“A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II” In Sixty Seconds
Listen, I know I'm prone to hyperbole, but last night's Rebel Spirit Music Presents: A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II" album release party was hands-down the single-most meaningful, beautiful and excellent artistic and community-oriented thing of which I've ever been a part.
There wasn't a bad apple in the bunch. And were I not a) exhausted, b) due at the office in eighteen minutes or c) still wearing last night's torn jeans and tuxedo shirt, I'd tell you all about it.
So here are the headlines:
The musicians killed it. I've never seen a ...
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” Video Premiere
I like Christmas well enough, but what I really love are Christmas songs.
"Do They Know It's Christmas" rocked my brace-faced, junior high world. I bought the single, and raced home from Tredyffrin-Easttown Middle School every afternoon to catch the video on MTV.
In high school, my brother, Chris, and I used to drive around suburban Philadelphia looking for luminaria-strewn neighborhoods listening to "A Very Special Christmas" at full blast.
That's Christmas to me. Keep your Berl Ives and Bing Crosby. Give me my yuletide cheer ...
Bid On “A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II” Silent Auction Items Now!
At last year's "A Family Holiday Benefit," our raffle raised a few hundred extra bucks for 826NYC.
At this summer's Authentic Record's Flood Relief Benefit, though, we tried a silent auction instead and raised a few thousand.
And so, for Monday's big "A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II," we've got a bunch of cool silent auction items. And you can bid on them online!
Just email me (benjamin at mtvi dot com) your item number, description and bid by 10:00pm ET on Monday, December 1, and I'll be sure you're in the running. I'll let you know if ...
“A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II” Rehearsal
My primary assignment was bartender, but I also played the role of backing vocalist, reporter, photographer and tambourinist.
Most of the "A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II" gang got together to rehearse last night: Chris Abad, Tony Maceli, Jaime Allegre, Casey Shea, Jamie Leonhart, Bryan Dunn, Deena Goodman, Rosi Golan, Derek James, Dov Rosenblatt and Amber Rubarth.
Tony, Chris and Jamie are the house band for Monday night's big charity event. They learned nearly twenty songs in two days. I'm doing "Blue Christmas," and "Merry Christmas ...
“A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II” Due December 1
Comprised of eleven tracks from some of New York City's finest emerging artists plus their collective cover of "Happy XMas (War Is Over)," A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II is a charity CD spanning the sacred (Brent Shuttleworth's "The God In You"), the profane (Derek James & Kyle Paas' "Mele Kalilkimaka"), plus plenty of rockin' holiday tracks in-between (Bryan Dunn’s "Father Christmas").
The CD's release is set for December 1, 2008, and will be marked by a party at New York City's Canal Room. In addition to performances from Shuttleworth, ...
Live Forever For You (Or, How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love The Smart Bomb)
At 7:16pm Wednesday night, I was working on a PowerPoint presentation entitled, "The Smart Bomb," a very serious, very substantive, 16-page strategic document.
At 7:17, the butterflies in my stomach overtook the synapses in my brain's ability to make any further Q4 projections. There was a rock show to be had.
So I left.
Less than two hours later -- having raced home, microwaved a frozen pizza, packed my guitar, hit the ATM, met Chris, hailed a cab and raced downtown to Rockwood Music Hall (and exchanging a record twenty-six emails ...
“Live At Rockwood Music Hall” Available Now!
As The A-Team's Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together."
Benjamin Wagner "Live At Rockwood Music Hall" is available for download now!
The online-only LP comes in two flavors: an 8-song iTunes version, and 10-song Authentic Records version.
Tracks were culled from three separate performances over the course of sixteen months: March 25, 2007; July 10, 2008, and September, 25, 2008.
My longtime band mates and pals Chris Abad (guitar), Tony Maceli (bass), Ryan Vaughn (drums) and Jamie ...
Hey, Whatever Happened To That Documentary?
What's going on with Wagner Bros. Pictures, LLC's still-forthcoming documentary, "Mister Rogers & Me?"
I'm glad you asked. Or, I'm glad my pen pal Magnus did.
"When I inquired about the documentary a few months ago [you said] it was on hold," he writes. "I don't know what the progress is, or what's holding it up, but I just wanted to encourage you to keep at it. I know you are extremely busy with all your other endeavors, but this project is as important now as it ever was. Keep at it! You were chosen to remind people of the deep and ...
Backstage At The TRL Finale (Or, At Home At The End Of The World)
When I walked into Times Square this afternoon, the sidewalks were overflowing with wide-eyed, stargazing teenagers hoping to steal a glimpse of a celebrity -- any celebrity -- pouring out of a limo and into MTV Studios.
Tonight was the end of an era: the finale of MTV's flagship, Total Request Live.
Two hours after navigating the crowds, gaining my credential, and prowling around backstage, I walked towards Downtown Studio's great mezzanine windows and looked out on the masses. Kids screamed, waved signs and pointed at every ...
The Observer Effect
In physics, "observer effect" refers to changes that the act of observation will make on the phenomenon being observed. The rule applies to rock shows.
Remember those junior high school plays? Ever dig that VHS tape your parent's recorded out of the basement? The show were better in your memories, right?
Well, way back in the '90s, my brother, Christofer, video taped almost every one of my shows. It may have been the tiny microphone on the camera, or that I was a terrible performer. Either way, watching those game tapes was ...
