AESOP'S SOUND FABLES
5/4/25
Strange Animations in Ridgewood, Queens
A beautiful candlelit show on a small stage in Ridgewood. We had some technical difficulties, we started the wrong video and had to take brief intermission to fix it. The music itself was really excellent. and so was the space. Kate from Ohh Hi dating came and swapped zines with us.
Location: Cassette in Ridgewood
Films: Felix the Cat, Aesop's Fables, Feline Follies, Gertie the Dinosaur, Steamboat Willie, The Cameraman's Revenge
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Synth), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon), Emre Tetik (French Horn)
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
4/27/25
Soup Show: Ghost Lotus // Krystal Vazquez // buddhababy // Dolan Morgan
Our first of these Soup Shows with writers. Dolan read from his piece on how to make hand puppets while Krystal read from her new novel, Lady Without land. Mike from buddhababy played with a friend on melodica. Lily from Ghost Lotus did a mix of music and readings from her new chapbook
Location: Green Street Apartment
Chefs: Mike Nowotarski, Krystal Vazquez
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
4/24/25
Strange Animations // MOON2 in Manhattan
Devon and the Perraneu Magazine Collective opened up the night with their performance of MOON, an opera in a made-up language. The highlight was Allie's improvised movement piece. We performed Strange Animations afterwards. NYC Sounds Good came to to take photos and wrote a review.
Location: Baker Falls in Manhattan
Films: Felix the Cat, Aesop's Fables, Feline Follies, Gertie the Dinosaur, Steamboat Willie, The Cameraman's Revenge
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Synth), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon), Emre Tetik (French Horn)
Collaborators: Devon Turchan and the Perraneu Magazine Collective
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
4/13/25
Nosferatu in Milford, CT (4/13/25)
Hosted by Milford Horror at United Presbyterian Church. Featuring Mike Nowotarski solo on electric guitar. Sold out show.
Location: United Presbyterian Church in Milford, CT
Film: Nosferatu (1922)
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Electric Guitar)
Collaborators: Milford Horror
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
4/12/25
Strange Animations in Boston, MA
Matinee show at the Microcinema in Somerville Theater. Harpist Eleanora performed an opening solo set and joined guitarist Mike Nowotarski for portions of Strange Animations.
Location: Somerville Theater Microcinema in Boston, MA
Film: Felix the Cat, Aesop's Fables, Feline Follies, Gertie the Dinosaur, Steamboat Willie, The Cameraman's Revenge
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar)
Collaborators: Eleanora
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
4/11/25
Strange Animations in New Haven, CT
Hosted by Volume II in New Haven. Singer-songwriter Melanie Champagne performed an opening set, as did indie-folk band Old Milk Mooney. Dan and Clancy from Old Milk Mooney joined for portions of Strange Animations. John the Soup Pauper cooked a free vegan soup for everyone.
Location: Volume II in New Haven, CT
Film: Felix the Cat, Aesop's Fables, Feline Follies, Gertie the Dinosaur, Steamboat Willie, The Cameraman's Revenge
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar)
Collaborators: Old Milk Mooney, Melanie Champagne
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
3/30/25
Soup Show: shepup // Matt Geary // Hanging Blanket
Apartment show with free minestrone soup for all attendees. American Primitive Guitarist Matt Geary came from Philadelphia. Longtime friend Ethan played a beautiful set and Sheila was incredible.
Location: Green Street Apartment
Chefs: Mike Nowotarski, Krystal Vazquez
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
2/8/25
Soup Show: Anthime Miller // Ranch Hands // K C Raniero
Apartment show with free minestrone soup for all attendees. Anthime from Resounding Silents played a beautiful set on cello. I was finally able to connect with Jack and KC on a show after years of trying. It was the Superbowl so I was pretty sure noone was going to come but turnout was okay. Lily came and that was nice.
Location: Green Street Apartment
Chefs: Mike Nowotarski, Amanda
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
2/2/25
MOON in Manhattan, NY
Hosted by the OPERA Center in Midtown Manhattan. Devon Turchan of Perraneu Magazine invited us to collaborate on their original opera in a made-up lagnuage. Featuring Mike Nowotarski on guitar, Fox Indigo on cello/piano, and Rosalie Avery on bassoon.
Location: OPERA Center for America
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Cello/Piano), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon)
Collaborators: Devon Turchan and the Perraneu Magazine Collective
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
12/20/24
The Night Before Christmas and Other Holiday Shorts
We performed a series of Christmas themed short films with the ensemble. The goal was to capture the strange and unsettling nature of this early holiday work and contrast it with more modern depictions of the holiday. All films were by the director Starevic who pioneered stop-motion animation with his bizarre insect films. This was our first performance of the Cameraman's Revenge.
Location: Pine Box Rock Shop in Brooklyn
Films: Insect's Christmas, The Night Before Christmas, The Cameraman's Revenge
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Synth), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon)
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
12/15/24
Soup Show: Hurricane Holly // Old Milk Mooney (CT) // Kyle Rogers
Old Milk Mooney came down from New Haven to play a gorgeous duo set with Dan and Clancy. Kyle, Gillian's friend opened the night with a really raw acoustic set. Hurricane Holly had everyone stomping along to one of her kids songs.
Location: Green Street Apartment
Chefs: Mike Nowotarski, Amanda
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
10/26/24
Backyard Halloween Show
Final night of our Caligari screenings. Performed in a backyard in Flatbush
Location: The Coop in Flatbush, Brooklyn
Film: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Cello), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon)
Collaborators: Fletcher Daniel, Nice Brass
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
10/25/24
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in Brooklyn
Second night of our October run of Caligari shows. Sold out. .
Location: Cloud City in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Film: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Cello), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon)
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
10/19/24
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in Brooklyn
First night of our October run of Caligari shows. Sold out. .
Location: Pine Box Rock Shop in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Film: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Cello), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon)
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
9/14/24
Fall Equinox Concert in Brooklyn
Friends of Transmitter Park organized this free outdoor concert for us. We performed our original live score to an East River sunset
Location: WNYC Transmitter Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Piece: There Are No Endings (Are Just a Beginning)
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Cello), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon)
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
7/11/24
The Kid in Ridgewood, Queens
Our first performance of a Chaplin film. Sold out. Cult Mag came and wrote a very kind review. A Newtown Radio host came to interview us about the project.
Location: The Windjammer in Ridgewood, Queens
Film: The Kid
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Cello), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon)
Collaborators: The Footlight
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
3/16/24
Our Hospitality in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Our first performance of a Chaplin film. Sold out. Cult Mag came and wrote a very kind review. A Newtown Radio host came to interview us about the project.
Location: Secret Pour in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Film: Our Hospitality
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Griffy Jones (Banjo)
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
11/8/23
Salome in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Our first show. Sold out.
Location: Purgatory in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Film: Salome
Aesop's Ensemble: Mike Nowotarski (Guitar), Fox Indigo (Cello), Rosalie Avery (Bassoon), Mason Mann (Synth)
Finances // Photos // Recordings // Review
