Rockwood Music Hall (New York, New York)
Trying To Tell You
Giving Up the Ghost
The Last Time
(I Won’t Let You) Get Away
Promise
Killing The Blues
Breathe In
The Boys Of Summer
Live Forever
New York
Click here to see photos from “The Invention Of Everything Else” CD Release with Chris Abad, Tony Maceli and Jamie Alegre.
The Apostle Of Uncool
A recent Rolling Stone cover story characterized Coldplay’s Chris Martin as “The Jesus of Uncool.” And while I can’t relate to the Jesus part, I can the “uncool.”
See, I have a long history of uncool. I wasn’t in the “cool” crowd in high school, wasn’t in the “cool” band in college, and — while I am surrounded by entire industries that arbitrate (and buy, process, and repair) “cool” here in New York — I’ve always been outside of it.
Even at work. Heck, especially at work. I’ve taken plenty of guff for my taste since stepping through the rotating doors there in 1995.
Example: 90s “alternative rock” sensation Toad The Wet Sprocket. I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan, but I owned a few of their records back in the day. I’ll say it: “All I Want” is a pretty fantastic single. It’s crisp, catchy, and evocative. The lyrics are fairly substantive, and you can sing along. That’s all I really ask.
In the bridge of the band’s “Butterflies,” a mysterious, distant and distorted woman’s voice says, “You know how you get so close to something that big, you can’t see anything at all?”
In addition to crafting a fine, mid-album rock song (that seems to borrow liberally from John Fowles’ 1963 novel, “The Collector”), the band is onto something here.
Ultrasound Rehearsal Studios, 251 West 30th Street, New York City. Chris, Tony, Jamie and I have run the set for tonight’s “The Invention Of Everything Else” CD release twice. Everything sounds great. Not perfect, but great: lived-in, listened-to, and loved. It’s 11:38, so we’ve still got twenty minutes to kill.
“Do we wanna’ prepare an encore?” I ask.
“Well, we could do ‘Dear Elizabeth,’” Tony says. “Or we could do my favorite song of yours…”
Fast forward to 11:43. The band has found its way into a five-year-old song of mine on which none of them have ever played. In fact, on the record, it’s just two acoustic guitars and one voice. Here, though, is the nature of collaboration. Here, then, is the sound of four friends. As the song builds naturally, and we get closer to its big finish, all of the instruments come together until I can’t hear anything at all.
In Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous,” rock journalist Lester Bangs tells a young William Miller (Crowe’s doppelgänger) that, “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.”
So I don’t care what you call it, or whether its cool or current. For me, the thing is the goosebumps. Everything else is just pyrite.
Announcing The Authentic Records’ Unsanctioned & Uncensored Triathlon After Party & Benefit
I got it into my head a few months ago that it would be a good idea to run the Hy-Vee Triathlon, and then play a rock show afterwards. And who were my Authentic Records label mates to disagree?
Little did we know that our beloved Hawkeye State would be submerged beneath one of the worst floods in its history. So now it’s official:
Announcing The Authentic Records’ Unsanctioned & Uncensored Hy-Vee Triathlon After Party & Benefit Show. Join us after the big race (Sunday, June 22) at AK’s Beaverdale in Des Moines, Iowa.
Proceeds from sales of my brand-new CD, “The Invention Of Everything Else,”, an Authentic Records silent auction, and forthcoming charity EP plus cash donations will all benefit the United Way of Central Iowa. Details:
June, 22 8pm-12am
AK O’Connors
4050 Urbandale Ave
Beaverdale, Iowa
Benjamin Wagner
Josh Davis
Tony Bohnenkamp
Fat Andy’s Will Petersen & Jim Stockberger
The Nadas’ Mike Butterworth & Jason Walsmith
And More!!!
Silent auction items include:
- Mike Butterworth on your voicemail
- Signed and framed photograph by Jason Walsmith
- Personalized Benjamin Wagner song
- Complete 2008 Authentic Records discography
- Autographed Nadas t-shirt
- And more!!!
Bidding starts at $20. If you can’t make the show but would like to bid one one of the items, please email me by 8pm CT Sunday, or you can simply make a monetary donation at Authentic Records Online.
What’s more, Sonic Factory Studios’ producer (and Nadas’ bassist) Jon Locker will be on hand to record an all-star version of The Nadas’ “The River” for immediate release as an online-only charity EP. We’ll have more information on that in the coming days.
Meanwhile, we hope to see you Sunday night for this most righteous, rockin’ and worthy event!
Swimming Against The Tide
My biceps and IT bands were burning just few hundred yards into the Hudson River. ‘Maybe it’s a good thing the Hy-Vee Tri swim was cancelled after all,’ I thought.
Of course, I wouldn’t wish the horrible devastation recently wrought on The Hawkeye State on my worst enemy, let alone my mush beloved home state. My immediate friends and family in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Waterloo are all well enough under the circumstances. But the news, photos and video of places like the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids or Simon Estes Riverfront Amphitheater in Des Moines underwater have been shocking, and saddening.
Obviously, then, I bit my tongue when the news broke that the Hy-Vee Tri swim was cancelled. For the most part.
“Are you bummed it’s going to be a dry tri?” a friend emailed me from Indianola.
“Dry tri my ass,” I responded. “A run and ride are my average Sunday. The swim is the thing!”
This coming from a guy that hadn’t swam a mile since last year’s New York City Triathlon. Until yesterday.
The Park-To-Park Swim is one of the Manhattan Island Foundations’ dozen or so New York City-centric open water events.
“Swim in the Hudson River?,” you ask. “Are you crazy!?!”
Every indication is that the river is as clean or cleaner than any body of water in the country. I’ve done a bunch of swims here with no visible growths, lesions or weeping sores. Most have been along the West Side, though my favorite is The Brooklyn Bridge Swim every September. Imagine swimming from Wall Street to Dumbo under the historic bridge. It’s awesome.
So too was the prospect of swimming in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge, way up there at 165th Street. Which, combined with the desire for some last-minute training, is what motivated my registration for the event. Thing is, I was already registered for a New York Road Runner’s Club Father’s Day Five Miler. So I decided to do both, with a fifteen mile bike ride in between.
Manhattan Island Foundation events feel much more intimate a grass roots than most other events in which I compete. Yesterday’s was no different. There were just 250 swimmers, plus a few volunteers. An archway of blue and yellow.helium balloons marked the start. The race director gave instruction on a bullhorn. And we were off.
I started out the outside of the pack, despite the fact that it put me a few dozen feet further from the turnaround buoy downstream. I took a few feet to my forehead, and brushed past a few torsos, but in general, relished the great, glistening George Washington Bridge and palisades beyond the edge of my goggles every time I took a breath.
Five minutes in, though, I couldn’t figure out why it hadn’t receded into the background yet. Ten minutes in, I switched to breast stroke to secure my wedding ring (note to self: don’t swim in the Hudson River with your wedding ring), looked downstream and wondered, ‘Where the hell are those buoys?’ Twenty minutes in, I was still telling myself to relax, settle into the swim, and worry about the buoys when they made themselves apparent. Twenty five minutes in, boat horns began to sound over the sound of my arms and legs. Kayaks began corralling us back towards shore. I didn’t know what was going on, but didn’t want to be the last one to shore, so I turned on the afterburners and dug in.
Back on dry ground, I high-fived my nephew, Ethan, and slipped my medal around his neck. While I heard no official announcement, it became clear from the prattle around me that the incoming tide (the Hudson meets the Atlantic just a few thousand yards downstream) had proven stronger than anticipated, thus the race was called. No swimmers — not even the elites — had made it as far as the turnaround buoy. Indeed, many of the weaker swimmers had to be hauled aboard boats from as far north as the GWB itself (so I wasn’t even close to the last person ashore).
Rivers are powerful, awe-inspiring things.
This blog post was first published as part of The Des Moines Register’s Hy-Vee Triathlon training series.
Burger, Shot, Beer (Repeat)
Rare is the rehearsal when the band doesn’t spend as much time hanging out, drinking beers and talking for as long (or usually longer) than we do playing music. Which, at this point in my musical career, is alright by me.
Thursday night, however, was one for the record books.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Chris Abad, bassist Tony Maceli, drummer Jamie Alegre and I were, of course, rehearsing for the big “The Invention Of Everything Else” CD release on Wednesday, June 18th at Rockwood Music Hall.
Rehearsal went well enough. I was running late, feeling a little frazzled, and already a few beers deep (no thanks to my pals, The Nadas). The guys were spot on, though.
Afterwards, we loaded into Tony’s RAV4 and headed up Tenth Avenue to the neighborhood’s newest addition, Burger, Shot, Beer. The guys, as it ends up, have spent a fair dose of time at Burger, Shot, Beer already. Moreover, their on a first-name basis with some of the staff.
The premise is simple: $1 mini-burgers, $2 shots, $3 pints.
We ordered many rounds of all.
And frankly, I haven’t seen the guys this enthused in months. Maybe it was the Lakers/Celtics game. Maybe it was the hip-hop DJ. Maybe it was the scantily-clad wait staff. Whatever it was, well, it was written on our faces.
Ethan’s Fifth Birthday Party
June 14th, 2008
Tim Russert (1950-2008)
The New York Times just confirmed some sad news: Tim Russert has died of a heart attack.
You’ll recall that Chris and I visited Tim in his NBC offices in November, 2006 to interview him for our documentary, “Mister Rogers & Me.”
We scored the interview courtesy of my uncle, with whom Tim had worked for years, after I read Tim’s wife, Maureen Orth, remembrance of Mister Rogers in The Nantucket Inquirer-Mirror some months earlier.
It was a cold, drizzly Monday morning as we pulled into NBC’s Washington, DC, bureau. Despite a fair dose of preparation, I felt exceedingly nervous. Here I was — some kid from Iowa — interviewing on of journalism’s foremost interviewers. Worse, it was only Chris and my third shoot, and one that had to take place under challenging circumstances; we had just fifteen minutes to get what we needed.
We were ushered through the lobby by his assistant, Lisa, past the “Meet The Press” set, to a large, off-white, windowless conference room dominated by a huge, oak table. Chris and I quickly conferred on our set up, and tossed up our two lights — one of which was missing its bulb. Moments before one of the biggest interviews of my life, I dashed through the rain to the car for a replacement.
I was pacing the conference room when Tim finally walked in.
Please visit “Making ‘Mister Rogers & Me’ to read the rest of this blog post.
Feels Like Home
“Are you chewing gum?” Jason asked.
“I might be,” Mike responded.
And so it was that The Nadas began another New York City performance.
Were Des Moines’ favorite sons on their home turf, the room would be spilling forth with fans.
Last night, though, the founding duo, Mike Butterworth and Jason Walsmith, was performing an intimate acoustic set at New York City’s venerable Living Room on the final night of a quick swing through the East Coast that included Philadelphia’s World Cafe and Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center.
The set began with a plaintive version of “The Deal,” a great song that — on this night, 1500 miles from home in front of an audience of sixteen (including the sound guy, waitress, next performer and her two friends) — was difficult to divorce from the subtext of its lyric (”I just wanna’ do one thing right / To know how that feels”).
“Blue Lights” also sounded lonesome, sadder even, without the whiskey-fueled band.
“This is the total opposite of last night,” Jason explained. “Last night we played for 500 people who weren’t paying any attention at all.”
“Tonight, though, there must be, what, 150 of you?” Mike said smiling. “And your listening like you’re in church.”
“Dancing Lucinda,” a young blond in the front row chimed in as if on cue.
“Ok,” Mike said. “Can we do…? Heck, ok we’ll do that now.”
As Mike and Jason played a beautiful, melancholy version of the song, I stole a glance of the young requester. Her eyes were wide and bright like only an Iowan’s can be. Her memories of the band, her friends and everything she associates with the song — summertime, first love, skinny dipping — flashed a cross her face. And when they finished, she clapped louder than anyone, smiling ear-to-ear.
“So what did you want to do?” Jason asked Mike.
“Eh… Whatever.”
“Anything else you wanna hear? ‘Cuz we’ve already abandoned our set list.”
“Walk Away!” someone shouted.
“Oh boy. Been a while since we did that one.”
But they did, grinning through the missed chords. And it was great.
Likewise “Templeton Rye” and “Lullabye,” requests both.
“Thanks,” Jason said. “We have time for a couple more requests –”
“And judging by your requests, you haven’t bought a new Nadas record in years.”
They played “Alaska,” then closed with “Goodnight Girl.”
And then the shots showed up. Which is the moment, I imagine, that this room full of transplanted Iowans really started feeling homesick.
Shades Of Life Ringing Through My Open Ears
The band was recorded in Soho, overdubbed in Hell’s Kitchen, then mixed in Des Moines via Hollywood.
Let me explain.
That photo of me pointing to my laptop? That’s Jon Locker and me recording Patrick Riley and Cecile Forsberg’s string parts for “The Invention Of Everything Else” — despite 1,689 miles in between the four of us.
Thanks, Internets!
See, the only way to to make a record while holding down a day job, directing a documentary, training for a triathlon: a whole bunch of ethernet.
I’ve already written all about how Jon and I mixed the album: he take a pass, upload an MP3, I’d listen and return my notes (hundreds and hundreds of words worth, mind you).
But this is something else completely.
See, Jon’s Sonic Factory Studios is equipped with a webcam that livestreams all studio activity. We’re talking about one of those little spherical things tucked in the corner of the studio. Two, actually (picture-in-picture, natch): one in the control room, and one in the studio. Partnered with AOL Instant Messenger, though, it makes for some powerful stuff.
Picture it:
The MTV Movie Awards have wrapped, but we’re still bagging behind-the-scenes video, party reports, etc. Universal Studios is still smoldering. Jon pops up on IM.
“Yo, I’m tracking strings. Got a sec?”
I slip some iPod Earbuds into my ears, open another tab on my browser, and get to work. There’s Patrick and Cecile, and — because Jon’s routed the audio straight through his mixing board — I can hear ‘em clear as day. I love what they’re doing (they’re recording “Promise” at the moment, as it ends up), but I want to hear just a hair more sustain in the verses. And so, 1, 689 miles west, I type a few lines into a box, and hear Jon translate on the other end.
Magic!
In fact, you can watch a clip for yourself right here.
Now, I’ve had a Mac since I was seventeen-years-old, and graduated college just as the Internet was being born in earnest. I’m something of an early adopter. I dig technology, and like to try new things.
Still, sitting there in the basement of the Verna Fields building there on the Universal lot telling a couple of string players sitting in a recording studio 1,689 miles away blew my mind for a lot of reasons. It wasn’t just the technology (though that it’s so readily available is amazing). And it wasn’t the time and space shifting.
It was the Talking Heads factor. “How? How did I get here?” How did a kid born in Iowa City, Iowa, end up working for a huge music television channel in New York, New York, then co-produce a rock & roll record from Hollywood, California, with a pal back in Des Moines, Iowa? How!?!
However, whatever, and whyever, it ALL makes “The Invention Of Everything Else” a better record.
Then pick up a copy.
Preview & Download Entire New Benjamin Wagner Album Today!
My brand-new, ten-track CD, “The Invention Of Everything Else,” is now available for preview at iLike.com and exclusive download at Authentic Records Online.
For one week only (June 11-18), download the entire album plus two online-only bonus tracks at Authentic Records Online. We’ll ship your signed, limited-edition CD plus autographed poster and 1″ collector’s buttons on Wednesday, June 18th.
The ten track collection (my first LP since 2005’s “Heartland”) is a full-band, mostly-acoustic release, featuring guitarist Chris Abad, bassist Tony Maceli and drummer Ryan Vaughn, plus The Nadas’ guitarist Ross VanderWerf, guest vocalists Jamie Leonhart, Stephanie Walsmith, Josh Davis, and Tony Bohnenkamp, and strings by Patrick Riley (cello) and Cecile Forsberg (violin).
The album was recorded by Travis Harrison at Serious Business Studios in New York City, New York, and mixed by Jon Locker at Sonic Factory Studios in Des Moines, Iowa.
Here is the complete track listing:
1- Giving Up The Ghost
2- Trying To Tell You
3- The Last Time
4- (I Won’t Let You) Get Away
5- Promise
6- Breathe In
7- Killing The Blues
8- How To Be Alone
9- Secrets & Lies
10- Chasing Something
+ Wonderwall (Bonus Track)
+ The Boys Of Summer (Bonus Track)
Download your special pre-order package today, or pick yours up at one of the two following CD release shows:
Wednesday, June 18th @ 9pm - Rockwood Music Hall NYC, NY
Sunday, June 22d @ 8pm - AK O’Connors DSM, IA
Seriously? If you’ve made it this far? Do me a favor. Check out the record. Pick up a copy. Heck, get two. Then tell a friend. Please.
‘Cuz I know people think music should be free, and everyone’s tossing around MP3s like they’re nobody’s business. But they are somebody’s business: mine. And it’ll be much easier for me to make another record if this one does well enough to justify another record. Cool? Cool. And thanks. Ya’ know I love ya’.
