#19. 15 August 2019

​Friends!

I hope you’re all doing great. 

For my part I’m chilling on the couch with dear old pal Jon Crompton in beautiful (ahem) Brooklyn. I’ll be playing his CD release party tonight at the Owl with the same slaying band that’s on the record. More on that further down. 

I’ve been scoping some music that I’m really into lately. For example. 

Rajna Swaminathan :: Of Agency and Abstraction 
https://rajnaswaminathan.bandcamp.com/album/of-agency-and-abstraction
This recording is just awesome. Rajna plays mrudangam (a two-headed drum played with the hands) and assembled an unbelievable band. They play her music at a measured simmer throughout. It’s beautifully recorded. It’s beautifully conceived. A perfectly fluid confluence of a variety of influences including jazz and Carnatic Indian music. Listen! Buy!

Dave Frishberg
Good buddy Jacob Pleakis hipped me to Dave’s music while we were brainstorming songs to sing together. Dave wrote stuff like “I’m Just a Bill” and other Schoolhouse Rock classics. He also wrote ripyourgutsout devastatingly beautiful songs like “You Are There” and hilariously clever and relatable tunes like “Blizzard of Lies.” I’ve been listening to and enjoying all of it. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for the Breiner/Pleakis collab Sad Bastards. Or maybe Secret Crooners. Or maybe Electric Tornado. So hard to decide....