The August Graveside Report....and DRESDEN DOLLS in WOODSTOCK Week!! (Patreon)

Hello my loves.

Greetings from Bearsville, New York. I'm cleaning and gardening today.

First off, I want to extend a warm welcome to all the new patrons who've joined over the last few weeks: WELCOME, WELCOME. You've come into the patreon fold at a strange time; it's a quiet summer moment of family and cleaning and organizing for me, and I'm currently focusing on five patreon/art things: a Sinéad O'Connor cover collaboration that I'm dropping at the end of the month, a piece of long-form writing that I'm working on with my editor (I think that's gonna have to wait til next month, things here are moving slowwww), the monthly newsletter/"Althing", where me and the team assemble a long photo-essay (I'm starting to think of it as a digital zine, basically), about the month in art, life and community...and last but not least, this here baby, Graveside Variety: the physical patron-fueled community arts space I've been working in and getting off the ground this summer, with the blessing of the majority of patrons here. The rent, electricity, staff and general overhead of this place is north of $5-10k a month, and we've been proudly getting closer to breaking even every month since we opened in June.

When we hit breaking even point (next month, I hope), I'll probably wind down funding it through the patreon. I don't think permanently funding my venue through patreon makes a ton of sense, though I do see a future where my patreon turns to monthly (instead of "per thing") and everything is just a big old pile of money that I work with: to do life, to make art, to run a venue, to pay myself for songwriting time, to raise a kid, to tune a piano, to buy a guitar, to pay for the electricity that heats the barn where I rehearse. If anyone understands and can respect the blurred line between art and life, it's me. And this community. And I'm also always game to hear what anyone in the community has to say about where their dollar (or hundred dollars, for the high-tier people) goes every month. This is how - and why - it works. So comment. I'm always reading (and so is the team).

Short story....

It's going OFF!!!!!

I'll talk more about life and what's been going this month in the Althing....and now, over to Graveside world.

Honestly, I needed this more than I knew. This space, this safe, safe place. It's fixing my fucking heart.

So, so many heart-healing and thread-connecting events and experiences have happened since our LAST Graveside post.

I wanna tell you a good graveside story, and about DOLLS WEEK AT GRAVESIDE, but first, because these events are happening SOON, I wanna tell you about two upcoming events. (One is TOMORROW).

Number one: I'm throwing an EXCLUSIVE TICKETED AFP "OPEN PIANO REHEARSAL" SHOW FOR PATRONS ONLY. AUGUST 24th!!

Ahem, excuse me while I get weird and talk in the third person, and full of faux-shame: Amanda Palmer needs to rehearse for dolls shows and tour. And Amanda Palmer will do anything to avoid rehearsing for tour. So Amanda Palmer is holding an Open Rehearsal for patrons so that she HAS TO REHEARSE on Thursday night, August 24th, from at least 7-9pm or so. But for real...I'll sing some songs, talk about what I'm working on, take some questions, tell some stories....y'know. I'll probably bring a pile of dolls songs that Brian and I have in the "possible" pile and work them out right in front of you. I think it'll be really fun.

Come in a kimono if you're feeling it. I mean it. It'll help me rehearse if you're all in Kimonos.

All genders in kimonos. Got it?

If you don't have a Kimono, a bathrobe or PJ's are welcome.

6pm doors, 7pm rehearsal begins!!

This is a PRIVATE link just for patrons to purchase tickets.

Again: please keep it amongst yourselves because there are *extremely limited seats* in our tiny venue and we are saving them for YOU.  Thank you helping fund this crazy community cabaret experience that is healing so many of us.

THE MAGIC 8/24 AMANDA OPEN REHEARSAL AT GRAVESIDE TICKET LINK

....

And

**HAPPENING TOMORROW*, SATURDAY, AUGUST 19th:

AMANDA & BRYAN’S POP ROCK CHOCOLATE PIANO FIREWORKS PARTY!!!

6-10PM

Bryan from Fruition Chocolate and I decided to open up the doors for a party, why not? Bring your family, being your freak flag, bring your own picnic & drinks, we'll have some snacks and drinks for donation....and POP ROCK CHOCOLATE from FRUITION!!! Bryan's gonna make it. We'll listen to Anti-Establishment freak flag music, have an "American Pie" and maybe "America Idiot?" singalong on the piano, and then head to the lawn to ogle at the fireworks.

BRING A BLANKET, CHAIR, ANYTHING YOU WANNA....

LINK TO TICKETS!!! They're almost GONE!!!!!!

..........

And now....

This is the Graveside story I want to tell the most this month.

This story is the reason we built this place, and I hope it makes you cry, because it made all of us cry.

During our last “Party Around the Piano” - the cabaret show we've dubbed "Queer Church", led by my piano-playing friend Lance, this THING happened.

I was sitting at a chair in the foyer, sewing (more on that later), when a mom came up to me.

Okay, I didn't know she was a mom yet. But she told me that her fourteen-year-old daughter was in the crowd and was too nervous to ask to sing a song.

The woman had an accent, and I leaned into a chat with her, and learned that she was from Belgium, was in NYC for vacation, and had only found out about Graveside Variety from a facebook post I'd put up the day before, promoting the show. She'd decided to throw caution to the wind, gather up her fourteen-year old, Mira, and get on the bus to Woodstock for the show, where I has said "there would be singing".

"Mira loves to sing", she said, in her very lovely Belgian accent.

I asked her to go get Mira from the crowd, and bring her to the foyer.

A minute later Mira was next to me, in a blue dress, looking mostly at the floor, asking if she could please sing "Into the Unknown" from Frozen II. I won't get into how much I love that song here, but I love it deeply. It got me through some rough spots and long drives with Ash during Pandemic New Zealand.

OF COURSE YOU CAN SING INTO THE UNKNOWN I told her, and I texted Lance on stage to put her in the line-up. Fourteen-year-old Mira seemed happy...but then she paused and asked if she could ask me a another question. Sure.

"How do you write a song?" She said.

"It's complicated." I said. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean I have words and a melody but I don't really know how to do chords." She said.

I looked at her. I wish I had had balls like that at fourteen. Maybe I did? But not in the songwriting department. I was so scared all the time. I was already so proud of her for even asking me the question.

I said "I think I can explain that to you after you sing the Frozen Song. On stage. Is that okay?"

She nodded.

Lance took a song break, and someone else took stage, and I pulled him into the dressing room.

(Here's Lance and Matta, btw, looking at the song-/guest running order...)

"We have a job." I told him.

"Okay, what's the job?" I love Lance Horne more than almost anybody. He's just always game and always on.

"There's a fourteen year old girl from Belgium totally out of her element who wants to sing Into the Unknown from Frozen II but she's also a songwriter and she wants to put her songs to chords and we should just do it on stage in front of everybody and Show Her The Ways."

"Got it" said Lance.

We brought Mira on stage, and she sang the frozen song...and KILLED IT....and got a standing ovation. We were all just blown away by her fearless voice and her stage presence. The shy little girl just exploded into a full diva before our very eyes.

And then I came to the stage, and Lance and I sat at the piano, and we asked Mira if she wanted to work on her song....

And she said yes, and took a deep breath, and sang these words, clear as a bell, into the microphone:

Keep walking on a road

I don’t know, is this the way

no one can know.

I don’t feel good  , don’t feel like me

But that’s okay

I’m getting bored,   where is the fun

follow the group , you’ll like it hun

I don’t feel good , don’t feel like me

But that’s okay

One day I’ll find my place

Someday I’ll be okay

Maybe I should just obey

to do what they want me to...............

And we listened to her sing.

And I looked at Lance, and Lance looked at me,

and as she kept singing, I looked across the room at John Coons,

and I couldn't see through the tears in my eyes.

John was crying, too.

Just...y'know....weeping.

Because she was so, so good.

And because she trusted us all.

Lance and I asked her to sing it again, and everybody cheered for her, and we put chords under the song, and she kept singing, and the song literally took flight as we all sat there, watching the magic fabric of music and community lift us all into some other realm. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced, watching a whole room magic carpet a song, and a fourteen-year-old songwriter, into a whole new place.

We all agreed, there on the spot, that the song was amazing, and that she should record it with Lance.  Before she flew back to Belgium, and she and Lance got together in NYC and rumor has it...they made the recording and it turned out beautifully.

I got this in an email from Mira:

It went better than I could have ever expected and that was probably the best day of my life!

...and this in an email from Mira's mom:

....In a world of uncertainty and unimaginable possibilities, it’s like you gave me a glimpse of a future where Mira might sparkle and shine. I don’t know how much of that future I’ll get to be a part of, so that really meant the world to me.

You also showed her how amazing life can be, if you’re brave enough to jump (she’s at an age where she needs to hear it from someone who’s not her mother, so thanks for backing me up there ;-)

So, thank you, and Lance, for your generosity and kindness...

.....

This is why I started a venue.

This is literally why.

So that things like this could happen.

And with your blessing, and Mira's blessing, we'll share the recording with you when it's ready....

Her face.

My heart.

Right?

So if you're wondering why you're on the other side of the world, funding a venue run by a weird rock-star-in-hiding....this is why.

This is why.

......

MORE COMING UP FAST AT GRAVESIDE....

SATURDAY, AUGUST 26th:

FOR THE KIDS: Colorful Emotions: Using Art & Colors to Learn About Emotions

This is an art expression class designed to spark your child's creativity while helping them understand and express their emotions through the vibrant world of colors! The "Colorful Emotions" art class is specially crafted for curious minds aged 3 to 6, offering a nurturing space where young artists can embark on a captivating journey of emotional literacy, self-discovery and artistic expression.

Guided by an experienced instructor who specializes in childhood development, art and social-emotional learning, your child will engage in a series of imaginative activities that encourage them to dive into the world of colors & emotions. Through storytelling, making emoji color wheels, and paper weaving, little artists will experiment with associating colors with different feelings.

Coryn Nadeau is a licensed & board certified art therapist, certified transformational coach, social-emotional educator, workshop & class facilitator, program & content developer, consultant, and artist.

LINK

...

AND.....ANNOUNCING DOLLS WEEK AT GRAVESIDE!!!! 🎉

WE HAVE ORGANIZED SOME VERY SPECIAL GRAVESIDE PROGRAMMING from Wednesday August 30th, to Sunday September 3rd (i.e around when the Dolls are playing across the street at Colony)

We are opening our doors to welcome you to town and to Graveside. We are offering a place to hang out, do a workshop, see a show, meet a friend, sit and have a cup of tea or experience queer dark cabaret satire as a post dolls show nightcap.   (Metaphorically, since we aren’t allowed to serve booze guys)

If it’s your first time, or fifteenth time, we welcome you to come on in to Graveside Variety!!  Whether you’re going to any, all, or none of the dolls shows, we have so much planned for you all.  🪦🎪🪦

FOR THE FULL PROGRAMMING DOLLS WEEK SCHEDULE & TICKETS CLICK HERE: https://www.gravesidevariety.com/dolls-week

…

WHAT ELSE HAS HAPPENED....?

We've had our brilliant friends Father Nathan Monk and Sophie Strand open our minds and our souls with their wit, wisdom, and wonderful ways with words....

( FOLLOW SOPHIE STRAND: SUBSTACK / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK)

(FOLLOW FATHER NATHAN:  SUBSTACK / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK )

AND Sophie JUST released her first novel, The Madonna Secret!!

"Mary Magdalene's confessions reveal a sensual world of love and betrayal, magic and mystery, hidden within the Gospels.  In The Madonna Secret, Sophie Strand resurrects a richly textured world where complex characters reveal the lived reality of scripture and open familiar sayings to radical new meanings and possibilities." Available now wherever books are sold.   BOOKSHOP.ORG  / AMAZON

....

We had a very special evening with Joan as Police Woman who broke our hearts and made us dance.

(https://joanaspolicewoman.com/)

....and so many evenings with unique and beautiful artists that make us continuously grateful to experience, to share, and to create space for. This is Holly Miranda playing with Amb. Parsley and Chris Maxwell. THEY BROUGHT A SMOKE MACHINE.

We've been having Community Coffee hour most Sunday mornings.....

This is Ash running a "Massage Business". $1 a pop. This is me.

I actually found it quite relaxing.

We keep Partying Around the Piano on select Sunday evenings.....here's John Coons and Matta....

(Watch a recent highlight reel HERE. )

.......

DISPATCHES FROM THE GRAVESIDE CREW:

From Liz:

A LOT has been happening at Graveside since we last checked in a little over a month ago. We have gotten BUSY. We went from being a little DIY art baby to a tottering toddler that is so excited about being able to totter around that its wearing itself down.. but is HAPPY. That was us. Gracie, Holly, and I all got sick at roughly the same time. Our bodies were giving us a clear signal that our pace with our amount of staff and personal bandwidth was not sustainable.

Holly and Gracie really swooped in to help Amanda get this GOING.   I adore working with both of them.  They are incredible humans AND incredible artists.   Gracie & Holly are stepping back a bit to focus on that whole thing of being the talented musicians , and of course, keep producing their wonderfully curated "Golly Presents"  events. There's a cornucopia of great programming that they are producing for Graveside.  They've just starting TOURING with their supergroup, the Righteous Babes..   If they're playing near you,  GO. You won’t regret it.  It's really special.    We love them all so damn much. support our gals!  ( here's their tour info!).

AND we are thrilled have a few new WONDERFUL staff members coming to support us where we need most, and I continue to love everything about Graveside and everyone who is a part of it. - Liz

(Gracie & Holly accompianing Amb. Parsley last Sunday)

...

From Ry:

"Hi. I'm Ry Piet.  I'll be haunting your new favorite...haunt...from time to time."

...

And so much more coming up!

More programming for the kiddos!...

More “Golly Presents “ (Gracie + Holly = Golly)!

Weekly Sunday Morning Coffee Hour!

And more just— incredibly awesome shows and experiences and EVERYTHING.

We are excited and we are proud.

FULL GRAVESIDE SCHEDULE:

-open community coffeehouse hours sundays from 9:30am–1pm unless otherwise noted-

august 19th @ 6-10 pm -  Amanda and Bryan’s Pop Rock Chocolate Piano Fireworks Party

august 24 @ 6pm show 7pm doors -Amanda Palmer PATREON patron only rehearsal. Patron LINK HERE

august 26 @ 10-11 am - KIDS EVENT - Colorful Emotions: using art & colors to learn about the rainbow of emotions

august 27 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show - Storm Large (PINK MARTINI) in “I LOVE YOU TO DEATH: Alive at graveside”

august 30 @ 4-5:30pm - Embodied Inquiry with Coco Karol

august 30 @ 8pm doors, 9pm show - BLEAK! songs for the not-quite end of the world

august 31 @ 10-11:30 am - MUNZ Floor with Coco Karol

august 31 @ 10pm doors, 11:30ish show - BLEAK! songs for the not-quite end of the world

august 31 @ 12-4pm - Open House Coffee Hour

september 1 @ 11am-4pm - Open House Coffee Hour

sept 1 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show -golly presents: paul moody + margo ross

september 1 @ 10pm doors, 11:30ish show - BLEAK! songs for the not-quite end of the world

september 2 @ 10-11 am - Drag Story Hour with Annie

september 2 @ 11am -4pm - Open House & Open Mic

september 2 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : carla rhodes + sam margevicius

september 2 @ 10pm doors, 11:30ish show - BLEAK! song for the not-quite end of the world

september 3  - NOTE: no morning coffee hour !!!

september 3 @ 1-4pm - Open House & Open Mic

september 3 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show - Singer mali + Amelia allen

september 9 @ 10am-11am - FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES: SXIP, COCO & AMANDA present “The Wild Rumpus” 

september 9 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show - Sxip’s hour of charm

september 11 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show  - A Special intimate set with Nick Urata and Tom Hagerman of DeVotchKa.

september 15 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : kazimi + gold eris

september 16 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents :  jenna nicholls with brendan o’shea

september 17 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show - Buffalo Rose 

september 28 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – Charming Disaster

october 5 @ 6:30pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : rose stoller + evelyn + sarah gross

october 11 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : diane cluck + only son

october 19 @ 6:30pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents: jocelyn mackenzie mediumship + music show – tickets on sale soon

october 14 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – Driftwood Soldier + Willis Ross

october 20 @ 6pm, 7pm show – Luxury Skin – on sale soon

october 21 @ 6pm, 7pm show – golly presents : kimistry 

october 22 @ 5pm + 7pm – golly presents : an evening of music with seth glier (7pm) + a mixed media workshop from sophie chambers (5pm)

november 3 @ 6pm doors, 7pm show – golly presents : an evening with melissa ferrick – tickets on sale soon

........

LASTLY:

How can you help/get involved!

--TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THE SPACE! Send them to gravesidevariety.com to get on the mailing list and see events.

--Follow us on INSTAGRAM and share information with locals

--Gift the venue something through our AMAZON WISHLIST 

--Make a DIRECT DONATION to the space at https://www.gravesidevariety.com/)

--And...COME TO A SHOW! Especially if you're in town for the Dresden Dolls shows, we have SO MANY THINGS PLANNED! It will bring me such joy to give everyone a place to hang out together. DO ITTTTTT. COME FROM NEW YORK! COME FROM BOSTON! COME!!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE AND MORE LOVE.

xxxx

AFP

P.S. TAKE CARE OF THE PAIN",   Seven Sisters by Erika DeVries and manufactured by Lite Brite Neon, in Kingston.