Anticipation. The secret to those higher highs – and, of course, lower lows. Whether the outcome proves satisfying or not, that respected philosopher Tom Petty reminds us that: “The waaaiiting is the hardest part.”
In the Spring of 2014, Bushwick artist Tai Shan released Living Fiction, an album composed entirely of songs inspired by literature. And just this week she released a music video for a song on that album Anything is Possible. It was inspired by the classic Mary Oliver poem The Summer Day. Read more
Here we are with the first month of the New Year almost complete. I love making New Year’s resolutions and also like hearing what other people aspire to each January 1. I checked in with Bushwick artists and volunteers to see what their 2016 resolutions are, and whether or not they’ve been sticking to them.
Among major players in the local literary-arts scene, Seattle Arts & Lectures has long played a pivotal role. Since 1988, the popular and respected organization has hosted world-class authors in readings, Q&A sessions, and lectures, branching out over the years into multiple series, education programs, and more. These days SAL stages events for a Literary/Arts Series, Poetry Series, and special SAL Presents evenings, covering considerable ground while continuing to attract an impressive list of literary figures. And, beginning with the 2015-16 season, many of these events now commence with a Bushwick Book Club Seattle song.
One of the great things about The Bushwick Book Club Seattle artists is that they are always making awesome stuff. Here are a few projects that you should know about.
Few people can own the Bushwick stage the way Debbie Miller can. Sometimes her songs are funny, sometimes they are sad, and sometimes they are both. It doesn’t matter, she brings it every time and it is a joy to watch.
Here she is playing a song she wrote inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland — performed live at the Fremont Abbey back in 2012.
As she explains in the video, it turns out that the character she most identified with from the book was The Queen of Hearts. (GASP!) That’s probably why this song is called Queen of Hearts.
Bushwick’s big The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy event is but a few short hours away. Before picking up the book to read before the show, I was very unfamiliar with Douglas Adams and his writing. Shame on me! And I consider myself to be a nerd. So to better prepare myself for the show, I read up a bit on him. Here are some things I learned.
Bushwick artist Tekla Waterfield just released this music video for her song Dream Chaser. It is the first single off her debut album “This Nightlife Is Wearing On Me” — available now on her Bandcamp page.
The music business, like the human condition, is complex, ambiguous, and frequently arbitrary – curiously-suited to a risk-averse individual like me. Yet here I am, fifteen years into what at this point can only be called a career.
In the beginning, I brandished a stringent list of performance absolutes in the hopes that adhering to them would assure success. I’d also read so many musicians’ biographies in high school and college that I had language ready for my own narrative, overlooking the fact that such a straight-to-Behind-the-Music (or American Idol, if you prefer) approach would deprive one of the experiences of creating, interacting, and growing in real time. We all learn things along the way.
Like all teachers and students, The Bushwick Book Club Seattle also takes the summer off. We love summer vacation! And now that summer is over, and our 6th season is in full swing (our next show is on Halloween night, original music inspired by Stephen Kings’ Carrie) we checked in with some of our Bushwick artists to see what they were up to this summer. We asked them what they read, listened to and what projects they worked on or having coming up.
Here is what they had to say.
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