This is a picture of my first encounter with the work of Aakash Nihalani. Shortly after i posted this pic on flickr, Aakash contacted me, and identified himself as the artist.
I then invited Aakash to put up a work outside 17 Frost, and he left me this enchanting piece, which i photographed.
Shortly thereafter, we met, and with the support of Steven Pacia, i invited Aakash to present his first solo exhibition at 17 Frost. Click here to see a photostream of the exhibit.
Opening night on October 10th 2008 was a great success.
Since then, Aakash Nihalani has continued to produce extraordinary works of art, that surprise us with their technical mastery, and mystical presence.
The On And Off (Often On) exhibit by Aakash Nihalani is currently running at the Carmichael Gallery in Los Angeles.
View a photostream of the opening here.
I was a child of Rock and Roll, and i wrote a song about Rock and Roll.
Donald Johnson co-wrote the lyrics. This performance of the song took place in 1986 in Elmont. This is from our last gig in New York. You can hear the crowd chant “bullshit” shortly after we finished the song; i guess that they wanted us to keep playing.
Fee Fi Fo Fum was:
Alberto Hernandez-Miyares: Bass
Donald Johnson: Vocals
Mary K: Keyboards, Backing Vocals
John Easter Mills: Drums
Javier Hernandez-Miyares: Guitar, Backing Vocals
This performance was recorded at February’s in Elmont in 1986.
The drawing above is by jhm, and it is pencil on the back of an envelope.
This clip of Sineparade rehearsing for the Zipperhead Show, was videotaped by Alex Itin. Alex, and Ben Vershbow were taking shots of the band (which will be used in a promotional video), while we played Demon. The sound sucks, but the spirit is there. Rehearsals for Zipperhead will continue until the premiere of its run at 17 Frost in April.
This past weekend i visited Cuban artist Maria Victoria de Bernard at her home and studio in Gallatin New York, which has a population of about 1,300 scattered over 36 square miles (almost twice as big in area as
Manhattan). She shares the house with my brother Julio, who is a programmer, and a master of the internet universe.
20 minutes from Gallatin is the quaint city of Hudson, which like Havana (Maria’s city of origin) contains the elegant, and weathered buildings of an ancien regime; They now endure, because of the influx of artists, and art dealers, who have turned Hudson into a mecca for the arts.
Maria Victoria de Bernard, uses folk art aesthetics to create her depictions of life in Cuba, which revel in the quotidian. Her paintings contain details that reveal the mysticism of the ordinary.
We encourage you to defend Iraq war veteran Marc Hall, who is currently imprisoned for recording a song that expresses his anger over the Army’s stop-loss policy. Stop-loss is a policy that allows the army to keep soldiers active beyond the end of their signed contracts.
Dahr Jamail from truthout.org reports on the circumstances of Hall’s imprisonment here.
i wrote this song after i returned from a trip to Peru. While there i encountered the writing of Gustavo Gutierrez and he inspired this tune.
The greatest love that i have known
Is the love that knocked the king
From his throne
The greatest love that i have seen
Is the love that put the Queen
Under the guillotine
If you want it all:
You have to know where the pieces fall
The greatest love in the world
Is locked away
In a prison cell
The greatest love some people say
Is just a change
That’s waiting to be made
If you want it all:
You have to know where the pieces fall
If you want that love at all
You have to know where the pieces Fall
The greatest love in the world:
People drinking from
Their own wells
If you want that love at all
You have to know where the pieces Fall
The following click is the first recording of Where The Pieces Fall:
Recorded in Kunkletown Pennsylvania in 1986, on an 8 track Fostex.
Fee Fi Fo Fum were:
Donald Johnson – Voice and Keys
Javier Hernandez-Miyares – Guitar and Voice
Alberto Hernandez-Miyares – Bass
John Easter Mills – Drums
Mary k – Keys and Voice