Back to Where We Started

This is the first newsletter that reaches you from the new glamglare headquarters in Downtown Manhattan. We moved back to this neighborhood pretty much exactly after 20 years, which means we have come full circle after spending 14 years in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.

We feel a special connection to Lower Manhattan, or ‘Fidi’ for Financial District, as real estate people like to call it now. We were among those who decided not to desert the neighborhood after September 11 and saw the beginning of its slow and painful rebuild.

20 years later, Lower Manhattan has changed a lot, but it is still a curious mix of gritty streets, cheap lunch spots, glitzy restaurants, and luxury high rises. It is much more residential now, with many former office buildings being converted to apartments.

It is not a hip neighborhood, though. There are no music venues, trendy bars, or many tourists. But that’s okay. Since most subway lines have stops within walking distance, the city will be our oyster once more, and we are looking forward to a more diverse experience of urban life again.

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Out tomorrow: néomí - somebody’s daughter

Neomi Speelman, the Amsterdam-based singer/songwriter who records as néomí opens more chapters of her personal story in her debut album somebody’s daughter. In 11 songs, she invites us to follow her through her experiences: some are difficult, some are heartbreaking, but always with the hope of growing into a better person.

Neomi recalls:

“The reason why I wrote an album like 'somebody's daughter' is because I often can't find words to express myself in certain situations. Where feelings can be overpowering and take control because I felt them so deeply. It has been my therapy in times of despair and my joy when I truly needed happiness. I tried to be as honest as possible. I'm telling stories about letting go and forgiving a loved one after being convinced they would be in your life forever. It is about grief, grief for yourself, the old you who you are leaving behind. It includes anger, for the times I didn't stand up for yourself when I should have. It was getting to know myself, and to do that is to go through the past and look back on certain situations and times. This record pulled me through so many things.

Even with two EPs under her belt, making an album was a special challenge:

“I have several musical friends who told me writing an album can be a super intense experience, but I always thought it would be fine! It is fine, in the end, but it has been a journey for sure. And even now, all finished packed up and ready for you to hear, I still feel it is not finished yet. I think the only thing that can complete the circle are people hearing it; listeners who can give the songs and words purpose.

somebody’s daughter is out tomorrow, May 3, via [PIAS].

Nine Photos of a Day of Moving out & Moving in

(1-3) Moving out.

(4) Driving to our new home over the Brooklyn Bridge. What a treat to sit in this spacious limousine that carried not only us but all our musical gear, two suitcases, and (way too) many bags with loose ends. But we left the apartment in Ridgwood clean and empty. The driver could not have been friendlier and more helpful. He was totally unfazed by all that we wanted to squeeze in his pristine and posh car.

(5&6) We made it! And our movers were already waiting for us, too, eager to keep on going now that the freight elevator was available again. I cannot recommend Imperial Movers enough, though. We moved with them seven years ago, and next time, I’ll even save myself the entire spiel by getting quotes from different companies and will call Imperial directly! Friendly, competent, great pricing, super helpful, and all-around professional!

(8) When we lived Downtown in 2001 to 2004, Paris Café became our go-to Irish Pub. Most of our German friends and relatives know this place as we went with everybody there. After Sandy hit, the restaurant was pretty much destroyed inside, and the rebuilt version is very different from the original one safe the bar ornaments. Prices also went up, of course, and the staff is different too but we decided to go for a little welcome drink there yesterday and enjoyed the special Wednesday Happy Hour.

(9) On our way back, we enjoyed a closer view of Roebling’s erection, as we like to call the Brooklyn Bridge, in a nod to the Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan romantic comedy “Kate & Leopold.” (In that snippet, they cut it out, but it’s here.)