Screen Ink

Branches, Trees, Roots

2011-09-01T09:55:00.000-04:00

There is a lot of grumbling going on around Long Island as a small army of men and woman go about cleaning up the mess left by hurricane Irene. I was in the dark for three days and it was not a pleasant experience. I can only imagine how difficult it is for those with special needs. Even so I am always surprised by the response of the public to those who did not create this problem, are doing their best to correct it and yet suffer the wrath of those who think that berating these workers will somehow get their lights back on.

Maybe it's me but I can't help but wonder where this attitude has come from. Could it be the endless stream of whiners that flood the airwaves and fill the television screens these days?

It was thirty years ago that Bruce Springsteen held a benefit show for the Vietnam Veterans. This was Springsteen's coming out party as a true social activist and, as a side note, certainly one of the top-ten shows of his career. If you have a chance to dig it up you'll find it well worth your time. A little known fact is that Springsteen single handedly saved the Vietnam Veterans Association, placing a call to them on the very day that they were going to close up shop due to financial problems and a lack of support. Springsteen opened the show with an exceptionally accurate view of the plight of the Vets and then introduced Robert Mueller, a Vietnam vet, who introduced the event and in a few minutes explained what everything was about in the most eloquent way. The two speeches are short, to the point and truly uplifting.

The band then kicks into John Fogerty's "Who'll Stop The Rain" and from the opening note you can hear that, to a man, the E-Streeters were well aware of the importance of that evening's performance.

Remembering that night and the mood of the country at that time, Mueller recently said that among the many, many obstacles that the returning vets had to deal with was that they were associated with the war it self instead of soldiers who were just doing their job. The fact is that a great part of why even the most ardent anti-war activists can now separate the troops from the mission is due to the work by the Vietnam Veterans groups.

If you will; don't hate the players, hate the game.

Now it's 30 years down the road and a lot of men and women still have nowhere to run, nowhere to go. But thanks to an August night in 1981 many were able to find a light to lead them out of the darkness and it was Bruce Springsteen, the E-Street Band and rock and roll that led the way. Like I said, check out the show if you can. When rock and roll is delivering a message it can be powerful stuff indeed.

Some guy, who may very well traveled from out of town, who is cutting down branches today somewhere on Long Island is certainly different than a nineteen year old who was sent off to a foreign land to fight for his country, but they are both men with a job to do - and they both deserve your thanks and support.

Why Spotify will change your life - even if you never use it.

2011-08-05T10:03:00.003-04:00

When I bought my car a few years ago it came with a 3-month free pass for XM radio, something I had no previous interest in and something that I had said time and time again that I would never subscribe to. Pay for radio? No way. Needless to say that within a week I was hooked and now I live in the Underground Garage and Outlaw Country. I am positively giddy over the fact that they will be adding a 24-7 channel built around Dylan's radio show.

When I first heard of Spotify I didn't see any reason why I would like that any better then the other subscription-based music services like Rhapsody and LaLa. After all, I have a huge music collection - over 50,000 songs in my iTunes library. I definitely embraced downloadable music - I am more than willing to give up the physical aspect of most recordings and when a package is worth buying for, well, the package, I'll buy it. But do I really need to pay for another music service - especially where I am in effect renting the music and not buying it?

Oh yeah.

Spotify delivers, big time. Think of an album or a song you want to hear and there it is. Take a few minutes and build a playlist that will last all day long. But Steve, what about those 50,000 songs of yours? Surely you have enough music to listen to, right?

The beauty here is that Spotify will be different things to different people. For the average person, five bucks a month to listen to whatever you want, whenever you want is a great deal. For people like me - who obviously have collected and purchased music all their life, there is still a great deal of music from their past that has yet to make the transition from vinyl to CD, much less from CD to digital. Its been a blast thinking of older LPs that I haven't bothered to digitize (a "best intentions" scenario if there ever was one), only to have them instantly appear on my desktop.

Right now I'm rocking the free version which lets you listen to as much as you want with short 15 second ads every 15 minutes or so. The five dollar a month buy in takes the ads away and ten bucks gets you the mobile app so you can listen via your phone. The paid versions also let you keep something like 3000 songs off line so you don't need an internet connection - great for traveling and all that.

The thing about subscription services is that eventually the prices will go up and should you decide to drop the service - you lose all of your music. That could certainly suck for some folks, but I have those 50,000 songs to fall back on.

Or I could take a long drive and listen to the XM.

I guess there's just a meanness in this world

2011-08-04T10:02:00.005-04:00

I know that there are at least two sides to every story and that, usually, even the most unfathomable circumstances can be explained. As Mr. Holmes said, "Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth." Even so, I will never understand how one human being can inflect pain and injury on another without a real and true reason.

Believe me, I understand justice and I believe in it.

I have a friend who was attacked recently and beaten badly. He was blindsided - the victim of a coward who had only one goal - to do him harm. As I said up top, there may or may not be a reason that drove this madman to commit this crime, but one thing is certain - my friend did nothing to deserve this.

What is that allows a person to leave all reason behind and commit such a senseless act? Is it a chemical imbalance or some sort of bad wiring? Is it simply a lack of understanding of right vs wrong? Is society or his parents to blame? Or is it as Bruce Springsteen sings in "Nebraska" that "there's just a meanness in this world?"

I'm stumped. In the past few weeks, for whatever reason, bad news has affected me in ways that it hasn't before. It's just the sad truth that there is always a sad story in the paper and while they often caused me to pause and consider the family and friends of these unfortunate individuals, lately they linger longer in my thoughts. The nine-year-old boy lured into a car by a stranger. The insanity in Norway. A purse snatching in my hometown just a few blocks from my house. All strangers, but I kept imagining myself or my family in their place. It was if if there was a ever tightening circle of evil that was surrounding us.

Now I've seen it, if not first-hand very, very up close and it has chilled me to the bone.

Awesome!

2010-08-03T08:39:00.002-04:00

Lately I find myself surrounded by all things awesome. I can't stop using that word and I've been called out on it a few times. Usually that would give me pause for thought, this time I just paused long enough to realize that I'm right - at this moment in my life there is awesomeness just about everywhere I look.

There is my awesome family, of course. But that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about stuff.

First off my new iPhone. I bought the original on the day it came out and it served me very well. But my new one is AWESOME! I can't get over the quality of the video that I've shot and the photos are much improved as well. I have yet to experience the much reported connection problems and I still got a free case out of the deal - how awesome is that?

On the subject of all things Apple, the iPad is, in a word, awesome! Every week a new app comes out that blows my mind. A couple of weeks ago it was Flipboard which collects content from various sources and presents in a way that could only be delivered on the iPad, including your Facebook feed. This week it's Uzu - a totally awesome time waster that takes full advantage of the iPad's multi-touch capability and lets you create an on-screen "fireworks" display. My awesome six-year-old Liam showed me how to use it.

I recently got a new guitar tuner, the massively awesome PolyTune from TC Electronic. Unlike other tuners, with the PolyTune you just strum all six open strings and it instantly shows you which ones are out of tune! Until you use it, you won't know just how awesome this thing is!

The other day Lizz and I took her parent's out for their birthdays which are a few days apart from each other. We went to brunch at Robke's, where they extend their awesome ten dollar lunch menu with a bunch of black-board specials and a nice selection of five dollar cocktails. We have never been disappointed there and Robke's is the only place that I can truly say that everything on the menu is, well, awesome.

On Friday nights we have been taking advantage of the awesome little free music program in Northport village. This week it was an awesome bluegrass band which we enjoyed as we sat on a bench in the park and watched the awesome sunset frame our beautiful little harbor.

This past weekend my - if I may say this - awesome band, The Blaggards, played out at Nick's in Montauk. The weather, the crowd, the food, the drinks, the bartenders, the ride there and back and our super-talented friends were all absolutely awesome.

You may think that I'm exaggerating a bit with all this awesomality (I just made that word up - just like Sarah, who is most definitely NOT awesome), but believe me, I'm not. I didn't even mention 3D movies, butter your own pop corn, Elvis on the big screen, Stevia sweetened Frappucinos, setting my DVR from my phone, velcro, the NY Yankees, NYRMA, Mick's Fender Acoustasonic amp, $69 1TB hard drives, my new office or the new Elvis guitar picks that Melanie just gave me.

All awesome.

iWant

2010-01-04T17:10:00.003-05:00

If you are one of the Apple faithful, then you pretty much think that they are going to change the world once again on January 27th when - if all of the buzz is correct - they announce the release of the mythical Apple tablet, possibly called the iSlate. I don't care what they call it - iWant it.

What has been described as an "overgrown" iPod touch will no doubt be one of the coolest products ever. I had absolutely no problem typing that previous sentence. After all, Apple has only had a few foul balls along the way in what has basically been a home run derby of technology. I have no doubt that I will be floored at what this thing will do besides all of the things I am taking for granted that it will do.

I was one of the first Mac owners. I have probably owned and/or worked on every model they have ever made, with the exception of the 20th Anniversary Mac and the Cube. I bought the original iPod and the iPhone on the day it was released. I own an Apple TV. My entire music library is based around iTunes and just surpassed 40,000 songs. I currently have six Macs in my house, though only 3 are truly in operation.

In the past few years, for whatever reasons, I have slowed down in regards to having the latest and greatest. I have not upgraded my iPhone, it works just fine for me. My last iPod is a bulky monster compared to the new models. My family iMac is - hold your breath - not aluminum. Even worse, since it is not an Intel based model, it won't run the latest OS, making me feel like I'm watching television in black and white when I check my email. While there is nothing to stop me from updating any of these machines I have held back.

But this new, un-seen device? iWant, iWant, iWant!

My wife will roll her eyes and wonder why. But when she gets her hands on it - and then realizes that it can most likely replace the iMac in the living room AND the big cabinet that holds it AND realizes that Liam will not only embrace it instantly but that it will very likely be the model for every computer he may ever use in his lifetime, well she may even admit that it's pretty darn cool.

Whatever it is.

Four, Calling Birds ...

2009-12-17T11:49:00.005-05:00

During her holiday interview with President Obama, Oprah Winfrey asked what was his most memorable Christmas gift. For him, it was a basketball given to him by his father the year they met. That led me to ask myself that same question. 54 years of gifts - that is a lot to choose from. I've asked this question to a few friends and, for most of them, the answer doesn't come easily.

Not for me.

Over the years I have received plenty of memorable gifts. The James Bond attache case certainly is up there as I spent a great deal of time and effort trying to replace it, finally doing so last year. I thought I would never get one but I actually did and for much less than I thought it would cost me. That is another story.

For me, the one gift that stands out the most, that had the most profound effect on me and made impressions that still last till this day, was a copy of The White Album by the Beatles. If my parents had any idea about the changes that this record album would bring forth in my life I have no doubt that they would not have slipped under the tree back in 1968.

I had been a Beatles fan since I first heard them, hiding under the covers with my transistor radio. Seeing them on the Ed Sullivan show burned an image in my brain that not only gave me direction as to what I wanted to be and how I wanted to look, but gave me something that I could hold onto and claim as my own. Though their entire catalog would soon be familiar to me as my own skin, but in 1968 I didn't yet own every Beatles album. But this one - with the enclosed photos and poster which immediately went up on my bedroom wall - was special. It was massive - four sides, a collection of songs as diverse as I had ever heard. It would be years before I put together the whole story, how this was the beginning of the end, who actually played on what song and what some of the more arcane and inside references were all about. I was in the moment with this record and once again The Beatles were showing me a different way - actually in this case, many different ways - of how things were done.

It became the soundtrack of my life for what was a pretty incredible year. Men on the moon, Woodstock, Nixon, Vietnam - my 14 year-old brain was processing so much information so fast I am still surprised my head didn't explode. This was the year that the air guitar I had been playing since 1964 turned into a real guitar, an event that certainly was inspired by watching The Beatles on Sullivan and enforced by the White Album (by the way, I know the LP is actually titled "The Beatles" but it will always be the White Album to me). This album also made me realize that quite a few songs were either about or had references to sex - I remember my mom expressing her dissatisfaction from the other side of my bedroom door after hearing "Why Don't We Do It In The Road." It was only then I realized that most of the songs I listened to were actually about sex and even the ones that weren't, kind of were as well.

The White Album also showed me that people change and that change was not a bad thing. Soon we would start putting people into boxes and the concept of an artist embracing so many different styles would be labeled as having a "lack of focus." Like a great book, each time I listened I found something new, a hidden guitar lick or a lyric that I had missed. The musical references, both obvious and obscure, started me down paths that broadened my musical horizon. Similar to the way that the Harry Smith anthologies created a template for so many bands, I believe that The White Album launched another generation in many different directions.

I love the journey that I've been on for the past forty-one years and The White Album certainly has been a huge part of the map. While it may have been the "beginning of the end" for The Beatles, it was a new beginning for John, Paul, George, Ringo - and me.

The Big Night

2009-12-15T12:21:00.003-05:00

As we approach my favorite day of the year, Christmas Eve, I find myself in that delicate balance of tradition vs change. This year there will be a little break in regards to tradition as we won't be gathering at my brother Don's house for dinner as we have for the past decade or so. I've always enjoyed the evening at their house - they have this wonderful, huge table that must seat twenty in their dining room and they are gracious hosts. But things are what they are. Thus the element of change - as in a change of location - and that's fine.

What's not going to change is the food. While I always enjoy getting together with the family - all right, while I sometimes enjoy getting together with the family, I have to admit that Christmas Eve is all about the food.

There are many origins of what is called the "feast of the seven fishes" a tradition that has roots in southern Italy. I don't know any of them. I'm not sure if we have seven "fishes" - we can count them later. I didn't pay much attention to this meal for the first 25 years or so of my life, and I am pretty sure it has remained the same for as long as I was around, probably even longer. However, once I came to my senses and realized what I was missing, I vowed never to miss it again and I've stuck to that vow.

For years my parents home - the house I grew up in - was where Christmas Eve was spent. A tiny cape, with no dining room, we managed to have not only our family of six, but as the years went by the numbers grew with assorted aunts and uncles, girlfriends - some of which became wives, leading the way to grand children. All of which crowded into our small living room which became the de-facto dining room, complete with the sofa, christmas tree and television set. It may have been tight, but it was never unbearable and the crowd just added to the spirit of the holiday - and it probably helped keep the house warm!

But the real heat was in the kitchen. This is where my mom cooked for the masses almost single-handedly. My dad's role in the holiday fare was the home-made panettone - a sweet bread that we enjoyed on Christmas morning - but that's another story. My mom's kitchen was - and still is - a one woman show and for years this was her "Big Night."

I've heard other Italians describe their meal and it seems to be more of an homage to gluttony with many breaks with tradition. While my mom served more food than anyone person has a right to eat, nothing is too heavy, no stuffed lobsters or errant trays of baked pasta. This is all about a selection of dishes that could easily stand alone, but work together wonderfully.

For me, this isn't an evening for antipasto. Yes, I'm a fan but there is a lot of food coming my way and I don't want to get filled up on the opening act. Plus, there is dessert on the other side of this pony, so lets just get to the main act. However there is a tray of olives, black and green and some fennel - Finnochio, or as translated into "Italian-American" - feh nook.

The meal begins with spaghetti that has been prepared with garlic, olive oil, anchovies and walnuts. Before you go "ewww … Anchovies!" know this: they are cooked down to be a flavor element of the sauce and the end result is to die for. The mixture is tossed with pasta and served with some of the pasta water on the side. While most people who try this are converted, there is always a bowl of spaghetti with butter and/or garlic and oil for those with less adventurous palettes. Here's a link to a recipe that is very close to my Mom's.

When this dish is right - and it's almost always right - you can just stop there. I have to force myself not to have a third helping ( a second is a given). I still can't figure out why we only eat this simple but incredible dish once a year.

From that plate it becomes all out madness - everything else comes to the table at once:

- Baccala (dried, salted cod that has been reconstituted and is served chilled over a lemony escarole salad). Surprisingly fresh and refreshing, but my least favorite dish.
- Homemade Seafood Salad (Insalata Frutti di Mare) with lobster, calamari, shrimp and Scungilli. Always unbelievable, best I've ever had.
- Scungilli Fra Diaovlo - In a sauce that will have you going through a loaf of crusty italian bread in no time, regardless of how tough or tender the conch may be.
- Flounder Fillets - breaded and fried to perfection. Seems like a bit-player but always welcome on my plate.
- Shrimp Scampi - may be the star of the meal and what garlic may have been invented for. Made in massive quantities to avoid fights.
- Broccoli - the only side dish and only vegetable if you don't count the escarole salad and the celery in the seafood salad. Par-boiled and served cold, tossed with garlic and lemon. Even my five-year old likes broccoli when Grandma makes it.

So, lets count the fish:
-Anchovies
-Cod
-Lobster
-Shrimp
-Flounder
-Scungilli
-Calamari

Whaddya know - Seven!

My mother turned out this meal year after year in her impossibly small kitchen and, as I said, almost single handily. After my father passed away and with my mother getting on a bit, my brother Don began to host the meal. My mother then began to oversee things with Don's wife Lorraine and their Daughter Lynn stepping up and lending a hand.

My mother is a fantastic cook. I can't even order some of the food that she makes in restaurants as I know that I will be disappointed. And as with any kitchen, you can easily have too many cooks. Believe me, while she was probably glad to step aside it - she is in her eighties - yet I know that it pained her to see any changes from the way she had done things for so many years. Thankfully - and this is in no way a slight to Lorraine or Lynn - my mother's hand was still guiding the meal.

This year things will be a bit different.

Time after time I have said to myself that I have to take some cooking lessons from my mom. I always get a laugh when I ask her about a recipe and she pulls out a yellowed news clipping from 50 years ago that she has tucked in some cookbook. In some cases she has modified it somewhat, in others she hadn't changed a thing. It is ones that were passed down from her mother where things can get a little gray. "How much salt goes in here, Mom?" "Oh, I don't know. A pinch or so." I've been successful recreating some of the dishes, not so much with others. Lizz has done a great job with a few - especially one of my favorites - cavatelli with broccoli (frozen chopped broccoli sauteed in oil and garlic and tossed with the pasta and crushed red) served with pan fried chicken cutlets. As with most of my mom's meals the ingredient list is short. Most of the dishes in the Christmas Eve meal have under 5 ingredients, some less. It comes down to execution and knowing just how many "pinches" to throw in. Sounds easy, right? Any good cook knows it's not that easy.

So although I will miss the scene at my brother's house, Lizz and I are looking forward to cooking this meal at our house this year under my the watchful eye of my mother. We will be cooking for about 12 - usually there's twice as many. I also will spending a lot of time in the kitchen, as opposed to sitting at the table with the men, drinking wine. But there are benefits. It will give us a chance to learn how to do this, so hopefully we can keep this tradition going when and if we are called to do so. Plus we get all the leftovers!

That's our story. There are a million variations and I would love to hear about yours.

Here's a few that caught my eye, Mario Batali and another interesting menu.

Plus, check out this great graphic novel at the Feast Of The Seven Fishes blog.

Seconds Of Pleasure, Hours Of Practice

2009-11-23T15:17:00.002-05:00

Just a little note about what I'll be up to with the Blaggards over this holiday season!

On Saturday, December 26th - the official start of the 2010 Holiday season - my band, the ever-loving Blaggards will join our good friends The Lone Sharks at Roy Wilson's Rockabilly Saturday Night concert series, which takes place at Matty Ts in Deer Park, NY. We will be performing Rockpile's classic LP "Seconds Of Pleasure" in its entirety, including the bonus EP for all you hardcore fans out there. We'll have some special guests as well. Should be a lot of fun!

This leads into the new year and Elvis Show 2010, which is already shaping up to be a great night. Mark your calendars - it all happens on Saturday, January 30th at a new venue, Hennesey's Bar & Grill in Huntington Station. The usual cast and crew, plus some new faces and a few old friends as well. I'm am happy to announce our line-up of backing bands: The Purple Gang, The Hornets, The Lone Sharks and The Blaggards - who are once again graciously donating their time and services for the cause. As always, every dime raised goe to help local food banks, and as you no doubt know, things are rough out there. I'm hoping for a big turnout so we can help out as many people as possible. More details soon!

Finally, The Blaggards will take over for Roy & The Buzzards on Saturday, November 28th at Matty Ts with two big sets of non-stop, non-shtick Rock AND Roll! Joining us with be The Vendettas and it all starts about 9:00PM. Come on down and work off that big T-day dinner. We promise to wipe out those Black Friday blues!

God, Crumb and The New York Yankees

2009-10-23T15:32:00.003-04:00

A bunch of my friends are heading out east to see the East River String Band at the Stephen Talkhouse on Saturday night with special guests Robert Crumb and local hero Joe Lauro. I'll be staying home to watch the Yankees hopefully gain passage to the World Series. I mean, I like that old timey crap as much as the next guy, which translates into "not so much" and even I did like it more than that I would be hard pressed not be at the bar watching the game anyway - as I am sure many will be doing.

Much more interesting is Crumb's latest book, "The Book Of Genesis" an illustrated version of the first book of the Bible. I have always enjoyed Crumb's work and certainly gained a new level of fascination with both the man and his work after seeing Terry Zwigoff's biopic. But I have to admit that after flipping through the book in my local bookstore, I was at first amused (not that I was looking for laughs) and then ultimately disappointed mostly in the fact that Crumb's art has remained largely unchanged. I guess I was looking for something a bit more than just what the book's title states - and that's not truly delivered. This isn't an artist interpreting the Bible, it's someone drawing the Bible and not inserting much of himself in the process. I read in a few interviews that he "just illustrated what is there." Maybe so, but what a lost opportunity - and how incredibly boring a process for both the artist and the reader. Don't get me wrong - I was not looking for Mr. Natural to make an appearance or for Eve to look like Devil Girl - although all the women he draws pretty much look all alike. I was hoping that a project of this scope would bring some new energy into his work. In the end, all we get is what we already know - both about Genesis and Robert Crumb.

Garden Party

2009-07-27T17:40:00.003-04:00

I am such a sucker when it comes to big ass rock and roll shows, so of course I had to take a shot at some tickets for the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame's birthday celebration scheduled for late October. It didn't take too much arm twisting - after all Bruce is headlining the bill, or at least I assume he is the headliner - along with Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon (with and without Garfunkle), and the oddly billed Crosby, Still, Nash and Friends. I am also assuming that Neil Young isn't among their friends and from what I've read, Stephan Stills has no friends left. The show is the first of a two night stand, the second night offering up the interesting bill of Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, U2 and Metallica.

From what I gather, each of the performers will bring on special guests to perform, all of which I assume (a lot of assumptions here) are members of the Hall. The way I see it the first night will get a good number of R&B, folk and rock and rollers, while the second night will see more of the blues and rock guys. I can see Chuck Berry being back by the E Street Band as opposed to Metallica - but one never does know what they have planned for these types of events.

Tickets ran from $79 up to "once-in-a-lifetime" VIP packages costing up to $100,000. Whoa. Considering that you're getting the same show as everyone else, that additional $99921 better come with more than a goodie bag - or a really good goodie bag.

I tried for the $79 seats, 4 at first - no go. Then 2, still no go. I jumped up to the next price point - $150 - and got two seats, right at the halfway point of the Garden and all the way up in the very top section! Where the heck were the $79 seats - outside? I checked later in the day and you could still get a couple of the $2500 seats. All for a good cause, mind you. The whole shabang will be edited down for an HBO special. Careful with those closeups - most of this crew doesn't look so good in HD these days.

Big Mac

2009-07-21T21:37:00.003-04:00

Lizz and I went to see Paul on Saturday night at Citifield. It was my first trip to that ball park and I will have to go back to actually see it as a ball park. They built a small city right on the field for Paul and his band and a few thousand friends. We met some friends before the show, including Lizz's cousin Steve who put out quite the spread. And we had beer.

I really don't think Paul has it in him to put on a bad show. To my ears, his voice is a strong as ever - and the songs, well the hits just keep coming. The thing I really like is that he has kept it to the small combo - two guitars, bass and drums with Wix on keyboards handling everything else - including fake saxophone! The band can rock hard, especially Abe Laboriel on drums.

Citifield looks pretty nice. I liked it best from outside - it looks like some sort of gigantic steamship (insert sinking joke here). The lack of a Mets presence throughout is pretty weird. I went to The Stadium the next day for Old Timer's Day thanks to my pal Mike Winter. I like that place a lot better.

Elvis Show 2009 - And It Begins!

2009-01-19T13:36:00.003-05:00

Saturday, January 12th - The first of two big "dress rehearsals" for the Elvis Show took place and a great time was had by all. It was great to see some folks that I haven't seen since the last Elvis Show and to meet a few for the first time. The Purple Gang was ready, willing and able - its always a treat to get a chance to play with Mike Bifulco, Sean O'Neill and Memphis Mike. We got to hear a couple of our second-generation singers, while a few more of the younger ones came to support their moms and/or dads. Liam had a ball, though he was probably more interested in playing with Baby D, then watching the band. Big thanks to our hosts, Tom and Heidy for opening their house for this inspired bit of madness. Things are coming together nicely and I really think this is going to be among the best shows we've done. Next up is a little get together with the Hornets and then the Blaggards step up to the plate with another dozen vocalists or so!

Go Home Already

2008-10-27T12:12:00.003-04:00

I spent an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon watching Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes play a set to a largely uninterested crowd in the "Piazza" of the new Tanger's outlet mall in Deer Park. This was the mall's grand opening weekend and the beautiful weather brought out shoppers in droves, searching for bargains, not glorified bar bands. Their loss though, as Southside and his current crop of Jukes put on a great show which featured a lot of tunes from his current record, "Grapefruit Moon," a collection of Tom Waits tunes. I guess this gig was better than doing a supermarket opening, but I really think it's time for this band to take up a residency somewhere - Atlantic City certainly comes to mind. Some forward thinking casino should build them their own room. Southside has no problems covering tunes - he's not a songwriter - and nobody plays better boardwalk music outside of that other guy from Jersey (no, not Jon Bon Jovi).

Southside Johnny Lyons is a good vocalist and fine harmonica player and the band is tight. The current keyboardist was a good foil for Lyons - he is sort of a "Dr. John Lite" - and some of the highlights of the show is when the horn section stepped up to do some New Orlean's style group solos. They were in good spirits despite having to play for a bunch of bargain hunters looking for discounts on overpriced designer goods.

The Jukes would make a great fixture at a casino, in a nice throw-back, Vegas strip style room, two shows a night with maybe three on the weekend. Have some Jersey Boy comedian open and get Southside a girl singer he can bring on during the show a la Keely Smith. I think it would be a big hit and a much better gig than this one - and you would still be able to shop after the show.

In Search Of Bobby Flay

2008-09-19T14:18:00.003-04:00

Went looking for Bobby's Burger Palace only to realize that we were at the wrong mall. Imagine that - mixing up the malls on Long Island. After much initial disappointment, we accepted the fact that we would have to wait to experience a burger with potato chips right ON the burger, as opposed to NEXT to the burger. So off we went to the food court, doing the obligatory lap around to see what we could see. Along the way people in progressively funnier hats kept offering me pieces of shiny meat on plastic forks or toothpicks - all of which I eagerly accepted and all of which tasted exactly the same - slimy, best sums it up. I could have done two or three laps before the drones would have caught on - chances are they wouldn't have cared - and I would have amassed enough chicken chunks to qualify as lunch. But the lure of hot pastrami stopped me in my tracks, as pastrami has done in the past and will probably do again in the future.

But it don't look like rain

2008-08-19T16:07:00.005-04:00

Last Friday night I had one of the most enjoyable musical experiences of my lifetime - quite a statement if I do say so myself. I have the good fortune to have seen many, many live performances over the past forty or so years and it is always the unexpected ones that seem to rise above the rest. Jimmy Webb's show at Heckscher Park in Huntington was one of those shows.

I have always loved his songs, even before I knew he had written them. I have a lot of catching up to do in regards to his own recordings and recent works and I plan to do so over the next few months. I did see him perform once before at the Brian Wilson tribute at Radio City Music Hall where he sang Brian's songs as only a songwriter can sing them - making the lyrics come alive in a way that I had never realized before.

It was a rainy, rainy night. Lizz laughed at the thought of me going down to the park at all, but this was the one show that I wanted to catch. I had called my good friend Tom Pfeifer, who was into going despite the miserable weather forecast. As he so correctly pointed out at least we could get a cup of coffee and spend some time catching up. For a brief - very brief - moment the sky seemed to clear and I have visions of a nice night under the stars listening to the man sing his songs. That was until the weather bulletins began to crawl across the TV screen warning me - yes, me - to stay inside, take cover and prepare for the worst. You would think that two grown men would have the know it all to accept these messages, but Starbucks was right around the corner and as Tom said, we were going to turn water into wine anyway. Off we went.

As we drove into town, the rain still coming down hard, we noticed that the steel gate in front of the Chapin Stage was shut. Not a very good sign as it was just about showtime. I noticed some sort of activity around the stage so we decided to park the car and head over there. Once before I had went to a show in foul weather - The Five Chinese Brothers - who rearranged their gear on the stage and invited us all to sit on the stage itself. Turns out that is exactly what Jimmy Webb had decided to do.

With less than 100 people there, the staff had arranged seats around the Steinway grand piano in a very nice fashion, turning the stage into a cabaret-like atmosphere. Tom and I found ourselves sitting right next to Mr. Webb - the photo above is from my phone. We were pretty giddy over the whole thing, which had gone from at best standing in the rain for an hour or so to being part of what was sure to be a very special night.

Turns out it was Jimmy Webb's birthday, but he was giving the presents. For the next hour and a half he told the most wonderful stories, each one accompanied by one of his wonderful songs. No doubt he was relaxed in this intimate atmosphere and I have to imagine that the stories may have had a little more information or were told in a bit more detail than if he was performing before the larger crowd that would have certainly been there under better conditions. The sound was awesome and the lighting really effective, my hats off to the crew down at the Park for making this happen.

The stories were amazing. I would give anything to hang out with this guy for a few hours. Drinking with Harry Nilson, driving to Belfast with Richard Harris, writing a song for a girl who broke his heart - I can only imagine the tales he could tell. If hasn't done so already, I hope he writes a book. The songs - well the songs are perfect. His voice is not strong, he readily admits that, though it certainly doesn't "stink" as Harry Nilson described it one of his stories. To hear him sing these songs, which I have embedded in my brain in the voices of Glen Cambell, Frank Sinatra, Art Garfunkel and countless others, you began to make the connection between them. His piano playing is quite orchestral, shimmering riffs and startling rumbles - the instrumental vamp in Macarthur's park just flat out rocked.

I saw that he has a live CD out right now that features some of these songs and stories. I can pretty much say that it would be worth checking out. If it was anything like what we experienced the other night it will be time well spent.

Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)

2008-08-14T09:54:00.003-04:00

I did not meet Bob Dylan last night.

In fact I didn't even have a backstage pass. As is the case with these things, something got lost in the sauce. I did have comp tickets to the show and I did have a lovely dinner overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on the Asbury Park boardwalk and I did meet up with Clay Edwards, president of Hohner Harmonicas, who is a really nice guy.

So it goes. I knew the chances were slim and so I settled in for the show - which even with incredibly awful sound was excellent.

It was during Dylan's encores when Clay came up to my seat and motioned that I should come with him. He lead me through the crowd to the side of the hall where he shouted in my ear that we were meeting with Dylan's road manager and we would have a quick "meet and greet" and maybe get a chance to say hello and shake his hand. Then just a quickly we were informed that Dylan's security nixed the idea saying it would be too difficult to get Bob from point A to point B or something like that.

Clay told me that Bob is suppose to visit the Hohner shop in Virginia and if that comes to pass, he will invite me to come down. Should that happen, I will be there with bells on.

You May Call Me Bobby, You May Call Me Zimmy

2008-08-13T09:39:00.004-04:00

I am meeting Bob Dylan tonight.

To be completely accurate, there is a slim chance that I may meet Bob Dylan tonight. A very slim chance. I have backstage passes to his show at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ. I do know the drill, there is backstage and then there is backstage. Most of the time a backstage pass gets you in a hallway where for the most part you feel pretty much like you're somewhere you really should not be. If you are lucky, maybe there's a little spread and a free beer or two. The only reason I think that this might be a bit different is that I am going to be there with the president of Hohner - the harmonica company - who is a heck of a lot higher in the pecking order of such things than I am. So that being said, there is a slight chance that I may meet Bob Dylan tonight.

And it's making me lose my mind.

What on earth do you say to Bob Dylan? If the moon and stars do align and this actually happens it's not going to be some deep discussion, most likely just a few words. How do I say anything without saying the same thing that thousands of others have said when they had this rare opportunity? Is that all I should do - just mumble something about it "being an honor" and that "I'm a huge fan" before wetting myself? You have to go for more than that - this is Bob Dylan! You don't climb the mountain seeking the secret of life and ask "where's the restroom." But if you only have one question, what do you ask? I could ask him about the open tuning versions of "Blood On The Tracks" or if the whole motorcycle accident thing was faked. I could ask him what's on his iPod or if he even has an iPod. I could even ask him what exactly did Billy Joe throw off the Tallahatchie Bridge? No matter what he may say, this guy has all the answers.

This is even harder for me as I don't find it easy to talk to people that I haven't spent time with. Never have. I've never asked a girl out in my life and I've been married twice - figure that one out. Famous people? Forget about it.

Last night I finally calmed down about this whole silly thing. If it happens, great. If not, great. I can get through it. Then I called my sister and told her about it and she said, "Oh, you'll probably see Springsteen there."

Kill me now.

Something In The Night

2008-07-29T13:47:00.005-04:00

I am so done with stadium rock concerts. Even with a nice afternoon of tailgating, complete with home-made burgers and cajun shrimp, plus a few baked clams courtesy of some nice folks a few cars down the line. What is the purpose of going to a show if you can't hear it? Chance are pretty good when you bought your ticket you knew you were not going to see it, but hear it? - you would think that should come with the price of admission. If you get stuck underneath the seats above you, what you are hearing sounds like it has been swirling around in garbage can ... which is a pretty accurate description of the Meadowlands and hopefully among the reasons that a new stadium is being built to open in a few years.

But there I was, once again, in New Jersey to spend a good two hours or so with The Boss.

Right off the bat, Danny Federici is sadly and sorely missed. Any true fan of the E Street Band will tell you that it's just not the same - and that part of the magic is gone forever. His replacement, Charles Giordano, is a solid musician and definitely is paying tribute to Danny - for now. Sooner or later he'll have to start working up a little magic on his own.

Clarence was not looking - or sounding - too good last night. He was pretty amazing at the Nassau Coliseum show last March - all the reviews seemed to pick up on the fact that he was blowing as strong as ever and Bruce pulled out all of the big sax songs as to take advantage of that fact. Last night, just the opposite. He was honking all over the place and Bruce pulled "Backstreets" from the setlist.

For the record it was a good show, probably a great show if we had better seats. There was an interesting mix of songs, including some that haven't been played for a while. Which brings me to Bruce's latest bit of schtick - taking "requests" from the audience who have been bringing handmade signs and banners in an attempt to get him to play their favorite song. Bruce ran back and forth across the stage collecting the signs which he dumped in a big pile on stage. He would walk over to the pile and pretend to decide which one he would play - I say pretend, because most of the "requests" he played were on his handwritten set list! What a con artist! Still it's all great fun for those involved - it is kind of cool when he reveals the choice to the crowd. Plus, in a few cases he truly pulled one out the bands collective ass - "Held Up Without A Gun" was a blast - Bruce duly noted that his lyrics are more in sync with the times now than when he wrote the song in the late 1970's.

Even some of the songs that were on the setlist gave the band a challenge - "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City" started off with a spirited discussion on what key the song was in. "Drive All Night" from "The River" got big cheers from the long time fans. Quite a few covers made the set including "Summertime Blues," "The Detroit Medley" and "Twist And Shout" which went on way too long. The audience was completely insane - even towards the very end they got as loud as I ever heard a group of people get - and when Bruce was asking them to sing "a little bit softer now" during Twist And Shouts little LaBamba side trip, it was pretty cool hearing about 50 thousand people whispering together.

The kids got in the act as well. Bruce daughter came on stage with a bunch of her friends and basically just jumped around on Twist and Shout, and Max's son came out to play drums on "Born To Run." He definitely is not as stiff as his dad, and rocked the song really hard. It made hearing that one for the 200 plus time actually more exciting than usual. Yes, it still is exciting no matter what.

There is so much talent on this stage, including the wonderful bassist Gary Tallent of course. Steve Van Zandt, when he's not clowning around with Bruce, is a truly masterful guitarist - one of those guys who makes it look way easier than it is. When you have a moment be sure to check his Underground Garage website. On the other side of the stage Nils Lofgren gets the spotlight once a night - last night it was on "Because The Night" - and he never fails to bring the show to a new level. His solos soar, higher and higher and just when you think he's peaking, he brings it on even more. Plus now he's tumbling while he solos! Its only a matter of time before the trampoline comes back. Nils has a new CD - a collection of songs from his old boss, Neil Young, called "The Loner - Nils Sings Neil."

I kept feeling that there was some sort of farewell vibe to this show. That's not been hinted at anywhere and I can't pinpoint my exact reasons for feeling those feelings. No doubt, he could do this forever - fill these stadiums and give them their money's worth (including the $20 hit for parking!) To my eyes there were too many drunk yahoos who just kept shouting "YEEEEAHHH" into each other's face, too many fan boys and girls who had seen it all too many times and pick songs for their bathroom breaks, too many people who thought his last CD was Born In The USA, just too many "too manys." He needs to scale this thing back, play the theaters, get the excitment back. Let everybody hear the words. Tell a story or two. Deal with the changes, the ones that have come and the ones to come. I love this guy, I really do. I have followed him through it all - almost from the very beginning. It's time to bring this thing back home - and I don't mean back to New Jersey.

Not So Good Vibrations

2008-07-25T10:08:00.005-04:00

Lizz and I recently attended a Brian Wilson show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. The concert, which was billed as "An Evening With Brian Wilson And Friends" was a benefit for cancer research. It was apparently part of series of shows taking place around Manhattan but it was very hard to get any other information regarding who the "friends" were. The show was never even listed on Wilson's official website, though the message board there was ripe with all sorts of rumours as to who would be appearing - the biggest buzz around a possible "ex-Beatle" hitting the stage. I didn't really care too much about all of that - as you may or may not know, I am a huge fan and try to see his show whenever it comes to town. Since Brian has been back I have enjoyed everyone of his concerts, the last one at the Beacon with Al Jardine in tow was an absolutely stellar evening. Because this was a benefit, ticket prices were pretty high, so I went for the cheap seats at a hundred dollars a pop, expecting to have a great time for a good cause.

For those who haven't seen Brian Wilson in concert, the experience can be a bit shocking. His band - based around a group called The Wondermints and featuring ex-Beach Boy Jeffrey Foskett - is flat out incredible. Super musicians, excellent vocalists - most who double (and triple) on a variety of instruments allowing them to truly deliver Wilson's music in all its sonic majesty. Brian sits center stage behind an unplayed piano. Sometimes he rocks along to the music, other times he just sits there staring off into space. If it weren't for a number of interviews where he has stated that he is enjoying his return to the concert stage I would be creeped out by it all - but if he is having a good time, I'm all for it. His voice has gotten stronger over the past few years, though he occasionally flubs a lyric or two.

I had read on the message boards that a few of the band members were not going to be at the show. It's a big band, with a big sound and I wondered how they were going to deal with the changes. The regular drummer (there is also a second percussionist) and bass player were not going to be there, as well as the 1st keyboardist and the one lone female member who sings - as does every member of the band. Wow! How did they pull this off? Simple! The second keyboardist - who usually gets behind the drum kit at the end of the show for the big "rock and roll" medley - played drums. The guy who plays almost every instrument during the night was on bass for the evening. Although two strong vocalists were lost for the evening, the band more than covered all the harmony parts. Like I said, this is an amazing group of musicians.

Even so, it was obvious that some things would have to be dropped from the set and that meant sticking to the hits for the night. Even so there were a few gems, including a great verision of "Add Some Music" from the "Sunflower" album, a spot on take on "In My Room" and two new songs from the upcoming "That Lucky Old Sun" release, which could be the first truly great new release from Wilson (if you don't count "Smile" as new). The band compensated for the missing members with a high-energy performance - almost manic - blasting through the songs almost Ramones-style. Brian, who had been ill for the last few shows, looked great and was more animated than I had ever seen him - sometimes almost giddy.

Our $100 seats were majorly suck-ass. Practically in the lobby, when I looked to my right I noticed that we were actually behind the merch counter! After a few songs I noticed that the security seemed pretty lax, so Lizz and I got up and made our way up front where a bunch of people were dancing and listening on the side, unhindered by any ushers. We stayed there for the rest of the show - worked for us!

As the show progressed I began to think that there wasn't going to be any "friends" showing up. Then Brian introduced Joan Osborne who sang a verse or two of "God Only Knows" with him. She was fine, but certainly not "ex-Beatle" fine. Usually this is a show stopper of a song. This time it sounded a bit unrehearsed and definitely missed all the horn parts that the full band usually covers. Then Brian introduces Al Kooper. Al Kooper? They proceeded with a nice version of "Caroline No" with Al doing a soulful turn on a verse and that was that. Sheesh - I have better "friends" than that! Well, maybe not, but I know Brian does. Guess they were busy doing nothing.

Soon - and it seemed a bit too soon - it was time for what is Brian's standing show ender - a full song medley of "Barbara Ann," "Surfin USA," and "Fun, Fun, Fun" - where they strap a bass on him - again, unplugged - and he makes his exit, always uncertain of which side of the stage to leave from. Then the encore, which traditionally had been "Love And Mercy" now replaced by the beautiful "Southern California" from the new release. Lizz and I bolted out to catch the train back home.

It was different than all the other shows I had seem him do, definitely a bit less magical. But it was Brian Wilson and that was good enough for me. However it apparently wasn't good enough for some others.

Negative reviews began to circulate on Brian's website and other blogs. People were complaining about the bad seats, the sort set, the missing band members and the lack of "Beach Boy rarities" in the show. Not for nothing, it was a 75 minute show with at least 17 songs, all preformed well by a kick ass, if somewhat truncated, band. Plus it was a benefit!

Then the most unexpected thing happening. Brian's wife Melissa posted to the message board on the site, saying that Brian was upset to hear that he may have disappointed some fans and in order to keep it "cool" he was going to offer a refund to anyone who wanted one.

What?

Now it is easy to say he's out of his mind when speaking of Brian, as for all intents and purposes, he is. But to offer a refund to dissatisfied concert goers? This is some serious shit. I have been attending concerts all of my life and there have been plenty of times when I felt I didn't get my money's worth - especially in the past decade when ticket prices climbed to record rates. Imagine if I could have asked for a refund if I felt that the performance wasn't up to snuff? Or if they didn't play my favorite song or I didn't like my seat? On Van Morrison shows alone I would have saved enough to make a car payment or two!

This whole thing will most likely fade away quickly - the original post from Melinda Wilson is no longer on the board - but it would be interesting to see if anyone else picks up the gauntlet and does something similar. Did I consider sending in my tickets for refund? Not for a second, but I did wonder if I would get a check signed by Brian back in return.

Hmmmm ...

Me And My Elvis Robot

2008-07-01T16:31:00.006-04:00

Time was when I would have spent $300 on a talking robotic Elvis head but when I saw this pop up a few years ago I took a big pass. After all I'm a big boy now. It's been over a decade since the last real Elvis party and people have finally stopped giving me Elvis junk for my birthday and Christmas. Then one day last week there it was in the daily email from Buy.com - the WowWee Alive Elvis at $59.99. Signed, sealed and delivered. I couldn't get out my credit card fast enough.

Lizz was mildly amused and obviously relieved that I planned on taking it to office. Liam, who admitted to being "a little afraid" at first, warmed up quickly to the King's quirky movements and spent the rest of day talking to him expecting answers.

I can't even describe this thing. It kinda sorta looks like Elvis - it actually looks more like k.d. lang. I was disappointed to find out that it wouldn't move it's mouth along to any outside sources - you can connect a microphone or an iPod - and it seems as if the infared sensors do not work, but hey, it is a 60 buck chinese talking robot head. Buyer beware has never been more applicable. The whirring noise he makes is pretty disturbing until you realize that its the same noise you've made forever whenever you pretended you were a robot! If you don't know what I'm talking about, well that's the difference between me and you.

After I finally read the instruction manual, I got him to sing a few songs and tell a few stories. You can have him just spout out random statements, along with moving his head from side to side, raising his eyebrows and yes, the occaisional classic Elvis snear. My favorite bit of information from the user guide: "Should Elvis perform an unexpected function, please switch him OFF then ON again to reset him." Unexpected function? Like what - lunge for a hambuger? Start cursing? Cry? If only!

This morning I threw my Elvis robot head into a box and into the back of my topless jeep to take him to his new home. As I was enjoying the morning sunshine and fresh air, I couldn't help but think that it would be kind of funny if the robot king bounced out of the car and onto the windsheild of the car behind me. Would the fact that it was Elvis smashing into your car make you feel any better? If it happened to me, it would be a story I would tell for the rest of my life. But that's just me.

I had a great space picked out for him in the office where I can look up from my desk and keep an eye on him. We had a nice pair of classic shades for him which helps make him look more like ... him. He certainly does get people's attention and the word that seems to come up more often than not is "creepy." While I doubt that is what WowWee had in mind I have to admit that it really does sum it up.

My Elvis robot head came with only one cartridge that has about 8 songs and a dozen or so little stories. I am guessing that there won't be any more forthcoming. His hair, which looks excellent on the box, is misbehaving. I also was hoping that he would "auto activate" when sensing motion, but that's not the case. Instead he shuts off after 10 minutes and you can't turn him on from the remote. Maybe in the next version.

We have some plans to either find a body for him or make it look like he is trapped in the floor. We are also thinking of wiring him into the office PA system. There have been some interesting modifications detailed online. Whatever happens I am going to enjoy my status as the only owner of an Elvis robot head that I know for as long as it lasts.

Blaggards To Release Career Retrospective Box Set

2008-06-17T09:13:00.003-04:00

Memphis, TN: At at unannounced press conference this morning, The Blaggards announced the release of a career retrospective box set entitled "First Pull Up, Then Pull Down." The eight box set (six audio CDs and two DVDs) will contain highlights from the band's four-year history including "some surprises" but no actual music or videos of the band. "We really wanted to have some music on the box set," said guitarist Steve Prisco, "but we haven't really recorded anything. We've been busy doing other stuff." The band has tentative plans to record so the CDs in the box set will be blank recordable discs. "This way when we do get around to recording, our fans can just make their own discs," explained drummer Tom Ryan, "or they can use them to make copies of the new Coldplay record, which is what I'm going to do." The two DVDs include "some cool YouTube videos of kids doing some crazy shit" according to bassist Mick Hargreaves, who added "I can watch this stuff for hours." Also on the DVD is a copy of the classic sci-fi comedy "Buckaroo Bonzai" just because "it rocks."

The box set has a cutting edge packaging design as well. "With Green being the big buzzword these days, we decided to do the right thing," said guitarist Rich Umbach, "We asked our selves what would Bono do?" The band actually asked Bono but he did not return their call. "We were sitting around one day and it just hit us" continued Umbach, "what is the most environmentally friendly packaging? NO packaging!" The band decided that their box set would be the first box set to have no box. "No box, no jewel cases, no book - nothing!" exclaimed Prisco, "just the discs themselves and we considered not even including them." When asked if this would make purchasing and shipping the "non" box set difficult, Ryan replied, "well I guess ... if we thought we were actually going to sell any."

With hopes of having the collection ready for the holiday season the band is heading into the studio. "We are going to record a bunch of out takes, b-sides and alternate versions" said Hargreaves, "because this is the kind of stuff people buy box sets for" adding that the band would record actual songs "if they have the time."

Hold On - The Kid Puts It On The Line!

2008-05-21T14:07:00.005-04:00

After watching last night's showdown between the two Davids as they battled it out for the title ... anybody else think the boxing thing was really goofy? How great would it have been if Cook just laid the kid out with a right hook? "Dude! That was hot!!!" Anyway ... I must recant my last post and fess up that David Archuleta is not only going to win, but deserves to win. After all, as Simon constantly reminds us, this is a singing competition. That being said, I still miss Kristy Lee Cook and her perfect breasts.

Look at this kid. How can you not love him! He even smiles while doing one of those now famous American Idol "my appendix is about to burst" poses!

So let's wrap this up and look forward to the next one. Gosh, what surprises do they have in store for us? I'm holding out for a trap door with Simon's finger on the button.

Idol Chatter - Cook Wins It All!

2008-05-19T16:45:00.004-04:00

Yes, I watch American Idol. I've watched it since the beginning. It is getting harder to watch, not so much because of the singers, but because of the judges. Most of the time we watch off the DVR which gives us the luxury of fast forwarding through Randy and Paula's almost never changing comments. I am glad that we did see Paula's major brain-fart a few weeks ago when she starting commenting on a song she had yet to hear. I still can't believe that they came through that sanfu unscathed. Pay not attention to the man behind the curtain! Apparently most of America doesn't even see the curtain.

For those of you who pretend not to watch, it is down to the last week, the final two. In this corner we have the little golden boy, David Archuleta, smooth as silk and gosh, so cute. I must hand out some major credits to the kid for sticking up for his old man who the media has painted as the backstage mother from hell. Then there is the other David, Cook that is. All of 25, he is this year's "rocker" and, from what I can see, the man Simon wants to get the crown. No doubt that Archuleta's CD will be a big seller this Christmas for all the grandmas and little sisters out there, but Cook is all set to unleash a string of tepid big rock ballads, no doubt already written and stamped in gold. You can actually see Cowell licking his chops.

As usual I will not be buying anything by any of these guys - never have, although I must admit to downloading some of Kelly Clarkson's tunes by mistake. Yeah, it was by ... mistake.

It's hard not to root to Archuleta, he seems so genuinely nice - the kind of boy you hope your son would grow up to pretend to be while he's out smoking pot and screwing girls. On the other hand Cook seems like the kind of guy Archuleta would buy his pot from, which makes him very real as well. My main vice with him is the guitar playing. Don't get me wrong, I am all about guitar playing but don't stand on that stage all alone, with your Van Halen amp about 50 feet away. Bring down the rest of the band, brother! Also he seems to have picked up Constantine Maroulis's "I'm So Hot" face when ending a song. Ewww.

If you tied me to a post and forced me to listen to one of them for hours I would have to pick David Cook. He actually has a little bit of an edge - and I do mean little - in his voice that keeps him interesting. Little Davy would just loosen my bowels after a while. So there it is - my official American Idol prediction.

But I also had the Yankees 10 games in first by now.

Sad News: Danny Federici

2008-04-18T11:56:00.002-04:00

Just heard the news that Danny Federici of the E Street Band passed away yesterday from Melanoma. I've seen the E-Street band over 200 times since 1972 and he was my favorite member. Never met him but I feel like I knew the guy. Saw him before he left the tour this year and saw them without him and though is replacement is very capable, a signature sound of the band was missing.

Danny was the quintessential side-man - always filling in the holes with that great, ethereal organ sound and punching it in on his signature solos. I always longed to find a guy like him for my band but in the same breath knew that guys like him were very hard to come by.

If you have 'em take a moment and listen to a few of his best moments today:
- the solo on "Kitty's Back"
- the solo on "Hungry Heart" (really saves that one)
- the accordion on "Sandy"
- the solo on "My City Of Ruins" and his playing on "Your Missing" both on the Rising.

From Bruce's website:
"Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much...we grew up together."
—Bruce Springsteen

The Federici family and the E Street family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

2008-03-26T17:22:00.003-04:00

The Blaggards found themselves back at the Talkhouse on Friday night, playing to yet another great crowd of dancing fools. We have been doing roughly one night a month over the winter months and have built up a nice following with the locals. The support has been amazing - these people really like us, they really do. Even better we, in typical Blaggard's fashion, have not catered to them one iota. We play what we want and they dance like crazy and shout hooray. Ok, they don't actually shout hooray. It is so good to be in a band that doesn't have a bag, replete with all that comes with one. This doesn't mean we don't have a "sound" or a "look" - I imagine we do. But the sound changes, sometimes from song to song and the look, well ... oh, well.

We added a few new songs ... "Honky Tonk Mind" by Johnny Horton, "Tennessee Plates" by John Hiatt and brought back one we haven't played in a long time, "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by the Jayhawks. After our first set one of the guys from The Bastards Of Boom, a Talkhouse favorite, was hanging with us in the dressing room. He asked me to help settle an argument he was having with a friend about what the ratio was in regards to original songs to covers in our set. When I told him that they were all covers, he was pretty much in shock - either because he was embarrassed not to know the songs or that we had no real desire to play originals. I bastardized George Thorogood's quote in reply, "Why should we waste time writing songs when Bob Dylan has already written all the good ones?"

So Sad About Us

2008-03-18T13:56:00.004-04:00

The judge in Macca's divorce trial made public his judgment, ignoring Heather's request not to do so stating that it could put her daughter in jeopardy. Its a good read, giving us some insights into both parties, some that we knew: she lies, and some that we didn't: Paul does birthday parties. For a million dollar donation, but man if I win the lottery I am having one special BBQ this year.

While the document doesn't tell us how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall, it does detail how much cash there is in Paul's wallet - a lot as if we didn't know - and how many houses - I lost count - he has scattered around the globe.

The link that I had for the doc seems to have been taken down, but I'm sure if you look you can find it.

Another One Bites The Dust

2008-03-17T15:52:00.002-04:00

It is a simple fact of life that among the joy and festivities of the holiday season, sometimes we find ourselves to be the bearer of bad news. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I must disclose a sad event that took place within the Blaggards camp. Tom Ryan has officially run out of opinions.

At approximately 10:00 PM on Wednesday, December 5th during our weekly band dinner, Tom announced that "he actually liked the new Justin Timberlake CD" and in a sad and futile effort to put weight behind his words, made us listen to it.

The track he played, which thankfully went nameless preventing me from remembering anything about it, was infinite proof that Tom no longer was capable of rendering an opinion. An excellent example of the watered-down, over-processed pap that passes as R&B these days, Mr. Timberlake did his best Michael Jackson little boy warble over what sounded like a demo song on a portable keyboard.

The night had started off as usual. The Blaggards blasted through a bunch of songs in eager anticipation of the meal that Heidy was preparing upstairs. When we finished Tom took his customary post-practice shower, and ever the DJ, cued up his iTunes playlist which usually consisted of some esoteric, but somewhat listenable oddity that he "happened" to pull out that week. "This is a group of Monks who actually hum Thelonious Monk tunes - it's fascinating and I can't stop listening to it!" Then things went decidedly further south.

At first the Blaggards were speechless. Then we all thought it was a joke - occasionally Tom has shown flashes of a sense of humor. As we realized that he was actually serious we attempted to shake him out of it, hoping to give him a musical Heimlich maneuver sadly to no avail.

It may seem that watching a critic run out of opinions is like watching a baseball pitcher lose his arm or an opera singer lose her voice. However there is a major difference. In the case of critics, when they did have opinions, they didn't matter anyway. So although we felt a tinge of sadness with Tom's new found affections for Justin, we also took heart in the fact that we didn't have to listen to his comments on any other music from now on! After all, when Father Magillacuddy fondles little Timmy in the rectory, it kind of takes the punch out his Sunday homily. Yes, just like Imus, Barry Bonds and Senator Clark, we will never be able to look at Tom and his past opinions in quite the same way.

It is up to us to help him put a positive spin on this. Perhaps now he can concentrate on other things in his life, like oh let's say, drumming? It's not like being a critic was a good thing to begin with. Critics, like those fake holidays created by the greeting card companies, were created to sell newspapers, not as an actual meter of good or bad. The first critic, Og, was joyfully stoned to death after commenting on his neighbor's cave paintings. Unfortunately that sort of response has gone out of vogue. Similar to the old adage, "those who can do, those who can't teach" critics render opinions on the those who actually possess some kind of talent. If you care to argue that fact, read the previous sentence a few times aloud before going down that path. The simple truth is that critics are only useful to those who have absolutely no ability to determine whether they like something or not on their own. History is littered with their worthless rants - "Shakespeare, Smakespere" or "This Sinatra kid shouldn't quit his day job." Their attempts to be barometers of "cool" are even more pathetic - "Sigur Ros - The New Beatles!" or "Robert Pollard releases so much stuff that he must be a genius!"

You might attempt to build a case in arguing that even within things that suck, there are levels of suckiness. I am not going to dispute the fact the Justin Timberlake has legions of fans who deliver truck loads of money to his door every day. It's quite possible that among the insipid group of bland, ex-Mousekeeter pop stars that he is the best. However you can rest assured that aside from typing that last sentence I will never spend another second giving that any theory another thought. Sadly for Tom, he did and now is apparently no longer possess the ability to think rationally.

Tom Ryan is not the first person to be brought down by a moment of weakness. There are certainly any number of spirits - both ingested and imagined - that could have contributed to this gaff. Whatever the reason, it was still a sad moment to witness. In his defense he did try to slightly backspin his way to credibility by remarking that Timberlake was "hysterical on Saturday Night Live" a show that hasn't been truly funny since 1978. A sad and interesting ploy, as if being good at something else increases your musical validity. "I just found out that the bass player in Paper Lace likes kittens! Now I see "Billy Don't Be A Hero" in a whole new light!" Too little, too late Mr. Ryan.

As Blaggards do, we will stand by our man. That is until he attempts to get us to "appreciate" Mariah Carey or T-Pain. Then the only advice I can offer Tom is the last word that the aforementioned Og heard before the stones flew - Duck!

The Eighty-Four G Gal

2008-03-13T15:03:00.003-04:00

Wow. I'm sure it's not the final number, but eighty-four thousand dollars worth of sex is either A) a LOT of sex or B) some REALLY good sex. My friend Russ thought that it was based on the quality of the girl in question, but come on - most guys can nab a pretty decent gal for free and unless that amount of cash gets you Jessica Alba or Scarlet Johanssen, there isn't a need to spend that much on the selection. Kristen is certainly attractive and seems like a very nice girl. Friendly as well I assume.

I think we all know that what the Gov was paying for was silence - and that didn't seem to work out too well for him now, did it? Somebody is always willing to beat your price - or sell your dirty laundry to the highest bidder.

Gary Jude Anderson

2008-03-03T10:19:00.003-05:00

There are people who drift in and out of your life and the good ones are always as welcome as those first days of spring. They just make you feel good to see them. I've known Gary Jude for well over 20 years, and although we didn't hang out on a regular basis when our paths did cross I welcomed the chance to chat and catch up.

When Gary's mom called me on Friday, I knew instantly that the news was not going to be good. He had suffered a stroke a few years back which took it's toll. We were all shocked when he showed up at the Elvis show needing a cane to walk and obviously still recovering. Gary was all about the show - he wasn't going to let this setback slow him down at all. His performance was inspirational to say the least. Over the last two years his health was improving - he no longer needed the cane, his speech was much better and he was driving again. He was singing with the Northport Choral and was in great spirits, laughing and telling stories at the rehearsals for this year's show.

Those of you who knew Gary know what a unique individual he truly was. He was always Gary. He was not a slave to any fashion or trend. He had his own sense of style and stuck with it. He was passionate about music and loved to talk about it as much as he obviously enjoyed being on stage. I worked with Gary in the New Bohemians, the group that eventually became The Scofflaws. Gary's performances, whether it be his near channeling of James Brown to his spaghetti eating during our version of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly," were sublime. He was always a welcome guest at Purple Gang gigs and he had been with The Elvis Show from the very beginning - a favorite of both the fans and the performers.

Gary suffered a massive stroke that took his life after a couple of days in the hospital. I was thankful that we did touch base this year - at the last minute - so he was able to take part in this year's show. He did a great job as usual and he was able spend time with some old friends. I know that on whatever journey he is on now, he making new ones.

An Elvis Show Video!

2008-02-12T15:46:00.000-05:00

Elvis Show 2008 - Howie Mendelson

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Just one of the many great performances that night. Howie leads an all out guitar assault featuring Chris James, Rich Umbach and Matty Liott.

Super Tuesday - Get Out And Vote!

2008-02-05T11:41:00.000-05:00

No soap box, no long-winded speeches. Go vote today. I am and I am voting for Hillary Clinton. If you are asking for reasons, do you not understand what "no soap box" means. Actually that's a pretty arcane reference for 2008 so I will cut you some slack. To the point - I actually believe that she truly wants to make a difference in the lives of average Americans and will try her best to wade through the swamp that is our government. Obama, god bless him, has already made some promises that he has no intentions to keep, as they are impossible. Clinton is aiming for the possible. She is also the first politician that I have heard in a long time that actually answers the questions asked and usually has a very good response as well. And she's HOT!

Only kidding about the "hot" reference - but you knew that, right?

Elvis Show 2008

2008-02-04T17:29:00.000-05:00

The Elvis Show, which crawled back from the dead a few years ago, has now been officially "re-launched." I say officially because it sounds official. I say re-launched because it was officially a lot of work to launch it. Now that the ship has sailed, I can officially say it was a good time.

My friend Roy Wilson put the bug in my ear to do the show at Matty Ts - the last honky tonk on Long Island. It wasn't a bad idea - Matty's has a stage, although it is more like a corral, cheap beer and a the aforementioned honky tonk vibe. At last year's event the most common complaint I heard was that you couldn't see the performers, so a stage was pretty much required. You wouldn't think that a club with a stage is that hard to find on Long Island, but it is. Finding a club with a stage that would understand what the Elvis Show is all about and actually let me hold there is a whole other thing. So, Matty's was pretty much a lock from the day Roy mentioned it.

After a few rounds of the usual club owner nonsense, we were all set. I started making some calls, sending out some emails, dropping some hints. I always like to have a few new faces take part, I can always count on some of the old faces to be there and then there is always those unusual faces that pop in and out of my life. Twenty odd years down the road, getting this bunch of people together results in a very heady mix that brews more off stage than on. I have no idea (or I have forgotten) who slept with who, who slept with who's wife/husband/lover/brother/sister/mother/father, who kicked who out of which band, and so on and so forth. One of my blessings is really not giving a rat's ass about that kind of stuff in the first place. I may have found myself to be the center of some good gossip once or twice in my life, but I have no real interest in other people's lives, even the parts I'm supposed to care about which is a constant annoyance to some of my friends and family. So blind to any ill timed reunions or that I may be fanning the ashes of some long cooled romance, I went forward recruiting people for show.

In the end, it was a great night. We literally packed the club - at one point they had to stop letting people in. We raised a ton of food and a bunch of money. You can read, see and hear all about it on the MySpace page.

And next year we will do it again.

Bond, Savings Bond

2007-10-16T21:35:00.000-04:00

My collecting days are over. Way over. I never really collected anything anyway. I bought a lot of junk, real junk. I liked buying junk. It made me happy. Then it became this giant chain around my neck. All of a sudden I was being forced to justify being surrounded by this junk. I had always thought that wanting something was reason enough to have it. The wheels seem to have come off on that train of thought.

I have managed to rid myself of a lot of the junk, passed it on to other junk lovers, sold it at garage sales, on eBay and now Craig's list. There is still a lot of junk, don't get me wrong. Guitars that I will never really play, books that I probably won't ever read, records that I may never listen to again. All of this junk sits there and sends out an ever weakening signal, pleading with me to pick it up, dust it off and recapture a bit of the spark that went off when we first met.

Yet there is room in my life for one more piece of junk. It's my holy grail of junk, the one thing that ever since it left my life, so many years ago, I have been trying to replace it.

The James Bond Attache Case.

I was one of the lucky ones. I had this toy as a boy. I have never loved any material item more. I played with it constantly, putting together the rifle, setting up the booby traps and basically threating my sister with constant bodily harm. Things took a turn for the better when I found out I could load a pencil into the single shot that was built into the case and shoot it right through sheet rock. Those were the days! Besides the gun, the highlight of the toy was the secret decoder. Sadly, I didn't know one other junior agent with whom I could trade secret messages. Now that I am in my fifties and no longer have this toy it seems as if every other guy I meet is trying to get theirs back as well.

And try is about all we can do.

They are pretty much up on eBay all of the time and if you find one that has all of the pieces (especially the knife and the golf pencil with "007" embossed on the side) you can expect to pay close to a thousand bucks. There is even a cottage industry of repro items for the toy - the bullets, the knife, the handle, the silencer, the money, business cards, instructions and original box can all be purchased as repros to complete your set.

I've come close a few times and I keep waiting for my wife to understand and buy me the damn thing. Sadly, that will never happen. After my little health scare this year I was determined to do a bunch of the things that I have been putting off. So far, I have put off trying to do the things I have been putting off. But something tells me this will be the year of the James Bond Attache.

The Mets Lose! THE MEEEEEETTTTTSSSS LOSE!

2007-10-02T17:39:00.000-04:00

My wife has issues with the fact that I enjoy seeing the Mets lose and that the fact that they lost the division on the last day of the season makes me giddy. "How can you take pleasure in other's pain," she asks. Oh, it's easy, believe me.

I have been trying to remember why I became a Mets hater. I grew up in a Mets house and wasn't much of a baseball fan until I was a teenager. It wasn't a very hard choice as to which of the local teams was the better choice. One seemed to win all of the time - or at least had a long winning tradition, while the other just lost. Constantly. The Yankees had legendary names attached to their roster, while the Mets ... didn't. And the colors! Orange and blue. Not for this boy.

Maybe its because I had a couple of guitars stolen from the Shea Stadium parking lot, including my treasured '69 Telecaster. Maybe its because so many Met fans are assholes (excluding my father, father-in-law, brother-in-law and you, of course). Maybe it's just because the Mets suck.

I think it's much tougher for anyone to explain why they are a Mets fan. Outside of some displaced family loyalty, why anyone would choose to follow this miserable excuse for a baseball team is beyond me.

I didn't get to watch the last out of their incredible slide. Too bad. I really wanted to see what kind of hand shake Jose Reyes had ready for that. Then again, he probably didn't realize that there were three outs.

Magic In The Air

2007-09-27T17:06:00.000-04:00

I am standing on the boardwalk in Asbury Park, the once and future diamond of the New Jersey coastline and I can literally feel the sands shifting beneath my feet. I don't visit here often, but in the past decade I have traveled here with some regularity. Unfortunately, I never visited during the town's glory days - instead I have only seen the ghosts of it's well-sung past. It has always puzzled me that how a stretch of beautiful ocean front property could fall into such disrepair, especially when it seems as if it would be able generate considerable revenue if kept up.

This year however, change is in the air. The crumbling buildings that gave the area a sense of gloom have been knocked to the ground. New construction is taking place, as are renovations of some classic buildings. The Stone Pony and The Wonder Bar still stand, however the Wonder Bar will close this week, not to return. As far as the Pony, I am not sure of its fate.

Last year, when I was here to see Bruce Springsteen rehearse the Seeger Sessions Band, I ducked into the old Hojo's for a beer while my sister waited on the general admission line. I don't even know if the place had a name, but it was a pretty sad affair. Now it is a very upscale restaurant, with outdoor seating on the boardwalk. I'm pretty sure the beer cost me a bit more this year, but the upgrade was worth it. There are other new additions to the boardwalk - a few galleries and t-shirt shops. Madam Marie is still standing if you want to get a peak into the future, but for all intents and purposes, things are looking up for Asbury Park.

All things considered it still must take a leap of faith to be among the first to open while the city slowly rebuilds around you. I wish them well. I hope that someday soon I will get a chance to walk down the boardwalk, grab a beer and hear the sounds of rock and roll bands blasting out of the clubs along the strip and perhaps see, feel and hear a few ghosts of the past.

There was no leap of faith in what brought me to Asbury Park on Tuesday night. Once again, for the third tour in a row, I was lucky to get tickets to see Bruce Springsteen warm up his band for the upcoming tour.

What can I say? The band and the Boss sounded great. The new songs are fantastic. There were no major surprises in regards to older songs - he did do "Thundercrack" in the encore and the night before performed "Something In The Night." I thought the pacing was a little off, but that's what these shows are all about.

It has been 34 years since my first Bruce Springsteen concert. That is a lot of water under the bridge. At 58, the days of jumping off the piano and the classic knee slide across the stage are behind him. No matter. There have been a lot of changes along the way and in the past few years I have seem some incredible shows.

Of course I am a die hard, biased fan. Was a time when if you told me that you didn't care for Springsteen I would take it as a personal challenge to show you the error of your ways. Sometimes I made a conversion, sometimes not. Now I just smile and let it pass. Who needs another fool in front of me on line. Like Bruce, there are some things that I am just getting too old to deal with.

Once A King ....

2007-09-25T08:25:00.000-04:00

It was a pleasure hanging out with my old friend Mark Gamsjager and his band The Lustre Kings at Matty T's this past Saturday night. It had been way too long since I had seen Mark and it was great to catch up, talk about the kids, and play some rock and roll music.

No matter what you think of Matty T's you have to admit that there is no place else like it - at least not for a few hundred miles. Maybe the vibe comes from the location which can best described as somewhere between desolate and creepy. Certainly the honky tonk hardwood floor and the split rail fence that surrounds it adds a bit of flavor, as does the washtubs behind the bar that hold that evening's beer specials. But it's the mix of people who show up that really make Matty's special. Well maybe not special, but definitely different. Ok, weird - but weird in a good way.

What a mix of people it is! There are the dancers, of course. This is their joint, their dance floor and rightfully so. Even within that group there are different flavors - you have your urban cowboys and cowgirls, doing it right from the heels of their boots to the tops of their Stetson's. Add to that a few biker types, a few soccer moms, a couple of guys who are barely out of their PJs and you have quite an eclectic bunch.

Then you have the folks who come down to see the bands, which in this case were people like my friends and you know what kind of people they are.

But the most confusing group are these younger guys and gals who look like this is the last place on earth they would want to be - yet there they are. Maybe they come for the $2 beers or perhaps they thought that Spike - the mechanical bull - was scheduled for that night. Who knows.

The Blaggards were first up and we did our thing, mostly without incident. I had forgotten to print out set lists and all we had was a printed email of the set. Since we are a bunch of vain bastards and don't wear our glasses on stage, none of us could read it, making for some comical moments. I also forgot to pull the capo off and started a song in the wrong key while the band scrambled - and quite adeptly made the change. The dancers came on and off the dance floor as they always do, depending on the BPM of the song. It's such a strange situation - you don't really want to cater to them, but you feel good when the dance floor is filled - that is until you realize that they are not really listening to the music, but counting the beats, most of them concentrating so hard on the steps and turns that they have this vacant look on their face making you feel as if you are playing to a bunch of carousel ponies spinning around, going up and down.

The Lustre Kings took the stage and rocked. Mark, as always, is a great entertainer and band leader - and a terrific guitar player no matter how he tries to downplay his talents. As always he surrounds himself with terrific musicians and pulls off the very rare feat of sounding both authentically rootsy and modern at the same time. The set included tunes from the band's latest CD including the great title track, "Way Out There."

The night ended with Mark bringing up guests including a surprise call to the bouncer who sang a couple of Elvis tunes - and did a great job. It was like old times - when Mark was living on Long Island, this was Saturday night - rockin' out at the PI or Costello's, passing around the Gretsch, taking turns at the mic, closing the joint down and heading to the nearest diner for cheeseburgers and french fries with gravy.

Another Summer Gone

2007-09-21T11:51:00.000-04:00

Last weekend The Blaggards filled in for our good friends The Lone Sharks at Nick's in Montauk. It was big time fun. The weather was great, if a bit cold, but that didn't stop folks from coming by having a few cocktails and listening to the band. The staff at Nick's could not be any cooler and I think we will be a part of their line up come next summer.

Our summer was mostly spent on the East End this year. We had some great gigs on Shelter Island - the Fireman's annual event, always a treat, and a swinging night at the Dory a few weekend's ago after Joe Lauro's annual Beach Blast. A big highlight for us was being asked to take part in the legendary Barge Party - a floating event for the aquatically inclined. The weather was stunning, the beer plentiful and Mick's boat sea-worthy.

There were a few shows at the Talkhouse this summer and that's always a good time if only to play on that stage aside from the god-awful single-coil buzz. We had a spot after Sonny Landreth which turned out to be a great night due mainly to the incredible support of a few very nice looking fans. We are lucky to have a small, but good-looking fan base.

This weekend we are hooking up with The Lustre Kings for a swingin' Saturday night at Matty T's in Deer Park. It's been a while since I've seen Mark and the boys and I'm really looking forward to hanging out. It's going to be a lot of fun, so come on down if you're in the area.

Elvis, Still Dead

2007-08-22T09:07:00.000-04:00

This year August 16th rolled around and if not for a quick late night trip to the store I would have not have heard an Elvis song that day or seen a news report about the 30th anniversary of his passing. The 50s channel on the XM was doing a nice job of playing tribute - the DJ was touching on the King's spiritual side. An alternate take of "Peace In The Valley" was playing when I pulled into the parking lot of the local Stop N Shop.

As I stepped inside the store I couldn't help but notice a large display of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I was never a fan and now they are completely off of my diet radar, but this was no ordinary candy.

It was a special edition Elvis Peanut Butter and Banana version, complete with his portrait on the wrapper.

A special edition candy bar to commemorate his passing.

Of all the Elvis myths/legends I am especially fond of the peanut butter and banana sandwich stories mainly because I actually like them but I thought that this was a little odd. I definitely began to question the Elvis estate and its new owner's intent.

I started to remember the background of the peanut butter and banana sandwich. There is the simple story as told by longtime Graceland cook/housekeeper Pauline Nicholson who claims to have prepared them for Elvis. But Elvis Presley's personal nurse, Marian Cocke, says she never saw him with one in hand and she is backed up by Lisa Marie. From there the tales get bigger - from Elvis wolfing down a dozen or so sandwiches at a time to him dispatching his private jet, the Lisa Marie, off to Denver to pickup a few from a favorite restaurant.

There are variations of the sandwich itself, sometimes with bacon, sometimes with honey. The Denver variant was a full loaf of french bread, deep fried. I prefer the basic two ingredients, on buttered bread pan grilled in a cast iron skillet.

Now I admit that I have had fun with this little slice of the Elvis pie. I have made variations of the sandwich to serve at parties, including peanut butter and banana in puff paistry and bacon wrapped peanut butter and pineapple incorporating some of the Hawaiian aspect as well.

But a candy bar to mark thirty years gone?

Why the hell not? The packaging was actually quite cool - the Reese's trademark orange worked well with the 70's art and image (with 50s and 60s variants) and they have a good contest to support the launch - click here to enter.

What exactly are we suppose to do on this day? If you're not one of the pilgrims holding candles by the gates what is the plan? Take the day off? Not likely. Spend the day listening to Elvis? That could be any day. An All-Elvis movie marathon? Please.

Heat up the skillet and let's get cooking.

There were a few other interesting Elvis events to mark the occaison, the most notable was a newly recorded duet between Lisa Marie and her dad revisiting "In The Ghetto." Early on Lisa made a point of saying this was the kind of thing she just not do, to which we responded "Are you out of your mind?" Your his daughter! This is your legacy. Sheesh. It's about time.

Me And The Boy

2006-11-09T09:35:00.000-05:00

Heading towards what will be the first Christmas that Liam will have some idea of what's going on I find myself wondering just how much the little guy understands the world around him. Certainly he's got his parents number - we get conned on a daily basis. If he wasn't so darn cute I would have a real problem with him!

My 80's Past

2006-11-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

First it was YouTube. Pat Bishow starting posting vintage Mosquito videos much to the delight of tens of people. My associates at the office, especially the *younger* ones, certainly got a kick out of them. It was fun to see them and I have to get off my ass and post some stuff that I have. Now there is a fierce bidding war on eBay for the Mosquitos EP, a sealed copy no less. Actually there are two bids, with the current bid at $36. Considering I just bought the new Who CD for $9.99 I am impressed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230047946329&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1

Rebel, Rebel

2006-07-06T09:35:00.000-04:00

Most of us who play guitar become someone different when we strap on our instrument. Ralph Santiago transformed into Ralph Rebel when he came to play. I knew Ralph from the rockabilly scene and to be honest I thought he came off as a bit of a snob but the man could play, was a talented producer and his love and respect for the genre was the real deal. Its upsetting that the unfortunate events that led up to him taking the cure will perhaps define the man and it is a sad example of how selfish and uncaring the media can be. That being said I will point you here where you can check out Ralph's musical legacy. Rock on brother.

The Little Willies

2006-03-09T20:01:00.000-05:00

I heard the Little Willies on the radio and thought they sounded pretty good. Then I found out that Norah Jones was in the band. Now I hate them.

Life is funny that way.

The Elvis Show Must Go On!

2006-01-10T10:45:00.000-05:00

Saturday, January 7th, 2006. By the time the curtain dropped on Elvis Show IX in 1998, we had done just about everything. We had singing dentists and insurance agents. We had a kid bring down the house. We had an actual replica of Elvis and Priscilla's wedding cake on stage. I had been brought on stage on a surfboard. There was an Elvis poet who recited poems specially written for the show. We had performed such chartbusters as "Do The Clam" and "Yoga Is As Yoga Does." The last three years were sold-out performances in a 600 seat theater. And then it all ended.

The reasons were many. First there was greed. The owner of the IMAC theater in Huntington had charged us $2500 to rent the room for the past three years. I was lucky enough to find a sponsor every year to cover this cost, so we could donate all of the proceeds to charity. I made my annual call and was told that the fee was going to be double - $5000 - due in part to "trouble he had with a Zen Tricksters show." What that had to do with my show I will never know. But that was just too much money to ask anybody to pony up and I had to find a room that would accomodate what had become a pretty huge undertaking with over 20 musicians and 40 plus singers taking part.

Then a death in the family took a lot of the wind out of our sails. That, combined with some fragile relationships between core band members led to my decision to call it off for that year. Which then turned into an eight year layoff. Thing is it was a lot like hitting your head against the wall - you don't realize how good it feels to stop! Not that it wasn't always a great event - with great people, but it was a lot of work. And when it slipped away, it was easier to let it go then to reel it back in.

Well, it's back.

After getting the call from Scotto I wasn't quite sure that I could put anything together in a week. My current band, The Blaggards, were on a hiatus so that wasn't going to work. Then Scott told me that Mike Bifulco said he was "ready to anything I needed." If that was the case, then what had to be done was obvious - I had to put together the old band - and with a few phone calls, The Purple Gang was set to ride again.

I knew that there would be no problem getting singers involved. Because this happened with such short notice - I only had a week before the gig - I couldn't have an open call like past Elvis shows. So I sent out a few emails to the guys who had been there from the beginning - Tom Ciorciari, Tom Pfeifer, Roy Wilson, Jon Geffner, Mike Drance and Tom Gould. Drance and Geffner called with regrets, but I was glad to get a call from Gary Jude Anderson and Pete Ludivicio, both long time Elvis Show performers. To round it out and continue the Elvis Show tradition, we had a couple of newbies - Bill Walsh and Keith Hille.

We decided that since this was a comeback of sorts, we would pay tribute to the '68 Comeback Special and open the show with an acoustic session. We had two rehersals, one with the band and the singers and one for the acoustic set. Then it was showtime!

The bar, a joint called Drew's in Centerport was small. Really, really small. I was told that it was small, but I had no idea. We set up best we could and hit the stage. The opening set was a blast. We went around trading songs with Memphis Mike slapping away on a Rendezvous ribs box. Then after a short break the band took the stage. It didn't feel like 8 years since I had last played with these guys - and, if I say so myself, it didn't sound like either. We ran through the 30-plus song set without stopping, bringing up each singer with great support from the crowd, which was flowing out through the door. It was fun to watch the expression on some of the regulars who came in wondering what the hell was going on! There were girls dancing on the bar, a rockin' band and great hair everywhere you looked. This was no ordinary Saturday night in Centerport!

Everybody rocked. Gary Jude, recovering from a stroke and walking with a cane, still had boundless energy. New comers Bill Walsh and Keith Hille fit right in and are welcome back anytime. All the regulars - Tom C, Tom P, Tom G, Roy Wilson, Pete - delivered as they always do. Even Scotto got in the act as a guitar was passed around during Little Sister for solos.

I have to really hand it off to the band - Mike Bifulco, who is as good as it gets on guitar; Sean O'Neil, just the go-to guy for something like this; and, of course, Memphis Mike who's love for the music makes everything real. The crowd was great, too. I don't know what it is about the Elvis Show audience, but they just get it. They support everybody who steps on that stage, giving big cheers to all. However I think that the biggest cheer of the night came when I announced that after the eight year layoff, we would be doing the show again on a yearly basis. I'm not saying that it is going to be on the level of the last few Elvis shows, but we'll see what happens.

You can see a clip from this year's show here.

It's Official - I Am The World's Worst Blogger

2006-01-05T11:46:00.000-05:00

Try as I may, I never seem to have the time to write posts for my blog. Not that the world is waiting for each of my little stories - but if for no other reason just to add my views and opinions on to the scrap heap that we call the world wide web. But it is a new year - happy new year, btw - and hopefully things will improve. I do want to continue with the Mosquito story and keep tabs on my new band, The Blaggards who - if I do say so myself - rock quite rightly.

For me and mine 2006 has begun on a great note. My son Liam is at the zenith of little guy glory and at 18 months, a bonafide genius (in his parent's opinion). As I mentioned earlier, my band is sounding great and the addition of Mick Hargreaves on bass has really taken things up a level. A great player, singer and a very cool guy as well.

Right after the new year I received a call from none other than Scott Savit (Hey Steve! It's Scotty Watty Do Dah Day!). I see/hear from Scotto about once a year so it's always a treat. He was looking to put on an Elvis birthday tribute at some local pub - still doing his thing - and was reaching out to me out of respect. It has been some years since I did the last Elvis Show and I had passed on his request last year, handing over to Roy Wilson and the Buzzards. I was about to do the same this year when he mentioned that Mike Bifulco had told him to tell me that "he was ready, willing and able to do anything that I needed."

For those of you who do not know Mike the thing you need to know is that he is supremely talented individual. And when Mike is up for something you are guaranteed to have a good time. We had played together for years, first in the Purple Gang and then the Bluebeats, but in the past few years had lost touch. It didn't matter - we got together to go over some of the songs and it was great.

And with that, the Elvis Show was back. A phone call to Memphis Mike, who then called Sean O'Neil and like that the Purple Gang was back for one big night. This was going to be an old-school Elvis Show - no production numbers, no big band - just the Gang, back in a bar, inviting friends up to celebrate the King. One rehearsal - 45 songs! - and it's showtime!

It wasn't possible to put out an open call, but I reached out to some of the originals. Tom Pfeifer, Tom Coriciari and Roy Wilson, who had performed at all 10 previous Elvis Shows came right on board. Joe Rock and Tom Gould who have been highlights of the more recent shows answered the call. Sadly, originals Jon Geffner and Mike Drance couldn't make it due to prior commitments. Then I get a call from the man himself - Gary Jude Anderson! Gary, who had a stroke earlier this year, was also an original performer. And to keep the tradition alive a few new faces will make the scene.

We decided we would kick off the night '68 special style - sitting around doing an acoustic thing before th band kicks in. Don't worry - I will NOT be dressed in a leather suit!

It all happens at a little joint called Drew's in Centerport on Saturday, January 7th. No cover and no guarantees. If you are around, come down and kick off the year Elvis style!

Think I'm Going Back

2005-11-15T20:34:00.000-05:00

Its been a very interesting year for me concert-wise, kind of a turn back the clock type of thing as I celebrate my fiftieth year. Most of the artists I've seen this year I saw perform in the mid seventies. Dylan, Springsteen, McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Windwood and Cream - well, I had never seen Cream. All great shows with some degree of a nostalgic vibe, some more than others.

Springsteen is on an solo tour and I caught one of his rehearsal performances. While I did get swept back when he pulled out some of the early ones, Bruce is a man in the moment. Dylan, even more so. There is absolutely nothing nostalgic about a Bob Dylan show except the audience, most of whom seem to look like Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. But seeing Dylan brings me back to 1972 and The Concert For Bangladesh. Iain Morrison and I went to the afternoon show. It was a big deal, seeing all those guys on stage but the big buzz was about Dylan in a much talked about secret appearance. (Side note: Recently Tom Ryan played a side of one of Leon Russell's 70's releases after one of our band rehearals. It was killer from every angle.)

I am way to biased to talk about Brian Wilson - but Smile at Jones Beach was sublime - and although the other part of his show does run a bit like an oldies act - what oldies act do you know that can pull "God Only Knows" or "Warmth Of The Sun" out of their pocket? Seeing Smile after having to give up my Carnegie Hall tickets was the first musical gift I received this year. I hope Brian Wilson lives to be one hundred years old. Brian brings me back into the sixties, especially 1968, the year my Aunt Millie gave me a repackaged 3-LP set that Capitol put out. The set included "Pet Sounds" which sounded like the best thing in the world to me then - and as it does now.

I don't think Paul McCartney will ever be labeled an oldies act. Especially if he continues to perform the way he has on these past two tours. Incredible band who almost fade into the background as your mind just fills out the picture with John, George and Ringo. There's always the few new tunes to deal with - but "Fine Line" from the latest record is actually pretty good. With the mortality rate in the Beatles and the fact that Paul can still bring it, I always consider the chance to catch one of his shows a gift.

Seeing Cream was - I thought - the icing on the cake. Loved this band. Still listen to them - although sometimes I do shout "ENOUGH ALREADY" and lunge for the next track button. The show was great and I thought it was an awesome way to cap off my musical journey into my past.

But waiting in the wings, coming to bat and hitting it out of the park is my main guy - Bruce. The 30th Anniversary release of
"Born To Run" came out today. The re-mastered album sounds terrific and the "making of" documentary is pretty informative and funny. But the main attraction is the concert disc from his performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975.

I can't go into my Bruce Springsteen experience during the 70's in too much detail as it pretty much touches on almost my entire life during those years. In the documentary Springsteen says that it was easy to spend months working on the record since he was "25 years old and had nothing to do and nowhere to go" - an almost spot-on description of me as well, but I think he worked a bit harder at changing things then I did. What I can say about seeing Bruce Springsteen in the 1970s is "I hope you saw Bruce Springsteen in the 1970s."

Seeing this concert was like teleporting back in time. Its not be the greatest Springsteen show ever filmed and you will find yourself hoping to hear a certain version or a changed lyric that stuck in your head for years. But this is the band, this is their time and yes, they have gotten better over the years, but they were never more exciting then they were then. Even with the funny hats and shiny suits.

Getting the re-mastered "Born To Run" would have been great all by itself. This concert disc - along with three incredible performances from 1973 on the documentary disc - are yet another gift. I don't think anything can top this unless its revealed that Moon and Entwistle aren't really dead, just getting out of a very long rehab.

Look! Up In The Sky!

2005-11-02T14:27:00.000-05:00

Recently I have been spending my nights watching episodes of "The Adventures Of Superman" on the newly released first season DVD set. This has always been one of my all-time favorite shows and although it still probably being broadcast on one of the zillion cable channels, I haven't seen it in years. Its a treat to watch them in order, starting with the rarely seen origin episode which although dated still keeps the story true to its comic book beginnings. While the effects are pretty much laughable in this CGI world, there is still an undeniable sense of quality to these shows in the writing and acting, especially on the part of George Reeves. Lizz, who basically hates science fiction, has been watching and enjoying these, probably because of their retro charm. She can almost recite the opening monologue!

I can remember coming home from school and waiting to hear that exciting opening ... "Faster than a speeding bullet!" I hope that somehow Liam can watch and enjoy these before he would see them as hopelessly out-of-date.

A whole bunch of fun and a deal at under $30 for 26 episodes!

Seeing God From 20th Row, Center

2005-10-26T11:54:00.000-04:00

Sometimes things just make sense. Believe it or not, Cream playing Madison Square Garden 37 years or so after calling it quits makes sense. Forget about any reviews you may have read stating that they have mellowed or other nonsense like that. This was - and is - the premier rock trio. Bass, drums, guitar. Bingo. And it most definitely is the best showcase for the man that I truly feel is rock's best guitarist ever.

The drummer in my band, Tom Ryan, hates Cream. He argues that the "blues rock" genre that they created spawned some incredibly lame bands and by doing so tainted the sanctuary of the blues. Well the truth of the matter is that almost all modern blues bands suck. It is incredibly difficult to play the blues, not in the fact that the form is difficult to play but rather that to actually "play" the blues requires something that goes beyond the ability to play an instrument. It requires a complete understanding of the human condition required to actually have the blues. Don't confuse this with "having the right to sing the blues" as the song goes. We all experience tragedy in our lifetimes, some much more than others. While this may give you the right to "sing the blues" (ie, whine), it doesn't give you the ability to play the blues. That ability only belongs to the rare individual who can translate the feeling of that pain - whether it be drowning in it, rejoicing in it or rejecting it - into his playing. It doesn't matter if the pain is even his. The blues is story telling on a grand scale.

Some people can do a great job of faking this, and sometimes with the best intentions. They study the masters and play authentically on their prized vintage instruments. They dress the part and even try to live the way they think a bluesman should live. They talk blues talk. They are the musical equivalent to reduced fat foods. It just ain't the real thing, no matter how much you convince yourself that you can't taste the difference.

Eric Clapton is the real thing. He may not bring it every night, but when he does there is just nobody better.

A few songs into the show on Tuesday the band seemed to be sputtering a bit through "Spoonful." Then Eric's solo came around and as he dug into it, you could feel the audience being carried along. At the end of that solo, I felt that I had just seen perhaps the most incredible thing I have ever witnessed in over 35 years of attending concerts.

Then they played "Stormy Monday."

Now, I don't remember "Stormy Monday" being a Cream song. Perhaps they played somewhere back when. But it certainly is a blues song and I know that I have never heard Clapton sing or play anything as good as the version they played that night.

There were plenty of other highlights and not all belonged to EC. Jack Bruce sounded amazing. His playing is still fluid and lyrical and his voice was strong. I have always felt that the Bruce and Clapton made one of the great harmony duos. I wish they had played "Dance The Night Away" which showcases this, but it didn't make the cut.

Somehow "Pressed Rat And Warthog" did.

Ginger Baker sounded great. His solo in "Toad" was a blast! I can't remember the last time I sat through a drum solo - and I don't really look forward to the next one - but he certainly can play, mostly working the toms on the kit, always swinging, and bringing on occasional blasts of fury to much huzzah from the crowd.

Ahh, the crowd. Let me tell you, it was three nights of serious regression therapy at MSG! The mostly male, mostly 50ish audience treated the band with well deserved respect. Most of the guys in attendance had that "I can't believe I'm out on a Tuesday night and drinking a beer!" look in their eyes. There was much marijuana in the air, as decade-old joints that were being saved for special reasons were broken out in record numbers. Then there were the many old guys sporting long gray pony tails. Who are these guys? Where do they go during the day? They can't all be working in record stores or comic book shops.

I have heard that Jack Bruce is in failing health and this all may have come about because of his troubles. Then again, there were all those "Ginger Baker is dead" rumors. Whatever the reason, I'm glad it happened, I'm glad I spent a stupid amount of money on the seat - and yes it was worth it.

Yet Another Thing I Never Thought I'd See

2005-09-07T17:45:00.000-04:00

When I heard that Cream was reforming to play a few dates at the RAH back in May, I crossed my fingers and hoped that they would bring the tour stateside. My wife encouraged me to fly to London to see the show as a special 50th birthday present (sweet gal, eh?) but by the time I started to make arrangements tickets were sold out and going for stupid amounts of money on eBay.

But as luck has it, I won't have to fly anywhere to see them as they announced that they will be playing three nights at MSG in October. Hopefully I will get tickets and it will certainly round out my year, concert-wise. Although the baby has limited our nights out, I still managed to see almost all of my big faves this year - Springsteen, Dylan and Brian Wilson with cheap seats to the McCartney show in hand.

How cool will it be to see Cream? I know that the reviews from London were just alright - but like the critics say "add a star if you're a fan." This is music that certainly took me places - and never getting a chance to see them "back in the day" it will be like plugging in a missing piece of my teenage years. I remember watching Cream's farewell concert at my friend Iain's house - oddly enough it was broadcast on local TV - and thinking "why are they ending this?" I didn't realize at the time that these bands didn't exist sole for my existence and as years went by and I gained more knowledge of their situation its a wonder they lasted as long as they did. All good things must come to and end - and if Cream didn't break up we would have never had such wonders as Ginger Baker's Airforce!

I did get to see Eric Clapton many times over the years. Sometimes he was amazing, sometimes not. A few years back I saw Jack Bruce as a member of Ringo's All Starr Band and he was the highlight of the show. He performed "Sunshine Of Your Love" and "White Room" (with Todd Rundgren having a blast on guitar) and I remember thinking how great it was to hear these songs being played.

I wonder if I should get a pair of bell bottoms for the show?

Louisiana

2005-09-05T22:35:00.000-04:00

I really, really love Louisiana. Maybe because every single moment I have ever spent there has been wonderful. I have visited many times, with many friends and lovers. I have never been to Mardi Gras and only went to Jazzfest once. I prefer to visit when the city is not so crowded and it's easier to get a table at my favorite restaurants - a list that keeps growing and growing.

I do admit that a great deal of my time there is spent under various influences but New Orleans alters my state of mind way before that first bloody mary. Each state in this country may be different, but Lousiana is way different. If you've been there and you are a living, breathing, feeling person then you have felt the spirit that seems to rise from the ground in that place. I can only hope that all that spirit finds it's way back when the sun truly begins to rise again on the Gulf Coast.

My thoughts this week were about some of the people that made my time there memorable. There was the cab driver who picked us up from Frankie & Johnny's and on the way back gave us an improtu tour of the neighborhood, far more enjoyable than any of the official tours. Another bus driver - this time Lizz's cousin Christy flagged down one of those small luxury buses and asked the driver to take us from the Quarter to the JazzFest fairgrounds - and he did, singing for us all the way. I also thought about the gold toothed counter woman at Mother's who couldn't quite believe that I was going to eat a fried oyster po' boy AND a "Debris" po' boy (which is a po' boy made from the drippings off the roast beef cooked there at the restaurant - think of the most amazing pot roast and gravy hero in the universe and you might be doing this justice). Hey, it was my last day in town and they just don't play this kind of jazz back home.

If there ever was any doubt, Louisiana now owns the blues. Do what you can and learn what you can. The wake from the waves of this storm are going to be felt for a long time.

The Mosquitos: Part 1: Leading Up To It

2005-08-29T14:56:00.000-04:00

I met Iain Morrison when I was about 14 or 15, possibly even younger. He was friends with a guy who lived on my block and we hit it off big time becoming best friends for next 15 years or so. We shared a common love for music, especially all things coming out of England. Iain, who is from Scotland, had an incredible record collection with tons of imports that blew my mind. We would spend hours listening to records, going to concerts and talking about music. Thinking back on it now, its pretty wild that my parents would let me hop on a train to head into New York City to go to the Fillmore East where would catch a show and then head down to the village to go record shopping. Iain was a few years older than me, so maybe my folks felt good about that and it certainly was a different time. We were committed to live music and together we saw hundreds of shows in the 1970s.

Iain and I listened to a lot of different music back then. We were heavy into the British blues scene - Johh Mayall, The Groundhogs, Savoy Brown, Fleetwood Mac and the like. We listened to the source as well - getting into Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf and guitar heros like BB King and Freddie King. We also dug a lot of the early prog bands including Genesis, Jethro Tull and Yes, as well as lesser known bands like Man, Gentle Giant and Can. We listened to the British folk bands such as Fairport Convention and the Strawbs. We dug some of the American groups as well - Little Feat and the Allman Brothers. We also began a lifelong love affair with reggae, basically starting with the soundtrack to "The Harder They Come." So many different types of music landed on our turntables back then. It was a very exciting time.

But when you got to the core of it, the music closest to our hearts was that of the original big bang of pop music - the British invasion of the early 60s. The Who and The Kinks were our big two right through the seventies and into the eighties. We loved the Beatles and Stones, of course, but to us the Searchers, The Hollies and Gerry and The Pacemakers stood on equal ground. I know for me, and probably for Iain as well, this was the music that defined us - at least the music that was the soundtrack to the formative years of our lives.

I didn't come from a musical family, not in the sense that my parents or siblings played an instrument. My brothers were almost ten years older than me and since they grew up as teenagers in the late 1950s/early 1960s, music certainly played a part in their lives as well. They didn't have a huge record collection, but there were plenty of 45s in the house and a few LPs, mostly pre-invaision teen idol stuff - Frankie Avalon, Four Freshmen and, of course, Elvis. I took up trumpet as a kid in grade school and began to get an understanding of music, but it wasn't until that fateful Sunday evening - February 9th, 1964 - that everything became clear to me.

I was nine years old in 1964. I loved listening to the radio, everything about it seemed almost magical. This music that came out of the air, the DJs with their crazy names - Mad Daddy, Cousin Brucie - signature catch phrases, swamped in reverb and the constant changes brought along by the weekly top ten. I would lie in bed on Tuesday nights, under the covers with the radio and a flashlight, diligently copying down the weekly top ten in my black and white notebook. The music was exciting at times - story songs like "Running Bear" and "Big Bad John," a Jimmy Dean song about JFK PT boat experience, were among my favorites - but it was apparent that things were changing. The DJs were getting excited about something called "The Beatles." It was obvious that this was a big deal - but I was confused about exactly what the deal was all about. They talked about "Beatle Wigs" and shouted "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!" and my eight year old brain couldn't quite process all this information so I did what eight year olds do - I asked my mother what all this Beatle stuff was about.

She said, "You'll understand this Sunday. They are going to be on the Ed Sullivan Show."

I loved Ed Sullivan. Sunday nights were all about Walt Disney and Ed Sullivan. The whole family usually was in front of the TV set for the Sullivan show. You would see it all - music, theater, acrobats, puppets (I loved Topo Gigio!), comics, impressionists - it all came together on that show. But outside of Elvis - we had never seen anything like what we were about to see.

My story is one that you have probably heard many, many times before. All I can tell you is that is 100 percent true.

I remember sitting on the floor in front of the television when they came on, opening the show. By the time they took their first bow at the end of "All My Loving" my life had changed forever. I knew what I was going to do, amazing, since I didn't even know you could do something like this. I wanted - no, I needed a guitar. Right now. And I needed more Beatles - and thanks to the radio and good old fashioned supply and demand - I got it. The radio began pumping out a seemingly non-stop parade of British pop, all of which I absorbed like a sponge and retain a loving respect for to this very day.

I didn't get that guitar right away, but that didn't stop me from assembling a "group" that would mime to Beatle songs in the playground during recess at school. Eventually my folks gave in and bought me my first guitar, which was actually a pretty decent acoustic guitar made in Italy. We were inseparable. I didn't want to do anything except play that guitar. I was about 14 now and it was 1969 so the music scene had changed quite a bit. In retrospect the trip from "Meet The Beatles" to "Let It Be" happened in the blink of eye. I had many other influences now, including the new crop of guitar heros like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Soon I began to make noise about getting an ELECTRIC guitar and as soon as I had my hands on that, there was only one thing to do - start a band.

I had met Iain by now, and became the lead singer in our first group. We played some of the blues stuff that we listening to like Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" and lots of riff-based songs like the Kink's "You're Looking Fine." We played at a few "battle of the bands" type of events and at the local teen center. We had a few different names - Halfnelson and Gun Hill Road - which were both used later on by recording groups. It was great fun.

Years later, during the punk explosion of the seventies, a group of friends decided that we would form a punk band. Since I played guitar, I would be the guitar player. Jon Arm, who had some marching band experience, would play drums. A college friend of Jon's, Eammon Bowles, was going to be the lead singer so Iain decided to pick up the bass, completing band and thus the Fabians were born. Iain became quite a capable bassist in almost no time and Eammon turned out to be a good songwriter. We played CBGBs and Max's and became a tight little outfit, especially after Jon left and was replaced on drums by Roger Murdock. Eammon and Roger are still playing together in the critically acclaimed NYC band The Martinets, which also includes Dave Rick (ex-Bongwater) and Daniel Rey (who produced the Ramones and Joey Ramone's solo effort).

The Fabians carried on for a while and we had an early recording session which was never released. One of our show's at Max's was recorded, with Roger on drums, and it's quite a spunky performance. I can't remember what exactly brought the Fabians to an end, but this is where the Mosquito story begins.

Next: The Buzz Begins!

The Mosquitos

2005-08-26T11:37:00.000-04:00

In the past week, a part of my past came up randomly a couple of times. My uncle Francis is in the hospital and I stopped by for a visit. Francis - we call him Chechi - is a very social guy and had not only made friends with the fellow in the next bed, but seemed to know his entire family on a first-name basis. Apparently one of his room mate's sons was a musician and Uncle Chechi took it upon himself to mention that I was a ex-member of The Mosquitos. Turns out this guy was a fan from way back and told me how he used to sneak into Sparks to watch us play. He told his dad that, "The Mosquitos were one of the biggest bands from Long Island" and that "back in the 80's it was all about The Mosquitos and Zebra." Well, I don't know about that, but it certainly impressed my wife.

Then a few days later I get an email from Bill Jones asking about including The Mosquitos on a video compilation. Bill and I exchange emails now and then, and he inspired me to put together a CD of some Mosquito material which was to be part of a "retrospective" - a project that seems always to be on my to-do list.

It is pretty nice to know that people actually cared - and still care - about this little part of my life. It was obvious back then, but I never really fully understood how much that band meant to some people until I had conversations with them years later. Sometimes it wasn't so much about the music but rather a special time in their lives and in other cases it is all about the music. Either way it makes me feel good to be a part of it. Blair Buscareno, who wrote some especially touching articles on the band and is now playing in bands of his own - The Miscreants and The Coal Gems, actually claims that The Mosquitos "changed his life." I believe it's said that if you can make a positive difference in one child's life then you have accomplished a miracle, making me one step closer to sainthood. Thanks, Blair!

I'm sure you have heard the phrase "there are three sides to every story - his, hers and the truth." When you are in a band, you are in a relationship with multiple partners, so you can expand that out to as many stories as there are band members, ex-band members, wives, ex-wifes, friends and lovers. it gets a bit cloudy at times to be sure. But since there seem to be a few people who might be interested in reading one of those stories, I thought that I would dedicate some blog time to The Mosquitos, starting at the beginning. Tell your friends and keep those cards and letters coming.

God Only Knows

2005-08-15T10:18:00.000-04:00

Saturday's show at Jones Beach was fantastic - I have been lucky to catch almost all of Brian's NY area shows since he began touring again and this might have been the best one yet. I had tickets for SMiLE at Carnegie Hall, but unfortunately a death in the family changed my plans. So I was pretty happy when I found out that he would be bringing the tour back this summer and what better place than Jones Beach to see it. It was by no means a sold-out show, but there were a lot of fans there and it shoudn't reflect badly on Brian. It is a great place to see a show and I would rather sit in a half-full Jones Beach Theater than many other places. I was towards the back of the orchestra and was surrounded by what seemed to be some true fans. The sound was great considering how strong the breeze was.

The band seemed really pumped up - I don't know if it is just the joy that this music brings or if they were experiencing some sort of special night, but there was a lot of energy on stage. It almost had an end-of-the-tour vibe. Anyway - it was a great, great night. The opening set included some of my absolute favorite songs - When I Grow Up To Be A Man, Breakaway, Marcella, Add Some Music - and maybe the best ever version of God Only Knows. How great was it to hear Little St. Nick! I can't wait for the Christmas record Of course SMiLE is incredible. It has taken life as a performance piece that could be the centerpiece of Brian's show for years. Wonderful really stood out for me. For most of the performance, I just sat back with my eyes closed and let that incredible wave of sound wash over me, mixed with the ocean breezes. I can only hope that someday my son - who just turned one - will experience something like this.

The band - that incredible, amazing, powerful group of musicians who back him everynight with an endless supply of talent, respect and love - they are so very special and I am always blown away. These are some confusing times, to be sure. But on Saturday night the message was clear and simple ... love and mercy is what we need - and what was delivered. Thanks Brian.

My Turn To SMiLE!

2005-08-12T16:33:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow night, Jones Beach I finally get to see Brian Wilson perform SMilE! I had tickets for the Carnegie Hall show, but sadly my wife Lizz's uncle passed away just days before and I was unable to go. So I was pretty happy when it was announced that Brian would be bringing the show to the beach this summer.

I don't need to go into the whole SMilE thing here. I am a true believer, always was and always will be. In my ears, it was the record of the year and it will probably be a really long time before I hear anything else that tops it. And that band! If you are in anyway a Beach Boys fan, you have to see Brian in concert. He keeps getting better and better - in many ways - and the band is just incredible. Much better than that sad show that Mike Love is dragging around these days.

Anyway, more to come after the show.

Steve Winwood

2005-06-24T15:32:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week I caught Steve Winwood in concert at the Westbury Music Fair, now corporately re-named the North Fork Theater at Westbury. I hadn't planned on attending the show, but a friend offered up a ticket and away I went.

Winwood is one of rock's true journey men, from his breakout single "Gimme Some Lovin'" with the Spencer Davis Group recorded at the age of 16, through the seminal rock band Traffic and what was arguably the first "super group" Blind Faith. Then he experienced a successful solo career with the landmark album "Arc Of A Diver" and later with such radio friendly hits as "Higher Love" and "Back In The Highlife." Known mainly as keyboardist and a great one at that, Winwood is a flat out kick-ass guitarist as well as a fine vocalist. All three aspects of his talent were on display the other night.

He touched on all aspects of his long career with a set that included I'm A Man, Freedom Rider, Glad, Can't Find My Way Back Home, The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys, and Dear Mr. Fantasy as well as the aforementioned Gimme Some Lovin, Higher Love and Back In The Highlife.

Looking spry and loose behind the Hammond B3, Winwood led a band that consisted of a guitarist, sax/flutist (who also played the Hammond) a drummer and a percussionist. With no bass player on stage, Winwood handled that himself via the organ bass pedals. While very capable at this, the addition of a bassist on stage would have added to the sound.

The band itself was certainly talented. The guitarist, who played a weird headless guitar through a Fender Cybertwin sounded very processed and left me cold. Nothing he played really stood out and when Winwood picked up his strat for Dear Mr. Fantasy - the highpoint of the show for me - it was a relief to hear some "regular" sounding guitar. The two percussionists, one behind a kit and the other behind a set of congas, were very good - but I could only think of how much better the rhythm section would have been with an actual bass player. The sax player mimiced the late Chris Wood's honking sax and breathy flute sounds and even played through a wah-wah pedal.

The main problem with the band - and with Winwood himself - is that as talented as they may be, it was inherently boring. I like Traffic alot, but you have to admit that even their most classic tunes can be called exciting. Not that this is a bad thing, but after a couple of hours it tends to wear a bit thin.

Maybe 2 Clowns and the Flying Elvi?

2005-04-25T12:16:00.000-04:00

With Liam's first birthday soon approaching, Lizz and I have been knocking ideas about his party back and forth. I questioned the whole idea of making such a big deal about his first birthday. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing milestone and the first of many in his life. But as far as celebrating I really don't think that he is going to get much out of any extra bells and whistles that we can throw up on that day. An extra bottle might make him happy, but that's about it. My thinking was to wait until he can absorb more of the situation, but I can see that my thinking is a bit off. The first birthday is to be celebrated and so we shall celebrate.

This weekend we attended a first birthday party for little Annalise, Lizz's cousin Lisa's third child. Lisa and Eugene are great people, loving parents and generous hosts and their affairs, while they seem to be a bit over the top, are always centered around their family and friends. I was surprised to see that they were hosting this one at home and calling it a "pizza party." Actually it was held in the street in front of their house. And while there was pizza there was also one of those giant bouncy castles. And a tent. And a popcorn machine. And a cotton candy machine. And a face painter. And sand art. And Barney. And goats and ducks. And ponies.

Liam, always interested in new surroundings, was most happy with his bottle.

Now we are not ones to get involved with a "can you top this" sort of thing. We had decided on holding the party at this room for rent at the Northport marina. Nice little room, hopefully some good food and a nice day by the water. Try as I may not to compare, all I can think of is jeez - what are we going to do? Lizz talked about having a face painter. What? No goats? No Ponies? No giant bouncy castle? Granted we won't have as many kids in attendance - and after all, it is all about the kids. Will Liam be upset because there won't be some guy in a smelly, bad fitting suit? Highly doubtful.

A Few Words About The Yankees - Update

2005-04-22T15:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I was wrong. The Sox won the whole thing. As the t-shirts around the Stadium point out "even Idiots get lucky every once and while."

And now the new season is underway and the boys seem to be getting on track - finally. I don't know what's up with Randy Johnson - and don't get me started about Kevin Brown. Still the last few games feel good, the staff is settling down and the bats are getting lively.

Across town the Mets are having fun. Which wouldn't be a bad thing except for all the Met fans.

It's a long season, kids.

Bruce Springsteen - Solo In Asbury Park

2005-04-22T15:14:00.000-04:00

Last night I saw the first of two rehearsal shows that Bruce Springsteen is performing at Convention Hall in aspire Park. My sister Luann scored these tickets on-line after being shut out of the tour's closest stop in New Jersey at the Meadowlands Theater. She is going to see him in Virginia being the non-stop mega-fan that she is.

I had my concerns about seeing Bruce solo. I have seen him perform hundreds of times over the past few decades and every show has been a memorable experience with two exceptions - his stop at the Nassau Coliseum with the "traitor" band during the E-Streeter's hiatus and the solo set at the Beacon during the "Ghost of Tom Joad" tour.

For that solo tour, there seemed to be this self-imposed seriousness throughout the entire evening. Bruce was heavy into that open-tuning twelve-string sound and stuck to guitar all night. He also seemed to be put off by the idiots in the crowd that evening who insisted on clapping along and shouting out songs during the performances, despite repeated requests by Springsteen to give it a rest. He also stuck to guitar that evening even though his solo piano performances had been highlights at E-Street shows throughout the years. He featured the Joad album but even the other material he played was re-arranged to match the somber mood of that record, making some of his darker songs down right depressing.

Last night was a whole different affair.

First of all, Bruce has come a long way as an acoustic player. He played the twelve-string on a few songs last night, but there wasn't a slide in sight. His finger picking is great and his sense of dynamics - always a strong point - was used to great success. He also played piano on a number of tunes, bringing in a different dynamic to break up the night.

The new songs also show growth - from an already excellent songwriter. Like Dylan, his ultra-wordy lyric days may be behind him, but there is a new strength in his simplicity that instantly takes hold of the listener and strokes gives you a true sense of place and character. He took the time to discuss most of the new songs, which was a great insight into the lyrics. A lot of the songs on the "Devils and Dust" album are based around the relationship between mother and son, including "Jesus Was An Only Son" and "Black Cowboys." There was a very moving tune called "Matamoras Banks" which details the story of a border crossing gone bad. The song actually unfolds backwards with the first verse finding the singer drowned at the bottom of a river he attempted to cross, the second verse making the decision to jump in and the first detailing the trek across the desert towards a hopefully better life.

He played plenty of songs from throughout his career. A couple of tunes from "The Rising" where given slightly different arrangements for the solo performance - the title track and "Lonesome Day." While it was good to hear them, I missed the emotional impact of the full band versions mostly on these two songs. However, an energetic version of "Further On Down The Road" rocked as hard as the full band's recording. Solo versions of "For You," "Highway Patrolman," and "My Home Town" were spot on. The highlights for me were a totally reworked version of "The Promised Land" on which he played flamenco-style percussion on his trademark black Takamine and a straight ahead "Lost In The Flood" on the piano. "This Hard Land" and a great version of "Tougher Than The Rest" also stood out.

The crowd was great. I don't know if it had to do with the nature of tickets - you were only able to purchase a pair for each show - but they were respectful all night long. Maybe it had to do with Bruce's introduction where he emphatically stated "Turn your cell phones off" and told audience members to "feel free and beat the crap out of anyone making too much noise." Fortunately for all involved, I don't believe that anyone in the audience came to blows.

All in all a great night. Next week - the man himself, Bob Dylan.

Just a few words about the Yankees

2004-10-22T17:16:00.000-04:00

First of all - and this is most definitely not sour grapes - the wildcard sucks. Why would we want to reward anyone for coming in second? It's almost un-American. I guess it's here to stay, but they could have easily added another division and had winners play winners, not also-rans. But anyway ...

We were beaten, badly. It was somewhat of a miracle that we even got that far with the miserable excuse of a pitching staff we put on the field this year. Boston's staff - with the exception of Pedro - was awesome.

Now Boston fans have to decide if this was the "greatest collapse" or the "greatest comeback" in baseball history. Either way they are getting way ahead of themselves. Because St. Louis is going to kick their butts (i am calling it in 5) and when the dust settles on the 2004 baseball season, the Yankees will still have won the division, the Cards will have won the series and the Red Sox will be the holders of a meaningless ALCS championship, tainted by the inclusion of the wildcard.

And to all you idiotic Met fans who somehow manage to feel that the Yankee loss makes their pathetic existence any better - get lost and get a life.

Liam Francis Prisco

2004-09-20T13:37:00.000-04:00

It all happened on July 16, 2004.

That was the day that Liam came into our world and just like everybody had been telling me for the last nine months or so, everything in my world was about to change.

We had visited the doctor the day before and when Lizz came out of the examination room she calmly stated, "we're going to the hospital." As in, right now. Her blood pressure had been a little high, so the doctor determined it was go time. She was going to be admitted and labor would be induced. We were giddy as we drove home to get her bag and then back into town to the hospital. Lizz was ready, and I was as ready as I would ever be.

We didn't take any Lamaze classes, didn't watch any videos. We sat through a little lecture at the hospital, but it wasn't very detailed. So basically I had no real idea of what was to come. I figured I would be surrounded by people who knew what they were doing, did this every day and would tell me what I should and shouldn't do.

We got to Huntington Hospital and Lizz checked in. They have these very nice birthing suites - private rooms with all the pleasures of home - plus a bed that converts into a delivery table. I sat around for a while and somebody eventually told me to go home. My plan was working.

They induced Lizz the next morning and by the time I arrived she was already in major discomfort. Various doctors and nurses popped into the room, taking blood and generally doing what they do. Eventually the pain became too much for Lizz and the epidoral was scheduled. That brought Lizz to a happy place, but Liam was not being cooperative. After a few pushing attempts, the doctor explained to us that the baby was experience some stress, and although she said we could still deliver if she didn't like what she saw she would recommend a c-section. That being said, if we wanted we could just go to a c-section rather than wait out hours of pushing and pain. She said that she would leave the room and give us time to discuss it but before she even turned around Lizz said, "Let's do it!"

From that minute it was go time. The teams were assembled. The doctor and anethesiologist took us step by step through the procedure. Lizz was wheeled into the surgery room and I got into my one-size-fits-all hospital outfit. 45 minutes from the time Lizz gave the OK, Liam Francis came into our lives.

Its now been three months since that day and every day has been enhanced by this little guy. We have been lucky - he is a happy, healthy baby. Sleeps through the night now. Lots of smiles and we are getting into some real interaction, making it very hard to leave him in the morning. Like everyone says, it changes everything.

They Grow Up So Fast!

2004-08-07T23:26:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it?
Liam Francis has been with us for three weeks now and it has been three weeks of totally amazing joy. Needless to say, things went as good as possible for mother and child. We were blessed with a beautiful baby boy who seems to have come with a wonderful frame of mind. So far, only a bit of fuss when he's hungry - with is pretty much all the time - but a bottle and he is good to go. I know nobody is reading this but I just felt bad that I almost immediately abandoned yet another blog and I want to keep this up to date. I will detail all of the details in the next post. Now, I must get a bottle to the boy!

A Son

2004-07-14T15:19:00.000-04:00

Here we are, three days past the due date. I am anxiously, nervously waiting for the arrival of my son. My son! I was not sure that I would ever use those words in that combination, but he is coming, and coming very soon. Still unamed with Kal Ellis as the forerunner. Last night I tried out Wilem Francis, but that received a less than overwhelming response.

I was surprised as can be when Lizz accepted Clark Kent's Kryptonian name as a possiblity. And then when she came up with Ellis as a middle name, completing the Kal-El combo, I was besides myself. She had no idea about the House of El and even after I explained to her she didn't recoil in horror. So perhaps we will welcome Kal Ellis Prisco into the world in a day or two.

Here we go again

2004-07-14T10:28:00.000-04:00

Yes, yet another attempt to capture my thoughts. I feel good about this one.