Won’t You Be My “Forever Young” Neighbor?
Exactly one-month from today, on Saturday, October 2, I'm releasing a brand-new LP, "Forever Young."
It's a collection of songs I loved growing up that I hope my three-month-old daughter, Maggie, will love someday too. Of course, I'm counting on you and your family enjoying it as well!
The record features many of my dearest friends lending their voices, guitars and keys to benefit The Fred Rogers Center's efforts toward advancing early learning and children’s media.
The complete "Forever Young" track list:
1 - Forever Young ...
Where Are You Calling From? (Or, Virtual Rock & Roll)
I probably should have known better than to be working on a new album during MTV Video Music Awards season, but here I am, knee deep in "Forever Young" with less than two weeks to go until the channel's big night.
The timing was, of course, to be expected. As my colleague, Rachel, put it, "No one does fall like you." I have a long history of Q3 releases ("Almost Home," "Love & Other Indoor Games") typically jammed-packed amidst marathons and tours. This year, though, the reasoning was simple: "Forever Young" is inspired by Maggie. By ...
Am I Off The Rails?
With "Forever Young," I may be off the rails.
A few weeks ago, rock journos Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis aired a special episode of their weekly "Sound Opinions" program called "Off The Rails." In the show, the two tallied artists who'd detoured unforgivably from the promise of their early career: Lauryn Hill, Metallica, Liz Phair. The first spot was assigned to Rod Stewart whose "Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. III" -- in the duo's estimation, anyway -- undid Stewart's work with The Jeff Beck Group, The Faces, and as a solo ...
Rock ‘N Roll Coochie Coo
Thank goodness, my week of rock 'n roll bachelorhood finally came to an end.
Abbi, Maggie and I were in Wilmington, DE, last weekend for The Keller's 40th anniversary. I had to get back to NYC for MTV's TJ Search Finale on Sunday. So it seemed like a perfect, logical solution. Abbi could relax with her family, and I could finish my forthcoming benefit CD, "Forever Young."
Jeff Jacobson ran my studio (aka Maggie's nursery) through. Our cover of James Taylor's "Sweet Baby James" is a melancholy, lullaby version of the tune. He laid down ...
All The Small Things
"It's time," Abbie said.
I tiptoed into the bedroom, and squinted through the darkness until my eyes adjusted. Maggie came into focus just a few feet before me, motionless in her bassinet.
She was swaddled like a papoose, her lips curled into a heart-shape.
I slid my right hand beneath her back, my left beneath her head, and whispered into her ear, "Maggie..."
Her brow furled. Her legs curled. She yawned. I gently removed the swaddle blanket as her eyes flickered open, and scanned the space beyond my forehead.
A tiny, blue ...
The Velvet Hammer
Finally, I get to be the hero for once.
For two weeks running, Maggie and I had it made. I'd wake her softly at the crack of dawn, bottle feed her, then take a long, slow stroll around the neighborhood until she slipped off to sleep. Everybody won: Abbi slept, Maggie ate, and I gained QT with baby and bonus points with mommy.
For nearly two weeks now, though, she's refused the bottle. Our mornings are now a protracted battle that invariably ends in tears, frustration, and a solemn handover to Abbi. It's a heartbreaking exchange, one ...
Jeff Jacobson’s Abatab
I first met my pal Jeff Jacobson at singer/songwriter Casey Shea's wedding. He was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with chanteuse Amy Hills. I sat down and slipped right into their conversation, one that continues to this day.
Jeff has a thoughtful demeanor and dry, self-effacing wit. He's one of the best guitarists and most capable singer/songwriters I know. He pitched in on the first two Holiday Benefit albums, and sings "Sweet Baby James" with me on my forthcoming "Forever Young" benefit album. He's an awesome ...
Sundays With Maggie
I set out like a total rookie: no sun hat, no burp towel, no bottle, not even an extra diaper. I scarcely pulled a baseball cap over my eyes and flip flops on my feet. It was just Maggie, me and a stripped-down stroller.
Funny how quickly we forget. It doesn't seem like much now, some fifteen hours later. But at four in the morning, when her mother and I'd both taken hour-long, overnight turns endeavoring in vain to sooth her to sleep, her tiny, spastic head butts, grunts and gasps -- adorable as they may seem in the daylight -- turn ...
Harlem River Ride
Many, many July Fourths ago, before Google Maps or Garmin GPS, before to the city's best efforts to develop greenspaces, and well before being a husband or a father, I set out to circumnavigate Manhattan on my bike. I managed pretty well below 125th Street, but was thwarted by the vast complex of unknown bridges, urban developments, and industrial wastelands of the city's northeastern reaches.
Since moving to the Upper East Side in April, I've endeavored to tackle those unknowns, searching Google, pouring over DOT and MTA maps, and ...
Wake Up, Maggie (I Think I Have Something To Say To You)
Loving music led to playing music led to writing music led to performing music led to recording music. Still, I wouldn't have bet on this.
Tony, Chris, Ryan and I started recording "Forever Young" in February. The record is due in October, and benefits The Fred Rogers Center. The conceit is simple: record a bunch of classic songs that kids and parents alike love with a bunch of friends and release it for charity. Said conceit came with a perk too: throughout Abbi's pregnancy, I placed headphones on her belly and played little Maggie ...
