News & Updates
Hello lovely people!
It’s been a busy old week. One of the reasons being we bought a house in Harlem (132nd Street). So stop in and say hi if you’re in the neighbourhood. Already bowled over by the people, the food, and the music scene. More about all that in future posts for sure!
I have a few dates for your diaries. I’ll list them along with any ticket links at the end.
Speaking of links - there are quite a few of them in this newsletter, because I want you to be able to check out all the lovely people and places I mention. Give them a click, but be a sweetheart and come back here to finish reading.
Last week I performed at Awestruck for the second time. It was at the Public Hotel in the Lower East Side and featured three incredible guest performers: circus performer Leah Orleans, magician Nick Diffatte and comedian Jay Durden.
The host of Awestruck is Eric Dittelman, who, besides being a mind reader, superhero nerd and escape room addict, is also highly experienced in improv comedy.
Improv is another thing Eric and I have in common in addition to magic and mentalism. Besides improvisation being the core of almost all the music I play, I trained in improv comedy at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade in New York. I did this as a way to get more comfortable performing magic on stage - I’ve been playing music on stage since I was a teenager, but speaking to an audience vs hiding behind an instrument is a very different thing.
A common way to start an improv show is to ask for a random word from the audience, which then gets used by the players to create scenes on the spot and form the basis of the entire show.
In the spirit of improv, at last week’s show, I asked the audience to think of some sounds that I could use as instruments. I went out and recorded a few of them my sampler, and went back to the stage to create a short track to improvise on with my sax. It was a lot of fun and we made some music together that’s never been heard before and will never be heard again! I mean, hopefully there’ll be more shows where I get to do this, and there is a video of this performance (which I’ll upload soon), but you know what I mean.
Thanks again to Sam Burris and Alex Mendoza for these incredible photos.
I have a number of public events coming up in the next few weeks in a variety of settings. I hope you can make it to one of them if you’re in or around New York.
October 14-15 Modern Maker’s Market - Cold Spring
I’m looking forward to this event outside St. Mary’s Church Cold Spring. Over sixty artisans selling their wares. City folk - you can jump on the Metro North - it’s a beautiful ride up to Cold Spring. Come and get your cider donuts and maybe pick some apples.
I have a booth where I’ll be selling my photography prints on both Saturday and Sunday. I’ll also be playing a couple of music sets on Saturday from 11pm-12pm, and from 4pm-5pm right next to my booth. Come and buy a print for your wall or just listen to the music and say hi.
I’ll be bringing some of these prints and more!
October 27th - Vinny DePonto - Mind Reader @ The Hudson House
Live Soundscape by Alex Harris
7pm–8:30pm
The Hudson House, West Park, 1835 Rte 9W, West Park, NY 12493, USA
Excited to be a part of this wonderful show again alongside pizza enthusiast and good friend Vinny DePonto.
We will both be wearing Mario Brother’s costumes.*
*Subject to change.
Beacon Bonfire - November 4th & 5th - Beacon, NY
I played this festival last year and it was a lot of fun. This year I’m playing three shows:
4th October | 12pm-3pm
Masonic Lodge, 333 Verplanck Avenue, Beacon
I’ll be performing alongside movement artist Elizabeth Castagna.
Elizabeth recently had her work featured on HBO’s Succession.
I’ll be sharing the bill with awesome cellist Choi Fairbanks
4th November | 8:30pm-10pm - The Howland Cultural Center
Vinny DePonto’s Mind Reader
I’ll be playing a live soundscape throughout the show.
5th November | 12:15pm-1pm - Garageworks Studio B
Frye & Harris
With pianist / keyboardist Bob Frye.
Frye & Harris is a New York-based improvising duo that draws on a wealth of shared musical influences, exploring the intersection of jazz and electronic music. See and hear more.
Buy a festival pass and get access to every performance.
That’s all for now. If you made it this far, thank you for reading.
Please share with anyone who you feel may be interested.