Dot Levine

I’m back

How am I?

It’s hard to know. But good?

It’s been a freaking year. Quite the year I’ve had.

I’m back though.

By some standard.

If you read my last post, you’d know that I was struggling with mobility issues some time ago. They have persisted. What’s more, they got much worse. Before getting a little better.

I’m learning how to use my body more sustainably through The Feldenkrais Method, Alexander Technique, and related work. I’m still pretty limited in what I can do and for how long, but I’m making headway, and as such I am promoting myself as an entertainer and live musician again. Victory!

So hit me up for your events. I’ll bring a great band or come out solo and please all of your guests well beyond everybody’s expectations.

For those of you who backed my Kickstarter in 2018,

I’ll be finishing up my debut album for release at the end of April. I’m looking forward to getting it out to all of you!

My teaching endeavors have been fantastically successful.

And I have openings for new students! Sign up at the teaching tab above, or check out Cedar Park Music School and Philadelphia Uke Studio.

Or just reach out on the contact page and say hello!

It’s good to be back,

DOT

/SEA ///CHANG/E

Things are moving! Erosion! Tides! Paradigms! Adjustment.

Paradigm adjustment, y’all. I’m super excited and emotional to be making a few announcements here. I’m gonna save the big one for the end, though, so read through for the juicy stuff.

/Nervo/us bu/t optimis//tic.

Firstly: I’ve got some awesome shows coming up:

You can catch me this Friday night at the Bethlehem SteelStacks.

I’m literally playing at the historic Bethlehem Steel industrial complex. Don’t worry, they’ve got a super fancy sound system and amenities galore nowadays. Make yourself comfortable. Did I mention it’s fricking FREE?!

Stacks on stacks on stacks.


Here’s the Stacks Facts® you all have been hounding me for all month:

  • The two largest furnaces are more than 230 feet tall
  • From the west side of the “A” furnace (most westerly) to the east side of the “E” furnace it’s approximately 1,100 feet – almost a quarter-mile!
  • The A furnace is the oldest, dating from 1915
  • Dot Levine will be appearing with an incredible quintet
  • The quintet will include the following indomitable personnel
    • Rob Curto — Accordion
    • Matthew Keppler — Upright Bass
    • Frank Rein — Trombone
    • Sean Bailey — Saxophone & Clarinet
  • The furnaces each produced 2,600-3,000 tons of iron per day. Producing one ton of iron requires 3,366 pounds of ore, 1,676 pounds of coke and 724 pounds of limestone
  • Most of the iron was used in steelmaking, but a small percentage went to the iron and ingot mold foundries
  • The furnaces were last operated Nov. 18, 1995
  • At one time there were seven furnacesMore info about this free show here.

This Saturday I’ll be playing at The Spotty Dog in Hudson, NY. This place is too dreamy. Part bookstore, part art-supply store, all bar, all historic fire-house, also clearly 115% music venue. Joining me will be the inimitable Stephen Bluhm and the indomitable Betsi Krisniski.

Also stacks on stacks on stacks?

August 4th I’ll be performing with The Singular Band for Deco On The Delaware. Grab the VIP package to see our singularness on a dreamy riverboat cruise from historic Old City, Philadelphia to the historic Glen Foerd Estate where there will be a day of 1920’s themed hyjinx and authentic traditional jazz. Read this article about this incomparable event. You’ll be kicking yourself if you miss this. The Singular Band – me, trombone, trumpet, tuba – on a fricking BOAT. Get your tickets here.

Did I mention it’s going to be on a replica 1920’s riverboat? Like Louis Armstrong used to play on!
Sexy Riverboat Vibes

Truly.

 

…Alright.

Here comes the juicy stuff, friends. I’ve got a secret which I’ve been keeping close to my chest for ten years:

I have chronic injuries
which affect my ability to play.
This is a hard thing for me to come out about because I have feared that it makes me seem less reliable, or less effective. I have worried that if more people knew about this, then I wouldn’t be able to get enough work to live. What’s more, these injuries have actually affected my performing schedule and availability. For the past ten years I would have to find subs for my gigs, or take months off at a time to heal.
Why am I letting this out now? Well, I’m going to be slowing down my performing schedule in an effort to develop more sustainable and prolonged healing. For ten years I’ve been doing yoga, going to physical therapy, getting massages, acupuncture. I’ve lifted weights, I stretch regularly. And I partake of some more esoteric treatments as well…
Some things have helped immensely, and some have made it worse, but there’s one thing I know will help: rest.
And so that is what I’m pursuing for now. I’m not retiring by any means, but I will be downgrading from my very busy performing schedule to something closer to once a week. So please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need music for a special show, event, wedding, party, or what-have-you. I promise to be lovingly judicious about my participation. Don’t worry, you can still catch me at Fiume every first Sunday.
This has been a massive (and challenging) identity shift for me, but I have to say that I’m really excited about some of what’s coming down the pipeline in my musical life. Spending less time fighting (and exacerbating) my injuries means that I have more time to work on my playing technique and writing, as well as recording more music*. While these pastimes will not be a surrogate for a performing career (anybody wanna pay me to practice?), I do find them immensely satisfying.
So I guess that’s that. Like I said, I’ll still be prepared to blow your minds at Fiume and at private events (and the occasional awesome show) but I gotta rest, too. I’ll probably be paying my bills more with private lessons moving forward (unless anybody’s got a big break they’d like to present to me). I’ve learned a lot as a full-time professional musician, and I’m working hard to be able to intimate that knowledge as effectively as possible to the student-base which I’ve developed in the past couple years. So hit me up for lessons! Or ask me to play your event (but know that I may choose not to for health reasons).
So many feelings. Fuck for-profit healthcare. Fuck not-funding-the-arts. But hooray for getting to teach my favorite thing to awesome people.

 

See you soon,
Professor Levine

PS. If you wanna know more about my teaching, head over to http://www.dotlevine.com/teaching or http://www.philadelphiaukestudio.com!

Caught a fish this big once.

You are great.

*PPS. The record’s coming along! It’ll be ready in the spring! So psyched to ship it out to y’all! (If you didn’t grab it during the Kickstarter, click on “SHOP” in the upper right! Or just click here!)

Preorder My New Record on Kickstarter!

At long last, Dot Levine and Their Singular Band have recorded their debut album! This is traditional jazz reimagined and cask-conditioned in the minds of some of Philadelphia’s most notable musical innovators. Hearing these vibrant performances, one can hardly believe that music this vital and stirring is nearly a century old.

Slated for release next spring, Dot Levine and Their Singular Band …Can’t Give You Anything But Love captures the unparalleled musicianship and irreverent charm that you’ve come to expect whenever you get an earful of this ensemble. Very soon, you’ll be able to take this music with you wherever you go. That is, if Dot can raise the funds necessary to cover the costs of producing the album. Won’t you please consider supporting this Kickstarter campaign by pre-ordering your copy now?

This is an all-or-nothing campaign, which means the band will receive funding only if their goal of $11,300 is met. To that end, Dot has created a number of exclusive rewards that will be available only for the duration of this campaign, so be sure to scoop them up while they last!

Here are a few reward highlights for your consideration:

  • Special request song, recorded by Dot just for you
  • Live request song, performed by the whole Singular Band
  • Your name on the CD’s donor panel
  • A set of temporary tattoos that re-create Dot’s body art
  • Your name (or a friend’s/ sweetie’s/ family member’s name) in a song
  • Buttons! Autographed CDs!…and other delights!

You can get a taste of the recordings they have made at the link above. When you support at any level, you’ll receive updates about the progress of the campaign, and the project as a whole– including exclusive video bloopers, teasers, and the unending gratitude of one Dot Levine.

Visit http://www.evanismakingarecord.com for more info.

An achievement and an intention, respectively.

Let me tell y’all about a thing I did, and a thing I intend to do.

audio and video

Respectively:

  • I’ve recorded over 6 hours of audio and video material with various groups comprised of all-star musicians.
  • AND I’m going to run a Kickstarter so that I can distill down the best parts and get it all edited/mixed/produced/mastered.

We’ll be shooting the Kickstarter video this month, so open your hearts and wallets in serious slow-motion so that they’ll be adequately gaping when the moment in which I will require their contents.

The video and audio were all recorded by Christopher Andrew McDonald. There were three recording sessions. Three hours of playing at Fiume with a quintet. Three hours of playing at my house with a trio, with some special guests. And a couple of hours as a duo with piano.

The recordings include an all-star cast:

Matt Keppler on bass
Steve Rice on accordion
Dan Blacksberg on trombone
Frank Rein on trombone
Rob Curto on accordion and piano

Plus special guests!

This bunch of recordings will allow me grow my business as a performer. These professional updated recordings will allow me to book more gigs, and more lucrative gigs, in more places (do you not live near Philly? I wanna visit you!).

PLUS, they’re gonna be a blast to listen to and watch, so consider yourself imminently emotionally satisfied. Support my shit.

Aw Hell Yup

Good evening, y’all.

I just finished up a crazy month with a lot of family time. My older sister got married. (Mazel tov!) My dad got Father’s Day’d. (Mazel tov!) and my uncle got married, too (also Mazel tov!). That’s three whole family weekends. While I’m grateful for unending family time, I’m happy that its over and I’m getting back into the swing of things in Philly.

I’m presently working on some beautiful algorithmic synth compositions, as well as some fun circuits to help me on my way. I’ll be uploading pics and video soooon.

Speaking of video, [Read more…]

New Website! Making records and making change

Dot on bike

Sup y’all! Welcome to the new home-on-the-web for all things Dot Levine!

I’ve been working hard in the studio to finish the mixing for Eliot Klein’s epic masterpiece, Dreams in Cryogenic Fugue. It’s been two years in the making and it’s just about done! I couldn’t be more pleased or excited.

[Read more…]

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