Blog
Spring 2012
I got a Tuesday night gig at a place called AZA on 3rd Avenue between 93rd and 94th Streets, I’ll sing and play from 8:00 p.m. until 11:30 or so. It’s a nice restaurant/bar and they’re great people who reasonably encourage me to not allow the place to descend into piano bar/karaoke madness. I’m very excited.
Winter 2012
My first album is now on I-tunes under my real name, Greg Schlotthauer. Writing is almost sorta kinda done for my second album, tentatively titled “Songs From The First And Third Worlds” whose sorta kinda title track will have a rockin’ guitar, dirty sax and lovely harpsichord. Maybe the front cover will be a photo in a groovy, low-rent village in India and the back cover would be a shot of more fortunate (??) folks conversing in a Starbucks on 7th Avenue. Realistic release date would be October 4, 2014. I recently worked my 4th contract with Norwegian Cruise Lines and although the performances were the best in my life and had the most support, onboard communication was very tough and overall the experience was difficult and I may be working on different cruise lines from now on. I also believe I learned after a years-long internal debate whether I wanted a second home away from New York City that for now I do not. Miami, Tucson, Buenos Aires, etc. …. they’re places to visit for a while but home is home, and believe it or not I got tired of being hot in December and January. It’s great to be back home and the snow is pretty and apparently necessary. Here’s to the change of seasons ! Please, Universe, give Newt Gingrich the nomination because how clear a distinction can be drawn between Obama and the Republicans ? The clip of Obama singing Al Green at the Apollo recently is another example of our having one of the coolest world leaders in history. Maybe I’ll spend some time in a swing state helping to guy get re-elected. The kids who make my unadulterated chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing (no sprinkles !!) are adorable at Crumbs on 6th Avenue, and CVS is way way better than Duane Reade. Happy New Year to everybody !
Fall 2011
After what was, um, a few rough weeks in the summer I worked another cruise which was excellent, and one of the kindest, most supportive passengers made this video of me and the audience singing “Obla-Di-Obla-Da” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kadg8wAdLsQ
The cruise this time was even better than the first two, as it’s sinking in that it encourages a very healthy life for me for five weeks at a time; and the social element of 90% of the employees being from humble cultures is heavenly for me. There is no car traffic and noise like NYC on the ship, and the lack of cell phone capability, in my opinion, greatly contributes to a more humane co-existence and greetings and eye contact. I loved it. Getting off the ship I am inspired to be healthy every other day to retain a good portion of the weight loss, and I’m close than ever to trying out Miami for the coming winter. Life is too fun to subject myself to more than 22 years of being based in such a difficult and cold place for winters. Life is good !
August 2011
Wouldn’t there be BMW or United Way commercials that would want to use clips of my music? I re-designed my flier to state I’m actively looking for music licensing agents or publishers or agents who will help place my music in films, t.v. shows or commercials. I am about to work on another cruise ship going down to the Caribbean and up to Maine and Canada for 5 weeks starting September 3. Life has been chugging along, the summer in New York has been accentuated by many 6-hour bike rides up to New Haven, regular drops in my investments and defining which elements in life need to be curtailed to live a bit more stress free.
March 2011
I worked in Mexico for three weeks again and it’s hard to say how much the narcoviolence is really responsible for the street tension in so many parts of Mexico, but it’s not hard to see how the publicity is affecting tourism. For the time being, I’m happy to be in New York to get steady doses of more than 100,000 Mexicans here in the city and sorta half-live in Mexico THAT way. I’m about to do another 5-week cruise, playing and singing on a ship that will go back and forth 5 times to Florida and the Bahamas. Even though I wasn’t here for much of it, the NYC winter seemed particularly difficult this year, but as I write we are celebrating my favorite Holy Day of Obligation: Daylight Savings ! Spring is around the corner …. On the ship my plan is to keep writing the second album, “Don’t You Wanna Be Forgotten”.
February 2011
Pankaj and Natasha, from Mumbai, and Atika and Cecile, from the Philippines were my favorite people on the cruise ship I just worked on for a month. 85% of the 1,500-member crew were from foreign countries and had that breakdown been the opposite I doubt the experience would have felt as warm. Most of the service people on the ship were making extremely low wages ($2.00 an hour, 70-hour weeks) but were grateful for the opportunity to make more than in their country, and their humility and kindness is a different thing than ours; I doubt if it’s a difference in DNA, only economics. Whatever the reality, my favorite people on the ship were from the poor countries and there is an intimacy and understanding in the ship environment that reminded me of a controversial hospital stay I had 12 years ago, and that insular institution had visual and emotional commonalities with the Norweigian Cruise Line cruises to the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands. The company allowed me to bring my bike so I got lifetime bike rides in on St. Thomas, St. Martin, Puerto Rico, Nassau (Bahamas) and best of all, Antigua. Antigua reminded me of what I love about Nicaragua and India; the vegetation, the friendly people, the humble yet colorful houses. I felt like being on the ship, although occasionally it felt like being in a floating palatial prison, brought the best out of me and the gym, steam room and tons of vegetables got me healthier than I’ve perhaps ever been. I think mostly I’m supposed to comment on the crowds that I sung for on the ship which were the best crowds I’ve ever performed for; hundreds of people over a month that were quiet and respectful and gave tremendous support; I felt like a star. It was nice to be a star for a month and then get back on LAND. For three weeks coming up starting Jan. 18 I’m going back to Mexico to perform at Number Four, in Ajijic, outside of Guadalajara, where the weather is tens of degrees warmer than here in New York. I feel optimistic about my own future because of such good evaluations on the ship and invitations to work there again, but more importantly I’m one of many who are feeling optimistic about the tone changing in society. My favorite lines in Obama’s speech ‘s speech in Tucson after the shooting were “how well have we loved, and in some way have we helped the lives of others?”
November 2010
I spent a couple weeks in Jalisco and Michoacán, Mexico in October and in spite of being in very tranquilo places the news in the drug war is shocking, every day. The duality of such peaceful people and a segment which is so horrendously violent is another example of how human beings can’t ever successfully blame others or separate themselves from the rest. I thought of the vicious drug war stories when in Guadalajara there seems to be a common attitude that you can ignore a bicyclist on the road. But the municipal bike loan program in Guadalajara is inspiring and it’s a lovely place to tour around on a Sunday. I’m getting ready to work my first cruise ship gig over Christmas and last weekend took part filming a documentary about subway musicians; we got lucky that there was a large, respectful crowd waiting for an F train while I sung “Hey Jude” and a bunch of others. The documentary could take on a competitive bent which I hope won’t be the case, I don’t want to be a part of any reality competition in such a sorry state of sensationalist, cutthroat media culture.
October 2010
This continues to be the best time of my life, and three months after the fact I’m continuing to pinch myself that life changed. I did a week-long gig in Nantucket which was dreamy; giving me another steady dose of why I perform: for people who want to enjoy it. It’s an intimate if not at timse quite rowdy venue called The Club Car where people are right on you, paying close attention, having a lot of fun, and I had a lot of fun too, with certain kinds of people falling on me more than others. It’s been a while since I’ve been in such a tight space with people enjoying the music that much, and adding to the charm was Nantucket itself and its isolated, mixed island culture. I’m continuing to really enjoy performing in the subway again, and I notice almost every day somebody approaches me with a personal and/or warm comment. I got my first cruise ship gig coming up in December, for four weeks. I’m very excited to be going back to Mexico City and Guadalajara and maybe Veracruz for the last half of October. The Fall in quaint, drizzly, Liberal Elite Nantucket and here in New York have readjusted my weather prejudices conveniently as I’m sliding closer to being 43 2/3 years old. It’s not really an honest, significant slow-down, but I won’t need to complain THAT much about New York’s weather this year because as opposed to needing to ride a bike for three hours every day in the winter, I’m happier lately engaging in other projects that will allow maybe 4 times a week going out on the bike for 2.5 hours. New York can get wet, windy and cold for several months and it will be easier to handle if I don’t have to be on my bike every day. The Spanish-speaking AA group out in Queens continues to provide humor, support and conflict and continues to be a second family for me. Due to a computer mishap, I ended the six-month break from the Beatles and re-loaded a lot of their stuff back onto the I-pod and heard “Abbey Road” all the way through on fantastic headphones and note that after all these decades of change, the groove of a great drummer, a great human bass player and the soul of an acoustic guitar, perhaps especially John Lennon’s, combined to create the best man-made groove of them all. Life is so good ….. it’s easy to enjoy it lately.
August 2010
I spent the month in Ajijic, Mexico working at a restaurant called Number Four, whose clientele was half Mexicans and half Gringos. It was the first time I’ve ever worked outside the country and I loved it, the first opportunity to sing in both languages, and the realization occurred that I am now at the age where the material I do that I grew up with appeals to about anybody from age 30 – 70, and the reception was really great. Ajijic is a special, small town along the banks of Lake Chapala which is an hour south of Guadalajara. I may go back there for longer stints but next time I may stay in Guadalajara because it is one of my favorite Latin American cities. It was a great experience capped off by the fact that I didn’t have to come back here to New York to a job I don’t like; life continues to turn in a bigger direction and I’m excitedly looking for work playing for private events and more upscale gigs, all over the world.
July 2010
DARN !! My favorite columnist to read, Vicky Pelaez of “El Diario” was deported to Russia for being a spy. After 8 years, I quit my job at the Duplex; it was time to move on, I look forward to shifts with a more mature crowd and less hours involved. I was very moved that Argentina legalized The Gay last week, the first in Latin America and BEFORE the U.S. Winds of change keep blowing; I’m even considering getting a cell phone for gigs. Life is exciting, a sense of challenge has returned and the future will be DIFFERENT.
May 2010
After spending 82 out of 108 days this winter and early “spring” in 7 mostly hot and poor countries as opposed to here in New York City, I wonder if a simpler type of thinking is settling in: hot = happy. This month I will be celebrating turning 43 1/3 and playing and singing at The Keys Piano Bar in Key West. I was somewhat nervous at Christmastime to have THAT much travel planned over the past few months; I escaped the unfair weather here and wandered around India, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Colombia and while I’ve been singing “Sweet Caroline” at the mostly gay piano bars where everyone is constantly texting or misinterpreting my songlist as a potential karaoke list and therefore preparing calling up lyrics on their I-phones, I keep having pleasant flashes of enjoying places that don’t have the luxury or curse of such material resources: a dark alley of incense in Amritsar with a cow next to a street party mixing high Hindi vocal with “Billie Jean” bass, stark Bolivian landscape with people who have virtually nothing but an optimistic indigenous revolutionary smile or flirting with a street cat under one of those gorgeous Buenos Aires tree-lined streets. The world should be a big, discoverable place for a long time to come. I feel enriched after all that travel to more “real” places and accept that NYC could be a base for a lifetime; after living here 20 years and continuing to love the most important things about it, how can you really “move” somewhere else …. but the priority is to be here as little as possible during the six months where wind, rain and cold are more than a distraction. Yes: hot = happy.
April 2010
Currently I’m working on my 2nd CD, tentatively titled “Don’t You Wanna Be Forgotten”, for release in early 2011.
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