Our reunion was playing the Totally HOLY Jamfest at 87 West studios with Mr. Bradley Bailey, Frank Hurricane, Mina Karimi and many more creative, loving songwriters. A magical icy night, warmed by the currents of song. It always brings me joy when creative forces from a variety of lifetime experiences come together in harmony, and in sound a moment can seem to last for eternity. In parting, the cold entered my bones like never before and I shivered my way home through subways, meeting with a
actress from New Zealand as serendipity breathed life into the peeking sun.
I was housed in Bushwick, in a warehouse space that hosted a potluck hosted by Viv. An interactive meeting bringing together artists, musicians and filmmakers in New York who strive to breech the lines of separation and collaborate in ideas, inspiration and creation. This was a great way for Skogen and myself to reach out to a community of open ears and open hearts. An exquisite corpse was created and can be seen at ourartclub along with updates and contact in what is going on with some pretty awesome people in the area.
Our next combined show was Roots n' Ruckus at The Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook, a weekly event hosted by Feral Foster.
I was blessed by a visit from a close friend who is a native of New York, Ona Tzar who is my partner in crime in New Orleans and my main source of philosophical discussion and artistic expression in the city. She is an individual who brings awareness to the healing properties of herbal medicine in reaction to molds, allergies and parasites. Thus living in such a toxic environment such as the Gulf of Mexico, one can barely deny the reactions in which health effects the mind and body, while the soul experiences great rates of growth through experience and that of the paranormal and of the magical realm. In travel, we met in Williamsburgh to drink tea and commence our usual discussions pertaining to the evolution of our experiences and well-being.
Later that evening, I rode the train to Harlem to meet Skogen at Shrine. My first trip to Harlem since visiting New York in the last two years. I entered the warm atmosphere from the cold winds that swept through the city to find Hassan Ben Jaafar and friends playing tradition Moroccan music. A band of musicians whose beings shared in joy and spirit of their homeland. There was great dancing and the crowd was diverse which made this one of the most enjoyable shows yet. Skogen's music was a hit, the drummers played a traditional percussive instrument named, Garagab. I was given a lesson in playing this instrument, which they were quite impressed that I was able to hold rhythm but found that my muscle memory was quite weak and could only hold the beat for a few moments before breaking. Hassan was very supportive and patient with me, and I am thankful and inspired from the lesson
Although the space I was staying in was so warm and friendly I knew that it was time to leave the cold north. After the last show at Goodbye Blue Monday, I flipped a coin to decide whether I was going to leave New York with Skogen or wait for Kia to arrive home in the states from Sicily. The coin told me to go, so I packed in the morning and was swooped out of the city just as quickly as I had arrived not able to share my salutations to many who have hosted me, sadly. I was told by a fellow artist, Brett Thompson of the The EMP Collective in Baltimore, which Skogen was able to book a show at. This was the first show where I focused on setting up the merchandise slinging CDs, jewelry and hats. This was also my first snow of the winter! Super magical! The E.M.P. Collective show was a good setting for dance and Kjartan shared with me some traditional dancing and stepping. To my surprise, Baltimore was playing in the SuperBowl and people were being quite fanatic about the whole thing. After leaving, New Orleans to avoid the event it seemed to chase my tale.More stories to come! Many Blessings!
Brooke La Ruche & Skogen
