A Random Moment with Nimesh Gandhi

Nimesh Gandhi, singer/songwriter, actor

Only a few minutes after meeting him I knew I wanted to interview him. He expressed humility, a willingness to learn and shared part of his process all in our 5 to 10 minute chat. I was encouraged by a friend to hang around and listen to his set at the Nuyorican Poets Café that night, and I'm glad I did. His vocals and the band backing him that evening really effected me with its rich sound. At his gig at LIC Bar on June 27, he granted me this interview despite his usual "pregame" rituals.

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My name is Nimesh Gandhi, I am a singer/songwriter and I also do some acting. I’ve recently created an act around my last name—Gandhi. My ancestors, my parents are from outside of Bombay, so that’s my origins, and I was raised in Indiana (laughs) From India to Indiana. My New York story is – I focus on singing and songwriting and working with a lot of quality rock and jazz musicians.

How long have you been a singer/songwriter?

I’ve been developing as a singer/songwriter for over 9, 10 years and it began to mature in the work with the producer, William Moses. His and my work together put me on the map as a singer/songwriter. Before that I was experimenting with guitar and my voice; I would play with bands and I would not really focus on my voice. He helped me shift to a focus on my voice and a focus on storytelling. All of what I had been working on up until I met him in 2005 was developing stories, songs, and by the time he and I got together, we realized all the material together.

A Random Moment with Tom Hatton

Tom Hatton, musican, songwriter

I met "Sir Hatton" by way of "France". I frequented Les Enfants Terribles, a lot, in 2010. Tom was the gracious bartender with the piercing eyes who wore his Oxfords unbuttoned to the third button. I'd known him as an actor. I learned of his other artistic endeavor, music, when I ran into him at a friend's gig recently. I met up with him the following week before his own gig for this interview.

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Hi, I’m Tom Hatton and I play in the band, Gandhi – rhythm guitar, harmonica and background vocals.

When did you get involved in music?

I’ve been playing casually since I was about 15. But really in terms of performing, I started when I met Nimo – Nimesh Gandhi – we’re close friends so we started playing together and now we’re performing on a fairly regular basis.

A Random Moment with Tiffany McGuire

Tiffany McGuire, plus size fashion blogger

I'm fascinated at times at our Monica and Rachel relationship. I do not have the passion for the fashion I "fall into" that she has. But I've definitely learned a lot about fashion and sewing from her. The physical vision boards from her Katharine Gibbs days have been replaced by virtual ones on Pinterest. And she's recently taken the plunge into blogging her trials and tribulations as a Glamazon and sewing her own clothes. And her clothes are wearing her (I learned that term from her too).

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My name is Tiffany McGuire. I am a seamstress, if you wanna call it that, and a selfish sewer, you can definitely call it that, and a newfound fashion blogger for the plus-size diva – that would be me. I’m still in my developmental stage, I’m still learning. I’m like the only person who actually sews and runs a fashion blog for plus-size women- it’s a whole new element. I think it will give me an edge up.

Do you have any idea when you got into fashion? Was there a “moment” or an “era”?

Yup. I always said as soon as I start making any kind of money, I was gonna change my look. So that has to be my earliest memory of it cause god knows the first 3 years of high school were disastrous. They were life-changers. And looking back I’m the extreme opposite of it—I mean my face looks the same, I’m probably around the same size but no one recognizes me. Ever. I’m that different.

Your look is that different…

I wore granny square sweaters and mid-calf skirts, opaque tights and old lady shoes. Come on. Totally different.

A Random Moment with Vid Son Doz

Vid Son Doz, painter, sculptor, art explorer

I eyed him curiously at the Artists Wanted "Cosmic Architecture" opening reception in late May 2012. When we finally spoke, he introduced himself as being from a rainforest in Puerto Rico. It wasn't the wine, I had heard correctly. This past Monday, June 18, 2012, his work was among the many showcased at Art Takes Times Square. It's only fitting that after a tremendous thunder and lightning storm, which produced hail and snow, we'd meet again.

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I have lots of names. My sister, lately’s been calling me Videous Termite but I’m Vid Son Doz which is short for David Peterson Albandoz, but I shortened it, I like that everything happens in threes and the last letters of my name became Vid. My friends call me Vid. I sign my work Vid Son Doz—that’s my artist name. It’s important to me that we share our art, that we share our experience. That’s why I’m here.

So what’s your title? What do you call yourself?

I’m an artist—painter, sculptor. I am more like an art explorer. I mean I have lots of variety of art.

Inspiration struck! Vid Son Doz paints the latest in his Vegetative Translunary collection 

A Random Moment with Glendaliz Camacho

Glendaliz Camacho, writer

I asked her to sit next to me in our 6^th grade computer/typing class and a friendship was born. That led to many novel-length notes passed back and forth during class (even if she doesn’t remember the details). Our paths diverged and converged a few years ago and she’s still writing. Perhaps a writer is born. I stopped by her office (the day job) at SHARE on Friday afternoon.

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Well, my name is Glendaliz Camacho. I’m a writer, also an editor and a translator. I’ve worked in publishing, years ago, and magazine article writing and right now I’m working on fiction; on short fiction and a novel.

I’m sure there’s that one story that you haven’t shared. Which story is that? And why haven’t you shared it?

I don’t know that I only have one story that I haven’t shared. I think there’s a couple. I think they marinate in my brain for quite some time and then when I’m ready then I can kinda start working on it. Like even the story that I’m working on right now, it’s something that I’ve had in my head for a while that came outta a passing comment that my Dad made about my great-grandparents. So this one factoid that he gave me about them got me thinking but it took a long time. So that would be the story that I haven’t been able to tell, haven’t told. But I think I have a couple of them like that, usually if they’re not about myself and my more scandalous times, then they’re about family or something.

A Random Moment with Habib Idris

Habib Idris, painter

In keeping with the random yet the synchronicity of life, I ran into an old college friend in SoHo on Wednesday. I knew he painted but wasn’t aware of the extent of his work. I was also witness to the effect his creations have on people; a mother and daughter walked by and were instantly drawn to one of his mannequin pieces—art admired, art sold. He was gracious enough to let me interview him right there on the spot.

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Introduce yourself and tell us what it is you do; what’s your craft?

Habib Idris, from Ghana. My craft is paint. I paint. I draw. It’s therapy for me. To get my mind off a lot of things I paint. I don’t consider myself an artist… You can say I’m an artist but it’s more of a hobby or something that relaxes me than for money. But in this economy, you gotta do whatever you can to make money, right? And I’m using what I can. I’m blessed to have a gift where I can paint or create something so I use that to make a little money for now.

A Random Moment with Rubén González

Ruben Gonzalez, singer/songwriter

We first met last year at a show we both participated in at Word Up! Books in Washington Heights. He sang before intermission, I read after. I attended one of his jam sessions in September. On June 19, 2012, we met before his show at the Nuyorican Poets Café. We popped into the Snack Dragon Taco Shack and were greeted by the aroma of steak on the grill, soulful beats and sipped homemade Raspberry Limeade as we discussed his career, creative process and his panty-dropping music that he sings from his testicles in his neck.

 

At the taco shack

Alright, introduce yourself and tell us what you do

My name is Rubén González and I do a bunch of things, mostly related to music. I’m a singer/songwriter. I’m also an instrumentalist; I play bass, guitar. I’m also a teaching artist in New York City Public Schools working with early childhood but also I arrange and direct a couple of percussion orchestras for 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders in Brooklyn. That program has been going on for years and years and it’s grown and it allows me to see music in a different way, arrange for little hands, for little brains—it’s a lot of fun—at PS 130, the one that I’m thinking of, the most important program, on Fort Hamilton Parkway in Brooklyn. The principal is very supportive, we’ve got all kinds of instruments, so I teach there and I arrange for them and introduce them to music. Being a teaching artist gives me the opportunity to introduce young kids to music the way I feel it, the way I would like to have been introduced [to it].

Wedding Bells

Last month, I witnessed the union of Charleen Bruno and Toney Ivey -- capturing the ceremony and mingling amongst family and friends afterwards.

More photographers, and the couples who hire them, are leaning towards creative wedding photography. Right up my alley. My eye is drawn to connections between people and my images do a great job capturing moments that would otherwise go unnoticed. I'm available to shoot weddings and engagements. 'Tis the wedding season!