Answer The Muse

By Anne Marie Cummings
For the past three years, the Ithaca
music series Music for a Season,
Music for a Reason has served the
community by offering concerts as
a way to raise funds for organizations
that serve social-justice causes.
Continuing their true labor of
love, on Valentine’s Day, Friday,
Feb. 14, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Music
for a Season, Music for a Reason
will hold another series in the sanctuary
of the First Unitarian Society
of Ithaca for Loaves & Fishes of
Tompkins County. The lineup of
musicians includes the Savage
Club Chorus, Answer the Muse,
Suitcase and Leah Houghtaling and
Amelia Sauter.
Following the model of think
globally, act locally, the group was
formed as part of the Social Justice
Council through the First Unitarian
Society of Ithaca. Members of
the council include Cris McConkey,
Veronique Demorowski, Martha
Ferger, Fran Helmstadter, Jim
Murphy, Niels and Marcy Schulz,
and Arthur Woll.
The by-donation-only events ($10
per person) have raised from $500 to
$2,000 for a litany of organizations
(selected by council members,
church members and musicians)
such as Veterans’ Sanctuary,
Friendship Donations Network,
Friends of Orphans Uganda,
Fellowship of Reconciliation USA,
The Forgiveness Project (post-9/11
pacifist group), American Military
Partner Association (LGBT military-
partners support), Finger
Lakes CleanWaters Initiative,
Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the
Drones and End the Wars, to name
a few. All proceeds from events go
directly to the organizations being
served.
The group sprang from conversations
between Ithacans Susan
Murphy and Jan Nigro. “The impetus
was that both of us were seeking
ways we could, as musicians,
create an event or series where
music could serve the community;
music as activism. Doing this seasonally,
we start ed a new Ithaca
music tradition,” Murphy says.
Each year, Music for a Season,
Music for a Reason performs three
or four music series which provide
an eclectic variety of musical acts,
including community choruses.
Local bands who have participated
include 5 Mile Drive, Answer the
Muse, Blue Skies, Dorothy Cotton
Jubilee Singers, Ithaca Gay Men’s
Chorus, Jayne Demakos, Joe
Crookston, Margaret Wakely and
Molly McMillan, Neo Project,
Rockwood Ferry, Sim Redmond
Band, Transistor Radio London,
and Tranouch & Friends .
Loaves & Fishes is a community
kitchen that formed in 1983 to provide
a place for free meals, hospitality,
companionship and advocacy
for those in need, regardless of
their faith, beliefs or circumstances.
The Rev. Christina Culver, executive
director of Loaves & Fishes,
couldn’t be more excited about this
music event. “The work we do is
possible due to 20 to 30 volunteers
per day who spend up to six hours
preparing, serving and cleaning up
after meals served and hosted at St.
John’s Episcopal Church, on the
corner of Buffalo and Cayuga
streets,” she says.
In 2013, Loaves & Fishes served
33,105 free meals, and including second
servings, well over 36,000
meals, the largest number of meals
the organization has ever served.
Each weekday, 128 nutritious,
home-cooked meals, including a
vegetarian option, are prepared by
local chefs. When seconds are
added to the daily count of meals
served, the total monthly meals
served is over 3,000. Not including
seconds, Loaves & Fishes is serving
15 percent more meals today compared
to 2010, when 28,749 meals
were served.
According to Culver, from April
2012 to March 2013, Loaves & Fishes
received more than $74,000 in noncash
donations from the community,
most of which were food items.
Last summer was the first time in
the history of the organization
when Loaves & Fishes sent out an
appeal to address their projected
2013–14 budget deficit of $58,000.
“Today, 21 percent of the people
in Tompkins County live below the
poverty line,” Culver says. “Many
people right here in Ithaca and its
surrounding towns are suffering
terribly from the devastating
effects of poverty and hunger. As
government-assistance programs
like the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP)
endure even more reductions, the
need for our services will
increase.”
Culver explains that many of the
guests who Loaves & Fishes serve
want to work, “but there are very
few jobs available, or they suffer
from mental and physical challenges
that prevent them from
being able to work on a consistent
and ongoing basis. And many of
our guests who do work struggle to
make enough money to pay their
bills.”
Given the community’s growing
need for Loaves & Fishes, in 2010
the organization’s board of directors
agreed to increase the executive
director’s hours from 35 to 40
weekly, the administrative assistant's
and advocacy coordinator’s
hours from 15 to 30 hours weekly,
and to rent office space in the
Dewitt Building.
“Our expenses continue to
increase while our funding streams
have remained more or less the
same. We have determined that
there are very few places we can cut
back on our expenditures,” says
Culver. She notes that in 2012 the
organization developed an outreach
program that would more significantly
address the issues of
hunger and poverty for people of
color and advance race relations at
the same time.
Murphy, seeking a niche where
music can “make a statement and
impact others” said that Music for a
Season, Music for a Reason is more
than just a show; “it’s an opportunity
to connect music with serving a
sector of people in this community.”
Lunches at Loaves & Fishes are
served on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday from noon to 1 p.m.; dinners
are served on Tuesday and
Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
There are no eligibility requirements.
Loaves & Fishes provides
limited emergency funds, meal
coupons and basic nonperishable
foods when needed - Tompkins Weekly

Return of the Jimmies: Rounding up the best local CDs of 2012

Written by Jim Catalano Correspondent

Page 1 of 3 07/01/2013 16:27 PM

Jan. 06 theithacajournal.com

Before we say goodbye to 2012, it’s time for me to announce the winners of my annual Soundoff awards, nicknamed “The Jimmies.” I’ve been covering the Ithaca music scene since 1992, and I started doing these awards in 1994 to recognize the many talented people who make music in the area.

There were more than 50 CDs and EPs released locally in the past year, and while I didn’t get to every one of them, I did manage to listen to just about all of the ones that came out by Thanksgiving.

As has been the case since 1994 (except for 2009, when the Jimmies were on hiatus), these award choices are entirely subjective. The winners receive absolutely nothing except a handshake and a “Way to go” next time I see them around town.

The envelopes, please:
Honorable mention CDs

Burns & Kristy, “Caravan”; Hardin Burns, “Lounge”; Marc Berger, “Ride”; Dick Hyman and Judy Hyman, “Late Last Summer”; Why the Wires, “All These Dead Astronauts”; Mike Herbster, “I’ve Got It All”; Answer the Muse, “One”; Samuel B. Lupowitz & The Ego Band, “Songs To Make You Wealthier and More Attractive”; Scott B. Adams, “Small Town America”; Anna Coogan, “The Wasted Ocean”; George Mann, “Patience in These Times.”

Best Female Singer: Bronwen Exter. Exter’s noir-ish vocals often sound like they should be on the soundtrack to a vintage black and white film; her latest album “Junkyard” provides a more organic setting than her 2006 debut “Elevator Ride.” Honorable mention: Jen Middaugh, the Sim Redmond Band; Maddy Walsh, the Blind Spots; Amy Puryear, the Double E; Uniit Carruyo; Anna Coogan; Annie, Jeannie and Marie Burns, The Burns Sisters, Terry Burns, Burns & Kristy; Jai Hari Meyeroff, Answer the Muse; Hayden Eager, Beat the Grid.


- The Ithaca Journal

Return of the Jimmies: Rounding up the best local CDs of 2012

Written by Jim Catalano Correspondent

Page 1 of 3 07/01/2013 16:27 PM

Jan. 06 theithacajournal.com

Before we say goodbye to 2012, it’s time for me to announce the winners of my annual Soundoff awards, nicknamed “The Jimmies.” I’ve been covering the Ithaca music scene since 1992, and I started doing these awards in 1994 to recognize the many talented people who make music in the area.

There were more than 50 CDs and EPs released locally in the past year, and while I didn’t get to every one of them, I did manage to listen to just about all of the ones that came out by Thanksgiving.

As has been the case since 1994 (except for 2009, when the Jimmies were on hiatus), these award choices are entirely subjective. The winners receive absolutely nothing except a handshake and a “Way to go” next time I see them around town.

The envelopes, please:
Honorable mention CDs

Burns & Kristy, “Caravan”; Hardin Burns, “Lounge”; Marc Berger, “Ride”; Dick Hyman and Judy Hyman, “Late Last Summer”; Why the Wires, “All These Dead Astronauts”; Mike Herbster, “I’ve Got It All”; Answer the Muse, “One”; Samuel B. Lupowitz & The Ego Band, “Songs To Make You Wealthier and More Attractive”; Scott B. Adams, “Small Town America”; Anna Coogan, “The Wasted Ocean”; George Mann, “Patience in These Times.”

Best Female Singer: Bronwen Exter. Exter’s noir-ish vocals often sound like they should be on the soundtrack to a vintage black and white film; her latest album “Junkyard” provides a more organic setting than her 2006 debut “Elevator Ride.” Honorable mention: Jen Middaugh, the Sim Redmond Band; Maddy Walsh, the Blind Spots; Amy Puryear, the Double E; Uniit Carruyo; Anna Coogan; Annie, Jeannie and Marie Burns, The Burns Sisters, Terry Burns, Burns & Kristy; Jai Hari Meyeroff, Answer the Muse; Hayden Eager, Beat the Grid.


- The Ithaca Journal

Ithaca Journal Writes about the launch of our Spirit Cafe Series at La Tourelle

Soundoff: Start off 2013 with some live music

Written by Jim Catalano Correspondent

Jan. 07 theithacajournal.com. Read the Full Article for a limited time at the Ithaca Journal HERE

We’re in the usual early January lull this week, but there still are a few shows worth checking out as we begin the New Year:

• Looking for a cure for the post-holiday blues? Sunday, local yoga-pop band Answer the Muse will offer a “a joyful antidote, an offering to uplift body and soul” with the launch of its new seasonal series, “The Spirit Café,” at La Tourelle from 5 to 7 p.m. NEO Project, a new funk/soul dance band led by former Shalamar guitarist Dwight Carroll, will open the show. Admission is $15, which includes appetizers and more. Visit www.answerthemuse.com to learn more.


- The Ithaca Journal

Ithaca Journal Writes about the launch of our Spirit Cafe Series at La Tourelle

Soundoff: Start off 2013 with some live music

Written by Jim Catalano Correspondent

Jan. 07 theithacajournal.com. Read the Full Article for a limited time at the Ithaca Journal HERE

We’re in the usual early January lull this week, but there still are a few shows worth checking out as we begin the New Year:

• Looking for a cure for the post-holiday blues? Sunday, local yoga-pop band Answer the Muse will offer a “a joyful antidote, an offering to uplift body and soul” with the launch of its new seasonal series, “The Spirit Café,” at La Tourelle from 5 to 7 p.m. NEO Project, a new funk/soul dance band led by former Shalamar guitarist Dwight Carroll, will open the show. Admission is $15, which includes appetizers and more. Visit www.answerthemuse.com to learn more.


- The Ithaca Journal

Posted: Thursday, January 3, 2013 5:16 pm | Updated: 8:12 am, Fri Jan 4, 2013.

By Cassandra Palmyra | 0 comments




Answer the Muse will be starting a concert series called “The Spirit Café” on Sunday, January 6 at La Tourelle with a 5 p.m. show, sharing the bill with the Neo Project.

Answer the Muse is a collaboration between two women, singer Susan Ceili Murphy and yoga teacher Jai Hari Meyerhoff. Meyerhoff had been teaching kundalini yoga for over 15 years in the Ithaca area. She came from a musical performance family- rasied on the Scott’s Family Resort (Oquaga Lake) where she sang with her family’s show since childhood. During her adult years, while teaching yoga, she always yearned to find a way to merge her music with yogic spirituality...but how to combine the two never revealed itself. Likewise Meyerhoff’s husband, Jonathan, was also a musician in his youth. His parents were visiting performers at the Scott’s Family Resort, where the two met as teens....so both Jai and Jonathan had music as a part of their lives.

Songwriter Susan Ceili Murphy, who had enjoyed an active musical career in NYC in musical theatre, cabaret, and Celtic bands during her 20s and 30s, retired to Ithaca three years ago. The nature of Ithaca’s infectious music scene inspired Murphy to start composing and performing again.

The two were introduced by a mutual musician friend (Elisa Sciscioli). Meyerhoff recorded two of Murphy’s songs, and the two started a cabaret series at the old Delilah’s. As Meyerhoff shared her yogic/musical vision, Murphy (who had also studied Kundalini Yoga) felt the influence of Jai’s vision not only as a performer, but as a writer, and the two started to create theme based musical sets that incorporated Murphy’s originals, with indie rock songs, fused with sacred yogic chant.

Furthermore, they evolved a theatrical presentation fused into each performance, and embraced this as an opportunity to invite the audience to participate not only with chant, but also with moments of meditation and yogic movement as well.

The music itself was now also taking on a life of its own. The need for a full band was apparent. Meyerhoff’s husband, Jonathan, joined the group on vocals and guitar, as well as stand up bass players and drummer/percussionists.

Before they knew it, and as they performed, it became clear that they were creating a new “genre”. “Yogic Cabaret”? The themes of the sets ranged from “Forgiveness” to “Gratitude” to elements such as “Air/Life Force/ Prana”, and “Water”, and even theatrical themes such as “Lost in Love” and “The Showgirl.”

After about a year of collaboration, they issued their first album, One. The album was done in a weekend with Will Russell at the Electric Wilburland Studios.

What holds the group together? According to Murphy, “We have found a partnership that fuses our desires to make music that creates spiritual community with our audience. We write and create sets that give our audience a personal journey....we seek to uplift and have a positive transformational experience with our audiences. We make music together because the music is devoted to come from our hearts and spirits to touch the hearts and spirits of our listeners.”

The nature of the music in “One”, and the nature of the music is eclectic. They feature Murphy’s original compositions, rock cover songs, and yogic chant that the band as an ensemble creates, based on kundalini sacred chant.

In the song “I Let You Go” (originally written for 9/11) ended with a chant. Jonathan Meyerhoff had been experimenting with the ending of the song, and heard a gospel “groove” as the end. Jonathan has a background in gospel singing with his church, and has always felt the uplifting energy of the gospel tradition. He introduced it to the group – to the bass player and drummer – and in rehearsal, the song took on a new life of its own. To record the number, they presented it to the vocal group Ephemera (who sang back up on two of the numbers), and the spiritual power of the number took off as they too embraced the style and the joy that the song brings to the listener as a collaboration, the full power of the original material revealed itself to band members, and listeners alike.
- Ithaca Times

Posted: Thursday, January 3, 2013 5:16 pm | Updated: 8:12 am, Fri Jan 4, 2013.

By Cassandra Palmyra | 0 comments




Answer the Muse will be starting a concert series called “The Spirit Café” on Sunday, January 6 at La Tourelle with a 5 p.m. show, sharing the bill with the Neo Project.

Answer the Muse is a collaboration between two women, singer Susan Ceili Murphy and yoga teacher Jai Hari Meyerhoff. Meyerhoff had been teaching kundalini yoga for over 15 years in the Ithaca area. She came from a musical performance family- rasied on the Scott’s Family Resort (Oquaga Lake) where she sang with her family’s show since childhood. During her adult years, while teaching yoga, she always yearned to find a way to merge her music with yogic spirituality...but how to combine the two never revealed itself. Likewise Meyerhoff’s husband, Jonathan, was also a musician in his youth. His parents were visiting performers at the Scott’s Family Resort, where the two met as teens....so both Jai and Jonathan had music as a part of their lives.

Songwriter Susan Ceili Murphy, who had enjoyed an active musical career in NYC in musical theatre, cabaret, and Celtic bands during her 20s and 30s, retired to Ithaca three years ago. The nature of Ithaca’s infectious music scene inspired Murphy to start composing and performing again.

The two were introduced by a mutual musician friend (Elisa Sciscioli). Meyerhoff recorded two of Murphy’s songs, and the two started a cabaret series at the old Delilah’s. As Meyerhoff shared her yogic/musical vision, Murphy (who had also studied Kundalini Yoga) felt the influence of Jai’s vision not only as a performer, but as a writer, and the two started to create theme based musical sets that incorporated Murphy’s originals, with indie rock songs, fused with sacred yogic chant.

Furthermore, they evolved a theatrical presentation fused into each performance, and embraced this as an opportunity to invite the audience to participate not only with chant, but also with moments of meditation and yogic movement as well.

The music itself was now also taking on a life of its own. The need for a full band was apparent. Meyerhoff’s husband, Jonathan, joined the group on vocals and guitar, as well as stand up bass players and drummer/percussionists.

Before they knew it, and as they performed, it became clear that they were creating a new “genre”. “Yogic Cabaret”? The themes of the sets ranged from “Forgiveness” to “Gratitude” to elements such as “Air/Life Force/ Prana”, and “Water”, and even theatrical themes such as “Lost in Love” and “The Showgirl.”

After about a year of collaboration, they issued their first album, One. The album was done in a weekend with Will Russell at the Electric Wilburland Studios.

What holds the group together? According to Murphy, “We have found a partnership that fuses our desires to make music that creates spiritual community with our audience. We write and create sets that give our audience a personal journey....we seek to uplift and have a positive transformational experience with our audiences. We make music together because the music is devoted to come from our hearts and spirits to touch the hearts and spirits of our listeners.”

The nature of the music in “One”, and the nature of the music is eclectic. They feature Murphy’s original compositions, rock cover songs, and yogic chant that the band as an ensemble creates, based on kundalini sacred chant.

In the song “I Let You Go” (originally written for 9/11) ended with a chant. Jonathan Meyerhoff had been experimenting with the ending of the song, and heard a gospel “groove” as the end. Jonathan has a background in gospel singing with his church, and has always felt the uplifting energy of the gospel tradition. He introduced it to the group – to the bass player and drummer – and in rehearsal, the song took on a new life of its own. To record the number, they presented it to the vocal group Ephemera (who sang back up on two of the numbers), and the spiritual power of the number took off as they too embraced the style and the joy that the song brings to the listener as a collaboration, the full power of the original material revealed itself to band members, and listeners alike.
- Ithaca Times