Tonight, the Geniuses are taking the first step in a new direction.
When I told people I wanted to change the sound of the band, almost every single one thought I was crazy. This group has done some great things over the past two years – it’s always amazing to watch when creative people start to work together and “get” each other, and one day, you look up, and six things have become one thing. The Geniuses: a well-oiled, full-throttle, indie-soul-machine.
So why change? Why give that up?
Well, I’ve written a lot on this blog about the individual voice. In my solo work, my focus has always been on being relentlessly myself, in the most authentic way possible. I believe that when you create work that feels real and honest, people will be compelled by it. Some people won’t, but that’s just how it is. (In fact, this sounds a lot like my general life philosophy.)
With the band, however, my focus had been different. There’s something so visceral about performance that it’s easy to fall into traps, and rely on what works. You can put on a great show that you love, and the audience loves, without ever doing anything they haven’t seen before. The more talented the players, the easier it is to get hooked on that experience, and lose sight of the greater goal.
So a few months ago, I had to ask myself: what do I specifically bring to the table? What can the Geniuses do that isn’t already being done? What can we give to the world that feels meaningful and real? And what am I doing as a solo performer that isn’t happening with the band?
So we sat down, Genius-to-Genius, and we started to hash it out. The answer is hard to put into words, but it has a lot to do with space. A certain quiet intensity that allows our three voices to really stand out. A sound that explores, but still feels warm and safe.
Less soul, more soulful. Less work, more play. Less yeah, more yes.
Tonight, we’re gonna set sail to find our destiny. We hope you’ll come with us.
Sometimes it feels like being a Musician requires a singular focus. The ability to say, without hesitation: “This is what I want, this is what I do,” and never look back. And never even want to look back. A serious question: how many musicians (or artists of any kind) reach the end of their lives and say, “I wish I’d done something else”?
As I’m sure you know, I’ve got a big gig coming up with the Geniuses at Mercury Lounge on January 28th. (Tickets on sale now!) But if you’ve never been to see us, and you’ve only heard my solo EP, you probably don’t know just how soulful this band is. So, here. I will show you.
My friend recorded these from her phone, unbeknownst to me, and I think they turned out pretty well! Hope you like! See you on the 28th!
For my first official musical endeavor of the new year, I will be sailing my band, The Geniuses, into new and uncharted waters.
On January 28, we will be bringing our very best selves – our prettiest harmonies, our deadliest grooves, our newest of new songs, our tiniest of tiny instruments – to the Mercury Lounge.
We have invited all manner of suit to attend. We have to convince them that we play well with others, and are thoroughly liked by our peers.
This is where you come in. We need your pretty faces and funny dances, and most importantly, all your friends and family. Come play with us!
Arthur and the Geniuses in
A REALLY BIG SHOW
Friday, 1/28 @ Mercury Lounge
217 E. Houston St
Doors: 7:30 PM, Show: 8 PM Tix
_________
As for the tiny instruments, a fan from Kazakhstan gave me this shankobyz at our last gig. (That wooden Easter Island face is the case it came in.) Thanks Danelle!
I promised her I’d work it into the January show. What have I done?
Happy New Year, everyone! 2010 was an interesting one for me. It would appear I neglected this blog a bit throughout the year, so here’s a little recap:
• I got the current version of the Geniuses together right at the end of 2009, and we spent this year building something funky and magical together. Like so:
• I played a bunch of shows around the country with my boys in Freestyle Love Supreme, including a sold-out show at New York’s own Gramercy Theater.
• I started a weekly series called The Musicians’ List that became a great scene in Queens for singer-songwriters to try out new material and play with each other. Unfortunately, it ended when the venue shut down a few months ago.
• I co-arranged, sang, played, and recorded for ukelele rapper Jon Braman’s new album, You And Me, due out in 2011, and watched as our regular gig at Pianos grew into The Melting Pot, a genre-smashing melange of hip-hop, folk, soul, and jazz folks getting together once a month to make great music.
• I orchestrated a reunion of my old high school chorus, and got to try my hand at choral conducting. Might have to do some more of that.
• I did my first California tour, and fell in love with LA. More on that later.
All in all, a great year. But my focus was definitely skewed towards being “out there” – gigging, collaborating, playing in public. In 2011, I’m looking forward to focusing inward again. Sitting at the piano and writing. Making stuff happen in the studio. Exploring ideas I’ve never worked with before. I’m excited about some of the projects I’ve got planned for this year. Stay tuned for more!
Friends! We’ve been away from the stage for a while – some of the Geniuses went off to have themselves a little Caribbean adventure – but they’re back now, and we’re ready to make some music!
We’ve just booked two shows that I’m very excited about.
The first: A Homecoming. The Geniuses return to Rockwood Music Hall on December 28th at 9 PM. This one’s for all you New York expats who are home for the holidays and need a little geniufication. For the extended Geniuses family, this will be one big warm Thanksgachristmahannukwanzakah. We hope you can join us at the table.
The second: A Showcase! Our first show of the New Year is a big one. We’re playing at Mercury Lounge on January 28th, and we’ve got some important people coming to check us out. We need you there, doing that funny little dance you do, more than ever. Please bring your friends, your cousins, your mama, and maybe a few people you meet on the subway on the way there. In return, we will bring you some of the crazy fire that’s been burning in my head these past weeks: new songs, new ideas, and dare I say it, maybe a special guest or two. Doors open at 7:30, and we’re on at 8. Tickets are 10$ – I’ll post the link as soon as I get it. We’re gonna fill this bad boy up, so get those tickets early!
I was planning to turn this California trip into a whole series of blog posts. I was out there for a week and a half, first with Freestyle Love Supreme, and then a few solo shows in LA and San Francisco, exploring the West Coast, trying to get a sense of what it’s all about. I thought I’d write a little every day, and post it here, so you could all share the experience with me. And so I could make some sort of sense of it as it went by.
But there was just too much to see, and too much to do, and too much kicking around in my head to really get down in any meaningful way. Maybe in a few months, I’ll be able to look back and put it all together. But all I have now are little snippets. Pieces of each day that I can look back at and relive, moment-by-moment.
Here’s one from our first day:
We arrived in LA, and drove and drove and drove. Every time I come here, we leave the airport, and I spend my time on the road wondering when we’re going to get there. I always forget that being on the road IS L.A. Their subway, their sidewalks, their long walks up 5th Avenue – it’s all cruising down the fucking highway. The shared space is harder to come by, for better or for worse.
But I was with the boys. Blasting our nerdy hip-hop and enjoying each other’s company. A stop at In and Out burger. Two-Touch and UTK freestyling over Dr. Octagon beats, doing Cypress Hill over Aphex Twin, taking iPhone videos of the whole crew faking our way through some old-school jam I didn’t even know.
Nice hotel, rehearsal, soundcheck. Mingling with tomorrow’s audience in secret, so they don’t know what they’re in for. 26, 30, 31, 34. We eat, we drink beers, we play video games. But the conversation deepens. Single, girlfriend, wife, baby on the way. We talk about the difference between lonely and alone. We talk about reinventing yourself, and needing other people to fill the holes in your soul.
It keeps moving, and turning around – we have the same conversation again and again from different perspectives. Creative directions, personal lives, The Four Arrangements.
The day ends with a quiet nighttime swim. All in all, we’ve come to know each other in new ways. Show at 8 AM. We’re ready.
Tonight