Event: Handmade Music Night at 3rd Ward

When things are “handmade,” they tend to be overpriced, underappreciated and largely unknown. The Handmade Music Night, held on the third Thursday of every month at Brooklyn artist facility 3rd Ward, fits two of those designations – and overpriced is certainly not one of them. The event is not only free, but the organizers also hand out free Pabst Blue Ribbon all night!

According to the 3rd Ward Web site and fliers, the event is “part party, part mixer, part Science Fair, and part performance,” and it is “an informal chance for geeksters and the geek-curious to come together, relax, and discover new sounds.”

Eric Beug and Peter Kirn, of handmade product market site Etsy and www.createdigitalmusic.com, respectively, were there to run the show. The event began when the companies combined the idea of handmade items with new musical possibilities, and opened up a forum for others who had done the same to showcase their work.

“Whether it’s flower pots or computer software, it’s important for the musicians to shape what music they’re making,” Kirn said. “This is just kind of a sharing space for anyone interested in making their own music.”

And for this monthly night of handicraft harmonies, Kirn and Beug have seen just about every kind of instrument you can imagine, from a musical ironing board to mannequins, from a giant wall of light switches to a man with musical crutches, which he made the day of the event.

“People just come out of the woodwork with this amazing stuff,” Beug said.

On Feb. 19, a band called Electric Junkyard Gamelan performed its Indonesian-inspired “new Gamelan” music. (Gamelan music is traditionally an ensemble of musicians where the instruments take more focus than the performers.) Terry Dame is one of the leading members (as singer, organizer, and multi-strange-instrument builder and player), and she said playing the show was worth it.

“New York is tough,” she said. “I’ve lived here so long and it’s always hard to draw a crowd. It’s nice to play events with a built-in crowd [such as Handmade Music].”

Though the band doesn’t get paid, Dame said that the group sold some CDs and filled their email list, which is all they could ask for.

And her display of instruments are, indeed, fascinating, from a drum set made of pots, pans and other metal objects to a xylophone-like set-up created entirely from flower pots.

Two musicians from Electric Junkyard Gamelan playing clay pots.

“I find rusty metal things beautiful,” she said. “I just have things lying around that I turn into instruments.”

She even told a story between songs about somebody once emailing her saying that she was “the Pete Townshend of clay pots.”

Dame has gadgets that looked so refined and professional, like her sitello, a string instrument based off of a plank of wood that lies in the musician’s lap. Knobs jut out from on top, balancing delicate strings that play sound at even the slightest touch. And the band members play each tune with delicacy and precision.

Made-up instruments galore for Electric Junkyard Gamelan.

The wondrous appearance and sound of these tools fascinated the audience members, including Simo Vassinen, a native of Finland living in New York for a few months. The handcrafted contraptions were interesting, Vassinen said, but he was really captivated by the band’s talent and knowledge.

“You could tell that they were pro musicians as opposed to random hipsters picking up shit and playing around, making goofy sounds,” he said. “I was surprised by how melodic it was, instead of just being noise.”

And how did Vassinen find out about it? Through a friend.

So let’s get the motors to your mouths running, because this homemade event deserves to be known, shared and appreciated – just like the musicians it exhibits.


Video of Electric Junkyard Gamelan playing:

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Ninjasonik – Art School Girls

MANHATTAN STORY: Brothers at Bowery

There are lessons to be learned at The Bowery Mission, a homeless shelter located at 227 Bowery in Manhattan. Whether feigned or factual, the stories I heard when I visited last week were the kind that stick with a person, and they keep ringing in your ears days later.

There was Alexander Romero, a clean looking guy wearing jeans, a jean jacket and a nice blue sweater vest – who used to do crack, weed and cocaine. And then there’s Steve Zakrzewski, a man who looks like anybody’s father in his checkered blue collared shirt (with a tie) and glasses – and he took the long route south with alcoholism. Or even the Bowery’s Director of Outreach, James Macklin, who was once a participant in the Bowery’s program because he lost a business to cocaine and found himself sleeping on the A subway train.

“I was a taker and not a giver,” Macklin said. “Cars, clothes, women and song. Now, I’m a giver instead of a taker.”

The people who come through The Bowery Mission, which was established in 1879, go through a program that involves learning about the Bible and taking classes to better situate themselves for the job market. The Bowery Mission even houses and feeds its members while helping them find jobs when they graduate from the program. The meals are open to the homeless, too, not just those who found their way to the homey institution.

Religion plays a major role in their rehabilitation. Each person there had a story of, not exactly rags to riches, but rags to Jesus. They all shared stories of how they got caught up in bad things – drugs or otherwise – and told us students that we should never let anything control our lives, except for faith in God.

The organ pipes in the chapel at The Bowery Mission.

Zakrzewski said that accepting Jesus Christ as his personal savior was what helped him most.

“I never had that motivation, that comfort, that peace of mind before,” he said. “And there’s a lot of counseling between brothers.”

Those involved with The Bowery Mission really become a family – a pack of brothers, lost and found.

That’s the thing that stuck out to me most: the brothers. In the living quarters, which looked like a mixture between an army bunker and a college dorm with its rows and rows of bunk beds and closets, I found a sign: a sign that reminded the brothers to turn out the lights when not in the room.

It addressed them as “Brothers.” Next to that, it said “& Bro’s,” which was scribbled out, and “Brethern” [sic] was written above that. The misspelling was charming rather than annoying (which is saying a lot for me, a spelling and grammar nut), and its sentiment was as endearing as it was welcoming.

Take notes, Beau!


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Animal Collective – My Girls

Preview: Tapes 'n Tapes at MHW

Tapes 'n Tapes will be playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Feb. 26. Check out my article in The Brooklyn Paper previewing the concert, and get your hands on some tickets for it. It is sure to be a good time, what with the band playing (as singer Josh Grier told me) an even mix of stuff from "The Loon" and their most recent album, "Walk It Off" (2008).

(Photo credit: Cameron Wittig)

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Julie London – Warm December