The Lo-Down Culture Cast

Pianist & Composer Grant Richards with Drummer Roberto Giaquinto - Live at Catalyst Records

Here's a special episode of The Lo-Down Culture Cast, recorded live at Catalyst Records in Essex Market.
Pianist & composer Grant Richards and drummer Roberto Giaquinto joined host Traven Rice to talk about the hustle of being a jazz musician in NYC today. They played some music composed by Grant Richards and performed some new music from an upcoming album that they have collaborated on titled Orbits Trio+3. 
The sound was great and the vibe was warm and welcoming, thanks to Catalyst owner Gary Guarinello.
NYC-based pianist Grant Richards is an award-winning jazz performer, composer, and educator who adapts to a wide range of settings, styles, and genres. A native of Portland, Oregon, Grant began playing piano at the age of eight. By the time he entered college, he had won four Student Music Awards from Downbeat Magazine and recorded his first album as a leader. He went on to Berklee College of Music on a full-tuition Jimmy Lyons Scholarship.
After releasing his second studio album Numinous, Grant moved to Japan for nearly three years where he taught at an international music school and performed often in the vibrant Tokyo music scene. Upon his return to the US, he moved to New York City and served as the Musical Director for the 2019 Jacob’s Pillow Tap Program.
In October 2024 Grant released  Menagerie, a vast collaborative songwriting project straddling the line between jazz, pop, and neo-soul which features a host of talented vocalists and musicians living in the NYC area. Recorded in 2023 at Keyboard Heaven in Brooklyn, this 15-track album is a genre-bending journey that has raked in over 200,000 streams across the globe since its release.
In addition to being a gigging musician, Grant is a music educator, recording artist, writer and composer. 
Italian drummer Roberto Giaquinto started out his musical journey with his older brother in Naples, Italy, playing with different local bands around the city while still in middle school. After moving to Rome, he graduated with a degree in jazz arranging  AND  In 2009, he was awarded a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and after moving to Boston in 2010, he was selected to be part of the Global Jazz Institute. 

Ali Rosa-Salas From Abrons Arts Center and Henry Street Settlement

Ali Rosa-Salas is a curator whose approach is rooted in the belief that curatorial practice must serve the public good. She talked with host Traven Rice about the history of the Abrons Arts Center at Henry Street Settlement and the importance of arts within communities like the Lower East Side.
For over a decade, Ali has served New York City arts and culture primarily through curatorial projects in live performance. Currently, Ali is the Vice President of Visual and Performing Arts of Abrons Arts Center at Henry Street Settlement, the only cultural organization in New York City that is part of a social services agency. From 2020-2023, she served as an Associate Curator of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

Dora Grossman-Weir, GM and Wine Director at Tolo, Mitsuru and Sunn's

Dora Grossman-Weir speaks with Culture Cast host Traven Rice about making wine fun and accessible at two new delicious spots in the neighborhood.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Dora Grossman-Weir is a hospitality professional with a focus on wine. After spending two and a half years working at the online wine shop and start-up, Parcelle, she left to work with the wine team at Momofuku Ko before returning to the group to open Tolo, a Chinese restaurant from chef Ron Yan (28 Canal St.) and later Sunn's, a Korean spot from chef Sunny Lee (139 Division St.). She also oversees Mitsuru (West 4th and MacDougal St.) as their General Manager and Wine Director.
Growing up with a family that loved food, she has always been enamored with great restaurants, exploring different cultures by way of their cuisines, and the intersection of wine and history.
Grant Reynolds is the founder behind Parcelle, an independent New York City-based online wine business that began in 2019. He then opened a brick and mortar wine bar in 2022 on Division Street with Chinese chef Ron Yan. The team then opened Tolo (28 Canal) in 2023.

Public Artist Laura Nova

Lower East Side artist and activist Laura Nova speaks with The Lo-Down Culture Cast host Traven Rice.
Nova is an artist, educator, and activist who creates festive, absurdist spectacles that unite generations and diverse communities. The first Public Artist in Residence to be embedded in New York City’s Department for the Aging, Nova brings expertise and empathy to her projects and actions, designing each element to enhance social wellness and decrease social isolation.
Working in festivals, public monuments, and the city street, Nova delivers spiels to homebound New Yorkers, organizes an older adult cheerleading squad and designs crafting kits, guides, and costumes that help nurture emerging activists of all ages. Nova received a B.F.A. and B.A. from Cornell University and an M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
She is currently designing and teaching in the CareLab at The New School and an Urban Field Station Collaborative Arts fellow advocating for the care and longevity of humans and trees.

"Candy Store" a New Photo Book About Ray's Candy Shop Celebrates 50 Years of Ray's

Photographer Whitney Browne talks with Host Traven Rice about her debut Book, "Candy Store - A Behind-the-Counter Look at Ray’s Candy Store, One of NYC’s Most Beloved Sweets Slinging Stalwarts." The book is launching this weekend, just in time to celebrate Ray's 50th year of business in the East Village.
Most New Yorkers who live downtown have been into the iconic shop at one time or another, and often late at night, as it was open 24-hours for most of the last five decades. The tiny storefront is located on Avenue A and E. 7th Street, at Tompkins Square Park. It's famous for its egg creams and fried Oreos, a cheap cup of coffee, ice cream and New Orleans style beignets - along with some good conversation with Ray himself, who recently turned 91 years old.
Along with many others in the downtown community, Whitney became friends with Ray decades ago, and began helping out behind the counter shortly thereafter. As she got to know Ray and many of the cast of regular characters who came and went, she couldn't resist bringing her camera along to capture the unique New York City establishment that we all know won't continue, or be able to be replicated after he's gone.
Browne’s photographs offer more than nostalgia—they capture the joy, grit, and intimacy of a neighborhood stalwart that continues to thrive despite the city's constant transformation.
The book launch will be celebrated with a public event at Ray’s Candy Store on Saturday, May 17th, from 5 PM to 8 PM. You can pick up a signed copy of CANDY STORE for yourself, grab a fried Oreo or soft serve, and enjoy tunes from Lower Eastside Record Club along with a classic East Village hang with Ray himself.
CANDY STORE is available for purchase at www.whitneybrowne.com and select bookstores.

Coss Marte, Founder of CONBODY and CONBUD

Coss Marte in 2015. photo by Alex M. Smith for The Lo-Down NY.
After featuring Coss Marte in The Lo-Down's "My LES" column ten years ago, host Traven Rice connected with him again to catch up on all he has accomplished with his two innovative businesses, both of which have social justice missions at their core.
In 2009, Coss Marte was sent to jail as the leader of a multi-million dollar cocaine operation. He was also grossly overweight and warned by his physician that his current lifestyle, if left unchecked, would likely kill him. Faced with this grim prognosis, Coss started to get in shape using the tools he had—his prison cell and his own body weight.
Within six months, he lost 70 pounds and replicated his successful formula of body weight exercises with 20 other people incarcerated alongside him. After he was released from prison, Coss launched CONBODY a “prison style” bootcamp that hires formerly incarcerated individuals to teach fitness classes.
Since the launch of his company he’s gained over 25,000+ clients , supported many folks coming home from prison, and has been featured in over 200 major media outlets such as NBC, CNN, The New York Times, TED Talks, and Men’s Fitness, to name a few.
At CONBODY, the team states that "the mission extends to  creating a more equitable world for returning citizens, especially black and brown returning citizens.  Marginalized groups always need advocates, rarely is there an opportunity for members of a marginalized group to advocate for themselves."
The success of CONBODY led to his latest endeavor, CONBUD, which is one of the first legal cannabis dispensaries in the city, located in the same location as the gym, on the corner of Orchard Street and Delancey streets. This is in the heart of the LES, just a few blocks away from where he was arrested for dealing.
Marte is one of the people who led the fight to allow formerly incarcerated people who had cannabis convictions and proof of running a successful business after serving their time, to apply for the liscenses. 
CONBUD's mission is very specific. They write that the intention is to: "Normalize, Educate, De-stigmatize ——
BORN FROM A UNIQUE MOMENT IN HISTORY WHEN NEW YORK PLEDGED OPPORTUNITY AS REPARATIONS TO THE SURVIVORS OF CANNABIS PROHIBITION AND THE FAILED WAR ON DRUGS
Our mission goes beyond providing LES's finest bud. We’re here to normalize plant consumption, offer education, and de-stigmatize the formerly incarcerated community. We believe in second chances, and we’re dedicated to easing their integration back into society."
We asked him about his journey and what he wants people to know about all that he's trying to do.

HALO Artist Immanuel Oni and Co-Chair of M'Finda Kalunga Garden Debra Jeffreys-Glass

Host Traven Rice talks with Immanual Oni and Debra Jeffreys-Glass about the Chrystie Street African Burial Ground's new memorial, HALO. The installation is located at the entrance to the M'Finda Kalunga Garden, on Rivington Street, between Forsythe and Chrystie streets.
The project was commissioned by FAB NYC (Fourth Arts Block). They write:
New York City’s Lower East Side has always been shaped by the history and presence of Black and Indigenous communities. It is primarily because of the members of the M’Finda Kalunga Garden that attention has been focused on memorializing the unmarked Chrystie Street African Burial Ground, originally at 195-197 Chrystie Street, now built over. 
Established by the African Society in 1795, the Burial Ground was active until 1835, when it was closed due to overcrowding.  It is estimated that 5000 individuals were buried there. When the property was sold by St. Philip’s Church in 1853, efforts were made to remove and re-inter human remains in Cypress Hills, but this was not a thorough process, and in 2006, during construction, fragments of bones were found at the site.
M’Finda Kalunga means “Garden at the Edge of the Other Side of the World” in the Kikongo language, in memory of the Burial Ground. The Garden has celebrated local Black history and shared the history of the Burial Ground at its annual Juneteenth festivities since 2004. In collaboration with Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc), the Garden continues to honor the Chrystie Street African Burial Ground while advancing public understanding of the history, impact, and presence of Black communities in the Lower East Side.
IMMANUEL ONI is a first-generation Nigerian-American artist and space doula living between New York City and hometown Houston, TX. He believes design is not about what he is making, but who he is making it for. As for art, it is religion. His work explores loss, memory, and its deep connection with space. He utilizes spatial justice design and visual storytelling to unearth narratives related to trauma, healing, and ritual. His canvas consists of repurposing existing public space infrastructure such as light posts, fencing, underutilized green areas or mobile spaces to prompt community dialogue and connection. His aim is to fuse the physical with the spiritual.
He has led and participated in international art and urbanism workshops in Venice, Hong Kong, and Lagos. He has been a Fellow for the Design Trust for Public Space, Culture Push, New York for Culture and Arts, More Art Engaging Artist Commission NY, and received awards from Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY, Office of Neighborhood Safety, Architectural League of New York, the New York State Council of the Arts, and commissioned by Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) as the artist for the Chrystie Street African Burial Ground Memorial Installation in the Lower East Side. He is a former Director of Community Design at the New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and Adjunct Professor at Parsons the New School for Design. He is the co-founder and Creative Director of Liminal, a non-profit that works at the intersection of art, unity, and space About HALO by Immanuel Oni During the 1800s, at night, the “lantern law” required African-Americans and Indigenous people in New York City to carry a candle or lantern on the street after curfew in order to make their presence known. 
HALO reclaims this archaic form of surveillance by illuminating Black spaces, beginning with the Chrystie Street African Burial Ground, honored and celebrated by the neighboring M’Finda Kalunga Garden community. 
Using existing infrastructure, HALO embeds symbols and narratives into and around the perimeter of the Garden. Like a halo, a decorated light shade is wrapped around a vintage light post emanating light, African textile patterns, and names of those buried.
A map is integrated to show other local sites of remembrance. The light pole is placed in Bob Humber’s garden plot to commemorate his 40 years of service to the Garden and community.
Fourth Arts Block (FAB) is a team of artists and organizers working to preserve, strengthen, and grow the cultural vibrancy of the Lower East Side.

Artist Marja Samsom

Host Traven Rice spoke with Lower East Side artist Marja Samson. Samsom is an international artist and filmmaker, whose work confronts and exposes cultural issues with elegant wit. Poised within 1970’s international avant-garde, her early works are experiments in self representation.
Her embodiment and simultaneous commodification of the character "Miss Bhave" and "Miss Kerr" pose an elegant, tongue-in-cheek dissection of glamour. Samsom’s current photography explores relationships between objects that illuminate with a pinch of wicked playfulness. Her practice is daily exploration: making 'something out of nothing'.
Samson was born in the Netherlands, raised in Europe, and spent time in New York City while exhibiting internationally. Deciding to stay in New York, Samsom created an underground word-of-mouth salon, the ‘Kitchen Club’, in the East Village. It developed into the legendary downtown eatery of same name on Prince & Mott Street. Curating both menu and restaurant space, Samsom actualized her Kitchen Club as a "gesamtkunstwerk" and hosted a radio series "Cooking up a Storm" on Art International Radio, where she was selected for a residency at the Clocktower Gallery with a storytelling performance ‘Shrine’ dedicated to her sister.
Recently, she completed a number of performances at Participant Inc. her work is currently included at H’ART Museum, Amsterdam. She lives and works in Downtown New York City. 
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Founder and Executive Director Mark DeGarmo of Mark DeGarmo Dance

A conversation with founder Mark DeGarmo, who has been based on the Lower East Side for over 30 years.
As an artist and scholar, his work investigates embodied imagination, improvisational composition, and nonverbal/non-discursive ways of knowing. Thus far in his professional choreographic career, DeGarmo has created over 100 dance and performance works and directed multiple tours in 13 countries.
The themes of his choreographic work are varied. Since 2022, he’s been exploring dance video. Since January 2019, he’s performed monthly improvisations broadcast in his “Moveable Moments” series.
His Mexican family, friends and colleagues inspired me to investigate Mexican culture and Frida Kahlo for the last 30 years. The result was a six-year creative process with a female-female cast in “Las Fridas.”
Mark DeGarmo Dance provides high quality, interdisciplinary arts programming for NYC public elementary school students who live in economically challenged and disenfrachised communities.  Partnerships in Literacy through Dance and Creativity© is MDD’s evidence-based seven-year interdisciplinary program. Partnerships empower elementary students to use dance, movement and creative writing as lifelong tools to fulfill their highest potential.
This is a Lower East Side NYC Cultural Podcast with Host Traven Rice

The Lo-Down Culture Cast - "Your Faithful Reader"

Host Traven Rice talks with director Miriam Wasmund and performer Liz Dutton about "Your Faithful Reader," an experiential theater performance that merges the worlds of acting and dance with real letters.
Participants were mailed writing prompts—suggestions of letters they may want to write: to others (known and unknown), to themselves, to their most beloved objects, or even the intangible.
The response was pages of heartfelt words, ranging from the romantic and fun to the most honest and brutal truths.
Now a company of actors, dancers, and creatives have given the letters (both anonymous and signed) new life in "Your Faithful Reader." 
Performances of the current iteration are January 30 - February 2 at Teatro Latea (107 Suffolk St.)