to be.
You've Got A Friend.
Monday, November 7, 2011 at 10:53AM The past week of subway performances went really well. I enjoyed a trip out to Staten Island on the ferry to perform in the St. George terminal. What a life where my commute is actually where I work. The crowds were welcoming and warm. I also played at Grand Central shuttle stop and had a conversation with a Columbia student who is a journalism major doing her thesis on Subway performers. It's always interesting to chat about the experience. There definitely is a curiosity about performing in public spaces and quite a social experiment. We walked through the station and passed Select Blenz a Doo-Wop group I've known for years, who perform on the subway cars. We chatted and for the first time we sang spontaneously together.
I also played at the Bowling Green station for the first time and musician Vo Era walked by and jammed for the crowd. My partner Michele came by and did a clip of us playing. Since it was so close to Zuccotti Park we went above ground and came upon fabulous Eve Ensler in a gathering of people sharing stories of why they were at Occupy Wall Street. I filmed Melanie Butler a young woman who stopped by to check out the tent and donate supplies.
Saturday we went to the Big Apple Film Festival to watch Give and Take, a documentary about street musicians made by Carl Kriss and Chris Viemiester. Funny true story is I got stuck for 40 minutes on a downtown N train on my way. Never having been stuck on a subway car before, I was happy to be chatting with a group of French people in town to run the NY Marathon. After 35 minutes of my rusty french speaking, I interrupted the passengers to tell them about the runners, and to sing La Vie En Rose. No sooner had I begun the song, but the car lept into movement. We all applauded and I was happy I actually sang on a subway car for the first time.
The film Give and Take has a wonderful narrative with a score by Luke Brandfon. Carl and Chris used one musical motif perfectly to bring in each story creating wonderful transitions. Many street performers I know are in the film including Natalia Paruz the Saw Lady. Her story is remarkable. Having been a dancer, one fateful day she was hit by a taxi ending her career. Her parents in wanting to cheer her up took, her on a trip where she was captivated by a Saw player. Her new life began. The film also captures other heartfelt stories, Renard Harris a harmonica playing bluesy storyteller waiting to hear if he was accepted into the Music Under NY program, Douglas a homeless man endlessly acquiring on e-bay replacement guitars from the ones he kept "losing." And of course yours truly. It was fun to not only see me on the big screen, but to hear my song Good Thing over the end credits. check out the trailer and hopefully you'll get a chance to see it one day.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 11:02AM Give and Take is a Documentary film about subway performing and experience. I am one of the artists director and producer Carl Kriss and Chris Viemiester followed around NYC in the making of this film. I'm especially excited that my song Good Thing plays over the credits.
Saturday November 5th 1:15pm Big Apple Film Fest in Tribeca
54 Varick Street (at the corner of Laight and Varick Streets, one block south of Canal Street)
Q and A afterwards with yours truly and other subway performers.
Program guide link scroll down to program 30 at 1:15 pm
Give and Take Trailer:
I made the following clip of filmmaker Carl Kriss during 2010 MTA Arts for Transit MUNY auditions. Also with Natalia Paruz, Tin Pan's Jessie Selengut, Sean Grissom, and more. Hope to see you at the fest.