When the folks in Spirit Family Reunion raise their voices in song, they deliver an inspiring message. Their mostly acoustic approach combines elements of rock with hints of bluegrass and country music. They have a feel that approaches the fervent emotions of gospel music, but their messages stay grounded in the secular world. Banjo player Maggie Carson will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on the band
Carson: Oftentimes, people seem surprised to learn that we live in New York City. Something about our sound or our manner does not match their idea of a cold and heartless city, and I can understand their impression. But growing up here, I’ve found that if you look around a little just below the surface, there’s a supportive and inviting place for you. We have a long tradition of that, here in New York City.
The Lower East Side has been known as one of the city’s most cutting-edge neighborhoods for a long time. So many different scenes and movements came out of here, but now it all just seems to be upscale boutiques and trendy bars pushing out any potential innovation.
Among these fancy new establishments is one of the oldest housing co-operatives in the country. In 1930, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America funded the construction of a limited-profit building that would stand in contrast to the notorious tenements of the area. Director Abraham Kazan hired architects Springsteen & Goldhammer to create a design that would provide each and every one of the 236 affordably priced apartments with fresh air and sunlight, and amenities like a library, a nursery, a gym, a roof deck, a garden and an auditorium where a W.P.A. orchestra would come to perform regularly. In the middle of the Great Depression, they built a place where hardworking people of downtown Manhattan could afford to live with dignity.
Today, blocks away from the ghostly sites of CBGB and the Fillmore East still stands a much older stage, built for neighbors to gather and enjoy music together. It’s been silent for a while, but it remains. This is the stage we chose to revive for our first music video, for the song “It Does Not Bother Me.” Right in our backyard, we found a place that felt like home.
Let’s go against the grain and invite community more. The infrastructure is already there.
Video after the jump.
