Van Wyck Gazette Autumn Issue 2018

Autumn Issue 2018

Van Wyck Gazette

Fishkill • Beacon • Wappingers Falls • Poughkeepsie • Newburgh • New Paltz • Rhinebeck • Woodstock

Van Wyck Gazette

FROM THE PUBLISHER

EDITOR IN CHIEF / CREATIVE DIRECTOR Joseph Caplan

I asked our group of contributors to write content to welcome the autumn and provide a great mix to intrique our readers.

DESIGN / MEDIA Margot Stiegeler

The Thomas Cole Historic Site by Robert Pucci shares his review of the Cedar Grove home of the founder of the Hudson River School (of Art) in Catskill, New York.

Italy, A Brief Gastronomic Perusal by Senior Writer Samra Ferris covers the topic of breads in her photographic essay.

CONTRIBUTORS Samara Ferris, Adrea Gibbs, Mike Jurkovic, Ami Madeleine, David McGorry, Rik Mercaldi, Isabel Minunni, Robert Pucci

Paul Simon: In The Blue Light covers the latest album by the Legend from Queens. Senior Writer Mike Jurkovic writes his notes.

Jonathan Richman: A Reluctant Icon by Rik Mercaldi shares a trivia fact about a hit film There’s Something About Mary in his article.

PUBLISHER Caplan Media Group, Inc., Fishkill, NY

In the Limelight: Jamie Sarin by Ami Madeleine writes the story of the very timely Celebrate Womx845 by a local artist and promoter.

SUBSCRIPTIONS To receive Van Wyck Gazette by mail visit our website and subscribe www.vanwyckgazette.com

Bacon Almond Crumb French Toast Bake by Chef Isabel Minnuni is her tempting apple recipe sure to please everyone, or make a trip to the orchard your family priority.

Almond Joy: Bittersweet And a Little Nutty by Senior Writer Adrea Gibbs shares touching memories of her father and family remembrances.

ADVERTISE If you would like to advertise with Van Wyck Gazette email vanwyckgazette@gmail.com

Putting the Brand to Work for Non-Profits by David McGorry has value for those who serve in organizational non-profits.

We hope you enjoy our Autumn Issue.

Table of Contents

4 The Thomas Cole Historic Site Robert Pucci

8 Italy: A Brief Gastronomic Perusal Samara Ferris

12 Paul Simon: In The Blue Light

Mike Jurkovic

14 Autumn is Apple Season

Isabel Minunni

16 Almond Joy: Bittersweet & a Little Nutty

Adrea Gibbs

18 In the Limelight: Jamie Sanin

Ami Madeleine

20 Putting the Brand to Work for Non-Profits

David McGorry

22 Jonathan Richman: A Reluctant Icon

Rik Mercaldi

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Joseph Caplan

Cover art: “Lilac Intoxication” by Stacey Flint The art of Stacie Flint is all about color; her oil and acrylic paintings complement the warmth of the seasons.

These vibrant works depict figures set in lively, patterned interiors as well as unique still lifes and landscapes. They combine inventive color, painterly brushwork, playful, animated energy and create a light and breezy world with a feeling of freedom.

Flint also uses her distinctive colorful style for commissioned work; creating portraits of her clients and their family life.

She teaches a workshop at her studio on creative expression and, in addition to being a member of Roost, is part of the Gardiner Open Studio Tour and Ulster/Dutchess mobile co-op LongreachArts. She also sings in the women’s choral group Bloom. , Flint, a resident of New Paltz, has paintings and portraits which are owned nationally and internationally. She has exhibited extensively throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley, New York City and beyond. Her art has been featured on numerous magazine covers including Chronogram, The Valley Table, The Ulster County Community Guide, HITS Program Guide and Van Wyck Gazette and has appeared in various issues of The New York Times, Hudson Valley Magazine, Poughkeepsie Journal, New Paltz Times and other publications. Her commissioned public art is on permanent display at Ulster County Area Transit in Kingston. Flint illustrated a children’s book “Ten Pigs Fiddling” by Ron Atlas (2005 Amberwood Press), and created work for two music CD covers by the band Grenadilla.

www.staceyflint.com Van W yck Gazette - Autumn 2018 Issue

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The Thomas Cole Historic Site Robert Pucci When you exit the parking lot you move back in time, into the nineteen century, to the days of the early Republic and the birth of the first art movement that the new country could call its own. While the democracy that was established in the United States was seen as progressive, the culture of the new republic was seen as purely derivative of European models, dependent on the decorative arts and literature imported from England and France. Copley may have impressed the British with his portraits while the French celebrated Franklin as a scientist and frontier sage, but American culture was not taken seriously. Thomas Cole changed that when he produced landscapes that represented the raw, untamed and uncivilized vistas north of New York City, by founding the Hudson River School of Art. The house beyond the parking lot is Cedar Grove, his home in Catskill, New York, a national historic site that celebrates his life and art.

Born in England, Cole migrated with his family to Ohio, at first. The young man was trained in textile design and absorbed the traditional visual arts of England. Moving to New York, he made a living engraving and painting portraits.

Although entirely self-taught, he developed a talent, proficiency of technique and style that would place him far above the average limner, whose work we tend to define as folk art rather than fine art. One summer he escaped, as Page 4

Main House he described it, the bustle of the city to paint what one writer has called the “wilder image� of forests, mountains and streams of the Catskills.

Settling in the town of Catskill, and establishing a summer studio in an outbuilding of a farm, he painted three views of the Hudson River valley. His two views of Cold Spring and one view of the Catskills were displayed in the window of a bookshop where they caught the attention and admiration of John Trumbull. A Revolutionary War veteran and painter of historic subjects, Mr. Trumbull and a patron from Hartford named Wadsworth, would establish the Athenaeum there that bears his name.

Encouraged and buoyed by their support, Cole returned to Catskill and continued to paint the vistas of creeks, forests and mountains in his favored pinks, purples and lush greens. He admired the rough and uncivilized landscapes that he found there. In painting these vistas he established a new standard for a genre that had been bogged down in classical rules. The trees would not curve gently in the picture plane but be bent, some broken, while the rocks would be craggy and un-sculpted. Signs of human habitation would be limited to the occasional Native American, hiker or artist making their cameos to suggest the grandeur of the scale found in the environment. Cole also felt that he was documenting a disappearing natural legacy. He bemoaned the loggers who were harvesting trees or settlers who were building farms and villages that despoiled the virgin frontier.

Gaining fame he traveled to Europe and soaked up influences from the British masters Constable, who’s romantic depictions of the V an W yck Gazette - Autumn 2018 Issue

One of the restored parlors

Upstairs room on third floor with one of the sculptural pieces of the contemporary Spectrum Art Exhibit.

View of the old studio

The new studio countryside and its ruins would influence Cole’s later work (where a ruined tower might often make an appearance) and Turner, who impressed Cole with his bold and dramatic compositions and use of color. In addition to documenting the landscapes he saw in Europe, Cole evolved beyond the wilder images of the Catskills to allegorical painting. In a famous series of four paintings he charted the rise and fall of an empire. He in turn influenced painters like Frederic Church, whose country home Olana is perched on a hill directly opposite the Cole site and presents an opulent contrast to the rather modest farm house that Cole called home.

On a very warm and humid day, with the Catskills slightly obscured by haze, I joined visitors who made the pilgrimage to the birthplace of the Hudson River School of Art. I had visited the site before and I was pleasantly surprised by the vast improvements that have been made there. Under the direction of Betsy Jacks, the Executive Director of the site who, over a 15 year tenure with her able staff, knowledgeable volunteers, strong and active board of directors, has transformed the site into a state-of-the-art 21st century museum experience.

The main house and old studio have been restored thanks to grants and fund-raising efforts. While the Cole site, is a national historic site the operating budget of Cedar Grove is raised entirely by the organization, and is only partially augmented by grants. The restoration efforts revealed original paint colors and finishes, including decorative friezes, that were painted by Cole himself as he re-decorated the house in the late 1830’s. One parlor of the house is set up as a small auditorium where a five minute orientation video is displayed on multiple screens disguised as paintings. In the video we hear the words of Cole and gain an understanding of his reverence for his subject matter and his love of the life and family he raised in this house. The other parlor displays artful photographic reproductions of some of Cole’s most iconic works so that the contemporary visitor might gain a sense of what these paintings, now widely scattered around the museums of the world, might have looked like in situ to a visitor in the 1840’s. There are also interactive technologies that enable visitors to experience Cole’s correspondence and gain insight into his other pursuits in poetry, architecture and art theory. For he was, as many creative people were before our century of specialization, a Renaissance man.

The restored parlors on the first floor lead to a second floor where visitors might be surprised by the intrusion of the 21st century. This Page 5

Picturesque and Sublime Exhibition

Cole painting on exhibit time it is not state of the art technology, but rather the works of contemporary artists in an exhibition entitled SPECTRUM, which features the works of eleven artists. Responding to a theme developed from Cole’s theory of the use of color in his paintings, their works are bold, some abstract, some conceptual, but they all seem at home mingling with works

by Cole and placed within the restored period rooms.

Cole was an architect as well as painter. He finished third in a competition for the design of the Ohio State House. The final structure which still stands incorporates many of the elements of Cole’s design. In the 1840’s he decided to build a new studio on his property. The result was a tall wooden box in a neo-gothic style with one large north facing window.

The studio served as both a working and display space for Cole’s works some of which were quite large in scale. Early in the 20th century the structure was razed, however, as part Page 6

Contemporary painting / Spectrum Exhibition of the site’s restoration efforts the original foundations were uncovered. Using Cole’s drawings and plans, the studio was reconstructed and is now a museum quality gallery where world class shows about Cole and the Hudson River School originate and travel to other museums.

Currently there is an excellent example of the shows presented there entitled “Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance.” It is an exhibition of prints, drawing and paintings that demonstrate how Cole was influenced by his travels to Europe and his encounters with artists and the landscapes of the old world. Partnering with Yale University, the show has many exquisite loans, including a large watercolor by Turner that was reframed for the exhibition. The installation is first rate and the catalog finely printed and handsome.

The last stop in the tour is a glimpse into Cole’s working V an Wyck Gazette - Autumn 2018 Issue

Cole’s color theory related to Spectrum Exhibition environment, as his old studio has been restored with his easels and tools. The spartan room is exposed brick and half timbered. There are easels, a drafting table, brushes along with a mortar and pestle that would have been used to grind raw materials down to make pigment for paints. The light from the north is cool and seemingly faint. But standing in the room one can imagine Cole returning from a two-day sojourn that might have started at the Catskill creek and progressed into the mountains where he would have collected sketches. Entering the studio we can see him preparing his colors and setting about roughing in a composition, progressing layer after layer until the sketches are transformed into large scale landscapes. In fact, many of Cole’s most iconic works of art, including the Oxbow, were painted here.

Betsy Jacks is the spritely and energetic Executive Director of the Cole site. Sitting in her office, in a building across the street from the site, she talks about ambitious plans for the future of the site and tourism in the region.

There is a proposed skyway project currently underway. It seeks to build a direct pedestrian path from the Thomas Cole site that would lead across the Rip Van Winkle Bridge ascending to Olana on the Columbia County side. This project would attract new tourists and also improve the experience of those who wish to take the Hudson River School of Art trail. Their brochure, with a map, guides you to sites actually

painted by the artists of the school. Ms. Jacks describes the strides made by the site and is justifiably excited by the prospect of a project that might quadruple the number of visitors to the Cole site. She seem undaunted by the prospect of moving from perhaps 25 to 30 thousand visitors a years to a projected total of 100 thousand. According to Ms. Jacks these projections are based on the popularity of the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie. Will the Cole House be able to handle this increase?

The site has already developed some adaptive strategies.

From being open only on weekends, the site is now open every day of the week, save for Mondays. Tours are available during the morning hours given by well-trained guides. But they quickly fill giving way to touring at your own pace in the afternoon. Plans are underway for improved access and fencing. In the meantime visitors can enjoy a relative serenity.

On the porch overlooking the Catskills, whose purple forms rise in the distance, one can share a vantage point that Cole often used as the basis of a painting. Today visitors are offered the opportunity to take a piece of paper and a pencil then sit for a while and sketch the mountains that captivated Cole. With autumn upon us, there is no better time to visit this gem to gain insight into our first great American art movement and the beauty that Cole saw outside his front door.

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ITALY: A Brief Gastronomic Perusal Samara Ferris The explosion of gastronomy could be written into books and books about the distribution of wealth, and it has.

It is the crass fact that neither the fine arts nor gastronomy can develop without a minimum threshold of prosperity; somebody has to be rich enough to pay the painters and the pastry cooks; nor is a country living at the margin of bare survival much interested in the quality of what it eats; it will settle for quantity. If the arts flourished in Renaissance Italy, it was because there was enough wealth to permit some citizens to abandon material production and devote themselves to artistic production; if the kitchen flourished in Renaissance Italy it was because there was enough wealth to fill the pantry.1 The Italians have world-over been revered for their adept abilities, complex flavors, and indulgent creations in the kitchen.

Like the implications of different types of tea and rice in China, certain foods have economic and social meanings in Italy as well.

To afford the luxury of exquisite food, elaborate banquets, and selective quality, there must be enough wealth to allow it. Known for its cuisine par excellence, Italy is a nation famous for its cooking that resided and swelled within the bourgeois, explaining why most of Italy’s well-known dishes are inexpensive to prepare and do not require rare ingredients as French recipes may, such as foie gras and Château Latour Grand Vin. A significant school of art could not have existed with the wealth and ability to cook lying only in the hands of a few patrons. Italy’s cuisine instead existed and exists mainly within its middle class, allowing it to produce a solid school of culinary artistry as well as intricate and well-defined regional styles of cooking: …When, as in the Renaissance, there is a well-to-do middle class numerous enough to patronize not only a few selected geniuses, but a large body of artists, and to patronize not only a small clique of master cooks but a whole population of ordinary cooks, both art and cooking can expand dimensions which assure their survival.2

The allowance of the economy shaped Italy’s cuisine and helped its middle class burgeon along with it. With the abundance and restrictions of an economy also swings the growth and suffocation of its art. The economy of plenty will have a greater school of art and entertainment as its wealthy craves and can afford leisure. As the type of food one ate still explained one’s social stance in Italy, the middle-class foods eventually became so popularized that it became the status quo and the wealthy, middle class, and even the poor (where wealth would also trickle down into) enjoyed its comfort and simplicity, called “cucina casalinga” in Italian, meaning “home-cooking.”

Pasqua Pasqua. Easter, in Italian. In Italy, the origins of Easter seem much more prevalent than in the US, where pink sugar-coated puffed chicks smirk behind shrink-wrap in supermarkets, and children dye eggs in pastel shades to commemorate something they may not be sure of. In Italy, it is not uncommon to see crosses made from folded palms everywhere on Palm Sunday. In John 12:13 in the Bible, it says that the people of Emmaus, “took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” In the Bible, the people threw cloth and palm leaves on the ground for Jesus to walk upon, cushioning and welcoming his arrival. In order to preserve the religious origins of this holiday and to celebrate Jesus, palm fronds are commonplace at Easter in Italy. The Italians commonly celebrate Easter with ceremonial specificity, symbolism, and allusions. They keep the religious origins of the holiday alive (even the nonreligious may join in on many religious customs) although they still join in on the enjoyment of chocolate eggs and surprises.

Pasqua is an enormous celebration in Italy, rivaling that of Buon Natale, “good birthday,” or Christmas. Italians celebrate Pasqua as a friend and/or family-centered lunch, similar to the American traditions. The feast for this holiday is usually very large, celebrating religion, friends, family, the Spring Equinox, and also the end of lent. For the many who participated in the 40-day long fast, this holiday offers the opportunity to experience gastronomical

1 Root, Waverley. The Best of Italian Cooking. Italy: Grosset & Dunlap, 1974, 8.

2 See preceding reference.

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overindulgence with sweets, pastries, wine, and meat. In celebration of the Spring Equinox, a plethora of fresh, young vegetables are also served, often alongside young, soft cheeses. Asparagus, peas, and artichokes are some of the most prized vegetables for Pasqua as they reach their peak in flavor and tenderness around the time of the celebration. The traditional main meat of the lunch is lamb, appropriately. The Italians eat lamb in sacrificial remembrance of Jesus Christ.3 They symbolically ingest the lamb, sanctifying their bodies and remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made. As the people eat the lamb, they celebrate the end of their sacrifice (lent) while simultaneously engaging in a symbolic sacrificial event of eating Jesus. This type of sanctification through symbolic cannibalism mirrors the practices of the Eucharist in church. Italians are famous for being staunchly Catholic, for celebrating mass (sometimes at impressive times such as 6:00am), and for taking the Eucharist with grave seriousness and frequency.

Pasqua then, is the culmination of all Eucharist: the most popular, certainly the happiest, and the most critical.

Sacrifice almost certainly involves fire. 4 Fire purifies, symbolically eliminates the old to make fertile ground for the new.

What would the biggest celebration of the Eucharist be if there was no fire? In Florence, on Pasqua morning, a fire is lit with the flints kept at the Holy Sepulcher since 1785.5 This Holy Fire is paraded throughout the city until it reaches the Bishop of Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. The Bishop uses the fire to light a doveshaped rocket which initiates a whirlpool of fireworks, poppers, and colorful spinning wheels. After the explosions, Easter mass is held. The origin of this custom took place when the crusaders finally took over Jerusalem in 1099. The first brave man to climb the wall to Jerusalem was rewarded with flint from the Holy Sepulcher. He entrusted it to a church that lit a fire with it every Holy Saturday and paraded it throughout the streets, lighting a candle or torch at each door with the Holy Fire. As the city grew larger, this custom was replaced by fireworks exploding over the city that were lit by the Holy Fire for all to see.

Fire is a symbol here for new beginnings. It represents the siege of Jerusalem (an opportunity to start anew), the coming of the Spring Equinox (evidenced in all the egg and rabbit motifs during this holiday, which trace back to pagan festivals of fertility), the sacrifice of Jesus (the dinner sacrificial lamb), and the consecration of one’s self (through eating of the lamb as a symbol for the Eucharist). Healthy for a cohesive society and a vigorous economy, holidays do more than provide social outlets and food: they mimic historical events, they encourage feasting to redistribute wealth, and they fortify nationalism and culture (benefiting the government as well as its people) by unearthing and employing old traditions that celebrate unity and forgiveness (symbolized by fire and the Spring Equinox). Like the Chinese New Year, the Italian Pasqua has pastries, elaborate meals, fireworks and, representing the redistribution of wealth, gift-giving to the old and the young especially. The Chinese give their children money and the Italians give their children chocolate eggs filled with coins or toys. Elaborate gifts may also be given to family or friends inside a chocolate egg such as jewelry.

Worth mentioning here again are Margaret Visser’s words on holidays in The Rituals of Dinner: “The prototypical beginning

The traditional fire cart in Florence on Easter Sunday of every feast is…a sacrifice, (142). This still holds true for the Italians in Pasqua. The forty days leading up to the feast are the days of lent where people abstain from certain foods, thoroughly examine themselves, pray, confess and repent for sins. In China, in the week leading up to the feast of Chinese New Year, people clean out their houses, sift through old things, organize fridges and even undergo personal cleansing. Secular or religious, celebrations almost always have similar formulas: a feast preceded by a sacrifice, fire or light and gift-giving to evoke old customs of offerings. The reason why so many celebrations have these same commonalities is simple: they all aspire to bring about the same changes and strengthen the same things. The specific traditions of festivals began in small regions or towns. The town’s traditions either grew and spread with its population or dwindled and died with most of its culture to make way for another dominating culture’s customs. These festivals were necessary then and they are necessary now.

In Ancient times, without the technology to connect us all within a country or region, what was there to unite us in the same way? Culture. Culture is most loud and social at celebrations

3 “Easter ‘Pasqua’ Lunch,” DeLallo, http://www.delallo.com/articles/easter-pasqua-lunch.

4 Girard, René, Violence and the Sacred. USA: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977.

5 Scoppio del Carro Festical,” Fire Cart Easter Sunday Tradition in Florence.

http://south-european-customs-holidays.suite101.com/article.cfm/easter_cart_tradition_in_florence

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where it thrives, becomes strong and teaches people of their regional traditions. These people will remember these customs and will practice them with their children and so on as long as the society shares these customs every year in a social festival.

These customs unite people. They make people feel a sense of social connectedness, a social awareness that provides acceptance, warmth, family and (even if for one night) friends.

Being involved in traditions that span a millennia or more make people feel a sense of humility and cohesion with a group. A nation will particularly push a holiday and create much “hype” in order to keep up the excitement leading up to this holiday because it benefits the nation. A holiday creates a strong sense of unity, which if shared with an entire country, can be translated into nationalism.

Think of the 4th of July. Everyone is in happy spirits, they forget their disappointment or struggles with the US Government, and they eat all-American food and drink all-American beer with images of the US flag on shirts, hanging on fences, on cars, in front of driveways, above doorways. The nation becomes stronger with the unity of its people, a well-known fact to dictators whose empires crumbled because there was no centralized government and no commonality among its conquered people (take the Romans for example or the French in Africa or the British in America).

Government also loves holidays because it boosts a nation’s economy. People spend hard-earned (or not) money lavishly while companies and artisans produce extra goods in order to meet the demands of consumers. People spend more, more taxes are collected, more people are producing and our economy benefits from splurging on itself. A redistribution of wealth also occurs on holidays, where more fortunate people give to the underprivileged, the old and the young, and wealthy people spend superlative amounts on gifts, food and entertainment, which again benefits the government through taxes and by more money flowing into its producers, whether that be an artisan class or corporations (which give impressive amounts of money to the government in taxes and bargains through lobbyists). Holidays are as much a

Homemade pasta Bread and Pasta One might be tempted to suggest that the chief distinction between [bread and pasta] is that bread contains yeast, or some other raising ingredient, and pasta does not; but there are types of bread which contain no yeast, and types of pasta which do…In general it is nutritionally, if not gastronomically, true that bread and pasta are the same food; and since Italy eats a great deal of pasta, it would be logical for it to eat very little bread. Let us concede that the Italian is not logical; he eats a great deal of bread all the same.6

Italian bread The Italian may not be logical, but to say the least, he is gastronomical. One could say that if each country chose something in which to develop a proficiency, unified Italy renounced the art of war (or at least expanding the Italian empire) and instead dove into the art of cooking for comfort. How the Japanese engage in traditional tea ceremony, how the Indians prepare for a wedding, how the Balinese commemorate an infant child’s first steps, is how the old-world (and a select some from the new world crop) Italians treat cooking and eating. Food is a social and regional Focaccia with cherry tomatoes binding agent and a harbor for traditions and culture. If celebrations celebration for the people as for the government. But the truth of are a necessary ingredient to the advent of human society and who mainly propagates it is another story, belonging to the food is the backbone of celebrations, then food is certainly the surreptitious conversations between corporate bulls and money- glue of society, the thing we use to celebrate as well as something to celebrate on its own. The culture of food and all of its customs, minded politicians.

6 Root, Waverley. The Best of Italian Cooking. Italy: Grosset & Dunlap, 1974, 16.

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Van W yck Gazette - Autumn 2018 Issue

specificities (eating lobster with a lobster fork or having the French cookie Madeleine in the shape of a particular sea shell), and elaborate presentations (some bordering on ostentatious) are simultaneously shaped by society and shaping society in a constant flux of economics, demand, seasonality, modernity and trend.

But, however rustic and heirloom or conveniently shrink-wrapped and sodium benzoate-preserved food culture becomes, it nevertheless remains omnipresent and necessary to every culture, and Italy is loudly no exception.

Bread and pasta. Comfort. These words are synonymous.

In Italy the food culture is alive in almost every kitchen. The average rural mother is (still today) practically a professional regional chef. Since food worked its way upwards in this society, existing first in the everyday household and then later penetrating the higher strata of wealthy men and socialites, then it makes sense that Italy’s most well-known food and most common food would be food of the home, “cucina casalinga”—comfort food.

Cantuccini / Almond biscotti Bread and pasta in Italy are rivals as well as family. In Sicily, Sicilians actually prefer bread to pasta, unlike the Tuscans who pizza dough to caraway loaves to fluffy focaccia to robust meatballs drape long ribbons of soft noodle with locally-pressed rich to spongy cake to dense cookies to crunchy almond biscotti. buttercup-yellow olive oil. The art of bread-making and pastaGrains seem to be the food of life, at least in Italy. Grains making is no simple task. Like the Chinese and their tedious care require little money and little vigilance to grow and once mature, they are profitable because they have a long shelf-life, are versatile and are effortlessly sold to make profits. Grains grow locally and so bread and pasta support regional farmers and regional crops.

They are necessary economically. They become necessary to society as well…

Italy is well-known as a religious country. A country of wellto-do (and some famously corrupt as well as some feverishly pious) Catholics. An image of the homey, stocky Catholic grandmother in her floral apron comes to mind stirring her pot of aromatic tomato sauce, striking children’s hands that wander surreptitiously into the dinner bread or cooling basil marinara.

Rosary beads hang on the walls of the kitchen, adorning painted profiles of Mary with her head cocked to side in a slight bow and a blue shawl draped delicately over her head. Grains are prominent in the Bible, found in Ezekiel describing the ingredients of ancient sprouted bread.7 The history of grains push back far into ancient history where they supported Israelites and became a part of tradition (in Passover when the Jews thwarted the Romans from Colomba di Pasqua / Italian Easter cake killing their first-born male by leaving their houses [and marking and exactness in picking, drying and preparing tea leaves, the their doors with blood] before the daily bread could rise). In the Italians take meticulous care finding the right olive oil, the particular Gospel of John, Jesus is described as having fed 5000 people type of flour, the perfect shape for their bread or pasta. Each (not including women and children) with only two fish and seven seems to be an all-day event, which in itself is like a holiday. To loaves of bread. Christianity, the love of God and of Jesus, and sacrifice the time to cook from scratch, to put in the care to make spirituality are all called the “bread of life” in social context and the lightest loaf, the softest ribbon of papparadelle and then to in the Bible. It is interesting to note that unified Italy has always delight in the indescribable taste that flutters and melts on one’s been Christian and unified Italy’s staples have always been grains tongue is arguably the rituals of celebration in and of itself. And (not tomatoes, as many think, which Italians actually rejected for does not the gastronomically fluent Italian treat it as so? near a hundred years. Tomatoes actually come from Mexico, The heart of bread and pasta is of the same flesh: wheat. taken to Spain and other parts of Europe by Hernán Cortés, Durum, semolina, wheat, white, buckwheat…there are many conqueror of native Aztecs.) words for grain, each promulgating its history and regional home It may be a coincidence, since the Italians cannot control the with its texture, color, lightness, starchiness and flavor. Despite topography of their countryside and what native plants grow in their differences, grains are all of the same household. It is a abundance there and since Christianity began in the Levant. diverse household of heartiness, strength, simplicity, endurance Whether culture or nature, grains are undeniably the backbone and variability. Grains are easy to grow, easy to maintain, are of Italian cooking as Catholicism is and was the backbone to the filling and healthy, last seemingly forever dried or as flour, are Italians spirit. People create food. And if people create food, honestly clean in flavor, and are used to make many things from certainly we create it in our image.

7 Ezekiel 4:9, The King James Revised Version, The Bible.

(Photos - Courtesy of Pixabay.com) Page 11

Paul Simon: In The Blue Light Mike Jurkovic When the subject of 20th century American songwriters pops up as they often should, for any conversation about the arts and sciences counterbalances the smoke screen theater of chaos that is our current political life, Dylan rears his crinkled countenance first and foremost. Which is only fair. But as brilliant and emblazoned upon our psyche as he is, much of his music (then and his nearrecent, resurgent now) is scrutinized and tracked back to ancient reels, sea shanties, child ballads, and killer blues.

Then Brian Wilson, perhaps our greatest pop maestro, enters the discussion. But so much of his early work was so California.

(And how fortunate we are that he sang about California and not, say, Kentucky, Utah, or South Carolina) Then we’ve got Woody and Wonder, Gershwin and Duke. Smokey. King-Goffin. LieberStoler, Holland-Dozier-Holland. Bruce. How the hell did I almost forget Bruce?

Randy Newman, his classicism and wit ever present, gets my vote a-plenty, but he’s just too outside the Main Street vernacular.

And despite grandma knowing “Short People” “It’s Money That I Love,” and “I Love L.A.,” can she readily hum “Wedding In Cherokee County,” or “Real Emotional Girl?” or know how he’s infiltrated the grandkids with indelible soundtracks like Toy Story, Cars, The Princess and the Frog, and Monsters, Inc., just to name a few?

Laura Nyro, God rest her beautiful soul, died too young to leave a full body of work. You can rightfully argue for Tom Waits.

Leonard Cohen could be really depressing. Besides he’s Canadian as is Joni, who should just win hands down without argument.

Page 12

So, gloriously, Paul Simon it is.

To this very day, as he readies the last shows of his Homeward Bound tour, Simon’s new is as new as his old once was. When your most maligned works, 1980’s One Trick Pony, 84’s dark epic Heart and Bones, and 97’s errant Songs From The Capeman yields such lasting beauty as “Late in The Evening,” “Hearts and Bones,” “The Late, Great Johnny Ace,” “The Vampires,” and “Adious Hermanos,” a severe re-assessment is due. Add the deep listening of “How The Heart Approaches What It Yearns” reimagined here from its 80’s incarnation into a new jazz standard with Wynton Marsalis, pianist Sullivan Fortner and bassist John Patitucci. The doo-wop impressionism of the Hearts and Bones masterpiece “Rene and Georgette Magritte and Their Dog After The War” is presented on In The Blue Light as a shimmering orchestral waltz, courtesy of NY’s innovative yMusic sextet.

But something as non-satisfying as re-assessment is not what Simon is after. Instead, like all curious creators from Kew Gardens do, Simon looks back to move forward, and moves yet again far afield of his peers. He’s the street kid insisting “Hey! You missed these! Listen to ‘em now!” and delivering with ever broader strokes. “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor,” etched into memory on 1973’s There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, holds its roiling blues wonder and goes deep, deep jazz with an un-repentable sweet, street swagger courtesy of pianist Joel Wenhardt, drummer Nate Smith, bassist Patitucci and his fingersnappin’ missus, Edie Brickell.

In The Blue Light’s scintillating take of “Can’t Run But” (Rhythm of The Saints, ’90) a composition only the originator would reconsider, doesn’t shy from it’s samba self, it just sets itself up as an exhilarating race with yMusic’s dancing woodwinds and strings reaching new consciousness via a pulsing arrangement by The National’s Bryce Dessner.

And yes the voice may sound its seventy- six years but these songs don’t. Exhibits 5 and 6 being two definitive songs from 2000’s underrated You’re The One. “Pigs, Sheep, Wolves” as scathingly Orwellian and reflective of our deteriorating culture then, is even more so now with the lyric “Let’s get him! Let’s kill him!” leaping from its brewing, Preservation Hall setting like an early morning tweet from Pennsylvania Avenue.

The translucent love story that is “Darling Loraine” finds guitarists Bill Frisell, Mark Stewart and yMusic, winding their way around an assembled guitar solo by the late Vincent Nguini, Simon’s musical collaborator since the many triumphs of Graceland.

For roughly two-thirds of his often text-book, often touching Paul Simon: The Life, Robert Hilburn shows us a Simon who, if not obsessed with chart position and sales, then at least is overly concerned by them.

In the Blue Light, on the other hand, gives us an artist tethered to none of that but his humanity and never flailing muse, daring himself and his listeners not to revise, but re-envision not only the music and the place it holds in our lives, but also where we hold ourselves within the greater scheme. Bravo.

Van W yck Gazette - Autumn 2018 Issue

Autumn is apple season in the Hudson Valley Isabel Minunni Autumn is apple season in the Hudson Valley and it is a special time of year; well at least in my family! Apple season means it is time for our Annual Orchard Family Weekend. Aunts, uncles and cousins come and stay for a weekend. One full day is spent at the orchard and we even tailgate! I think we started something. Over the years I have seen more and more people tailgate at the orchard. After the party we all head home, with bags and bags of apples, for our annual pot roast dinner! The fun is to come up with new recipes for apples; apple cakes, apple pies, warm apples with ice cream and even an apple cocktail.

Apple Almond Crumb French Toast Bake is one special recipe, one that held on and passed the test of time! Everyone loves this recipe and looks forward to having it for breakfast. The kids get excited if we even put one of their apples into the dish! Even when I bake it just for my kids, they feel special because they know how that recipe came to be. It always brings back a flood of many years of memories. Start your own orchard traditions and maybe even a tailgate party or two. Celebrate your autumn! Cheers!

Page 14

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Van W yck Gazette - Autumn 2018 Issue

Bacon Almond Crumb French Toast Bake Ingredients (Serves 4) 4 large sweet apples (I used honeycrisp) 1 loaf Italian bread Custard: 6 eggs 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 cup whole milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons powdered sugar Topping: 1/2 pound bacon 1 stick butter 2 cups almonds 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon almond extract 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.

Method In a large skillet, fry bacon on medium heat until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towel and set aside.

Slice bread about 1� thick and line bottom of greased oven safe baking dish.

Break up remaining bread into smaller than bite size pieces.

Peel apples and dice into large cubes. Spread mixture of apples and bread pieces evenly across bread slices in baking dish.

Add all custard ingredients into large bowl and mix well. Pour over bread and set aside.

Next, add all the topping ingredients into food processor or chopper and pulse until they are of chunky consistency.

Mix in bacon that has been cut into small pieces. Distribute topping evenly on top of bread.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cooked through. If top needs more browning, place under broiler for a minute or so, watching carefully.

Remove from oven and serve. Feel free to use your favorite syrup if you like. Enjoy!

Caramel Spiced Apple Cocktail 4 shots of spiced rum (Serves 4) 4 shots orangecello 1 quart unsweetened apple cider - extra for glass rim 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon caramel For Drizzling 4 cinnamon sticks 4 apple slices Mix together rum, orangecello and apple cider. Set aside.

In a small flat bottom bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon together.

Pour a little cider into another flat bottom bowl and dip glasses in cider, then in cinnamon sugar. Drizzle caramel into the inside of each glass. Pour apple cider mixture evenly into each glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick and an apple slice.

Page 15

Almond Joy: Very Bittersweet and a Little Nutty

Adrea Gibbs The anticipated passing of a parent evokes an entire spectrum of thoughts and emotions, rational and irrational, those that will be perceived by others as either wholly appropriate or completely inappropriate. Laughter and tears are not all that far apart when it comes down to feeling overwhelmed by the situation. How we choose to express that emotion is a testament to both character and a very personal belief system. Judgments will always be made for better or worse, but in the end, it is how we feel on the other side of any momentous and life altering event that matters.

The individual journey culminates in moving upward and onward, in spite of loss, and how we determine we want to honor someone who has made such a tremendous, indelible impact on our lives.

When my youngest brother called to say that our Dad had a stroke, and was being admitted to ICU, I feIt numb. We decided he was going to stay with Mom and Dad and I would call our other two brothers. The conversations weren’t particularly long, but it put us all on high alert. I am not sure any of us fully connected or wanted to fully connect with what might really transpire.

About an hour later I spoke with Mom who told me the Doctor said to “gather the family.” Calls were made. Flights arranged.

Jobs notified. Spouses offered all the support imaginable. We all scrambled and made it to Dad’s bedside. As one can imagine a lot occurred over that brief period of time. As difficult as it was, everyone agreed we needed to let him go, but with a caveat. We would give him the send-off he would expect from us. One filled

with a recounting of our fondest memories and lots and lots of laughter. After all, that was the foundation of our family. Have fun, will guffaw.

Suffice to say we did well to honor him in that manner, to the point where the staff had to close the door because of the ruckus we were making. Lots of reminiscing accompanied with gales of laughter, tears and most of all, a truly heartfelt, joyful celebration of everything that made Dad our Dad. Our hero. Our mentor. Our in-house master of silliness. Our friend. The attending staff kept coming in and out to check on him and us, and we think, to hear the stories we were sharing. We know he was hearing it all, chuckling with his trade mark “he he he,” all the while. At one point the nurses brought in a basket of goodies for us; coffee, muffins, cookies and such. We quickly deemed it to be a “parting gift.” We know Dad loved that.

To be honest, when my time comes, I can only hope I will go as gracefully, surrounded by as many chortles and stories and love as my Dad had. It was an amazing experience, so much so, the staff told us that how we sent my Dad off was the way everyone should go. No wailing. No rending of garments. Just smiles and tears and arms wrapped around one another, everyone touching my Dad as he gently slipped away from his body and onto our shoulders to watch over us. Absolutely epic.

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Van W yck Gazette - Autumn 2018 Issue

keep things as smooth as possible for our Mom who had just lost her soul mate and partner of 64 years. We determined a key primary objective was to clean out the shed on their property. Now that may not seem like one of the first tasks that should be checked off the proverbial “to do” list, but it was something Dad had been wanting to do. But putting this off is what many of us would do given the choice between mucking out storage or taking a drive somewhere more interesting. Collectively, we decided it needed to be done and finished up before the last of us, me, headed back to our own homes.

So it was one less thing with which Mom would have to concern herself.

To say the shed was packed to the rafters may be an exaggeration, but not all that much. It was, in short full, due in large part to a couple of things; when our folks came back from trips they would unceremoniously stack things inside with the intent of getting it sorted out and put away at a yet-to-be-determined date and acting as a holding facility of assorted shipping boxes (that some point in time would be delivered to the “yard sale,” committee coordinating the community yard sale). My brothers, our eldest niece and I pulled things out, stacked, sorted and tossed the eclectic collection of clothing, books, art supplies, tools, maps, kitchenware, suitcases, holiday décor and…well, it was nothing short of miraculous what we found. We finally managed to get everything out so we could clean and do some small improvements to make it a little more functional.

Then it happened. One of my brothers had swept the floor feverishly.

As he finally made his way to the door I walked in, also broom in hand, to do a follow-up. He had left it practically spotless, save for a single almond on the floor, which I mentioned as I swept it out the door.

My brother looked up, somewhat shocked I had found anything, let alone an almond. He said it seemed every time he turned around there were almonds on the floor. He was sure he had finally gotten them all up. Mom was certain there weren’t any almonds in there, but did comment that Dad loved his almonds. We all laughed. Then it got weird.

As we went through boxes, sorting into keep, donate, trash, the occasional almond would pop up. That was followed with handfuls of almonds. We were convinced Dad was sending us signs that he was with us, laughing alongside. At one point I opened a carton that contained some of my Dad’s shoes, including his hiking boots. As I pulled it out, I noticed an almond carefully balanced on the laces, and as I pulled back the tongue found the entire boot filled with almonds. My Dad was laughing, again, and letting me know he was there with me.

Everything was put back into the shed, which was now easily navigable for Mom and presumedly, almond-free. Mom and I then took the opportunity, before my departure, to adventure into their storage locker to grab a few things, one of which was my Dad’s suitcase so I could carry it back with me. After extracting, Mom decided to go through it to make sure there wasn’t anything in there that shouldn’t be left inside. As I was returning things to their rightful place, she called me over. There in her hand, removed from the interior pocket, was a bag of almonds. Unbelievable. We both laughed until we cried. Almond Joy has taken on a whole new meaning.

Death will happen around and to us all. We don’t know when, or how or where it will transpire, but it will happen. Whatever your personal belief may be, as to whether there is a hereafter or not, there still is a bit of comfort in seeing something that reminds us of those we love in our hearts and minds. Our Dad was an amazing man who will forever be with me, whenever I hear a burst of uncontrollable laughter, or find that random almond.

Page 17

currently, I guess I’m really into my job at the Orange County Arts Council, where we advocate for more art in the OC and connect artists and the community together as each has so much to offer the other. I’ve also been making these hand painted T-shirts since the spring and those have been super fun. They’re a great way for me to unwind as I make them and also allow me to collaborate with those who order as they are all made to order. Again, using my gifts while giving folks accessibility. I think that leaks into everything I do...including CelebrateWomxn845.

VWG: What is CelebrateWomxn845?

In the Limelight: Jamie Sanin

JS: CelebrateWomxn845 is a project that aims to organize, recognize, and celebrate womxn (women/women-identifying) artists. It’s been extremely fun, humbling, educational, and inspiring so far. We had a 3-week long gallery series in January 2018 that included 55 visual and performing womxn artists and the amount of support was unreal. We also held an amazing all day benefit show “WOMXNFEST” to showcase performing artists and further support the mission. It was awesome giving womxn performers a day to come together, meet one another and showcase their talents, and it was extremely humbling to meet so many folks that were down to attend, help promote, volunteer and support womxn/a womxn-run project. It feels really good (again) to be able to use my organizational skills to put together events that provide opportunity to womxn artists, a population that is statistically underrepresented. It’s definitely been a lesson in “if you build it, they will come” and I’m super grateful for the network we have so far and for those who continue to join our fam.

VWG: As you said “If you build it, they will come”. Is the Hudson Valley your ideal place to build these creative projects?

JS: Being from the Hudson Valley (Washingtonville), growing up I always wanted to leave it. I felt like there was nothing for me Interviews with Local Musicians and Artists of the to do as a kid and I wasn’t aware of any artists living there. Now, Hudson Valley I obviously know that the HV is FULL of living, working artists. I try and work with kids whenever I can through things like camps, Ami Madeleine workshops, after school programs, etc. to show them that there Van Wyck Gazette: Thanks for interviewing with us! So when ARE artists here - let alone “young cool ones”! I think what I value the most about the HV art scene is the community aspect. I’ve or where did your life as an artist begin?

Jamie Sanin: I’m so happy to be interviewed. Thank you! I feel like I grew up surrounded by art and didn’t even know it. My preschool and school experiences were luckily full of craft time (a thing that unfortunately isn’t super true anymore in many schools). I spent many a weekend doing things like painting birdhouses or doing latch hook or making jewelry with my mom.

I started taking dance classes at age 3 and never stopped, and there was always music on in our house, in my room, in the car... all of which I think directly contributed to me being a well-rounded and pretty happy person. I realized that having access to arts can make life really fruitful and enjoyable, so I try to use my skills and experiences to both share my own art and to create opportunities for folks to engage whenever I can. I got my degree in Visual Arts Education and learned so much about the importance of advocating for accessible arts, no matter how formal or recreational.

VWG: It’s awesome you’re creating opportunities for others and making the arts more accessible! What are some projects you’re currently working on?

JS: Current endeavors! Forever changing (hahaha). So Page 18

“Flash” - 22” x 20” - oil on canvas - 2013 - Jamie Sanin Van W yck Gazette - Autumn 2018 Issue

made such great, genuine, supportive, and healthy relationships with so many creatives since graduating college and they’ve really helped me feel confident in all of my endeavors. I think I need a positive community to really thrive and feel at home, so I appreciate it the most.

See Jamie’s work at JamieSanin.com Find her on Facebook and Instagram (@jamiesanin) Also find CelebrateWomxn845 on Facebook and Instagram (@celebratewomxn845)

VWG: What feels the most challenging to you as a young artist in the Hudson Valley? Or in today’s world in general?

JS: I guess something that’s been coming up in conversation is the amount of endurance it takes to be a “successful” creative?

The process of creating work, of constantly creating work, of social media marketing, of networking in person, of staying educated, of supporting your peers, of applying to shows/ residencies etc, of being rejected, of not having money, of working a job you might not like to support yourself... it really adds up and can get really discouraging when all that hard work takes a long time to get you recognized. It’s definitely work, but I think it’s doable work, but it’s definitely a lifestyle.

VWG: Who inspires you to keep doing what you do?

JS: I get inspired from so many different directions. My friends inspire me, social justice warriors inspire me, Lady Gaga inspires me, fashion inspires me, pouring cream into coffee inspires me, little kids dancing inspire me... EVERY direction.

VWG: And what new projects or events of yours can we look forward to next?

JS: I’m working on another CelebrateWomxn845 gallery series, which will be a 1 month occasion starting in January 2019 in New Paltz, NY. Full info coming so soon! Also, through my job at the OC Arts Council, I’ve been co-facilitating these events called “New Rules”, which are mixer events for creatives under age 35 in the Hudson Valley. That’s all I’ve got on paper so far, but ideas and opportunities are always hatching so stay tuned.

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Putting the Brand to Work for Non-Profits David McGorry While some non-profits are uncomfortable thinking about their agencies as brands, a well-managed brand that becomes the driver of an agency’s actions can be a strategic advantage in attracting and retaining donors. Non-profits today need to speak to audiences that often overlap and a consistent brand experience can cost-effectively enable them to raise funds, attract the best employees, gain support from community leaders and ensure that people know when to reach out to them for support.

Branding is not just name recognition and a good reputation, even for non-profits that are only active on a local level. People need to understand what your organization does, when they should turn to you for support and why it is a good decision to donate to your mission. A truly powerful brand is consistent across audiences and ensures there is consistency in messaging and experience.

A messaging platform is a powerful tool that can bring an organization together and align communications with experience.

Although people in an organization will have an individual style of message delivery, they should be aligned and consistent when stating the agency’s core values and how those values translate into value for the people they serve.

The messaging platform should reinforce the essence of the culture and its values with specific examples. Its foundation is the mission statement and it must be accepted and internalized by every person in the organization.

Once a messaging platform is established it can be reinforced by storytelling about how the mission became real for someone the non-profit serves. Each story must be communicated in the context of how it enables the mission. When an employee does something that exemplifies the mission, the story should be retold by management so other employees deepen their own understanding of the mission and how they can embody it in their work.

Stories about how the mission was delivered, and the messaging platform was reinforced by action, should be a regular component of staff meetings and internal communications. When employees consistently see that these behaviors are rewarded Page 20

they will look for opportunities to embody the mission as well.

Agencies can also look to the people they serve to find powerful stories about how they have touched the lives of the people they support.

The criteria for any awards the organization establishes to honor employees should reflect on how the employee reinforced the mission through their actions and how those actions benefited the population they serve. This way each action taken by the agency is reinforcing the value and differentiation it provides to customers.

Whether people are donating millions of dollars to a global organization or one hundred dollars to a local organization, they are more likely to donate again if they believe in the work that you do and feel they have an impact on the people you serve.

While non-profits do not have the marketing communications budgets of their for-profit counterpoints, they have numerous opportunities to reinforce who they are and what differentiates them both internally and externally.

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Jonathan Richman: A Reluctant Icon Rik Mercaldi I remember the first time I heard the opening line from The Modern Lovers song, “I’m Straight”.

“I called this number three times already today, but I, I got scared, I put it back in place, I put my phone back in place” quickly followed by a very matter-of-factly, “cause here’s your chance to make me feel awkward, and wish that I had never even called up this place”.

The lyrics of most rock songs that I’d heard up until that point usually fell into a few distinct categories: Love songs, or allusions to some kind of romantic or sexual act in the form of braggadocio or yearning, word imagery and cleverly constructed abstract poetry that would send music critics and scholars falling over themselves trying to decipher their meaning (Dylan, Lennon, Bowie), or stories of a topical or historical nature.

The guy singing this particular song was begging to be taken seriously by the object of his affections for not being constantly high on drugs like the apple of her eye, Hippie Johnny. Proudly and defiantly declaring “I’m Straight, and I want to, take his place” was definitely not a cool thing to be saying in the early 1970’s.

The sensitive singer/songwriter genre was still in its infancy, and the songs were certainly not sung with a frustrated snarl, and a raunchy, garage rock band backing them up. This was not your typical 1970’s cock rock, where sexually explicit boasting was the order of the day. This guy was expressing deep insecurities, a lack of self-esteem, and a naive unawareness that the sensitive attributes he possessed would not be looked upon as alluring qualities in his exasperating attempt at courtship. Who was writing songs like this back then? No one that I can think of. To me, this really was, something very new and different.

“I’m Straight” was just one of nine refreshingly honest and deeply revealing tracks that made up the simply titled album,The Modern Lovers, and although the album didn’t see an official release until 1976, the writing and recording of these songs all took place before 1973.

Despite a palpable wide-eyed naivety, these songs also displayed both an immediacy and maturity way beyond that of someone who had yet to reach twenty years of age. The creator of these musical vignettes about modern life was a young man Page 22

from Natick, Massachusetts, just 10 miles from Boston, named Jonathan Richman.

Richman, who was born in 1951, started playing music in his early teens, learning the guitar and writing his own songs soon after. The Velvet Underground, led by songwriter Lou Reed, was an early influence which led to an infatuation so strong that when Richman was eighteen he moved to New York City where the band was based. He somehow ended up staying on the couch of Steve Sesnick who was the band’s manager at the time.

Unfortunately, this early attempt to break into the music business proved to be unsuccessful, and he returned to Boston, where he put together the band that would become The Modern Lovers. His New York trip proved to be a portent of things to come, however, as the band was able to attract the interest of John Cale, formerly of the Velvet Underground, who produced the first demos of “Roadrunner” and “Pablo Picasso” in 1972. Both songs were on the released version of The Modern Lovers album. Joining Richman on the album were Ernie Brooks on bass, Jerry Harrison on keyboards who later joined the Talking Heads, and David Robinson, who would become the drummer for The Cars.

In 1973 the band accepted a residency gig at the Inverurie Hotel in Bermuda. While there Richman became quite taken with the local, laid-back music he heard there and altered his approach to playing music. This new mellower direction, his reluctance to play their older material, and demands to the band that they play at lower volumes, put him at odds with his fellow band members.

All this combined with difficulties in getting their debut album finished, led to the breakup of the original lineup in 1974.

The Modern Lovers album was finally released in1976 and was heralded by the Rock press. Though it wasn’t a commercial success, it became very influential to many musicians in the burgeoning punk/new wave movement where the rawness, honesty, and sense of urgency was a refreshing contrast to a music scene that was rapidly becoming bloated and corporate.

The enduring legacy of this rather obscure record is that it continues to influence and inspire generations of musicians and songwriters, and remains a favorite among rock critics, coming in at #382 in Rolling Stone magazine’s most recent update of their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Van W yck Gazette - Autumn 2018 Issue

Cover versions of many of these songs have appeared on records by a diverse range of artists. The Sex Pistols and Joan Jett both covered “Roadrunner”, Echo & The Bunnymen and Siouxsie & The Banshees recorded their own versions of “She Cracked”, and artists ranging from David Bowie to John Cale and Iggy Pop have all covered “Pablo Picasso”.

Not long after the original lineup split up, Richman put together a new band that was dubbed, Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers. His songs became less vitriolic and more whimsical. The once angular intensity gave way to a softer, gentler approach with catchy, almost nursery rhyme-like choruses. He continued touring and releasing albums under that moniker with a constantly changing and rotating cast of musicians until 1988 when he changed his approach, yet again, playing either solo or as a duo with a percussionist, under his own name.

His profile received a bit of a boost after he made several appearances throughout the mid to late 1990’s on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and in 1998, along with drummer Tommy Larkin, he was featured in the Farrelly Brothers film “There’s Something About Mary”. The two men appeared throughout the film strategically punctuating selected scenes with a musical commentary that captured the humor and romanticism of the film beautifully. The whimsical charm of their performances resulted in exposure to a whole new audience.

Richman has maintained a loyal following of admirers. His songs, while constantly changing in timbre and style, have always maintained a minimalist structure with an almost child-like innocence and heartfelt sincerity, laced with a dry witticism and humor that is uniquely his own.

Jonathan Richman and drummer Tommy Larkin will be

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I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for songs from the classic Modern Lovers’ album, as he rarely plays them anymore, but you’ll walk out humming songs you’ve never heard before, and a more heartfelt and honest performance would be hard to find.

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