I, Jonathon, currently compose music and design sound for High 5 Games, a leading slot machine company, three days a week. (That's a blog post for another time). That leaves two days during the week for Spark & Echo magic. Friday was one of those days last week and there was lots of magic.
In the morning we tended to some business for the arts non-profit–IRS quarterly filing, connecting with artists, and planning for our upcoming Spark & Echo tour.
At 12:30 Emily and I were invited to speak to the Trinity Fellows, a group of 25 or so fine folks from across the country that converge on Charlottesville and Raleigh, and study how their faith and work intersect. We are all about this concept so we were pumped when we were asked to chat with them about Spark and Echo Arts on their trip to NYC at the Center for Faith and Work.
At 3:00 we were in Brooklyn at Anthony Taddeo's. Anthony is a stellar percussionist who will be playing with us on March 16th at the Stoop concert. Emily and I worry a lot about keeping the steady groove when we play as a duo (and in life), so playing with Anthony is freeing–it takes off the pressure, he's a pro. He's a super fun guy, serves up a mean Mint Tea and knows where to get good soup by his apartment.
By 5:30 we left on the subway to pick up a Zipcar in Harlem. Zipcars are just cheap enough to make it the best option for schlepping in the city, and just expensive enough to make you wonder if you really need the accordion AND the bassoon in this set.
By 7:45 we were on the road with our new minivan (a glimpse into the future I'm sure) loaded up with Boris, A.C. Dean, my Casio Privia, Ol' Blue the Guitar, the cheese box and various other toys. 40 minutes and $7.50 in tolls later (it was wishful thinking that taking the Throg's Neck Bridge instead of the Triboro would be toll-free) we arrived in Brookville, Island at CW Post University, home of WCWP.org radio and "Grandfather Rock" Chris MacIntosh's show "Rock and Soul Gospel." We heard great things about Chris and he did not disappoint.
Joining us was David Barry, an arts leader at All Angels Church. David was going to be talking about their concert series and a fine upcoming concert with saxophone-violin duo Fretful Porcupine and singer-songwriter Monica Allison. The four of us shared a Cheese Pizza and learned some history from Chris–over 30 years on the radio supporting innovative music, independent artists, and creative expressions of faith in contemporary culture. He is a kindred spirit and a champion of things that we love.
We had a blast playing a few songs, and chatting with Chris on the air for an hour or so, previewing our upcoming Stoop Concert (Chris will be the emcee), talking about our music and how artists can get involved with Spark and Echo Arts. We were honored; Grandfather Rock is a class act and we are his newest fans.
Extended the Zipcar reservation, headed home over the $7.50 bridge again, unloaded at the apartment in the Bronx, dropped the Zipcar off in Harlem at Midnight, biked home over the bridge, celebrated a fun day with Emily, popcorn, and 3/4 of a Law & Order (fell asleep.)
New York is full of adventures.
