Friday, 5 November 2004 Solstice / Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa / New Year's Celebration! Rosemead, CA (Glenn, Rachael, Rachael, Quincy thanks to Rachael's tour manager Meredith Tarr for snapping these pix) We recorded our Solstice / Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa / New Year's show today. Singer-Songwriter Rachael Sage was in from NY and Singer-Songwriter Quincy was in from WLA. Since Rachael's been on Strange Angels too many times already, we promoted her to co-host and we interviewed Quincy who told us about where her name came from and about her first stage experience, singing the "love, love, love" part of The Beatles' All You Need is Love. We also had an in-studio menorah lighting ceremony for which Rachael and Quincy improvised a little "generic Jewish sounding music to light the menorah by." (with apologies to Rachael's mom if it all wasn't quite as polished as maybe it ought to have been... still... pretty great sports to just go for it on the spur of the moment) Quincy said, "I went to Hebrew school with my best friend when I was twelve, and I went home to my mom and I said, 'mom, I wanna be Jewish...' cause I really love the traditions and the rituals..." Oh yes, and songs were sung! Quincy says it's a must to come out and hear her full band... incredible, I'm sure... but I must say, just having the guitar and the voice, almost as minimal as you can get... what a voice. It's sort of funny to be sitting in a small room with everybody wearing headphones... I started thinking about the whole "house concert" phenomena (where folks set up small, private concerts in their houses) and how maybe this was a little "headphone concert." Which would be a kind of interesting venue to hear binaural sound projects and other audio art. Anyway... amazing, beautiful, pulverizing voice. Quincy sang Never Happy, then borrowed Rachael's keyboard for Give it Away, a track from her CD also known as Mary. Another aka Mary track Blown Away... blew us away (seriously) Finally, Quincy previewed a new song for us: she thinks it'll either be called Mary, Mary or I Can't be with You Now. Again, WOW, really. She included a little "vocal trumpet" for the parts where she envisions a trumpet solo. Meanwhile Rachael played a new song about a "tall elf from Brooklyn," Come on Over. For her poem Sight Seeing Rachael asked Quincy, "are you good with a banana?" Which seemed pretty cryptic to me, but Quincy either got it or just ran with it... so Rachael had her tour manager, Meredith Tarr pull a banana shaped maraca out of her pink "Elmo" bag and Quincy played a little banana to Rachael's poem. It was interesting to be doing our December 25th show on November 5th... Christmas is ONLY 50 days away... still it was a bit curious to be telling everyone I saw for the rest of the day, "have a great 2005!" Rachael and Quincy are engaging artists who helped make a fun holiday broadcast. Rachael is sooo... vivacious, and Quincy is sooo... genuine... the contrast between them is quite dramatic and I think it provided for a nice, uh... "on-air-persona-counterpoint." Also, just in case you need to know, this broadcast will include the scoop on where to find a nice Jewish girl on December 25th. Be sure to sign up for the Strange Angels email list which will send you the weekly guest list for the show. (Quincy showing off Rachael's latest CD: Ballads & Burlesque) Also, you should drop by the brand new Strange Forum where you can post your thoughts on the show or make guest suggestions or talk about the arts or promote your next arts event. That and get the pulse of what everyone else is thinking / up to. In other news, The California E.A.R. Unit will be performing Richard Lerman's Travelon Gamelan "for three piezo disk amplified bicycles" at the LA County Museum of Art on Monday, November 8 at 8:00pm. I think I'm going up to EAR Unit percussionist Amy Knoles' home in Castaic, CA to interview Richard and the EAR Unit on Sunday. Well, I can't resist saying it... "Have a great 2005!" -- Glenn Zucman, Rosemead, CA