After hearing about each other for years, I finally met the amazing Marié Abe today: fellow accordionist, professor of ethnomusicology, and all around inspiring person. I arrived with a cranky attitude about the relentless march of deadlines that was oppressing me (job market, woo!), but Marié made me excited about my ethnomusicological work, hopeful that I’ll succeed in finding a way to be a scholar but continue to play music, and reminded me why I got into this work in the first place. This woman is cool, and so I am posting a blog about it. Check this out: Debo Band.  And next, Squeezebox Stories.

The fall semester starts today, and so I am in Cambridge, MA about to start a semester-long Postdoctoral Fellowship in Ukrainian Studies at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. I’m looking forward to meeting my colleagues this afternoon and, until then, working on getting my bearings in this grid-less town.

Franz and I are still looking for temporary housing through the fall semester – if you have any leads, or people who might have an extra bedroom and be willing to put up with me for a few nights of the week, please email maria.sonevytsky@gmail.com.

I’m back on the east coast, and boy is it good. Flew back from China in early August, spent a lovely week impersonating my friend Jenna in Seattle, and then taught at a great camp in the woods of the Puget Sound. Heading up to NYC for a couple of days this week because The Debutante Hour has been invited to play on the “theatrical rock” night at the Dixon Place Lower East Side Music Festival. See you there?

More about my epic Trans-Siberian tour with Franz….soon. Maybe.

Franz and I are on the last day of the first leg of our European/Asian tour. Tonight, we’ll return our rental car in Krakow and hop on the train to L’viv. Then, until August, we are at the mercy of the Ukrainian, Russian, Siberian, Mongolian, and Chinese train systems.

Follow us as we make our frenetic way East at Trans-Eurasian Express on Tumblr  – all the shows are listed there and also on Franz’s page HERE. I’ve been posting a daily (or twice daily) photo from my instagram feed (you can find me at marusia81). Once we settle into the train-based nomadic life, we will hopefully publish some tour diary type of stuff there too!

We got a lovely review of the new album on New York Music Daily. Here’s an excerpt:

“Some of the Debutante Hour’s songs are satirical, but they can also be disarmingly serious. Sometimes quirky, sometimes coy, sometimes unexpectedly poignant, there’s no other band on the planet that remotely resembles them. Susan Hwang is typically the drummer in the group, but she also plays keyboards, as does Maria Sonevytsky, who also contributes baritone ukulele and drums. Cellist Mia Pixley usually plays the basslines but also gets to add the occasional austere string part or take a plaintive solo. Everybody in the band writes, takes a turn on lead vocals and contributes to the charming three-part harmonies which have become the band’s signature sound. If you have to hang a name on what the Debutante Hour does – which isn’t really fair, given the diversity of the styles they explore – you could call it new wave. They’re better musicians than, say, the Slits or the Raincoats, but they have a similar blend of edgy humor and bouncy melodies…. In case you’re wondering, the new album is too much fun to be awkward.”

And tomorrow night is the big CD release party at Littlefield!

And the whole album is now streaming and downloadable (for $10) on our BANDCAMP page!

AND the band has a beautiful new website designed by our friend Finni in Italy: www.thedebutantehour.com

AND we’ll be touring out west with Franz Nicolay in early April (and then I’ll be touring back east with Franz before we head to Central Europe, then east east east from Russia to China… stay tuned.

Two of the musical projects dearest to my heart will finally collide on one bill this weekend at the Yara Arts Group event Re-Imagine:Ourselves, to be held at the swank 5th Avenue manse that is the Ukrainian Institute. Hilka sings closer to 8, Debutantes entertain closer to 9. Be there or be a квадрат.

Ensemble Hilka has two exciting performances in Brooklyn this week:

First, we’re on the bill at Veveritse’s monthly gig at the wonderful Red Hook theater called Jalopy . String-instrument virtuoso Beth Bahia Cohen goes on at 9, Hilka at 10, and the spirited Veveritse Brass Band at 11.

And, second, we’ll be at Golden Fest, the annual blowout Eastern European music festival hosted by Zlatne Uste. We’ll be singing at 11:30 PM on Saturday night in the Atrium! Hope to see you there!