The Deedle Deedle Dees are deep in rehearsal and preparing to re-emerge with performances at BAM in Brooklyn on Feb. 2nd and at Symphony Space in Manhattan on March 2nd. Here's what makes these shows unique:
Saturday, Feb 2nd, 12pm, 2:30pm - BAM, Brooklyn
Original guitarist and founding member Anand Mukherjee (AKA Innocent Dee) will take the stage with us for these performances that are part of the BAMkids Film Festival. These will be celebratory shows spanning the Dees' nearly 10-year career featuring fan favorites, songs you haven't heard in a while, and previews of some of our newest compositions.
http://www.bam.org/programs/bam-kids-film-festival
Saturday, March 2nd, 11am - Symphony Space, Manhattan
A show all about our home, New York City made up of almost entirely new material that we've been writing over the past year. NYC is a town built from seemingly disparate but somehow wonderfully compatible elements and so is this show: hip hop, klezmer, old jazz, punk rock, mariachi, salsa, old string band music, and all the other sounds you're used to hearing collide at our shows will all be there but mixed together in new and surprising ways that we think will tell the story of our town especially well. As you might expect, the Dees tour of New York is an esoteric one, one down the forgotten side streets and under those streets (yep, there's a song about rats), one that reaches deep into the outer boroughs to find new neighborhoods and the people who live there and the delightful stories they tell.
http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/7482-the-deedle-deedle-dees
See you there!
Lloyd
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Our next album: "work" in progress
On our last album, Strange Dees, Indeed, we developed the song "Mayor LaGuardia's Stomach" around a story Esther Levine (grandma of Ari Dolegowski AKA Moby Dee) told us. Ari and I spent a whole afternoon interviewing and recording Esther and she told us dozens of stories. We chose her tale of bumping into Fiorello LaGuardia as a young woman because it was really well suited to a quick snappy jazz composition Chris (Booker Dee) had written but she told us lots of other great stories, many of which might make for good songs, either ones where, like on "Mayor," she would narrate backed up by our music or where we would sing a song inspired by what she told us. It got me thinking that I'd like our next album to be a collection of tunes derived mostly from stories people tell us rather than stories we've read in books. Sort of Studs Terkel / StoryCorps approach to songwriting.
For much of the last year I've been considering different themes for such a record. After much deliberation, experimentation, and consultation with my wife I've finally made up my mind. The next Dees record is going to be all about work. The work we do, the work our parents and grandparents did, the paid work and the unpaid work that's the substance of our daily lives, the work kids do, the work parents do, the essential work that goes unnoticed… We're going to talk to a lot of people and, when possible, involve them in the actual songwriting process. Esther has some great stories about jobs she used to have and so these might show up in some form. There are a number of friends and acquaintances (among them, a firefighter, a surveyor, a lice picker, a neurologist, a deep sea diver, a subway track repair engineer, a chef, a cop, a "trash-out" contractor, an actor, a mechanic, and many many teachers). I'd like to interview, preferably with the help of kids, about their jobs. I'd like to interview kids about jobs they'd like to have and what they think is involved in certain jobs (they have some interesting ideas about this). I'm going to Haiti in October to do a songwriting project with some kids at an orphanage and so I'm going to talk to them about their daily work. I'm volunteering with Sing for Hope and would like to write songs with people at hospitals, adult care centers, schools, and other places where I perform. I might write songs about the many jobs I've had and the ones I have now.
We're planning to do an official debut of this project March 2nd at Symphony Space in NYC. We might have the album done by then or we might just play a set of songs we've written by that point. Between then and now, we'll be collecting stories and trying to involve as many people in this collaboration as possible. Will you join us?
I'm starting a blog, probably a Tumblr, where anyone can post their own stories, photos, videos, and songs related to this project. I'll also be putting drafts and works-in-progress up there. Details on this soon.
Send us your thoughts. And let me know if you have a class or other group you think might have some stories to share with me.
Lloyd
thedeedledeedledees AT yahoo DOT com
For much of the last year I've been considering different themes for such a record. After much deliberation, experimentation, and consultation with my wife I've finally made up my mind. The next Dees record is going to be all about work. The work we do, the work our parents and grandparents did, the paid work and the unpaid work that's the substance of our daily lives, the work kids do, the work parents do, the essential work that goes unnoticed… We're going to talk to a lot of people and, when possible, involve them in the actual songwriting process. Esther has some great stories about jobs she used to have and so these might show up in some form. There are a number of friends and acquaintances (among them, a firefighter, a surveyor, a lice picker, a neurologist, a deep sea diver, a subway track repair engineer, a chef, a cop, a "trash-out" contractor, an actor, a mechanic, and many many teachers). I'd like to interview, preferably with the help of kids, about their jobs. I'd like to interview kids about jobs they'd like to have and what they think is involved in certain jobs (they have some interesting ideas about this). I'm going to Haiti in October to do a songwriting project with some kids at an orphanage and so I'm going to talk to them about their daily work. I'm volunteering with Sing for Hope and would like to write songs with people at hospitals, adult care centers, schools, and other places where I perform. I might write songs about the many jobs I've had and the ones I have now.
We're planning to do an official debut of this project March 2nd at Symphony Space in NYC. We might have the album done by then or we might just play a set of songs we've written by that point. Between then and now, we'll be collecting stories and trying to involve as many people in this collaboration as possible. Will you join us?
I'm starting a blog, probably a Tumblr, where anyone can post their own stories, photos, videos, and songs related to this project. I'll also be putting drafts and works-in-progress up there. Details on this soon.
Send us your thoughts. And let me know if you have a class or other group you think might have some stories to share with me.
Lloyd
thedeedledeedledees AT yahoo DOT com
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Musikfest Aug 12, 2012 set lists
Not sure if we played 'em exactly in this order but here are the tunes we played at Musikfest in Bethlehem today.
Lyrics, related books, and other stuff connected to these tunes should be easy to find on this blog -- scroll down through the list of titles on the left or search for a particular song. If
there's something you can't find, send me a note: thedeedledeedledees AT yahoo DOT com.
set 1 (3:30-4:30)
a song for Abigail Adams
Baldy
Birds of America Don't Care-Oh
Henry (Hudson), How Ya Gonna Find a Way?
Henry Box Brown
Tub-Tub-Ma-Ma-Ga-Ga
Major Deegan
Growl Growl
Marie Curie
¡Sí Se Puede!
Dead Horse Bay
Bring 'Em In
set 2 (5-6)
Bluebird > Redbird, Redbird > Reef
Sojourner Truth
Ah Ahimsa
Little Red Airplane
Camperdown Elm
Sacagawea
The Brooklyn Bridge Song
Nellie Bly
River of Blood
Skating in Old Bryant Park
Cool Papa Bell
Henry (Hudson), How Ya Gonna Find a Way?
Tub-Tub-Ma-Ma-Ga-Ga
Zora
Here are the scribbled set lists on top of the sweaty shirts I wore. As usual, our actual sets diverged from what I originally wrote down.
Lloyd
Lyrics, related books, and other stuff connected to these tunes should be easy to find on this blog -- scroll down through the list of titles on the left or search for a particular song. If
there's something you can't find, send me a note: thedeedledeedledees AT yahoo DOT com.
set 1 (3:30-4:30)
a song for Abigail Adams
Baldy
Birds of America Don't Care-Oh
Henry (Hudson), How Ya Gonna Find a Way?
Henry Box Brown
Tub-Tub-Ma-Ma-Ga-Ga
Major Deegan
Growl Growl
Marie Curie
¡Sí Se Puede!
Dead Horse Bay
Bring 'Em In
set 2 (5-6)
Bluebird > Redbird, Redbird > Reef
Sojourner Truth
Ah Ahimsa
Little Red Airplane
Camperdown Elm
Sacagawea
The Brooklyn Bridge Song
Nellie Bly
River of Blood
Skating in Old Bryant Park
Cool Papa Bell
Henry (Hudson), How Ya Gonna Find a Way?
Tub-Tub-Ma-Ma-Ga-Ga
Zora
Here are the scribbled set lists on top of the sweaty shirts I wore. As usual, our actual sets diverged from what I originally wrote down.
Lloyd
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Revised summer and early fall schedule
We'll get this stuff up on our various calendars shortly, but we wanted to let you know about some additions (and one subtraction) to our summer schedule right away.
June 9 - Library Love benefit at the Knitting Factory CANCELED
This show was to be a benefit for the Shutesbury, MA library. Why did we cancel the show? In brief, the library lost a crucial local vote that essentially put their fundraising goal way out of reach.
June 10 NEW La Flaca -- 8pm
A Dees After Dark gig featuring three Dees and guest star Janelle Reichman on the clarinet. Country, swing, klezmer, mariachi, and lots of surprises. www.laflacanyc.com
June 14 - Madison Square Park - 10:30 am
Can't remember how many years we've been playing MSP. Always a great event.
June 16 - Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA - 11am
July 11 NEW - Fort Greene Park - 10am
July 11 NEW - La Flaca - 8:30pm - 21+ - This is a Dees After Dark show for grown-ups. Roy Nathanson will join us for the first set as we try out some mariachi, standards, and other stuff. Second set (around 10 / 10:30) we'll veer into hip hop covers and old country and also do our regular mix of klezmer, old jazz, and bluegrass.
July 14 - Green River Festival - Greenfield, MA
August 12 - Musikfest, Bethlehem, PA - 3:30pm and 5pm
September 9 - Discoveroo Festival, Charlottesville, VA - details soon
Sept 19th - the Stone 8pm
The Deedle Deedle Dees, Roy Nathanson, Curtis Fowlkes, and David Orr (poetry critic for the NYTimes) are creating a set of music and poetry that's not to be missed.
Sept 28th -- the Stone 10pm
The Jazz Passengers with Lloyd Miller (Ulysses S. Dee) on guest vocals
Roy Nathanson and I are writing a musical movie script based on Exiles in Eden, Paul Reyes' gorgeous book about the foreclosure crisis in Florida. The songs will have their debut this night, performed by the untouchable Jazz Passengers with me as a guest vocalist.
September 29 NEW - Carroll Park, Brooklyn - 4pm
Note: Carroll Park website says Sept 30 but the show has been moved to the 29th to avoid a conflict with the Atlantic Antic
October 14 - Littlefield, Brooklyn - 2pm
With special guests Dog on Fleas!
Nov 3 - Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art - Amherst, MA - Details soon
June 9 - Library Love benefit at the Knitting Factory CANCELED
This show was to be a benefit for the Shutesbury, MA library. Why did we cancel the show? In brief, the library lost a crucial local vote that essentially put their fundraising goal way out of reach.
June 10 NEW La Flaca -- 8pm
A Dees After Dark gig featuring three Dees and guest star Janelle Reichman on the clarinet. Country, swing, klezmer, mariachi, and lots of surprises. www.laflacanyc.com
June 14 - Madison Square Park - 10:30 am
Can't remember how many years we've been playing MSP. Always a great event.
June 16 - Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA - 11am
July 11 NEW - Fort Greene Park - 10am
July 11 NEW - La Flaca - 8:30pm - 21+ - This is a Dees After Dark show for grown-ups. Roy Nathanson will join us for the first set as we try out some mariachi, standards, and other stuff. Second set (around 10 / 10:30) we'll veer into hip hop covers and old country and also do our regular mix of klezmer, old jazz, and bluegrass.
July 14 - Green River Festival - Greenfield, MA
August 12 - Musikfest, Bethlehem, PA - 3:30pm and 5pm
September 9 - Discoveroo Festival, Charlottesville, VA - details soon
Sept 19th - the Stone 8pm
The Deedle Deedle Dees, Roy Nathanson, Curtis Fowlkes, and David Orr (poetry critic for the NYTimes) are creating a set of music and poetry that's not to be missed.
Sept 28th -- the Stone 10pm
The Jazz Passengers with Lloyd Miller (Ulysses S. Dee) on guest vocals
Roy Nathanson and I are writing a musical movie script based on Exiles in Eden, Paul Reyes' gorgeous book about the foreclosure crisis in Florida. The songs will have their debut this night, performed by the untouchable Jazz Passengers with me as a guest vocalist.
September 29 NEW - Carroll Park, Brooklyn - 4pm
Note: Carroll Park website says Sept 30 but the show has been moved to the 29th to avoid a conflict with the Atlantic Antic
October 14 - Littlefield, Brooklyn - 2pm
With special guests Dog on Fleas!
Nov 3 - Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art - Amherst, MA - Details soon
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Real-Time Shelby Foote
So I finally have a companion in my Shelby Foote book club! We're reading his Civil War trilogy over the course of five years, attempting as much as possible to sync our reading to the 150th anniversaries of the events. Doesn't this sound like great fun? ("Yes," replies everyone in monotone unison)
Seriously, though, it's truly a fantastic work. Check out his Tolstoyian (Tolstoyesque? Tolstoyish?) introduction of Jefferson Davis (right at the beginning of book 1) and tell me you really don't care to read this thing.
If you're concerned that we're way ahead of you and you'll never catch up, your fears are unfounded. The first year of the war only takes up about 150 pages so you can easily meet us where we are -- March 1862 -- by reading about 150 pages this weekend. You will read 150 pages this weekend.
I won't beg.
I beg you.
Lloyd
Seriously, though, it's truly a fantastic work. Check out his Tolstoyian (Tolstoyesque? Tolstoyish?) introduction of Jefferson Davis (right at the beginning of book 1) and tell me you really don't care to read this thing.
If you're concerned that we're way ahead of you and you'll never catch up, your fears are unfounded. The first year of the war only takes up about 150 pages so you can easily meet us where we are -- March 1862 -- by reading about 150 pages this weekend. You will read 150 pages this weekend.
I won't beg.
I beg you.
Lloyd
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Set list for Black History Month show at BAX 2/26/12
Today I played a Black History Month show at BAX, the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, as part of the Jumpin' Juniper series. My band was a great group of folks I'd never played with before: Ari Brand (guitar, vocals), Katie Mullins (baritone ukulele, mbira, vocals), and Ivan Katz (djembe, hand percussion). We did a mix of traditional tunes and original stuff related to Black History Month. For the second half of the show we invited kids and parents to play along with us. Thanks for bringing your ukes and your shakers and your guitars and your kazoos! Next time we want more parents to play along too.
Here's what we played and who played it:
Zora (just Lloyd)
About Zora Neale Hurston, on the Many Hands benefit album for Haiti
I've Been Working on the Railroad (Lloyd)
Just cos my sing-a-long crowd likes it so much...
St. Bessie Blues (Lloyd & Katie)
A variation on "St. Louis Blues" I wrote with some fourth graders a few years back. This take on the tune celebrates Bessie Smith and features some great kid-written raps.
Up Above My Head (Katie, Ari, Ivan, Lloyd)
Katie's take on an infectious African-American spiritual. http://www.musicwithmisskatie.com/
This Little Light of Mine (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan)
Banana Boat Song (Ivan, Ari, Katie, Lloyd)
One of Ivan's favorite tunes to do at his drum-a-longs.
Walk-a-Long John (Katie, Ari, Ivan, Lloyd)
Katie's variation on an old tune. She leads the tune on her mbira (pronounced, "imbira"), an instrument from Zimbabwe.
When the Saints Go Marching In (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan)
Even though Mardi Gras just passed. I'm always looking for songs people will actually sing along with and this is one of the few nearly everyone will.
Cool Papa Bell (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
About the Negro League star. On Strange Dees, Indeed.
Henry Box Brown (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
One of the most popular Dees tunes. On Freedom in a Box.
Sojourner Truth (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
Written as part of a musical about Northampton, MA, a few years ago. On Strange Dees, Indeed.
John Henry (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
A bluegrassy take on a trad tune I like to do in my classes.
Tub-Tub-Ma-Ma-Ga-Ga (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
Tub = Harriet Tubman, Ma = Martin Luther King, Ga = Gandhi, on American History + Rock-n-Roll = The Deedle Deedle Dees
Here's what we played and who played it:
Zora (just Lloyd)
About Zora Neale Hurston, on the Many Hands benefit album for Haiti
I've Been Working on the Railroad (Lloyd)
Just cos my sing-a-long crowd likes it so much...
St. Bessie Blues (Lloyd & Katie)
A variation on "St. Louis Blues" I wrote with some fourth graders a few years back. This take on the tune celebrates Bessie Smith and features some great kid-written raps.
Up Above My Head (Katie, Ari, Ivan, Lloyd)
Katie's take on an infectious African-American spiritual. http://www.musicwithmisskatie.com/
This Little Light of Mine (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan)
Banana Boat Song (Ivan, Ari, Katie, Lloyd)
One of Ivan's favorite tunes to do at his drum-a-longs.
Walk-a-Long John (Katie, Ari, Ivan, Lloyd)
Katie's variation on an old tune. She leads the tune on her mbira (pronounced, "imbira"), an instrument from Zimbabwe.
When the Saints Go Marching In (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan)
Even though Mardi Gras just passed. I'm always looking for songs people will actually sing along with and this is one of the few nearly everyone will.
Cool Papa Bell (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
About the Negro League star. On Strange Dees, Indeed.
Henry Box Brown (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
One of the most popular Dees tunes. On Freedom in a Box.
Sojourner Truth (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
Written as part of a musical about Northampton, MA, a few years ago. On Strange Dees, Indeed.
John Henry (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
A bluegrassy take on a trad tune I like to do in my classes.
Tub-Tub-Ma-Ma-Ga-Ga (Lloyd, Katie, Ari, Ivan, crowd)
Tub = Harriet Tubman, Ma = Martin Luther King, Ga = Gandhi, on American History + Rock-n-Roll = The Deedle Deedle Dees
Monday, February 20, 2012
Some baseball books in honor of PITCHERS & CATCHERS
Browsing in a Vermont bookstore where my good friend works, I put together a list of some baseball books in honor of "Pitchers and Catchers," the much anticipated (amongst serious fans) first day of spring training when (you guessed it) pitchers and catchers are required to report.
Like my Black History Month list I've tried to include some picks for reluctant readers. I've also tried to mix a variety of genres: bios, YA, philosophy (it's a deep game), picture books, and, possibly the most read by kids obsessed with the game, encyclopedias.
Henry Aaron's Dream by Matt Tavares
A solid, fact-filled picture bio of the icon. A bit too inspirational in tone for my taste, but still worth getting for nice artwork and thorough research.
The Kid Who Only Hit Homers by Matt Christopher
Christopher's sports-based chapter books won't go away and there's a reason why: sports-loving kids always read them. Try this one with your athletic kid who thinks he or she doesn't like reading.
The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris by Mark Kurlansky
Kurlansky is best known for his books for adults and kids centered on things we eat (Salt, Cod...) that use the thing mentioned in the title as a jumping-off point for books that defy categorization as they whip effortlessly from social history to geography to science to personal essay. His book, The Big Oyster, was my favorite of those I consulted as I was writing a cycle of songs about the history of oysters in the New York Harbor and the efforts of a current group to re-introduce them to the infamously toxic Gowanus Canal.
This book isn't a food book but I expect it retains Kurlansky's trademark mix of sweeping narrative and incredible attention to detail (I haven't read it -- it's in my queue).
The Baseball Counting Book by Barbara Barbieri McGrath and Brian Shaw
Cute book for toddlers and new counters.
Baseball Americana: Treasures from the Library of Congress by Harry Katz, Frank Ceresi, and Phil Michel
A baseball dork's paradise of miscellania.
Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Babe Ruth Baseball by David A. Adler and Susanna Atti
Another well-done chapter book series. Nothing thrilling, just a decent sports-based narrative for readers just starting their careers in the library.
The Way of Baseball by Shawn Green
Been wanting to read this, a book that's been compared to Phil Jackson's Sacred Hoops (I have to admit I kind of liked that book). It's most interesting to me, though, because I've always liked Green. He was a Met, he had decent stats, and he notably missed games during a playoff race in order to observe Yom Kippur. Plus, he always seemed like a cool guy (from my expert perch at the sports bar).
Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella by Neil Lanctot
One of the greatest Brooklyn Dodgers, possibly the greatest. Amazing off-the-field story.
H is for Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet by Brad Herzog and Melanie Rose
Hey, why not?
The Baseball Encyclopedia: The Complete and Definitive Record of Major League Baseball by MacMillan
MacMillan being the publisher not an author. This was the original super encyclopedia (the first really important one), one that many others copied and referenced. Ever taught elementary school kids? You've surely been ignored while kids read books like this one under their desk or in the corner during periods when they were supposed to be doing something else. I think the current era of sabermetrics and Moneyball owes much to the generation that grew up reading this book and all its many imitators.
and lastly...
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson (who did the pictures in Henry's Freedom Box) is one of several Negro League books I'm constantly recommending on this blog (see, for example, my entry on "Cool Papa Bell" for some more suggestions). This one is an exceptional one for kids and features Nelson's comic-book-heroic illustrations.
Yes, I know there are many more great baseball books. I just picked a few I love or want to read soon. What are your favorites?
Lloyd
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