The Lost Tooth Club, Part II

How do you get people out of their aparments on one the snowiest nights of the year? We have your answer: party with NCP at LPR! Special thanks to (le) Poisson Rouge for helping host the NCP Holiday Soiree! It was an all around good time made complete with the “I Lost My Tooth” stamp, tasty NCP Holiday Cocktails, and some really good looking people! Props to Renee, the bartender/mixologist, who was a delight! Not to mention, she whipped up a mean batch of the NCP Holiday cocktail. I hope you all tipped her well

Also, we hope you enjoyed your gift bags! Remember that in each bag there is a coupon for free admission for you and a guest to an LPR member show. LPR has some fantastic events coming up, so I’m sure you will all put those to good use. In addition, if you want to be seen hanging out at LPR more often, they have some sweet membership options. Event and membership details available here: http://lepoissonrouge.com/

Thanks again to all for coming out – we can’t wait to see you next time!

Read It and Weep: Adventures with the NCP Shirt

WHERE: Chelsea Market (9th Ave & 15th St)

WHEN: July 11, 2009 (afternoon)

WHAT: Me eating a sandwich while wearing the infamous Nouveau Classical Project “Classical Music is Dead” shirt and listening to a chamber group play Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.” A stranger asks to sit at my table and listens for a minute. She then looks at me and says, “You probably shouldn’t be wearing that shirt.” I glance down briefly, look back at her, and reply, “Actually, I’m a classical musician.” Confused, she stares and asks, “So what does your shirt mean?” I attempt to explain the concept of irony to her and tell her a little about NCP. She nods, but I’m not sure if she understood.

WHY: I found the excerpt below on the New Yorker’s website today (August 12, 2009). Farley Katz and Thomas Pynchon seem to get it:

I first met Thomas Pynchon at a crowded bar in the East Village. He was wearing a shirt that cleverly read “I am not Thomas Pynchon,” but I knew it was him when he pointed to the shirt and silently mouthed, “Actually, I am Thomas Pynchon, but let’s just keep that between the two of us.” (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/tny/)

Need I say more? Someone get Mr. Katz and Mr. Pynchon an NCP shirt, immediately.

-Rachel Christensen

PSA: CLASSICAL MUSIC IS DEAD

I like wearing the Nouveau Classical Project shirt around town. This shirt just happens to suit my taste, and I guess the printed big black block letters declaring, “CLASSICAL MUSIC IS DEAD,” are pretty hard to ignore. The shirt roughly resembles other popular tees with slogans such as, “Make Love Not War,” or “I’m with Stupid.” I cut it in to a muscle tee of sorts. You know, to show off my buff piano arms in a punk-rock sort of way.

Needless to say, I get a lot of attention whenever I wear the shirt – and that’s not just because it looks awesome. People read it and I actually see them STOP and THINK. Each time I wear it, I get all sorts of comments, including: “Why is the music dying?” “Are you a musician?” and my personal favorite, “Classical music is NOT dead!” I also enjoy the occasional disdainful glance from neighborhood hipsters as if to say, “I love and hate your T-shirt at the same time.”

It’s ironic. Yes, I know. The music is not dead… yet. But it is struggling to survive. That’s the whole idea of the Nouveau Classical Project. We’re associating classical music with fashion and visual art to create a new, exciting, and unique concert experience. So please, take an interest. Talk to me and take a listen. Or if the internet is your style: www.nouveauclassical.org

-Rachel Christensen