Oh Fortuna! (The music & times of Erin Brown)

I was on Craigslist a few days before my venture up north, putting up an ad to see if there were any string players in the area interested in being in a band with me (no nibbles on that one). I went back to the site 15 minutes after I submitted my ad to make sure that it was live, and I saw an intriguing ad that had been added a few minutes after mine. It was for a local play company, FATE (Free Association Theatre Ensemble), looking for a musician/band to compose the music for their upcoming play. It’s always been a sky’s-the-limit dream of mine to write the music and lyrics for a musical, so of course I answered it.

Later that day I was at a friend’s house and saw that they had a FATE magnet on their fridge. It was kind of freaky-deaky since I’d never even heard of this play company until 2 hours previous. I was excited that it was my friend Jeff in particular who had seen something by them, because if I were to trust anyone’s criticism  about something artsy, it would be Jeff. He said that it was “one of the best live performances I’ve seen this year, and I usually/generally prefer live music to plays. Nothing but surprised/impressed with them.”.

As a result of a very long email chain and a very very very trusting artistic director I was on board. I was really impressed and very grateful with her so blindly trusting me. She agreed to let me do it even though I was out of town for the first 2 weeks of rehearsal and it would have left them in a sticky situation if I had suddenly bailed. She had gotten other responses to the ad, but turned them down since I had committed to it. Keep in mind she’d never met me before in her life.

The play is Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss. It was originally written in German and won a Tony for best script. It’s my first foray into theater, and I’m having such a good time. It’s been really great to jump blindly into a brand new situation with brand new people, and day by day get a better grasp on the play, the music, and how it’s all going to come together. I’ve mentioned this before too, but it’s always neat and insightful to be around creative people who are a different type of creative than I am. It’s doubly great when you can work with them and together create something. I’ve loved how after every rehearsal the play feels richer and richer, and I get such a unique opportunity of being involved in something so foreign but getting to contribute something valuable that’s so comfortable. It’s prime symbiosis.

Some clarification on what exactly it is that I’m doing on the play. Written into the play are lyrics to around 14 songs. There’s music available for purchase, but our director decided to go a different direction (yay for me!). The play is set in an insane asylum, and the inmates are putting on a play. Most of the actual play is this play within the play. I’m playing the role of Rossignol, one of four singers. In the play she’s tasked with writing the music for this play the inmates are putting on. So I wrote all the music (not the lyrics), and I’ll be performing them along with the cast every night of the play as my character. I even have some lines! Most of the acting is left to the real actors though.

Opening night is November 5th, and the other dates are listed to the right on the Shows! column, and on my Out & About page. You can buy tickets online through the FATE website. There’s also a number and an email on that page where you can call or email to reserve tickets. I hope you’ll come see it!

I’m writing this post from Albany, NY sitting outside on a chilly, rain-pending early afternoon, listening to a gem I just found: a Guster concert from 1998. Large coffee within easy reach. DE-lightful.

Monday, ’round noonish I made my wayski to Winooski, VT for a show that night. My uncle Wali had done some thorough traveling of the area, and gifted me a Vermont atlas and a really nice GPS (!!!), and sent me on my way with a recommended scenic route.

VT 22A was wonderfully scenic, and ridiculously fun to drive on. The whole time I was driving it, it reminded me of driving around in southwest Ireland. When I arrived at my family’s in Winooski, I was reminded how very very Irish they are (last name O’Brien) and they have similar thoughts about the area.

Here’s a a pic from my drive, complete with sheep dog:

There were a lot of pastures with cows, sheep, and horses. Lovely.

I was playing that evening at the Monkey House, and I had booked the gig before I knew that I had family up that way. Turns out, not only did I have family that lived not 5 miles away from the venue, I had a lot of it. Bob, my Grandma’s cousin (making him my 2nd cousin) and his wife Shirley have 9 kids, several of whom live around Winooski. In fact, their son (my 2nd cousin, once removed [the removed is a generation thing]) is the mayor of Winooski! He and several of his siblings stopped by the house to meet me. Turns out that one of my 2nd cousins (once removed) used to run a restaurant in the space that is now the Monkey House, and Bob & Shirley have a community center named after them in town! They were all lovely people, and very hospitable, and it was really neat to meet family I’ve never met before and hear stories about my grandparent’s parents, and distant family that still live in Ireland. They live right on Lake Champlain, and here’s a picture of me standing in thier backyard (AKA, the lake):

The show was kind of slow (Labor day! Also it was kind of a dreary night), but I sold a CD and got a free beer, so I can’t complain. Tuesday morning I left around 10am and leisurely made my way back to Albany, stopping, of course, at the Magic Hat Brewing Co:

Tuesday and Wednesday night I did open mic nights around the Albany area, which have gone really well. Both nights the venue owners bought a cd and told me that I could have a show at their establishment next time I’m in town. Cool! Tonight I’m playing the open mic at the famous Caffe Lena, and I’m really excited. I’ve heard that a lot of famous acts started there, and Ani DeFranco is playing there later this month!

Halfway through the recorded concert, and the rain has mercifully held out.

These, of course, are only a few of my songs.

Start Over

November Wedding

War Torn

Pretty Girl at the Gym

The Olive Branch We’re Offered

Carbon Love Song

Woot! Click here to buy yourself one.

Happy listening.