Archive for August 2002
The Best Surprises Are The Ones You Don’t See Coming
It’s been an action-packed week, one of little sleep, and much commotion. The bullet points — since I’m catching a flight to Nantucket in 8 hours and have yet to pack — look something like this: MTV Video Music Awards: Worked about 70 hours this week prepping for and covering the year’s most absurd awards…
Read MoreThanks, Martin!
Almost set for the “Summer’s Gone” tour. New York CD release/tour kick off is 99% set for September 23d at the venerable Mercury Lounge. Just have to nail down D.C. Got all the final “Summer’s Gone” mixes today, and burned the whole thing onto one CD to hand off to VH1 writer Brian Ives to…
Read MoreOn The White Horse Tavern
I moved to New York City in 1996 with $400 and a fist full of dreams. In addition to my Big Rock aspirations, I though I wanted to be a writer. I networked like crazy. I remember meetings at The Daily News and The New York Times and thinking “Oh my God — this is…
Read MoreSuperman In Reverse
61 degree clear skies when I got out of bed at 5:45 am. I beat the sun out of the house, and headed uptown for the NYRRC 18-Mile Marathon Tune Up. Many things went through my head as I ran my three loops of Central Park. My primary distraction, though, was a new chorus I…
Read MoreA Fist Full Of Xanax
Raining again. Just in from downtown, where Kevin and wrapped mixing on the “Summer’s Gone” CD single. Now it just needs to be mastered, and duplicated (read below for details). Walked around the Lower East Side in the drizzle afterwards listening to Coldplay’s new CD, “A Rush of Blood to the Head.” Brilliant. Good accompaniment…
Read MoreWhen A Plan Comes Together
Friday night at home, resting up for yet another big race, this time the NYRRC 18-miler on Sunday. It’d sure be nice to have a weekend off, but I guess that comes next week in Nantucket… So, what am I up to? Well, we’re all about the Video Music Awards at the MTV these days.…
Read MoreSchizophrenic Me
Raining outside. Colplay on in the living room, Radiohead in the bedroom — schizophrenic me… Aaaah… the inevitable post show let down. What can I tell you? How do I spin it? Well, we played well. We took some risks: the band performed both “Hollywood Arms” and “California” 48 hours after I introduced them, and…
Read MoreAimee Mann Finds Herself Lost In Space
Aimee Mann’s had a hell of a run lately. The Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter’s “Magnolia” soundtrack was nominated for Grammy and Oscar awards. Her self-released Bachelor No. 2 broke a 10-year cycle of label frustrations and established her as the poster girl for independent artists. And her Acoustic Vaudeville tour with husband Michael Penn and a…
Read MoreBooking The Point
Big win of the day: After a year of persistent lobbying, I booked my Philadelphia “Summer’s Gone” tour stop at the city’s the premiere acoustic music venue: The Point on Wednesday, September 25th. Details to follow — but it’s never to late to start spreading the good word. Meanwhile, I’m tippin’ you off, ‘cuz you’re…
Read MoreSweetness Follows
Contacts dry. Dehydrated. No dinner. Drank a skunked Sam Adams that’s been in the fridge for months. Listening to REM’s “Sweetness Follows” (“It’s these little things that pull you under / Live your life filled with joy and thunder”). Fresh from rehearsal… I foisted all kinds of new wrenches on the band. Todd’s never played…
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