From left: TJ Jagodowski and David Pasquesi

Asked about their families back home, TJ responded:

I am unwed, but I live with my brother in Chicago. The rest of my family is back in Massachusetts—in Holyoke, Mass. So they’ll come visit. They’ll take the train down and see the shows in New York usually. My mom literally loads up a van of 40 to 50 people—they’ll load up a bus. My dad will cook up a bunch of snacks and they’ll drive in during the day, all go out to eat in Little Italy, see the show and then go home. So these people ranging in age from 19 to 82 get back home at 4 in the morning and then drive home from the Holyoke Mall parking lot. They rally.

Represent Holyoke, a beautiful and aging New England mill town (with the second largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the nation!) so clearly divided into three separate communities, (the affluent, the working class, and the poor) that we are surprised they haven’t all yet been parceled out and reincorporated as separate communities.

As TJ noted above though, it is the glorious Holyoke Mall, Holyoke’s own Las Vegas, that acts as a bond that holds the commmunity together.

The full interview can be read here, and we encourage you to go read it. It starts out great, and gets even better. Here’s one more snippet, when David recalls a moment in New York City:

...there’s a guy across from me in the passenger side of a work van. I’m just standing there and he’s about three feet away from me. And he just says to me, “Nice nose. F*ck you.” And off he drove. Makes me warm all over just thinking about it.

This weekend, the pair will be at 92YTribeca for their New York Premier of a documentary made about their Barrow Street show, Trust Us, This Is All Made Up.

Upcoming events at 92YTribeca:

Cartoons aren’t like they used to be. Last we recall, we were sitting in front of the TV watching Gummi Bears. Years passed and then the Cartoon Network and South Park came along, and changed the game forever. Following the trajectory of the baseball card hobby with their $50 pack of cards, cartoons are not for kids anymore. Even G.I. Joe has been repackaged for the olds who played with them as children.

For example, Cartoons from Hell on Jul 24 at 92YTribeca are not any cartoons we watched in our pajamas before soccer practice. Cartoons from Hell is a special program of nine evil short films curated by Animator Patrick Smith, featuring such shorts as True Confessions by Ian Miller, a true confession from a drug addict, Bill Plympton‘s Santa: The Fascist Years, and Puppet by Patrick Smith about a sadistic sock puppet that turns against it’s creator.

This all sounds pretty good, and we will be attending, if only to see if they measure up to the classics like the Adventure of Teddy Ruxpin.

[Cartoons from Hell]

Upcoming events at 92YTribeca:

It is an interesting topic, one that the New York Times City Room blog took up today in a post titled: Who’s That With Baby at the Y? Why, It’s Daddy:

The classes were originally called “Mommy and Baby.” Then men started showing up one by one, infants in tow. A few months ago, the fathers had become so numerous that the Prospect Park Y.M.C.A. on Ninth Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn, changed the class name to “Parent and Baby.

The change appears to be the result of several factors: the economic downturn, a generational attitude shift concerning fathering, and a neighborhood where many residents have jobs with flexible schedules, some of which allow work from home.

This is a topic we have explored before here on the blog.

And it will be explored again at 92YTribeca on Jul 22 when they present The Daddy Shift: Transforming American Families. Join Jeremy and audience members to consider an evolutionary advance in the American family, one that may help families better survive the twenty-first century as the unstable economy makes flexible gender roles more possible and more desirable.

Which is why we’re so proud of our own residences here at 92Y de Hirsch Residence. We offer private rooms at a cultural organization that’s been creating community since 1874. There is 24/7 security, free wi-fi, free housekeeping and linen service, special discounts to the 92Y’s full service gym and pool, and of course, you will be living in Manhattan, near great cultural institutions, Central Park, restaurants, and more. You’ll even run into people like Tom Cruise and Anna Wintour walking the halls. But don’t take our word for it. Watch the video above featuring residents of de Hirsch residents talking about how much they like it here.

For complete information, visit the link below, call us at 212.415.5650, or send an email.

[Residence at the 92nd Street Y Student and Intern Housing]

The Village Voice wrote:

Even the biggest music lovers among us have trouble keeping up with the latest Brooklyn band or record label. To remedy this, Todd Brooks, the founder of the Brooklyn arts organization Pendu, brought everyone together in December for the two-day NY Eye and Ear Fest, a new bi-annual festival to celebrate the hardworking people who make our music scene the best in the country. The second installment of the DIY spectacular [Jul 9-12] is twice as big, with four days of noise

And blogger Brooklyn Vegan, New York City’s music lover’s bible, gave the festival a prominent write up yesterday as well noting as part of the Fair, 92YTribeca will be screening films in the backroom from Women of NY Cinema: “with films and music from Sarah Lipstate (aka Noveller), Liz Wendelbo, Rachel Blackwell and Dirty Churches. The vendors range from big names like Matador Records to the recently featured Journal of Popular Noise to notable jazz label ESP-Disk.”

The festivities start at 4pm, and tickets for the event can be purchased here.

Upcoming events at 92YTribeca:

92Y’s Recanati-Kaplan Program for Excellence in the Arts merit scholar and voice student Ashley LaLonde will be singing the national anthem at the U.S. Open on Saturday, September 5 at 11am.

In the video above, Ashley is singing “Popular” from the musical Wicked as part of our Recanati-Kaplan recital held every year. Ashley is accompanied by 92Y piano teacher Jenny Lin. You might remember another notable 92Y School of Music student’s performance at this recital, a young man (and now Tony Award winner) by the name of David Alvarez.

11 year old Ashley auditioned to perform the National Anthem at the U.S. Open on Monday, June 8 at Radio City Music Hall as part of an open casting call and was recently notified that she had been chosen to perform. She auditioned for a panel of judges that included Broadway star and American Idol runner-up Diana DeGarmo. She is now poised to enter her second year of the Recanati-Kaplan merit scholarship program at 92Y School of Music. She studies voice with Deadra Hart and is mentored by Ann Hoyt.

Ashley’s voice lessons have even inspired her mother Lisa to audition for our Exploring Cabaret class this summer. Lisa is now singing in our Tuesday night class every week from 7-9pm and will be performing a set of songs at Don’t Tell Mama, a New York City Cabaret on Tuesday, July 28 at 7pm. Reached via email, Lisa noted how proud she was of her daughter, continuing: “Ashley has been helping me with my singing - she is so good!  I look forward to (but am a bit anxious for) our finale at Don’t Tell Mama later this month.”

If you’d like to search for your own inner Broadway star, and it’s in there, believe us...check out all the music programs and classes we offer.

[92Y School of Music]

Previously:

Today, we have more Jazz in July audio for you, courtesy of our friends at NPR. Kurt Elling was their pick for Song of the Day, with his track Lush Life. Kurt will carry the vocals in Jazz in July on Jul 21 for our Sondheim & Styne concert.

Relatedly, Jazz Improv Magazine wrote a wonderful article on Jazz in July in their latest issue, as seen in the screen capture above. You can read that here on page 60, in a PDF.

Previously:

Wed, Jul 8
• Film: Masterpieces of European Cinema and What Makes Them Great: Persona directed by Ingmar Bergman (1967)
• Joanne Gerr: What’s Love Got To Do With It? Learn how to feel loved without using food to manage your feelings.
• Film: Big Apple Portraits: New York on Film: The Crowd directed by King Vidor and starring James Murray. (1928)
• Music: Say Word: Featuring Michael Muhammad Knight. FREE Part of the Live at 92YTribeca Cafe Series
• Film: New York Premiere of The Farm: 10 Down with director Jonathan Stack in person for post-screening Q&A. Co-presented by the Woodstock Film Festival.
• The Manhattan Monologue Slam: Part Masterpiece Theater, part American Idol

Thu, Jul 9
• Film: New York Premiere of I Need That Record, a documentary feature examining why over 3000 independent record stores have closed across the U.S. in the past decade. Director Brendan Toller will be present.
• Comedy Below Canal™ hosted by Liam McEneaney with Jen Biederman, Matt Goldich, Louis Katz, Ben Bailey and more

Fri, Jul 10
• Film: Nursery University: A good-humored look at the oddly competitive environment of nursery school admissions. Part of CineMamas & Papas
• Film: New York Premiere of Trust Us, This is All Made Up with TJ Jagodowski and David Pasquesi in person along with director Alex Karpovsky.
• Music: Phil Putnam, FREE. Part of the Live at Cafe 92YTribeca series.
• Music: Amayo’s (of Antibalas) Fu Arkistra Presents:
  SUNCITY Act III, “ÒRÌSÀ Bootcamp @ Dusk”,
  A Musical Short and Concert
• Film: Road House: Part of the series Swayze Days of Summer.

Sat, Jul 11
• Film: NY Eye & Ear: Women of NY Cinema.
• Film: The Iron Mule Short Comedy Film Festival
• NY Eye & Ear: Bi-Annual Record Fair and All-Ages Music Fest
• Film: New York Premiere of Trust Us, This is All Made Up with TJ Jagodowski and David Pasquesi in person along with director Alex Karpovsky.

Sun, Jul 12
• Beethoven, Bruch and Dvořák 92nd St Y at Tanglewood: Herbert Blomstedt, conductor and Joshua Bell, violin. Bus leaves from the 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street.

Above is video from Rusic TV featuring raw footage from before and after segments of the New York Voices event. Some photos from the event can be seen at the blog, A Life Of A...Singer.

Upcoming events at 92YTribeca