Staten Island: Alive in Wonderland

On Saturday, February 9th at CSI's Center for Performing Arts, Kris and I are gonna present the latest installment in our Staten Island "Big Mouth" series: "Staten Island, Alive in Wonderland." I'm terribly excited about this show, a tad bit nervous, and ultimately just very curious to see what the evening will bring, for the line-up is quite eclectic. Staten Island Deputy Borough President Ed Burke is gonna be on the show...this is really great news. I saw him speak at SI Borough Hall late last year about the publication, "Staten Island Attractions: Big Apple Pleasures, Small Town Treasures." This man loves SI as much as I do, and for some of the very same reasons. I'm delighted, then, that he's agreed to be on the show.

A whole mess of other great SI folk are gonna be there, too, both on stage and in the Richmond County Midway, the pre-show and intermission bazaar in the CFA Atrium. Check the www.wordygurl.net website for more details, which hopefully will be up fairly soon. We also have a myspace page, but I don't know that addy offhand. (I am not very adept at this cyber-community stuff.)

Today I spent a couple of hours with one of my guests - Stan Jay, the owner of Mandolin Brothers. Stan's actually going to be featured in the show's video segment, filmed on location in his store this morning.

Talk about a wonderland. For connoisseurs of fretted instruments, Mandolin Brothers is the s**t. Stan and his staff are the custodians of one of the largest collections in the world of vintage and new American guitars, mandolins, banjos and their kin availalbe for retail purchase. Kris and I spent two hours in there. It's known to many as the Dream Fulfillment Center, a "toystore for grown-ups." It lives up to both monikers. We were treated to a tour of nearly all of the store's 11 rooms, each one packed floor to ceiling with stringed instruments, some old, some new, all lovingly hung by hooks and resting against a piece of carpet placed against the wall to cushion the instruments' "rear ends" from scratching. Such detail. We also witnessed an impromtu performance by Stan and one of his long-time friends and customers, Morty, who's known to the world as the guy "who kissed Paul McCartney's bass" when it was at the store for repair. Wow. The whole place is has been compared to a museum, albeit one that encourages folks to "please touch." To me, it's not so much a museum as a parlor-like fortress of music. On Forest Avenue, I might add, one of Staten Island's main suburban traffic arteries. I've been passing the place for years, and didn't have an excuse nor reason to walk through the very unassuming entrance until six months ago. That time, I walked in, introduced myself to Mr. Jay, and was immediately ushered by one of his staff (at Stan's instruction) through all of Mandolin's many instrument galleries. Becoming more and more over-whelmed at every turn, I was unable, in many respects, to fully grasp and appreciate the collection until the very end, when a series of guitars made with Brazilian-wood blew my mind. I was so excited about visiting this morning, and very nervous, too. I was especially thrilled today for Kris, too, as it was his first-ever visit to the store. He's a third-generation musician, the grand-son and son of players of stringed instruments on one side, and the grandson of a musician of all instruments on the other. AH. And there was Stan when we walked through the door, ready to talk, more than willing to give us a tour, and happily for nervous Nellie me, totally down with the idea of teaching me a few chords, which he did. D, E, and F, if my short-term memory is correct. The whole experience has left me in a contemplative mood. The craftenmanship that was put into making some of these instruments - built for everyday use - is exquisite. And nothing makes me happier than to meet people who are passionate about what they do, and who do it, like Stan Jay, with such genuine character and pizazz, not to mention humor, wit, concern and generousity. Oh, and most importantly, a great sense of fun. In addition to knowing his stock so damn well, Stan's the real deal, the kind of guy you don't often meet in our hyper-commercial universe. Mandolin Brothers has served nearly four generations of musicians, and throughout the time, the constant, as Stan commented today, has been the store's ability to both provide people with the instruments that they love AND encourage folks to partake in the playing of music together with family and friends. Before TV, video games, and all the rest, there was music. What a great tradition to uphold.

To see the interview with Stan, you gotta come to the show on February 9th.

xoxoxo