Emily Zisman - Part 9

New Music Video from Chance’s End!

I’ve been nibbling, nay CHOMPING at my nails to finally share this with you all.

My genius partner in musical crime, Chance’s End birthed this beauty from his brains. I am thrilled to have been a part of it and to be able to witness the stunning imagery take shape.

So many amazing people played a part in this project and I can’t wait to see what comes next out of the mind of Chance’s End.

Enjoy!!

Cresta’s Gigs on Hiatus

Hey folks!

Just a note to say that our monthly residency at Cresta’s is on hiatus until further notice.

While we are super fans of the cozy, local spot, unfortunately the timing has gotten a bit crunchy for us.

Marty and I hope to re-establish a regular haunt again sometime, and maybe at Cresta’s again in the future.

Until then, if you’re looking for a sweet spot for a nightcap in SF, go to Cresta’s on Sunday night. Casson is a fabulous hostess and the locals are charming AF.

In the meantime, check the shows tab to see where to find us next!

Love.

The Boxer: Revisited

I’ve always loved The Boxer by Paul Simon.

One day I promised myself I would cover it, but It’s a hero’s journey of masculine origin and, as much as I related to the darkness and the solitude of the piece, I could never get so close as to feel ownership enough to sing it. One day I decided to experiment with switching the gender of the protagonist from male to female and the lyrics….sort of reworked themselves into a bit of a feminist anthem. I took it to my band and suggested a hard driving, punk rock backdrop and….well here you have it. Thanks to Paul Simon for writing such an amazing tune. I hope you all enjoy our version as much as we enjoyed recording it!

Big In Japan

A couple of weeks ago, there was an article posted in the in-flight magazine of the Japanese airline, All Nippon Airlines. The Americano Social Club is in there and they even gave a slight nod to our tribute to David Bowie, Let’s Dance.

Please take a moment to read about our lively and supportive music scene as it exists today. Then come out to a show!

Americano Social Club Appears in All Nippon Airlines in-flight magazine article about San Francisco Music Scene (CLICK ME TO READ!)

Americano Social Club: The Grand Ruckus

I’ve written about the gypsy jazz collective, The Americano Social Club in posts past, but I felt that the band’s upcoming Monthly Ruckus in the heart of the Haight/Ashbury district of San Francisco heralded a literary revisiting.

My participation in the Americano Social Club was and continues to be a transformative process. I first joined the group as a sit-in at the Revolution Café, only lending my voice when invited to do so. I generally sang in a sweatshirt and jeans as I didn’t want to show up looking like I was expecting any special treatment. You see, at that particular time in my career, I had no expectations for myself. I was green and insecure and my potential hadn’t yet been sustainably tapped. They were doing me a favor as far as I was concerned and no number of “Wow, you killed its” or “that voice came out of YOUs?” would get any other ideas across to me. Adding to the grey was my relatively recent re-entry to the Bay Area after giving it a go on Broadway (no joke). The competition out east was fierce and I ultimately decided it wasn’t a lifestyle for which I was willing to sacrifice….anything. I came back to San Francisco telling myself that I wasn’t cut out for it, that I was weak, only marginally talented and doomed for a life of perpetual type-casting. But every time Michael invited me to sing a number or two I would gleam and, for the rest of the night, considered myself the luckiest girl in the city. I still do.

The invitations to sing kept coming and eventually the idea for the Americano Social Club Family Ruckus afforded me a standing invitation to be an active member of a real-life variety show. The authentic performing experience I was seeking in New York was being offered to me right in my own home town. So, I began to show up. I mean REALLY show up. I bought sassy dresses, teetered around in heels, and put makeup on my face. This group of extraordinarily talented musicians and dancers were including me in their act. So. I. Brought. It. Every night, my goal was to supersede my previous performance. I would go deeper, get darker, listen harder, be MORE present. My questions were never, “How can I get this band to better support me?” They were always, and continue to be “How much more can I bring to this group of people?” “What more can I do?” “Where can I add more support?” Granted, I’m not perfect and have definitely taken a few wrong turns, forgotten a few lyrics, and dropped a few entrances, but that’s part of the human growth process. If there is anything more the band has given me, it’s providing real time, tangible examples of what it looks like to have compassion for oneself. I’ve seen and been that member of the group that shows up stressed from a long day at work, upset about a personal grievance, sickly or just in a really foul mood. But I’ve watched each of them roll with it with grace and deliver because that’s what you do. There are no complaints, just matters of fact. So, I would follow suit. I would show up my full and honest self, AND I would bring it.

I was a fully functioning adult when I came back from New York. But I was still craving mentorship, guidance and a good example of what it means to be a performance professional with community as a core value.The Americanos truly are part of my family and I look forward to many more Ruckuses and opportunities to surpass myself.

one night in Haight Ashbury — One Night in Haight Ashbury

Speaking of which, there’s one this weekend! Won’t you please come witness our passion at play? I promise this will be a night like no other before it. At least I know I will be planning on it.

Won’t you join us?

That Was Enough (Work in Progress)

I remember vividly the prickly stick of his beard hairs on my nostrils as I nuzzled up under his chin.

I remember the smell of the skin underneath and tried to reach it with the tip of my nose.

He pushed back, maybe trying to help, maybe not. But he pushed. He didn’t turn away.

That was enough.

That’s why I stayed.

I had this recurring, particular view of his face from his mouth down as he slept, lips parted, breath soft.

I would reach up with my fingertips and dance them on his lips as he tried to kiss them.

Our timing was never off,

except for once.

That was enough.

The Whale and the Albatross

“In the end, only three things matter: How much you loved, how gently you lived, and how graciously you let go of the things not meant for you.”

~ Jack Kornfield

Once there swam a majestic blue whale. She was rare in scope and song and she sang every day into the blackness of the sea calling and calling for her pod.

Her songs were light and joyous and clear and she dreamed her joy would bring her a family with whom she could sing for all the days of her life.

One morning she woke at the surface of the sea and found that a great, white albatross had taken roost upon her back.

“I hope you don’t mind,” said he. “I was tired and lost and your song was so sweet, I decided to rest here with you.”

The whale was surprised but flattered by the compliment and glad of the company, so she agreed to let the great bird stay with her for a time.

Morning turned to night and together they observed the sky change from orange to deep black. The whale had never seen the sky through its phases and had surely never seen the stars. She sighed and gasped and her eyes grew wide as dinner plates.

The albatross told her everything he knew about the wind and the clouds and the sky. He told her stories of faraway mountains, of trees and sand dunes and of creatures of the land. He drew shapes for her in the stars.

In return, the whale sang him songs of the vastness of the ocean, the darkness and the depth, of all the spindly, toothy and globby sea creatures and of her hollow longing to find her pod.

Night lifted to morning and as the sun pushed over the divide, the whale found herself afraid that the great bird was going to leave her soon.

“Where will you go?” she asked.

“Home.” He replied.

“Where is home?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” He replied.

“What if home was here with me?” She asked after a time.

“No.” Said the albatross. “You must swim and I must fly.”

The whale grew silent and the great bird bowed his head to her skin.

“Will you remember me?” Asked the whale.

“How could I forget the songs that reveal all that lies beneath the surface of the sea? A world that I would never have known, you have made plain and beautiful to my mind. I can never forget that. Will you remember me?”

The whale drifted in silence for a time. When she spoke, she spoke slowly. “I have been swimming and singing for many years. All of these years I have been alone, but I have never been lonely. After listening to your stories and singing my songs to you, for the first time in my many years, I know that when you go away, I will know what it is to be lonely and I will miss you greatly. It is impossible to forget someone when that someone is missed so dearly.”

“I will miss you too.” Said the great bird.

They floated together in silence for a while, warming themselves in the sun. As it set on the third day, the great bird stood and stretched his wings wide.

“Thank you, Whale Heart. You have made this world more beautiful to me than I knew it possible and I am grateful.”

As he lifted himself on a warm updraft to sail towards the horizon, the whale dipped slowly to the sea floor and, for the first time in her life she sang a song of loss.

It was the most beautiful song he had ever heard.

Show in Bolinas March 31st!

Hey Folks!

Please join me for a lovely trip up to Bolinas for a night of singing and pickin’ with my two favorite stringsters, Marty Atkinson and Ryan Avery.

We hit the stage around 8pm and play until they shut us down (around 11 because locals and school night).

Check out the Facebook Event Page Here: https://www.facebook.com/events/984734721591912/

Be sure to join us as we are sure to bring it.

Thursday, March 31^st

Smiley’s Schooner Saloon

41 Wharf Rd, Bolinas, California 94924

No cover!

See you on the beach!

Dance Magic Dance

The Americano Social Club has been a second family to me for the past few years. They notoriously create space for community, celebration, love and life wherever they go. I consider myself blessed to be counted among them and to be able to contribute my talents where and when I can.

One of the songs we play regularly is one of my favorite songs of all time. It is a song by the late, great David Bowie who passed away Sunday evening after gifting us with yet another masterpiece album on the date of his 69th birthday.

Please enjoy this Americano tribute to one of mankind’s freakiest geniuses. Thank you, Major Tom, for all of it.

Submitted for your perusal:

“At first, I characterized my struggle as “Being taken seriously” because I did a funny show and that, despite having been cited in amicus briefs by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in lawsuits about net neutrality against the federal government, people just saw me as a girl who breaks stuff.”

~ Please enjoy my submission for Silicon Valley Tales: An Interview with Senior Tech Correspondent and the Backup-Host of Marketplace at American Public Media: Molly Wood