Tag Archives: lb
May 10, 2009 may 8 victory
(from Levon)
May 8 is sort of a big day for me. It is the day in 2004 that I graduated college, and the day that I quit chain smoking. It was again May 8 and I awaiting interview #4 at Starbucks with the district manager. Not only was May 8 my day of victory, the interview was on Lexington Ave, and Lexington was my home for four years (where I worked at a coffee shop that would be put out of business by Starbucks). The song that was playing over the sound of grinding coffee was the same Nora Jones song we heard Lynsey (my roommate) sing at Melba’s a few weeks ago. When you’re sitting in the hot seat you’ll try to pull peace of mind from almost anything.
Lexington Ave is a long avenue and Nora Jones gets played in a lot of coffee shops. Do the stars align in my favor on May 8 or not? If I could go back to my 22 year old barista self, I would say to “be proud because five years later you will be sitting across from a Starbucks district manager in Manhattan and the circumstances of your life will make it one of your most important opportunities”.
He shook my hand and gave me the job.
I walked from Lex and 87th to Broadway and 10th to tell Ashley. She was with Tez, an NYU student and her high school friend. The hike was around 100 blocks, but it didn’t matter at this point. Time I had, subway fares I did’t.
Tez and Ashley
Later that day, Ashley would be trying to find a drug store while I waited in a salon for Tez to get his hair cut. She would walk by Grey Dog Coffee (thegreydog.com), the ultra hip coffee shop that John, my Kentucky friend, had picked from his favorites to meet us on our first trip to the city. There was a hiring sign on the door. She would go in, impress in the shift manager, and be asked to come back Monday to meet the main guy.
Will I be jealous if she gets the job? I thought about it. But, since neither of us came to New York to work in coffee shops, its not a matter of who’s is the coolest. Starbucks gives benefits, so as the breadwinner of the family (ha), I’ll be bringing home that.
hey is that from Seinfield? Google says yes.
Last night was songwriter’s open mic night at Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar on 29th and 2nd. Over 250 years old, it was the first all-draft Guiness bar in the world. I was informed by the website that a keyboard was available and saw a Korg Triton in a picture.
On my groundbreaking NYC open mic debut, here was the scene:
48 note yamaha psr on bar table, me sitting on an amp. call before you show up.
When I first saw the set up, I turned around to walk out the door. But I’ve come a long way to do this, haven’t I? Besides, where is the pressure when you sit behind the keyboard that you expect to find in a 6 year olds bedroom? I’ve made it clear how I feel about keyboard X stands anyway; why not just sit the keyboard on a bar table? Its so easy. Also, why not adjust your monitor by sitting on it and reaching between your legs? I mean, its right there.
For the first time in my life I wasn’t frozen with nerves. The keyboard sounded terrible so I turned it way down and just sang with a grin on my face. The audience was gracious toward my circumstance and requested a third song, which given my limitations was the best feedback I could have hoped to get. “You mean you want to hear more of this?”
With the pressure gone, I was able to learn something that I have a hard time grasping. If you have done your job and come prepared, an amazing scenario presents itself when you get out of the way of yourself – there is nothing in the way. I also learned to bring my own keyboard. Or at least call ahead to determine if our definitions of “keyboard” are the same.
Tags: breadwinner, chain smoking, grey dog coffee, korg trition, lb, lexington ave, may 8, nervous debutes, nora jones, nyu, paddy reilly's, protecting from swine flu, seinfield, songwriter open mic, subway fares, tez napue, tom's restaurant, working at starbucks, yamaha psr
- 4 comments
- Posted under Humor, Life, new york city, Songwriting, Uncertainty, Work
May 7, 2009 are you taking applications?
Yesterday was another 50 blocks or so job searching. The plan has been to apply to everything online and then start walking while I wait. I posted a musician ad on craigslist which got me somewhere; now I’m filtering through myspace band pages and seeing what gigs might be worth the time. Or any that pay.
It takes a positive mindset and a lot of activity; I’ve been unemployed lots of times. One problem I’m facing is that unemployment is so high that a Starbucks manager told me they are being swamped by career minded people, people that they don’t generally want. Career minded, meaning “this will work until things turn around for the banks.”
Have a look at my resume and yes, I look like one of those people. “I assure you I am not, Mr. Manager (who is younger than me), I went a long way away from my barista early 20’s but now I’m ready to come back.” I interviewed at the Starbucks at 85th and Lex and was sent to 80th and York for a second interview. I passed four more Starbucks on the way there. Today I got a call from the one on 87th and Lex (yes, in sight of 85th and Lex ((with 84th and Lex around the corner)) for my third interview. Yes, it takes three interviews to be considered at Starbucks. As I rode the bus back I had my fingers crossed. I came a long way to work at Starbucks, but I’ve made my peace with that. I need to pay the rent next month, and health insurance is always convenient if you can get it. .
I’m going to go ahead and change subjects before I start complaining and ruin my fragile positive attitude.
When I’m not playing the numbers game with the job search, there is a lot of inspiration going on. I’m fulfilling a lifelong ambition. It seems like everything was thrown at us to not even get here, so how could I not be excited? Harlem is tough like I said, but it kind of suits my mood. People in Harlem get by.
Our roommate Lynsey and I are collaborating on songs and getting them out there. She knows the producers and musicians and we’re working on stuff like that. She also has the answers like when we don’t know what train to take. She cooks for us when she knows we need a break from our rice and spaghetti rotation. She’s my vocal coach, which if we’re going to be honest, is a good thing. The three of us are all Southern so we’ve nicknamed the apartment The Country House. This week we celebrated the liberation of Mexico with a feast, along with her friend who is a studio engineer. We have friends and that means a lot.
You can hear a rough version of our song at myspace.com/sheslb. Its a new page, so give it lots of hits and spread the word. The song is “Something Good,” and its me on keys and her vocals and lyrics.
I finished another song I started two weeks ago and I’m going to try recording a rough version of it tonight on GarageBand. I’m reworking my entire demo with wider instrumentation. Here’s a mini lesson on home recording: you can make a keyboard sound like anything with GarageBand. Its the magic of MIDI. Thats as far as I’ll get into that, but hopefully this round two will be a large improvement. Especially if Lynsey and her friends get on board.
Ashley has been researching the laws concerning street vending and we plan to take paintings this weekend to Union Square and sell them to tourists. I’m bringing my guitar and playing the seven songs I know on repeat.
This Saturday I’m playing at 29th and 2nd for a popular open mic that specifically calls for pianists to even out the supply of guitarists. Finally grabbing the mic, it seems.
Tags: barista, cinco de mayo, craigslist, harlem, job search, lb, myspace band page, somethin good, starbucks, the country house, unemployment
- 7 comments
- Posted under Ashley, crafting, Economy, Music, new york city, painting, Songwriting, street art, Uncategorized, Uncertainty, Work
May 2, 2009 at home – or trying to make it feel that way
(from ashley)
Today is quite a happy day because: 1. I got voted runner-up as Knoxville’s best local artist (“who doesn’t paint landscapes with deer”) http://www.metropulse.com/best-of-knoxville/2009/full-list/. Thanks Knoxville, I love you. And 2. I got our room settled.
my work desk (most of the space will be used as my studio - thanks levon)
1241 Armstrong was decidedly more funky than our new home. In this season, I don’t need a stimulating environment as much as I need a calm retreat, familiarity, and a clear space.
the easel's corner
the view
Our roommate, LB http://www.myspace.com/sheslb is new to the apartment too, so she’s been nesting as well. I contributed with a wall painting.
charcoal and acrylic on plaster
And one final bit of news. We have our first update to Our Objects Project.
see the figure in the window?
Mom and I traveled to Madisonville, Kentucky to attend my bridal shower in 2004. On the way back to Virginia Beach we traveled through Shelbyville, Tennessee (famous for horse competitions). On that little piece of interstate my Aunt Bobby Anne (who once told me (with extreme gravity) that she and her high school sweet heart were my real grandparents – just for fun) called to say hello. It just so happened that she lived off the next exit.
We traveled down a narrow country lane till the trees spread out to reveal her house at the end of a gravel road. We were all pleased to enjoy such an unexpected visit and we learned to play Hand and Foot, a card game that would occupy much of my life thereafter.
The dress form/mannequin (pictured above) posed in her bathroom, wearing jewlery and a scarf. I commented on how much I liked it.
Several months later we gathered on the hill (Tazewell, Virginia) for a family cook-out. When Bobby Anne arrived she had the dress form swinging under her arm. She decided to give it to me as a sort of belated wedding gift.
The dress form first lived in Nashville where she witnessed my bagel shop working days and Levon’s first jump into a big pond. She came with us to Knoxville, first at Sterchi Lofts and then to 1241 Armstrong.
I planned to take her to New York, but there wasn’t room so I placed her on my neighbor’s patio furniture in hopes of finding her a loving foster home.
Julie and Kendall took her in and placed her in the window (to start rumors according to Kendall). Now she lives with two of the kindest people we know (they once saved Coaltrain’s life).
Tags: 1241 Armstrong, acrylic paint, best of knoxville, dress form, hand and foot, harlem, home, lb, madisonville KY, nashville, neighbors, our objects project, shelbyville, space design, sterchi lofts, studio space, tn, wall painting
- 1 comment
- Posted under home, Life, new york city, The Hill, Uncategorized, Uncertainty, Work
May 1, 2009 sheer tactical force
Yesterday we assimilated the contents of the Rodeo into our new life. The night before we had arrived in Harlem around 8:00, and with the help of our roommate and a friend, managed to throw everything in a pile to sit on while we cracked a bottle of champagne given to us by our Knoxville neighbors.
we still have the lightbulb pole
Our place is not like a 1,600 sq ft house, but its no cereal box either. The three of us share a closet, but it has closets. My roommate Lynsey is a musician, a pianist even, so my music gear is welcome. Everything we have here is something we considered carefully, and where we put it now is a further matter of planning.
Now we plan on getting some jobs. The plan used to be to sit around online from 14 hours away, then we realized we needed to be here to do it. In getting here, we spent four months doing random exercises for the soul like breaking fingers and disputing broken lease agreements- things which were not included in the plan.
My new renters called yesterday and said the AC isn’t working. I don’t trust anything anymore besides a few close friends and my boy scout knots.
But one thing you can be sure of: something will happen. I guess I trust that, too. John Lennon said “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” I’ve noticed that planning is a necessary but futile effort. I have been paralyzed by planning, bitten by not planning, and been well planned only to be ruined by unforeseen detail #37. I will endeavor, fail, regrip, give, flop, lose, stress, voice, and plot; but I will likely only control a few small details for a few short moments. Thats why I like to fly by the seat of my pants. Might as well.
Harlem, at least where I live, is a tougher place than I am used to. You can see it on the faces of everyone and in the places along the streets: persistence and strength. Not that I’ve had an easy or difficult life, probably average, I have been in a persistent state of mind lately. Cities have a spirit, vibe, or whatever you want to call it. The persistence part I’m feeling, but I’m not that tough in the Harlem sense of the word. I planned on learning that here.
Tags: beautiful boy, harlem, harlem tough, john lennon, lb, persistence, planning, small apartment
- Leave a comment
- Posted under Uncertainty, Work
no room for hipsters 