Something To Say
It wasn't until somewhere around Christopher Street that I realized that Thursday night's Rockwood Music Hall set was littered with references to breaking silence, speaking up and being heard.
From "Giving Up The Ghost" ("It's impossible to argue / It's impossible to scream") to "Live Forever" ("There's nothing left here to say"), "St. Anne (Of The Silence)" to "Dear Elizabeth" ("I still have something to say"), "Trying To Tell You" to "I'll Be Waiting" ("This is a message to you"), the set -- in this case drafted by my pal Chris Abad but ...
May Your Song Always Be Sung
It was a strange rehearsal. But then, it's been a strange gig from he outset.
I booked this Thursday's Rockwood Music Hall performance months ago, but didn't mention it to the guy's until a few weeks ago; I wasn't sure how to approach it (solo, acoustic, electric, etc), I just knew I wanted to get one-last show in before the baby comes. And I knew I wanted to play it exactly five years to the day that Abbi and I met there.
A few Thursdays back, I mentioned the booking to Chris Abad.
"A Thursday night at eight o'clock?" he asked, ...
Crazy Nephews
My brother, Christofer, called Sunday morning.
"Dude, is there any way you can watch the boys this afternoon?" he asked breathlessly. Jen took Ella to the hospital. I'm running up there to meet her."
My pointer finger was on their Upper West Side buzzer fifteen minutes later. I could hear Ethan and Edward's tiny feet scurry on the hardwood above me as I climbed the four flights of stairs. I knocked on the door to the sound of giggles. The door swung open mysteriously to an empty hallway.
"Boo!"
The boys leapt from behind the ...
Golden Slumbers
Last night, just before her eyes turned heavy after her traditional page and a half of reading, I slipped a pair of Sony headphones onto Abbi's belly, and pushed play.
I was running two hours behind my "Forever Young" recording schedule when singer/songwriter Misty Boyce finally took her seat at the piano. She banged out "Morning Has Broken" with just seconds of practice in three takes. Moments later, we began recording our cover of The Beatles, "Golden Slumbers."
"Do you think I'll be hung in effigy if I added an extra chorus?" I ...
… But Now I See
Jamie Leonhart and I arrived to our "Forever Young" recording session a few minutes early, so set out for a cup of coffee.
The sun was broken free of the weekend's snow-choked clouds. The trickle of melting snow hummed beneath the rumble of passing subways, far off-music and a faint inkling that birds were beginning to return from their winter hideouts.
Galuminum Foil Studio sits at a crossroads of Brooklyn neighborhoods south of Williamsburg's newly-gentrified lofts and studios, north of Bed-Stuy's Marcy Projects, and west of Bushwick. ...
“Forever Young” LP Due This Fall
I began recording my eighth studio LP (and sixteenth solo album overall), "Forever Young," Saturday night in Brooklyn. The ten-song LP is scheduled for a fall release.
Though the idea behind this new record gestated slowly, it ultimately came together pretty quickly. It starts, I guess, with Ethan.
My brother's first son, Ethan, was born seven years ago this June. I was eager to expose him to the joy of making music from the start. I bought him bongos, a piano and guitar all by his first birthday. Few things have made me happier in ...
Little Monsters
Must've been nearly fifteen years ago now that I was wearing green lame and pleather pants, painting my nails cobalt blue, and playing Lower East Side venues like Hotel Galvez, Cafe Sin-e, and Sidewalk Cafe when I first bagged a booking at the coveted Mercury Lounge.
I distinctly recall my first, early-evening slot there is the then-nacent (now defunct) Intel New Music Festival. The sun was low over Houston Street, casting a warm, orange glow on the collection of Lincoln Towncars there. Inside, the room was packed with suits taking in the ...
The Year In Song, 2009
These days, I mostly listen to music while walking to work, or running around the city.
Not surprisingly, then, I tend towards songs that psyche me up to deal with the chaos of things: stress, noise, pain. Heck, maybe we all do.
Much as I try to keep up with Pitchfork, the flavor of the moment rarely sticks. Luckily, my old standbys continue to deliver, and my friends are really talented.
Here, then, are the ten songs (plus five Honorable Mentions) that carried me across the pavement and through the year.
1) "Love Is Here To ...
Merry Christmas, Baby
I saw Oasis perform at Radio City Music Hall in May, 2000. Truth is, I was there to see openers Travis, but the Gallagher Bros. guitar assault was impressive and infectious. That night, after the show, I unwittingly cribbed a song title from Noel. "Live Forever" was released years later as the second track on "Love & Other Indoor Games."
"Love" was released in 2004 amidst what one ex (a description of whom made the liner notes, natch) called my "Lothario Phase." In retrospect, I was fairly lost, playing numerous rock shows a week and ...
“A Holiday Benefit, Vol. 3″ Release Party Is Tonight!
Twelve hours from now, "A Holiday Benefit, Vol. 3" will be in full swing at Pianos! Which is a good thing; I don't think I have the energy to do yesterday over.
I tucked all sorts of small tasks into my already busy day at The MTV: gathering 826NYC materials, a final email to all of the performers, lyric sheets for our big finale ("Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You," what else?).
At 7:45, I raced straight from work to Sirius Radio headquarters there across from Radio City Music Hall. I spent about fifteen minutes on air with ...
