Back to the top

Don’t Feed the Musicians!

Thanks for a great run!

Don’t Feed the Musicians!, my monthly variety show at QED, will be coming to a close on October 21 and I want to send out a hearty “thank you” to all of the artists that have been guests, all of the people that have come to enjoy the show, and the wonderful folks at QED who supported it. But the end brings a new beginning! I’ll be launching a new monthly variety show in November at the very same venue, in the very same time slot!

So why, you may ask, if I’m doing a monthly variety show in the same time slot at the same venue would I go through the hassle of creating a new show? I suppose the 3-year anniversary made me a little reflective and I thought about the work that goes into producing and hosting a show. I really enjoy both writing new material every month, performing, and bringing wonderful guests to the stage for the audience to enjoy, but I don’t like having to explain that that’s what Don’t Feed the Musicians! is.

It’s mostly my fault for giving the show an ambiguous title. When I was first approached about doing a monthly show at the then-brand new QED, I wanted to come up with a name other than “Untitled Rob Paravonian Project” and I thought Don’t Feed the Musicians! had a cheeky, musician’s inside joke kind of vibe. But when I see it listed up there with all of the other wonderful shows at QED I think about how someone else would see the name and wonder “what the heck is that?” And in the days of social media-fueled micro attention spans that can be a liability.

So watch this space for information on the new show, which will hit the QED stage November 18th at 7:30!

May DFTM Wrap-Up

There was another nice crowd on hand for last weekend’s Don’t Feed the Musicians!, which featured the very funny River Clegg, the very musical Nick Nace, and the very musically funny Mark Douglas from Key of Awesome on the YouTubes. The new show time of 7:30 worked seamfully (I thought it was at 8 but got there early enough to start on time) and the audience got to sing along to Mark’s Reggae Shark and my new stadium song for losing teams.

Collage of Guests
clockwise, from top left: Mark Douglas, Nick Nace, Rob Paravonian, River Clegg

There was even a surprise for me before the show in the form of a mysterious envelope addressed to me in care of QED. Would it be anthrax? A paternity suit? The Columbia House Record and Tape Club tracking me down to try to win me back? It turned out to be a surprise $100 grant given to the show from a foundation named after Nazheda von Meck, who was (according to Wikipedia) a 19th Century Russian patron of the arts. Adding to the mystery was a very dubious return address in Belleville, NY with the zip code 00867-5309, or, without the zeros: 8675309, à la Tommy Tutone’s hit song from 1982.

Whoever my mystery benefactor is, thank you very much! It will help me give a few bucks for cab fare to the musicians who have to schlep instruments to the show. It’s also lovely to know that people appreciate the show, which I’ve been doing monthly now since November and have been really enjoying. QED and folks in Astoria have been very supportive.

Look for Don’t Feed the Musicians! again on June 20, with new guests and more musical surprises!

© Paravonian