Episode 35: Noelle Picara
There is a ton to talk about this week. Just a huge amount of stuff. Here we go.
So, rather than see the Shark Tape/Figgs show last Friday, I spent the evening on the phone with my bank because my checking account was... DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNNN... cloned by identity thieves. They were running amok in several Wal marts in the Miami area. What the heck is it with Florida and identity theft? Seriously. No offense to anyone who lives in Florida, I’m sure you’re not an identity thief. But really. Try and get control of your state. Everything’s been fixed/changed/filed and all that, but it’s still a major pain in the butt. May none of you have to go through it. And if you have gone through it, I get it now. I get the paranoia and having three different checking accounts and the six passwords and the guard dogs and the spiked wall to protect you from literally everything. I really do.
Aside from that, I do want to congratulate the music community of Philadelphia for coming together and helping to defeat Bill 160016, which arrived on the scene last week and has been completely dismantled by today. For those not in the know, a quick recap: the bill was designed to close a loophole in how venues and bars sought licenses for events, but also included a proposed registry of all artists who play at licensed venues, and that said registry would be given to law enforcement to determine if an event woudl be seen as “safe for the community”. It also hiked the license fee from $100 every year to $500 every two years (paid in lump sum, of course). The music community rallied, created petitions, wrote their reps, and publically announced their displeasure with the bill all over social media. I was glad to have been a small part of the larger wave of civic duty. And a huge shout-out to The Key, which is WXPN’s social media wing. Those folk did some excellent journalism, keeping us updated with real information, multiple view points, and a fair and unbiased tone to the whole thing. They did better than even the mainstream Philly news media did. High fives all around.
On the show this week is Noelle Picara. I’ve always had her as the “zombie piano girl” in my mind ever since we shared a festival bill a few years ago. But now that I’ve had her on the mic, she is an amazing, astounding woman, full of power and energy and seemingly no fear. Noelle and I had one of the most powerful and in-depth chats I’ve ever had on the show. She’s got a remarkable production at White Pines Theater coming up on February 6th and 14th, and we go into that in a lot of detail. She’s also a childhood abuse survivor, and the way that she has made that into an empowering statement is nothing short of inspirational. It’s part of her public persona, and she makes no bones about using her voice and her music to break down the silence that engenders abuse in all its forms. It was a moving conversation to have, and I hope it’s moving to you, too. She’s got a record out called “My Own Frankenstein”, which I highly urge you to go download.
Whew! That is a lot to get through. Thanks for still being here at the end of all that. Like I said, a lot going on over the last week or so. And still, the show plugs on. Have a great couple of weeks, and I’ll catch you all with Episode 36 then. Thirty-six episodes. Dang. Thanks for being here for it.
Cheers,
DD