Archive for June 2003
Bed, Bath & Beyond
I have done the unthinkable. If it weren’t there in the other room, staring me down, I wouldn’t believe it myself. My CD collection is unalphabetized. See, I reorganized my livin groom shelves. Well, that’s getting ahead of ourselves. It started yesterday. Circumstance found me at Bed, Bed & Beyond in Chelsea. I saw a…
Read MoreTruth Time
Dar Williams has a record called ‘The Honesty Room.’ MTV’s ‘The Real World’ has its confessional. I have The Daily Journal, and it’s truth time. In the past ten years, I’ve written at least a couple of songs a week. I’ve performed roughly once a month. And I’ve released about one LP or EP a…
Read MorePuking In The Streets
On the way to work this morning, I saw a handful of guys clustered across from St. Claire’s looking up to no good. There tend to be methadone clinic types in my ‘hood (yes, despite the gentrification!). Well, this particular gaggle of fellas were leering over their shoulders towards one of their friends who was…
Read MoreTrue Life: They’re Booing Me
We had one of those big meetings at work today where we watch last year’s “Best Of News/Docs” tapes (this year narrated by corporate brother Dan Rather), and preview new shows coming out of the department. One of shows, a “True Life” episode, introduced us to a high school senior named Lauren. Lauren is an…
Read MoreSunshower
The clouds are purple above the white-capped Hudson. The rushes along the river are bright green. I’ve been running for over an hour, through driving rain and wind, Central Park, Morningside Heights, and Riverside Park. And I feel like I could keep running forever. I hope for one more downpour. I love the sound. It…
Read MoreRandom Notes: Danny Glover, Candice Bergen, More
It’s Friday night. It’s rainy. The forecast? Rain. I’m on my third Grolsch, waiting for Fresh Direct, posting random notes. I rehearsed, somewhat reluctantly (I was tired, waaah), with Cockfight last night. We arranged a few tunes, including “Intoxicated Avenger,” amongst other titles I now forget, and are sure to perform before summer’s end. Think…
Read MoreOut Of My Head
More than one of the new kids at work has said to me recently, ‘I didn’t know you were a musician!’ So apparently at least a few people are wondering what’s going on with my singer/songwriter career. Well, I’ve been listening to the new Fountains of Wayne record, ‘Welcome Interstate Managers,’ a ton. It’s genius…
Read MoreFinally, My Fifteen Minutes
31-years-old, fifteen years of performing, eight years in New York City, and finally, I get my fifteen minutes. Well, my 45 seconds, anyway. I wake up early. It’s only 5 a.m., so I go back to sleep. I fall deep, deep into a dream where I’m a front-seat passenger in a Humvee barreling down a…
Read MoreNote To Self
We had the penthouse at the Soho Grand. With the patio. The DJ was spinning. The bar was open. The wind was blowing. Mist was rising off the Empire State. It was just starting to happen. Then came the lightening, and the nickel-sized rain drops. The entire MTV News & Docs department scurried indoors into…
Read MoreBegining The World: Ethan Baruch Wagner
I fell asleep watching TV in the waiting room of the Elizabeth Seton Birthing Center on 14th Street, but woke suddenly when Christofer burst in and announced emphatically, “It’s a boy!” My nephew, Ethan Baruch Wagner, began the world at 12:38 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 10th, 2003. When Chris carried him out for Jen’s…
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