new york city
august 2010
Jess Sings Spike Hill, Brooklyn
hot child in the city. that’s me. and hot is definitely a description that suits this time of the year. dear lord, summertime in new york city is very much like baking in a concrete oven. even the parks are smoldering. the first few days were stunning weather. cool and sunny, with clouds shape shifting across the sky in the wind. i think just for old times sake, new york is giving me some real good august heat. fortunately for me, i am just visiting.
i have been meeting up with new and old friends, mostly all musicians, from berklee, from china. the world gets smaller and smaller. it’s been so cool to see such high caliber players, to hang and jam with super-joy-filled songwriters, to communicate and share in the language of music. fun.
the other night i saw the Boston Boys, which is Eric Robertson (the writer, singer & badass mandolin player) + guitar (Stash), sax, bass & drums (Nick Falk). super good. like watching bluegrass/jazz on mdma. ha ha. really. and jamming with them later on a rooftop racks up with many of my superb memories.
i went to a jazz jam session in astoria sunday night. i sang two songs, and everyone enjoyed. i think it’s the light in which i am singing that warms rigidity and soothes alot of people’s heart chakras.
i am extremely grateful to my way of living. being able to practice awareness in my yoga/movement/meditation, and practicing it all with life is a way to set the mind free of all the cacaphony that bombards us from the outside as well as the stomping grounds of our minds. the mind likes to be busy in thought, and the practice calms this mental square dance so that the heart can express itself with out the taint of ego-centered blah blah blah. what i notice in new york city among the musicians (who are all excellent in their craft) is a dissatisfaction in the over life they are living. not all * of course, but there is this mentality that new york is hard, the economy is down, and people aren’t interested in coming out. another belief is that there is a lack of community in the music being created because it is so hard to retain players for a project because everyone is doing the make-money hustle. i see that nyc has many many benefits, and i see the downside. beijing doesn’t have as many high caliber musicians, but it does have a healthy way of existing for the creative musician. it’s been good for me, all these years there. i am able now to project this way of life to no matter where i live. world, here i come.
stay tuned for more bloggin.
