Discovering an instrument

Have you ever heard of a Cajon drum? Until this week, I hadn't but now I'm fascinated by the idea of it. Apparently it's a box that you sit on to play, and it produces a range of sounds like a drum set. Science! : ) I found some examples, the one on the right is actually called a 'jingle Cajon.' I'm gonna be geeked out about this for a while, and can't wait to hear one live!

In our Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight this week, we met Christine & T., together they are the duo We Must Be.

T. plays the Cajon drum and mentioned he has one custom made by a friend from Chile. We listened to their first single, Pop Tune. Check out We Must Be next week in Rosendale, Woodstock and @ The Ground Hog Coffee House in Wappingers Falls on Friday, 11/13 @ 6:30pm. Find We Must Be online and keep an ear out for new songs here.

Listening to a commercial this week with the tune of Jingle Bells, was a reminder that the holiday season is fast-approaching. In the quest for place settings, stuffing recipes and the ultimate dessert, it's as easy as pie to write a letter to connect with our deployed soldiers whose every day sacrifice is the comforts of home. Among the online resources is Operation Gratitude.

We celebrate the holidays based on a calendar, but the family of Noah Biorkman in Michigan has decided to make it an early Christmas for this beautiful boy. Read the story.

See you @ the backyard jam J & J...

Beat your drum,

Catherine

P.S.--If you were tuned in Friday night and heard Vicki in Orange County dedicate a song to her lost dog...I'm so happy to share that Sandy is now SAFE AT HOME!

The championship trophy is in The Bronx!

Congratulations to our New York Yankees! What a show this post-season was. Didn't you just feel it in your gut that this would be a year for World Series rings and a parade? Well done!

Tonight we heard from Jillian, who is a proud member of the Pine Bush Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps. They have a 5k Run/Walk this Sunday, 11/8 that gets underway @ 9am. Learn more here.

Livia Strauss from the Hudson Valley Center For Contemporary Art in Peekskill shared that this Sunday is the official opening of the Public Tile Project, exhibiting over 2,000 tiles created by local students. It's a 1 1/2 mile path that begins at the HVCCA and leads down to the Peekskill Waterfront. It's free and open to the public and the fun begins @ 1pm.

We launched a new Night Rhythms feature tonight...calling it 'Passing Through.' Occassionally on Wednesday nights in the 11pm hour, you'll hear about artists who do not live locally, but are playing around town. This week we featured the band Driftwood, and listened to the song Walking into the Sun, from the album Rally Day.

Check out Driftwood live this Friday night @ The James V. Harmon Community Center in Hastings-On-Hudson @ 8pm. Learn more about this Binghamton-based band at their web space.

You may be expecting Sinatra here, but I think we need a celebratory tune from a Yankee I miss having on the field...who is as skilled with a guitar as he is with a baseball bat...Love ya, Bernie!

How sweet it is to call New York home...

Catherine

The human race...

...seems to be represented in The NYC Marathon. To say it's 'inspiring' to be there, really is an understatement. Bravo to the superhumans who participated in the 5-borough block party! No time to snap pictures, except for these from our mile 24 station as we waited for the first wheelchairs and runners to arrive!

I think I'm unofficially a Gatorade bartender : ~ )

The night before was a wet but fun group of costumed bliss at the Village Halloween Parade.

On the road in CT a few weeks ago, a possible encounter with 'The Great Pumpkin' Linus convinces Sally to wait for...don't you love Halloween?


Friday night in our Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight we welcomed back Marion LoGuidice. We listened to the song Sorry, found on her album God's House.
Marion is performing at Watercolor Cafe in Larchmont, next Thursday, 11/12 @ 7:30pm. This performance will be a benefit for children with learning differences . All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Mamaroneck-Larchmont SEPTA. Hear more of Marion's music @ her space and find out where she'll be playing next at her website. Marion shared her passion for the Clarissa Pinkola Estes book, Women Who Run With the Wolves. Amid it's wisdom is this:

"Within every woman there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing."

The outcome of the World Series this week is unknown, but Capt. Jeter and friends, WE'RE READY for a victory and a parade!

Catch your wave,

Catherine

Rumination

You get 12 or more Scrabble points if you can put together the word rumination, it's root the name of the 13th Century Sufi mystic, Jalalud'din Rumi. A more contemporary writer and philosopher, Paulo Coelho posted part of this on FB today:

The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,
they're in each other all along.

(From Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks)

Lovers of words admire lovers of words. : ) If you haven't read Paulo's book, The Alchemist, please add it to your rainy day reading. Some writers simply have a way of transforming your outlook--at times with a single sentence. Don't you LOVE that?

This week in our Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight, we caught up with The Rhodes.

David and Vince shared one of their new songs with us, How Long, that's available for a listen at their space along with their cool new song All You've Got To Do. Tonight they perform @ Keegan Ales in Kingston @ 11pm, and you can find out where they're live next by checking out the calendar including Halloween fun next Friday, 10/30 @ Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan.

Thanks to Karen, who I've known since the days of making music on a swingset in the backyard, for the reminder of this delicious song...it kind of wishes away the rain today and we can dedicate it to our NY Yankees!


Know love,

Catherine

The beach...

...is peace, nostalgia and one of the sweetest things about growing up on LI. The air and sound of the breaking waves become an internal gift you carry with you, wherever you go. Even when the conditions are not a sunlit blue sky and sand warm to the toes, it opens you in a unique way. Jones Beach is a landscape of shell collecting, miniature golf, and summer music memories... This Sunday, it's a venue for Making Strides against Breast Cancer and I'm so looking forward to strolling the boardwalk with The United Knockers and everyone we meet along the way. : )

Tonight in our Night Rhythms Live Beat, Joe Iadanza (a Long Island native too) regaled us with his inspiring outlook on being an independent artist and his music.

We heard the songs Traveling Salesman, and One More Lonesome Tune found on his album Traveling Salesman.
Joe is working on a new record, with an early 2010 release anticipated, and he played the song Lover Tonight as a preview of what we can expect from the new collection.

Joe will be among the performers next Sunday, October 25th @ River Songs: A Celebration of the Hudson at Beczak Environmental Education Center in Yonkers, underway @ 2pm. It's the launch of a new live performance venue on our scenic Hudson River, called Urban H2O and one of the many events celebrating the Hudson Quadricentennial. It's a day to experience the wealth of local talent we're so fortunate to have and you can find details at the Tribes Hill website. Hear more of Joe's music at his space and check out his web abode for upcoming shows. My gratitude to Joe for the '9th inning' performance accommodation!


While we were enjoying music, our NY Yankees endured a cold night in The Bronx with an ALCS Game 1 victory. Yogi Berra wisdom says: "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." I LOVE NEW YORK!!



Thanks for enjoying the Night Rhythms with us,

Catherine

The garden still blooms...

So many wonderful things have been written regarding flowers, among them a proverb that says: Bloom where you are planted. These two lovelies opened in my garden this week...

“The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling.” ~Henry David Thoreau

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”~Thich Nhat Hanh

Congratulations to President Barack Obama for winning The Nobel Peace Prize this week. He is sowing the seeds of a peace our world has yet to witness in bloom.

Friday night in our Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight, we met Jim Lord and heard his song Flowers for Eleanor. You can find it on his CD Hangdog Heaven, the album and individual songs are available at Jim's website. Jim mentioned that he frequents the open mic nights at Caffe a La Mode in Warwick, and you can check his calendar for upcoming shows.

This week I learned that my volunteer assignment for the NYC Marathon on November 1st is at mile 24! Exciting and inspiring because the plan is to cross that 26.2 mile finish line myself, in 2010. Stay tuned for progress... Good luck to all of this year's runners, I'll be cheering you on near The Met Museum. : )

Snow Patrol opened for U2 @ the show I saw a few weeks ago, and I LOVE this song!

Sow with your light,

Catherine

Pinktober : )

is a not-for-profit organization based in Valhalla that offers support to young Breast Cancer patients and survivors, as well as their families. Friday night we met Monique Johnson, a Breast Cancer survivor, and one of the founders of In The Pink. Check out the calendar of events and workshops Monique mentioned, even find out how you can experience the power of pink at Brighton in The Westchester Mall in White Plains. It's a month-long Breast Cancer awareness effort at Brighton, and Johanna will be performing the beautiful song we heard, You Are Not Alone, at an evening cocktail party there on Wednesday, October 14th @ 7pm.

Johanna wrote the song for In The Pink and proceeds support their efforts. The song is available at Johanna's website where you can find out where to catch one of her live shows, including tonight at The Striped Bass in Tarrytown, or next Friday night @ The Bayou in Mt. Vernon. Reach out to the resources of In The Pink by calling 914-681-9737 or visit the website where the song will also be available.

If you're Making Strides @ Jones Beach on October 18th, I'll see you on the boardwalk. ; ) Go United Knockers!!!

As mentioned on air, this week I visited the unique and wonderful public sound art installation on The Mid-Hudson Bridge in Poughkeepsie. Forgot my camera, so these low-res images were taken with my phone. We actually saw a rainbow, but it opted not to show up in my pictures.

Joe Bertolozzi, a Hudson Valley composer, found the musical potential in the architecture and created Bridge Music. You can walk along the pedestrian path to the middle of the bridge where you'll find speakers that play Joe's music at the touch of one of these buttons.
It's a majestic experience to stand on The Mid-Hudson Bridge, made better by its music. Joe's vision includes a live performance and you can learn more about his work at his website.

This weekend, The Walkway Over The Hudson has opened. Can't wait to visit that span too!

Which brings to mind a favorite song about a bridge further down the glorious Hudson River...

Groovy is good,

Catherine