The BPRS

Becky sings and plays keys in experimental pop rock duo The Brooklyn Players Reading Society!

All-day, all-ages party at Ivy House on Sat May 6th!

Join me on Sat, May 6th at Ivy House Studio for an all-day, all-ages party with yoga, live painting, face painting, rock-n-roll bands (like mine!), and more.

The party kicks off at 11am with a yoga class with Alison, followed by live painting by Sequoah and live rock-n-roll all afternoon by:
–The Brooklyn Players Reading Society (that’s me!)
–Jessie & Kat
–Imaginary Tricks
–Ellina Graypel Music from the East

RSVP for yoga at by clicking here.

Also available for sale all day:
-Cocktails & Mocktails
-Chicken Lunch by Kaschiev Hunter
-Face Painting with Maurice Midori

$20 suggested donation, no one turned away due to lack of funds. Bring your kids, grandparents, chosen fam, and friends for a full day of fun!

Ivy House Studio is located at 322 Troutman St in Bushwick, BK. Click here for Eventbrite and map.

We are dedicated to creating a culture of inclusion for every attendee, regardless of age, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or spiritual belief. Please note that any homophobic, racist, sexist, or otherwise biased language will not be tolerated. Any attendee who uses such language will be immediately removed from the event.

Spinnin’ Into the Weekend

I love The Wild Yaks so much that I made a video of me spinning my flag to their song “Vanish.”

Lead singer/guitarist Rob Bryn will be performing solo at my salon on 12/2 at Freddy’s Bar. Their full band is also performing next week on Tuesday, 11/22, at Union Pool. I’ll be at both shows. See you there?

Upcoming Salon Alert! – Fri, 12/2/22, 7pm @ Freddy’s Bar

I’m hosting a salon for the first time in four years! There will be live music and painting, photography, free cookies, plus we’ll be celebrating Brooklyn Transcore and raising awareness for trans rights, all at Freddy’s Bar & Backroom in Brooklyn. SEE YOU THERE!

Support Trans Rights: Click here for actions with Brooklyn Transcore

When: December 2, 2022 at 7pm

Where: Freddy’s Bar & Backroom (627 5th Ave, Brooklyn)

What: Live music and painting, photography, free cookies. No cover, tips for performers encouraged.

Why: In these dystopian days, creative collaborations are more important than ever. Come to our salon to listen, dance, talk, get inspired, eat cookies, and celebrate Brooklyn Transcore. Let’s nourish each other.

Music: Sunshine Nights | The BPRS | Daisy | Rob Bryn of The Wild Yaks | Ellina Graypel & Her Eastern Boys

Photos & Words: Julie Rae Powers

Visual Art: Rob Bryn | Sequoah

New Music Video “Anthem for the Millenials” Out Now!

I made a music video! It’s for my duo’s rock song “Anthem for the Millenials” about how capitalist America is failing artists, from our EP called One Day.

I’m so excited to share my first foray into video editing with y’all! Check it out below, and learn more about The Brooklyn Players Reading Society here.

Connect with us!

YouTube: The Brooklyn Players Reading Society
Bandcamp: The BPRS
Facebook: @TheBPRS
Instagram: @TheBPRS
Website: thebprs.com

Studio Magic: North Star Steady

 

“North Star Steady” is a love song I wrote for Dave during a bout of insomnia, purposefully set to a minimalist keyboard line so that I could focus more on the vocals. Dave’s drum line was rockin’, and I liked that there was breathing room in the song. It worked live. In fact, it was one of my favorites to perform.

But when Dave, engineer Salmak Khaledi, and I were listening to the recording of it in the studio, the song felt incomplete. We ate pizza and drank coffee and listened to it again and again, commenting on how it could use this or that but not landing on anything quite right. Then suddenly, Salmak leapt up, ran over to the Moog, and, within minutes, was playing a killer groove that had all of us dancing. We recorded it then and there. 

The “magic of the studio” is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot, but it’s SO TRUE. Salmak breathed new life into our songs, not just through his bass line but through all of his production choices and mixing edits. It was a real honor to record this album with him and to share it with all y’all.

Now it’s time to get back to it. We’re super excited to work on some new tunes and get those out to you later this year. Be sure to follow The Brooklyn Players Reading Society on all the socials to stay up to date!

Website: thebprs.com
Bandcamp: The BPRS
Facebook: @TheBPRS
Instagram: @thebprs
YouTube: The Brooklyn Players Reading Society

My Luck Dragon

 

One winter evening long ago, I was out with Dave and our friend/band member Ben Jaffe when we stopped by “The Thing,” an awesome secondhand shop in Greenpoint filled with extremely strange and wonderful objects. Ben picked up an old dusty piece of art in one of those gaudy brass frames and said, “This one’s from the Willy Wonka art dealer!” We giggled then took turns offering up commentary on other random items.

But the Willy Wonka art dealer stuck with me. I wondered what else he would buy and sell, how he would describe each piece, what his voice would sound like. He was probably creepy. I would probably want to hide from him.

The lyrics to this song started from there then grew into an outlet for my angst and anger over being young in America – how we were left with a recession, a broken society, a dying planet, yet were still expected to work 9-5 and pay the rent. I wanted a luck dragon to fly in and rescue me, leaving nothing but flames behind. 

This anger rings truer today than ever before, but instead of hiding or running, I’ve become more empowered to get organized. Capitalism in America has run amuck. We don’t need a luck dragon to save us; if we come together and fight as a collective, we can save ourselves.

Not sure how to do this? Consider getting involved with the Working Families Party, a movement focused on creating a system that supports all Americans, not just the 1%.

And if you’re into rock-n-roll, check out Ben Jaffe’s latest musical project, Pill.

You, Ruminating

 

Renee Ashley (pictured) is a phenomenal poet, one who breaks rules, challenges conventions, and leaves her readers changed. I discovered the poem “[you]” shortly after my mom left her body; its words rang in my head during those sleepless nights, both comforting and haunting me.

Rumi’s poem, the spoken-word intro to this song, also resonated with me during this time. I found the concept of a thousand barrels of wine to be wonderfully absurd, and I loved the idea of being so genuinely apathetic that nothing mattered beyond those barrels. The whole thing had a playful feel to it, yet I sensed something sinister there. I ended up putting the two poems together, turning “You, Ruminating” into a place to explore and transform my grief, and into one of my favorite songs from my band’s recent album, One Day,

Want to hear more of our songs? Check out The Brooklyn Players Reading Society at:

Website: thebprs.com
Bandcamp: The BPRS
YouTube: The Brooklyn Players Reading Society

Organize, Act Up, Disrupt!

“The Way is Already” – a protest song from One Day, an EP by my band, The Brooklyn Players Reading Society


I am absolutely thrilled over the facts that we have a new president and a more progressive Senate. I loved watching Kamala Harris’s historical inauguration and Amanda Gorman’s powerful performance. I celebrated the win in Georgia and gleefully toasted a glass to Stacey Abrams. And damn, it felt good.

But y’all, as much as we want him to be, Joe Biden is not our savior. He’s obviously an improvement, but if his track record as an Establishment Democrat means anything, he’s not going to end inhumane deportations, secure reproductive rights, protect transpeople, overhaul our justice system, nor begin the long overdue process of dismantling white supremacy – unless we make him.

It’s on us to hold our new president and Congresspeople accountable. Remember, they work for us. It’s also on us, especially those of us who are white, to work on ourselves, on recognizing and undoing our biases and on committing to a life of actively being antiracist.

But guess what? We don’t have to do this work alone. In fact, we can’t do it alone. It’s time to start collaborating, to come together and organize, act up, disrupt. And what a nice thing it is to be able to use our joy as motivation to keep up the work!

Not sure how to get started? Here’s a list of suggestions for you:


Social justice organizations I like (there are so many more):

Resources for antiracism:

 

Photo: Martin Luther King Jr. quote on a Pride Flag, available for sale by hburrell