Racer Session #397 | Jeremy Gonzales | October 22, 2017

Greetings, fans of the avant.

This Sunday, we are very excited to be hosting Jeremy Gonzales, alto saxophonist and dear friend/regular attendee of the Racer Sessions. There are many exciting elements to this session that we are aware of: This session is happening on Jeremy's birthday! There will be a mime participating in Jeremy's presentation! And perhaps most importantly to you, the attendee, this session will take place at Gallery 1412 in the Central District, just north of the intersection of 18th and Union. Everything else remains a mystery, so you'll have to come out at 8pm to find out.

This last week for Racer Sessions could be perhaps best described as tumultuous. Late after last Sunday's session, we got word from Cafe Racer owner Kurt Geissel that the business would close its doors on Wednesday. He later went public with that news on Monday. This was something we knew might be coming - but we were also hoping for a little more warning than three days. So it goes. 

A handful of the core members of Table & Chairs gathered on Tuesday morning to do some emergency planning. One thing that was very important to all of us was to continue presenting the sessions as scheduled. This felt mildly daunting after being so established in one place for nearly eight years, but it was something we'd done before after the Cafe Racer shooting in 2012. Having some sense of normalcy and community in a chaotic and painful time was grounding. One of the loudest refrains this week from the music community at large has been how Racer Sessions had welcomed them in their first time in the door, and every time after that. So, we're going to keep doing the session every week. The location may change, so check in here or on Facebook, or with any of your Racer folks in-person. And remember that the life of the Racer Sessions lies in you, the reader, the attendee, the improviser, the friend of the session. Keep coming out. Let us know how we can make this transitional phase easier for you. We love you.