Me and the crew I roll with

No music is made in isolation and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to some of the folks (that you may or may not have heard of) that I think exist in the same universe as My Brightest Diamond and who have contributed greatly to my musical life. There are many more friends I will tell you about, but for this post, I’ve picked the following folks because we’ve all been spit out, jumped out or are still half way involved with the classical world. We live (or used to live) in Brooklyn. We do yoga together. We run into each other on the N train. We meet in Prospect Park to go kite flying. We are in the same book clubs. We play on each other’s records. If it seems like I am gushing, well I am. Without these friends whom I admire, who inspire and support me, I would have much less happiness and be scowling a lot more. So I thought I should throw an online wine and cheese party and introduce some of my peeps to my other peeps. Would you like merlot or chardonnay?

Osso
Osso my darlings Osso! How I do love thee. I mean, just look at their faces! Can’t you see it all in this photo? Rob Moose, the tousled and talented violinist who has the best shoe collection in the world. Maria Bella Jeffers, the cellist, who can never have enough green in her outfit and who is constantly wondering which cello she should bring to a gig- rock cello or classical cello? That choice exemplifies the torment we each find ourselves in every day. Marla Hansen, the violist- The quiet one who plays not only viola at her shoulder but also in her lap whilst playing her own songs. Don’t be fooled however, for she has more sass than a bottle of sassafras. And oh dear, who is that hooligan who snuck into this picture??? Could that be the famous Frenchy Olivier Manchon? Is he villian or violinist? Ah it is Manchon the mischievious, Michael McDonald’s best impersonator and the Muldaur married mirthful one. The lovely Osso were recently signed to Asthmatic Kitty and are recording an album of string quartet interpretations of Sufjan Stevens’ electronic album “Enjoy Your Rabbit”. Osso played on both MBD albums and if truth be told, meeting them made me find a new band name.
Year of the Boar: download

DM Stith
Every drawing you’ve seen, every Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton duet that has come out of My Brightest Diamond is brought to you by the lovely and talented DM Stith. The first time I heard David hum I begged him to sing on my album. The first time I saw him draw I gave him $5 and asked him if I could keep the drawing. Actually the last part is a lie, but I do have one his drawings currently posted on my refrigerator. Anyway, he’s draws really really amazing subconscious abstract scribbles as well as excellent long legged skinny horses and he just became my label mate (woo hoo!) and has his record coming out soon. Osso plays on it too!

Be My Baby: download
Thanksgiving Moon: download

Sebastian Krueger of Inlets
Oh my gosh Sebastian Krueger is such a dork. Actually no I’m kidding, he’s not a dork. I adore him. I cannot get enough of Sebastian’s bad attitude. (Sebs, you think just because you played banjo with Feist on SNL that you are too cool for everybody else. Well, you might be, but don’t have to talk bad about my studio, okay? That kind of hurt my feelings.) Sebastian has played clarinet and bass clarinet with My Brightest Diamond on virtually every track on “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth”, as well as the new hot b-side jam I Had A Pearl. He also played guitar at many of the live shows. I know you knew that already but what you probably DIDN’T know was that Sebastian is a lovely songwriter and arranger and has a band called Inlets.
Your Good Arm: download

Clare & The Reasons
One of The Reasons is Clare’s strange and scruffy husband, named Olivier Manchon. (He’s the one with his mouth open. Extra hors d’oeuvre for you if you remembered that Olivier plays violin in the string quartet Osso.) Now Olivier is perhaps the Frenchiest French person you may ever run across in your travels. He always carries brie, a bagette and a bottle of Bordeaux under his coat. He is a good one to have around when your french pronuciation needs to be corrected. Actually, I’m just kidding, he’s not so strange. He is scruffy, but he wears it well. His wife is the exact opposite of scruffy. Classy, elegant, chic- Clare is like a movie star out of the 1950’s. Her voice is like a mix of Billy Holiday, Nina Persson and June Carter Cash. The string and vocal harmony arrangements on their album “The Movie” fall somewhere between Prokofiev, Walt Disney scores, Sesame Street and Dr. Who. This is perfect music for the mornings. They make me feel sorry for the (heh h’em) “planet” Pluto, make me miss my waitressing days (?!?!) and make me remember falling in love.

Pluto: download

Marla Hansen
I had known Marla as a viola player for many moons and then one day, she invited Murat Eyuboglu and me over for a cheese and wine fest. We sat on the deck which overlooked a garden full of New York weed trees and indulged. After a while, Marla gathered her courage and said that she had written some songs and asked if we wanted to hear them. Of course we did!!! So we went inside where the living room furniture was all white. The light was shining in from the glass deck doors. I sat on the couch and Marla pulled up a kitchen chair and sat in the middle of room. Then she began playing the viola in her lap, singing in the softest voice I had ever heard. Her voice was so pure that it felt like hearing glass, like hearing something that no one else in the world had ever heard, like a bird singing for the first time. There was nothing about her singing in that moment that pushed to be heard, that fought for space, that demanded anything. It was elegant and pure. It made my eyes brim over with tears. So many moons later Miss Marla put out an EP, “Wedding Day”, which also features the finely coiffed Sebastian Krueger, the lively Mr. Nathan Lithgow (who also plays bass in the MBD rock trio) and me on some background la-la-la vocals.
Wedding Day: download

Clogs
I was touring about the midwest in a green Saturn with my band Awry. The backseat was packed with items we’d picked up from thrift stores- casios, a trombone, a Schoenhut toy piano, air organs, in addition to a trunk full of guitars, a P.A. system, sleeping bags and luggage. I was scrunched in the backseat while the boys in the front were listening to A Perfect Circle at full blast. While I love A Perfect Circle, I was in a different mood and for two months, smashed my headphones into my ears and listened to Pierre Boulez’s Pli selon Pli on repeat. When we finally got home, I was determined to learn how to arrange for strings and I started searching the internet. I found a friend of mine from school, Steve Wilder who had moved on to Yale and sang a piece by composer Padma Newsome called These Walls Thy Heaven. I wrote Padma scared as a country mouse and asked him to teach me. He graciously did. This began our friendship and collaborations which will include a few songs on the upcoming Clogs album. Rachael Elliot played bassoon and Thom Kozumplik played marimba on “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth” too. At one time I was having trouble with my wrist and I called up guitarist Bryce Dessner for his advice. He is the guitar guru. My wrist stopped hurting then.
Im very sad: download
Pencil stick: download
Whos down now: download

Jon Rodgers
I met Jon at the Sidewalk Cafe one night, a million years ago. We were both trying to play the open mic night there one lonely Monday, ordering the cheapest drinks on the menu, and waiting until 2 a.m. for our numbers to be called. Finally I played for a thin audience and afterwards Jon and I struck up a conversation, realizing that we both had a love for Jeff Buckley’s music. We became friends and he later played bass in my old band, Awry. Jon moved back to New Haven and I started studying with Padma Newsome who lived in New Haven, so when I went up for lessons, Jon and I would meet in the park and talk about music. Jon ended up studying some with Padma too. I was inspired by Jon and wrote the song Bass Player (on “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth”) sort of about him. Jon has been working on arrangements for his new record, “The Aviary”, for at least the same amount of time that I’ve been working on “Shark’s”, so it feels like cousins being born at the same time.

All Wrapped in White: download

Gabriel Kahane
Mr. Gabriel drinks better coffee, wears better sweaters, better shoes and reads more books than I do. We both like Joseph Mitchell’s stories and we both adore the opera Peter Grimes. We both hoolah hoop with Rob Moose (from Osso) as well as drummer James McAlister and Swiss army knife instrumentalist Casey Foubert from the Sufjan crew. We had our records mixed by Husky Huskolds. We both come from the classical world, but I think Gabe has kept his golashes more squarely in both puddles than me. We met one night when we were playing at the now defunct music venue Tonic (God rest it’s soul) and became fast friends. In a musical family tree, I think Jon Rodgers and Gabriel might be second cousins once removed or something.
Underberg: download