our first show!

we did it!  spinner's end has officially played our first real show.  we would like to thank field of creams cafe in mahwah, nj for having us on friday, it was really fun!  we were the only band playing that evening so we got to play for almost two hours, much longer than i've ever played before.

 i've been performing on stage for many years as an actress and (when i was younger) a dancer, but there's definitely something different about playing live music.  there is no character to play, no story to advance, no costumes, or sets, or disguises to hide behind.  the focus is just on me and ryan in that moment.  i think that's why i love to play music.  after years of pretending to be other people, music is the one place i'm forced to be nothing but true to myself. writing songs with the person i love, taking the music he gives me and blending it with my melodies and notebook scribbled words, is a very personal thing and singing them live in front of other people is a little bit scary, a little bit exhilarating, and very freeing.

the lovely owners of field of creams have asked us to come back and play some time in october!  we also just booked a spa re-launch party on the 23rd and are playing a fundraising event to support victims of domestic violence on october 13th, so our calendar is actually starting to fill up!  make sure to check our "upcoming shows" page for all the details.  my uncle dennis is currently in the process of building a private recording studio in his attic that should be ready for use in about a month or so.  once it's up and running ryan and i will actually be able to record our songs and share them with you all on the blog!  i just know you're all dying to get your hands on the first spinner's end album.. ;P

cheers!  xx ali.

good news!

hey there everybody!  ali here, finally crawling out of my self-imposed blogging hiatus with a new post.  can you believe its september already?  this summer absolutely flew by.  things have been a little crazy around here for the past few weeks and i needed to take a little blogging break just to get my bearings.    the good news is i'm back with some fun news to share!

1.  spinner's end has officially booked our first official show!  it's at this cute little cafe called "field of creams" at continental soldiers park, right across the street from ramapo college, in mahwah, nj.  we'll be playing on september 9 from 7pm to 9pm.  information for the show can be found here.  field of creams is also one of the only places in the area that serves bubble tea, a hard-to-find personal favorite of mine.  the cafe serves all kinds of yummy food, from the usual fare like burgers, veggie burgers, and milkshakes to things that are a little more special, like homemade crepes, wildberry smoothies, and the aforementioned bubble tea.  we're the only band playing that evening so if you're in the area pop in and check us out, we would love to see you there!  

2. we got a kitty!

we have a pretty cute record collection, wouldn't you say?

her name is nala and ryan and i could not be more smitten.  she's just the sweetest little thing.  we adopted her through a great organization called FOCAS on august 20 (check out their website for information on adopting or to donate).  she's four months old and her birthday is actually the day before mine.  nala has settled right into life in our small apartment and is ruling over the place like the queen she is.

(please pardon my cellphone pictures)

she's super playful and snuggly and she loves to take naps on ryan's lap!  i just love to hear her little mews and get kisses from her scratchy tongue.

my family are definitely not cat people, so i was never allowed to have one growing up.  nala is my first ever kitty and i just love her so much!  i've always wanted a kitty of my own, and once i picked her up i knew i never wanted to put her down again.

so now that you've seen our pretty little lady, i hope you can forgive me for my blogging break.  ryan and i also went to a really great rubblebucket show a few weeks ago, which i'll be blogging about soon.  i'll be back on monday with a regular blogging schedule once more.  enjoy your labor day weekend, everybody!

xx ali

Eurydice.

Hello friends!  Ali here, with a little update on what we've been up to lately...  Ryan and I have spent the past two weeks working on a unique theater project, writing a score for a staged reading of Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl as part of the Princeton Public Library's Page to Stage series.  We were also cast in the play, as the Stones.  Spinner's End is a relatively new band, so being offered this kind of opportunity was a real thrill for both of us.  Now, I am close friends with the amazing director Brandon Monokian, so that may have been part of the reason we got the gig.  However, we are not the type to take an opportunity like this lightly, nepotism be damned.  We dove headfirst into this project and wrote the bulk of the music in three furious writing sessions.  It's been a hell of an experience and we are both so excited for the show tomorrow!

In case you've never heard of this beautiful play, here's the story.  It's a modern twist on the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, this time through tragic heroine Eurydice's eyes.  Eurydice and Orpheus are young and in love - maybe too in love.  They're getting married!  But then, tragedy strikes on their wedding day when the Lord of the Underworld aka A Nasty Interesting Man comes along and decides to make Eurydice his own.  She "trips" down a huge flight of stairs and dies.  In this strange world, when you die you are dipped in the River of Forgetfulness & you shed all memories of your past life.  In the underworld she encounters the Stones.. a group of three strange creatures that serve as the Lord of the Underworld's gatekeepers and welcome committee.  Things get really interesting when Eurydice's father, who died when she was young, appears and somehow remembers his daughter.  Add in Orpheus's unwavering devotion to finding her and bringing her back to life, and you've got a recipe for an emotional, poignant, and sweet tale of what it means to love and be loved.

Usually, the Stones are played by three actors, the Little Stone, the Big Stone, and the Loud Stone.  In our version, the Stones have been consolidated and morphed into me, Ryan, and the piano.  Every line that would normally be spoken (save one sarcastic line that goes to Ryan) is instead sang by me, accompanied by Ryan.  I went to college for Acting, but I haven't actually done a play since I graduated.  Though I love acting, my focus has definitely shifted to music and making Spinner's End my number one priority.  It's been really amazing not only having an opportunity to act again, but also for Ryan and I to take Sarah Ruhl's beautiful and brilliant words and turn them into songs.  The surreal, heightened, poetic quality of the lines translates beautifully as lyrics.  I'm so proud of the work we've done these past two weeks, and I think that the audience tomorrow is in for something really unique, interesting, and honest.  The other actors in the play are giving really strong performances and Brandon's directorial vision is really beautiful.  If any of you internet folk out there are free tomorrow, Wednesday the 27th, and live in the Princeton area, please come check it out!  And if you're not able to come, I still suggest you get your hands on a copy of Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice.  You won't regret reading it.

Details can be found here.