Food for Thought: Student Loans = Debt Slavery

Infographic by College Scholarships.org

Valentine's Day Weekend in NYC: The Sweetheart Soiree

On February 17, my trio and I will perform at the elegant Sweetheart Soiree with Michael Arenella and his Sextet at The Stone Rose Lounge in the Time-Warner Center overlooking Columbus Circle.  There will be performances by The Minsky Sisters as well as Grace Gotham, a dance lesson with the one and only Roddy Caravella, and of course a kissing booth.

We will be performing rare sides and well known standards from Billie Holiday's body of work. It should make for an interesting evening of romance and love.

More details:

Doors open at 7pm

Live entertainment from 8pm to 1am

Admission: $60

One complimentary glass of Prosecco upon entry

Complimentary hors d'oevres

All guests must be 21 and over

Black tie and evening attire is encouraged

Please note: This event will sell out. Tickets are limited. Please click here to get your tickets now.

On the road again...!

As of today, January 22nd, I'm on tour in Europe as vocalist with guitarist James "Blood" Ulmer's iconic band Odyssey. For tour dates, click here -- and if you'd like to follow along as I blog all about it, please go to This Rock 'n Roll Blackgrrl's High Life -- A Cautionary Tale. Danke!

Here's what Odyssey sounds like -- via a live performance in Tokyo, 1983 -- doing one of my favorite songs Are You Glad To Be In America?

Envisioning Emancipation

Apparently, this somewhat celebratory moment that commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation isn't lost on Hollywood or the media. There are an avalanche of movies, documentaries, exhibits and the like that are to be released within the next two years. Here's a little something that caught my eye. 

The book Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and The End of Slavery -- released on January 1st by Temple University Press -- has me spellbound. I get lost inside those faces, their collective stance, the feel of it all. They are somber, elegant and in most instances, they are painfully well dressed. What's especially disturbing is that they look too familiar. I remember thinking, I know that look on that little boy's face. The way that soldier's shoulder is thrown back, the way her arms are folded. If I look at those pictures for too long, I can almost sense their thoughts. It's all so dignified, so full of self-respect and hope.

Many of the photos have never been seen before. God only knows where they were hidden or how they were found. 



Images in media are so much more important than we think they are.  As we are shown someone else's perspective of us, we are taught so many things  -- who we are, what we look like, where we stand, whether we truly matter.  For God knows how long -- for too long, really -- we have seen ourselves through the bluest eye. And now this: thousands of photographs taken by us, for us -- black photographers capturing snapshots of black people as they stand on the brink of freedom and true self-determination. I have seen other pictures from this era and when I look at these, I can feel the difference.

Free films! (Yes! Free!)

Snag Films has thousands of independent films that you can watch anytime for free and share with others.  I highly recommend this site. It's inspiring stuff.

I'm really into documentaries right now.  I think they can be a great way to learn about things that usually fly under the media radar.  Nowadays, I suppose most things do.  Everything around me seems determined to shift my attention to Honey Boo Boo or some celebrity squabble instead of the killings in Chicago that rage on unabated, the ravages of war in the Middle East or the financial mess we're in. The struggle continues -- for my almighty dollar, for my right to fight but most importantly, my attention span.


Here's the blurb for a documentary about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Really makes you wonder what else they've been sitting on for decades, doesn't it. Enjoy.


A Man of Peace In a Time of War: A rare and candid TV interview with Martin Luther King, Jr. -- unseen for 40 years -- is the centerpiece of this timely tribute, featuring exclusive interviews with such notables as Jesse Jackson and Colin Powell that provide fresh insight into the life and personality of the late civil rights leader.

graduate school post script

i got accepted to new york university's tisch school of the arts mfa program last year and delayed entry for one year to look for a way to pay for it without having to take out six figures in loans and turn myself and mpb into debt slaves for the rest of our adult lives. everyone else i know has no qualms about being up to their ears in debt forever. i can't. i don't want anyone to own me, certainly not any bank or corporation.  get out of debt is a chant that has been on a slow boil in my life for awhile. now that i'm close to that finish line, here comes a situation that would land me right back into the hole i'm about to crawl out of.

am i sisyphus or what.

graduate school has always felt inevitable, somehow. i never intended to leave new york city without an advanced degree.  i'll feel a lot better about getting out of here, once i get one.

needless to say, i'm still looking for money. the foundation center seems to be a solid place to start. if anyone has any other suggestions, get at me. i would love to hear them.

in the meantime, i found a 26 minute documentary called scholarslip about the student debt crisis that really sums up so much of  what's fundamentally wrong with the system.



and as if all of that weren't enough, here's a word from frugal dad -- college isn't cheap!

Top Ten Reasons Why I Liked Django Unchained (Spoiler Alert!)

(Please note: This is the second trailer for Django Unchained. Enjoy!)

I don't think Spike Lee was wrong -- I want to honor my ancestors, too -- but I can't criticize a movie if I haven't seen it. And yet everyone has an opinion on Django Unchained.  I supposed that's understandable. It's been awhile since Roots had everyone glued to their televisions for a week. And then we wanted to talk about it. We wanted to find our roots.

As a nation, we are in dire need of a collective roundtable discussion about race. And for once, we really need to make it an honest one. Perhaps the success of this movie will trigger an avalanche of talks, documentaries, exhibits and yes, more films.  Nothing gets more movies made in Hollywood like a blockbuster. The more information, the better.  Anything to get the ball rolling.

I have way more than ten reasons as to why I liked Django Unchained.  These are the ones that floated to the surface initially.

1. It's funny.  Needless to say, the most telling moments happen when white people stop laughing and black people can't stop cracking up. The white guy behind me was giggling quite freely until Django beat the brakes off of that white man with a bullwhip. 
2. It's fiction. Of course, that won't stop people from treating it like a documentary. 
3. It's about slavery in the United States -- something of which way too many Americans know very little. They certainly know even less about its atrocities.  And they seem to know less than nothing of the Black Holocaust.
4.  It's got a black (ex)slave hero. The truth is, there were hundreds of thousands of Nat Turners, disrupting anything whenever they could. Where's that movie?
5. It's got a black hero that's beating, whipping, maiming, shooting and killing a garden variety of insufferably racist, bigoted white people. I can't think of any black people that wouldn't want to see that. Repeatedly.
6. It's got a loving, solid black marriage.  Yes, black people want to see that, too -- in any time period. Slaves fought desperately for their marriages -- and their children. It didn't start with the Huxtables.
7. Believe it or not, the black hero's wife doesn't pass the paper bag test.  Shocking, right?
8.  It's got a black hero that's focused on saving his black wife by any means necessary.  I don't know about you but I don't see very many leading men in filmdom going to the absolute limit for the love of a black woman.
9. Maybe it's my recent forays into the Rhineland or the research that I'm doing about Germans in the (Antebellum) South but I loved the German references within the storyline. (Interestingly, my last name is German. More on that later.) And those filthy greedy Australians? That was just too perfect.
10. It's got a beautiful ending: the black hero and his girl ride off into the sunset together. I remember seeing that and thinking, Why not? Why shouldn't they run off and be happy? At Harlem's Magic Johnson Theater, the audience stood up and cheered.'Nuff said.

Perhaps Dangerfield Newby is the "real" Django Unchained.  He tried to buy his wife Harriett and their 7 children out of slavery but when the agreed-upon price was abrubtly raised once he'd met it, he sought other means and joined John Brown's raiders at Harper's Ferry. And the rest, as they say, is history.

wait, what happened to me in 2012?

i can't remember the last time i made a new year's resolution. it's probably because i list my goals constantly -- dated, well organized, layered -- and i make every effort to prioritize them. that bright, shining end of the year moment is kind of lost on me because i'm resolving to do things every day -- and then i do them, by any means necessary.

every year is more and more of a blur, so instead of dwelling on what i didn't do last year, i decided to make a list of exactly what i did do.

let's see now...2012 was the year that i

sang harmonies with joseph arthur on the david letterman show

was featured as a jazz dancer -- doing the black bottom, of all things -- on boardwalk empire. (that's my second time on that show, folks.  jazz dancing is a fun gig, but i won't quit until i'm a gangster's moll...)

had two stellar sold out performances at the apollo theater's music cafe of the billie holiday project, a show i performed in and wrote.

opened for and sang with the legendary jazz vocalist jon hendricks at the 35th annual harlem stage gala

got accepted to the nyu/tisch school of the arts mfa program

wrote a bunch of rock and roll songs with my bennett guitar

got a banjo (on permanent loan, sort of -- thanks michael!) and started learning how to play it (fingerpicking is hell on earth.)

started to get really good at boxing -- and LOVE it
(hitting men strategically, with power and velocity, and outmaneuvering them, is sublime.)

was selected as a semi-finalist in the performance category of the unsigned only music competition 

won a blue ribbon at the jazz age lawn party's pie contest -- twice!  (fyi: the first one in june, best savory, was a tomato pie and the second one in august, most unusual, was a vinegar pie. dee-lish!)

threw myself a birthday party with plenty of cool friends and low country fare

danced again (something i was always told i was lousy at, by the way) for a new idea i'm growing with the francesca harper project at the first annual harlem arts festival in marcus garvey park -- on my birthday!

toured europe singing in guitarist james "blood" ulmer's black rock experience that included g. calvin weston on drums and mark petersen on bass

accompanied myself on guitar (for the very first time ever!) and premiered a few of my original country tunes at a sold out gig deep in the heart of brooklyn

recorded ruler of my heart, an allen toussaint song made famous by irma thomas, for a tribute album dedicated to him -- with the little big band swingadelic

sat in with the hot sardines and sang sweet sue at the vintage subway swing party/train ride

got a beautiful soprano martin ukulele as a christmas present from mpb

performed with my quintet the hot five in the salon's fifth annual new year's eve eve fete

sang in the new year at the astor room

yeesh. i guess 2012 was kinda dope... 

The Next Gig: The Salon's New Year's Eve Eve

frankly, i prefer hanging out on new year's eve eve -- there's less hassle in general, things aren't too crowded or touristy and if you find the right situation, you can lounge and have fun in a high octane enviornment with a minimal amount of fuss.  new year's eve has turned into a real amateur hour in this town. there are all these things that you're supposed to do -- like going to times square to watch the ball drop, for example -- that aren't really that much fun at all.

you want fun? here it is: the salon's new year's eve eve.

this happy gathering of well-heeled swing scene stalwarts is an annual, elegant, non-stop party of epic proportions: over 40 performers -- jazz musicians, banjo pickers, burlesque dancers, djs spinning 78s on vitrolas and the like -- take over 3 floors of the dl, a beautiful newly restored hotspot in the lower east side.

each floor will have a different band, a different vibe. the first floor will be dedicated to the 1920s -- a lot of hot jazz from red hook ramblers, a lot of crooning from gelber and manning and of course lovely tunes to dance to from dj michael "the barber" haar of the ragged phonograph program.

he's not the only dj, either. each floor will have one.

the second floor -- the red room, lined with red walls, laced with red chandeliers and studded with red furniture -- will be filled with blues from ron sunshine and his band.

the third floor -- where i'll be, for an early set -- has a beautiful water fountain, huge tropical trees and a retractable rooftop that's kind of breathtaking because you can feel the clear expanse of sky hanging just above your head. i'll be with my quintet the hot five, playing an extra special first set crammed with billie holiday's rare sides and well known tunes. i'm out by 10pm and then george gee and his orchestra takes the stage for the rest of the evening.

the hot five:

todd londagin: trombone, vocals

hilliard greene: bass

warren smith: drums

al street: guitar

patience higgins: tenor sax

now, doesn't this sound like a fun night out?

if you can't lindy, don't sweat it -- just show up early for a complimentary dance lesson.  there's hand crafted cocktails for your drinking pleasure, of course.  and yes, lots of burlesque all over the place.

i'm looking forward to dressing up like its 1935, seeing a lot of familiar faces from the swing scene, sitting in with ron for at least one song and going home early, like a sensible little bird. after all, i'll be chirping on new year's eve, at the astor room.

doors open at 7pm. they'll be ripping it up until 2am, easily. get your tickets in advance here for $25. (vip tickets are available, too.) the cover at the door is $30 but here's a tip: if you say "yehoodi" at the door, they'll give you $5 off.  huzzah!

see you there!

right now

right now/at this moment/currently, i'm

1. probably curled up on the sofa and having an after dinner/before bed hot toddy
2. reading the devil in the white city
3. heading to spa castle this week
4. wondering what i'll wear for this year's new year's eve eve bash. (if i can get back into what i've got, i won't have to buy anything else...)
5. totally in love with my fitbit one
6. eating clean for the rest of the month with mpb
7. doing a wintertime kccm castor oil challenge
8. rewriting my musical the billie holiday project
9. submitting said musical to nyc theaters next week as a christmas present to myself
10. taking guitar lessons from this guy

Tender Moments with G. Calvin Weston, Part 1: "In my office! NOW!"

Having started his 30+ year career as a musician with harmolodic saxophonist/composer Ornette Coleman at the tender age of 17, it's safe to say that G. Calvin Weston is a drummer of epic proportions.  It's his innate musicality, however -- a seemingly indefatigable desire to emote vocally, as a countertenor would, augmented by a verve towards sound and vision -- that makes him four dimensional as an artist.  One would think he was from the deep South.  Calvin is grounded and yet he is ethereal, a heady mix of what can only be described as a sophisticated hick that is refined and aware, set adrift upon the performance stages of the world.

We just came off a European tour with James "Blood" Ulmer, hopscotching all over creation and then some.  I would say that Calvin and I became what most people would describe as fast friends but that isn't exactly true. The truth is, Calvin and I met and realized that somehow, we already knew each other. At least, that's the way it felt on my end.

How does he describe it?

It was after the gig, when we were at the bar at Kunst & Kulturhaus in Oblarn, Austria that Calvin turned to me and said, with a great deal of astonishment, "Do you realize we only met four days ago?" Then without warning, before I could fully express my mutual wonder and admiration, he smiled broadly, threw his hands up triumphantly as though he'd just made the touchdown of a lifetime and yelled at the top of his lungs, "It's like you fell out my balls!"

If I wasn't mortified the first time he said it, the third time probably sealed it for me.

Of course, the back end of the bar roared its approval and applauded raucously. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. All I could do was cover my face with my hands. Later, I remember thinking, well that was a compliment, really -- as only Calvin could give.

And that's pretty much G. Calvin Weston -- in a nutshell, so to speak.

Once they were up and positioned and tuned, Calvin had the habit of calling his drumset his office. There were too many moments when he would insist that I photograph him there.  It is with this in mind that I give you a pastiche of images from any given soundcheck from our happy jaunt through the Rhineland and beyond -- Calvin, hard at work, in his office.



Rehearsal, Music Hall Worpswede -- this is our sound engineer Joerg Mohr's home base.






Porgy & Bess, Vienna Austria



That's a glimpse of Joerg, moving and repositioning that drumset for the 5th time.



Cinema Paradiso St. Polten, Austria





Altes Kino, Landeck Austria



BIX Stuttgart Germany





A-Trane, Berlin Germany -- with Joerg checking Blood's monitors.



The view as I tilt open the backstage door.



At Altes Plandhaus in the round, Cologne Germany

We had big fun in Oblarn!

As we drove through the Swiss Alps into Oblarn, I remember thinking that it looked like something out of a German fairy tale: it was a simple little village at first glance -- such pastoral surroundings replete with cows and sheep, and then wooden bric-a-brac trim and shutters framing pastel-colored houses that were sandwiched together just so, with snow capped mountains that imposed themselves upon you in every direction, hovering just out of reach, heavy with fog and wonder. Only the cars that zipped through the narrow streets made it all tumble into the present day.  I was genuinely surprised to see cottages tucked into so many crevices in the mountains. If I were a little kid, I would think that’s where all the happy little goats and rams live.

As soon as we got near the venue, Calvin snapped to it abrubtly and remembered exactly where to park and how everything was situated. As it turns out, he was there in April with bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and guitarist Vernon Reid as Freeform Funky Freqs. There was no internet in the hotel but the venue – Kunst and Kulturhaus, built in the 12th century – had wifi and luckily, it was open for immediate load in. From there, everything exploded into a million beautiful particles that continue to shine. What a big surprise. Oblarn turned out to be the sleepy little place that wasn’t so sleepy after all. The food, for example, was tremendous.  I had the trout, which I loved. I should have gotten the lamb, which was astonishing. (Isn't Calvin nice to let me eat off of his plate all the time?) Mark had the beef stroganoff, which tipped the scale towards fantastic. Unfortunately, that was enough to send us to bed, or at least a good little nap. When I eat that well, I know I'm going to sleep like a child.

In spite of a momentary snag during the set – Blood thought someone was videotaping the show and he stopped everything to figure it out – things only got better from there, really.  The music began to shift into overdrive early on. I distinctly remember the feeling of being blown back by the sound of Blood’s guitar – like a jet engine, churning and unwinding – and not being able to stop my body from flinching repeatedly. And then I looked into the audience and saw another girl who was having the same reaction. The visceral response is an honest one.

The audience was warm, enthusiastic and genuinely appreciative. Later, as I went to search for something to eat, I found the bar and more people. Hans gave me a long narrow beautiful bottle of local schnapps. I can’t get it anyplace else, I can’t order it online. What a conundrum. To me, local things are really the best there is because they are so inherently unique. As commercialism threatens to turn everything into a strip mall, such things grow more and more precious. And sacred, somehow. I don’t usually drink and I just loved it. It tasted like pears and elderflowers. Treat it like medicine, Hans intoned. I am absolutely drop-dead terrified that I will break it before I return to Harlem, so I wrap it very carefully in a thick towel and bury it in my luggage everytime we stop and go. 

No one behind the bar had ever heard of mescal – my personal favorite. I think I’ll send some as a thank you. If I could, I’d leave a bottle of high grade mescal in my wake, everywhere I go that loves me.  When it’s done right, it’s the absolute limit.

I had to leave eventually for the sake of my voice -- my physical body is my instrument and if I don't get the rest I need (and not strain my voice by talking in loud bars) I won't be able to sing. It doesn't help that I have GERD, either. 

On the other hand, Mark and Calvin closed the place down. Calvin is a big kid but I think that Mark is still recovering…

My #1 Eat Clean Inspiration: Annette Larkins

lean, strong, vibrant, healthy - with a glowingly pretty, wrinkle-free complexion and plenty of energy to spare. who wouldn't want that? then again, i suppose the real question is, would you be willing to give up eating garbage to have all of this?

the first time i saw this story in the video below about mrs. annette larkins, it freaked me out so much, i didn't eat meat for a week. i'm not the kind of person that can't make it without a hamburger ever other day but if what little meat i consume is damaging me as much as i think it is, i'm ready to make the jump - if not to veganism, most definitely to eating clean. as a matter of fact, i stumbled onto the eat clean program after i saw this. it's been slow going since then but thankfully, i haven't looked back.

this 70 year old lady - a resident of miami/dade county, by the way - has maintained a raw vegan lifestyle for 27 years. she grows what she eats in her backyard - everything from nuts to aloe - which she calls her fountain of youth. she simply doesn't eat anyting that's cooked.

absolutely no cosmetic surgery whatsoever. amazing, right?

here she is with her husband of 54 years.

people usually assume that she's his kid. he takes medication for diabetes and high blood pressure daily. he looks like he's falling apart - especially in comparison to her.

i honestly believe that after a certain age, you can't eat and drink whatever you want without paying a high price for it - especially nowadays when so much of what we consume has been genetically modified and is loaded to the absolute hilt with salt, fat, sugar, additives, antibiotics, preservatives and lots of other colorful and interesting things that our great-grandparents would never consume.  they'll put anything in food these days. anything.

i'm growing towards eating clean and after 3 very solid go-rounds, i'm very nearly there - totally over starches like rice and potatoes, carbs like pasta and fast food like mcdonalds. i can even keep salt and sugar and fat at arms length without freaking out too much. i do have a permanent weakness, however, for chicharones. (God help me.)

don't get me wrong. i've always stuck to a pretty healthy regimen. the thing is, i've hit a fork in the road, so to speak. i have to work harder to maintain it all and i feel myself giving way sometimes - eating the wrong things, not hitting the gym for a week, falling off in one way or another. when this happens, i see and feel it almost immediately. 

i can't slack off anymore. i've got to get a grip. i mean, seriously. look at annette!

Today's Sermon

here's a video sermon (!!!) from today's service, with pastor carter conlon of times square church -- Prayer For a Desperate Hour.  watch, listen in and be blessed.

wait - whodidwhat, now?

apparently, myspace is making a comeback. this should be interesting. (hm. better find my passwords and update my junk...)

The new Myspace from Myspace on Vimeo.

the charleston sc short list

i can't leave here without these five things:

1. benne wafers
2. muscadines
3. black pudding
4. palmetto roses - my favorites!
5. vidalia onions - i know the season for growing them is over, but maybe someone has pickled a few...

progress: fitness, clothes, life

“Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess.” — Edna Woolman Chase

good news, sports fans: i'm getting my body back.

every season, i fight for it all over again -- the size 4 body i had when i came to new york city a million years ago. i don't fight for it out of vanity, either. sure, it's a job requirement. pulling this off certainly feels like a full time job. and yes -- after years of living hand to mouth with absolutely no insurance whatsoever, i consider maintaining a lean, strong, healthy body with exercise, clean food and vitamins to be preventative medicine. the real reason is that i'm simply too cheap and/or broke to buy new clothes.  i love my vintage dresses, pencil skirts and what little designer items i have too much to throw them away.  i'm not trendy enough to keep up with what's hip.  wearing the latest fashions takes a lot of money. most of that stuff looks pretty tacky on me, anyway.

why, it's almost as though i'm about to get a new wardrobe because i'll be able to wear all these clothes i haven't been able to fit into in ages.  more on that some other time.

what's my big secret? i stopped eating garbage and got my butt to the gym everyday. i try to make it happen in the morning because although i love the way exercise makes my backside look, i really don't like doing it. and no, i'm not a morning person.

here's an interesting little clip about how little exercise it takes to change your life.

Source: youtube.com via Queen on Pinterest

ten things

i'm getting ready to skip town with blood. in my head, my bags are already packed -- sort of. one of them is practically empty to make room for all the stuff i'd like to bring back, like kirschwasser and kindereggs (just in time for halloween!) and of course, something strange and unexpected, like a vintage pair of lederhosen. (just in time for halloween!) who knows what i'll find, if i look hard enough.

believe it or not, i need a separate zippered container in my suitcase for all of my beauty products -- because frankly, my left leg could drink up one of those travel sized bottles of lotion overnight, all by itself. and no, i'm not even going to get into how thirsty my thick, thick hair is in its natural state.

this is my latest list, spun out of me haphazardly on the way to the gym:

1. zantac
2. grether's pastilles blackcurrant glycerine drops
3. universal adaptor
4. digital recorder
5. humidifier
6. slippery elm tea
7. small (but powerful!) mini-speakers
8. collapsible water bottle
9. collapsible to-go container
10. motrin

there's got to be a better, more efficient way to travel internationally -- without paying a lot of fees. maybe this is it.

I don't get it

Why would Mr. Peanut want to know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll?

Good hair

(Thanks, Chrissi J!)