For the Love of the Song with Brenda Bayne

Most mornings you can find Brenda Bayne sitting at Volta Coffee, Tea and Chocolate, sipping on a short americano. Every Wednesday you might walk into Emiliano’s Cafe and find her singing and playing a snare drum. She presents herself as a modest and casual performer, but her resume and repertoire say otherwise.

The Brenda Bayne Jazz Trio. L-R: David Glennon, bass, Brenda Bayne, vocals and snare, and Robert D'Amico, piano. (image via brendabayne.com)

Bayne was playing the guitar more than thirty years ago, singing a lot of Bob Dylan songs. She was taking a bit of music theory at Santa Fe College to better her practice and improve her skill. She had no idea a fruitful career as a jazz musician was to follow.

“I was attracted to a song that came on the radio,” said Bayne. “It was a jazz standard. I got into the jazz songs by way of the songs.”

Bayne began exploring songwriters of older eras, thinking that she was coming into music too late to fit in with the rock and pop scene. She felt inspired by the performances and music of many different categories. Creating her own type of performance was a culmination of several things coming together.

“I was pretty much tone deaf,” said Bayne. “Yet, I felt like the only way I would get better was to get out there and do it.”

She really did it, too. Gradually she began performing at Gainesville’s historic Thomas Center and was involved with the Gainesville Friends of Jazz. One of the big concerts was an evening with a great American jazz guitarist, Gene Bertoncini.

Still, fifteen years of concerts in the cultural heart of Gainesville, Bayne came to realize she actually did not like performing. Performing was the difficult part and was always the part she came to dread.

“People aren’t supposed to say this, but it's true,” said Bayne. “It was always strenuous.”

She recalled one of the last big concerts she played. This was a significant one, with Bertoncini to accompany her.

“We did about an hour and a half of run throughs of the songs,” said Bayne, remembering the great time practicing in her home. “I loved the sounds. I loved playing with him. I was disappointed to have to then go out to the Thomas Center to play with him.”

Bayne hasn’t given up her performance, though, she just found smaller spaces of the world where she can feel content to sing. For years that setting has been Emiliano’s Cafe, where the Brenda Bayne Jazz Trio serenades wining and dining patrons.     

“People who have heard me for years are like, ‘You’re background music,’” said Bayne, who also used to play at Satchel’s Pizza. She disagrees. Instead she feels like she can finally transcend the concert experience and be free and comfortable with all the noise in the room.

“I sang for that spiritual evolution,” said Bayne. “It is nice to have some talent you can contribute to the community. Plus, I was always more attracted to the songs than the performance.”

The community she sings to, and with, is more than just restaurant guests. Bayne spent about 20 years teaching community education, allowing people to belt out all their best and worst notes in her home. She found it fulfilling to teach people to sing.

Bayne spent years singing for hospice and found that fulfilling, too.

“When you sing to someone who is dying,” said Bayne, “music is a beautiful way to touch people. Even though I struggled, people were still affected. They cried, it was emotional.”

Bicycle Film Festival After Party

Gleeful football fans finished their drinks and dispersed from the muggy backyard setting, tortilla chips crunching beneath their shoes. A hodgepodge of punks, music-loving millennials and those just out for late night entertainment filled in the sports-centric shadows.

The familiar scene of amplifiers and wild, blazing stage lights took over the Backyard at Boca Fiesta. In the late September heat, electric guitars, kick drums and mike stands multiplied. The after party was underway. 

Show poster (via the event's Facebook page)

The Bicycle Film Festival ended its tour stop in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday, Sept. 19, with a show put on by three local bands. The show followed a private screening of the Florida Gators vs. Kentucky State college football game.

Brendt Barbur, founding festival director, was compelled to start the Bicycle Film Festival when he was hit by a bus while riding his bike in New York City, according to the festival’s website.  He wanted to turn his negative experience into a positive one, according to Todd Weissfeld, drummer for Ann Pragg, one of the bands playing the after party.

In 2001 Barbur started the Bicycle Film Festival as a platform to celebrate the bicycle through music, art and, of course, film. Barbur is “credited with making bicycle culture cool again,” said Weissfeld.

Bicycle Film Festival poster (via the event's Facebook page)

Already close to midnight, the strums of guitar strings and the simple beats on the drum set alerted the crowd. People moved slightly closer to the stage. Moonbeard checked their gear with the sound guy and the show officially began.

“I’m glad they brought the film festival here,” said Ted Lincoln, talking over the heart-thumbing sounds from the stage. He was one of the people in the crowd that went to see the films as well as attend the after party. The night brought together many of his interests, as Lincoln, a visual artist, does some serious biking in his free time.

Carla Scarlatta, who organized the film festival and helped plan the show, wanted to bring the festival to Gainesville because of people like Lincoln. She thought that the “bike culture would be a big hit here.” Scarlatta recognized that art, music and biking are popular pastimes in the city.

“It’s hard to compete with Gator football, though,” said Scarlatta. The previous game may have had a fuller house, but the crowd at the party stayed out long and stayed out late, continuously dancing and sweating.

With its own mob of super fans, the Moonbeard set had a crowd full of people singing along and throwing their fists in the air. Two of the band members had their girlfriends in the front rows, smiling gleefully, absorbed in the songs they had seen performed countless times.

Cory Underhill, Chico Brown, Brad Purvis and Josh Harding, of Moonbeard

The band included Brad Purvis, drums; Cory Underhill, guitar and vocals; Josh Harding, guitar and vocals; and Chico Brown, bass.

Each of the local bands, it seemed, had their own following. If the scene had its own set of big, “go team” foam fingers, there would have been a sea of them.

Ann Pragg's set list

Ann Pragg’s members included Matt Raddick, guitar and vocals; Matt Brink, bass and vocals; David Quarles, guitar; and Todd Weissfeld, drums.

Nitin Jayaswal, nodded toward Matt Raddick, singer and guitarist for Ann Pragg, when asked why he came out for the show.

“He’s a legend,” said Jayaswal. “He’s the cat’s meow. And people, they ask ‘Why doesn’t he leave? I say, ‘He likes Gainesville.’”

Red, green, blue and white lights beamed and strobed onstage throughout Ann Pragg’s set. Like the previous band, the crowd grew closer to the stage as they played.

Matt Raddick, of Ann Pragg

In some ways the event appeared more like a party of friends and acquaintances, as bands shared equipment when technical difficulties arose and thanked each other between songs. Cory Underhill, singer and guitarist for Moonbeard, said he was most excited to see UV-TV play, the headlining band of the night.

Together not yet a year, UV-TV has amassed a following.

Jayaswal said he also has a kind of "man crush" on UV-TV. He notices them not only when they are performing, but out in the world, “wearing all black, eating burgers together, and they remind me of a young Yo La Tengo.”

Scarlatta said that she picked the various bands for the event because she likes to support the locals, but also because the bands are filled people she likes and her friends.

With less than an hour until the bars would all close, UV-TV finally played, the three-piece group rocking out, lights beaming and the crowd still there. It still wasn’t much cooler in the air, but the swaying of the crowd maintained.

Rose Vastola, Matt Brotton and Ian Bernacett, of UV-TV

UV-TV’s members include Rose Vastola, bass and vocals; Matt Brotton, drummer; and Ian Bernacett, guitars and vocals.

As last-call neared, the door guys circled the picnic tables and perimeter, picking up empty cans and plastic cups. UV-TV strummed its last chords and the stage lights flashed wildly. The crowd thinned.

What’s in your bag? | LADY DUG

Powder blue, star figure, heel-less wedge booties and knee-high black socks. A short black skirt, black top and black cape slung over one shoulder. Large, round, black-framed glasses and a baseball cap covered in silver and multi-colored sequins and stars. Plus, a leopard-print backpack slung over her capeless shoulder. This is Lady Dug.

Lady Dug, otherwise known as Amy Douglas, got her bag at Citi Trends, a retail chain that sells brand-name streetwear at discount prices, for $10. The multi-instrumentalist called her bag “sassy and classy.”

“It holds my shit. It’s a child’s backpack and it is definitely mine,” said Douglas.

“A lot of people don’t realize it’s Simba,” said Douglas, noting “The Lion King” character’s inclusion in the print. “When I ride the bus, kids love it. They say, ‘Is that Simba on your backback?’ Adults just mention loving the animal print.”

She loves how functional it is, with it’s two pockets and ample space. Douglas said she can easily ride her bike to Earth Pets, get the large, $15 bag of catfood, fit it in her backpack and ride home.

“I’ll shove everything in my bag,” said Douglas. “I’ve got a harmonic key tuner, a drum tuner and valve oil.” She noted the surprised looks she often gets when she pulls out a particular item, but said that these things are essential to her.

Other essentials?

“Dry shampoo,” said Douglas. “I’ve been on tours since I was 18 and I only found out about it when I was 23.” She spoke both enthusiastically and with irritability at the fact that this product changed her life so much, yet, no one bothered to point it out to her when she was struggling with greasy hair on long bus rides with her bands.

“I finally heard about it from one of my homegirls in St. Augustine,” said Douglas, mentioning her hometown in Florida. “It is so good for people with Latin, oily, greasy hair. Shit will save you, make you feel fresh, look fresh. I am a walking advertisement for dry shampoo.”

Douglas pulled out more beauty products from her bag, glamorous must-haves for the girl who shines on stage. She raved about Maybelline Master Graphic by Eyestudio liquid eyeliner. It looked like a thick magic marker.

“It’s a one stroke genius,” said Douglas. “This specific eyeliner is like the best thing I’ve ever had in my life.” She explained just how she puts it on and how much time it has saved her. The enormous round glasses she wears made it easy to see the perfect, sharp edge of her makeup.

Clockwise from left: Simba backpack, Not Your Mother's Dry Shampoo, glitters, Johnson Chromatic Pitch Pipes, makeup pouch, earbuds, Maybelline Master Graphic by Eyestudio liquid eyeliner, Revlon Bold Lacquer Waterproof Mascara by Grow Luscious, "Hot Numbers" notepad.

Lady Dug often plays drums in 4-5 inch platform sneakers. She stands out in many ways. Literally, she shines. Particulary with glitter.

“Purple glitter and gold glitter at all times,” said Douglas, adding to the list of essentials for her bag. “It’ll make you look good no matter what.” She pats the shiny material around eyes and along her cheekbones. Even in an entirely black ensemble, she sparkles with color.

The art collective and cooperatively run record label Elestial Sound will be putting out Lady Dug’s album entitled, “Bout Time,” in December of this year.

What’s in your bag? | DJ CROOKED

Tuesday nights on the top floor of Arcade Bar, DJ Crooked spins all Pop, all night. Several times a year he deejays dance nights at the Atlantic Nightspot and the Backyard at Boca Fiesta.

DJ Crooked, also known as Josh Rey, always has his khaki bag. No matter where he is blasting Beyonce or Taylor Swift, he’s got his “perfunctory and easy” messenger bag.

“It serves its purpose while it’s still stylish,” said Rey. “I can use it every day.”

Rey has had the bag a solid two years. He bought it for $7 at Flashbacks Recycled Fashions, a clothing and home decor consignment shop, a place he worked many years ago.

“It translates easy,” said Rey, explaining why he loves this bag. “I can ride my bike with it. I can put my equipment in it. It’s perfect.”

The messenger-style bag has one large main compartment and two smaller pockets. Rey explained how he gets a lot of use out of this bag when he goes out to his weekly gig. Record needles and extra cables stay safe and secure in the smaller pockets.

“This is your life,” said Rey, gesturing around the bag. “It is how you contain your life.”

Items he always has in his bag?

“My charger and my Dream,” said Rey, referring to his cellphone charger and signature scent, Gap Dream. Though the particular perfume was discontinued years ago, Rey still finds a way to get it, usually on eBay. He is convinced some “housewife in Newark is sitting on cases of the stuff.”

Rey is very practical with many of his items and they have a lot to do with the weather. “I’ve always got decongestants,” he said. “Plus, I always have scarves and sweaters in the winter.”

Since it has yet to fully cool down for fall in Gainesville, Rey always has deodorant and an extra shirt. A long night of dancing and spinning records, plus the walk up a few flights of stairs to the top of Arcade Bar, it is important to be prepared.

One last item?

“Glasses and sunglasses,” said Rey. “People don’t look at your eyes when you wear glasses, they always are just looking at your frames. It distances you from people.”

Like a secret identity, he puts on his glasses, coordinated to his outfit, and creates a shield from the crowds ready for Pop. ​