Taking a chance on a jam.......

New York is the city of dreams. A concrete paradise that artists and normal folk alike flock to in order to pursue their passions, or find themselves, or both. With so many people, with so many ambitions, it can be pretty hard for a transplant to make a name for themselves here. Paris Alexandra and Kelsey Van Ert (Pyro) are doing just that! Individually as artists in several mediums, they have carved a space for themselves on the NYC underground scene and have teamed up to produce a monthly open mic and jam session in Crown Heights, the Blue Nile Jam Session. The jam is approaching it's six month anniversary, and I thought it would be a good time for a sit down with the founders.

Tell us about yourselves and how you met.

K: I met Paris when I was 16 or 17 years old in the Minneapolis arts community. I saw her around at different events and arts opportunities for young artists. We eventually started hanging out and became friends. I was a couple years younger and I loved how independent she was and I thought she was really cool. My younger self couldn’t believe she wanted to hang out with me! But as time passed we became good friends. She moved to nyc first. When I landed in NYC a few years later, she really helped me out and we became even closer friends.

P: We met in a youth poetry group and soon after became friends.

What are your inspirations? In life? In art?

K: I am a musician who is, or course, inspired by other musicians. However, I am especially inspired by those who dropped their career to pursue their passion like the actor Ken Jeong. He was an actual shmactual doctor who decided to quit his job as a doctor and become an actor. I guess I am inspired by those people because I am trying to do the same thing.

P: I’m a Singer/Songwriter interested in inspiring love and healing through the arts. I am inspired by my culture and our diverse stories. When we come together in community and share our collective stories we affirm our reality and create the world we want to see. If we don’t tell our stories, who will?

What made you want to start the Blue Nile Jam Session?

K: I love finding ways to build community and to collaborate with other musicians. I believe collaboration is the fastest way to grow. Paris came to me one day and said that she wanted to start a jam session. I told her that I would support her. She happened to attend a Jam session in our neighborhood and the owner, Ethan, was willing to support our vision. We decided to name it the Blue Nile Jam Session after the Blue Nile Restaurant in Minneapolis. There used to be an open mic and jam session there every Tuesday. I was too young to attend, back in the day, and I used to sneak in. It was a place that nurtured my growth as an artist. Unfortunately it shut down and the building itself was bulldozed and there is now just an open lot. We wanted to honor the place that supported us back in Minneapolis.

P: I love being in community and growing in artistry. The desire for organizing a regular event emerged after a 7 year break. I wanted it to be rooted in where I come from and to collab with people that I loved. I asked Kelsey to collab with me and from there we’ve been going strong for 6 months!

What has been your biggest challenge so far? Why?

K: I have never produced a reocurring event before. Paris, the other founder, has had more experience so I can only speak for myself. I think for me, I have learned how to ask for help and create a team that functions well together. I have also learned that constant communication is key to the success of any event. We must all be on the same page and we must all hear each other out in order to make sure that we are able to build a healthy space for this event to grow.

P: Well I’m trying to think of other ways to promote the event since I’m taking a social media break! I’m learning to navigate promotion and also allowing it to grow organically.

Your biggest triumph? Why?

K: I think our biggest triumph is the community that we are building. We are starting to see the same supporters return so I am glad that people are finding The Blue Nile to be a space that they are happy to be a part of. I have also gotten to know my band members a little more. The goal was to create community and listen to good music. That is totally happening at The Blue Nile.

P: My biggest triumph is working with one of my besties and growing in community with the artists and supporters. I feel extremely grateful and blessed. Excited to continue growing in artistry.

What has been the best (or your favorite) performance at the jam?

K: I’m just thankful that the artists come out and share. It doesn’t matter what level they are at in their artistic journey. There is something that I love about every performance. It’s not possible for me to pick.

P: I really enjoy all the performances! Everyone brings their own take on it. I find beauty in a performer who’s new to sharing their work and the more seasoned performer.

What do you see for the future of Blue Nile BK? Next year? In 5 years?

K: I would like The Blue Nile BK to be a staple in the New York music scene such as the Poet Will Be Televised, The Lesson, or maybe even a space like Smalls or the Nuyorican. I would like us to have a successful youtube channel where we are able to feature artists on more than one platform. Paris also has the great idea of launching a blog.

P: The official launch of the internship program. We both have an background in education and definitely want to include young people and support them in following their dreams!

Tell us about the anniversary show! Who are the features? What makes this month special?

6 months is a big deal for us. I can’t believe that we have been doing this show for half a year already! Soon enough it will be a year. This month we are celebrating the accomplishments of our team. Our first feature is OJ In The Yams. They are an up and coming band from Brooklyn consisting of Simone Acosta (our house band pianist), Snaxx (our house band drummer), and Li (a very talented lyricist). They are an amazing group that recently featured at SoFar Sounds NYC. I’m excited for their video to drop!

This month we are also celebrating the drop of my new EP “When I’m. Beautiful.” I have not released any music for a few years. I have been working on this project for over a year and I am excited to announce that it will be coming out in this month (July 2017). I will be performing the songs from the EP as well as some others.

Of course there will still be an open mic. Paris will be hosting along with last month's feature Jeanette. We also have a guest DJ, DJ Matrixx, holding down the ones and twos. Our regular DJ, DJ Nebraska, is on an amazing tour right now.

As always we have the studio time raffle. Share our flyer for your chance to win studio time at Funkadelic Studios.

How can we follow your progress?

You can follow us on Facebook @bluenilebk or IG @bluenile_bk

Would you like to shout out anyone?

We would like to shout out to all the supporters so far. The Rec Life of course, Funkadelic Studios, Stratosphere Studios, Straight Out Of Brooklyn (Supa Nova), Warren Britt, Our amazing house band (Simone, Snaxx, Tariq, Eldad, DJ Nebraska), our intern Tyger, Kino Galbraith (who takes the flicks and video), George Davidson (runs our sound),

The Blue Nile Jam Sessions 6th Month Anniversary show is Thursday, July 6th at Stratosphere Studios Cafe; 227 Utica Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213. Follow the Blue Nile Jam Session on instagram for updates!