Set Me Free

Kevin and I began playing country songs together in the final days of recording “Almost Home.” He was teaching himself to play fiddle, and, well, I appreciated the diversion from the mind-numbing mixing process. Late one night a few weeks later, I was behind the mixing board, Kevin was in the iso booth tracking his…

Read More

Free Fallin’

When I walked in from an hour-long MTV Overdrive programming meeting, everything was lit up like a Christmas tree: my office phone, my cell phone, my email inbox, my Blackberry, my AIM. Something was awry. Wes got to me first via AIM. “Your show with Casey is cancelled.” I checked my email. Deena had written…

Read More

Flowers In The Window

I can almost see it in the half-light of the crescent moon: my garden. It’s not much, really: some ivy, a spider plant, some marigolds. But I planted them myself. I buried my hands in the cool, wet soil. I watered them. And I will watch them grow. Saturday began way too early. My alarm…

Read More

Transceiver

The back booth at Hi Life was dark. The bar was crowded and frenetic. I was tired, but wound like a top. I was talking a lot, but not saying anything. We were discussing plans for our new records (The Nadas “Listen Through The Static” is due in September, my as-of-yet untitled CD is due…

Read More

New Adventures In Hi Fi

Any Tuesday night that begins with Brooklyn Lager and Excedrin is bound for ruin. And yet, somehow, I found some sort of small triumph in the end. The world famous Nadas were in town. (In fact, I can hear them snoring downstairs as I type.) If you don’t know them, you should. They’re a terrifc…

Read More

Big City Turn Me Loose

Sweet Jiminy Cricket on a popsicle stick, it’s good to be back in New York City. I was asleep before the plane left the terminal, and I slept clear through landing. What a blessing. And what a blur. One minute I’m sneaking around the Paramount back lot, the next I’m downing a beer at the…

Read More

Famous Players

Who’d have guessed a couple a also-rans from Berwyn, PA, would run into each other on the Paramount back lot in Hollywood, CA, some twenty years on. I was trying to catch up with my buddy James all week, but late nights at work and poor planning on both of our parts sabotaged our efforts.…

Read More

My Beat Is Correct

I’m standing on the balcony in the VIP area of the MTV/X-Box party at The Avalon on Hollywood and Vine when Ling Bai slithers up next to me. Without Corey whispering in my ear, I’d have no idea who she is. She’s wearing a itty-bitty dress, a blonde Shirley Temple wig, fake eyelashes, and glitter…

Read More

Missing

Moss walked into my office and said, “Some of the younger kids in the office are going across the street for happy hour. Two dollar beers …” This was just a few hours after I walked out into the 2600 Colorado lobby to greet a prospective employee and practically bumped into Harry Shearer and Mike…

Read More

Liquid Kitty

I’m sitting on the bed in room #634 of the Doubletree Guest Suites. I’m watching “The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch.” They’re discussing the American Idol scandal. The ferris wheel on the Santa Monica pier is blinking out of the corner of my eye. I don’t know what else to say, or where to start,…

Read More