pt at large

American Routes Goes To The Circus

22/04/24 American Routes: MUSIC CIRCUS

Arlo Guthrie once sang, ‘You can get anything you want,,.at Alice’s Restaurant…”

Well, the same can be said of FM radio.

FM radio offers news, daily commentaries, thoughtful programs like TED Radio Hour, The Moth Radio Hour, This American Life, and The New Yorker Radio Hour.

For a music lover, there’s American Routes. http://americanroutes.wwno.org/archives/show/1270/Music-Circus

American Routes is blues and jazz, gospel and soul, rockabilly and country, Cajun and swamp pop, Tejano, Latin… and beyond. Songs and stories from musicians describe a deep and diverse nation with sounds and styles shared by all Americans. From the bayous to the beltways, from crossroads to crosstown, on interstates and city streets, turn up your radio for the sonic journey!

The weekly radio program is produced in New Orleans by Nick Spitzer, who created it in 1998.

Over the years, Spitzer’s had conversations with Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, B.B. King, Dr. John, Dave Brubeck, Elvis Costello, Ray Charles, Randy Newman, McCoy Tyner, Lucinda Williams, Rufus Thomas, Jerry Lee Lewis and scores of musicians and singers you may never have heard of and will google because they’re characters whose life stories are as compelling as the music they make.

When the April 24 program is titled “Music-Circus”, I’m thinking what the heck does circus have to do with music. Circuses are visual experiences, music essentially an aural one.

What follows is an astonishing array of songs loosely related to the Big Top plus interviews with the aerial artist who defies gravity in the most inventively curated show I’ve ever heard…I mean who else could fill two hours with songs related to the circus, one of the most red white and blue pieces of Americana, in such a lovingly cohesive 120 minutes.

The theme is universal. While most of American Routes shows dig into music he connects broadly to Louisiana, this show is a bouquet to America, Americana music, American entertainers and the most recognizable piece of American culture, The Big Top, that has thrilled and chilled children of all ages for 146 years.

How creative? Check out the set list… makes you dizzy with wonder to how Americana ring master Spitzer pulls you in with everything from Ella, The Coasters, Everly Brothers, Al Jolson, Randy Newman, Los Lobos, several acts you’ve never heard of plus a segment of organ grinder music. Geez, everything but the popcorn.

Pairing interviews with New Orleans singer and former circus glass eater Meschiya Lake with high-wire trapeze artist Dolly Jacobs in two separate interviews, Spitzer makes sure you know that the circus isn’t ready to be covered in cobwebs like a piece of furniture in an abandoned Victorian mansion. It’s still a thing. Shot out of a cannon.

Buy a bag of peanuts. Tune in.

American Routes Goes To The Circus

22/04/24 American Routes: MUSIC CIRCUS

Arlo Guthrie once sang, ‘You can get anything you want,,.at Alice’s Restaurant…”

Well, the same can be said of FM radio.

FM radio offers news, daily commentaries, thoughtful programs like TED Radio Hour, The Moth Radio Hour, This American Life, and The New Yorker Radio Hour.

For a music lover, there’s American Routes. http://americanroutes.wwno.org/archives/show/1270/Music-Circus

American Routes is blues and jazz, gospel and soul, rockabilly and country, Cajun and swamp pop, Tejano, Latin… and beyond. Songs and stories from musicians describe a deep and diverse nation with sounds and styles shared by all Americans. From the bayous to the beltways, from crossroads to crosstown, on interstates and city streets, turn up your radio for the sonic journey!

The weekly radio program is produced in New Orleans by Nick Spitzer, who created it in 1998.

Over the years, Spitzer’s had conversations with Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, B.B. King, Dr. John, Dave Brubeck, Elvis Costello, Ray Charles, Randy Newman, McCoy Tyner, Lucinda Williams, Rufus Thomas, Jerry Lee Lewis and scores of musicians and singers you may never have heard of and will google because they’re characters whose life stories are as compelling as the music they make.

When the April 24 program is titled “Music-Circus”, I’m thinking what the heck does circus have to do with music. Circuses are visual experiences, music essentially an aural ones.

What follows is an astonishing array of songs loosely related to the Big Top plus interviews with the aerial artist who defies gravity in the most inventively curated show I’ve ever heard…I mean who else could fill two hours with songs related to the circus, one of the most red white and blue pieces of Americana, in such a lovingly cohesive 120 minutes.

The theme is universal. While most of American Routes shows dig into music he connects broadly to Louisiana, this show is a bouquet to America, Americana music, American entertainers and the most recognizable piece of American culture, The Big Top, that has thrilled and chilled children of all ages for 146 years.

How creative? Check out the set list… makes you dizzy with wonder to how Americana ring master Spitzer pulls you in with everything from Ella, The Coasters, Everly Brothers, Al Jolson, Randy Newman, Los Lobos, several acts you’ve never heard of plus a segment of organ grinder music. Geez, everything but the popcorn.

Pairing interviews with New Orleans singer and former circus glass eater Meschiya Lake with high-wire trapeze artist Dolly Jacobs in two separate interviews, Spitzer makes sure you know that the circus isn’t ready to be covered in cobwebs like a piece of furniture in an abandoned Victorian mansion. It’s still a thing. Shot out of a cannon.

Buy a bag of peanuts. Tune in.

The Bakehaus: Thriving after opening in March 2020

April 12, 2022

The Bake Haus

442 Common Street, Belmont, MA 02478

The Belmont Center version of “Cheers” except caffeine, not hops, is the beverage of choice and yes, everyone seems to know your name.

A steady stream of customers enters during the 45 minutes I am here. Repartee between them and the wait staff and each other fills the narrow space.  The unmistakable aroma of coffee and croissants energizes the appetite.

The mask mandate has been lifted, some wear them, some do not. These days, having been vaccinated and boosted, I am getting more comfortable leaving my mask in my pocket.

"Baking Is A Science", says the sign that owners Michael and Brian  placed above the order counter. So is the art of combining it with the range of homemade pastries, sandwiches and choices of coffee that makes The Bakehaus a neighborhood hangout.

Deuces with comfortable high backed Parsons chairs against the right side and the inviting plush couch on the left are occupied as are several wrought iron tables and chairs on the sidewalk outside.

On this sunny mid 60s afternoon after a succession of raw rainy days, everyone is itching to get outdoors, feel the golden rays of the sun kissing their bodies, reminding us that spring has sprung.

Heck, the daffodils and tulips have been popping out for a week. It’s our turn to permanently welcome spring.

“Claire and Bob, your order is ready,“ says the server to a couple comfortably ensconced at the table in front of mine.

Explains why I haven’t seen customers picking up orders to go and then leaving… they ordered online and want to enjoy the ambience inside or at the tables in the sunny outside.

The panini press married the flavors of my Caprese Tuscan Chicken, served between layers of a warm baguette,  to perfection. I am a huge fan of muffins and scones. The poppy seed muffin was good and the moist recently out-of-the-oven blueberry scone was divine.

Talk about timing...the Bakehaus had a grand opening in March 2020 as the emerging pandemic began to steam-roll our way of life as we literally feared for our lives every time we ventured to markets and drug stores.

It's a miracle that the little outpost survived. It's staying power is rewarded by loyalists who show up day after day to enjoy coffee and pastries and paninis in a business with local roots. I cannot imagine a Dunkin’ Donuts or a Starbucks franchise on this stretch of Common Street or in Belmont Center… Neither can the parade of customers marching in and out of the Bakehouse today.

Daffodils are happily sprouting from the cold damp earth. What heralds Spring more than the fragrant yellow harbingers? And enjoying lunch al fresco, with winter and the worst of the  pandemic in the rear view mirror.

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"Baking Is A Science", says the sign that owners Michael and Brian  placed above the order counter. So is the art of combing it with the range of homemade pastries, sandwiches and choices of coffee that makes The Bakehaus a neighborhood hangout.

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Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

American Routes: Plumbing the Roots of Our Music Every Week

April 3, 2022

All you need is a radio or an internet connection to dig into this weekly radio program…

For a music lover, American Routes is a deep dive into the sources of our music - jazz, country, rhythm 'n blues, country, swamp pop, Cajun, zydeco and the subtle ways they interconnect. Every week, Nick Spitzer curates two hours featuring the work of songwriters, singers, musicians and a featured interview - this week with Corey Henry, who grew up in the Tremé district of New Orleans.

You don't grow up in the Tremé without having music pulsing through your veins or, for that matter, the smell of rice and beans cooking in a pot every Monday. Henry's father, grandfather, uncles, and now nieces are familiar names to New Orleanians.

Spitzer's lens is wide open. This week's show, "Antique & Modern New Orleans Style: "Corey Henry and The Tremé Funktet", sounds like an homage to New Orleans music - until you check the set list in the first hour that includes Cannonball Adderley, Lester Young, Peggy Lee and  Benny Goodman, Waylon Jennings and Nancy Sinatra (yes), Betty Carter. Spitzer is setting the table for the next two hours. The wonder is how he weaves them together to support his theme of the week.

The second hour is New Orleans specific, featuring Spitzer's interview with Corey Henry that shows that music runs in the family in so many New Orleans bands. And that performers like Henry consciously intend to offer something uplifting and positive to combat the crime in the city. New Orleans has its share of gun violence.

Other weeks feature two hours of music ranging from blues and jazz, gospel and soul, old-time country and rockabilly, Cajun and zydeco, Tejano and Latin, roots rock and pop, avant-garde and classical wrapped in a theme that Spitzer chooses. For 20 years, Spitzer's been opening our eyes to how New Orleans music has influenced American culture and the influences that informed New Orleans musicians to create it

Today’s interview is with Corey Henry is more than keeping the  spirit of New Orleans music alive. Henry wants his people to stay alive so they can enjoy it. "Trumpets Not Guns" is a direct appeal that comes from a respected voice who uses his pulpit to preach for an end to gun violence.

Henry's "Sunny Side of the Street", an upbeat bouncy take on Louis Armstrong's song of the same title, shows Henry's grasp on the many strands that simmer together in the pot of New Orleans music.

The show ends with Corey Henry's "Suite for the Candlelight Lounge", a homage to longtime proprietor Leona Grandison. I spent many Wednesday nights listening to The Tremé Brass Band play at Leona's place on North Robertson in the Tremé.

Get on board American Routes any time right here.

WWNO

• American Routes is blues and jazz, gospel and soul, rockabilly and country, Cajun and swamp pop, Tejano, Latin… and beyond. Songs and stories from musicians describe a deep and diverse nation with sounds and styles shared by all Americans. From the bayous to the beltways, from crossroads to crosstown, on interstates and city streets, turn up your radio for the sonic journey!
• American Routes—produced in New Orleans since 1998

http://americanroutes.wwno.org

 

• American Routes is blues and jazz, gospel and soul, rockabilly and country, Cajun and swamp pop, Tejano, Latin… and beyond. Songs and stories from musicians describe a deep and diverse nation with sounds and styles shared by all Americans. From the bayous to the beltways, from crossroads to crosstown, on interstates and city streets, turn up your radio for the sonic journey!
• American Routes—produced in New Orleans since 1998

http://americanroutes.wwno.org