None of us has to think very hard about what Covid has done to live performing—we know. For me as a performer, it was a catalyst for Huge change—honestly, a letting go of my purism, of playing only with live musicians. During Covid, one thing led /leads to another: I am propelled outside, to connect with people in the street where Real Life teems, to sing for people even if I do it alone.
When I was younger (& a theatre person) I marveled at street performers—the San Francisco Mime Troupe, the Del Norte Players—guerrilla theatre they called it. It reaches a broad range of people, performing more universally, you could say more democratically.
When Covid hit, I wasn’t thinking about any of this. I just knew I had to make music, so I started to prepare for home recording. I engaged my latest & wonderful accompanist Fefe Lee (whose band Los Pinguos started in the US in the streets here~) to record a number of songs for me in his garage studio and I bought some gear for myself to record.
Then, with people around the world sharing music, on their balconies. . . (remember that?) performing outside started to look like a way to beat the virus, to triumph, and to connect.
Street performing! I’d always admired—idolized—Moliere for touring the French countryside for 12 years in wagons—!!—and Shakespeare for playing to “the rabble” as they said then, to all kinds of people. My heroes—they did it all!~
This is a deep, long, old connection—between performers and the streets. My grandfather gave me a gold (relief) medallion of St. Genesius with his arms in chains, the patron saint of actors, musicians, dancers, whores, thieves, lawyers—the list goes on but you get the idea~
So, here goes! This is a sort of karaoke, & a far stretch from trios or duos in tasteful clubs with LA's finest knocking my socks off (I've been so lucky~)—!!
Bottom line: I want to share this wonderful music I've been working on since Covid started. Recordings are still to come, but Covid is still with us, and we need community and we need music, so I'm going to put on a show for you outside, distanced, and—still—sola. There's space outside. I have my new little rig :) I’ll be singing to Fefe’s wonderful tracks and other treats from my Brazilian/ soulful/ & rockin repertoire. You might even feel like dancing!
I’ll show you that medallion at my concert. Space out!! Masks on!! August 15th at 11 am, South Beach Park: Click on “calendar” above for pkng info. Songs from the Year (s) of Covid.