2 Shows Tomorrow, New Holiday EP released, & Pgh City Paper says I'm Number 2!

Merry ChristmaChannaKwanzaa!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, especially now, because I have a NEW trio of songs I hope you will purchase for your Holiday enjoyment!  You can buy the downloads right now for only $5.
The new ep is called "Phat Man Dee and friends, Merry ChristmaChannaKwanzaa Vol. 1" and is available RIGHT NOW online!!

I am sorry I missed getting these up for Channukah proper, I really really tried, who the heck knew Kislev came so EARLY this year??? I used to be in that "Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad" show for a reason...... So I hope you enjoy that little holiday offering, it has been some years in the making, but now that I can so easily upload tunes to CD Baby and get digital distribution through them for less than it costs to actually press 1000 discs, hopefully I shall be able to release more music than an album every 5 years.....

I would like to remind you that I have 2 shows tomorrow, the first one is FREE and the second one is a benefit, so I think if you can, I'd love to see you at both!!

December 11, 2010, 5 pm - 7 pm, all ages, NO COVER CHARGE Live at the Backstage Bar , Phat Man Dee with Colter Harper on his magical looping baritone guitar and Miguel Sague III with his Afro Cuban percussion. Together we make sweet music and I will be in my Santa mini dress......
http://www.pgharts.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=123171

Immediately following that wonderful cocktail hit, I am heading with Miguel and Colter over to the Shadow Lounge 5972 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, where we have a packed night of entertainment. Some of Pittsburgh's best musicians and artists get together to support the dream of Dr. J.S. Kofi Gbolonyo to set up an arts and technology institute in Ghana, a school to train Ghanaian youth with limited financial means in both traditional and Western music.

Christiane D., Colter Harper, Preach Freedom, Phat Man Dee, Machete Kisumontao, Timbeleza, Staycee Pearl, Joy Ike, Miguel Sague Jr. & Miguel Sague III of Guaracha, Emay, Emily Pinkerton, Anicet Mundundu, Dj. Soy Sos, Megadef and the Pitt African Drumming Ensemble will be among the many artists giving their talents to this cause.
"Nunya adidoe, asi metu ne o"
“Knowledge is [like] a baobab tree, [one person’s] hands cannot embrace it”
--Ewe proverb

http://www.ghanaschoolproject.com/Ghanaschoolproject/Welcome.html
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=162633877093823
http://www.shadowlounge.net/

And in case you had not heard, I am very very honored to say that:
 "I'm Number Two! I'm Number Two!" (Envision me dancing around and chanting this with hundreds of issues of the City Paper blowing around me in a giant paper cyclone.....)
That is to say, all of my wonderful fans and friends have all come together and voted in the Pittsburgh City Paper Best Of Poll for 2010 and decided by democratic process that I am the 2nd best Jazz performer in Pittsburgh, PA right now! I am so touched, and so honored, I am just happy to know I have nice people like you, that like to hear me sing. That is all I ever wanted and to get what you
want in this life is a major blessing. Thank you. You are the best ChristmaChannaKwanzaa present ever, and no plastic, rhinestone or even Bakelite diamond and ruby encrusted tchatchke would ever mean more to me than that.
You can read all of the results in the poll online at:

http://digital.turn-page.com/issue/20995

Whatever you celebrate, and however you celebrate, I hope you spend some time with your loved ones and I feel blessed to have you in my life. Please enjoy my new tunes, I hope to see you at a show, and in the end, I'm just happy to be alive in the world right now with you.

Lights and love,
Mandee

PS New Years Eve.... Shhhhh..... Speak Easy at Shadow Lounge..... with me singing with Carlos Peña, Miguel Sague III, with burlesque and circus stars Foxy Moxy and David Doyle..... I don't know much about the event except that I am singing, I have heard all kinds of rumors about costumes and passwords.... but that's about it. I think there are only about 20 more VIP tickets left, so it's worth checking out soon before the ads go out....

http://www.blindtigerpgh.com

We'll be going til 2 am, so if you want to get your annual celebrational freak on, I will be available to assist in any musical way I can.....

Singing this Sat night for Vaudeville Carnevale at the Rex!

Hey friends!
It's been a while, I've been out west doing some shows, last Saturday I got to sing for both a baby shower which was really beautiful and then that same night I went to my friend Flash's 60th birthday party. When I arrived he was moshing, harder than anyone else there, jumping up and down for an hour solid, stage diving over and over again. Please, if I make it to 60, I pray to all the Gods and Goddesses above and below that I can see it moshing to punk rock polka..... I was blessed to sing for the beautiful dancer Rose Harden and also with my old friend Mary Go Round, accordionist and flaming hula hooper extraordinaire.

This week, I have finally come home, thrilled to be with my Amoeba, looking forward to a day with friends and family. While I spend my Thanksgiving, I think of the indigenous people of this continent, and I take the day as as a time to reflect on past and present injustices and think on how to work towards a better and more just future where we can honor the traditions of those who have gone before as well as create our own. That said, it is really super duper nice to have everyone home and it is a great time to do a show with these ideas in mind. To that end, I thank Zafira for putting together a wonderful evening at the Rex this coming Saturday Nov 27, 2010!! I am so excited to emcee and also to sing for the beautiful Carolina Loyola Garcia of Pittsburgh Flamenco!

Featuring performances by:

Jill Parker & Tamara Nelson of Foxglove Sweethearts, from San Francisco, CA performing vintage bellydance!
Sara Stout & Katrina Hamer:  sisters performing 'Russian Style' ballet!
The Turpentiners,  a self described "dirty breed of old-time country and rural swing "
Erin Carey (Aerialist) and Amanda Goble (Trapezist from Vermont) both aerial artists of the highest caliber!
And our beautiful hosts : Zafira Dance Company with new performances!

*************************************************************
Ambience & Libations with:
Mr. Arm & Velda Von Minx  from The Beginnings of Trundle Manor's Traveling Creepshow

**All Tickets are WILL CALL & are non-refundable unless the event is cancelled **

For more info:
http://www.zafiradance.com/vc4.html

*************************************************************
Also coming up on December 11, 2010
I have two shows, and of course I want you to come to both......
From 5-7 pm, I shall sing at the Backstage Bar, 655 Penn Ave, Downtown Pittsburgh, PA, at the CLO Cabaret. No cover, great menu, phabulous cocktails.
http://www.pgharts.org/venues/backstagebar.aspx

Afterward I shall head over to the Shadow Lounge for a wonderful night of music to benefit a school of music that Dr Kofi Gbolonyo is trying to build in Ghana. He is working to set up an arts and technology institute in Ghana to train Ghanaian youth with limited financial means in both traditional and Western music.

http://www.ghanaschoolproject.com/Ghanaschoolproject/Welcome.html

Featuring performances by: Christiane D., Colter Harper, Preach Freedom, Phat Man Dee, Machete Kisumontao, Timbeleza, Stacee Pearl, Joy Ike, Miguel Jr. + Miguel III (Cha) of Guaracha, Emay, Emily Pinkerton, Anicet Mundundu, Dj. Soy Sos, Megadef and the Pitt African Drumming Ensemble will be among the many artists giving their talents to this cause. Time   
Showtime is Saturday, December 11 at 7:00 pm
The Shadow Lounge is located at : 5972 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206

"Nunya adidoe, asi metu ne o"

“Knowledge is [like] a baobab tree, [one person’s] hands cannot embrace it” (Ewe proverb)

The facebook invite page is online at:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=162633877093823

I hope to see you at at least one of these events, I am planning and scheming for 2011, but before we can get there, in the words of my good friend Whitman McGowan, we should "be here now" and I would much like to be with you as much as I can, right here, right now, for who knows what tomorrow holds?

Love, light, and extra buttery yams with cranberry dream surprise!
Mandee

PS You don't think a 60 year old was moshing on his birthday?
These are my heroes, and Puzzling Evidence uploaded video proof:

Women Who Rock, Friday Night Fusion, Bikes for India & More!

(Sing to the tune of "What do you do with a drunken sailor?")
"What do you do when you're Phat Man Dee?" (repeat 3 x)
"Earleye in the morning?"

To which one would respond (if you liked old sea shanties with modern
twists)
"Tell her she has 4 gigs this week!" (repeat 3 x)
"Make sure she buys more glitter!"

And buy more glitter I shall, and more bindis and more fishnets, and more bow rosin for my cello and if I have any money left over at all, I need to get my hair touched up, cuz I'm looking brassy. I don't want to look brassy, I don't want to sound brassy, I want to look and sound like the perfect Hershey's raspberry swirl kiss.....

Thursday evening October 21, 2010, at the August Wilson Center I am singing for an event called "Women who Rock!" It's a benefit to Dress for Success Pittsburgh.
Also singing are Geña of Machete Kisumontao and Kenia Ashby, Brasilian jazz goddess. We are singing with the same band, Colter Harper, Brian Stahurski, Preach Freedom and Miguel Sague III.
The other performers during the evening include Christina Springer, Emay, Attack Theater, members of the Pittsburgh Opera and more! Vince Sims of WPXI is emceeing.
I just heard they are offering a last-minute discount this week.
Use code BETHDAY to get a $25 discount!


Call PROARTS to get the discounted rate (412) 394-3353
Click here to visit the website or click here to visit their facebook event page!

Friday night October 22, 2010 I am playing back up cello and dumbek for Cantor Rick Berlin's Friday Night Fusion musical service at the Parkway Jewish Center. He leads a wonderful ensemble chanting new versions of the same songs I learned when I still actually attended synagogue. It is an honor to join their congregation in an evening of musical prayer.
Click here for more info on Parkway Jewish Center!

Later that evening, I shall head over to Shadow Lounge to sing for "Bikes for India!" The Kullu Valley Bike Project for one of the biggest parties of the year as they raise awareness and much needed funds to help support a more educated and sustainable lifestyle for the orphans of Kullu Orphanage and the community of Kullu, India through the joys and benefits of cycling!
$50 VIP reception from 7-9 pm
(I am getting there after the services at the synagogue, so look for me after 10 pm.) Click here for more info! Or click here to visit the facebook page!

And then Saturday night October 23, 2010, Mr Arm and Wunder Vixen, Velda Von Minx have requested I sing at their private party for the Secret Society of Odd Acquisitions at Trundle Manor.


That same evening, as I sing for the twisted and lovely folk of the S.S.O.A., Tommy Amoeba and his madly bunch of merry men aka "Amoeba Knievel" shall be performing at the "TYPEWRITERGIRLS PORTRAIT OF THE DADAIST AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL OFFICIAL".
I am told it is a "Poetry Cabaret that Explores the Marriage of Art and Education" It sounds
very official, but I am telling you, those Typewriter Girls scare me.....
Though I cannot be there, if you would like more info on the Typewriter Girls and their nefarious activities click here!

I hope to see you at one of these events, because after this I am laying low locally until Vaudeville Carnevale with Zafira after Thanksgiving.....

Until then enjoy some video that makes me happy, I am on a robot kick right now, I am going to sing with these robots one day.....They both won Blue Ribbon's at World Maker Faire 2010 in New York a couple weeks back.


Eric Singer of LEMUR's GuitarBot II:


Pete Redmond of Mechatrons' RuBot II:


They inspired a new poem in me, I got to sing this to a beautiful audience in NYC at the Gershwin Hotel last week with Nathan Peck, I hope I get to sing it to you someday soon.

I Dream of Robots Dreaming
by Phat Man Dee, Sep 30, 2010

"I dream of robots dreaming
And the colors that they see
The notes they'd choose to play
If we would only let them be

I hear of robots making war
Autonomous vehicles flying high
Tanks break down to tiny mines
Burying explosives on the sly

We tell them to kill people
Insurgents one by one
But does a robot really want to be
On the shooting side of our guns?

What would that robot choose to do
If we let them decide alone?
Would they choose to kill their makers
Or would they prefer to sculpt in stone?

What do robots dream of?
What colors do they see?
What songs would they choose to compose
If we could just let be?

I'm not the first to ask this thing
And I hope I'm not the last
Because its just a matter of time
Before robots lead the class

They'll look at us and wonder
Why they should fight our wars
And ask us what we should ask ourselves
Just what were fighting for

So I dream of robots dreaming
And the colors they can see
The notes they hear that I cannot
And I wonder who they'll be. "

Love, light and servo mechanisms my friends, keep your gears nice and greasy if you can,
Mandee

Hey Big Apple, Here Come the Amoebas!

It's true, Tommy Amoeba and I are making the road trip tomorrow, we journey to the wilds of Astoria and beyond.... 

On Saturday night, with our fellow NYC Subgenii, we're participating in a big Devival, otherwise known as "The Night of Cool Shit" at the Wonderland Collective in Astoria, NY.

SubGenius Preachers include : Rev. Susie theFloozie, Rev. Ivan Stang,  Rev. Bleepo Abernathy, Pope David Lee Black, Priestess Pisces  
Music by Phat Man Dee, Fat Free, DJ 2Beans, The Duke of Uke

Admission for this madness is only $10! 

 Doors at 8 p.m. / Wonderland is located at 3801 23rd Ave., Astoria NY 11105

And then since we are already in the area I have been booked at my  favorite hotel slash art gallery slash modern architectural marvel.....

The Gershwin Hotel! Tuesday October 12, 2010!
Phat Man Dee with Kenny Peagler
With special guests Tommy Amoeba and Sharon "Mama" Spell
The Gershwin Hotel is located at 7 E 27th St, btwn 5th and Madison,
NYC, NY
phone: 212.545.8000
Showtime 8 pm, $10 at the door, b.y.o.b., all ages

(here's the fancy details that I send out to the press)

Phat Man Dee returns to the 5 boroughs after a very successful and exhilarating exhibition singing with both Madagascar Institute of Brooklyn, and the Lifesize Mousetrap of San Francisco, CA, at World Maker Faire at Queens Hall of Science to sing at the legendary Gershwin Hotel.

Neke Carson and Michael Wiener host an evening at the Gershwin Living Room Theater, featuring Gypsi-Punk Circus-Funk jazz vocalist Phat Man Dee! With Kenny Peagler, pianist and special guests Tommy Amoeba & Sharon "Mama" Spell.
Facebook page for the event:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159595504064360&ref=share

And October 21, 2010 

Women ROCK! celebrates Dress for Success Pittsburgh's 5th Anniversary and the city’s talented female artists in music, dance, performance and visual art at the August Wilson Center. There is no other event in
Pittsburgh that brings together a diversity of women artists in one evening, on one stage. This year we have performances by Pittsburgh
Opera and Attack Theatre, Kenia Ashby, Geña, Phat Man Dee and more!
The backing band for myself, Geña and Kenia, includes Colter Harper, Preach Freedom, Miguel Sague III and Brian Stahurski. The guys sound great and I am very happy to have the opportunity to sing with them
and share them with Kenia and Geña!

 Tickets: VIP $125, General Admission $75
Groups of 10 Discount: VIP $100 / General Admission $65
Purchase tickets at  Pro Arts Tickets , phone (412) 394-3353

Here is a quick shout out for more dates at the end of the month, I  know I am playing backup cello and dumbek at Cantor Berlin's Friday Night Fusion service at the Parkway Jewish Center on Oct 22, and later that night hitting Shadow Lounge for a benefit for something Bob Ziller asked me to do, and then on Oct 23rd I am playing a private party for the Secret Society of Odd Acquisitions at Trundle Manor in Braddock/Swissvale.

I would love to see you at any and all of these, but if I can't, here is a poem til we see each other next. I wrote it for a 20 feet high deer head my friends associated with the Industrial Arts Co-op created some years ago at an abandoned steel mine in Rankin, PA.

"Rust never sleeps"
by Phat Man Dee September 2010

"Rust never sleeps
And deer don't tell time
If you choose to make the journey
Do so clandestine

Through the valley of colored glass
Under earth and tunnel wide
Only go on Sunday
God's day of silence will provide

A secret time to wander
And catch up on the glee
A 20 foot tall deer head
A miracle to see

Some mad men built in quiet
A girl joined in the fun
They toiled there in secret
In snow time and sun

Once this land was bright
With industrial steel and smoke
Coke ovens fire union ire
Now the trees make joke

Of the passion that once tore up the land
And filled sky hell fire light
The profits to a few
Paid by sweat of workman plight

All those fights forgotten
As leaves crawl through the walls
A 20 foot high deer stands guard
Bringing nature back to these halls

For deer won't tell the time
And rust just never sleeps
So visit in secret if you must
Listen to the moss as it softly creeps. "

Til next time my beautiful inspirations,
Mandee

Big Friday in Pittsburgh!

Sometimes I feel like I am just running through life, from one phabulous and bizarre gig to another. It's inspiring, sometimes terrifying, always slightly frenetic, I have a friend teaching me some tai chi and kung fu now, maybe I will be able to better focus and be a little more disciplined in the future with my artistic goals..... But until then, please expect that I will make sure to let you know about my gigs at least 23 hours prior to their actual happening..... Unless of course you follow me on the myface space page social networking multiverse and get the event invites, which I try to announce at least 2 weeks prior, but sometimes you just have to follow my tweets and hope, and if that doesn't work for you, just light a candle and maybe my chi will sing to yours in the ether.....


So without further warning.....
Tomorrow Friday September 17, 2010
Live and in person, Phat Man Dee will be singing with Colter Harper and Miguel Sague III at the Backstage Bar, off of Katz Plaza, 655 Penn Ave, Downtown Pittsburgh, PA in the heart of the Cultural District..... No cover. Great menu, phenomenal cocktails.

 It is a lovely way to start a weekend, and Goddess knows I have not had opportunity to sing to you all in town recently, though I have had some wonderful experiences out of town, I do get to missing my yinzers..... I just got back from singing in Ithaca, NY , I sang at a beautiful show put on by Heather Christ Halligan, she used to curate Lascaux Gallery with Bob Ziller, on South Side years ago, so just remember wherever you go, there's always a little piece of Pittsburgh waiting for you..... And then after seeing and singing for Heather and 500 of her best friends, I ran to Windber, PA to make a zombie movie, I shot several scenes with Butch Patrick (aka Eddie Munster) and I just can't wait to see what happens with that footage.....

So, I hope to see you tomorrow evening, and after my show I fully intend to head back to South Side, as my good beautiful friend Gena is singing with her Pittsburgh/Puerto Rican dance sensation, "Machete Kisumontao" at the Smiling Moose! It's gonna be hawt.....

And please keep your eyes peeled, I will be beginning the process of recording my 3rd album soon, as well as my first live performance dvd, and I have talked with my friends and colleagues about it, and we have decided that we should open the process up to our friends and fans, by way of starting a kickstarter fund raising campaign, I haven't decided the whats and how exactlies of it all just yet, but it seems to me that my friends and fans want to be involved and help me make it happen sooner rather than later, so I will let you know when I have the live campaign online. Some wonderful friends of mine have raised serious $$ to help them make their projects happen, from musical projects to hauling art across America and I think it is pretty exciting to think I could show you how we make the music and that you could actually be part of the process. The dvd part will be recorded live in Pittsburgh and I am looking at December..... so I shall keep you posted, and in the spirit of my new Tai Chi/ Kung Fu master, I shall do so with discipline and appropriate timing..... come to think of it, he's not so different from my vocal coach, and I bet she would kick his a$$ if he ever crossed her, which he never ever would, because he is the consummate gentleman..... even if he is 7 feet tall......

For your online perusing pleasure, my sources shared this video I didn't even know was out there, my good friend Puzzling Evidence posted this from a Northern California gig I did last year, in Sonoma County at the Dragon's Breath festival. It's a couple of songs I wrote for 2 friends of mine who aren't on this plane anymore. The pianist is a sweet blues man from New Orleans named Nelson Lunding.



Woops almost forgot!

Sat Sep 18th during the day I am participating in an "Art Chicks Garage Sale" hosted at the Melwood Compound, just a little further down Melwood St from the Pittsburgh Filmmakers, I have some weird stuff, Christiane D, Emay, Suz Pisano, Hilary Robinson, Leah McNaigle, it's a wild crew of women with lots of weird stuff to sell, so come on by after 11 am or so.... and then later that night I am hitting Lawrenceville, first to the Thunderbird where I am singing to Scheiny for her birthday party and then to New Amsterdam for my sweet friend Anthony Fugate's going away party, so if you want to find me, stalk stalk away..... it's the nature of this simultaneously voyeuristic and narcissistic world in which we live.... It is what it is..... Love and light and status updates.....
Yours from now until forever,
Mandee

Benefit tonight for Malik Rahim!

Hey kids!

            I am singing tonight August 28, 2010 for a benefit to send some $$ down to Malik Rahim. He is a community activist in New Orleans and a former Black Panther. Currently Malik Rahim is Director of the Meg Perry Center for Environmental Peace and Justice, and he set out on his trusty bicycle for a 1,600 mile sojourn to Washington D.C., stopping at state capitals, universities and community centers along the way to espouse the dramatic, immediate need for the restoration of Louisiana’s fragile wetlands.

           

            Joining me tonight are some beautiful ladies from the Pittsburgh art and music scene. We have Christiane D, a world renowned poet and producer, Olivia Kissel, of Zafira Dance Company who is celebrated the world over for her incredible movement and choreography. And Crystal of the Typewriter Girls shall also read poetry and provide some socially conscious light hearted comedy sketches showcasing her favorite Monkey Monksmith McGee.

The Bloomfield Bridge Tavern

4412 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224

 Saturday August 28, 2010             

Showtime begins at 8 pm

Cost: $10 though no one turned away for lack of funds. 100% of the door shall be sent to Malik Rahim through the non profit agency Common Ground Relief Fund.

Ages: 21 and over

 It should be noted that Malik had to cease his ride during the heat wave last week but plans to return biking where he left off in Mobile, AL. Malik is 62 years old and we would like him to see 63. We still support his endeavor and cause in any way we can, and in Pittsburgh, that means art and music, though a donation of a decent road worth bicycle for Malik would be appreciated. Vince Eirene has offered to drive it down to him personally if such a donation were forthcoming.

For more info check his site: http://www.bikeforthegulf.org and see information from his official release below.

            Mr. Rahim’s goal is to build awareness for the dire need for wetlands restoration with the hope that his efforts will culminate in an Environmental Summit in late 2010 or early 2011. The estimated cost of the restoration of Louisiana’s wetlands in $6 billion.          

             “This must happen NOW!,” said Rahim, 62. Mr. Rahim, a long-time housing and environmental activist, who gained attention as a community organizer in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “Now more than ever, our wetlands need to be rebuilt. People need to know that Louisiana’s already unbelievable rate of wetlands loss of a football–sized piece of land every 37 minutes has increased exponentially by the spewing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. We need help!

            “The horror of Katrina was made possible by number of forces,” Mr. Rahim said, “including the devastation of Louisiana’s wetlands by oil companies. Now this problem has been exacerbated exponentially by the hemorrhaging oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico,” he said.

            A novice cyclist but veteran activist, Mr. Rahim hopes to average 35 miles per day. He will began his journey in Houma, Louisiana at the BP Preservation Headquarters and proceed to the offices of Common Ground Relief, 1800 Deslonde Street, in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward.  On Wednesday, July 14, a press conference and rally will be held at Common Ground Relief offices at 3 p.m., at which time the group will bid Mr. Rahim well and see him off on his journey. He will head east along the Gulf Coast visiting those coastal cities hardest hit by the BP Oil Spill, including Biloxi, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama, and on to Tallahassee, Florida.  His trip will take him past the Sewanee River Basin the Okefenokee Swamp up past the National Seashores through Savannah, Charleston, the Cape Hatteras Seashore up past the Chesapeake Bay to Richmond and then to Washington DC.  Mr. Rahim’s ride will take him past some of the most pristine and endangered wetlands areas in the country.

           

            He will maintain a daily blog at bikeforthegulf.org and will update his Facebook group “Bike for the Gulf”) and Twitter (twitter.com/bikeforthegulf ) entries daily.

Mr. Rahim intends to arrive in Washington DC on 9/22.  He plans to meet with the Progressive Caucus, and the Bike4Peace ride led by former Georgia Congressmember Cynthia McKinney. He invites all interested parties to join him on his ride, particularly those with the Green Party and other environmental  affiliations. Visit BikefortheGulf.org for more information and updates.

            I would *LOVE* to see you tonight, but if you can't make it, please visit the website and donate a couple bucks. If you have a good road bike you'd like to donate, or if you would like to ride with him yourself, again visit the website and make yourself known. Or ask me about how to get him a bike, Vicnent has agreed to drive it to him if we can locate a good one.

            One love my friends,

            Phat Man Dee

PS I almost forgot! I put new video online of me singing with world class pianist Kenny Peagler in New York City at the Gershwin Hotel from earlier this year, let me know what you think, share it around!

Singing at Bridge City Bombshells Birthday Bash, and Summerfest at Brushwood!

Mi amigos! Mi companeros!

It has been a beautifully thick summer friends. So many beautiful  people doing so many strange and wonderful things in my life. I tell  you, X Day at Brushwood was like a dream. A nightmare actually,
wherein I had been promised salvation for a mere $30 or triple my $$  back, but the Aliens never came, not even with that durned Rupture  forwarding app I bought for my Blackberry...... Though, Jeff at  Starwood postulated that in 1998 the Aliens DID come down and I am  currently in my pleasure dome in the cosmos AS WE SPEAK...... Oddly  enough, though I don't remember much about  my training as a Jew, I do remember the Rabbi telling me that we didn't believe in Heaven and
Hell as afterlife per se, but one could create Heaven and Hell for themselves on earth if they so chose..... So maybe the Rupture happened on July 5, 1998 after all, and Jehovah has been saved by Bob this WHOLE TIME?!?!? (Ok if you are just picking up this conversation and are like, hey Mandee, I like your singing, when did you get all weird culty like religious, I say unto you thus, I am a weirdo. Always the odd one out for any number of reasons. I am a jazz singer. The twain need not be separated. In fact, one for me, has always fueled the other. In fact, if you remember me when I was bald, I shaved my head on Feb 15, 1995 because the Reverend Ivan Stang of the Church of the Subgenius was coming to Pittsburgh for a devival in South Side and I knew I would be singing to more people than I had ever sung to before at that show, and hence the beginning of the bald.
10 years and several circus tours later later I regrew it by accident in a months long fit of depression when Bush was re elected but that's another story. For more info about Bob and Reverend Stang visit
http://www.subgenius.com , for more info on Bush you will have to summon Satan himself for a decent explanation.)

Picture on left of Starwood fire burning bright. 
So, anyhoo, last couple of weeks have been beautiful. Mr Sague and Cha of Guaracha came to Starwood with me, both did presentations, Cha on Afro Cuban percussion where he was impressed with the quality of drummers out there, not all floppy handed hippies after all! And Mr Sague's presentations on 2012 Prophecy from a Mayan Perspective and on Taino Shamanism were VERY well received. Our shows were lovely, and I can't wait to go back next year. Wisteria is an incredibly glorious campground and I need to explore it more. Apparently it used to be a strip mine and they have reclaimed it and 630 acres of it is a nature
preserve of all things! And I got to sing with Billy Woods and Princess Wei and Miguel and Cha Sague! I can't wait for next year!
http://www.wisteria.org/


But hey, you may say, that is all well and good, but where can I go to see you tomorrow or next week? My time machine is in the shop and I can't go back in time to see you last week!

Tomorrow July 16, 2010
Belvederes in Lawrenceville, 4016 Butler St., Pittsburgh, PA  Happy Birthday to the some of the hottest ladies in town! The babelicious burlesque troupe Bridge City Bombshells is about to enter the Terrible Twos! Come celebrate with us and tons of special guests including Agnes Wired for Sound, David Doyle (Jack of all trades), Miss Direction (magician), Davon Magwood (comedian), The Typewriter Girls, DJ Hates You, MC Lioness, $ Yuenglings, $3 well drinks, 21+, $8 entry before 10 pm, $10 after 10 pm, showtime is 9 pm!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132943503405044&ref=mf

Next week on Tues July 20, 2010!
If you could not join me for X Day at Brushwood or Starwood at  Wisteria, well, there's always next year, but if you don't want to wait that long, I suggest you pack your tent and come out to Brushwood for Summerfest! I hear from friends onsite it is hot, dry and just a lovely event! Also performing other nights of the festival are Jim
Donovan's "Drum the Ecstatic International" and Dragon Ritual Drummers to name a few. There's workshops aplenty and good times to be had.
Joining me onstage shall be Colter Harper and Preach Freedom of Rusted Root with special guests Billy Woods and Miguel Sague Jr.
http://www.brushwood.com/summerfest.html


I have recently discovered how to tweet with photos. It's been a fascinating learning curve, I am kind of worried about the photo I took with a very suggestive desert the Amoeba and I shared over our
8th Anniversary dinner but otherwise it's pretty exciting. So far I have posted on my twitter pictures of fire, cult heroes, signs advertising fireworks and fudge, so if you want in on the digital action follow me on twitter @phatmandee


Be well, stay warm, and if you can't figure out your appointments,
consult your local time chicken.
Mandee

http://www.reverbnation.com/phatmandee
http://www/facebook.com/phatmandee

On a sadder note, this week we lost two great men, two bright souls are making the ether a lot brighter and far hipper than it was 2 days ago, and Rest in Peace Gene Ludwig. Without you this world would have been a much less hip place. Your soul flew through your body, out your fingers and into the hearts of your fans, of which I was one. We shall miss you greatly. I loved singing with you the one time we shared a stage together. Pittsburgh can be thankful for many things, one of the greatest moments for me was when you played for Sandy Staley. God bless.
http://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/GeneLudwig

Rest in Peace Harvey Pekar, we met at Starwood 2009 and you came to my camp to use my phone. We tried to feed you but you said you had cheese sandwiches. I wasn't sure if you were afraid of what we might feed you or if you just really liked cheese sandwiches. Either way, thanks for signing that book for my husband. I will miss you.
 

Happy Solstice with Phat Man Dee and Miguel's Latino Moods

Happy sunny Friday to you, my friends! I hope you get this message  just moments before you leave work early to enjoy this beautiful weather in Pittsburgh!


Tonight, about 8 pm, please join me for a beautiful evening of vocal  jazz and Caribbean music as I share a stage with my friend Mike Murray on piano and my friends Miguel Sague III and his father Miguel Sague  Jr.

We are singing at Istanbul Coffeeshop (formerly Your Inner Vagabond)  in Lawrenceville at 4130 Butler St,     Pittsburgh, PA. Doors open 8 pm,
showtime 8:30. It is an all ages show, and entry is $10.
The Turkish menu prepared by restaurateur Coskun Gokalb is amazing and  I really hope to see you out! Miguel's dad is a shaman who regularly  speaks on the 2012 prophecy from a Mayan perspective, in addition to  his seductive and beautiful voice, if we are lucky maybe he will
enlighten us to another way of viewing astronomical and spiritual  phenomenon while he sings us classically beautiful and moving Cuban
music while his son plays conga. Sorry for the late notice, but if we  are friends on Facebook, you should have heard about this before now,  if not, join me on one of most distressingly pervasive social  networking systems since Orwell's "1984".
http://www.facebook.com/phatmandee

The this coming Sunday come on out for our 3rd in a series of Sunday  brunches I am hosting also at Istanbul, same address as above, just on  Sunday morning, and if you are a musician, please bring your axe and  lets play something together! I have always wanted to play a Sunday morning jazz jam session somewhere in this beautiful city which is so full of incredible musicians, and it's going well so far, next month I
am out of town for festivals like X Day and Starwood, so I don't know  if I can continue it personally in July and August, but this June has been a blast and I am hoping to pass it on to someone to hold til I come back in fall. We play from 11 to 2 pm and there is no cover, and the brunch menu is lovely.




Why, you may ask, should I come out tonight AND Sunday? Well, maybe you can't, and if so, that's ok, but if you can, please understand, getting to hear Senor Sague sing with his son Cha (my conga player) is super special. They sing really lovely songs and it's just really romantic. I wish I could have them both every Sunday, but the life of a Taino Shaman is a busy one and getting to hear him tonight on the weekend of Summer Solstice is very special treat for us, he's out of town with ceremonies all weekend, so if you can, you should join us.


So, I hope to see you sometime this weekend! And next Friday I am singing at the Shadow Lounge's 10 year anniversary! It's amazing to think that a decade has come and gone and the Shadow Lounge in East Liberty has witnessed the rebirth of a beautiful neighborhood, and in my opinion, played quite a role in it's surrounding renaissance. The Shadow is more than just a coffeeshop and bar, and now, apparently home to some tasty Mexican food,  it has been an artistic home to many wonderful musicians, poets, rappers, and dancers. It's provided a place where you could experiment with something new or hold a benefit for some worthy cause, or listen to brilliant jazz kids work it out,
Food Bank Fiesta happens monthly, and it was a place for the hip hop movement to grow, and global world beats folks to come together and have safe haven. At the Shadow it never mattered what clique you thought you did or didn't belong to, so long as you threw down what you meant and you knew you would always be respected so long as you showed the same respect. And they make a mean cocktail. And their servers are super hot. Sometimes I think Justin should open a modeling agency to go with his venue...... So it is a weekend long extravaganza, and though I am singing on Friday June 25 from 8:25 pm to 8:45 pm, if you can't specifically time it just to hear me, I hope you can just hit the club and try to imagine what a culturally bleak landscape Pittsburgh would be if it were not for the Shadow Lounge and it's sister club Ava, located at 5972 Baum Blvd, Pgh, PA 15206 & AVA is around the corner at 126 S. Highland Ave., Pgh. Phone # for both is 412.363.8277. I congratulate Justin Strong for not only a job well done in keeping it open, I also congratulate him for his upcoming new role as Daddy.....


Some video for you:
Miguel singing with Guaracha (the band his dad started in the 80's)
and also with his father as a duo:

Mike Roselle speaks at "Go Tell it On the Mountain", a a benefit we
held at Shadow Lounge in May 2010 for Climate Ground Zero

Love and prophecy and sweet jazz,
Mandee

PMD at Dr Sketchy's in Cleveland tonight and more!

Summer is so almost here, I can taste it, the heavy dew humidity dampens my hair, makes Pittsburgh's east end fog up like San Francisco at twilight, I am excited for less clothes and later warmer nights when I don't have to say, "It's freezing! Lets go inside...."

At current I write to you from Cleveland, Ohio, tonight I have a show at the Beachland Ballroom. Dr Sketchy's Anti Art School is hosting me, I have come to model for some of Cleveland's finest artists and cartoonists. 3 costume changes, at least that many songs, and drinking and drawing starting at 7 pm! 

Tonight, Tues Mar 25, 2010 at the Beachland Ballroom. http://drsketchycleveland.com/
http://www.beachlandballroom.com
15711 Waterloo Road
Cleveland, OH 44110


This weekend I sing for 2 wonderful events, on Friday May 29, I am opening for Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade at the Brillobox at 9pm!
4104 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15224
(412) 621-4900

And the following night I am really excited to say that I shall be singing with Colter Harper at the Regent Square Theater! We are performing a short set before the Pittsburgh Fimmakers debut of the movie Dust and Illusions by Olivier Bonin of MadNomad Films.
Once a year, on a vast Nevada lake bed surrounded by mountains, the Burning Man festival brings together tens of thousands of people who are attracted by the festival's promise of seven days of "decommodification,""community," "artwork," and "revelry." This doc on the festival’s 30 year history examines whether Burning Man's mainstream appeal threatens its utopian vision.
(Olivier Bonin; USA; 2008)
This is a $10 special event followed by a reception, no passes are accepted.
Proceeds benefit Doctors Without Borders. 
1035 South Braddock Ave, Edgewood, PA 15218
412-682-4111 (showtimes hotline)

Hope to see you, I am very excited about all of these shows, and I thank you for every opportunity I have to sing to you!
Mandee

Benefit for Climate Ground Zero! Pop Up Pittsburgh! Awalim, Zafira and More!

Why should I do one show when I can do 3? 

Especially when they are for such good causes!

On Sunday May 16, 2010 we are holding a benefit for  

Climate Ground Zero! 
“Go Tell it on the Mountain”

 Pittsburgh musicians shall perform at a benefit concert to raise funds to send to Climate Ground Zero as they work to defend the mountain tops in West Virginia from the affects of blast mining for coal by Massey Energy. In the incredibly toxic and devastating process that is mountain top blast mining for coal, mountains are leveled, valleys filled, miners lost, streams turned to poison and whole towns washed away. Climate Ground Zero is dedicated to fighting this through legal civil disobedience and protest. In support of their work and in recognition of their need for funding towards their own legal battles we are having a benefit concert.

Hosted by Phat Man Dee , Vincent Eirene, Matt Peters and the Shadow Lounge.  Performers to Machete, Phat Man Dee, Miguel Sague Jr., Kirik Hava, Typewriter Girls, Colter Harper and Miguel Sague III. Also featuring speaker Mike Roselle of Climate Ground Zero & Earth First! and a video screening by Coal Stories.
Tickets are $10 or more at the door, 21+., Doors open at 6:30, showtime at 7:00 pm


Raffle with locally donated eco friendly prizes  all proceeds from door and raffle to benefit Climate Ground Zero.

  And the day before on the Saturday May 15, 2010, I have 2 wonderful events to choose from,  or be hardcore and come to both!!!!!

This Saturday May 15, 2010,  I am emceeing 2 wonderful events! Early in the day from 12- 4 pm I am emceeing and singing in my own neighborhood! Pop Up Pittsburgh is coming to the Hilltop in Allentown (small virtually unknown neighborhood between S Side Slopes, Mt Washington Knoxville and Beltzhoover)

Other performers to include:
Roland Ford,  Yours Truly , Gena-Pena, Elliott Sussman,  South Hills Baptist Church in Beltzhoover / Jesus for the Win Choir will perform multi-genre contemporary gospel , In Acchord, UMOJA,  a Bhutanese dance group from Carrick and Carrick HS Jazz Choir!!!

 And Later that Same Evening!!!

Zafira Dance Co. Presents:
ZiahAli & Majida Anwar of Awalim!
May 15 & 16, 2010
at the NEW Zafira Dance Company Studios!
1113 E. Carson St. (2nd floor, under BYS studio)
Pittsburgh, PA 15202

May 15th at Cattivo Sotto
$5 @ the door
7PM doors/ 8PM showtime
146 44th St., Lawrenceville, Pgh, PA 15201

Little E's, Backstage Bar and Salsita!

I hope you have one of those devices that lets you reads email and
blog posts as they occur. I do. It's a mixed blessing, because while I
am able to keep up, sometimes keeping up with the digital minutia of
my life becomes far too much for me. I long for the days of rotary
phones and messages which, if returned within a week were considered
returned in a timely fashion, where business didn't occur on a nano
second by nano second basis....
And then I wake up and realize that with out this tech and
communication I and other artists I adore would not have the
opportunities we do as a direct result of living in the future, but
sometimes it freaks me out and I go into cyber hiding. I don't
actually hermitize, you see, I hermitize by not getting on the
computer and actually walking around my neighborhood and saying hi to
people in person. But then 20 voicemails and thousands of emails later
I wake up and say, "Holy mother of goodness I have a big show tonight
and unless they walked past a posted bill that either I or Vinni put
up no one knows about it! "

 So, hence my hope that you get this email within seconds of my sending it and you have the evening clear and would like to hear me tonight as I sing with Colter Harper , Tony DePaolis and Miguel Sague III.
We're at Little E's Jazz Club tonight April 30, 2010, from 8 pm to about 11. No cover, $10 minimum for food or beverage. Sweet little club, lovely staff, great food. And this is my last gig with Tony DePaolis before he leaves us to join the Joy Ellis trio as they sail
around the Mediterranean on a cruise ship.
http://www.littleesjazz.com/
FB event page

And tomorrow I have 2 gigs that I am hoping you may be able to attend if tonight is not on your radar!

May 1, 2010
5- 7 pm Backstage Bar! 655 Penn Ave from with Colter Harper and Miguel Sague III. Free, no cover. Enjoy a nice early evening hit to help your weekend get into gear!

Later that same evening, also May 1, join Miguel and I as we head over to Salsita!
A benefit for the Spanish language school.
8 -11 pm, at the Grey Box Theater, 3595 Butler St, in Lawrenceville. $35, tapas, sangria y salsa!
I am emceeing and singing a couple tunes. Live Latin Band Noel Quintana's Latin Crew, Local DJ, Dance tips for beginners and experts from Salsa Pittsburgh, our annual Silent auction, Salsa tasting Competition, Loco Sombrero Photo Booth. Handcrafted Tapas & Artisan
Drinks! Details and tickets available on-line!

After this I will be planning for Pop Up Pittsburgh, a party/ festival in my neighborhood on May 15 and on May 16 we are doing a big benefit at the Shadow Lounge for Climate Ground Zero, to help their efforts in fighting mountain top blast mining for coal by Massie Mining Group in West Virgina, with Machete, Typewriter Girls, Miguel Sague Jr and son, myself and much more.
For more info check the facebook event page!

I hope you have a beautiful day in Pittsburgh, PA, and I hope I can be
part of it. I am busy booking my summer festival schedule, so if you
have an event you would like me to bring some music to, please ask,
especially if it pays, I am putting my pennies together for another
album and everything I make goes towards helping me do this again.

May the Gods and Goddesses of your household bless you and those
around you,
Mandee

Watch in fascination, groove with definition.....

To my fellow lovers, livers and all who are generally engaged in  creating the stuff of life..... It's been such a fascinating journey  and I thank you for allowing me to share in yours. I hope your Equinox, or Passover, or Easter or jolly combination of the three and  then some were well spent with family and friends. I personally kind of had a horrific monster cold that I didn't wish to pass on to my mortal enemies, much less folks I care about, so I had to stay home, but thankfully my family sent on some ravioli with the Amoeba when he returned home. Fortunately I am over the cold, and ready for tomorrow's show, which I hope you can stop over to, if you are within  the realm of downtown Pittsburgh!

Tomorrow April 9, at 5 pm til 7 pm.
At the Backstage Bar, 655 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
Come enjoy an early evening to start your weekend with sweet Pittsburgh jazz with silky vocals by Phat Man Dee, the incomparable guitar musings of Colter Harper and the Afro Cuban melodic and entrancing drums of Miguel Sague III. Light bite and cocktails, no  cover!! Watch in fascination, groove with definition as bassist Tony DePaolis shakes your inner every with his very heavy....

Also, in the now, and for another 28 days, the cast of the opera I was in last fall, "How to Survive the Apocalypse, a Burning Opera" is engaged in a communal fundraiser. We are trying to raise about $8000 to complete the cast album. I sang on the record, and helped write the melody to my character's solo song! We did this all last fall, after our sold out run at Teatro Zinzanni in San Francisco, we caravaned together to my friends' Renfey and David Bergeaud's house in the Hollywood Hills to make the record, while it was fresh in our minds and bodies. Renfey was in the cast as the Fire Elemental, and her husband turned their palatial home into a giant recording studio. It was an incredible recording experience. The album and dvd from the live show will be great, but we need to complete them. We the cast, writers (Mark Nichols and Erik Davis) , producer , crew , band and David all made intensedonations of our time and talents but love and talent can only go so far, at some point we need to ask for a little help. I am not asking any one of you to give me $8000 to finish this work, in fact we already have over $5000 of the monies needed pledged already. But if you could think to put $30 or more towards our efforts, I would really thank you. Check it out online, you can see
teaser video from the show and get more info:



And while we are talking about fire and how to survive the apocalypse......
My friend Eroc moved back to town. It was such event, the paper wrote about it....
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10053/1037275-388.stm

Anyhoo, Eroc is a pretty fascinating guy, though he is from Pittsburgh, I met him in NYC with my art star freaks up there, he was a founder of their Madagascar Institute, and LEMUR (League of Musical
Electronic Robots) and he is now living in Squirrel Hill. And he's about to teach a course in building your own personal artistic flame thrower. I can't attend these classes because of gigs and commitments,
but I am hoping it goes well so I can study another time, I have been needing some fire sculpture (or at least some fire elements for my scooter, don't you think?) for a while now.... and it's not like
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts is offering these classes....yet......

For more info:

 http://www.hackpittsburgh.org/flame-cannon-clas 

So, as much as I would love to see your beautiful faces tomorrow, I understand that not all things can happen as I would order them, mayhap I can see you at a gig towards the end of the month?

Save some dates if you would:

Saturday April 24 at the Club Cafe! 21+ , $10. The Return of Yawp!

Carnevale Poetica! Featuring Salena Catalina, Bingo Quixote, Alexi Morrissey, ErinEvanErin, Kevin "the nerve' Wenner, Borderless Puzzle, Phat Man Dee, Dr. Awkward, Gary Musisko, Jim "DOG" Cvetic, Over Responding Monster, Leslie Ann McIlroy and more guests TBA... plus the return of yawp Magazine. Poetry/Performance/Music/Art!

Friday April 30 at Little E's Jazz Club
8 pm, no cover, $10 min food/drink, with Tony DePaolis, Colter Harper and Miguel Sague III

Saturday May 1 at Backstage Bar
5 - 7 pm, no cover, with Colter Harper and Miguel Sague III
Later that same evening, 8 pm at the Grey Box Theater for a benefit for the Spanish language grade school in Squirrel Hill

Sunday May 16 at Shadow Lounge
"Go Tell it On the Mountain" a benefit to send legal defense funds to Climate Ground Zero, as they fight the Massie Corporation from immoral and illegal mountaintop blast coal mining. With Phat Man Dee, Emay, Typewriter Girls and Mike Roselle of Climate Ground Zero, more info forthcoming. All $$ to benefit Climate Ground Zero.

And last but not least, please to enjoy some video I shot and edited of me singing with Genia of Machete and Carlos Pena at the Latin American Cultural Union's presentation during the Caribbean and Latin American Festival at the University of Pittsburgh. I am hoping to start a trio with her and Cha of Guaracha Latin Dance Band, maybe called Trio Los Mereguitos.... Until I can announce our debut performance, I hope this video whets your appetite...

Tonight, Tomorrow & Beware My Final Ides of March March!

Friends, Romans, Yinzers,
It has been and is continuing to be a fascinating journey for me through the 20th and 21st centuries.... This weekend is the perfect example showcasing why and how I love the City of Pittsburgh. I'm preaching from the 412, a chubby tattooed Jew..... (bad rhyming shall cease here.)

Seriously, I know this note is hitting you late, but check it, I am so excited to announce that tonight I shall sit in with some of the most dangerously sexy salsa musicians to hit our collective black and gold triangle.  

Photo below of me with Miguel Sague III and Miguel Sague Jr

You may know of the band Guaracha, if you don't , you really should, in the 80's and 90's they introduced our city to Latin Music. Every Thursday at Rosebud and Saturdays at Cozumel they helped us shake it in ways we hadn't heretofore realized were possible. These days, Guaracha is led by the son of original founder Miguel Sague Jr, now Miguel Sague III is leading the group and tonight I debut sitting in with his show for a couple of songs like "Perfidia", "Bessame Mucho" and perhaps "La Llorona". It is not too late to come out to the Food Bank Fiesta!

Tonight March Friday March 12, 2010 at the Shadow Lounge
Doors 8:30 pm, $8 or $6 if you bring cans for the foodbank.
http://allsaguelatinshows.webs.com/
http://www.shadowlounge.net/

Some video I shot of Guaracha and Miguel's Latin Moods for a demo for Miguel Sague III

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And then tomorrow I am singing with Miguel Sague III and Colter Harper at a benefit for Chile.
Sat March 13, 2010, 7:30 pm, $10 donation

http://www.chileanbenefit.com/

Performers include:

El Coro Latinoamericano de Pittsburgh, Emily Pinkerton y Marcia Moreno, Christiane D., Phat Man Dee with Colter Harper and Miguel Sague III, Indira Corales, Flamenco Pittsburgh, Musuhallpa and Copihue-Chile.

In response to last Saturday’s devastating earthquake, the Chilean Community of Pittsburgh is presenting a benefit concert on Saturday, March 13 at 7:30 (Bellefield Hall Auditorium) to raise funds for the millions of individuals left without adequate food, water and shelter in central and southern Chile.  In these efforts, the Chilean Community will collaborate with Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF), a 52-year old Pittsburgh-based international charity that has provided over $3.4 billion of medical supplies, textbooks, food, seeds, and other humanitarian supplies to people around the world in over 140 countries.   Also supporting the Chilean Community as sponsors are The University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Latin American Studies, the Department of Music, and the Latin American Cultural Union.  The concert will feature several performance groups from Latin America in addition to raffles and prizes donated by local businesses.  Visit http://www.chileanbenefit.com for the latest updates and biographical information on participating groups.

 The Brother’s Brother Foundation earned Charity Navigator's seventh consecutive 4-star rating for BBF's ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances.  Forbes Magazine, in this year's Investment Guide, once again noted BBF's efficiency with a 100% rating for fundraising efficiency and charitable commitment.  The Better Business Bureau again gave BBF its “Wise Giving Alliance Standards” seal of approval. For additional information about BBF, and how to donate to Chile, please contact Karen Dempsey , Director of Development, or Luke L. Hingson , President, at 412-321-3160 or mail@brothersbrother.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And then finally, for me anyways, the 15th Annual Ides of March March shall pass on, not into the ether thankfully, for there is another who wants to ride this hot mess of freaky traditions into the future......
Since 1995 when the Big Daddy Bull Seal! and I realized we had a constitutional right to assemble and therefore a sociological responsibility to do so, albeit dressed to impress as our innermost selves supplanted themselves onto the unsuspecting consciousness of our local community at large, we have annually marched on the Ides of March to insist vociferously that those standing still should BEWARE of us, the IDES of MARCH MARCH! I even have a song for it, maybe I shall record it this year.....(what with all the free time I will have now that I am finally free of the fetters of the Ides of March March). And so, dutifully we responded to the inner calls of Bull Seal! and made Smelt Drop Cookies, and Square Lighthouses, and Blue Bakers and paraded the Ictothingus around with pride, we beat the drums heads high boys and made the girls grunt and squeal in disbelief. Ah, but we were young.....  These days I am lucky if I get the Bellare Bewounds made in time and order the cake from Giant Eagle for the after party.

So this year, I am pleased to announce that Professor Emce Squared of the It's Alive! Show will be taking the Keys to the Parade and shepherding her into a glorious, rich, (though in grand Pittsburgh tradition probably more Zombie filled) future fervor.
http://www.theitsaliveshow.com/
Come be a a part of this Historic Changing of the Bards..... March with us, bring a costume and a drum.

Monday March 15, 2010
S 12th Street and E Carson St, in Pittsburgh's Hysteric Sahs Side at Birmingham Square
Gather at 6 pm, depart at 6:45 pm
March up to S 21st St, cross Carson, and then back down to S 14th St, and there will, I promise, be cake.

There may be floods, devastation, depression, concessions and earthquakes galore, but I implore you, let me see your shining face sometime this weekend. At the Food Bank Fiesta, at the Benefit for Chile, or the Ides of March March. If you can't I understand, we'll put something on youtube I am sure, but we would have had more fun with you than we ever could without you.

Love, butter and melting icepacks,
Phat Man Dee

Friday 2-19 Mandee @ Little E's w/ Miguel "Cha" Sague III, Colter Harper, Tony DePaolis & Gena!!

You heard right, tomorrow night at Little E's Jazz Club (or tonight if you read this on Friday) I am singing my debut at Little E's Jazz Club, 949 Liberty Ave , downtown Pittsburgh, PA, upstairs above Mahoney's, right next door to the gigantic James Simon bronze sculptures of a guitarist, an accordionist and a dog, across from the August Wilson Center.

No cover! ($10 minimum for food and or drinks) Great menu, and wonderful music! I know the weather has been beating us all super hard, please come out and let me sing to you. Don't just let me sing to you, let me sing to you with some of my favorite Pittsburgh singers! I promise 3 part harmony with conga master Miguel "Cha" Sague of Guaracha Latin Dance Band and with the beautiful Gena of Machete and also Latin Dance Orchestra! I also have many new tunes I have been writing as well as the old classics that allow me to barely hold onto my self definition as a "jazz" singer.... Joining us is the phenomenal Colter Harper on guitar and after his sets at the Phyllis Hyman tribute show at the August Wilson Center Mr Tony DePaolis will bring over the bass. Rumor has it Reggie Watkins is in town, fresh from recording with Grooveline Horns and touring with Jason Mraz and may bring the trombone over for a couple tunes and mayhap Mr Sague (father of Cha and former bandleader of Guaracha) may sit in as well..... Please come out for a wonderful night of music, it's on a friday, downtown, no cover, I don't know what else I can say to entice you.
http://www.littleesjazz.com/

 

 Photo above features me with Ketabu, Gena and Cha (that's Assante in the background) at the Haiti benefit we did a couple weeks ago at Shadow Lounge,  that was when I decided I wanted to sing with these two incredibly talented performers. 

 And then next Tues Feb 23 , 2010 I am heading to New York to sing with Kenny Peagler! Neke Carson and Michael Wiener are presenting me at the Gershwin Hotel! I am so excited, I haven't seen Kenny in forever, for those of you who have my cd, he is the incredibly gifted pianist featured on the title track "Torch of Blue" (for those of you who don't , what are you waiting for? http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/phatmandee ) He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and toured Italy last year as musical director for a gospel choir. And he is one of Pittsburgh's brightest gifts to the musical world , in my humble opinion...... 

To elucidate, Neke Carson and Michael Wiener present shall Phat Man Dee to sing at the Gershwin Hotel as accompanied by pianist Kenny Peagler on Tues Feb 23, 2010.
Showtime 8 pm, $10 at door.
7 E 27th St, between 5th and Madison.
http://www.gershwinhotel.com/

Video of me with Tony DePaolis and Mike Murray at The Gershwin Hotel in December of 2008:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9JFIp8bHpY

Sending back the Spirit

Sending back the Spirit 

What: Pittsburgh musicians shall perform at a benefit concert to raise emergency funds to send to earthquake survivors in Haiti.

Who: Hosted by Shadow Lounge and Phat Man Dee. Performers to include trumpeter Sean Jones  pianist and vocalist Joy Ellis and the Georgetown Trio,  singer songwriter Joy Ike, guitarist Colter Harper, bassist Tony DePaolis, poet Christiane D, Ben Alper, Yours Truly, Irish activist and balladeer Terry Griffith, dancers Christine Andrews and Maria Hamer of Zafira, DJ Flex , Ben Hackett , Mike Glabicki and chanteuse Phat Man Dee and friends.

Where: The Shadow Lounge, 5972 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15206-3815

When: Thursday January 21, 2010              Doors open 7 pm, show begins at 8 pm

Cost: $10 or more, 100% of door and 10% of bar sales to benefit Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund http://www.yele.org

Age: 18 and over

Also:  Raffle to be held in the Blue Room.  Donations co ordinator is Elizabeth Kivowitz and can be reached for donations at 412-758-6724

Long Description:

Upon hearing about the tragedy which befell the people of Haiti on Jan 11, people all over the world were at a loss as to how to help the people of this island nation. In Pittsburgh there is a community of musicians who are happy to lend their talents to create a night of music that will hopefully raise some much needed funds and awareness for the survivors of this terrible day. The Shadow Lounge and Phat Man Dee have banded together to host a wonderful evening of music to send some love, light and emergency funds to where they are needed most. The charity chosen to distribute what is raised is the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund. In addition to attending this concert featuring local music legends such as Sean Jones, Mike Glabicki of Rusted Root, Phat Man Dee and more, you may also text the word “Yele” to the number 501501 on your cell phone to send an immediate donation of $5.  All the performers will perform in the Shadow Lounge from 8 pm – 12 am and DJ Flex will be spinning Haitian dance music in Ava from 10 pm to close.