New Flutter In The Zeitgeist!

Every once in a while we search the word "flutterbox." Tonight's search led to this description of a homemade instrument by the Scottish experimental musician and composer Daniel Padden in a collaboration with the instrument maker Sarah Kenchington. Their record is called The Bellow Switch, and it's on the Shadazz label.

Specifically,

"The Flutterbox is a large, kalimba-like musical box with a spinning drum that creates rhythmic loops – simple, repetitive figures that form the backbone to the music collected here."

Picture please! We'd like to see and hear it. To begin the hunt, here's Daniel's myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/danielpadden.

Looking for "effective amazement texts?" Call for Cardinal Furio!

I, Janine, have not heard a note of this music, but I can't wait to and it won't be long now, since he's headed back to town. In recent days and weeks, Neill has been across the pond writing lyrics to melodies from the great Mozart, melodist supreme, all for a Danish "theatrical concert" now playing in Copenhagen. Talk about brave.

And not just brave, but really, REALLY good. Did Samuel Beckett ever want to write anything other than "effective amazement texts," as Neill's work is characterized in this review? I don't think so.

"For an authentic Danglish experience," Neill texts (the hand-held kind),

read all about it here!

It had to be done

The Mixpod player we had embedded on this site ceased to work some time ago. You may have noticed. We assumed our limited tech-savviness was to blame, but recently we discovered that OpenDrive has ceased to provide their streaming service to those who only signed up for the free account. The hunt is on for a new player.

To tide you over, this shot of the blanket of Spanish bluebells in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this spring........

A request for Strange Fruit

Out of all the delights and surprises that occurred things in the three performances we gave last weekend, our favorite was a request for Strange Fruit at The Delancey. We do believe that Flutterbox offers the second best reading of that bedeviled songpoem and wish that we had a recording of it to post here. But if you come to a gig, you have but to ask.

And because we did the Swinging Carnaby Street benefit for Howl! Help (which we hear was the best-attended event in the festival and raised beaucoup dollars), we now have a watchful, tender version of The Kinks' Waterloo Sunset to add to our sets. It's all about about a shut-in, wethinks.


Found this Waterloo Sunset on fotolog. A view a shut-in could love.

Janine Loves A Uniform

Recently, Janine was asked to participate in The Uniform Project, the completely satisfying result of an artist's challenge to herself to make a dress so perfect that it could be worn every day for a year, with the proceeds from its sale going to support alternative education in, first, India, currently, the Lower Ninth Ward. Ladies and men, it turns out it really is all about accessories, because the designer, Sheena Matheiken, photographed herself in the dress every day for a year looking genuinely incredible. Millions of hits to the website and a barrage of press helped her raise over $100,000 in the opening run.

Now the dress design has been tweaked and Sheena wanted to photograph other-looking women to dress up the dress with things from their own closets, to prove its versatility. Janine was only too happy to rise to the occasion, and though it was over 100 degrees in the studio, wore layered skirts and button down shirts, even a cumberbund and a hat, for the cause. The dress is for sale for $150; you could buy the pattern and make it, or have it made for, yourself.

Janine's getting one. Perhaps she'll wear it at every gig forevermore.

Waiting On A Friend

I took this picture of my friend Nick Cave – a huge Fbox fan – on Neill's stoop, for which he owes me FOREVER. Neill was in Denmark. He would want me to point out that 338 backwards spells "BEE."

Somehow, in all these years, I never mentioned to Neill that I appear in the Rolling Stones' video for "Waiting On A Friend." Can you spot me? I was a brunette then.

Ever seen this happen?

Last Sat night, Fbox was supposed to open for Harriet Tubman at the Tribeca Y. And because winged trickster Mercury was still in retrograde last week, everybody was confused about the time for the show. We all thought Fbox went on at 8 and HT at 9. Turned out that doors were at 8, and the bands at 9 and 10. Tubman couldn't play at 10 because their bass player, Melvin Gibbs, had to be in a cab at 10:15 to get to the airport to fly to Korea for a tour with Arto Lindsay. So it was quickly decided that Tubman would open for Flutterbox.

Now we ask you, have you ever seen the opening act follow the headliner AND get an encore? We haven't found anybody yet, but it happened on May 8 at the Tribeca Y.

And much love and thanks to Emily Rubin and her Loads Of Prose series for a fantastic gig at the Avenue A Laundromat in the East Village. Great fun. Hope you were there.