This Sunday, LABA Kids celebrates Hanukah with Quirk-Rock Band One Ring Zero.
We sat down with band leader Michael Hearst to learn a little bit more about about the band, and Sunday’s event.
Tell us a little about One Ring Zero- what makes you different?
We play unusual instruments, we write unusual-sounding songs, and we often work on unusual collaborations. Joshua Camp and I formed the band in 1997. We both lived in Richmond, VA at the time, and we both worked at the Hohner harmonica and accordion distribution and repair center. Josh was the accordion tech, and I was a harmonica tech.
Seriously! Hohner also makes some odd-ball instruments, such as the claviola (only about 50 were ever made—it looks like something you’ve seen in the cantina scene of StarWars). We essentially started One Ring Zero because of the claviola. The idea was to incorporate as many strange instruments as we could find. We relocated to NYC in 2000/2001, and this led to the release of our “lit-rock” album As Smart As We Are, in which lots of amazing authors wrote lyrics for us. In 2008 we released an album called Planets … an album of song for each planet … sort of, but not entirely, in honor of Gustav Holst’s similarly titled orchestral suite. We made sure to include Pluto, simply because … well, we love Pluto!
What gave you the idea for the Recipe Project?
We thought it would be fun to ask people like Mario Batali, David Chang, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and Mark Kurlasnki to provide recipes for us (as well as musical style suggestions), and see if we could come up with a song where we would sing the recipe word for word. It turned out to be incredibly tricky, but quite fun.
What makes this LABA Kids program different from other kid’s concerts?
I’m not sure how often kids get a chance to dance and spin dreidels to recipe songs performed live on theremins and claviolas.
It’s gonna be fuuuunnnn!
Sunday, December 16th, 11am – 1pm,
The Theater at the 14th Street Y
Open to the whole family: $25/family for members of the Y; $30/family for non-members.
Tickets are available at http://14streety.interticket.com.
Tickets are available at the door, but buying tickets in advance is recommended.
Questions? Call Becky at 646-395-4322 or email Artists@14streety.org.
This event is designed for children ages 2-8. Of course, parents are the best judge
on age appropriateness for their families- all are welcome!
Thoughts + Happenings 