• Contact Us

  • Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire: Ultimate Fan Guide

    Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire: The Ultimate Fan Guide [Kindle] $0.99.


    Kobo Inc.
    Download_on_the_iTunes_iBooks_Badge_US-UK_146x40_0824
    I
    Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire:  Ultimate Fan Guide

    Georgiana is the subject of the movie "The Duchess" (currently on Netflix) and a relative of the young Prince and Princess of Cambridge. Get the Ultimate Fan Guide -- with plot points, history, and what happened to the historical characters -- for only 99 cents!

  • Green Party Peace Sign Bumper Sticker


    Green Party Peace Sign Bumper Sticker
    The Green Party has continually opposed entry into war and has consistently called for the immediate return of our troops, in stark contrast to the Democratic and Republican parties.
    Today we march, tomorrow we vote Green Party.

  • Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened?

    Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? ebook cover

    |

    Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? eBook

    Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? eBook on Amazon

    Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? eBook

    Reflections on Occupy Wall Street, with photos, fun, and good wishes for the future. eBook, Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? (Only $.99 !) In the eBook, the Occupy movement is explored through original reporting, photographs, cartoons, poetry, essays, and reviews.The collection of essays and blog posts records the unfolding of Occupy into the culture from September 2011 to the present.  Authors Kimberly Wilder and Ian Wilder were early supporters of Occupy, using their internet platforms to communicate the changes being created by the American Autumn.

    The eBook is currently available on Amazon for Kindle;  Barnes & Noble Nook ; Smashwords independent eBook seller; and a Kobo for 99 cents and anyone can read it using their Kindle/Nook Reader, smart phone, or computer.

Why go see Sendrowitz & Jimenez on 2/23/11?

From the event:

Brian & Phil photos 2/23/11

 

IW:  This is not a post.  It is a love note.  One of our goals on Wilderside has been to support the local music scene, and let our friends know how many amazing musicians are in their backyard.  This free singer-songwriter series does that in a big way.  It is hosted by LI Pulse which regularly spotlights local talent, including an occasional article from your humble blogger.

On top of that , this music series is curated by one of my all-time favorite poetmusicians Alan Semerdjian.  Alan is also a regularly contributor to LI Pulse.  One of my favorite games  in getting a new issue of Pulse, besides seeing if I recognize the lyric publisher Nada quotes in her column and flipping to infobites in the back page Pulse rate, is hunting Wheres-Waldo-style for the almost obligatory Alan column/photo/listing. 

Alan Semerdjian

Alan Semerdjian

Though there are many chances to catch Alan’s musical side (especially during one of his summer tours), you should make sure to catch him if he is reading from is book , In the Architecture of Bone. The book is a very personal journey through Alan’s identity, especially his Armenian heritage.  This is the opening stanza from How Turkish Coffee Got Its Name

I want to bring coffee here and read the gas station attendant’s fortune in the grounds that take the shape of a ghost or treasure chest. The kind of coffee my mother used to make. And before that, her mother. The kind that rises on the stove in the pot. Rises like the inside of a volcano. The side you never see until it reaches the brim. Then you pull it off and serve it. In tiny cups. The kind I’ll bring and spread out across the counter during an oil change.

Alan is truly is an artist.  The Body Electric that he curated at the Whitman Birthplace was the best multimedia series I had ever attended.  I miss it.

For me the highlight of the series are the 2 musicians booked for February 23rd evening (8pm).  Alan knows much I love Sendrowitz’ and Jimenez’ music.  Alan had performed a set himself at the inauguration of this series  at the Cinema Arts Center.  That night included the legendary David Amram and Jaymay.   Alan, being one of the most generous performers I know, performed one of Sendrowitz’ songs that night partially because he knew I would enjoy it.  It turns the whole complaint of LI being “cover song land” on its head when a local artist covers another local artist.    It is just such a wonderful act in building a loving, supporting artistic community.

Brian Sendrowitz‘s songs are raw emotion with literate lyrics and captivating music.  Though Brian has been performing and recording as the leader of Beat Radio for years now, his initial solo album, When It Comes On Like A Dream is still  one of my all-time  favorite.  (And not just because in the cover photo his guitar case has a Nader-LaDuke photo on it.)  John P. Darcy writing in the album’s liner notes has come much closer than I ever have to describing the album’s seductiveness:

Though I have to admit that my current favorite single of Brian’s is from a more recent Beat Radio album, safe inside the sound: Hard Times for Dreamers.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMP8fwl_mS4]

If you want to sing along in the chorus:

When the cold wind blows
We raise up our sails
When there is no wind we row
Hard times for dreamers
But our hearts prevail
And we shine that light
Everywhere we go

To understand why Phil Jimenez is the perfect double bill with Brian, we need to start with/return to Darcy’s When It Comes on Like a Dream liner notes:

The album is built around live takes constructed in close quarters. Brian and producer Phil Jimenez had worked together before, but only in fragments. It appeared that the tandem would never get the chance to complete a project together. Case in point: the album was lost in cyberspace’s deepest abyss and would take $20,000 to even attempt to retrieve. Miraculously, Phil stoically rescued it through divine technological troubleshooting and ultimately saw it through to its completion. . . . There was a lot of love put into making the album. It was recorded in Phil’s Huntington studio, which doubles as his residence.

Phil is LI’s own Daniel Lanois/Quincy Jones/T-Bone Burnett.  He is not only a record producer with a golden ear, he has the multi-instrumentalist chops to bring the musical ideas to life.  You are just as likely to hear Phil playing accordion on an someone’s album as guitar or percussion. When It Comes on Like A Dream is one of my favorite alums because of Brian’s songwriting and performance, but it undeniable that Phil’s light touch showcased Brian’s talent perfectly.

And then we have Phil’s own songwriting talent.  He writes witty catchy songs with the vibrancy of op and the weight of rock.  I was a fan of Phil’s long-lost band Jordan River.  Somewhere in the 90’s I booked them for their last gig at Kate Kelly‘s Sundays at Seven in Northport before the band disbanded before he went off on an international tour with LI pop/rock band WHEATUS for their self titled multi-platinum debut (TEENAGE DIRTBAG), which he co-produced for Columbia Records. My favorite iteration of Phil’s music was Easy Anthems.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsiWxclW4PI]

There are so many Easy Anthems songs I love, but the last few lines of this one always gets me. From left to right, the acoustic version of Easy Anthems in the video are:  Paul Loren, Vanesa Alvero, and Phil.  And yes they are playing for the Babylon Green Party.

Finally,  returning to my earlier thought of my love of hearing local artists covering each other, I believe we’ll be hearing a lot of cross-pollination on the 23rd.  Brian and Phil are more than artist and producer,  they are friends, collaborators and friendly musical competitors.   When I booked Beat Radio for a Green Party of Suffolk fundraiser in 2008, Phil came along as Brian’s sideman:

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=471872308979951641#]

6 Responses

  1. […] Though there are many chances to catch Alan’s musical side (Read more…) […]

  2. […] Why go see Sendrowitz & Jimenez on 2/23/11? (www.onthewilderside.com) […]

  3. […] Sendrowitz played his beat radio song at the 2/23/11 LI Pulse singer-songwriter series at the Cinema Arts Center.   The co-feature was Phil Jimenez.  The series is curated by Alan […]

  4. […] Matinee by Br… on return of the sun by rogue bea…Sunday Matinee by Br… on Why go see Sendrowitz & Ji…Sunday Matinee by Br… on Beat Radio: Glasslands […]

  5. […] Why go see Sendrowitz & Jimenez on 2/23/11? (www.onthewilderside.com) […]

  6. […] Why go see Sendrowitz & Jimenez on 2/23/11? (www.onthewilderside.com) […]

Leave a Reply to Lullaby by Phil Jimenez « OntheWilderSide Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.