Joyous update from Graveside Variety, upcoming calendar, and wishlist.... (Patreon)

Hallo Loves.

**Liz and I are reading and responding to comments, questions & queries on this post! But if you have anything Graveside-related (an idea for an event, a donation idea, you wanna volunteer, etc) please also use gravesidevariety@gmail.com**

If you're a new patron and missed the memo, we're using patron funds for the next few months to fund a community arts space called GRAVESIDE VARIETY in Woodstock New York. This is our monthly report, and more. :)

WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE IN WOODSTOCK....GET ON THE GRAVESIDE MAILING LIST!!: https://www.gravesidevariety.com/

And now.....

Happy Thursday.

We've got a MASSIVE post about Campersand coming together as well (that one's just a post, not a paid post), and there's going to be more about music, dolls, and my own more navel-gazing life and art projects in the Althing - and I'm working on the cover song I promised y'all. Life, space, time and art (and let's chuck in motherhood?) are all merging ceaselessly around here, and y'know what? Goddamn....that's the way I like it, because that's what makes me happy. It truly is. The lines blurring is what makes it work for me.

You're making all of this possible with your patronage...so than you. Deeply. Thank you. I'm emerging. It feels so, so good.

So.

Greetings from flood-land! It’s not just a great Sisters of Mercy record, it’s a climate crisis!

Everything feels a bit end times now, but hasn’t it…for a while?

So as I take a deep breath and try to write this long, poetic and hopefully moving and authenticating post about Graveside Variety, a pop-up venue space in Woodstock, NY where you’ve all agreed to put your hard-earned money this month through the vessel of this little artist and her weirdo friends, I want to point out that everything is connected.

The floods are real. The climate crisis is very real. It’s happening in real-time before our very eyes, it’s not “coming”, it’s here. The fires, the flooding, the refugee crisis.

Meanwhile, the other night, a cellist named Leah Coloff, introduced to me by my writer/actor friend Chris Wells, came to our little venue in the woods and performer, for about 30 people, a cello-song and storytelling play she is working on called “Super Second Rate”, about a letter she found written by her father after his death. The letter was written by her father to her classical conservatory, where she was a student, about what a shit cello player she was, and how she probably didn’t have a future as a musician.

We sat there gobsmacked by the power and honesty of her piece, and at the end of her piece, Holly, Gracie, Chris Wells and I enveloped her in a group hug.

We all know what she feels like. What THAT can feel like.

After the show, two neighbors from the area - who had never met - started a conversation.

They met for the first time in our space.

The other night, during the "Party around a Piano” #2, our little piano karaoke/musical theater sing-along party with Lance Horne, I led a group of people in singing “Firework” by Katy Perry.

(watch a clip HERE that needed THIS filter...)

EVERYBODY sang “La Vie Boheme” from fucking Rent. I road-tested a little cover song that I’m going to record next week for all of you.

It felt like ...

life.

Life itself.

The Coming Together.

The third space. The place to go and be good. Really, it's working.

We are about to put out our “wish list” below, but we already sent it to the one thousand or so people who have signed up for the Graveside Variety email list…and the help is flooding in.

People want to donate rugs, and music equipment, and gardening, and curtains.

Holly and Gracie and Elizabeth and I were all crying to each other on a group text this morning. The generosity. The feeling of life and friends and help and community.

All in the face of getting texts from my friends in Vermont with flooding pictures. Which reminds me of the texts from my friends in New Zealand…with flooding pictures.

I am thinking of the trees that feel down on my property last week in the storm.

I am thinking of the deer who was so happy that the tree feel down, she was getting the juiciest leaf snack on earth. The top of the tree on the forest floor.

The top of the tree, on the forest floor.

I asked Liz, who is currently working on pulling links and photos for this post, if she knew about the “Tend and Befriend” theory, and how women respond to crisis, and threat.

She didn’t.

.Here, with Liz, Gracie, and Holly...workshopping our Graveside's emoji base code, with the help of our spirit animal, Simon LeBon (long story):

The pathway to consensus....

After many deep discussions, we landed on 🎪🪦🎪...with expansion possible on either side.

Make sure to follow Graveside on INSTAGRAM, we fucking folded and started an account. It already has 408 followers. You should have seen teh text thread the day it started. We celebrated when it hit TEN.

https://www.instagram.com/gravesidevariety/

Ok, over to my wonderful crew of fellow joy-manifesters...

📚🤷🏻‍🎪🪦🎪💅🏼🍂

.......

UPDATES FROM THE GRAVESIDE FRONTLINES....

FROM LIZ:

Dear patrons,

Liz here, gladly assisting Amanda in sharing with you all what's going down at the lovely little pop-up that YOU GUYS helped make happen. It's beautiful, it's magical, it's still new and messy, but it's all actually wonderfully and beautifully coming together. If you haven't yet, check out our schedule and sign up for our mailing list here: www.gravesidevariety.com .

............

From Gracie:

Dear Patrons,

“This space is already living a life of its own. It feels like sending a kid going off to school and trusting they’re going to make their own friends and come back with their own stories to tell. You’ll still be there to hold their hand when they need it, but instead of guiding them forward you get to sit back and listen to these stories come back to you. You learn from them. You hold them. The space is doing that. It’s growing up. And it’s got some brilliant fucking stories to tell.”

From Holly:

A simple text:

“Things are becoming real. It’s legit. I’m here for it.”

.....

Every event has been totally different and incredible. Since we last checked in with you guys, we've had....

Amadou Diallo + M'Bollo, which was briefly mentioned in last month's State of All Things post .  It was joyful and glorious. Amadou studied the rhythms of Senegal, Mali, and Guinea, and upon moving from to the US formed. M'Bollo with a group of incredible local musicians. Combining western instruments with Amadou's African roots..it is joy. MBollo means ' be together'; that's exactly what happened with the variety of instruments and the crowd itself.  This is the first show in which we started seated but ended with the chairs moved aside so that everyone could dance.

Creek peekings on the side of the building....

The child entrepreneurs of Graveside....there was a day when a handful of the kiddos all tried to set up businesses. There were multiple massage businesses, an advice business, and...

This is Ash's "stall" sign. He sold meditations and massages for $1. He's been obsessed with running his own business lately. There's a lot to unpack there.

I bought one of the meditations.

I put one dollar in a mug.

He said

"Sit Down".

I sat on the grass.

He said

"Close your eyes".

I closed me eyes.

He said, in a magician voice:

"Think VERY relaxing thoughts"

I didn't really do that

Then he said

"Your meditation is over. Would you like another one?"

(Me, getting pummled, and Gracie's friend Julia getting her money's worth.)

...........

This is a funny and beautiful story....

The next day, I was walking along the street with Ash.

It's been worrying me a little bit lately, his obsession with wealth and money and status. I try to talk to him sometimes about money, and how it doesn't buy happiness.

He said

"What do the donations go to?"

I said

"You mean the donations to Graveside Variety? The money that goes in the blue jar?"

He said

"Yes, what does the money GO TO DO?"

I said

"Oh, Ash. A Million things. It pays for our rent, because we don't own the building, and it pays for our friends to help and work here, and for the coffee, and for the electricity, and for paying Orin to fix the broken window, and for the paper towels....lots of things."

He said

"I gave all the money I earned at massing yesterday to the jar."

I almost started crying but I held it together.

I said

"Ashie, you didn't HAVE to do that, because you earned that money yourself. But that was so nice, and so generous of you. Why do you think you did that? Why did you give your money to the jar?"

And he said,

"Because I want Graveside Variety to keep going and not go away."

.....

There is so much hope.

While I have you here in the middle of the post, you CAN donate directly to Graveside if you wanna. We set up direct links to venmp and paypal right on the front page of the website: https://www.gravesidevariety.com/

......

"PARTY AROUND A PIANO" WITH LANCE HORNE & CO.

FOMO is real for missing any of these nights, but every night of these has truly been soul-fulfilling.  Queer musicial theater dork heaven in the heart of woodstock. Singalongs. Sad songs. Happy songs. All the songs. Here's some photos.....

A selection from Hamilton in which ALL the roles are performed by one individual (this is Chano):

Lance on keys, and Michael (yes, OUR MICHAEL) and his partner Cricket performing "Do you take it in the ass?" by the Wet Spots, accompanied by Lance on piano and guess who on the maracas....

Grace Coates (of Gracie and Rachel)....sleighing....

Our neighbor, Molly Farley, of Rock City Vintage....

THE. JOY. (Holly Miranda, Amanda, Romaine, singing "Stand by Me")....

Suchness on TRUMPET....

These faces. There's Lance on the left.

FLUTE SOLO, BITCHES. Romaine again.

Michael and Cricket....just loving life. It was their anniversary.

Holly at the soundboard, and Chris smiling in the mirror....I love this one.

Bryan of Fruition Chocolate, Gracie, and Max.....listening....

It was such a good night.

Me and Lance at the end of the show.

Friendship, love, and Simon le Bon, watching over our flocks by night.

.......

Then we hosted:

LEAH COLOFF- in "SUPER SECOND RATE".

 Leah Coloff absolutely floored us all earlier this week, sharing her brilliant work-in-progress “Super Second Rate”— a very fucking funny, heartfelt & beautiful autobiographical blend of music, song, and spoken word ...weaving together her relationship with her father and the very instrument that broke her heart.

This connection started with Chris Wells, who'd met Leah while teaching her writing in a workshop...so beautiful Chris lovingly introduced Leah....

......

We also held a beautiful AFTERPARTY for the CAMPERSAND folks...here's some shots of that:

Angel and Dahlia reading poems...

.......

WHAT'S COMING UP:

This Friday & Saturday:

Golly Presents: Kyp Malone (of TV on the Radio) and Holly Miranda.

Get your tickets here: https://kypandholly.brownpapertickets.com/

It's going to be BEAUTIFUL.  Many of you probably already know of Holly, a key maestro in the making of Graveside Variety (along with Amanda, Gracie Coates, AND YOU ALL amongst many others.  She's a brilliant singer-songwriter, with a voice that brings both Amanda & I to tears.

"I could die listening to Holly Miranda sing"- Amanda Palmer, during the Livingroom Livestream.

Kyp Malone an insanely talented multi-instrumentalist, member of Tv On the Radio, and longtime friend of Holly's

From Holly:

I met Kyp Malone at a house party in Williamsburg in the early 2000’s, before there was an apple store and before the studio where our bands recorded (Headgear Records) was a J Crew. There was a large group of folks sitting in a circle passing a joint and Kyp sat next to me. He had this sweater on that was a lions face with googly eyes. I said “I like your sweater” to which he replied slowly and very dryly “It has googly eyes”, I knew in that moment we were going to be lifelong friends. Later he would become my upstairs neighbor and I would get late night knocks on the door asking to climb up the fire escape to break into his own apartment as he had locked himself out again. One of those nights I was working on a song called “Slow Burn Treason” and he sat on my couch and listened and started singing with me. Since then I have never made a record that Kyp didn’t sing on. I love him deeply and dearly and his hugs are incomparable, it’s like hugging a cloud. So come next week and get a hug from Kyp and listen to us sing all the songs.

Watch the segment here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJpzhXkZ7C4

...

We are also doing DRAG STORY HOUR for the kiddos again Saturday with Annie Christ....!

......

WHAT ELSE.....?

OPEN COMMUNITY COFFEEHOUSE HOURS are every Sunday and Monday from 9:30am–1pm unless otherwise noted.  Liz is likely to be at the counter, and this is a chill work from home, read, writer, work, hang, craft, WHATEVER.  It's lovely.  We love meeting patrons, neighbors, and wanderers.....

The past few times the last hour has been a delight children singing and making music, sometimes accompanied/alternated between adult musicians....

an important meeting of minds.....

CALENDAR...!

july 14  @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : kyp malone + holly miranda

golly is the musical curatorial child  of  our own Gracie Coates and Holly Miranda that started in Gracie's living room..then backyard...and now at Graveside!!

july 15 @ 10am – drag story hour with annie christ

july 15 @ 2pm – book event with the golden notebook

july 15  @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : kyp malone + holly miranda

july 16 @ 6pm – embodied ecology and storytelling with sophie strand

july 22 @ 2pm – book event with the golden notebook

july 23 @ 5pm doors, 6pm show – party around a piano with lance horne

you just read about our most recent party.  this piano parties are epic and SELL OUT.  Get your tix NOW.

july 24 & july 5 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – john coons presents BLEAK!

John coons brought the house down during our first night of Party Around the Piano.  He is brining a new and brilliant piece to Graveside for two nights only.  Watch some of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIYAt1pUbbk

august 4th & 5th@ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : joan as police woman + lisa g

JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN.  TINY MAGIC SHOW.  THIS IS SPECIAL AND WILL SELL OUT.

august 6 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – party around a piano with lance horne

do we really need to tell you to get tickets to this again?

august 13 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : zach djanikian + chris maxwell + amb. parsley

september 1 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : paul moody + margo ross}

more golly presents!!!

september 2 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – carla rhodes + sam margevicius – tickets on sale soon

.....

HOW YOU CAN FURTHER SUPPORT GRAVESIDE...

We just put up an Amazon wish list here:

https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1AYWGHEPEJE41

You can donate items in person via gravesidevarietydonations@gmail.com! Just holler.

You can donate online at gravesidevariety.com anytime....

And as we said above....WE HAVE OFFICIALLY CAVED and now are on instagram and threads.  We said we were not going to do socials, but at the moment it's a necessary evil.

Follow us at:

www.instagram.com/gravesidevariety

THANK YOU FOR MAKING ALL THIS MAGIC HAPPEN....

Love,

Amanda and Liz (who helped put a ton of photos and stuff for this post together!)

P.S. I cannot wait to make official parking signs.