Well, hello there my friends and welcome to the April edition of “Tits Up Brooklyn!” where we explore some of the music and arts that Brooklyn had to offer this muse-ical muse. Oh, the month of March was a busy month for so many reasons. Good reasons, bad reasons and downright ugly reasons, but we don’t have time for ugliness so let’s just focus on the fun that was had by yours truly.
Warmer weather, longer days means that we can actually get out and explore our musical options by merely taking a nice stroll. How nice it is to see people again and to be seen! The month started out with jazz at Bad Therapy in Ditmas Park. Bad Therapy, found at the corner of Coney Island Ave & Cortelyou, is a delightful coffeehouse serving up spirits as well as caffeinated offerings. On a Friday night in early March, they also offered up a delightful evening of jazz with the Roman and Paul Duo. The pair played a robust set comprised of long lovely melodies played by Paul, an extraordinarily talented keyboardist punctuated by the deep dulcet tones of Roman, upright right bass player. What I found amazing was the keyboardist Paul’s ability to play the two instruments at once, the electric piano as well the chromatic harmonica. No easy feat I tell you! And what a creative offering of all instrumental music! Tunes included “Light My Fire” (The Doors) , “It’s De-Lovely” by Cole Porter and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow, made famous by The Shirelles. Such an eclectic mix and it left me feeling very jazzed. Bad Therapy offers up shows five to six nights week including films, comedy and champagne tasting (ooo-la-la). I highly suggest supporting this relatively new venue that has made itself a neighborhood staple in just a little over a year.
The following week I celebrated Women’s History Month at Young Ethels. Personally speaking, every month is Women’s History Month, but I guess we womenfolk are supposed to be satisfied with one month. But I digress…let’s talk about the three strong and fierce women that comprise Sweet Little Bloodhound (www.sweetlittlebloodhound.com). The trio include Shanelle Jenkins, trumpet and vocals, Devlin Miles, guitar and vocals and Olivia Martinez on violin and vocals. The band closed out the March edition of Sad Songs, Happy Hour brought to use each month by Katie Curley. I was completely blown away by Sweet Little Bloodhound, with Shanelle’s horn was front and center, bookended by Olivia stage left and Devlin on stage right. The band exquisitely performed their own music, written by both Devlin Miles & Shanelle Jenkins. Originally founded in 2015, they describe themselves as “combining country, soul, rock, folk and personal music influences to make music that hopefully connects with the experiences of other folks”.
After suffering a terrible tragedy 2021, this was the band’s first foray back into playing at a live show and to say it was powerful is an understatement. My only complaint is that the set was too short. I hope to catch the Sweet Little Bloodhound in the coming year. Music is medicine and these women will heal your soul with their music.
They say good friends are like a four-leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have. We were all so lucky that our very good friend Sean Kershaw brought the No Nay Nevers band back from retirement for a very special set at Shenanigans and he stayed on hand to make sure both bands sounded fantastic. The room was packed as was the outdoor patio space out back. Some of you fine folk may recall that Shenanigans had live music every Friday night, but that ended last year (insert sad face emoji). They still have karaoke every Saturday, Boozy Bingo nights, Trivia Nights on Wednesdays and are home to some high falootin’ beverage options. They even offer a Darts Tournament, if you feel the need to imbibe in alcohol and throw sharp objects.
Later in the month I ventured out to Word, a delightfully comfortable independent bookstore in Williamsburg to enjoy the book signing of “Bag Of Tricks” written and read by singer and author Ruby Dee Phillipa, (Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers) and published on March 14 by Earth Island Books. Bag of Tricks is Book One of a Punk Trilogy describing the punk scene in the early 1980’s in San Francisco. Each chapter is a vignette providing an intimate look inside the lives of those deeply immersed in the underground punk scene at the time. The book is semi-autobiographical and when Ruby read passages aloud it was evident that it’s her voice rippling through the pages of Bag of Tricks. She poignantly describes dumpster diving, squatting in abandoned building, shooting up, getting high and the loving chaos that provided the foundation for the emerging punk rock scene of The 80s. The reading was followed by a lively Q and A session where Ruby continued to share her insights into the era and pay homage to those lost along the way. I’m about halfway through book one and I eagerly await the upcoming parts two and three.
So, with all this going on, you might think I’m too tired for fun in April, but you would be so, so wrong!
On April 19 at 9 am our friends from Embarazada share the stage at Young Ethels with Radionics and Eastern Spaghetti Electro Dub. This night promises to be an eclectic mix of genres that include introspective indie music, a jam band with Dead-like sound and guitar driven dub music, so a little something for everyone! Eastern Spaghetti Electro Dub is a musical project with Sal Cataldi who some may remember from his band Frank’s Museum and the indie documentary “Before it Was Cool: The Brooklyn Beat from Lauterbachs.” More about this in next month’s column!
AND (drum roll please) BK Muses brings us SMUDGEFEST 2025 SATURDAY JUNE 21 AT YOUNG ETHELS!! Yay! The multiband line up kicks off at 3 pm with nine local bands for your listening and moshing pleasure. This is also Make Music NY Day, so come on out and make some music, have lots of fun and support independent artists in Brooklyn. As always with BK Muses, a portion of the proceeds from the show go to a local charity. This time they have chosen to support an animal rights group in Brooklyn.
Wowee, that was a lot to share, a real brain dump as the kiddos say. Glad to be busy and back in saddle, muse-ically speaking. Winter was cold and dark, but Spring has Sprung and with it, music blooms in our beloved borough of Brooklyn. Be good to yourselves, as I would be if I knew ya’. Big loving hugs from the bosom of Medea to you. You make my world a better place and I hope that I can do the same for you. Till we meet again…I remain your musical muse, Medea Hoar.
#bkmuses
Bad Therapy, 1008 Cortelyou, Ditmas Park/Brooklyn
Young Ethel’s, 505 5th Ave, Park Slope/Brooklyn
Shenanigans Irish Pub, 802 Caton Ave., Kensington/Brooklyn
Word, 126 Franklin St., Williamsburg/Brooklyn
