Tomorrow Fri Jan 28, Mandee w/ Flamenco Pittsburgh & Bridge City Bombshells!

It's cold outside, so I suggest we all get together and do one of 3 things....

A.) Wander around downtown in the Cultural District and celebrate how incredibly amazing our art, music and dance scene is.....
or
B.) Head over to Belvedere's in Lawrenceville and watch pretty girls take off their clothes in an an incredibly artful and sexy fashion
or
C.) Pretend you're Phat Man Dee and do both.....

If you want to do both then I encourage you, for the very selfish reason, that I wish to sing to you and also see your faces when you bear witness to the incredible artistry of the beautiful dancers with whom I am privileged to work tomorrow evening.

Here's the deets:

Tomorrow Friday January 28, 2011

I shall make a cameo appearance with Flamenco Pittsburgh at 6 pm. The beautiful dancer Carolina Loyola Garcia has requested I sing "Besame Mucho" with the world renowned flamenco guitarist Jon Bañuelos for her, as she pierces my soul with her phenomenal movements yet again.
6 PM SHOW ONLY at Pierce Gallery 805/807 Liberty Ave downtown, lower level
Gallery Crawl is free and open to the public, for more info visit:
http://www.pgharts.org/education/gallerycrawl.aspx
http://jonbanuelos.com/
http://www.flamencopittsburgh.org/

Later THAT SAME EVENING

I shall join my favorite burlesque troupe, Pittsburgh's prettiest darlings, the "Bridge City Bombshells" at Belevdere's in Lawrenceville. I am their emcee for the evening and will also be singing a 40 min set with my trio, including Miguel "Cha" Sague III and Carlos Peña of Guaracha Latin Dance Band.
Doors open at 9 pm, and show time is 10 pm.
21 and over, tickets are $10 for men and $7 for women.
4016 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh.
If you're on the face book here's a handy dandy event page!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=141308472594111

I would love to see you at both. If I cannot see you now, dates to mark and remember:

March 5th at Howler's Coyote Cafe with local Irish balladeer Terry Griffith and internationally celebrated Celtic rock sensation Coyote Run!

March 17 at the Smiling Moose opening for Bushwalla!

Also every Wednesday night at the Shadow Lounge, my friend and conga player Miguel "Cha" Sague III leads a band his father started 20 years ago, "Guaracha Latin Dance Band" and they do a weekly event called "Food Bank Fiesta" and they play salsa/cumbia/bolero/reggaton and they have me sit in sometimes as well. So, if it is a Wednesday in Pittsburgh, then it is very likely you will see me there, and if you do see me there it is then very likely I will sing something in Spanish with them. Cha is a wonderful sideman for me and I adore playing and singing with him, but if you haven't seen him leading his own 10 piece band with original Guaracha members and new kids just coming up, complete with 2 guitars, a horn section, multiple drummers and his incredible Pops hitting those high notes like it's 1969, then you're missing out in a serious way. Every Wednesday, Shadow Lounge, $7 or $5 with non perishable food donation for the Greater Pittsburgh Area Food Bank.

So I am back in school right now at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, and am really looking forward to getting my hands on their fleet of shiny new hi def video cameras and also to this this spring, when I will be shooting my podcasts wherein I showcase my favorite local creative artists across genres to the world in a free downloadable form. I also am planning a big live performance dvd shoot, so I can better share my music with the world. Your support has meant so much to me over the years, it is such an honor to sing to people who want to hear. Bless you. I look forward to inviting you to these events as the logistics unfold.

For now allow me to leave you with a new poem, it is my answer to all these wonderful Pittsburgh songs by artists like Wiz khalifa and Kelle Maize that are showcasing our fair city.

"My Pittsburgh Anthem" by Phat Man Dee

"What you think that being from Steel Town really truly is?
Is it football or is it hockey, well that stuff ain't my biz

All that big big money flowing through downtown
But in my steel city we got three rivers and we know how to get down

Flamenco dancers' flashing eyes will stare you down the line
Puerto Rican queens singing in and out of time

Cuban shaman science is sweating out Penn Hills
We have so much music, its how we pay our bills

Jazz giants coming forth as Sean and Reggie blow
Our musicians play with rock stars , they touring with the show

So welcome to my Pittsburgh, It's thick with dance and song
With middle eastern dancers swinging to Balkan beats and eastern gongs

Circus clowns are biking with punkers in the night
Hip hoppers rhyming fully, together under steel town's night

Yeah welcome to my Pittsburgh, though its not the one you'd see
On the tv or in the stadium, in my Pittsburgh we're singing free."

Follow me on twitter if you'd like to get more info in a more timely if sometimes disheveled fashion:
http://www/twitter.com/phatmandee

Love and light always my friends,
Mandee

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!