December 2024
Wrapping things up for the year, and a philosophical detour about perspective
Hellooooo!
Hey everyone, thanks for being here. It’s been a busy week and it’s going to be an even busier month, so this one is slightly longer. I also break from the script at the end to share thoughts about perspective — feel free to take the perspective of ignoring that if you want.
Although this will be the last of my regular monthly posts for 2024, I will be sending out a special bonus “year-in-review” at the end of the month to celebrate all the cool stuff that happened!
As always upcoming performances are at the top, and you can scroll on for more…
A brief note for new-comers:
Unfortunately the algorithms that run mainstream social media have made it increasingly difficult to reach people through the noise of sponsored content, ads, and suggested posts (e.g., Taylor Swift sightings, abandoned house tours, etc). Substack offers a convenient way to give fans, friends, and family a monthly report of what I’m up to, straight to your inbox — no ads or doomscrolling required! All of my “content” is free, and you do not need to make/pay for an account to receive these posts.
If you don’t want to receive these updates, I won’t be offended — feel free to trash or unsubscribe at any time.
Where am I playing next? Good question!
Here are some public performances you can check out this month. Keep in my that my schedule is subject to change as other performances come up. The best way to stay fully up to date is check the calendar at wyattambrosemusic.com/calendar and follow me on instagram and facebook.
You can also ask for more details on any performance by contacting me at wyattambrosemusic@gmail.com.
Tonight! Friday 12/6, 8-11pm — Yolanda Bush & The Clear Water Collective, B-Side Ballroom, Oneonta NY. Featuring Yolanda, Me, Evan Jagels, Tim Iverson, and Joe Damone. $12 cover
Saturday 12/7, 6:30-8:30pm — Underground Attic 10 year Anniversary Party, Underground Attic, Oneonta NY, Jazz Duo with Evan Jagels - no cover it’s a party!
Friday 12/13, 7-8:30pm — Killdeer Trio at Roots, Oneonta NY. No cover, but please buy drinks and tip the band so we can all stay in business!
Saturday 12/14, 7:30-9:30pm — Killdeer Trio w/ special guests(!) at Mojo’s Cafe, Troy NY. Opening set by Albany-based indie-songwriter Girl Love. Award-winning saxophonist Laura Leguía playing a few tunes with KDT. $15 cover.
Tuesday 12/17, 7-9pm - Killdeer Trio at Lark St. Tavern, Albany NY. - no cover, please tip and buy food!
Friday 12/20, 5-8pm - The Gatehouse Holiday Party, The Gatehouse, Morris NY. No cover — it’s a party! Ugly sweater competition and other fun things throughout the evening.
Saturday 12/21, 8pm-midnight - Matt Steckler Quartet at 9 Maple Ave, Saratoga Springs NY. Featuring Tarik Shah on bass, and Matt Niedbalski on Drums. $2 cover
Saturday 12/28, 6-8pm — Solo Guitar at The Tasting Lab, Greenville NY. no cover, buy foods/drinks!
What’s going on?
Concluding my 10th Hartwick Semester
Barring one final exam next week and some scattered meetings, I just finished my 10th semester (8th in person) teaching at Hartwick College! I concluded my classes last night directing the Rock Ensemble’s concert — “Hartwick Rock’s the 90’s”. Although it’s stressful wrangling 16 college students hell-bent on rocking, it’s a beautiful thing to hear these performances come together and feel all the love they get from their friends and teachers when they nail it!
“What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes :
embarrassing professor group photo:
Fan art: that’s me in the corner playing drums
This semester I also directed my first concert with the Hartwick Jazz Ensemble aka the Big Band. Not only was this my first time directing this class, this was the first time I conducted in public. It was a very nerve-racking experience, but we made it!
Tonight — Yolanda Bush and The Clear Water Collective at the B-Side!
Unfortunately I was too busy to finish this post before today… but better late than never! If you’re in the area, come check out the last Yolanda Bush & CWC show of the year.
If you can’t make it or need a taste of the action, here’s some video footage of us rocking at the Franklin Stage Company this past August!
Killdeer Trio finishing up the year
Although we still haven’t managed to kill any deers, we were able to book a few more gigs at our favorite spots before the year is out. Information pamphlets on the Killdeer bird will be available at all public performances.
Next weekend we’ll be hitting one of our favorite home-turf spots, Roots, then bringing the party to Mojo’s Cafe in Troy.
Mojo’s has been a great host to us this year, so we wanted to make the last show a memorable one. Albany-based indie songwriter and Mojo’s favorite, Girl Love, will be opening the night for us. Then we’ll be performing a handful our of tunes with the phenomenal saxophonist Laura Leguía.
Laura has played all over the world with a variety of legendary jazz artists, both as a sideman and leader. We all became acquainted with each other when my colleague Evan Jagels hosted the Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet at Hartwick College this October. Definitely check this out if you’re in the area!
Here’s some links — Laura with Gabriel Alegria’s band, and Girl Love playing in Brooklyn.
Lo-fi poster:
Hi-fi poster:
Putting things in perspective…
The older I get, the more I realize that perspective works in two directions. “Having” perspective requires you to take in the macro and micro levels of reality, society, a situation, etc.
Just because you had a bad day, doesn’t mean that everyone everywhere else did too. And more pertinent to my eventual point — just because the world is a place filled with suffering in both very measurable and seemingly unimaginable forms, we still have to get up every day and live our lives. We have to do our thing, no matter what that is.
The more I play music, teach, compose, and produce events, I am more and more profoundly blown away by the healing power of music. If you let it, music will provide a safe space where, for a fleeting moment, you can just exist without anything else getting in the way.
Even students who experience severe anxiety about performing… While they might still be very nervous as they are playing, they’re still 100% in that experience — perhaps even more so than they would be if they weren’t scared. And ultimately, that eventually makes them less anxious even beyond performing.
No matter how bad I might be feeling, if I let myself play guitar for even 5 minutes, those feelings felt away.
As I said, it’s about perspective.
On a Macro-level — music can’t literally stop the government from disintegrating democracy as we know it. You can’t give it to unhoused people to keep them warm in an upstate NY winter. Honestly… it’s not even that useful to pay your own bills these days.
However, music makes life worth it. Among other things…
On a Micro-level — Art and music create community, and community gives us strength and meaning. We need love, positivity, enjoyment, expression, and all things good about being alive in order for us to have the strength to face all the “bigger and badder” things.
When you go to see music, you’re not just supporting the musicians and local business or commerce. You are fostering human connection, making your life and the lives of the people around you a little more meaningful and enjoyable — even if it’s just for 75 minutes.
With all that said, this is NOT a ploy to get you go to my performances I just told you about. My only agenda is to point out that art (and I guess music specifically), is something that will never let you down. It will always be there to help you through the inevitable difficult s**t that we’re bound to face.
Sorry that this is perhaps a bit more serious than what I normally post… The lines between business, ethics, friendship all seem pretty blurry to me at this particular point. Many of my readers are people I know personally on some level, which makes them (you) my community.
Be good to each other, bring joy to each other, and grab some friends eat some good food and go see some music. Enjoy the good moments when they’re happening so you can face the hard ones when they eventually come knocking.
The End!
That’s it for this month! If you enjoyed this newsletter and aren’t subsrcibed, feel free to subscribe with button below or by contacting me at wyattambrosemusic@gmail.com.
If you know of anyone who would be interested in receiving this newsletter, please feel free to share this post or my profile with them.