May 2011 bring us all a better sense of community. To engage in a society recommitted to ethical principles and right action.
To reach in to our own authenticity and live it fully.
Happy New Year.
These sentiments from French musical friend Pascal Coquard says it best:
From soul... ... to heart only vibrations !
"Art doesn't care about 2011, growth, TV and power... So artists keep your passion, audience come to share it... more and more this year !"
Pascal Coquard : Sound transmitter
For those of us in the North East we're under snow. In NYC we've gotten lots of it.
If you do go out, listen to the city with new ears. The quiet, the calm from the blanket of snow. It's one of those rare times where we can actually feel like nature does exist in the city. Normally we walk on asphalt, and concrete above stories of a man-made underground world of steel and cement tunnels, it's hard to remember there's earth underneath. The snow underfoot cushioned and uneven brings a lovely sense of wonder.
Enjoy
PS I've been on a holiday break so I'm happy not to be trudging my EQ to the subway although I miss the fun. To all my subway performing friends that are brave enough or have no choice but to get out and gig, stay warm and be careful.
my pup Etta and me
What is the 3/50 project?
Think of 3 independently owned stores you'd miss if they were gone...the idea is you spend $50 at each, and in the process help save your local economy.
How about doing the same for your local non-profit? Small arts, education, animal rights, and community organizations were hit really hard by the recession, including dried up grants, reduced donor support and economic tightening of expenditures. They truly need your support now more than ever. I have a friend who explains it this way, "in these tough times I give 'til it hurts and it hurts, but I can't imagine my community without these organizations, so I give." Consider splitting up your donor giving pie into smaller pieces by giving to the international organizations you believe in, but also add to it the local ones you might not realize you take for granted and would certainly miss if they were gone.
So with the concept of the 3/50 project in mind, why not think about 3 local organizations you would really miss if they were no longer around and give $50. And don't forget to let them know how much they mean to you.
I believed in God
I believed in Fairy Tales
I believed in Santa Claus
Gave me a reason to believe in the concept
beyond belief
beyond our imagination
beyond our disbelief
giving in to these
wanting to believe
In my years
I've found all to be true
set the stage
for the way I look at life
from intimacy and public
display
made me truer to myself
no where to hide
God knows
and Santa Claus sees
and moral of the story
lessons teach more than
can be imagined
NYCSubwayGirl travels through Grand Central Station at holiday time and listens to Music Under New York artists violinist James Graseck, 'Cajun Cellist' Sean Grissom and saw player Moses Josiah.
Update: Sadly the 2010 holiday light show in Grand Central Station is a no-show as they couldn't find a corporate sponsor!! No kidding. Here's a folksy hand written sign at the customer service booth.
Watch a clip I made in Grand Central Station for the holidays with Music Under New York artists James Graseck, Sean Grissom and saw player Moses Josiah.
With the holidays upon us and so many people still affected by the market crash and feeling the pain of higher cost of living, I can see the stress, I can feel it. So lately I have been chatting more than usual during my subway gigs. I don't usually really chat much because people are moving along their busy way and don't stick around for longer than a song or 2. But that doesn't mean most people aren't listening as they rush on by. This month, I've been reminding people to not get so wound up by the consuming machine for the holidays. As people pass by, I say things like "be good to yourself this holiday season, be mindful that we all don't have to buy into the 'I need' stuff game." We're all so busy and stressed trying to make ends meet and also keep up with the multitude of tech items that now seem we can't live without, but oh yes we can. Really. We forget to focus on the stuff we can do that doesn't cost anything but our time and genuinely makes a difference in our lives.
So be good to yourself and those around you over the next few weeks, and you just might find it's a new way to start 2011.
Overheard
old couple on the street
"Always thought I'd be the first to die
the thought of life without you
too much to bear,
Now you say your love has died
How can I handle this."
Global Climate Change action in Cancun, Mexico seems to be for the most part stuck. As it was sadly inefficient last year in Copenhagen, will those that are meeting this year finally agree that humanity is as stake?
here's a blog post by Richard Leigh from Urban Green Council (UGC)
We can and should do so much more.
I've learned from Radiohead's website that UK Prime Minister David Cameron is not attending. Why is it that heads of state find it so hard to understand that leadership means thinking about the future of our future. I do hope that US Energy Secretary Steven Chu's warnings of our own hiding under a rock while other nations charge forward into newer technology's will hold sway. It's a new millennium folks, call it whatever you'd like, Greentech, Green jobs, but developing and funding alternatives to petroleum and coal are healthier and more sustainable for our environment while being very financially appealing.
| United Nations Climate Change Conference Cancun - COP 16 / CMP 6 | |
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The United Nations Climate Change Conference is taking place in Cancun, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010. It encompasses the sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP) and the sixth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP), as well as the thirty-third sessions of both the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), and the fifteenth session of the AWG-KP and thirteenth session of the AWG-LCA. |
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On December 8, 1980, I was in Islamorada in the Florida Keys in a duo with Lenore Troia called 'Side By Side', performing in a resort lounge at night and enjoying 80 degree days, tourqouise water and believing a successful musical career was just around the corner. John Lennon's death completely undid us.
The shot heard around the earth. Where were you? John Lennon assassinated. My Kennedy? You bet.
John Lennon as the leader of my musical generation visualized peace; wrote ‘Imagine’, gave us a chance to see the world as something we could change and make a better place for everyone.
A non-violent man lost to violence.
I still need to dream and believe in the John Lennon perspective of the world.
My value of life-far reaching, my ideal that we can be non-violent and bring people together is ever present.
“You may say I’m a dreamer,
but I’m not the only one,
I hope someday you’ll join us
and the world will live as one.”
Here's a comment from my post last year: PS I think Double Fantasy was a great recording!
This is really something. I was too young to feel the impact. For me MIchael Jackson was my John Lennon, my Elvis. My partner had surprised me with tickets to go see him in concert in London which of course didn't happen. Your post led me to want to more about Lennon, which led me to find out he received Album of The Year at the Grammy's for "Double Fantasy". I've never heard the album and am planning to get it. Thank you Cathy.
forgot to mention the part that struck me about my find about Lennon in my last post. He won that Grammy in '81 for "Double Fantasy" - the year after he was assassinated. Jose
Update
on 2011-01-26 20:42 by NYC Subway Girl
Playing For Change Foundation new song Imagine is just the beginning of the Power To The People campaign. Artists around the globe play along to John Lennon singing Imagine. Fantastic way to bring people and communities together through music. Funds go to creating and developing schools.
Imagine from PlayingForChangeFoundation on Vimeo.
Playing For Change was started in 2001 by Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke. Their Mission to connect the world through music.
The Power To The People Campaign seeks to advance John Lennon’s vision of peace by engaging artists and audiences to contribute to music education programs worldwide. Proceeds raised will help build music schools, support teachers and music programs, purchase instruments, and connect schools for cross-cultural learning and conflict resolution across borders. Music IS the power: Power to the People.
To stay informed about the PFC Foundation, the schools they are building, the lives they are touching, and how you can participate, please join their mailing list, and participate in this global movement.
by Heather Grimes:
This year I worked on balancing femininity and masculinity in my gardening.
I think that finding a way to incorporate both sides into my design ultimately makes for a more inviting space.
Striking the right balance has been a tough process for me.Sometimes I don't get a chance to work on my ideas with other gardeners because someone might be more inclined to sway in one direction.
This year I was involved in a gardening battle with my family, although I get into an altercation every year because it's so much fun. I wanted to drastically dig out half of the plants in the garden that seemed too feminine (flowering plants) and replace them with bolder foliage plants.
I ended up digging them out at night with my mom holding a flashlight for me so I wouldn't get caught behind enemy lines.
I'm very happy with the results.
My brothers have been a great help to me when I need a guys' opinion.If I'm having difficulty with a color scheme or choosing plants for a more masculine look, I'll ask them for help.
I needed a new container for paper whites this year and couldn't find something I liked.
I asked Chris for suggestions and he gave me an old ammunition canister to use. Fabulous.
Today is World AIDS Day. According to UNAIDS, there are an estimated 33 million people living with HIV
Remember
Inform and
Be Safe
Eve Ensler wrote an OP Ed piece in todays UK The Guardian
here's an excerpt:
You cannot prevent women from getting Aids without ending violence towards them, without shifting the dynamics of power. You cannot stop a disease that is being transmitted through sex unless you admit that sex exists, unless women have a right to sex and desire – the same way men have a right .......
learn more 2010 Global Report UN AIDS website
April 4, 1989 my family lost our cousin Peter VanderPutten to AIDS. His life and death gave me many lessons I continue to draw from daily. My song Fallen Friends I wrote in direct reaction to how losing so many friends around me to this terrible disease affected the world around me. Twenty One years later and we still have so much to learn.
I recorded 'Fallen Friends' in 1990 on my recording 'New York Sessions' (out of print), it later was included in a compilation CD entitled 'Sounds For The Soul'. A solo version is also on my Comin' Back To Me CD
MP3 Fallen Friends acoustic version
MP3 Fallen Friends studio recording
Fallen Friends Words/Music-C. Grier Sesac Singerfish Publishing
Where Have My Friends Gone
They Have All Fallen
Where Are My Many Fallen Friends
I keep Thinking
I Hope They Are Somewhere
Where No Anger Resides And There's No Hate
Where No One Decides What's Wrong Or Right
Before Its Too Late
Where Have My Friends Gone
Last I Looked They Were Healthy And Funny, But
Where Are My Many Fallen Friends
I Keep Looking Again
And They're Falling
My Falling, Falling Friends
My Falling, Falling Friends
Some Saw Denial
And Their Lifestyles On Trial
Some Tried To Say
Why Has The Government Looked Far Away
Numbered Days Are All Gone
And They're Falling
Falling Falling Lovers, Falling Men
Falling Women, My Falling Friends
And What We Are Missing
By Not Taking A Stand
Are The Many Numbers Too Afraid To Lend A Hand
And There's Such A Demand
Lives That Are Cut Short
And It Doesn't Make Sense
Why Can't We, Why Can't We Rise Up
And Help Find A Cure, Others Aren't Sure
And They're Falling, Falling Lovers, Falling Men
Falling Women, My Falling Friends
And They're Falling Children
Falling Lovers, Falling Men, Falling Women, My Falling Friends
Will The Falling Ever End
I'm just home from performing in the Staten Island ferry terminal 'Whitehall.' I sang for 3 solid hours and inspired by the circumstances-the people around me and the day that brought me to this point of giving, I really put out my best. To perform in a public space is a true experience of an artist letting go, of accepting and hoping it connects. Today it connected. In between the growing swell of people waiting for their ferry (about every 30 minutes) I took the time to build a set of songs, some my own, some known, to give the listening audience a chance to join in. I said honestly over the microphone "you are my captive audience, and whether you like it or not, you are here listening or disconnecting," today I spoke more than usual and spoke a truth.
My usual conversation goes like this, "hello everybody, my name is Cathy Grier also known as NYC SubwayGirl I am here as a member of the Music Under NY program to bring you music to public spaces. Today I'm happy not to be under New York....., I'm here happily for three reasons: You, the light through the windows, and the radiant heat!" "Remember this holiday season to be good to yourself, to not get pulled into the commerciality of it all. We get so overloaded with the stuff we have to get. Give the gift of yourself. There's nothing more important than the gift of your time, so be sensitive to that."
A group of children came by led by a teacher who thankfully saw an opportunity to bring the kids over to listen. They were from PS 335 in Brooklyn and had already been on the ferry. I asked the kids what they saw and engaged them in a conversation about the symbol of Liberty and the reason why I perform in public spaces-the importance of art and music in public spaces. I offered to go to their school and perform, I hope the teacher contacts me. They were a joy. Later someone getting on the ferry passed and said "I like how you talked to those kids."
Unusual, I witnessed an altercation between 2 men who did not appear to know each other but apparently got into each others space. As they fought I calmly said over the microphone, 'enough, chill, this is not the time not the place.....thank you" one guy left and later as I sang a requested 'You've Got A friend" found new meaning in the words "when people can be so cold, they'll hurt you, yes and desert you, they'll take your soul if you let them....don't you let them." When it was all over, the guy that walked away came back hovering near me, and I was paying close attention, he said,"thank you and I'm sorry," he even looked over at the other guy and said again "I'm sorry," more to me, but I could see he meant it directed to his adversary.
The pigeons flew around, little children think they can catch them, I comment to no one in particular that they'll never catch them, but at least tire themselves for the ride home. What a commute it must be traveling daily in the Harbor to Staten Island.
Happy Thanksgiving.
I hope that you can take the time to enjoy family and friends this Thursday. I'm saddened though that the internet is stealing Thanksgiving Day which has been the least capitalistic holiday of the year, now capitalizing on stores being closed with tempting discounts and no lines. Can't we have one day off people?! So between eating the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, we'll be seduced into logging on and shopping. I thought 'black friday' was crazy enough. I mean, to wait in line at 4am to get the latest gadget on sale is insane, and risk of being crushed by rushing crowds is not my idea of a holiday. It gets nuttier and nuttier. Friday after Thanksgiving should be a wonderful shut down day, no shopping, no working. We Americans work so hard at working hard and take little time to just decompress.
And while I'm on my soapbox, it used to be we wouldn't see Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving but I've seen stuff popping up all over already. Stores start selling the ornamental goods as soon as Fall officially ends, and what's with the plastic blow up Snowman and Santa? Don't people realize or care that these goods are made in foreign countries by people who make as much in a month or year as the throwaway plastic item cost? I say have fun making your own ornaments, share it. Save money, make the time well spent by being creative.
So try and stay away from the computer Thursday. Look to the sky, find a star, make a wish, smile at someone, anyone. Makes you feel good.
Share a good story. Here's mine, today as I'm de-stressing from last Friday nights Art For Animals benefit, I looked out the window and saw a family of turkeys wandering around outside (I'm still upstate until after the holiday). Really cool to see them in the wild, so beautiful. It's hunting season and I am happy they found a safe spot to roam.
See you next week in the subway.
I was extremely happy with how last nights event went. The cocktail party with all the amazing chefs and food made the packed house very happy, and Ruth Reichl and Art For Animals founder Elizabeth Hess gave a really nice welcome. The gallery of horse portraits drawn from an AFA school sponsored trip to Equine Advocates was hung on beautiful panels donated by Dennis Wedlick Architects studio.
The concert part was as eclectic as you can imagine and was really great. Tom Davis of Saturday Night Live fame hosted and did a fab job in keeping things moving. I started with a folky blues set and even pulled out of my head a silly song about a dog I wrote when I was 12. I screened a 4 minute clip I made of people's inspirations about animals and some farms I visited. Joy Askew performed a lovely set of haunting songs with Ana Milosovljevic accompanying her on the violin. Lolabelle, Laurie's rat terrier came out with trainer Elizabeth Weiss and did a very funny little set-she's quite the performance artist herself although treats did have something to do with it. Still you can't make a dog do something like play a keyboard if she really didn't want to. Then Laurie came out and gave a very intimate solo performance with compelling pieces about humans and animals.
It was a great night. As it is with any benefit with so many volunteers and time spent, it's a joy to know it was a success and we can now start to plan Rock N Roll Rescue 2011! Thanks to my crew:
stage: Jeff Lee, Michele Steckler, Ema Roberts, Zoe Woefeld and Ben Heyman projection. Runaround crew: Susan Grier, Jorge Vargas-makeup, David Wurth, Jamie Dumont, Geraldine Petrovic-photography. Gallery panels: Marc Bailey, Carly Gresh, Michael Furnari, Derek Poole, and Chris of Bill Stratton Building Co. Spencertown Academy and Mary Anne Lee for tables, projector and projection screen.
Contact AFA if you're interested, volunteer or support their program Model Art: Humane Education through Art in schools. They also provide Shelters with needed funding.
I love to come above ground and share my music with commuters of the concert type, (not rushing past to their destination, in a warm and quality sound environment). I am eager to perform tomorrow night to benefit Art For Animals a non profit created to teach humane arts to children and provide funds for shelters in need.
Rock N Roll Rescue at Club Helsinki Friday November 19th
FOOD: a great party needs great food. Ruth Reichl has invited some of the most thrilling chefs for the cocktail party.
ART: a gallery of artwork created by students in an Art For Animals supported portrait workshop.
MUSIC: Laurie Anderson and her dog Lolabelle will perform, Joy Askew and me.
FILM: In keeping with my What's Your Inspiration series on my website, I created a short film about what Inspires people about animals. I traveled to Columbia County NY interviewed friends and farmers and will be performing to the film.
And the newest addition to the event the wonderful Tom Davis of Saturday Night Live fame will MC
6:30-8:30 cocktail party and gallery viewing, 8:30 concert
If you can't attend, please consider a donation to this wonderful organization.
so much hurry
a crowded subway
stairwell chaos
Tonight NYCSubwayGirl will come above ground for the New York Junior League's annual benefit held at Sotheby's.
One afternoon in the subway, I chatted with a member of the organization. I had heard about the Junior League but didn't know anything about what it did or stood for. I was excited to learn of their signature project 'The Playground Improvement Project' to restore NYC playgrounds, and this year will be their 20th restoration. A worthy cause. I was asked to participate in the live auction package which will include an evening of NYCSubwayGirl Cathy Grier performing: An original concert, a cocktail party with cabaret and French inspired songs, a Blues concert? A folky sing-along? A lullaby to the kids? Winner gets to choose.
NYCSubwayGirl is committed to helping out organizations that serve the community. For example, last week I performed to benefit Columbia County Habitat For Humanity to help raise needed funds to complete their 11th building in Hudson NY.
Next week I'm performing with Laurie Anderson and Joy Askew to benefit Art For Animals, an organization dedicated to not only educating children about animals, but also providing well needed medical funds to animal shelters.
Some background:
NYCSubwayGirl evolved after I was featured on the cover of AMNY one morning. Commuters rushing past as I perform may not catch my name so I thought of keywords used in searching the internet and NYCSubwayGirl was born. That's a good marketing reason, but on a more personal level, NYCSubwayGirl is a way to participate in the underground fabric of sound and be a presence in the urban environment. NYCSubwayGirl is also the part of me that loves connecting with people and seeing the powerful influence music has on all of us, whatever the genre or style. It's the sense of community I feel while performing in public spaces that really gave me the impetus to create NYCSubwayGirl.
I love singing under the elegant ceilings of Grand Central Station that captures my voice as if in a cathedral. And when I sing on the platform at Astor Place, the acoustics capture a edgier effect. Performing against the backdrop of a gorgeous mosaics wall in Times Square as multiple subway lines converge is a poetic dance of people, art, music and sounds. These places have one thing in common; the life force of this amazing city and the people who live and travel here. And of course when I get a chance to come above ground for a concert, club or benefit performance, I'm thrilled.
People often ask if I'm from New York. I was born upstate in Ogdensburg where my father was a civil engineer who helped build the bridges across the Saint Lawrence River. He also worked on the Harlem-Broadway Bridge. Three of my grandparents were born and raised here too (my mother's father arrived from Antigua in the late 1920's). One great grandfather played the piano to silent films in NYC movie houses and another worked in the garment district. When I was 20 I performed my first NYC club date at Folk City. I have been living in NYC since 1996, when I returned after living in France for many years. I love my NYC history.
image by k.kilmartin
Update
on 2011-04-26 16:16 by NYC Subway Girl
It was a great event. The winning bid was $2300. Fantastic!
Sotheby's bidding on NYCSubwayGirl
NYCSubwayGirl package Junior LeagueNYCSubwayGirl dresses up
benefits NYJL Playground Project
I arrived to find a group of teens hanging out in my spot, they were eating and I could tell they were some sort of group 'cause they all had the same red jackets. I asked if they were a singing or a hip hop group, they smiled and responded "no we're a drama class here in NY from Akhtar." How fun. It was their first visit to the US. I told them a bit about Music Under New York and performing in public spaces. Too bad they couldn't stay long enough to hear me sing and share with me more stories of their first visit to the US.
LIRR Penn station has huge waves of commuters rushing out from the subway turnstiles to catch commuter trains to the 'burbs. I get a chance to perform to those lingering until their train, but also the regular personalities that roam the halls checking in on the various garbage cans, staying warm, killing time. The amount of food that is thrown away as seen from my perspective and how it serves people in need is intense. I would figure at least 5-10 different people check out what's inside every hour.
There's a McD's next to me too, so I see how much is thrown away, 1/2 full sodas, and fries.
I saw a guy walking by eating an ice cream sandwich, looked really good, I said so and talked about how it's funny that besides the announcements I'm the one with a mic and make endless commentary if I choose. So I might say "it's so amazing to be here in LIRR next to the Petal Pusher.....flower cart. I love it that here I play next to flowers."
Or the smell of popcorn that wafts into my 'staging' area.
One woman listened and said she'd be back with change for a CD and you know she actually came back hours later. We talked about how I must have figured she wasn't coming back. She got my CD and said I should check out Peoples cafe on 35th st.
Pat a homeless woman, huge smile stops by "are you setting up or leaving, when I said setting up she smiled..... we chatted, I gave her a Be Inspired@NYCSubwayGirl t-shirt and she told me how much it means to her that I talk to her when ever I come to this location.
I filmed a few inspirations from people as they stop and chat.
Some Doo Wop guys stopped by and sang along to my version of Piece Of My Heart.
Ebony Hillbillies guys walked by on their way to or from a gig (they are another MUNY group).
Lots going on in the world of performing in public spaces.
Veterans Day today to honor our Vets and Vets around the globe.
Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Veterans now home, returned used up, traumatized, spent, wondering if they'll be redeployed. Do we even realize and remember that so many have been fighting far away as a service to our country.
Do we collectively understand the sacrifice that they have made in the name of our freedom, safety and protection? The multiple tours, the trillions of dollars spent. I have a hard time grasping it. But today is a moment to honor our Vets. The living Vets of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan (+ other conflicts I haven't mentioned).
Today and forever we should honor them. Take a moment. Collectively let's reevaluate why so few are standing up in our name (think volunteer army vs draft). If we don't like it we can change the course.
Peace
Veterans Day, some history: Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. A federal holiday, it is observed on November 11. It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world. (from wikipedia)
The honorable Tony Curtis explaining why he didn't want preferential treatment from a NYC clerk who suggested he and his soon to be wife move ahead of the line (with Nathan Lane as his best man).
"Service to others is the rent to be paid to be on this planet."