Bearsville Theater: Karina Rykman Takes Picasso's Ghost on a 'Joyride'

Rykman, a singular and compelling bass player and songwriter, will take center stage in Woodstock with her trio.

Karina Rykman/Photo by BrantleyGutierrez

Ask me what I find compelling about a Picasso painting and I’ll probably say—”I don’t know.” 

And, you see, that’s exactly what I find compelling about Picasso—I don’t know why his flair leaves me all jazzed. It just does. Picasso takes me far beyond words. Viewing a Picasso is about feeling, and hair standing up on the back of my neck and my great-googly-moogly eyeballs following along as lines and colors and shades of colors and lights and darks come together in triumph. 

I can say all the same things about Karina Rykman and the music she makes. 

What do I enjoy about Karina’s passion for creativity and nuanced self-expression? I don’t know exactly. I can’t pin it down and encapsulate in words what it is that I find so compelling about this New York City native’s ability to indulge us all in bass lines and rhythm and melody and sharps and flats and technicolors that align with our beating hearts. Just like with Picasso, it’s all about feeling with Karina.

Yeah—Karina’s bass lines. 

They’re always there for us, leading us by the hand and the head and the heart into stratospheres, galaxies, orbits and, finally, of course, a glorious splashdown. 

Bass lines for me have always played a hide-and-seek kinda game. Sometimes the best bass lines cannot be heard by the human ear, but rather are felt on some subconscious level that triggers adrenaline and endorphins and happy feet. Karina knows what this is all about. 

And then there are the finger paints, the glitter, the confetti canyons and the lawn sprinklers; and the launch pads, the spark plugs, the liftoff, floating in a space capsule and fiery re-entry. These are Karina’s sights and sounds and seismic-ness that can, please forgive me for saying this, turn your frown upside down!

Karina Rykman/ Photo by BrantleyGutierrez

THIS is what Karina Rykman’s musicianship means to me. And you can find it all on “Joyride,” the debut album from the woman who grew up on New York City’s Upper West Side, graduated from New York University with a degree she constructed in Invention and Distribution in Contemporary Music and holds down the low end in Marco Benevento’s band.

Joy, Karina said, “is emblematic of everything I want to radiate. It’s a real thing.” 

You can also do a belly flop in the deep end, submerging yourself in all things Karina Rykman, on Saturday, Sept. 14, when she plays the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY. Karina will be leading her trio, which features Adam November on guitar, loopers and effects; and Chris Corsico on drums.

Both “Joyride” and Karina’s gig at the Bearsville Theater—now under the stewardship of Wetlands, Brooklyn Bowl, Fare Thee Well and Capitol Theatre music impresario Peter Shapiro—showcase her ability to turn musical phrases into musical poetry. 

And I gotta think that Picasso’s Ghost is paying close attention to Karina’s creativity, wondering all the while how someone with a bass guitar can push the envelope just as he did with a paintbrush. Surely, Karina’s music makes Picasso’s Ghost stop for a second and do a sonic double-take. I can see him now, rubbing his chin like that little yellow emoji, his eyebrows crinkled, his spirit liberated, his hopes running high. 

Yes, Picasso’s Ghost, you can surely learn plenty about the world around you from listening to Karina Rykman’s “Joyride.” Unburden yourself now. 

Particularly fulfilling for me—I WAS born in the Bronx, mind you—is the inspiration that Karina draws from her hometown New York City. I feel the same about my native land, from the sidewalks and the skyscrapers to the characters and the crispiness. 

New York City, Karina said, “Is literally all I know. It’s the only place I’m functional. New York City is everything to me. I can’t imagine being anywhere else. New York is—this is who we are, we’re all out here together and we’re all scrambling to make it work.”  

And Karina on Saturday night will once again be celebrating her long friendship with Shapiro. Did you know that she was an intern at his Relix magazine as a teenager.

“I’ve known him for a million years and he really is as magical as they come,” she said. “He really is that guy. He’s a magical person. His visions are so enormous. The sky’s the limit. He has this eagle eye where he can make things happen. He’s just a delight. You have to ice your wrist after he high-fives you for an evening.” 

“Joyride” marks yet another chapter for Karina. She has played high-profile television gigs that include “America’s Got Talent” and backing up pop star Julia Michaels on “TODAY.” Karina has played the Bonnaroo, Peach and Sweetwater 420 music festivals. And among her recent appearances sitting in with the 8G Band on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” was a down-right authentic and hilarious interaction with Tracy Morgan, of “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” fame. 

Karina Rykman/ Photo by BrantleyGutierrez

Karina wrote and recorded “Joyride” with her childhood friend, producer Gabe Monro. The album features Trey Anastasio from Phish as co-producer; and the guitarist is featured on five of the album’s nine tunes.

Karina and Trey’s collaboration followed a nutso crossing-of-paths at 2021’s Peach Music Festival in Scranton, PA. Anastasio expressed an unwavering commitment to Karina’s debut album that manifested in her use of Phish’s Vermont recording studio, The Barn, as well as the suggestion to work with renowned mixer Bryce Goggin of Pavement, Swans and Ramones fame.

In a press release, Karina explained it all. 

“Trey and I hadn’t seen each other since pre-pandemic,” Rykman said. “But at this music festival, he ran up to me and referred to each of my singles by name. I had no idea he knew what I was up to, musically speaking. I went to middle school with his daughters, and we’ve been ‘family friends’ for a long time, but it wasn’t until that moment in July 2021 that he really became a musical peer. The amount of selflessness and care he has shown in his mentorship toward me is awe-inspiring. I could never thank him enough for all he’s given me.”