BJU Launch Festival at Small's, 1/13/07

BJU Launch Festival at Smalls, 1/14/07

Fat Cat is back

I heard Fat Cat is back, slightly altered...
They tore down the wall to the billiard room, and more or less all of th previous room is now the stage. Anyone who has checked it out yet?

Anne Mette

Smalls: A new era for a great jazz spot in NYC

It has come to our attention that the management of the great jazz club Smalls, located in Greenwich Village, has changed... for good!
Musicians Spike Wilner and Lee Kostrinsky have partnered with Mitch Borden (the club's original manager) with the goal of restoring Smalls back to its original freewheeling and bohemian vibe. The club has been beautifully renovated and a full bar is now in service. The comfort and feeling of the club is amenable to after-hours hangs and the music again goes all night. Music begins at 7:00 with happy hour piano. Main shows are at 8:30 and 10:30 PM. The after-hours band plays at 12:00 AM and 1:30 AM.

They have a really nice new website

We will all be hanging out there frequently, so hope to meet you at Smalls.

BJU

On My First Post

This much I've figured out:

I suppose that when one goes about writing their first blog post, there are two main ways to go about it: One can A) Decide to be short, in the way that he or she can get through with the experience a quickly as possible, and reflect on it for various reasons later (or be done with it), or B) Launch into an epic diatribe about something, getting something (or many things) off their chest, posting and catharsis to ensue.

As may be a surprise to my fellow BJUers and friends, I've chosen A.

That much I've figured out.

Dan

Billyburg Gentrification

Here's an interesting story in the Washington Post about the rapid gentrification that has occurred in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's the classic story of artists moving into the area, making it hip, and Wall Streeters following closely behind, driving rents up and squeezing out those artists.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022001912.html?referrer=emailarticle

Living in Red Hook

I moved to Red Hook this past summer and I love it.
Having lived in some of the busiest parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn for 8 years, I had considered moving outside of New York, as I was longing to live in a calmer and more spacious place. But instead I moved to Red Hook, and now I almost feel like I live in a small village in the middle of New York, - and it's great.
Like a friend said: If you want to move to Europe but don't want to leave New York; move to Red Hook. There's some truth to that. Down here there's a sense of community, stronger than your usual neighborhood-feeling. Down here the tempo is slower, if and when you want it to be slower, and down here we are close to the water, the air is fresher and there is a lot of sky to look at. Often times I go to the park, a couple of blocks away, to see the sunset.
There are also more practical advantages.
Parking is as easy as you can get it without owning a garage or a paid parking-spot. You can bike around easily for your daily needs, and of course we have Fairway which is just down the street. At the moment I even enjoy taking the bus to get to the subway. It is a short ride on the buses and it somehow helps putting a distance between the stressful and too busy vibe that people in New York can have and express.
So....that's all. Come down and visit. In the summer season especially there are great things happening. And we do have a couple of great restaurants, cafe's and a fantastic wine store. And then there are the ball fields.....that's for another time/another blog!
Anne Mette

American Icons: Kind of Blue

My wife Ave Carrillo, who is a great radio producer, just finished this radio piece on Miles' Kind Of Blue for the show Studio 360. It's worth a listen:
http://studio360.org/americanicons/episodes/2007/02/02

Alexis Cuadrado