The Next (Black Americana) Gig: WFUV's On Your Radar, July 14th!

NEWSFLASH: I'll be playing WFUV's On Your Radar series at Rockwood Music Hall on Tuesday July 14th with Jon Regen and Flagship Romance. Doors open at 6:30pm, show starts at 7 PM.  Tickets are $12. My band and I are on at approximately 7:40pm for a 30 minute set of Black Americana featuring songs from my latest critically acclaimed release The Other Side. 

Tickets and info are available online HERE. You can catch Jon Regen and myself performing live on WFUV's Sunday Breakfast, hosted by John Platt, on Sunday 7/12 at 10:30 AM. Listen HERE.

What the critics are saying: 

"This album is amazing. And very difficult to classify. Can you imagine a black Lucinda Williams? Not like when she plays the blues torn from her first albums, no. A black Lucinda Williams in pop, rhythm, blues and even gender roots Americana. So it sounds, if you can imagine such a hodgepodge somehow, the latest album from this brutal, original, explosive singer." -- Vanity Fair 

"Our admiration for Queen Esther is almost beyond measure." -- Rootstime (Belgium)

"It’s the melancholy country cuts that Queen Esther excels in. 'I’ve Come Undone Again' is a particular highlight; a splendid slice of melancholy country complete with Hank Williams-esque melody and all. 'Love Is a Wrecking Ball' and 'I Feel Like Going Home' are wrought with emotion and are likely the best tracks here." -- Americana UK

"Every song is sung with passion and fire, by this underrated female singer who should be a musical giant." -- Country Music People (UK)

“Queen Esther’s new album The Other Side is unlike anything you’ve heard in recent years…or possibly ever.” -- Muruch 

"The most exciting Afro-Americana release of the year." -- Paste

"Queen Esther's vocals, even at their hardest-rocking, invoke the high-and-lonesome plaintiveness of the honky-tonk bluegrass/rockabilly continuum as much as they do the harsher-timbred blues tradition." -- Living Blues

"A masterpiece of an extremely talented singer/songwriter who can compete with the major players in this field, such as Lucinda Williams." -- Blues Magazine (The Netherlands)

Sunday Sermonette: The Caravans -- "Lord Keep Me Day By Day"

When it's time for me to perform country gospel songs for an HAI gig in the city, there are certain groups that never fail to inspire me. This classic gospel song was recorded by Florida Mass Choir, Willie Neal Johnson & The Gospel Keynotes, Dorothy Norwood and a few others. I especially like this one from The Caravans -- a group that launched the careers of legendary gospel greats Rev. James Cleveland, Albertina Walker, Shirley Caesar, Josephine Howard and many more.

Those of you in the peanut gallery who are actually paying attention already know that Ms. Howard is the one and only Miki I Found Love Under New Management Howard's mother.  So there's that.

Listen in and be blessed.

Lord, Keep Me Day By Day  (written by Eddie Williams)

Lord, keep me day by day,
in a pure, and perfect way.
I want to live, I want to live on
in a building not made by hand.

Lord, keep my body strong
so that I can do no wrong.
Lord, give me grace just to run this Christian race
to a building not made by hand.

I'm just a stranger here,
traveling through this barren land.
Lord, I know there's a building somewhere,
in a building not made by hand.

Quote of the Day - from a REAL Confederate/Southerner

(This image brought to you by graphic artist Doug Dobey in response to this idiocy: a gigantic Confederate flag that welcomes visitors to Richmond, Virginia.)

Any Southerner who honestly believes that the rebel flag is a reminder of their honorable Confederate history and heritage is woefully ignorant of the facts -- or flat-out racist.  And here's the quote that proves it.

"Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth." --Alexander Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederacy, "The Cornerstone Speech," March 21, 1861

For any reasonably intelligent, clear-thinking American to stand by a flag that represents this racist philosophy is unconscionable. 

To read The Cornerstone Speech in its entirety, click here. 

Pithy Thought of the Day - from LBJ

The Jazz Age Lawn Party: Details, details!

On June 13-14 and August 15-16 from 11a.m. to 5p.m., guests transcend time once upon the shore of Governors Island to celebrate the music and zeitgeist of the 1920s and ‘30s. The romance, joie de vivre and infectious rhythm of that halcyon age come to life once more, as the distractions of the modern world fade away.

 

Each weekend, guests will don fresh linen, lace, seersucker and straw at the world’s quintessential prohibition era gathering. Special surprises for its 10^th Anniversary celebration will abound and delight. Featured programming includes: 

 

MUSIC & DANCE PEFORMANCES on TWO STAGES featuring the finest Jazz Age entertainment:

• Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra: the world’s premier Jazz-Age dance orchestra, steeped in the hot-dance band tradition of the 1920s and early 1930s, present a one-of-a-kind songbook from Michael’s original album, “Blue River,” and his newest album, “Just In Time,” which will be on sale for the first time at the event. “Just In Time” highlights Michael’s horn playing and singing in an intimate, jazz-driven setting
• Roddy Caravella & The Canarsie Wobblers: performer, teacher and Jazz Age Lawn Party Dance Director Roddy Caravella, and his fun-loving dance troupe The Canarsie Wobblers, will showcase performances that capture the exuberant spirit and flaming youth of the Roaring ‘20s
• The Antique DJs: emcees and Antique Phonograph DJs, Michael Cumella and Michael Haar, spin vinyl and cylinder records on period crank up talking machines and bring to life original recordings from the 1920s
• The Dreamland Follies: the ten girl dance spectacular harkening back to the days of the Great Ziegfeld, will delight guests just as much with their choreography as their Art Deco costumes and head pieces. Expect a new 10^th Anniversary production set to Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra’s theme song, “Paddlin’ Madelin’ Home”
• Peter Mintun: the world’s greatest piano man will dazzle guests with his magical fingers  
• Queen Esther: hear modern-day jazz royalty as the award-winning jazz vocalist presides over the lawn 
• The Gelber & Manning Band: feuding vaudevillian lovebirds, specializing in raggy time songs and early jazz styles, will quarrel and coo to your delight
• The Minsky Sisters: tap dance darlings delight with fancy footwork in the tradition of classic vaudevillian family acts
• Tamar Korn: ephemeral vocalist, known for her love of singing songs both lyrically as well as "instrumentally" with her pitch-perfect pipes, will perform her signature repertoire steeped in traditional New Orleans and early jazz
• Molly Ryan: with a lush, elegant vocal style, songs of the 1930s will be brought to life with innocence and total believability to the music that refuses to admit that 80 years of distractions have ever happened 
• Albert Cadabra: the master of illusion and charm will astonish onlookers with devilishly wild magic delivered with unmatchable style, class and an inviting sense of humor 

DANCING upon TWO EXPANSIVE, JUMBO-SIZED WOODEN DANCE FLOORS set up right on the lawn!

• Dance Lessons: learn the hottest dance steps of the time from top Jazz Age hoofers
• Charleston Dance Contest: see who’s the Bee’s Knees in this lighthearted yes spirited dance-off

BRAND-NEW GOURMET FOOD MARKET

• The all new food market will feature New York’s fanciest picnicking fare and gourmet food trucks along with treats and snacks by vendors such as Luke's Lobster, Empanada Lady, Kaya NYC, Local 215, Carnal BK, La Crêpe C’est Si Bon, Vintage Ice Cream Guys, Chef and the Baker and more 
• Annual High Court of Pie Contest: submissions are open for the annual contest. Categories include: “Mom’s Best” “Best Savory” “Most Original” and “Hobo’s Choice” (For entry email: govislandpie@gmail.com)  

VINTAGE COCKTAILS & BEVERAGES

• St-Germain Artisanal French Elderflower Liqueur will be the signature spirit for the seventh consecutive year. Golden age elixirs such as the signature St-Germain Cocktail (made with St-Germain, sparkling wine, sparkling water and a lemon twist) will be served alongside the 10^th Anniversary Cocktail (a refreshing Collins-style cocktail blending summer strawberries with gin, St-Germain and fresh citrus), and a delicious Boathouse Punch from renowned cocktail celebrity Julie Reiner’s new book (Bombay Dry, St-Germain, Aperol, Martini Sparkling Rosé and splashes of lemon, orange and grapefruit juice)

• MARTINI & ROSSI sparkling wines again join the lineup of superior cocktail offerings. The iconic Italian winemaker will be showcasing a full menu of sparkling wines for refreshing enjoyment, including the new fully sparkling Prosecco, the aromatic Rosé and the naturally sweet Asti. Available by the bottle, by the glass, or in charming mini bottles, MARTINI & ROSSI has a wine for every palate
• DUVEL and BREWERY OMMEGANG will be the signature beer  
• Additional Beverages include: old fashioned lemonade, soda, juices, water, iced coffee and tea to whet your whistle

FASHION & SHOPPING 

• Bathing Beauties and Beaus Promenade: pull that itchy wool number out of the mothballs and parade it for all to admire
• Vintage Clothing Vendor and Artisans: a veritable village of timeless treasures and inspired creations to take home

 

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YOUNG & YOUNG AT HEART

• Kidland: carnival games and prizes for junior gents and flapperettes
• 1920s Motorcar Exhibition: get up close and personal with flivvers, Tin Lizzies and “Buttercup,” Gatsby’s very own 1925 Rolls-Royce “Twenty”
• Vintage Portraits: immortalize yourself while perched upon one of our Paper Moons with special vintage adornments and accessories available by Unique Vintage

 

Tickets and packages are still available for the June 13-14 and August 15-16 events. Ticket packages include General Admission, “Jazz Baby,” “Bee’s Knees,” “Bonnie & Clyde.” “The Gatsby” VIP package brings special perks and table and bottle service. These packages can be purchased at www.JazzAgeLawnParty.com. To commemorate the 10^th anniversary, the Jazz Age Lawn Party has presented “Sheikh of Araby”, a brand new private tent for eight to 10 guests located right off the dance floor, with full wait table service and luxury appointments, and which can be reserved by emailing DreamlandVIP@gmail.com

Quote of the Day -- from John Clare

"Burning hot is the ground, liquid gold is the air; 

whoever looks round sees Eternity there." -- John Clare

Ella Fitzgerald on Marilyn Monroe

“I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt... it was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the ’50s. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him - and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status - that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman - a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it.” - Ella Fitzgerald

Imagine that. Because of segregation in the 50s, one of the greatest jazz singers on the planet couldn't get a gig in a popular nightclub until a white female movie star -- who happened to be one of her biggest fans -- interceded.  Just think of all the change that could take place if white female movie stars demanded it. Heck. White people, period.

And why do you suppose they didn't include this important moment in that made-for-tv Marilyn bio pic?

Happy belated birthday, Norma Jean. You were a lot cooler than I thought.

NaBloPoMo for June: Ready, Set, Go!

I think I've spent the better part of the year winding up and readying myself to sling art out into the world -- with strong ideas, performances and gigs.  Still and all, I don't really feel as though I'm doing enough. Probably because I'm still learning my intervals.

I'm going to take another stab at documenting my world as an artist this month, one day at a time.  You can find me online at these hotspots:

• Tumblr
• Twitter
• My Newswire on Twitter
• Instagram
• Periscope TV
• ello!
• Facebook - Queen Esther
• Facebook - Georgette!  
  
  ...and if you want to subscribe to my email list, click here.

I'm in The Red Sea...!

If I weren't flying the Japanese flag tonight, I'd be at Gin Fizz Lounge for @MarcCaryMusic's The Harlem Sessions. Instead, I'm at home -- watching Blazing Saddles and riding the cotton pony.

Yes, that's right.

I'm in The Red Sea.

I'm dropping an egg.

I'm entertaining the general.

I've got red sails in the sunset.

I'm chasing the cotton mouse.

I'm surfing the crimson tide.

My hammock is swinging.

I have a visitor from Red Bank.

The tide is high.

The infantry has landed.

My Granny's here.

I'm percolating.

No gym this week.

I'm off duty.

I'm indisposed.

I've been hit.

The only thing that going to fix this is a deep tissue massage and a nice long soak, a plate of Mongolian BBQ and a five mile run -- preferably one after the other, and not necessarily in that order. This is a job for K-Town. Or Spa Castle. Either way, I'm not leaving my apartment tonight.  This movie is right on time. When I'm in this much pain, I really need to laugh. A lot.



Why do I love Blazing Saddles so much? 

Happy Birthday, Malcolm X

Malcolm X would have been 90 years old today. Imagine that.

Here's a timely quote:

"I think that an objective analysis of events that are taking place on this earth today points towards some type of ultimate showdown. You can call it political showdown, or even a showdown between the economic systems that exist on this earth which almost boil down along racial lines. I do believe that there will be a clash between East and West. I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation."

Yes, Mercury is in retrograde...!

Mercury is in retrograde (in Gemini!) from May 18th to June 11th. What does this mean, exactly? Retrograde happens when a planet slows down in its usual orbit, appears to move backwards and is in a resting state, thus leaving all the areas it rules to run amok. 

Here's the thing: I don't "believe" in astrology as much as I acknowledge the truth within it. Case in point?  I know how to cut my hair by the moon. (Yes, it works.) 

According to Susan Miller of AstrologyZone, Mercury rules communication of every kind. That means listening, talking, learning, reading, editing, researching, negotiating, buying and selling.  It doesn't stop there. That list includes formal contracts and agreements as well as any other important papers like leases, wills, deeds, book manuscripts and such. This planet also rules travel, transportation, shipping and all kinds of code.  So when your cell phone is constantly going in and out, when Skype won't work, when the email you carefully composed disappears from your screen all of a sudden, you know it's in full effect.  The kicker is that because it's in Gemini and this is the sign that governs the same areas as Mercury, the effect could be twice as powerful.

Fun stuff.

When this stitch in time happens, I try to make myself scarce and stick to a routine to keep my equilibrium: morning workouts, practice sessions, low key evenings. I declutter like crazy.  I eat clean.  I double check everything. I'll send a text and follow up with an email, to make sure my message went through.  I'm painfully aware of everything I do and say.  Blah, blah, blah.

Remember: Forewarned is forearmed.

Word of the Day: Eccendentesiast

...because yes -- there really is a word for everything.

Pithy Thought of the Day

Yay! It's Official!

I"m going home for my birthday in June, to South Carolina's Lowcountry.  This is what home looks like.

My Blackgrrl Spring Bucket List - 2015!

Now that the winter chill is no longer in the air, it's time to get moving all over again, wake all the way up and get the lead out.  This is my personal top ten (in no particular order): stuff that will make my spring time swing into high gear, no matter how everything else is falling together.

New York City has over 100 museums, with many seasonal exhibits that will only happen here.  Sure, most museums are filled with dusty, Eurocentric masterpieces. And I know plenty of people of color who don't go to museums because they're convinced that there's nothing there for them.  But that's changing.  More curators are realizing that if they want a younger, more diverse audience for their art, they have to be more inclusive.  All it takes is a great, grand idea  - and it's a refreshing surprise that this season offers several options. There is something for absolutely everyone this spring.

My brother Emmett who's married with two kids and lives in the ATL, has fallen into the habit of humoring me by going to museums with me when he visits the city.  Strangely, he always enjoys it -- much to his genuine surprise.

This gigantic Jeff Wall photo After "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison, the Prologue totally blew him away.  I can remember standing in front of it with him, listening to him find the words to explain why he liked it. Then I read from the passage of the book that this photo illustrates.

If Kehinde Wiley doesn't blow him away, I'll eat my favorite pumps.  And that goes double for the Jacob Lawrence exhibit at MoMA.

Here's my list. Enjoy!

1. Get my 15 speed bike tuned up -- and yes, get a helmet.  Once the weather is good, I'm going to toss my Metrocard for a month or two.  If that doesn't wake up my thighs and my butt, I don't know what will.
2. An entire afternoon of relatively cheap insider beauty treats in K-Town, followed by Mongolian BBQ -- preferrably with my friend Jane, who lives to eat and shop. No one can appreciate a hardcore, no-frills, three hour scrub down more than her.  Except me, of course.
3. A Ladies Tea Social is in order, where me and a few of Those Who Know dress up in our vintage finery and nosh -- preferrably at The Pembroke. Or The Pierre. Or The Mandarin Oriental.
4. That Kehinde Wiley exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum. I'm not a fan but still, I can't miss it.
5. Curlbox BODY -- from Myliek Teele, the founder of Curlbox, comes a monthly non-subscription skincare package that should make anyone's skin glow.
6. Harlem Jazz Shrines -- don't miss it!
7. ...that Jacob Lawrence exhibit at MoMA, tho...
8.  The Black Girl Swap -- wherein a bunch of us blacktresses convene over dinner and wine at our fearless leader's apartment with our beautiful elegant slightly used clothing, mix it up and donate whatever is left over to a great cause.
9. The Frieda Kahlo exhibit at the New York Botanical Gardens must be seen to be believed -- preferrably when the all-female mariachi band La Flor de Toloache is performing...! (I love them!)
   ...and last but certainly not least...
10. Pool my savings and purchase what guitarist Kelvyn Bell considers to be a real guitar. (I'd like a Fender Strat.)

NaBloPoMo for May: PHOTO!

This should be fun: post photos -- or write about them -- all month. 

MPB says that I have an eye and that's good to know. Taking snapshots on the fly has become another kind of journal.  Just about every smart device I've got in my purse has a great camera on it so it's hard not to take a picture or squeeze off a video when something interesting pops up. 

The thing is, I'm in the midst of giving myself a pretty severe makeover -- dental work, weight loss, hair ideas, and much more -- and all of it is forcing me to look at my physical self in a way that I find difficult. Or at least disconcerting. I was always too focused on technique as an actor and a vocalist to fret over something as seemingly frivolous as my image.  I mean, sure. I'm obsessive about how I look in performance, I push for a healthy lean strong body but what it takes to do what I do on the stage is light years away from what I need to do to come off well on camera.  

The thing is, I don't want to believe that talent doesn't matter -- even when casting agents say talent is only 7% of what they consider when auditioning actors.  (WTF?)

I get it, I get it -- film/TV is a visual medium.  My body was the first thing that came together.  It was, and continues to be, hard work.  Every morning, I start all over again, like Sysyphus -- beating my body into submission.  No one can say that I'm not taking my visuals seriously. I have an eyebrowist, for crying out loud. Because it takes time for bones to heal, my dental work will be the last thing and it will take the longest, and it will cost me plenty.  (What am I saying? It already has.) 

Once I'm done, I'll never stop smiling. Never.

I have to take new headshots, I have to make an actor's reel, I have to make a 2 minute EPK/video and I have to take promo shots for my upcoming European tour.  I need all of that as of yesterday. Yeesh. That's a lot of eye candy.   Very necessary, though.

Here's the blogpost epiphany from 2009 that triggered it all -- Your Inner Svengali.  And if you're curious about the snapshots I take or the images I like, you can find me on Instagram and that minimalist wonder,  ello.

In the meantime, here I am goofing off with my girl Chicava Honeychild of Brown Girls Burlesque.  I don't think we're capable of not having fun together.

...boxing conditioning sessions, karate and piano practice...

Believe it or not, I think I've found a hobby to make money (more on that later). The hobby that's giving me my body back is definitely boxing -- although I'm going to make a concerted effort to give karate a chance this summer because I'm so abysmally bad at it, and I should allow myself to be really bad at something for awhile, to see where it goes. 

I love boxing because when each swing is deconstructed and I can get it into my body, it makes perfect sense. I feel as though I'm using my physical self to play a very elaborate and exhausting game of chess. If I can make my body outlast the other fighter, if I have enough stamina to outlast the fight itself, I may win -- but more importantly, I will outgrow myself.  That has happened in a thousand ways since I started boxing.  It can't be helped. The more you learn, the more your body remembers, the more you grow.

It's the same with the piano.  Right now, I'm practicing scales and fingering technique. It's so labor-intensive that it feels like I'm working with someone else's hands.  They just won't obey me.  I'm going to stick with it, though.  I'm convinced that I'm sticking every note into my voice and making it stay there by playing it and singing it and playing it and singing it, one at a time, over and over again.

So that's my summer: boxing conditioning classes and piano practice; getting knocked on my butt all the time in karate; writing a slew of songs and recording them; and playing music with all my projects, including Georgette and my original Black Americana songs.

Oh! And fun the Jazz Age Lawn Party, of course... 

Selfie with a Supermodel!

Yep, that's Alek Wek, the South Sudanese model that started a revolution in the fashion industry at 18 (!!!) and compelled a young Lupita Nyong'o to stop begging God to make her skin lighter.  Our paths crossed in Times Square yesterday and, not surprisingly, she was sweet enough to let me take a snapshot.  She's a skinny little switch of a thing.  Her skin is so flawless, she's luminous.  And she was wearing a beautiful, bright, flowery dress that looked so spring-like, it knocked the chill right off of the rest of my day.

Now there's so many South Sudanese models (amongst others!) working in the fashion industry, it's not a thing to see such blue-black elegance drifting through any campaign, whether it's commercial or high end.  It's important to recognize that Ms. Wek was the one that blew that door off its hinges. She's an  ambassador, for all of us.

Hats off to the modeling scout that spotted her in London at a flea market with her mother when she was 18 years old.



What's interesting is that Ms. Wek never doubted her own beauty -- probably because as a child in the South Sudan, she wasn't surrounded by an avalanche of white-centric media.  Her confidence must have been infectious.

It still is.

How African Am I?

I always knew I was 100% African.  Always.  Every African I ever met knew it -- from the Nigerians I used to babysit for when I was a kid, to the Senegalese, Kenyan, Moroccan and Egyptian co-eds  I hung out with in college, to the South Africans I befriended when I came to the city, to the tailors from Ghana that made my wedding dress.  I have yet to meet any African that doesn't look at me in genuine astonishment as they recognize themselves or their mothers or sisters in me, and embrace me and all my African ways that never cease to amaze them and freak them all the way out. The food that I cook. The way that I dance. The gap in my teeth. My cheekbones. All of it.

Oh, some of them may want to exclude me because I'm American -- but my African face won't be denied.  And apparently, neither will the blood of my ancestors.  The blood, as Andre Crouch sang, will never lose its power. DNA doesn't lie.  And so it goes. 

As it turns out, according to AncestryDNA, I"m not 100% African. I'm 96% African. (Ha.)  And to think -- all those Five Percenters yelling at me in the street, calling me Nubia. They were right!  (Thanks, Brother-Men.)

Here's the breakdown:

Main Regions: "In order to be considered for this category, a region must have enough evidence that you actually have the region as part of your genetic ethnicity."

Cameroon/Congo =  29%
Senegal =  22%
Benin/Togo = 15%
Ivory Coast/Ghana = `14%
Nigeria =  5%

Trace Regions: "There is only a small amount of evidence supporting these regions as part of your genetic ethnicity. Because both the estimated amount and the range of the estimate are small, it is possible that these regions appear by chance and are not actually part of your genetic ethnicity."

Africa/Southeastern Bantu =  6%
Mali =  3%
Africa/South-Central Hunter-Gatherers = 1%
Africa North = 1%

Are you curious about that other 4%?  I'm not -- because it's so scant, they're probably showing up at random. (See Trace Regions.) 

I love all Africans everywhere -- from the Nigerians who squabble over which tribe I belong to ("Look at her! She's Igbo!") to the Haitians that assume at least one of my parents are from the West Indies (they are not); from the Parisians from the Ivory Coast and Senegal and Morocco and Egypt and the Sudan who call me "Soeur!" like that's my name to the stunning Cameroonian sisters who wave me down on 125th Street, friendly and out of breath and blurting French, asking for help, for directions probably, and genuinely flummoxed when I explain that I'm from America.  We hug each other and somehow I help them anyway.  And they leave me in the street, waving back at me, like we are family. Because we are.



I don't know what happened to us, as a people.  Well. We all know what happened, don't we.  Somewhere in the 80s, we became enthralled with a particular segment within a popular genre of music that was intrinsically divisive, glorified violence, denigrated black women with abandon and pandered to society's lowest common denominator to make a buck.  Eventually, that niche caught on with the white folks, became a garish caricature of itself in order to continue selling itself to the highest bidder and made a lot of white label executives a lot of money.

There. I said it.

When I was a kid, it was an ordinary every day thing that we called each other brother and sister -- and meant it.  Interestingly enough, it's a part of Chinese culture (many Asian and African cultures, actually) to address everyone this way. An older woman is aunt or mother, an older man is uncle or brother, someone your age is sister or brother or cousin. In this way, everyone is family and there is a unity inherent in the way you are spoken to that binds you to each other.   When we lost this simple unifying element, we lost each other.  And when we lost each other, we lost everything.

Well. At least now I know why my face has drawn all of the African diaspora to my heart. 

Billie Holiday Post Script 3: The Billie Holiday Project + The Rare Sides

Charles Wallace and I at Minton's, before the first set.

On Tuesday night at Minton's Harlem --  a sold out house! -- my quintet and I were joined by Charles Wallace to present Monkey Junk, a dramatic retelling of a newly discovered Zora Neale Hurston story from the 1930s, augmented by Billie Holiday's material from the same decade. We rounded out the evening with a set of Lady Day's rare sides -- songs that even her die-hard enthusiasts had never heard. 

Our last performance on April 28th in this month-long tribute to Lady Day will be a pastiche of each week's programming.  For more information and reservations, click here.

Your African Public Service Announcement of the Day

Please stop referring to Africa as a country.

Africa is a continent that has 54 countries.  Actually, it's the second largest continent and the second-most populated continent on earth, and with a population of 1.1 billion as of 2013.  Not surprisingly, thousands of languages are spoken there.

For more fun facts about Africa, click here.

You're welcome.

Spring Cleaning, Part One: Swaps!

Time to watch an episode or two of Hoarders for motivation, roll up my sleeves and clean house.



This month, I'm starting with my closets. I'd like to refresh my wardrobe but I don't have the money to fling at every cute outfit I see when I window shop -- and frankly, I've got way too many items that I never wear.

My solution? Swaps! Who knew that you could swap your clean, gently used/not broken stuff -- including housewares and whatnot -- all over Gotham for free? (I didn't!) 

Here's a short list to get you started.

• Stop 'N Swap! Sponsored by grownyc.com, you can show up with that blender you never use -- or come empty-handed and take whatever you need.  (Sounds like hippies to me...!)
• Fashion Swap and Meet is wunderbar -- their last swap featured fashion bloggers.
• Although meetup.com features over a dozen swaps in the New York area (including one for single parents with small kids), Five Boroughs Clothing Swap looks promising. It's members only -- hopefully with others who are as thrifty and fashion-conscious as you are -- it happens six times a year and it's free.
• There's lots of shops that swap, like Thrift Disco and The Frock Shop...
• ...and yep, you can do this online via Swapdom, Swap! and Thread Up.

My solution? A few times a year, there's an extremely private swap amongst maybe a dozen friends that involves a lavish meal, lots of wine and clothes galore.  Whatever gets picked over is donated to a great cause, like a women's shelter.  (My favorite donation spot: The Bottomless Closet.)  And because I know which girlfriend has that pencil skirt I used to love, I can always get it back if I miss it too much.  That's the beauty of swapping with a closed circle of friends: we're all up in some small part of each other's closets.

There's also another seasonal swap amongst friends -- a tea party! with cocktails! and delicious tea cakes and whatnot! wheeeee! -- that's strictly vintage.  All this with regular donations to the Salvation Army means that my closets are actually in pretty good shape these days. And here's a happy bonus: losing this pesky winter weight means that I get to wear all the clothes in my closet, not just the stuff that fits me this week. 

Next month: Zen and The Art of Clearing My Junk Room...!

Billie Holiday Post Script 2: Carnegie Hall, 1956 -- The Refracted Set

On Tuesday night at Minton's Harlem, with a wonderfully enthusiastic audience (another full house!) and my coterie of musicians, I deconstructed Billie Holiday's last Carnegie Hall concert from November 10, 1956, which was created to promote her autobiography Lady Sings The Blues. Instead of reading from the book, I read from bits and pieces of ephemera I found at the New York Public Library.  It was a stellar night.

The next time you think of Billie Holiday as a victim and a heroin addict first instead of a genius musician, there are a few explosively noteworthy trainwrecks that you should reconsider, too. Frank Sinatra -- who openly admitted that everything he knew as a jazz vocalist he got from Lady Day -- was a violent alcoholic, addicted to painkillers and, some say, bipolar. Thelonious Monk drank, smoked pot and did drugs to excess. And yes, he had bipolar disorder.  Charlie Parker's propensity towards drug excess was legendary.  Miles Davis. Need I say more?

Nevermind infamous jazz musicians -- everybody knows about them. What about common drug usage?  During the Victorian era, laudanum -- a mix of 10% opium and 90% alcohol and flavored with cinnamon or saffran -- was especially popular.  And why not? It had been popular with the Greeks in antiquity. The Victorians used it to cure menstrual cramps, headaches, as a tranquilizer, even fed it to cranky babies. Everybody drank this stuff.  Keats. Shelley.  Dickens. Louis Carroll.  It was as common and as socially acceptable as scotch -- and much cheaper.  Not surprisingly, it was the beginning of the 20th century before they realized it was lethal.

And the rest? Chopin did opium drops on sugar cubes every day.  Leonard Bernstein was heavily addicted to alcohol, drugs and painkillers, quite possibly because of his latent homosexuality -- or heterosexuality, depending on who you ask. Stravinsky was horribly addicted to all kinds of medications.  Contrary to popular belief, Miss Holiday was hardly the only one on a landscape of creative individuals that drank, smoked pot, did drugs and led what many consider to be a tragic life.  (Charles Mingus? Louis Armstrong? Bessie Smith? What black jazz musician led a life that wasn't tragic in some way?) Everyone had their fair share of misery but for some strange reason, no one else's addictions are listed before their achievements.  Probably because of the media hype that sensationalizes every foul aspect of What Happened To Her -- along with that ridiculous, cockamamie biopic starring Diana Ross -- we are left to view her as a hapless victim. No one seems particularly interested in focusing on her accomplishments, which are nothing short of incredible.

 Well. I'm interested.

Join me next week at Minton's, where my April residency in tribute to Lady Day continues. For more information, click here.

Berlin: Poor -- But Sexy!

MPB said Berlin felt like New York City in the 90s -- and he was right.  With that in mind, I'm not so sure if I miss that city or what this place used to be.   Maybe its a bit of both.

As Gotham puts the squeeze on me and I defiantly make my art by any means necessary, I keep practicing German and I keep my options open.  Lots of things are pulling me across the pond. Like gigs.  And graduate school.  And fun. Let's see what develops.

Random Fun Fact of the Day - Love and Chemicals

Quote of the Day -- from Richard Pryor

 

 

TONIGHT: Georgette (Queen Esther + Lee Ann Westover) at Uncharted! 8pm

 Uncharted!  Thursday, April 9th at 8pm  -- $20

Greenwich House Music
46 Barrow Street
New York, NY
Ph: (212) 242-4770



 *Please note: Your ticket gets you free beer and wine all night long.

As a part of the Uncharted Music Series at Greenwich House Music School, singer/songwriter/musician Lee Ann Westover and I will be blazing away as Georgette,  our newly formed alt-country/Black Americana outfit.  

With George Jones as our namesake (because I love him -- and why not?) we've decided to delve into a few 70s feminist classics along with some of our own original material.  The result is a twang-drenched, soulful and *surprise!* irreverent take on modern sounds in country music. 

The Band:

Hilliard Greene, bass

Pete Matthiessen, guitar + vocals

Dalton Ridenhour, piano + vocals

Shirazette Tinnin, drums

John Widgren, pedal steel guitar

 See you there!

Billie Holiday Post Script 1: Holiday on Broadway

On Tuesday night at Minton's Harlem, I stood in a room that Billie Holiday herself performed in many times and I recreated her 1948 Broadway revue to a packed and attentive house with some of the best musicians I know. And I did it on her 100th birthday.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Thank you, Julia Collins for saying yes to my ideas, thank you Talvin Wilks for grounding and shaping the work, thank you Jeremy Bacon for those flawless charts and thank you Charles Goold, Noah Jackson, Wayne Tucker and Patience Higgins for playing the living daylights out of this music. (And thank you Jett Drolette for photographing us all night!) If you were a part of the audience, thank you for celebrating Miss Holiday's 100th birthday with us. I hope you had as much fun as we did.

Next week on Tuesday April 14th --using sound bites, personal letters, rare news clippings and reviews, and yes, her music -- we will reimagine Lady Day's last Carnegie Hall performance in November of 1956.

See you there.

Happy birthday, Billie Holiday...!

      (Photo by Mito Habe-Evans.)

Today is Billie Holiday's 100th birthday. Imagine that.

To celebrate her centennial, I will be in residence every Tuesday in April at Minton's performing rare sides with a stellar coterie of musicians: Noah Jackson (bass), Charles Goold (drums), Warren Smith (drums), Patience Higgins (tenor sax), Wayne Tucker (trumpet) and J. Walter Hawkes (trombone), with Jeremy Bacon (piano and MD).  Thankfully, Talvin Wilks has joined us to shape what we've assembled. I've been working on several projects about Billie Holiday for some time now, so my research is extensive.  This residency feels like a natural extension of all that work, a highly creative way to get all those ideas out of my head and into the world.

Of course, rare sides means rare songs, so the audience will definitely experience material they've probably never heard in performance. I took this idea one step further and reconfigured different aspects of Lady Day's body of work, to see her in a new light. For tonight's special moment, I will recreate her Broadway debut Holiday on Broadway -- a revue that included Billy Taylor, the founder of Jazzmobile --  which opened on April 27, 1948 in the wake of her first Carnegie Hall performance.

I know that there are many who dismiss Miss Holiday as a drug addict who led a tragic life but the truth is, that could be the byline for just about any successful, brilliant musician in the past 100 years. Nevermind all the jazz musicians that are infamous for their drug fueled debauchery and their tragic lives -- Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk. Stravinsky, as it turns out, was quite the drug addict.  Chopin was addicted to opium and dosed it every day with sugar cubes.  Leonard Bernstein? Painkillers. 

It's very difficult (read: virtually impossible) for the world to openly acknowledge black female genius, to say that black women are brilliant.  Focusing on Lady Day's drug use and the things that went wrong in her life is a convenient way to ignore her musicianship and how it literally changed the world.  Consider this: She got her first paid singing job at 14. John Hammond discovered her at 18.  By the time she was 25, she had recorded well over 120 songs with the best jazz musicians of our time -- most of which are classics now.  She toured with Artie Shaw, Count Basie and Teddy Wilson's big bands.  Impossible but true: She recorded Strange Fruit in 1939 at the age of 22. (!!!) 

This is the Billie Holiday I have come to know and respect -- and yes, love: an exceptionally beautiful, disturbingly brilliant, highly creative genius musician and songwriter who was as tough as any situation demanded, because that's just how vulnerable she really was.

If you want to celebrate Billie Holiday on the day of her birth, we'll see you tonight at Minton's. For reservations and information, please click here.

The last shot of the day

This is guitarist Pete Matthiessen, comfortably rehearsing vocal arrangements at my place last night for my (Black) Americana gig as Georgette at Greenwich House Music School's Uncharted Series on Thursday, April 9th.

For more snapshots of my world, follow me on Instagram at @thisisqueenesther.

NaBloPoMo for April: GROW!

For April Fools Day, I was going to announce all over social media that I'm pregnant (!!!) but then I figured that would be a really tacky thing to do and it would probably do way more harm than good, and probably in the most hurtful way imaginable. Instead, I'm jumping on the blog everyday bandwagon -- because I've got a lot of stuff going on and this would be a great way to keep track of it, and because the discipline of writing everyday does me a lot of good.  Morning pages work wonders creatively. This will be an addendum to that process. Maybe I'll shake even more ideas loose.

I'm hoping the discipline of running every morning will have the same effect -- especially now that the weather is nice enough to roll out of bed and hit the track in the park. 

Pithy Feminist Thought of the Day

Queen Esther Sings Billie Holiday -- Minton's in April

Queen Esther Sings Billie Holiday: The Rare Sides
A different program each week!

Every Tuesday in April
Sets at 7:30pm and 9:30pm
$10 at the bar — $20 at the table

Minton’s Harlem
206 W. 118^th St.
for info/reservations 212 243 2222

April 7th    Holiday on Broadway
In honor of Billie Holiday’s centennial (April 7, 1915 – April 7, 2015), Queen Esther recreates the program from Lady Day’s Broadway debut Holiday on Broadway, which opened on April 27th, 1948 in the wake of her first Carnegie Hall appearance.

April 14th   Queen Esther Sings Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall, 1956: A Refracted Set
Using personal letters, soundbites and interview segments from Lady Day herself, Queen Esther puts a refracted spin on Miss Holiday’s last Carnegie Hall performance, giving the audience a new perspective on the greatest jazz siren of the 20^th century.

April 21^st and 28^th   The Billie Holiday Project
With the relatively unknown yet timeless songs of the iconic siren Billie Holiday as an aural backdrop for several newly unearthed Zora Neale Hurston short stories from the height of the Harlem Renaissance – including Monkey Junk, an uptown “fable” of Black city life and an instant classic – Queen Esther explores new ground by giving this unexplored material a fresh perspective.

This presentation will be followed by a set of rare sides.

Quote of the Day -- from (the other) Ralph Waldo Emerson...

My Travel Essentials -- The Top Five

Of course, there are certain things that live in anyone's carry on bag when traveling internationally -- passport, wallet, a very smartphone, housekeys.  And there's the well-stocked girly bag that always lives in just about any purse -- hand cream, hand sanitizer, lip balm, tissue, etc.  These are a few of the other things that are coming with me when I fly the friendly skies next week.

1. Bose Quiet Comfort Acoustic Noise-Cancelling Headphones -- When it's time to make the world go away, accept no substitutes. 
   
   


2. A fully loaded iPad Air 2 -- With this handy ultra lightweight tablet, I'll be able to make videos, write and record songs, watch movies, practice the piano and work on my music theory, Skype my pals and a lot of other things I haven't even thought of yet. 
   
   
   
3. A Satechi bottle top portable humidifier -- Nothing has the capacity to minimize my vocal mojo quite like a dry hotel room.  If nothing's wrong, that dryness can make things problematic. And if there's a problem, it can make things worse. The steam from a hot shower helps in a small room -- but not for long. This portable device is a great solution.  Its simple, fits on just about any water bottle and will last up to 8 hours.
   
   
   
4. I hate to sound like Howard Hughes but the tap water on airplanes is notoriously filthy and everything else is suspect.  Thanks to Britta, I've fallen out of the habit of buying a bottle of water whenever I'm thirsty.  And when it's this easy to drink water, I tend to avoid everything else.
   
   
   
5. ...and because I'm turning into a boy scout, I'll need a portable charger.

The NaBloPoMo for March: News

I keep a journal, I'm diligent about my morning pages and once in a blue moon, I'll write an article or an essay that gets published somewhere.  Writing every day for a month at a time via NaBloPoMo has proven to be excellent mental floss. It never fails to shake something loose creatively, especially if I'm spreading that information around.  Spring is almost here.  I've been growing a lot of ideas.  It's time for them to bloom. 

When it comes to news, most people I know trust Reddit or Twitter before they'll tune into a network. I don't trust any of them, so I'm constantly cross-referencing whatever I can get my hands on until the mosaic of information that I collect gives me a three-dimensional picture of what's really going on.  Sorting through bits of "newsworthy" flotsam is such a constant, I do it without thinking about it.  All manner of trivia gets stuck in my head that isn't necessarily newsworthy.  Like the weather in Bora Bora vs. Walla Walla, or what A'lelia Walker's last meal was or what happened at Attica or overtly racist white people who justify their cultural appropriation or fun details about Freud's cross-dressing niece Tom. And having wide-ranging conversations with people who are smarter than me is really important because that's a wonderful way to grow and learn new things.

The problem is, most people don't know how to think critically.  It's not what's taught in schools, which is why most people don't know how to argue a point with any real clarity or insight.  They repeat what they heard or what they're emotionally clinging to or what some conservative news outlet told them.  They're too emotionally attached to what they're saying to be truly objective. Or they're just flat-out not listening to what is being said. All of this is compounded by the fact that they usually have a conflated sense of self that won't allow them to admit any of this. 

Meh. MPB is right. It's better to not engage in the first place.

The Next Gig: The Sweetheart Soiree - TONIGHT at The Norwood Club!

-->Return to romance at Michael Arenella's Sumptuous Sweetheart Soirée.

For our Soirée's sixth, swoonful year, we again have the pleasure of hosting at the only rendezvous befitting - NORWOOD. "A home for the curious," the landmarked 1847 mansion is a strictly private club. Enjoy a rare opportunity to experience this stylishly bohemian hideaway as our guest.

Whether with an amour, wedded to one you adore, or hoping to meet the one you're looking for, this promises to be an evening of enchantment and delightful intrigue. Plenty of plush seating, room for dancing, artisanal cocktails and an array of delectable hors d'oeuvres and sweets assure a most divine affair.

A passionate programme of entertainment will be featured over four floors of this lavish Victorian manse:
MICHAEL ARENELLA and His Sextet, your devoted host and beloved bandleader
Jazz royalty, QUEEN ESTHER and Her Trio
Tap-dance darlings THE MINSKY SISTERS
Enjoy a dance lesson for both singles and doubles at 9:30PM with
The ever-dapper and undeniable adorable RODDY CARAVELLA
A cheeky portrait in our sweetheart kissing booth with your nibs

Cupid-approved cocktails alongside fabulous wines will be available.
For purchase at three unique bars, complimentary gourmet hors d'oeuvres.
And sweet treats will be featured throughout the evening.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH
DOORS AT 9PM
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT FROM 9:30PM - 1AM
ADMISSION: $90
ALL GUESTS MUST BE 21 AND OVER
FORMAL EVENING ATTIRE IS ENCOURAGED.

**ALL TICKET SALES ARE FINAL. NO REFUNDS AVAILABLE** 

Friday the 13th #1: Photoshoot!

Because Friday the 13th happens three times this year -- and won't happen again for another 11 years! --  I thought it would be fun to do something momentous for each one.  I'm not superstitious but I know way too many specifics about my Southern rural traditions, and I have sense enough to respect them.  Everybody's got their thing.  Such is life.

It's interesting to mark the days this way, with art that I make or ideas that catch me off guard.  This moment came together with photographer Steven Rosen so effortlessly, it felt like fate.  Steven was the one who took this portrait of me at the Jazz Age Lawn Party last year.  This photo captures the ethereal, timeless, elegant nature of the event -- and me! -- so completely, that asking him to shoot me for the April residency was a no-brainer.

I will be in residence at Minton's Harlem every Tuesday in April, with a program I've created that is dedicated to delving into unknown facets of Billie Holiday's body of work.  Every week, I will present a different idea, with unexpected results. What's especially exciting is that 2015 is her centennial year and the first Tuesday of the residency -- April 7th -- is her birthday.

I have been thinking about the visuals for this project for a long time, mostly because I was in the process of shaping my own image and I knew that it would bend its way onto this idea whether I wanted it to or not.  I wanted something simple and austere, yet elegant and beautiful -- mood-inducing stuff -- because ultimately,  I should look the way the music sounds. But it's bigger than that. I can no longer have anyone look at me and think of anyone else except me. And that's WAY more difficult than it sounds. 


Here's an out-take. And just in case you were wondering: I'm wearing a Byron Lars silver hobble dress, I did my own hair and make-up, and yes, I styled it myself.

For information about the April residency at Minton's Harlem and/or to make reservations, please call 212 243 2222.

I know there are a lot of people who will be looking for gardenias in my hair or an imitative send-up of her more popular material, because quite a few of those people have approached me whenever I sing any Holiday standard with a peony on my head.  Sometimes they say the oddest things, like how my flower is on the wrong side of my head or how I don't sound like Billie Holiday at all or how I must listen to a lot of Carmen McRae or Nina Simone or whoever their favorite black female jazz singer is.  I love peonies. I think they're a gigantic burst of color to my soul. I think they wake up something in me whenever I wear them. But I can't wear them anymore.

I have absolutely no intentions of turning myself into Lady Day for a month.  Miss Holiday herself got tired of that flower and those songs long before she passed away, and made a point of moving past them with resolve when the rest of the world refused to do so.  My question is, what about the rest of her work?

I hope that everyone is as interested in her rare sides as I am -- those songs that were hits back in the day but don't get a lot of attention, here and now.

See you in April. 

If this doesn't sum up Kanye West, nothing will.

Kanye West told a nigga who plays like 14 instruments that he needs to respect the artistry of a woman who needs 4 writers for one song
— 6ynth God (@DrewsThatDude) February 9, 2015

Actually, it kind of sums up the Grammys, too.

Quote of the Day -- from Nayyirah Waheed

Make Cool Art!

I am eternally grateful that I get to make the art -- and create the imagery! -- that I want to see in the world.  At the moment, there's plenty of auditions and callbacks and gigs (oh, my!) and time must be spent honing all the tools in the proverbial toolbox (voice lessons, piano lessons, on camera acting lessons, etc) As for what I'm making: there's a new song cycle in the works,  I'm developing a jazz musical (The Billie Holiday Project) and I've finally started Georgette, the twang-drenched, feminist, country & western band of my dreams. 

Click here for what I'm up to in February -- and here's a heads up for what's happening in April.

• Uncharted: Georgette, featuring Lee Ann Westover and Queen Esther -- April 9th, 8pm.  Country comes to the Village. Yes, there will be a house concert deep in the heart of Billyburg in late March and yes, we'll get to you via Concert Window if you can't get to us.  We're on Facebook! For tickets, click here.
• Queen Esther Sings Billie Holiday: The Rare Sides at Minton's Harlem -- every Tuesday in April.  With direction from Talvin Wilks and music direction from Jeremy Bacon, a different program will be presented each evening -- including an abbreviated version of The Billie Holiday Project -- to illuminate unexplored facets of Lady Day.  For more information: 212 243 2222.

WOW -- A German Fairy Tale Map?!?

I'll be in Berlin next month for a spell on an impromptu working vacation that will find me slowing things down to a crawl so I can actually enjoy much of what has only been a blur when I'm  on tour. Although Austria has better food, Germany seems to be having a culinary renaissance that has foodies, world class chefs.

Aside from the Black Forest and my love of Grimm fairy tales, I never longed to spend time in Germany when I was a child.  It seemed so farfetched, that a land of beer, sausages and schnitzel, with lederhosen and lots of Midwestern looking blondes, would have anything I'd want.  In my mind's eye, any city would look like a Fritz Lang movie -- morose, shadowy, heavy. Toss in their Nazi past, the Cold War and Checkpoint Charlie and it all added up to one rather harsh nein!  Europe meant following the footsteps of my ex-pat African-American artist forefathers and mothers, and that meant Paris or perhaps London.  Italy and Spain were much more inviting, more fun. Germany, with its ugly past, wasn't even on the map.

I couldn't have been more right -- or more wrong.

Anthony Bourdain in Berlin Part1 from Torsten Richter on Myspace.

It's much too simplistic and dismissive -- and convenient! -- to point to the Nazi atrocities and say that Germany is a horrible place.  The truth is, every country in the world has a repulsive past -- especially the European countries that some tend to idolize.  Beautiful, idyllic Spain has Cortes -- otherwise known as Cortez the Killer -- the conquistador who brought down the Aztec Empire and initiated the colonization of the Americas.  He didn't just rape, murder and pillage millions, either: it's estimated that during his siege, smallpox wiped out at least 25% of the population -- more than 3 million people.  We have plenty to ignore -- 400 years of slavery, tens of millions of Africans lost during the Middle Passage, Native American genocide.  At least Germany acknowledges its past -- and atones for it.

Africans have apologized for slavery -- so why won't America?

When I mention Berlin these days, I usually find myself in conversation with performers, musicians, writers and thinkers that have found their way to that budding metropolis after years of having worked in New York City to no avail and much success.  Here are a few of the reasons why I'm thinking of exploring the possibility of living there.

1. Germany has become a European powerhouse, economically. They have a 5% unemployment rate -- and that means with more people working, more people are spending. In contrast, Greece and Spain have a 25% unemployment rate overall -- and in Spain, nearly half of those under 30 (the lost generation) are out of work.
2. You can go to graduate school in Germany for free. And believe it or not, most of the classes are in English.
3. It's cheap, fun and full of artists from all over the world.  New York City, in comparison, is extremely expensive, full of dilletantes and not much fun when pretty much all you do is work to pay the rent.

 I've been studying the language, reading about its history and making an extensive itinerary. Let's see what happens.

Isn't this a fun map? I won't follow it this time around but I will keep it in mind as I roam. 

Wise Words of the Day

February's NaBloPoMo - Make!

This month's theme is "make" -- whatever that means.

What's interesting is that there is so little that America manufactures anymore and most people have a tendency to not make things, but purchase them as needed and discard them with abandon. Once upon a time -- as recently as the turn of the century -- everyone made their own clothes.  They also grew much of their own food. When my mother was a kid growing up in the rural South, you weren't allowed in stores to buy clothes off the rack. You had a sewing machine, you learned how to sew what you wanted and mend your hand-me-downs. If you really had to have it, you ordered it in a Sears and Roebuck catalog. You got resourceful. You made what you wanted.

This was the Southern way, the way I was raised. To be able to make things with your hands, whether it was the curtains in the living room or the pretty dress you saw in the window.  To cook, to bake. To keep a garden seasonally, grow a fruit tree and eat what you grow.  I have all of that in me and have embraced some part of that somewhere along the way in my life -- but I live in a city that doesn't necessarily give me free rein to live that way.

Of course, this got me to thinking about what I make and as it turns out, it's a lot. I would like to add clothes to that list.  I was taught to sew as a child and I'd love to pick it back up.  Knitting, too.

It's kind of wacky that we need a website to scour the nation to find American manufacturers and then have them plead with us to buy American in this really jingoistic way -- like you're less of an American if you don't -- but here it is.  They should have that conversation with the American manufacturers that take their business to other countries.

And then there's The Buy Black Movement. But that's another conversation...

Quote of the Day -- from Peace Pilgrim

 

"Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you -- and in this materialistic age, a great many of us are possessed by our possessions." -- Peace Pilgrim

 

 

30 Days of Yoga -- Eventually...

A few days ago, I impulsively bought a supercheap 30 day unlimited pass from Yogaworks. That's right -- I can take as many classes as I want, on any day that I want, at any of their locations, for a month.  All I have to do is activate it by January 31st.  Thanks to a yoga passbook that fell in my lap last spring, I bounced in and out of all kinds of yoga classes long enough to realize that I quite like bending my body into submission. And it did come as a surprise to me, to know that my body could still surprise me.

For some strange reason, I haven't pulled the trigger on this offer yet. Probably because everything is still relatively dead calm and I'm enjoying the quiet before the whole wide world comes rushing in.