Roosevelt Dime

“In these troubled times, everyone needs a Roosevelt Dime”

One of the great things about travel is the chance to discover new music and exciting venues in the cities and countries you pass through. I don’t much go for hanging out in bars and clubs, but music venues, yes.

Friday 13, August 2010 turned out to be a lucky day for me. On that day I was wandering through Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park during my New York City stay when my attention was caught by some of the happiest, liveliest music I had heard in more years than I care to recall. It seemed to be a mix of jazz, old timey music, folk, and that modern musical marketing segment known as Americana.

The group turned out to be Roosevelt Dime, an outfit I had never heard of, but which I immediately fell in love with and became a big fan of. They were in fact, indulging in some good old fashioned audience building. That is, they were out where the people were, playing for them live and for free. They were also promoting that evening’s gig at one of my favourite New York venues, The Bitter End.

Of course, I had to see catch their show. As it happens, I already had a ticket to see another one of my favourite American singer-songwriters, Steve Forbert, who was performing at Joe’s Pub on Lafayette Avenue that same night. However, as soon as that show finished I raced around to the Bitter End, and was delighted to find that Roosevelt Dime had only just taken to the stage.

The band is building its support base, one fan at a time. It is slow, hard work, but Roosevelt Dime seem to in it for the long haul, and know that there are no easy fixes on the road to bigger and more appreciative audiences.

If like me, you like what you hear, buy their music, and support their gigs – especially if you live in New York City and near abouts. Their website lists upcoming gigs in the New York area. Foot tapping fun for everyone is pretty much guaranteed.

"A perpetual crowd-pleaser, Roosevelt Dime often has commuters soulfully stomping their feet in the subway and passersby lindy-hopping in the park."

Tze Chun - The New York Times (June 7, 2010)

Monday Movies - High Steel and Spudwrench: Kahnawake Man

High Steel, by Don Owen, 1965, 13 min 47 sec

High Steel is a short documentary offering a dizzying view of the Mohawk Indians of Kahnawake (pron: Gun-na-wa-ga) who work in Manhattan erecting the steel frames of skyscrapers. Famed for their skill in working with steel, the Mohawks demonstrate their nimble abilities in the sky. As a counterbalance, the viewer is also allowed a peek at their quieter community life on the Kahnawake Reserve, in Quebec.

One of the first construction projects the Kahnawake helped build was the Saint Lawrence Bridge (1886-87) linking Kahnawake to Montreal Island. As Kahnawake men employed as ironworkers and bridgemen worked hundreds of feet above the water and ground, a legend began that the Kahnawake men had no fear of heights.

Over the years, Kahnawake men have continued to be employed as ironworkers in Canada, with many also moving to New York City to work on the city’s skyscrapers. Kahnawake men participated in building the Empire State Building, the World Trade Centre, and other major skyscrapers in New York City, as well as many bridges. This short film examines some of the work and lifestyle of these workers. 

High Steel, Don Owen, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Spudwrench - Kahnawake Man

By Alanis Obomsawin, 1997, 58 min

This documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin introduces us to Randy Horne, another high steel worker from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, near Montreal. As a defender of his people's culture and traditions, he was known as "Spudwrench" during the 1990 Oka crisis (a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada).

The hour long film presents a unique look behind the barricades at one man's impassioned defence of sacred territory, and is both a portrait of Horne and the generations of daring Mohawk construction workers that have preceded him.

Spudwrench - Kahnawake Man, Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Both films are amongst the hundreds of films available via the National Film Board of Canada website. Another wonderful online resource for all to enjoy.

It’s a Small World After All

How true that heading is. On my way back to Adelaide from Melbourne yesterday, I got talking to a man who was also travelling on his own. We chatted about travel – as one seems to do when one is travelling – and he mentioned visiting Philadelphia some time ago with his wife.

It seems that the bus they were travelling on was delayed on its way to Philly. When they got to the main bus station much later than anticipated, they found that the hotel they had booked to stay in was some “50 miles” out of town, and that the only way to get there was with an expensive taxi ride. Of course, they cancelled that booking, and asked the agent at the bus terminal in Philadelphia if he could recommend a local hotel.

The agent recommended the Comfort Inn. In fact, said he, “they have a courtesy bus which can come and pick you up”. So the bus was called for and away went this couple to the Hotel. The man and his wife were delighted to find they were placed in a room overlooking the Delaware River, with a great view of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

What a coincidence.

This is the same Comfort Inn hotel I stayed in during my Philadelphia visit in 2010, during which I too had a room overlooking the river and the bridge. Of course, I mentioned this to my fellow passenger, and marvelled at the serendipitous nature of travel encounters.

At a subsequent stop (we were not sitting together), we started chatting again. This time we began talking about the bus ride up to that point, and agreed that next time either of us were making the same trip, we would look at catching the train instead of a bus. He mentioned that the train cost only a few dollars more anyway, and had the advantage of letting passengers walk through the carriages, giving them a chance to stretch their legs and move around more freely.

As we were chatting, the thought suddenly occurred to me that the train would pass through Mitcham station on its way into Mile End. Mitcham station is literally a couple of hundred metres from my current address, and I told him this, mentioning that I lived at Mitcham. Well, you could knock me down with a feather. Not only did this man and his wife also live in Mitcham many years ago, but he said, they “used to live in some flats opposite the Mitcham shops.”

“In Wemyss Avenue?” ask I.

“Yes,” says he.

Go ahead. Knock me down with a feather. Because my current address just happens to be one of those apartments in Wemyss Avenue.

I couldn’t believe it, and I’m not sure that he believed me, either. But there you have it. Two complete strangers swapping travel stories during a long bus trip between Melbourne and Adelaide, and we had both stayed in the same hotel in Philadelphia, and in the same apartment complex in Adelaide.

Of course, the dates and apartment/room numbers were different, but just the same – what are the odds of this happening?

It is indeed, a small world.