6.16 A wknd w/ Alison Clancy
The double(+) threat on quality cat time, two live shows and life in the ~Dance Belt~
HAPPY FRIDAY! Let’s talk talent — specifically, the totally unfair distribution of it.
As noted in the BdBK book (and probably here at some point), our own artistic abilities don’t extend far beyond stick figures and an elementary school-ingrained rendition of “Hot Cross Buns” on the recorder (🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘). However, the artists in our community are apparently bursting at the seams with these sort of skills—and not just in the music realm. Rather, these individuals possess abilities and ambitions that can’t be confined to one mode of expression, talent that transcends their main medium and creativity and curiosity that bleed outside the lines of music to overflow into other artistic endeavors. And this phenomenon isn’t akin to Michael Jordan’s failed foray into baseball. The artists in question shine equally in these other arenas as well.
Keith Kelly (aka Jelly Kelly) creates massive mixed-media works featuring floral explosions. Gabriel Birnbaum (Wilder Maker) specializes in handmade linocut prints depicting abstract takes on parks, birds and bars. And Alex Chappo (that’s CHAPPO) twists wire into 3D female nudes and portrayals of pop icons past and present, from Prince to Lizzo, the Beatles to Bowie. Meanwhile, Gillian Visco (Shadow Monster, of course) is a Gill of all trades, crafting hipster-demon drawings and writing/producing/acting in a web series called Stray Cats about art, anxiety and NYC. And who can forget one of our favorite drummers/humans Charmaine Querol (NEVVA and more), who has around a half-dozen Instagram handles to her name encompassing her music, comedy and entrepreneurial endeavors.
Then, of course, there’s the star of this week’s SETLIST, who is also the ultimate example of this fantastic phenomenon: Alison Clancy.
We first saw Alison perform at a Sofar Sounds show (if we’re remembering correctly, at a Crown Heights co-working space?) several years ago, but it wasn’t until we hung out with her at Four Five Six that we discovered the artist isn’t just a musician but also—in casual quadruple-hyphenate news—a dancer, model and choreographer. And we’re not just talking performances at the community theater on the corner. As part of her very rad resume, Alison is a dancer at a little NYC institution known as The Metropolitan Opera, where she dances in 16 (!) different productions and this year is originating a role in a new production of Carmen. (She also, fun fact, holds the record for the longest Principal Dance Solo in Met Opera history—12 minutes, to be exact.)
That’s all to say: GET YE TO THE MET ASAP… butttt not necessarily this weekend. Let’s circle back to the music for a sec, because on the performance front, that’s precisely what our featured double(+) threat will be serving up this weekend, and you have TWO chances to catch her live, including TONIGHT at a FREE show at Ideal Glass Studios. As for what the rest of the weekend will hold, read on! Alison’s got a good one for you—and, as a nice change of pace, a chunk of it is going down on NYC’s Upper West Side. (Exotic!)
Alright. Go forth and have fun! Whether or not your skill levels are anywhere near Met-level (we’ve barely mastered The Macarena) …
See ya on the other side <3
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
To start I have a confession: I’m no longer a Brooklynite. I realize this means I may have given up official hipster status, but after years of living in Williamsburg and Bed Stuy I’ve moved to Manhattan. And I don’t live in a chic neighborhood below 14th St, I live on the Upper West Side. I’m an UPTOWN GIRL.
I moved here because I live two lives, one as an experimental musician, and one as a classically trained dancer performing with The Metropolitan Opera. I aim to get myself to 10am ballet class almost everyday. This doesn’t always happen if I play a late show the night before, or am on a music recording binge. But I try to be in ballet class as much as possible. Ballet is very unnatural and extreme for the body, so it takes immense rigor, consistency and discipline to do it in a safe and exciting way. Dancing is my full time career, but I never stop training.
Many of the best ballet classes in the city take place in a region of Manhattan known as the “Dance Belt” where there’s several iconic performing arts institutions within a few blocks. Lots of dancers live in this area, and now I do too.The exact perimeters of this region vary, depending on who you ask, but my personal “Dance Belt” extends from Times Square where I go to physical therapy, to the Upper West Side where I sleep and have a home music studio. The Met Opera, where I work is at the center of it all, and within a few blocks are New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Alvin Ailey, Ballet Hispanico, Steps on Broadway, Juilliard, Broadway Dance Center, La Guardia Performing Arts High School (of the movie Fame), Manhattan Movement Arts Center and probably several other institutions I'm forgetting. In this area there’s someone in sweats with their hair pulled back in a bun on every corner.
I spend most of my everyday life in this Dance Belt, then venture out at night to play music shows downtown or in Brooklyn. Here’s a tour of my upcoming weekend:
FRIDAY
I’ll start with 10am ballet class. Most mornings I take company ballet class with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet in the heart of Lincoln Center on 65th. But The Metropolitan Opera is on summer break, so this Friday I’ll head a little further south to City Center for “open class”. Open classes means anyone can take them. The entrance to City Center’s studios is on 56th, just across from Carnegie Hall. I love Zvi Gotheiner’s Ballet Class on the 5th Floor, or any class at Ballet Arts on the 6th Floor. These studios are some of the largest and most beautiful studios in the city, with pristine Marley floors and grand pianos played live to accompany ballet classes. The building used to be an Oddfellow’s Hall, so every studio has a regal feel with grand high ceilings.
I’m usually the only person wearing big black clothes with holes in them for these ballet classes. Many people are in tights, pretty leotards and point shoes, but I always maintain a little of my punk aesthetic even in the most pristine classical environments. If any reader is curious about ballet, I highly recommend trying a class at City Center. There are people of all ages and abilities in open classes. It’s a great workout and the live piano music is gorgeous. Yes there’s lots of serious bun-heads, but it’s also totally cool to show up in your pajamas with no experience. You just might love it… It’s my favorite way to start the day.
After class I’ll head uptown to the mid 80’s on the west side of Central Park, otherwise known as the Upper West Side. There’s tons of amazing food in this neighborhood and I’m always hungry. For lunch I’ll pick up a Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich from Tiki Chic, it’s serious deliciousness.
Then to my home-studio to for a quick solo music rehearsal, cuz Friday evening I’ll head downtown to perform at Ideal Glass Studios for the Bebe Baron Legacy Birthday Celebration.
Bebe and Louis Barron were electronic music pioneers of the 1950s who worked in what is now Ideal Glass Studios at 9 West 8th Street. They crafted the first electronic music for magnetic tape in the US, and composed the groundbreaking electronic film score for Forbidden Planet (1956) in this West Village studio. The current artistic director of Ideal Glass, Willard Morgan, is himself a wildly experimental performance artist and musician. Willard’s drawing together several eclectic musicians to commemorate Bebe’s visionary sonic legacy. At my suggestion Willard’s invited singer Alex Koi to perform a set, and after following her work online I’m excited to see her do her thing live. I’ll perform using electric guitar and a myriad of looping and effects pedals to create expansive, brooding drone-psyche Americana vibes. It’s a free show, RSVP HERE.
SATURDAY
I’ll sleep in, then head back to City Center for an afternoon ballet class around 2pm. Afterwards I’ll chill in Central Park, and try to find a nice patch of grass where I can take off my shoes and feel the blades between my toes. I’ll meet up with a friend for dinner. They’ll probably want me to come to Brooklyn, but I’ll try to convince them to come to a favorite Upper West Side spot like Jacob’s Pickles or Bodrum.
SUNDAY
I’ll take a break from ballet and perhaps start the day with a yoga class at Core Power or Pure Yoga West. Or maybe I’ll just take the morning to laze around with my cats Twig the Wonderkid and Chan Marshall the II. Then it’s time to pack up my gear again and head downtown for another show. At 9pm I’ll play at Piano’s, a live music haunt in the Lower East Side.
This show’s organized by a vibey local record label called Insecurity Hits. I’m def excited to check out the other artists they’ve curated for this femme fronted bill: Zannie, Artarelic and War Violet. TICKETS HERE. It’s tempting to stay out late and wild in the LES, but Imma try to be home by midnight, cuz Monday morning it’s back to 10am ballet class.
That’s my life, dance and music. Rinse and repeat. Dance kinda works me from the outside in, and music from the inside out. The discipline and the release. The combo keeps me sane, or maybe insane I don't know. So yeah, you can usually find me at shows or the ballet barre.
Itinerary above written + submitted by Alison Clancy. Follow the artist at @_alison_clancy_ , buy music on Bandcamp and add her songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image (provided by the artist): Esteban Haga
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
This week, Rolling Stone shared that NYC rock-n-roll icon and club owner Jesse Malin suffered a spinal stroke in May, which has left him paralyzed. Now, along with dealing with the horrific situation itself, the artist is facing an insane amount of costs—from medical bills to a canceled tour to relocating from a walk-up to an accessible apartment. If you have the means to help, there has been a special fund set up for him through Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. (You can donate here.)
We’d also like to take this moment to shout out Debbie Dopamine, Nadia Kazmi, Ransom Pier and our co-host Arlo Indigo for their fantastic sets at our STRONG LITTLE SONGS living-room show this week and to thank everyone who came out and who donated. As chance has it, we were already planning on raising funds for Sweet Relief this round, and we were able to send—with donations + BdBK matching—$195 directly to Jesse’s Malin’s recovery fund. <3
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
“Rat” // Nara’s Room
“Face Like a Sunset” // Eighty Ninety
Ever Better // Almost Sex
“Damaged Goods” // Pamphlets
A Fine Commitment // Monograms
Not Dreams // Talon
“You” // Savoir Adore
“Unsee” // PYNKIE
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the events we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!
6/22 BdBK presents: Monograms (LP release), Pamphlets, Big Bliss @ Bar Sundown - tix here
6/25 BdBK presents PRIDE @ Arlene’s Grocery w/ QIRL, Tenderheart Bitches, Laura Danae, Strange Neighbors, Lily Mao - tix here
7/7 BdBK Presents: Yella Belly w/ High Waisted, Evan Charles and Joseph King @ Our Wicked Lady - tix here
7/11 BdBK Presents: wakelee, Marinara, Real Burn, BRODEO @ Our Wicked Lady - tix here
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3
Order the Bands do BK BOOK (!) (out now via Lit Riot Press) here.
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