Partners In Rhyme headquarters
Getting a separate studio/office for Partners in Rhyme is a dream we’ve had for decades, ever since we first visited Barcelona 15 years ago. We wanted a loft in Barcelona where we could set up our music studio and run our business out of. Mark was especially keen on the loft idea, though I was less thrilled at the prospect, because being a realist, I knew the only way this would be possible is if we lived in the loft as well, and a life with no walls didn’t appeal to me. But I love Barcelona, and I did share the basic fantasy, because although Partners in Rhyme was just in its formative stages, the multi-media vision we had for ourselves was strong. We were already earning our keep as songwriters for the Disney Channel and also wrote the music and did the sound design for several major TV commercials, but we were doing this through Mark Mothersbaugh (of DEVO fame) and only got 1/5 of the money while his Mutato Musica company made a bundle off our efforts. We started Partners in Rhyme in order to become our own boss and get all the money. Royalty Free was an unheard of concept in late 1995 when our website first went up, and indeed we are credited as being the *first* royalty free music and sound-effects company selling original material on the internet.
Thirteen years later we finally managed to relocate to Barcelona with our dogs and studio. It was 2006 and Partners in Rhyme was earning serious money. We had saved enough to put a substantial down payment on our own place here. However our dream of a separate place to set up our studio and business was pushed to the back burner, as we could definitely not afford to buy two places or even one place big enough to comfortably accommodate our business and a normal life.
The loft we did buy and now live is in Gracia, a fiercely Catalan neighborhood in Barcelona. It is a place that we both love dearly but we had to literally shoe-horn the Partners in Rhyme business into it with us. For over two years Mark’s office was under a stairwell about one meter wide, basically just a small pantry. He shared his space with the packs of spaghetti, the refrigerator, tool boxes and other assorted things that one puts into storage. He enjoyed it because he knew this is what he had to do to live in our dream city. Our music studio was in a very small space as well and had absolutely no privacy which is a problem when trying to be free and open to create music. For me creating music became almost a chore, something to do between the kitchen and the bathroom if I was inspired. I directed my talents more outward, going out into the city to make friends, take photos and videos, record sounds and get my rhythm for the living of life in Barcelona.
So late in March, when we saw the liquidation sign go up in the store next door a little light turned on inside us and we somehow deep down knew that we would be moving in there. Once we had decided this everything seemed to fall into place. We went in and asked the people in the store why they were moving.
“Porque la crisis”, was their reply. They had been selling uniforms, helmets and gloves to workers for over 30 years, but with the recession and mass lay-offs there were no new workers to buy their products.
We offered our condolences, then asked if the space might be available. They said yes. We asked them how much they paid, they said “380 Euros cada mes”. Mark asked them the price probably four more times to make sure he was hearing correctly.
Susana, the lady next door, took up our cause and started calling the building administrators to say there were people interested that wanted to move in as soon as the place was vacant. The administrators took their time in replying (as is the Spanish way) and finally did so with an affirmative answer. We asked what the price for rent would be now, expecting it to be raised out of our limit because the previous tenants had been paying 380 Euros a month for 9 years in that spot, and since then the neighborhood of Gracia has become very trendy. The answer was 400 euros a month. They raised the rent by only 20 Euros a month after being locked into a 380 euro a month contract for 10 years. The gods were definitely on our side and we signed the papers, got the keys and moved in on May 1.
One of the reasons Mark really wanted to separate work and life is that he was feeling sequestered and not part of the community by sitting in his pantry/cubicle for 10 hours a day working at the computer. Now he sits with his desk facing out to the street. Neighbors and strangers stop by constantly. He is speaking a lot more Spanish on a daily basis and feels much more connected to our neighbors.
We have stepped up quite a few rungs on the ladder of respect in our barrio by taking over the space next door to us.
We are still putting together the studio in its new location and are excited at the prospect of having a nice big private space to be creative again.
The above shots are of the interior of our shop. The front room is where Mark works, the next room with the green curtain is where we can film videos and also is a back office for files and office related things. The next room, obviously, is MY space with the hat and easel… I still have to buy canvass and paints and brushes etc. but at least I have my own space to paint in now. Until this month it was impossible for me. The back room is the music studio, which we are still hooking up. We have a futon couch/bed arriving on Tuesday for that room. Obviously, the only room somewhat decorated it the one with my hats, but that will change in the near future and I will post and update blog when we have a grand opening and invite all our friends.
The following thumbnails are of the big day we put up our new sign, designed by our friend Pepòn and produced by our friend Sara and her cousin Marco:
Revolte de les Quintes
Sometimes my life here in Barcelona is so saturated with amazing, small events strung together like a magical lantern that I become lost in the detail. I’m so busy living my life, all I have time to do is photograph or record the sound of events as yet another year here in Gracia, Barcelona whizzes by.
Combine that with the fact that Partners in Rhyme has realized our lifelong vision of separating the business from our personal life and its easy to understand how I havent kept up with my writing. As of May first we have been renting the place next door to us, formerly a uniform store that went out of business with the global crisis. I’ll dedicate a separate blog to that.
Meanwhile, one festival I would like to share some images and sounds from is only celebrated in my neighborhood, Gracia. This is a celebration that takes place on the 26 of April every year. It is an impressive re-enactment of The Revolt of the Quintes of 1870 in which Gracia fought for its independence. The first year we were living here we were taken by surprise. We were spending a nice, quiet Sunday at home when all of a sudden we heard guns and explosions nearby. It sounded like a war going on. I grabbed my Nagra digital recorder and followed my ears to the nearby Plaça Rius y Taulet (recenty renamed Plaça Vila de Gracia) where we found men and women in uniform shooting blunderbusses and canons, apparently a re-enactment of a battle that took place here 150 year ago. There were a group wearing blue hats fighting a group of red hats. I’m still not sure who the blue hats represent, nor who the red hats represent.
We observed papers being thrown by women off the Town Hall balcony, swept up into a big pyre and then set on fire. We got some great recordings of the unexpected and somewhat odd experience which we now sell on Sound-Effect.com
I tried to find out more about what we had just witnessed, but could not find anything about it in any language except Catlan. From what I pieced together, it has to do with Gracia and its independence. This year I was better prepared in that I saw posters around my neighborhood announcing the Revolta de les Quintes, so I grabbed my camera and earplugs and reserved a seat at the plaça café next to all the action.
I took photos and videos, but I am still puzzled by the event itself. Who do the blue berets represent? Who do the red berets represent? It is clear that women played a major part in this revolution but exactly what was their role?
The GRANDE FINALE (not as impressive as everything preceding it,)
Festa San Jordi 2009 (St. George)
April 23, 2009
Once again it is the holiday of San Jordi. Of all the Catalàn celebrations, this one is my favorite. It is a playful, sweet, goofy and romantic day. The combination of spring weather and Catalan joie de vivre has everyone going giddy from dawn to dusk. Patron Saint of Catalonia, international knight-errant San Jordi (Saint George) supposedly slew a dragon about to devour a beautiful princess south of Barcelona. From the dragon’s blood sprouted a rosebush, from which the hero plucked the prettiest for the princess.
This is the part I like; In 1923, this Catalan Valentine’s Day merged with International Book Day to mark the anniversary of the April 23, 1616 deaths of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare.
Over four million roses and half a million books are sold in Catalonia on Sant Jordi’s Day, men giving their inamoratas roses and the ladies giving books in return. Only over the years it has reversed, where often the men give women a book and women give a rose to their man.
Many authors are out, signing their books. I love that there is a celebration for writers. If I had it together I could set up a make-shift stall and sell my book Horizontal Rain. Unfortunately I wouldn’t have many buyers here in Barcelona though, as my book is in English. However I like the idea of it.
All this amounts to florists and book authors making big money on this one day every year. I head out with Quixote in my bike basket to take it all in:
Quixote and I shopping for the perfect rose to buy for Mark
Gaudí dedicated an entire house, Casa Batlló, to the Sant Jordi theme with the cross of Saint George implanted in the scaly roof and the bones of the dragon’s victims framing the windows of the main facade.
Casa Batlló - cross of San Jordi in scaly roof, bones framing windows of Casa Batlló main facade.
Quixote and I ride around the streets of Gracia. Plaça Rius y Taulet is teeming with kids and adults alike buying books at bargain prices.
Book stalls at Plaça Rius y Taulet filled with kids. In the last shot the kids appear to be more interested in petting Quixote in my basket than in any books.
The roses Quixote and I selected for Mark, the book Mark bought for me.
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San Jordi 2007
Our first year living here in Barcelona we were asked to participate in an art event celebrating San Jordi. We were living in Raval at the time, waiting for our deal to go through when we bought our piso that we now live in. Along with 49 other artists, Mark and I were given a blank book to fill for an exhibit in the sculpture garden of a cool store in Gracia. Our book had photos by Mark and descriptive writing by me documenting our initial efforts to integrate into Catalan society.
The gallery was in Gracia where we now live. I didn’t keep a blog in those days, but I did take lots of photos of the exhibit. We felt privileged to be a part of it. Our good friend Cristina got us involved in it.
Here are some thumbnails you can click on to enlarge if you want.
San Jordi, 2007:
Cristina, Rolando and I. We all have books in this exhibit. We have all been friends for 13 years now.
Miscellaneous shots of artists and guests perouseing the various books.
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One of the reasons I love Festa San Jordi is because there are no firecrackers, no devils and marching bands, only romance and literature and balloons abound. Quixote is a great accomplice, for he is a Catalan dog.
El Parque de Perros/discoteque (dog park)
My new routine is to wake up and take Quixote and Haka to the park, first thing, no coffee - nada. So far this has worked, Quixote is learning to pee and poo outside (for the most part). He likes socializing with the other dogs.
Here is a photo of him sitting obediently with his 5 best canine friends from the park:
Quixote is the tiniest dog.
There is a regular set of characters who hang out in the park with their dogs; there’s Montse who has five well behaved dogs, there’s the Basque guy with the beagles, there’s our friends Sara and Ricardo with their 2 (spoiled rotten) dogs Cip and Kira, and other regulars whose faces and dogs I recognize, but do not know their names.
It is Saturday. This morning Montsei says to me, “We’re celebrating Oriol’s birthday tonight (owner of a big, brawny, white bulldog) . About ten of us are meeting for dinner at the Palestine place on Calle Verdi (in our neighborhood).Would you like to join us?” I accept. One of Mark and my motto’s when we moved here was to “accept all invitations” if it is possible. We have succeeded in connecting with people as a result. Tonight is no exception.
I return home and tell Mark. At first he says,”What are we going to talk about? They’re all Catalan. Do we talk about our dogs? I say, “I’m sure they will speak Castiliano for us. Let’s go!”
So we do. It is really fun seeing everyone all dressed up, no dogs. The Angelina Jolie lady sits across from me. She is married to Miguel, who is Basque. Oriol is turning 33 years old. Drinks all around.
1)View of group, Montse first on left. 2) Oriol the birthday boy turns 33. 3) Oriol and another dog owner whose name I still don’t know, 4) Cecilia with Montse behind her.
Mark and I have a yummy lamb mustafa stew and engage in fun small talk. Surprisingly, the topic of dogs never arises. Instead we talk politics, films, tv, art… I am proud of Mark, who is seated next to two people and not directly across from me. He is conversing easily, and I can hardly remember back to when he spoke not one word of Spanish just 2 years ago. We are a motley (and typical in this country) multi-generational group, varying in ages from early 30’s to the grandmother next to me in her late 50’s.
Dinner ends around midnight, and they say, “Shall we all walk to the disco?” I am surprised and delighted to learn we have a discoteque in our neighborhood, literally 2 1/2 blocks from our front door! Mark and I have often in the past mused out loud how the only thing missing in our neighborhood is a discoteque, and voilà!
The music starts out groovy techno but progresses to a kind of salsa fusion pop which all the ladys know the words to. The crowd is a multi-generational mix of druggies, local neighbors, girlfriends and later on a gay contigent arrives - it is the perfect colorful mix by around 1:30 am. Mark and I leave our lively group at El Dorado Disco at around 2:30.
1) Some of our group at the disco. 2) On the dance floor
1) Montse with birthday boy 2) Oriol with yet another dog owner from our neighborhood
Meanwhile, here’s a couple photos of the morning after, of a few of last night’s revelers letting their dogs socialize while they recuperate from hang-overs on the sidelines. Evidently everyone stayed at the disco until around 5 am and then headed over to Miguel and Cecilia’s for another few hours.
What a great neighborhood Gracia is!
Dog park hang-overs plus Quixote and Cher the greyhound.
Random fun
Today was a typical happy day, rode my bike to nearby Plaça Virreina with my puppy, Quixote where I was surprised to find a swing band and a plaça full of ballroom dancers!
Here are some photos:
