Art of the Etc.

    (Abstracted moon scene)          (My room)                 (Cyclops, R. Brosh album)

Hello All! Things have been quite interesting, wild, exciting, and turbulent recently- mostly due to Hurricane Irene's punishing rain that flooded my mother's house and the entire town of Denville. I went out to New Jersey for the weekend, and I got an eyeful of some wild scenes: dull fire alarms sounding off everywhere, army trucks plowing through water-ridden highways, and backstreets that became rogue rivers of fury.  For those who were nonplussed about the effects of the Irene- it really WAS bad, just not so much in NYC. But everything is slowly returning back to normal, and her house will be fine. With the cool autumn air and dimming light will come some necessary repairs.

In brighter news, I should now inform you that I have a gig at The Waltz-Astoria on October 8th at 8PM. I have some things in the works for this- newer songs, newer (old) songs, and even a collaboration with a certain Libr(o) friend whose birthday will fall the date of the gig. I also played my show at Caffe Vivaldi last week, which was a relatively quiet affair. (Thanks to those who made it out!) Like The Waltz-Astoria, Caffe Vivaldi is a really great place to play because it feels so artist-oriented and not like a bar that incidentally has music going on. I also played an older-newer song of mine called "On the Vine," one my favorites that I've written. I remember it coming in a flash one Saturday afternoon. I have also been writing some new ones:

My notebook/songwriting journal has been rather active recently- and it also doubles as sketch pad- maybe I'll get the urge to do some drawing?!! (Hint: See Cyclops Man at top of post (the drawing to the right is a print by Seurat)). At this point, I want to get visual in terms of my music- in the future I want to have specific kinds of lighting, clothing, dressing, and visual effects to go along with my music. I can have rather theatrical imaginings sometimes, and I want to incorporate that into shows in the future. I've been reading, songwriting, and taking account of  everything I've done so that I can progress from here.

In terms of the past decade (starting particularly with 9-11) it seems as though our threshold for shock and the surreal has been raised dramatically. I've become accustomed to the mysterious and disbelief. On the other side of that, I feel like this is also a time for new conceptions, new ideas, innovation, and new kinds of music/creativity. In short, it feels like anything is possible. What was before a far-fetched idea now seems possible. Words I think of now for current times: extreme, difficult, unpredictable, unprecedented, unique, transitional, revelatory, but ultimately extraordinary. So for now, I continue to write in my room, seeking to amass loose ends towards a purposeful vision. I'll contine to write songs and sing in the night and day, to an audience or to the lonely echo of my stair hall. Increasingly, as I think about the possibilities for music and communication under a spotlight, it feels so real, vivid, and close. And- don't count any idea or outcome out - it seems relevant to the times to say that anything is possible.

-Forever

New Show! Reviews! Confessions...

Hello Yawl!      

(Painting by Ani Curnock)    (Lyrics for new song)          (Garden Design)

Reader! It is with a most heavy and burdened soul that I wandered into the dark, thankless night! To think of all my indulgences and errors of judgement! All of those cravings! All of those temptations! They had me reeling in a sprightly swoon! And....all of that butter.....May I now seek absolution for my sins......

Confessional Booth Time: I've been watching TOO MUCH Paula Deen recently! All matters of butter aside, I want to first start this post by announcing a gig at Caffe Vivaldi on September 1st, 2011 at 8:30! I am pretty excited to be playing at this venue- it has a nice sound system, and really nice intimate, refined atmosphere for some acoustic singer-songwriter sets. The room really caters to my (stripped-down) set and I really plan to entertain. And....to keep things fresh and lively.

I plan to have some songs for your listening pleasure. Recently, I've been trying to whip up some new songs for everyone- namely those titles "In the Floodlights," "Never Spoke to Me," and "If I Had Her." There are many more in the works, but I really feel like some of my new songs will round out my repetoire and make for a more satisfying show. I always feel that new songs can feel more emotionally relevant, and are a better reflection of who I am at the moment. There are those older songs that I feel so mystified by- I can't even recall how I wrote them! But in terms of the recent ones, I've been tweaking things line by line, and editing and creating intuiting a shape and form the the songs, edit by edit, draft by draft:

       

(If you look closely, I even practiced my signature....)

....I can create a whole world in my head for each song, so often it takes time for a song to gain a shape or form. When I writing I try to capture the atmosphere, the weather, the setting, the back story, and the character of each song. It can be an obsession of mine as all of these things congeal. Some typical questions I ask myself: What lines and details will be most evocative and powerful in the most economic way? What details are needed in the story? Which lyrics and verses are not?

I've also gotten some couple of nice write ups. One write-up was from Ron Cuellar, who runs his wonderful blog Heroes of Indie Music (and who features some really interesting and talented artists).  I also mysteriously got a mention in The Aquarian Weekly from writer Roz Smith! ....I'll let the articles give me the kudos rather than let myself tOOt my own horn!  (*SCOFF!*):

The Aquarian Weekly Write-Up:

http://www.theaquarian.com/2011/06/19/eric-contractor-clear-as-day/

Heroes of Indie Music Write-Up:

http://castleqwayr.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/eric-contractor-night-escape/

Thanks to these writers for their insight on my work and the time they spent on their articles.  They're complimentary and don't go over the top (which is perfectly fine). And there should be a couple more write-ups brewing.....So for now....that shall conclude this piece. New songs, write-ups,shows, and I promise there won't be melted butter on the seats at the gig at Caffe Vivaldi. I've noticed that some very respectable, talented artists have been offering cookies at their shows. Which is fine, I ain't knockin' it. I just hope people don't always expect musicians to provide baked goods now! With this expectation, I can imagine some band frantically mixing cookie dough while practicing, with eggs flying all over the amps and guitars, and yokes landing in someone's face. Frankly, if I were to try that bag it wouldn't turn out well- I could imagine chocolate all over my guitar and all over my pants. I can't promise baked goods this time, just know my show promises to be.....delicious.

-Eric Contractor (Forever)

Some Flavorful Fusion! Shows! (No, not with cooking....this time)

     .....And hello to all!

Recently, I've been riding a wave playing a bunch of great shows alongside other artists of all kinds....painters, actors, and poets. Recently, I played my show at the Cin-M-Art Space with Ani Curnock, the surrealist artist with a penchant for these beautiful nocturnal, primal scenes she paints. At the last minute, Ani was allowed to bring her entire collection of work, so we had to scramble to get all of her 40+ paintings onto the walls in just one hour! You can really see for yourself- her work really transformed the space into cavern of her own imagination:

  (www.annelicurnock.com for more of Ani's art!)

Alongside the beguiling whispers of her paintings from the walls, I played a solo acoustic set for the nice intimate group the assembled that balmy Friday evening. It's really cool to take stock of progress- even a couple ago, I definitely could not have delivered a solo acoustic guitar set.

I recently also had the pleasure of performing some songs alongside some music theatre students (we all take a class with Lorraine Serabian) at HB Studio. No show-tunes per se from me- I sang a Righteous Brothers song and "Fire" by Bruce Springsteen- a great ditty written for Elvis, performed by the Pointer Sisters, and famous for its signature rhythmic beat. Even though I'm not gunning for musical theatre, I have enjoyed taking these acting-applied-to-singing classes because they can really help me perform my songs with urgency and meaning. So I learn from the teacher's comments and the developing work of these other students...

I had another wonderful evening this past Monday evening as I played a featured set at Su Polo's Poetry Night at the Nightengale Lounge. I enjoyed everyone's work, and watched a very unique set from poet/jazz-musician Senri Oe. Senri Oe's art includes a deeply felt recitations of his poetry, underscored by improvisatory jazz piano accompaniment. His work had a very spacious and hypnotic quality. I felt like I at once paid deep attenion to his work while being seduced into a state of meditation....

        (http://dadapops.com/2010/05/eternal-artist-phenomenon-and-senri-oe/ for a cool article on him on Senri!)

....So it's been great to go out and play my music for all kinds of people all different kinds of artists. I really believe that presenting different art forms can be really symbiotic, and that all of the arts can build off of one another in a mysterious sort of way. Plus, a mix can keep things interesting! Oh, and of course it was great to get you there any play. Thanks to musician/poet Su Polo for having me play that evening- you can look at her poetry at her site http://www.supolo.com/. It's been really busy playing around recently, and I look forward the lands and journeys ahead as I play more and get my album/music out there. Alright, that's long enough for now, I'll write again soon....about some funny culinary mishaps perhaps?

-Eric Contractor (Forever).