The Brazilian Revolution (in Philly).
Text and images by Megan Matuzak.
In the late 1960’s, Brazilian president Costa e Silva ordered the construction of a bridge connecting Rio de Janeiro with the city of Niteroi, on the other side of Guanabara Bay.
Eugene Rausa, a young civil engineer from New York, packed his bags and left for Brazil to work on this extensive project.
Rausa found himself placed in the middle of fate’s hands. He fell in love with Rio instantly. The vivacious culture ignited something in his heart that permanently bound him to the city for the rest of his life. Read more…
The Ballad of Jessi & Nema.
Images by Nema Etebar. Text by Rosella LaFevre.
Will power and love saved singer Jessi Teich’s voice, she says.
The singer was in jeopardy of losing her instrument last year when a cyst developed on her vocal cords. Teich’s fiancé, Nema Etebar, introduced her to a friend, a world-class surgeon, who suggested surgery to remove the cyst.
People told her not to risk it. They told her she’d never sing again. Ultimately, she decided to go through with the procedure.
“I could never have the career that I wanted if I didn’t get the surgery,” Teich says.
Fortunately, the surgery was a success. And seven months after the operation, Teich released her debut album, Barely There, on Fuzztone Records.
By introducing her to his surgeon friend, supporting her decision and then assisting her through her recovery, Etebar, 32, helped Teich, 26, through the difficult period.
While Teich believes will power played a large part, she says, “In a way, Nema helped save my voice.” Read more…
June Divided: Of Connections and Craigslist.
Image by G.W. Miller III. Text by Lauren Gordon.
Keith Gill vividly remembers the day he met two of his future fellow bandmates. He was half-fearing for his life.
“I called my friend who is a cop and was like, ‘I am meeting these guys about their band. You have to come with me. I don’t want to end up dead,’” he recalls with a chuckle.
In all fairness, it is a reasonable worry when you opt to meet anyone on Craigslist.
Gill, 23, a skilled drummer from Northeast Philly, was sick of only playing with musicians interested in hardcore. In an attempt to find a band whose music he’d actually listen to, Gill sent out a hopeful message into the vast reaches of the Internet in April 2009.
Then he waited. Read more…
Enter Sandman: On the Cusp. Still.
Image by G.W. Miller III. Text by Chris Malo.
Walking up to meet Sandman, the first thing I see is the flash of light fom the photo shoot. Night time, light drizzle, in a back lot off a side-street in Northern Liberties. Sandman’s hulking frame stands before the lights of a Dodge Magnum wagon as the photog snaps away.
“Yeoooo, Caaaaaanonnnnnnnnnnnn,” I yell.
Sand doesn’t holler back. He’s in grind-mode flicking it up. Read more…
Image by G.W. Miller III. Text by Niela Orr.
Cunningham Piano has been a Philadelphia institution since it’s founding by Patrick Cunningham in 1891. During the early part of the 20th century, the company crafted up to 2,000 pianos per year. They competed locally with 11 other Philadelphia piano manufacturers.
Patrick Cunningham reportedly offered $10,000 to anyone who could prove they could build a better piano. No one ever took him up on the deal. So he labeled his creations “The Matchless Cunningham.”
Then the Depression struck, followed by World War II. While all of the other local manufacturers disappeared, Cunningham continues operating.
In 1943, the company quit making pianos and instead, focused on rebuilding and restoration. They have since become an internationally known restoration facility for vintage and high-end pianos. The rebuilding of a century-old piano can take up to six months.
In 2006, the company introduced a new line of Cunningham Pianos, the first piano they built in 65 years. Their showroom, in a former Masonic Temple, is open six days per week and full of beautiful and historic pianos.
PSALM Salon: House Music.
Text and image by Jane Sorensen.
“I like finding the strangest places to play,” says California singer-songwriter David Berkley during his recent performance at the PSALM Salon.
About 60 people – a full house – sit in the intimate listening room, which is decorated with candles and ornate vases. If there is a sense of comfort, a homeyness, in the Overbrook venue, it’s not by accident.
PSALM Salon chairman Jamey Reilly resides there with his wife Suyun and their children. The stage is located in what was previously a living room. Unlike the average living room, however, it provides crisp acoustics that surpass those in most theatres.
Using state-of-the-art equipment, Reilly can adjust the sound to accommodate solo artists with guitars, such as Leon Redbone, or bands like the Andreas Capsalsis Trio, who employ a variety of drums, keyboards and string instruments. Reilly is a music veteran who has worked as a sound engineer for major artists including Aerosmith and Frank Zappa.
“Music is my passion, and this is what I really love to do,” said Reilly. Read more…
Connie’s Ric Rac: “If We Got a Liquor License, a Lot of People Would Come and Drink With Us.”
Image by Colin Kerrigan. Text by Eric Lexie.
Connie’s Ric-Rac feels a little like home. If not your own home then definitely someone else’s. It fits nice and snug between a variety of restaurants and shops on South 9th Street, quietly doing its own thing. The whole room has its own personality, a composite of the three men who made it happen: Frankie and Joe Tartaglia, after whose mother the venue takes its name, and their friend Pete Pellulo.
“I don’t really know how it started anymore,” says Frankie. “It just came to be.” Read more…
Starting a Movement With Weathervane Music.
Text by Michael James Murray. Top image by David Hartley. Other images by Peter English.
Sharon Van Etten was the ideal artist to launch the Shaking Through series, a recording opportunity for independent artists.
“She came to us enormously talented, reasonably well known, had amazing songs that she was ready to go with,” says producer Brian McTear, the co-founder of Weathervane Music, the incubator that runs the video and recording series, along with WXPN. “She just needed some sort of force that would bring it all together for one concentrated moment and give her something to catapult from.”
Van Etten’s “Love More” single, which she recorded over two days in McTear’s Fishtown studio, was released in January 2010 and made available for free download. A week later Pitchfork reviewed the song. The Brooklynite’s career exploded from there. Read more…
Text and images by Colin Kerrigan.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, four dudes stumble out of their apartment building in Fishtown into a forest green Jeep Cherokee circa the late 90’s.
They look kind of worn out, which is not surprising since they just got off a six-week tour traveling throughout the South in a big ass RV. The four of them – Barney Cortez, Harry Zelnick, Nick Bockrath, and Andy Black – make up the disco dance/ pop, sometimes psychedelic, indie band, Nicos Gun. Read more…
The Roots Picnic: 10 Hours of Awesome.
We spent the day at The Roots Picnic and it was awesome. We’ll post a world of images on Monday.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 