Drawing Music :: Medeski Martin & Wood at Terminal 5 with Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra

Happy 20th Birthday, MMW!

 “Music is about creating a vibration, an energy. It’s healing and transformative.” 

~John Medeski

My long-time favorite Brooklyn jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood, whom I grew up listening since seeing them live for the first time as an opening act for Morphine in PA in the late 1990's, is together for 20 years already. They just celebrated it at Terminal 5 yesterday, sharing the stage with Antibalas. Whoa. That was more like a musical explosion than a concert. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra ignited, then MMW took stage and played fan-selected songs that are so dear to heart. And then MMW and Antibalas played together. I didn't count exactly how many people were on stage, but it was around 15. The musical jam was outrageous.  I drew as much as I could, which was not easy in a tightly packed club, being pushed and bumped from all sides by intoxicated (both by music and substances) fans in their Halloween costumes. It was something…Happy 20th Birthday, MMW! Thank you for your music! 

p.s. It was MMW's customary Halloween performance and musicians wore all kinds of funny costumes.

MMW's drummer Billy Martin

MMW's John Medeski, wearing a sumo wrestler costume and wig.

MMW's Chris Wood, wearing a wig.

Antibalas singer and percussionist Amayo with the wind section.

Antibalas's Amayo and Yoshihiro “Yoshi” Takemasa

Jam!

Antibalas's Amayo and Jordan McLean

MMW and Antibalas together on stage

Waiting For The Curtains To Part...

...before the [sold out] Amon Tobin's ISAM live projection mapping show at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on October 25. The show took my breath away. Along with the breath, the hearing and sight were also temporarily gone, as it was a complete sensory overload. If interested, check out the trailer here

Drawn on my iPhone

Occupy Wall Street Freestyle

I joined my friend past weekend for an awesome night of freestyle by Symphonics at The Bowery Poetry Club. Inevitably, the hottest jam dealt with the protest. The guys on stage rhymed webs out of _occupy____oc_oc_occupy_ to the funky beat and jazzy, buttery chords. I had the iPad on my lap and "freestyled" this iDrawing.

Drawn on my iPad

NYSE

A small  detour tonight led me to the New York Stock Exchange building. It's so beautiful, especially at night. The barricades and police clusters remind that Occupy Wall Street is just a few blocks away.
See Full Reportage Here >
 

Occupy Wall Street :: NYC Liberty Square : Right To Assembly

I finally made it to Liberty Square to see what is happening for myself. Occupy Wall Street  started a month ago and is now a world-wide movement. It was peaceful, relaxed and ambiguous. I walked through the crowd making drawings, looking to collect sentiments and moods. I found that majority of people there didn't really know how to feel about what was going on around them. Some said to me they felt the protest should be happening in Washington, not here. Some said it's like the 60's are back.  It seemed as though the main event was photographing and video taping. Every other person around me had some kind of camera or recording device in their hands. The police were surprisingly kind-one lady cop even said to me "am I in your way?" when she saw me drawing behind her. I couldn't believe it!

"Mike Check! Mike Check!" Human microphone sound amplification system: one person shouts a phrase and the crowd repeats. A bonding experience. And an exercise in trust. How do you know that the next speaker is going to say things worth repeating out loud? All the speeches, by the way, were read off smart phones, not paper.

cameras everywhere!

The "Occupiers" lounged on mattresses. One of these two guys was on a laptop, the other was smoking.

Oh, the characters you meet!

"Occupy Lego Land" guy said to me: "Just trying to put a smile on everyone's face"

What people have to say. *some are actual photos of posters.

What people have to say. *some are actual photos of posters.

What people have to say. *some are actual photos of posters.

My friend Audrey Hawkins posted a great blog entry on the event with her drawings. Take a look.

UPD May 2012
Some of these drawings live on in Augmented Reality as part of arOccupyMayDay by Mark Skwarek