Join Into the Drum Circle at Potay in Brooklyn, NY

 

The hand drum class, circle and open mic at Potay.Haiti.Caribbean.Us.All was my point of interest this past Friday night. I did not really know what to expect but what I can say is that a blessing was lavished on me just by being present in that space.

With such superb skill and panache, the host, Okai, got the air of learning and personal enjoyment flowing. Not only did he give insight on how to play Conga drums or Djembe drums, but also how to get your voice across with uniqueness; by voice I mean, the sound that vibrates out of your hand hitting the drums. And by uniqueness, I mean that though all participants were taught the same hand gestures, every person still plays with their own incredible degree of diversity.

Potay located as 2720 Farragut Road in Brooklyn, NY definitely had something special going on. As time slipped away between our fingers, there were a n umber of lessons being learned between the hand drum class and the open mic that shortly followed it. One of them is like Paul Coelho said, “wherever your heart is there you will find your treasure.”

My heart has had an inextinguishable light for singing all my life and most recently in piano. I didn’t actually consider that I might be accompanying other participants via keyboard or that I would be learning new songs to play on the spot but being in synchrony with others at this event helped me to increase my knowledge of my musicianship a bit more.

Another thing that I learned was like Carlos Santana said, “people are flowers. Music is water. Musicians are the hose.” Considering how the curiosity of knowing more about hand drums and becoming more familiar with the cultural aspects of it was almost like broaching the idea that there is nothing wrong with being who you are individually. We all shared, and all voices were respected and heard which means more to me than I can express because at that point, it is a realization that there is no reason to derail your efforts and so it alleviated uncertainties as far as who you are and what you had to bring to the table because everybody banded together like family.  So, I felt comfortable introducing my music and the scope of my performing voice as a live exhibition to them.

 The drum circle event was beyond helpful. I felt elated to experience gather together on that Friday night and become a part of the community and to be filled with the wealth of information that I received. It helped to draw a smile on my face that has yet to leave ever since. If you want to see for yourself how it went, I invite you to check out this video for yourself and hopefully, it will bring you joy as it did for me. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/7LBROH-GfjM 

 Potay has a lot of great things going on at it’s establishment. Like for instance, on Thursdays, they have Capoeira classes where you can learn the art of this cultural dance. Every day after school, there is tutoring being offered for those who need it. And on Friday afternoons, I will be teaching singing and piano.

If you are even mildly interested, I will be starting group and private singing/piano lessons starting on November 5^th at Potay. 

Check out the flyer and let me know if you have interest or any probing questions that I might
be able to answer about it. And if you feel like being a part of the glorious moment of hand drumming, it is a recurring event happening every Friday at Potay. Maybe you feel like escaping to something different, all happening at Potay on Farragut Road and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. So stop on through and you will not be disappointed.

Thank you so much for checking out my blog post.

Celebrate with Chynah Presents Two Poems by Stephanie Jeannot

I am passionate about writing and whenever I get the chance to do it, I try to punctuate my time with meaningful writing. I like to flex my words with a pen and add it to a blank page and create things whether it is poetry, song or whatever writing thing comes to play. In fact, poetry has been a part of my quiddity even before I started writing songs.

Often times my mind is thick with thoughts and ideas, and in my own unique way, I erupt into verse. It restores me back to life and I am ready to take on the world wholeheartedly.

I must show gratitude to my sistah gurl, Chynah, who did not see it 
as robbery to use her platform to extend kindness towards me. She not only mentioned my poetry collection, And Then There Was the Music: Poetry and an Essay, but she read two of my poems, “The Universal Language” and “Make War Not Music” to her large, receptive audience.

I invite you to check out the video in which these poetic works were featured here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFl9RwqRUMc

If you are interested in reading more of the poetry featured in the book, you can get it from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1977095747/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i5

A Nature Walk Like No Other

 I spent my entire summer this year in the Midwest; particularly in Illinois.  Elk Grove is a city in Illinois with about a million and two parks and walk/bike paths.

 

My music writing partner and I would stroll down many of those paths there and I am big on pictures and so there was always a picture or two of the beautiful landscape images being taken as we walked, talked and enjoyed the beauty of mother nature.

 

I have grown accustomed to long-distance walking with my first time being a 10.5 walk on purpose from Midtown Manhattan to Northwest Brooklyn. It came as a natural thing to experience the natural hills and peaks of all terrain walking; especially since I started to do the walk about once a week. Yet still, it did not truly prepare me for my first experience with hiking.

 

Hiking

I recently did a day hike over the Torne Mountain Loop of the Norvin Green State Forest in Bloomingdale, NJ. It was different. It was intense. It was tiring.

 

I didn’t realize how hard it was to walk uphill; especially since almost everywhere I go is by motor vehicle. The advantage of walking is to be in the midst of peacefulness and to also burn some calories. Hiking is a great way to exercise.

 

So, the mountain trail is about an hour drive from Brooklyn, NY to get to that mountainous region of New Jersey. Some people do it recreationally for pleasure and then there are others who do it to burn some good old calories. I did it because I have seen pictures and videos of some of my colleagues who have been hiking and they looked pretty interesting. I can see why many may see hiking as a spiritual quest to reignite the flames that burn the inspiration within.  The climbing, risk and challenges associated with hiking as well as the views of the beautiful landscapes along the 1.5 mile trail is quite rewarding.

 

I thought it was pretty cool that my friend’s phone was furnished with a digital map that actually could tell us exactly where we were along the Torne Mountain Loop and there were blue markers along the journey to help us to follow the path from beginning to end which is a great idea so that you do not get lost in those woods.

 

If I had any tips to give they would be:

 

1. Wear sturdy boots not sneakers. I wore my sneakers and the many rocks can pierce holes into them. Though you will be able to get through a moderate mountain trail with sneakers on, your best foot support will be like a pair of thick boots with strong soles.

 

2. It is an intense workout and so keep in mind that you will sweat and depending on the season when you go, you want to dress appropriately.

 

3. Definitely carry a first aid kit because you never know. You might fall. You might step on something or scrape your skin and need to apply a band aid or alcohol to it. And with that in mind, it probably would be better to go with someone so you could have each other just in case. I definitely would not trail it by myself. 

 

4. I was told to climb the rocks like they are stairs and going uphill, it seemed right. The going downhill was the hard part and so, you have to be careful and focus so that you do not get hurt meaning, you cannot have your phone in your hand because you will need your hands to climb down sometimes.

 

5. I was also told that drinking water while climbing uphill could make the experience a little bit harder. So, I would say, bring your water and when you have a chance to take a pause, then drink your water. But definitely not before you start.

 

 

Overall, I enjoyed it. It was challenging but interesting. It was an intense workout, but one that my body could use. I would definitely go again.

 

The following video is just a glimpse of what my hiking experience was like and I invite you to watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQhfyJR4tCw