Susan Hwang

We have a show tonight.  It’s at Union Hall in Park Slope at 11pm.  Maria made this video for the “M. Bovary” song off the new album.  Look:

When people hear this song, sometimes they’re like, wow, you’re really putting it out there–way to make people uncomfortable.  The song is sung from Madame Bovary’s point of view, but I forget that people won’t always know that.  Even though the song is called “M. Bovary.”  I mean, the statements in the song are all things I’ve thought before, but I would never sing them in a song, but Emma Bovary would, except she’s not here, so I have to sing  them in her place, as Emma Bovary.  See how that works?  Ahem.

So the show is tonight, 11pm.  Doors at 8pm though.  Some great acts playing all night, including Kamala’s new band, Bombay Rickey who do Yma Sumac covers, becauses Kamala has the incredible voice to do that.  I mean, come on, who else could start an Yma Sumac cover band?  Not me.. I just sing as fictional characters from classic novels I didn’t enjoy.

Tonight, doors 8pm/ our set at 11pm
Union Hall
702 Union St. (@ 5th Ave.)
Brooklyn, NY 11215
tickets: $8

Pineapple Ice for tonight’s Bushwick Book Club show co-hosted by Chris Gethard, the author of A Bad Idea I’m About To Do: True Tales of Seriously Poor Judgement and StunninglyAwkward Adventure.  It really is an adventure.  The stories include pro-wrestling misshaps, Mr. Gadget, the police, mistaken virginity, uncontrollable rage and much, much more.  I’ve felt a little bit like a Jehovah’s Witness about this book.  But I kind of feel that way a lot when it comes to The Bushwick Book Club.  My mother became a JW around 1986, because the religion has a lot of rules and requires diligent study (my mother loves research and homework).  I could never relate to this, because as far as I could see, this religion was one of the surest ways not to have any fun at all. 

But now, I see that the apple does not fall far from the tree.  I do this monthly nerdy thing that requires study.  I carry this book with me everywhere I go all month; I underline passages of it, dog-ear favorite pages, talk about it with others who are  also reading the book.  I have extra copies that I pass onto others.    Sometimes I meet them on the street.  Sometimes they come to my house.  I fall asleep on the train thinking about it.  I wake up in the middle of the night hearing song ideas.  I consider myself lucky if I hear inspiration from the book after a few glasses of wine, but this cannot be counted on.  And I speak in tongues.  Okay, that’s just my usual gibberish.  And when I meet other people who don’t know about the Book Club, I get really excited talking to them about it.  I can’t help it.  Sometimes they get it, but sometimes they don’t, and I can see them slowly stepping away, wondering how to get out of this conversation.  I, of course, can’t understand why they wouldn’t be delighted by the prospect of monthly brand new original songs about a book.  I mean, come on… brand new songs.. about books.  AAAahahahahaahaaa…

The show is TONIGHT at Goodbye Blue Monday, 8:30pm.  Chris said he’d be there to co-host!  You can ask him questions about White Magic and Koozo and eat a coconut milk-based pineapple ice that I made last night.  Sweetened with agave… and Jehovah.  Just kidding.

TONIGHT, March 22nd, 8:30pm
Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway (JMZ to Myrtle or J to Kosciusko)
ph: 718 453 6343

Songwriters: Buffie Roseanne, Jonathan Mann, Kristin Sedivec, Maria Sonevytsky, Memo Salazar, Nicole Tourtelot, Sarah Pappalardo, Susan Hwang, Sweet Soubrette and Zane Van Dusen!  Emily Einhorn special guest!

I wrote this song for The Bushwick Book Club show inspired by volume Q of the encyclopedia.   Tom Bayne made the video and posted it this weekend.  Dany Naierman plays Quetzalcoatl!  The song was recorded at Casey Holford’s Good One Studio, and features Karen Leblanc on saw.

So, can I blame it on planetary alignment when I look down after the first song in our CD release set, and I see some of my areola peeking out from my dress?  We can’t control these things, but it was the second time I’d ever flashed an audience.   This was the first time with my breasts, but once I was sitting down at a keyboard in Tompkins Square Park, and I flashed the East Village from under my American Apparel jersey knit dress.  Another time, I was on the train and noticed the buttons on my shirt dress were unbuttoned to expose just my navel.  Another time, I walked a European guest across the trading floor while my skirt was tucked into my tights the whole time.  So my unintended exhibitionism was all very fitting for the release of a CD titled “An Awkward Time with The Debutante Hour.”  We really lived up to the name of our CD last night.  There were uke and cello tuning competitions like 6 times and many lyric flubs, a call to sublimate (inspired thinking from Mia Pixley) and an amazingly awkward intro from Franz Nicolay highlighting all the the things that are neither here nor there over a yamaha keyboard rendition of “A Whole New World.”  It was just like what Nan Turner said during the beautiful Schwervon set–”Let It All Hang Out.”  So.. we had a good time (I got to groove on Eva’s transporting vocals with Choban Elektrik.  If anyone’s voice could teleport you, it’s Eva’s.  She should be harnessed as a green mobility option).  I heard there was a fight during our set and a girl stormed out after throwing a glass at some guy, but otherwise, most other folks had a good time.  Good and awkward.

I am still the Chris Gethard book fairy, in case you’re wondering.  I hear melodies and lyrics when I’m half asleep on the train… “If she won’t come to you… show her you’re Framsky…”  I know, it doesn’t make any sense to me either.  There are songs being written right now–brand new, A Bad Idea I’m About To Do songs being thought up, felt up, dreamed up right now.  How does anything happen???  I don’t know, but it does.  And things will happen at Goodbye Blue Monday on March 22nd at the Bushwick Book Club show.

Here’s a photo from last night taken by Amy Pearl who should have everything she wants:

His book is A Bad Idea I’m About To Do, and we’re about to do it for the next Bushwick Book Club.  I walk around this city with a couple paperback copies on me at all times.  If you’re looking to have one, you can just tackle me and pull them out of my blue canvas bag.  I’m leaving them at bars for songwriters, under their pillows, meeting them in back alleys or in front of office buildings to do the literary hand-off.  I’ve missed 2 train stops reading it, and I’ve had 2 dreams about it.  The show is March 22nd at Goodbye Blue Monday.  I have no idea what will happen, but it’s exciting to know something will happen.  If you’re curious, you should come out for the show.  Chris Gethard said he’d co-host with me and Sweet Soubrette.  See… anything can happen.

What else is happening is that The Debutante Hour is birthing a new CD!  The labor was intense for this one.  Each one is different, as you know.  This time around, we had Peter Hess producing, and we all had cravings for hot wings and chocolate (wait, we always have cravings for hot wings and chocolate).  The doulas were all our friends and supporters who donated so generously through our Kickstarter campaign.  The release show is THIS THURSDAY, the 15th at Littlefield in Brooklyn!

We’re going to be joined by amazing friends — Franz Nicolay (keys), Cecil Scheib (trombone), Jared (guitar), Butch and Nan (percussion), Karen Leblanc (saw), Jonathan Vincent (accordion/keys), Natalie Hung (big voice), Julie Delano and Leslie Graves (mesmerizing movements).  And the amazing Choban Elektrik (7:30pm) and big love Schwervon (8:30pm) will be opening!