hanging with cool people | moonieandme

Big Nazo

Posted on July 1, 2015 by annierhodeisland

If you’ve spent any time in downtown Providence, chances are your eyes have been drawn to a storefront window packed full of big, weird, and colorful creatures. This is the land of Big Nazo, the brainchild of creature creator Erminio Pinque that has amused, confused, and delighted folks around the city, region and world since the 1980s. Big Nazo even has its own band, which has performed all over, sharing stages with the likes of George Clinton & the Parliament Funkadelic, The Flaming Lips, and Spinal Tap. The Big Nazo Lab is where the creatures are designed, fabricated, and repaired, and it was into this cheerful jumble of foam body parts that Moonie tugged me by the hand, his eyes lighting up at the sight of different shapes and colors. Erminio, who teaches “Creature Creations” at the Rhode Island School of Design and who happily brings his workshops to various schools, colleges and community centers for all ages to enjoy, was there chatting with a new RISD instructor, but not for long. Moonie barged right in, too excited to meet new friends to worry about manners, and Erminio was kind enough to show him around the lab and introduce him to some of the creatures.

He and this creepy little rat thing particularly hit it off.

Right away, he named the rat thing “Cuddles.”

Kelly Cleveland

Posted on June 25, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Whee! Moonie found someone who likes spinning as much as he does – except instead of standing on records spinning in the record player, she uses hula hoops to get her spin on. She’s none other than Kelly Cleveland, a sweet woman with a gorgeous voice who has performed with Red Eye Flight, Glass Bottom Boat, and Allysen Callery, among others.

“I think I blinked,” she said when I blinded her with the flash for this photo, “But I don’t think Moonie did.”

It’s hard to tell with that guy.

Steve, Krista and Ian

Posted on June 25, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Whoa! What a night last Saturday was.

Moonie got to meet three of his heroes: Steve Allain, a talented singer/songwriter both solo and with Cardboard Ox; Krista Baroni, a gorgeous singer/songwriter from Boston; and the fantastic Ian Fitzgerald, who will be playing the Newport Folk Festival next month.

Moonie was in heaven with this trio. Thanks to Krista for keeping him steady when he thought he might swoon.

John Fuzek

Posted on June 25, 2015 by annierhodeisland

John Fuzek is all over Rhode Island and beyond. He’s not only a musician himself, playing original music solo and Neil Young songs with Forever Young; he’s also a music promoter who puts on various shows and festivals to connect aspiring musicians with new fans. Moonie got to meet John at the Downtown Sundown Series, where he lines up four musicians a night on summer Saturday evenings to play at the national memorial in the heart of Providence. In his spare time, John’s a graphic designer and animal lover.

He’s also six feet taller than Moonie, so they kind of make a funny pair.

Blues Wolf

Posted on May 26, 2015 by annierhodeisland

“Blues Wolf” is a fixture on the Rhode Island blues scene. Mr. Wolf and four of his friends play as “Wolf & the Jam Daddies” at a number of revolving venues, but particularly at Boundary Brewhouse in Pawtucket, where they’ve hosted a Sunday evening blues jam for ten years.

Moonie and I had a great time checking out Wolf & the Jam Daddies (Moonie particularly liked polishing off my “Jesse James,” a burger with smoked bacon and cheddar, and trying to take little sips of beer when no one was looking). No one said you had to eat healthy to enjoy Blues Wolf, especially as he kicked off the evening singing about the chocolate-covered cookie blues.

Moonie & Jake

Posted on May 19, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Jacob Haller is nothing if not modest. “But Moonie already posted about me,” he pointed out when I suggested a photo of the two guys getting along.

“Yeah, but that was your album ‘Cabin Fever’ arriving in the mail, not you personally.”

He agreed with that and agreed to a photo. He’s a pretty agreeable guy. I like his bluesy folk music, as does Moonie, and his sharp wit, but I also like how down to earth Jake is, whether he’s chilling out to “Dr. Who” episodes or knitting a stegosaurus (yes, really, he can knit dinosaurs). It was good of him to stop between sets and pose with my nude lil’ dude.

He even let Moonie sing a couple of numbers.

Moonie & Jocie

Posted on May 19, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Jocie Adams is amazing. A graduate of Brown University, she once worked for NASA (which I guess means she could be among the few people to respond with, “Well, actually, yeah” if ever asked the playground retort, “What are you, a rocket scientist?”), but she wasn’t afraid to follow her real calling, music. She’s a classical composer who plays everything from clarinet to organ to dulcimer to guitar. Her voice is absolutely beautiful, and she has made great music with her old band, The Low Anthem, and delved into cool and interesting new territory with her new band, Arc Iris. All that talent and brains and beauty could go to a person’s head, but Jocie seems totally sweet and down to earth, and she’s a big cat lover to boot. These were all good reasons to have her and Moonie meet.

Moonie all but swooned when Jocie found a plant that matched his hair.

Moonie & Peter & Yuki

Posted on May 17, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Today Moonie got to meet not only Peter Landry, talented bassist for The ‘Mericans, but also his dog Yuki. Moonie loooooooves dogs.

First he had to climb on Peter’s shoulder to check out what he was drinking (beer is not for Moonies).

Then our friend Mark placed him on Yuki. Yuki is so big and his fur is so long, he didn’t even know Moonie was on there.

John Juxo

Posted on May 12, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Last night Moonie got to hang out with John Juxo, who tickles the heck out of keys and plays the heck out of accordions. I can’t even keep the dozens of bands and acts Jux plays with straight, but he seems to make music most often with The Goods, Lisa Marie, and, the energetic group we caught last night, The House Combo at Nick-a-Nee’s.

Moonie thought he was a really cool cat. He thought Jux’s pocket made a pretty nice hangout, too.

It’s hard to tell as Moonie doesn’t have eyelids, but I’m pretty sure they’re both winking.

Moonie & Monti

Posted on May 11, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Chris Monti is an amazing musician. I should know; I’ve been taking lessons from the guy for six years now. He’ll pick up any type of music from around the world and make it his, and he’ll find time to play for sick kids in hospitals. He’s a-OK in my book.

After pausing to help Moonie work on his tan, Chris was a-OK in Moonie’s book, too.