{"id":43191,"date":"2019-06-26T09:27:45","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T13:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=43191"},"modified":"2019-06-26T09:27:50","modified_gmt":"2019-06-26T13:27:50","slug":"on-stage-eleni-mandell-learns-from-work-behind-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=43191","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Eleni Mandell learns from work behind bars"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Eleni Mandell<\/p><\/div>\n

Singer\/songwriters have a wide, wide array of topics and experiences they use as inspiration for their songs. It\u2019s safe to say that Eleni Mandell has tapped into a source probably never used before \u2013 teaching songwriting at a women\u2019s prison.<\/p>\n

Mandell, who will headline a show on June 26 at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>), us touring in support of her new album, \u201cWake Up Again,\u201d which was released earlier this month on Yep Roc Records.<\/p>\n

The recording of the album followed Mandell\u2019s work with female prison inmates as part of the Jail Guitar Doors program established by Detroit\u2019s Wayne Kramer of MC5 fame in partnership with English musician Billy Bragg.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll but one of the songs on \u2018Wake Up Again\u2019 were informed by my prison experience,\u201d said Mandell, during a phone interview last week from her home in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did it for about two years and the influence creeps in. Many of the songs are portraits of people there. Many were songs I wrote there in front of them to allow them to be part of the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, one of the women came out and said — \u2018I didn\u2019t do what they said I did. It just happened.\u2019 She had been in prison for 29 years and still believed \u2018I didn\u2019t do it. It wasn\u2019t me.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that came to mind \u2013 anyone can make a mistake. People that don\u2019t know think that prison is all gangsters. There are lawyers, doctors \u2013 people who made mistakes. It made me realize that I take my own freedom for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her song, \u201cCircumstance,\u201d Mandell sings, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t me who did these things. It was my circumstance.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Mandell, \u201cI really enjoyed the experience. I was inspired by the stories and surprised by the laughter I heard there. And I shouldn\u2019t have been surprised, but I was, by how many different kinds of people were there: teachers, lawyers, nurses, and also people who grew up in poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result is a set of compellingly personalized portraits and vignettes, probing looks into the lives and minds, the regrets and guilts and hopes of those she met, but ultimately also of her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found that working with these women to be very meaningful,\u201d said Mandell, who has a day job teaching English to seventh graders at a Los Angeles middle school. \u201cI could reflect on my own ways. It was very intense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mandell is and always has been an Angeleno.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in L.A. \u2013 in the Valley,\u201d said Mandell, who also been a musical partner in the Living Sisters with singer-songwriters Inara George, Becky Stark and Alex Lilly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to college at University of California Berkeley and then came right back. I love the city and love living here. My husband and I live in Los Feliz.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded \u2018Wake Up Again\u2019 about a year ago in L.A. and then had to wait for it to be released. I went back to grad school to work on a master\u2019s in education at USC. The album was recorded during spring break, so I had to do it quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did at Carriage House — my friend Sheldon Gomberg\u2019s studio in Silver Lake. We recorded everything live \u2013 even the vocals. We finished the recording in four days, but the mixing took longer. I went in with 13 songs are there are 11 on the record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Eleni Mandell \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/MI3g9MPE-xQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at World Caf\u00e9 Live, which has Saleka Night as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/p>\n

On June 26, another Yep Roc Records act will be performing across town in Philly \u2013 The Minus 5 at Johnny Brenda\u2019s (1201 North Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Minus 5<\/p><\/div>\n

The Minus 5 is a rock\/folk\/pop collective captained by Scott McCaughey <\/a>with Peter Buck often aboard as navigation officer. By design from its inception, the line-up for recordings and live appearances is completely fluid, dependent on musician availability, whim, and wind direction. Collaborators regularly feature friends from R.E.M., Wilco, Decemberists, and Posies.<\/p>\n

The band has always had McCaughey as its core. Around a year-and-a-half ago, The Minus 5 \u2013 and the music world \u2013 almost lost McCaughey.<\/p>\n

In November 2017, McCaughey was walking in San Francisco in an area known for its large homeless population. McCaughey got dizzy and fell to the ground in a semi-conscious state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just walking through the Tenderloin to North Beach to go to Caf\u00e9 Trieste,\u201d said McCaughey, during a phone interview last week from his home in Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what was happening. I had a stroke and lost my ability to move. Eventually, an ambulance came 45 minutes later. It\u2019s kind of amazing that I didn\u2019t have brain damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in an area where it wasn\u2019t unusual for people to be stepping over a body on the sidewalk. People thought I was having a seizure or a drug overdose. I was unconscious by the time I got to the Emergency Room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor in the E.R. didn\u2019t believe I was having a stroke. He thought I was drugged out. So, I didn\u2019t get an MRI for 24 hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they realized it was a stroke, they flooded my brain with blood by raising my blood pressure to dangerously high levels to flush out the clot. I just feel really lucky to still be functional. Luckily, I got really good care eventually in San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than three days after a doctor predicted he would never play music again, McCaughey began writing his next album \u2014 while still in the ICU, unable to speak coherently, his right side just waking from being paralyzed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to do what I do \u2013 but I\u2019m still doing it,\u201d said McCaughey. \u201cI did these therapy sessions where I would try to do a The Minus 5 show doing covers of Beatles and Neil Young \u2013 just working to get my memory back. I couldn\u2019t remember one word. I was talking gibberish. It\u2019s still difficult to find words. I use cheat sheets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in the hospital for three weeks and then came back to Portland. Luckily, I was able to remember how to play chords. It\u2019s a different part of the brain. I started writing new songs. I can\u2019t memorize any of the words. They come from my brain, but they won\u2019t be memorized. I really need the crib sheets.\u201d<\/p>\n

But instead of wallowing in misery, McCaughey channeled his omni-positive spirit and began to write down whatever incoherent thoughts crossed his mind. He turned those stream-of-consciousness notebook pages into his 13th full-length Minus 5 release, \u201cStroke Manor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStroke Manor,\u201d which was released on June 14 by Yep Roc Records, is a capsule of weeks in a hospital bed and recovery back at his Portland home, where he recorded the album with significant contributions from Peter Buck, Joe Adragna, Jeff Tweedy, and more.<\/p>\n

The results are often head-scratching, tongue-tying spats of confusion, as the lyrics nudged him to experiment with voice-altering effects, to match the singular new outer-space characters he felt he was singing as.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling pretty good,\u201d said McCaughey. \u201cBut I also feel a little exhausted. Every day feels like a Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m back home in Portland for five days between tours \u2013 a lot of time on the phone and a lot of time rehearsing. I toured with Filthy Friends just before this. We just had our second album come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filthy Friends is a rock supergroup based in Portland, Oregon. The band, which just released its sophomore album, \u201cEmerald Valley,\u201d on May 3, is fronted by Corin Tucker (of Sleater-Kinney) and guitarist Peter Buck (formerly of R.E.M. and Tired Pony) and also includes bassist Scott McCaughey, guitarist Kurt Bloch (The Fastbacks) and drummer Linda Pitmon (The Minus 5).<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Peter and I are doing The Minus 5 Stroke Manor Tour,\u2019\u201d said McCaughey. \u201cThe band for the Philadelphia show will also have Mike Mills, Linda Pitmon, Kurt Bloch and Joe Adragna.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for The Minus 5 — https:\/\/youtu.be\/MZUHr1vfE5U<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Johnny Brenda\u2019s, which has Summer Fiction as the opener, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Singer\/songwriters have a wide, wide array of topics and experiences they use as inspiration for their songs. It\u2019s safe to say that Eleni Mandell has tapped into a source probably never used before \u2013 teaching songwriting at a women\u2019s prison. Mandell, who will headline a show on June […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[12260,7426,12261,12263,12262],"class_list":["post-43191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-eleni-mandell","tag-featured","tag-minus-5","tag-peter-buck","tag-scott-mccaughey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43192,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43191\/revisions\/43192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}