I thought it would make sense to Tarantino this story by showing you what's happening now and then how we got here.
My full time gig is at a live music venue in New York City called SOBs (Sounds of Brazil), where I'm the Director of Marketing & Publicity (just a fancy way of saying that I try to make sure press & fans come to the shows). SOBs features many genres like Latin, World Music, Hip-Hop, R&B & more. I started working there as an intern in 2008 and eventually became my predecessor's successor (with his blessing...maybe because he dates a Brown Alum...).
SOBs does some very cool shows...like this one.
Nneka @ SOBs (2010)
Andy Suzuki & The Method play 'Fairytale (Acoustic)' for BalconyTV
Senior year at Brown a mutual friend introduced me and Andy Suzuki, Class of 2009 & it was love at first sight...actually what happened was that we hit it off immediately & vibed real well.
I eventually found out that Andy was a paino-playing, aspiring singer-songwriter and I mentioned that I was a (lapsing) hand percussionist/djembe player.
Andy suggested that we jam at some point (taking inspiration from his favorite singer-songwriter, Jason Mraz who often played with only a Djembe player, Toca).
Jason Mraz & Toca Rivera play 'You & I (Acoustic)'
Since that fateful first meeting in The Gate (I had a turkey sandwich...Andy probably ate some carrots), we have evolved into the band And Suzuki & The Method.
Andy's senior year he met a scarily good, classically trained (and Suzuki method-trained) Freshman violinist, Jason Gorelick (Class of 2012) aka Jason G., who is also part of the band.
The band self-released a CD entitled '300 Pianos' in 2009 and we're currently working on an EP as a follow-up to be released this year. The first single is 'Take Care Of Me'.
We've played shows all over the place (ask me about some of the wilder ones when you see me in person...there was once a Tapas bar we played in & we've done our fair share of Irish Pubs...).
Our next show is a headlining performance on March 26th at Joe's Pub, a respected New York venue that we sold out last summer. Tickets to this one are still available, but grab 'em quick here.
If you've never been to Joe's Pub, you should check it out. Great spot. The last show we had there was pretty amazing. Heres some footage...Andy Suzuki & The Method, Live @ Joe's Pub
Right after graduation I took a job as a 'counselour/teacher/unofficial psychiatrist' of 'high-achieving' Middle School students in a program called JrNYLC (Junior National Young Leaders Conference) in Washington, D.C...its a miracle that neither I nor any of my students suffered lasting physical injury from this [Ask me in person why they let me influence the impressionable youth...]
After that summer I ended up working at a financial bank in some financial capacity in Boston, my hometown (please remember that I went to Brown & had not done any serious Math since my voice first started changing in Middle School...). Ask me about my year there when you see me in person...pretty wild adventures.
Oh, another very important update is that Im still dating my (painter) girlfriend from freshman year, Lauren Gidwitz (Class of 2006); which basically means that she's eligible for sainthood, because most humans can't deal with me that long (8 years...you guys only had to do 4). We first met on Pembroke Field on the first day of school, introduced by Laurabeth Greenwald (Class of 2006), and then smiled coyly at each other at Wayland Arch, Keeney, Andrews, The V-Dub, The Gate, Sayles & Jo's for the next few weeks. I'll let her tell you her story about where she is right now and where she's been (I promise you, its really really interesting).
Basically, Brown is still a very major part of my life. I hang out with Brown friends every day, and Im affected by Brunonians constantly. I know that Im right where Im supposed to be, because of my experiences at Brown and because of its most important resource, the people that went there...
See you in May...I can hardly wait.
-Kozza Babumba, '06
Tebukozza@gmail.com
legend.
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