An abrupt derailment from the norm
Admittedly the ArtKore.org open mic at the Goldhawk in Hoboken has in recent months attracted more high caliber of performers than ever. Singers, songwriters of all sorts coming to show their stuff. In my opinion, the reason for the quality is directly due to the clubs tight schedule. I think it scares away those who are not professional enough to handle the pressure of the rush.
Still, as with any situation, participants can become complacent and almost formulaic in their approach to performing. You get up, strap on a guitar, sing a clever song or two and get off. No offense to the many talented friends I have at the Goldhawk, but this past Tuesday made me realize how a breath of fresh air can come from left field and wake you up.
He called himself Cabbage. First off, he prepared himself by strapping on a toy guitar with all of the strings out of tune and tangled together. Then he hung a backpack over his shoulders with a conspicuous wire hanging out of it. At the same time he was setting up two mic stands. One at mouth level for vocals and the other curiously set up about a foot taller than him.
He then placed a white helmet which had a speaker built in on to his head, plugging the toy guitar into the mysterious backpack then the backpack into this helmet thing. After hoisting a Strat plugged into a direct box to the house P.A., he preceded to chomp on a head of cabbage while he introduced himself to the stunned crowd.
His songs were unique, the chords were complex and the role of the second, taller mic stand was evident. As the Strat rubbed against the poorly strung toy, it caused a brilliantly nerve-tingling, droning buzz piped thru the helmet speaker. There is a fine line between sound and noise and he was skating right on its edge.
This and other refreshingly off-beat acts can be found at BunnyHuangRecords.com. On that site, Cabbage calls himself Butternuts. Check it out and shake the cobwebs off of whatever you think a performer should be. You may like it, you may hate it, but that is the point after all. There simply are not enough risk takers in the scene anymore and I welcome the aural challenge of Cabbage, Butternuts or whatever he calls himself next.
By the way, as homage to this guy, everyone began donning a new vegetable name. On the suggestion of Jon D’Angelo—calling himself Celery—I became Turnip. Others from the Goldhawk … Freda was Arugula. Mary was Asparagus. Dave Calamoneri was Radish but Mary’s roommate Kate wanted to be Radish. Since she is cuter (sorry Dave) she won the battle and Dave was then Garlic.
See Also:
Bunny Huang Records
ArtKore.org
The Goldhawk
