The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot: a musical superhero collective, coming together every 2nd Wednesday at 7PM in the upstairs lounge at Pianos. Kid tested, Mom approved.

[meltingpotcrew]

Folks, we’ve got some good surprises for you for our December show.  Arthur is singing Beyonce, Jon is handing out Heinekens, and the rest of us are freestyling over it all. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1679003909024737/

[meltingpotcrew]

We're really excited to play for you all this saturday.  It's gonna be a little different… all of us on stage, for one power hour.  Taking you on a roller coaster journey through life in song.

We've been playing together for over 4 years now.  It's kind of a family.  It's kind of a social experiment.  It's kind of just a way to kick back and hang out and let it out.   Come be with us on saturday in the village. Old ingredients, new flames and scalded pans welcome.   We are the melting pot. 

[webbafied]

Until we get our names in lights? #chalkboard #lastnight #gbbm #brooklyn @JonBraman @arthurlewis @meltingpotcrew @MrMaG254 @TheRealJonLijoi

[meltingpotcrew]

Taking this show on the road. Hello Brooklyn!

[meltingpotcrew]

Can you believe it?! The Melting Pot is celebrating our THIRD ANNIVERSARY!

We've got some all-star special ingredients this time around, including Lynette Williams, Gabby Ess, Andrea Daly, Mara Rosenbloom, Juno Brown,  Silas Mérez, and more.

And of course, our meat and potatoes: Jon Braman, Webbafied, MaG, Arthur Lewis, and the Melting Pot band! (That's Rose Rutledge, Jon Lijoi, Bobby McCullough, Sam Weisenberg, and Ray Richards-McNaught.)

Come celebrate with us!

[meltingpotcrew]

The Rundown (February 13, 2013)

That was one for the books. Webbafied debuted his new video, The People Want it, and his french film crew, It Boyz Productions, was in the house. Webb's flow and the hook on this song is just sick and it was a thrill to see it on the big projector up in the lounge. A great way to start off the night.

Lynette Williams opened it up with a beautiful set - Arthur backing her up on harmonies and with Eyal Hai playing some really lyrical sax. When Lynette sings, you feel like she's opening up a window to this internal ocean of art and emotion. Powerful but focused carefully honed sound. 'Already at the bottom' just kills me. She released her new album, Songs for Sarah the next night at Converse Rubber Tracks.

MaG's been racking up the accolades for his new album freedom. Well deserved bro! Your Melting Pot family couldn't be prouder. We debuted a new tune of his - 'every day people' - just super soulful shit. You gotta hear Jon L's trumpet lines on the hook. And Bobby was holding it down with some beautiful deep bass.

There was a good crowd when we started the night but by the time Webb took the stage it was just packed. The band was tight and driving and Webb turned the room into this pulsing multi-headed rhythmic jellyfish thing. That's the best way i can describe it. He amps up the crowd and then that seems to amp him up even more. Chicken and egg nuclear fusion stuff. After Webbafied rocked that house, we closed out the night with Arthur singing 'Be Thankful' - just makes you feel good. One for the books.

--Jon B

[meltingpotcrew]

The Rundown (October 10, 2012)

Kreaux - our featured guest this month - he’s like a 90’s psychedelic Prince meets Nirvana meets some kind of gypsy post-apocalyptic trance thing.  That’s the best I can do to describe it, but, man, it was really cool. Putting a silky smooth voice over super distorted guitar is a cool effect. If you check out one of his videos and wonder if he looks like that in person - the answer is yes. He looks exactly like that.

I showed up in a suit and opened with Summertime, a jam I wrote this summer that I’m really enjoying playing with the band. Rose really gets into it on the sax in this song. (Here’s a video of the first time we performed it last summer.)  Then on Revolution #11 - I love the way Silas (on bass) plays these dark arpeggios on the chorus.  No recording yet - you’ll have to come next month and hear it.

There were these tourist dudes who got really into it and started doing some kind of Scottish or Russian or just really weird funky dancing on Webb’s set.  But then again - Webb tends to do that to people.

Damien - one of our regular MC's for the jam - really killed in on You Got Me. He started singing - I couldn’t really understand the words but it was bluesy and kind of reminded me of Lil Wayne’s singing on a track like Hello Brooklyn.

This also happened: About two songs before Webb hit the stage he somehow went to the bar and got enough PBRs for everyone in the band.   Literally - like 7 cans - and then he came up and gave them to us while were playing!  MaG was already in serious zone from finishing Bestie when we went into Blinders.  And then me and Silas were looking at each other trying to figure out how to open our beers in-between chords without missing a beat.  Somehow we did it, and me and MaG toasted in front of the mic before hitting the hook on ‘Paper Airplanes’.

--Jon B

[meltingpotcrew]

The Rundown (September 12, 2012)

It was a classic night - but also a new night.  First time trying out the new format: the Melting Pot Band set up and hit at 8 PM at Pianos - which left time for the band to rock out on two Arthur Lewis originals.

'We Ride' is just a gorgeous tune that starts and ends with glockenspiel/ ukulele/ sax interlocked in an overlaid pattern. It was one of those moments whenm even in the loud Wed. night bar atmosphere, things get real hushed and everyone tunes in.  Just a pretty moment. And next time you see Arthur, ask him what the song is really about.

MaG was kind of on fire. First time at Pianos playing one of my personal favorite MaG tunes: "Bestie", where he basically name checks Deities like they were, well, close personal friends. Gives me goose bumps every time. 

Shout out to Ray and Sam for locking in on my new tune 'A song from last night' - there's some serious rhythmic interplay taking place, and I think they're just getting started.

Webb amped things up with his new jam 'Poppin'. I gotta say, it really pops.  I get to say 'pop it' - many times. From Buddha to Poppin - that's what the Melting Pot is all about. The horn line that comes in after the break is one of my favorites - I think Jon and Rose  just made it up at rehearsal, sitting on Sam's couch.

The jam was packed - maybe that's what they call jam-packed: we had deep voiced guest singers, a flock of serious MC's, even a surprise Keyboard jammer - one of Arthur's high school buds. Not to mention the un-imitatable Ally Way, aka Juno Brown, (aka Lieph) who graced the mic with some out of this world harmonies.

Classic night.

--Jon B.

[meltingpotcrew]

The Rundown (August 8th, 2012)

Jon Paul is a really tall guy. When I went up to introduce him as the featured guest for our last Melting Pot, the mic was about at my forehead. 

He's also a hell of a guitar player and singer. These effortless little grooves just seem to slip from his fingers, with this sweet voice emanating from somewhere 3 or 4 feet up there - in the clouds. I woke up thursday morning with his song 'dig down' playing in my head. (It probably is a big part of how i got out of bed). On his cover of The Wind Cries Mary - he sung so sweet it could have been a James Taylor song, but the electric guitar licks were just the more killing because it was so delicate.

Every Melting Pot is something different. This time we had Mike LaValle sitting in on bass. I'd never played with him before - but if Arthur says he's got a bass player for us I know it's gonna be good. Mike brought a bass - and a small keyboard, which I didn't realize until two songs in was a synth bass. (Note to self: if i ever become a bass player - this is a good fucking trick. As Mike said to me after the show - you can't argue with a synth bass). Especially not with the kind of thick grooves Mike was playing (and making up on the spot - having never heard the tunes before we played them).

Highlights: 

Arthur and Andrea Daly harmonizing on the chorus of You Got Me during the jam. Jon Paul's snaky perfect guitar lines in and among the hits on MaG's Blinders. Getting the singalong OWS vibe closing the night on The 99 - and Rose pulling out a totally feel good tenor solo on the last chorus. My hometown buddy Jake breaking out some crazy dance moves when the band kicked off one of MaG's tunes - maybe Paper Airplanes. Webb getting so amped by Mike Lavalle's heavy hip hop bass on 'I'm home' - he turned to Ray on drums with a crazed look in his eye and screamed: 

"Give it to me motherfucker!!!!" 

Well, Ray gave it to him. I think my ears are still ringing. Mid-summer Melting Pots tend to be hot. 

--Jon B.

[Ed. Then we all turned into zombies. ]