From Siberia To Sag Harbor

Fittingly, there were 13 guests in the WPPB studio last week: The one that ended on Friday the 13th under the light of the full Harvest Moon.

I’d made a rare trip into “the City” with East End singer-songwriter Shari Yeomans to see Lez Zeppelin perform in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium in conjunction with the “Play It Loud” exhibit, featuring more than 130 famous rock-and-roll instruments. I was blown away by the band’s power, talent, and dedicated fan base, but what I couldn’t seem to shake from the shores of my skull was how the U.S. Marine playing saxophone on Fifth Avenue when I entered around 5:45 PM was still going strong when I left three hours later.

It was “odd” enough to capture my attention, which leads me to Tuesday’s discussion with East Enders Adam and Gail Baranello of A&G Dance Company. We dedicated much of the time talking about Adam’s newly-completed film, “Odd,” the third installment in the Hampton Bays artist’s strange cinematic series slated for an October release. On October 21, Adam and the cast of his last film, “The Weird Ones,” will do a Q&A following the screening of his follow-up film to “Beautifully Strange” at the International Film Festival Manhattan. The screening event will include a mini-documentary about the making of “The Weird Ones.”

Wednesday was the 18th anniversary of September 11 and, as such, I wanted to promote something positive — and positively American — so I invited a few artists playing at the upcoming Sag Harbor American Film Festival to chat about the free festival taking place in the village at the end of the month.

We ended up diving into the creative process and approach behind soundtracking Abel Ferrara’s upcoming film “Siberia,” starring Willem Dafoe and, most appropriately, Suse Ellen Lowenstein’s “Dark Elegy” memorial in Montauk, dedicated to victims of terrorism, with local legends Joe and P.J. Delia; and also, Monday’s Outrageous Open Mic Night at The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, under the encouraging rule of one of the hardest-working and passionate men in local music: Klyph Black.

Dan Koontz and Bruce Beyer of Edna’s Kin visited The Heart of The East End after that, spinning yarns about Rum Hill, Mount Misery, and world domination until Lantern Sound Recording Rig’s Mick Hargreaves of Manorville did everyone a solid by bringing Fred the Dog into the WPPB studio to close out the conversation by reviewing the full music schedule for the weekend, which kicks off with an Aretha Franklin tribute at Bay Street Theater Thursday, September 26.

On Thursday, Dell Cullum returned with an update on East Hampton Group for Wildlife just days ahead of receiving official approval for the new organization, which will assist in the rescue of injured and lost animals from Montauk to Wainscott by bringing home — or to places like the East Quogue Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center and Quogue Wildlife Refuge — those animals reported by callers who use the 844-SAV-WILD phone number. At the end of the program, Bobby Hartmann Jr. gave away two pairs of tickets to an upcoming benefit for the Betty Ann Hartmann Foundation at Riverhead-based Vail-Leavitt Music Hall featuring Zebra frontman Randy Jackson, Zeppasaurus, and Liza Coppola. The October 5 benefit in Riverhead is aimed at helping recovering addicts.

After a Media Mavens conversation with Bridget LeRoy, Anisah Abdullah, and Elizabeth Vespe Friday, Divaria Productions’ Ashley and Andrew Bell closed out the week’s interviews ahead of their Saturday premiere of a version of “Othello” combining Giuseppe Verdi and Arrigo Boito’s opera with William Shakespeare’s play at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor. The sibling performance team brought along White Arab Problem’s Liana Afuni, who played the role of Bianca in their remixed and text-enhanced performance of “Othello” set in World War II.

gianna@indyeastend.com