music | moonieandme

ERB Shirt for Pronk!

Posted on October 11, 2015 by annierhodeisland

When we last saw our hero Moonie, he had run out of time to make a Pronk! costume because he’d dedicated Saturday afternoon to making a Planned Parenthood banner for Pronk!.

So you’d think he’d be a little sad, but he wasn’t.

Then I came upon this scene this morning.

“Uh, Moonie? Where’d that envelope come from? And what are you wearing? And who do we know in Thailand? And since when do they deliver mail on Sundays?”

He only gave me that mysterious little smile in return, reminding me that trolls have just a little bit of magic about them.

Then he held up the teeniest little shirt and said he’d be right back.

And, only about 20 minutes later, he emerged from his little troll studio decked out as Extraordinary Rendition Band’s biggest fan.

Moonie’s Mail: Emergency Kit

Posted on October 10, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Boy oh boy, did Moonie have a wonderful surprise the other evening!

We came home to find that his talented artist friend William Schaff had delivered a whole box of goodies!

We had contributed to Mr. Schaff’s “Hold down the Fort” campaign, which would keep the house of out of which he works and others live out of foreclosure. Even artists with amazing skill and drive like Mr. Schaff have to hold off the mortgage collectors and keep on the utilities from time to time. In exchange for nearly 900 people gathering together to help the fort, Mr. Schaff has been busying himself in dizzying ways to pay everyone back with special treats.

Moonie loved his “emergency kit,” which had a special CD from some of his favorite artists like Allysen Callery and Haunt the House and What Cheer? Brigade and Alec Redfearn, and a special deck of playing cards – each one with a unique illustration – designed by Mr. Schaff, and hand-drawn booklets and cards.

But Moonie’s absolute favorite kit enclosures were the three little “Curse of the Pandrew” books, an Edward Gorey-like collection detailing horrific fates befalling each member of What Cheer? Brigade. He immediately devoured the books, hooting away at the dark humor.

Moonie’s laughing now, but I know when we’re at Pronk! on Monday and he’s watching What Cheer? Brigade close out the festival with that night’s final show, teeny beads of sweat will run down his little face if a band member climbs onto shoulders or crowd members’ hands, and he’ll be whispering, “Careful….Careful…”

MDB at Waterfall Arts

Posted on October 6, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Moonie’s musician pals Marc Douglas Berardo and John Juxo were playing a show in Maine, and Moonie insisted we drive up. So we did. Even if I had to look at his excited little bum on the dashboard the whole way.

We did stop at a rest area so Moonie could tell bear jokes to his pal Smokey Bear.

(Moonie: “What do you call bears without ears?”
Smokey: “What?”
Moonie: “Bs!”
Smokey: “Ah.”

Moonie: “Why don’t bears like fast food?”
Smokey: “Why?”
Moonie: “Because they can’t catch it!”

Moonie: “Why did Smokey get fired from his fire ranger job?”
Smokey: “Er, why?”
Moonie: “Cause he only did the BEAR minimum!”
Smokey: “Uh, kid, can you move along? I have some, uh, important fire prevention to do here.”)

But we did make it to the Waterfall Arts Center, which turned out to be totally awesome.

Help Pronk!

Posted on October 5, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Remember Moonie’s pre-Pronk! song? He’s been working on it for weeks now. It’s become a 40-minute opus that he says cannot be performed without the backing of an entire philharmonic orchestra plus at least one kazoo. And whoever taught him the word “badonkadonk” will be pleased to know that he’s worked that phrase into at least 65 of the verses “because they rhyme with Pronk!”

And with just a little ol’ week to go until Providence Honk Fest, Moonie is more excited than ever. Pronk! is a special day that draws talented musicians from all around the world to perform for individuals and families – and it’s all free. Moonie cannot wait for this 8-hour-long festival of music and merriment, from the initial parade to the last celebratory note. The “cacophonous street celebration” extols everything except Columbus Day (it is specifically NOT a Columbus Day parade). Moonie cannot wait for the colors and energy and joy and glitter – everything he loves in one bright shiny package.

But there’s one hitch. All those musicians and artists and activists and the hundreds if not thousands of people coming out to enjoy them create a need for permits and safety details and toilets and feeding/housing people who have traveled many miles to entertain Rhode Islanders for zero compensation – which costs money. And as Pronk! charges no admission, that money needs to come from generous folks like you.

Moonie and I were proud donors to Pronk!’s annual Kickstarter campaign, which had him puffing out his little pink tuft, but we’re both a little sad that there are only 22 other backers so far. That’s an awful low number for the amount of merrymaking that will brighten everyone’s afternoon and night next Monday. The goal of $2200 is very reasonable for the amazing day Pronk! stages, but they’re only 1/3 to that goal with just a week to go. Many hundreds of people will benefit from Pronk! next Monday. Moonie thinks it would be awesome if each of them gave a dollar or two. What do you say?

(You can’t hear it, but Moonie is making the most endearing little puppy whining noises just for you.)

ExtravaGansett

Posted on September 9, 2015 by annierhodeisland

If you’ve ever seen the movie “Jaws,” you probably remember Robert Shaw’s Captain Ahab-like character Quint, and how he crushed his can of Narragansett Beer, causing Robert Dreyfuss to crush his little styrofoam cup to try and appear equally manly. ‘Gansett, as Narragansett Brewing Company is called ’round these parts, was founded in Cranston, RI. While the majority of ‘Gansett beer is no longer brewed and bottled in Rhode Island, the name is still a source of pride for folks. This summer, in honor of the 40th anniversary of “Jaws,” ‘Gansett brought back the iconic can design seen in the movie and ran a “crush it like Quint” ad campaign.

They also sponsored a kick-ass “ExtravaGansett” block party at The Parlour in Providence this past weekend, celebrating the unofficial end to summer that Labor Day represents.

Moonie was a little scared of his photo opportunity inside the jaws of Jaws, but I told him the shark’s name is really Bruce and he’s really quite nice and was only scary because he was a good actor. Moonie then happily jumped into my mouth, shouting, “You’re Bruce!”, and had us pose together inside Jaws’ jaws. I sure hope his feet were clean.

Then Moonie relaxed enough to pose for his very own photo, loosening up from the ‘Gansetts he’d sipped. He was cracking himself up with this shark joke:

“Why did the shark cross the Great Barrier Reef?
To get to the other tide!”

The Whale Guitar

Posted on September 8, 2015 by annierhodeisland

Art and music have power; they can reach people more deeply than nearly any other medium. That’s why toy designer, musician and all around cool person Jen Long gathered a group of eclectic artists (William Schaff, Rachel Rosenkrantz, Gwen Forrester and Jess Rosenkranz) to help make her concept of The Whale Guitar a reality. Their combined mastery has transformed a scrap of Corian into an incredibly lifelike piece of scrimshaw, or carved whalebone, that makes beautiful music to bring attention to the plight of the whales.

Well, not just whales. We humans have a big effect on our oceans, and The Whale Guitar is one means to monitor news, issues and victories concerning the marine environment that covers so much of our world.

The Whale Guitar is a beautiful sculpture with clear sound that has been played by scores of talented musicians since its public debut last spring. So of course Moonie had to get up close and personal with it.

Here he is above J Mascis’ signature. Yup, the dude behind Dinosaur Jr. has played The Whale Guitar.

Steve Allain

Posted on September 6, 2015 by annierhodeisland

One thing Rhode Island hasn’t had a shortage of this weekend: music. It seems our little state has been teeming with music festivals and individual shows. I asked Moonie which act he’d like to check out last night, and he wanted to see his pal Steve Allain play the Portsmouth Publick House.

So we did.

Moonie was even greeted by his musical pal with a smile.

It was a great evening at the Publick House. We were seated near some happy groups of people that were digging the live music. Moonie and I split a pile of food, from turkey chili to a burger to mashed potatoes, and he ordered and polished off a “big boy” beer, meaning 22 ounces of hiccup-inducing liquid.

Steve played a great mix of original music, including some of our favorites from his latest album “Thirteen,” and covers that included some great blues renditions and a sweet serenade of the Beatles’ “Blackbird” to an adorable baby boy in the front row.

“That’s his youngest fan,” Moonie whispered to me, “But I’m still his littlest.”

ERB Rehearsal

Posted on September 3, 2015 by annierhodeisland

4:52 p.m.: “Is it PRONK! yet?”
“No, Moonie.”

5:31 p.m.: “is it PRONK!” yet?”
“Five and a half weeks, little dude.”

6:47 p.m.: “Has it been five and a half weeks yet?”
(sigh)

He was clearly missing his red, white and shiny street marching band, so I took Moonie to the Extraordinary Rendition Band‘s weekly rehearsal tonight, where their bleats and beats floated along the river, mingling with the sounds from nearby bars and clubs and attracting delighted onlookers and scattered applause from passersby.

He was enthralled and danced away as they practiced. He thinks they played extra good because they had a nude little dude in the audience tonight.

I’m just glad he’s stopped asking about PRONK! for a bit. There are only so many cookies and rainbow-colored objects in the world for me to distract him with.

Providence Folk Festival

Posted on September 1, 2015 by annierhodeisland

What’s a folk festival without Moonie?
Let’s hope we never find out.

Yesterday was the second annual Providence Folk Festival, and oh boy, was it a wonderful afternoon of music. Eighteen acts graced two simultaneous stages in the little national park in the heart of our city.

Its performers, including Cliff Eberhardt, Cardboard Ox, the Rank Strangers, and The Nields, could rest easy knowing that Moonie had everything under control (even if he was a mite small for all his Very Important Badges and had to wrap them many times around himself).

He was proud of himself for doing such a great job on the sound.

ERB meets Waterfire

Posted on August 30, 2015 by annierhodeisland

As you know from past posts, Moonie is a pretty big fan of the Extraordinary Rendition Band. You’re likely to see a little tuft of pink hair in the front row of their shows.

So last night as we ventured out to one of his beloved Waterfires, he pulled me over to the downtown skating rink to see ERB play.