By Samantha Getz, Intern
 
Bushwick isn’t your average “read a novel and discuss over coffee” kind of book club. In fact, it’s more instruments and sheet music than it is reading glasses and Earl Grey tea.
Yes, participants of the The Bushwick Book Club Seattle Chapter all read the same book, but they don’t talk about it, they sing about it.

The Seattle Chapter of the  Bushwick Book Club has only been around for six months but this ‘book club meets singer-songwriter performance”is giving literary guilds a fresh outlook.

“Conversation comes when everybody writes their song inspired by the book and present it to everyone else,” said producer Geoff Larson.

The Bushwick Book Club was founded in Brooklyn, New York with group leader Susan Hwang. Once Larson was able to see a performance, he knew it was Seattle worthy.

“It was just so cool,” he said. “The performers were so excited and into it, and the audience was so excited and into it. It’s hard to find a musical performance like that these days."

Brushwick performs at least once a month and before each show participating members gather, eat, discuss and present their songs to each other. The feedback is a group process but the songwriting is done individually.

“I try not to know what is going to happen,” Larson said. “I leave their artistic mess to themselves.”

With each book, a different songwriting process ensues, said Ballard resident and sound engineer Moe Provencher.

“I don’t take notes or anything while I read it,” she said. “I notice how it makes me feel and then come up with a thread about what I want to write about.”

The only requirement for the songs is to produce music inspired by the book. The books themselves are not quoted, but a line or two are acceptable. What results can be a serious interpretation of the literary themes of the book or a zany, tongue-in-cheek creation. It could be country, funk, hip hop, jazz, soul or folk.

“I don’t pretend to know what is good and what’s bad,” Larson said, “I just let people write.”

Past performances include songs inspired by “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis, Kurt Vonnegut’s, “Slaughterhouse 5", and poetry by Shel Silverstein. Both were successful and garnered community praise.

But it isn’t just the musicians that are reading the books and doing the research. The audience seems to be getting all the inside jokes, too.

“It’s like a larger community book club,” Provencher said. “It seems to be more of a community event than just a performance.”

She said she can tell when audience members have read the book as they laugh at appropriate times or cry at appropriate times.

 “Ever since college I’ve been trying to create this community of artists that support themselves and everyone in it all at the same time,” Larson said.  “Everyone is supporting each other and it’s working out.”

In addition to their performances, the club is working on a couple of projects meant to serve the greater Seattle community. The Bushwick Book Club donates a portion of their profits to the Seattle Public Library and Larson said they are working on an education program that will cater to different age groups. The club will enter classrooms teaching the importance of creativity and literature. They’ll do hip hop renditions of “To Kill a Mockingbird” or singer-songwriter inspirations of “The Outsiders.”

Larson said they also want to create a radio program to air on either a monthly or weekly spot. Artists will enter the studio presenting their music and talk about their approach to writing and inspiration from literature.

Their next performance will take place on Monday, April 18th at Chop Suey. Show starts at 8 p.m.. Tickets are $10 at the door. Songs will be inspired by Audrey Niffenegger’s, “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”
Be expecting themes of love, time travel, relationship problems and nudity.

If you missed out on past performances, the book club has provided a means to enjoy the experience from home. With the help of Provencher’s Ballard freelance studio, The Bombay Shelter, the book club has been able to record and post their performances online.

The club has already acquired some 50 members butLarson said they are always looking for new musicians to join. Interested people should email Larson at thebushwickbookclubseattle@gmail.com with music samples. The club is also looking for visual artists to create pieces inspired by the literature as well.

For more information, go to www.thebushwickbookclubseattle.blogspot.com or find them on Facebook.