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Memorial Day
Tonight, I have a boatload of newfound admiration for Kevin Anthony, and every record producer I’ve ever know. See, I’ve been wrestling with ProTools, trying to get a new song down to share with you, Dear Reader. I’ve had the software/hardware for almost two months and haven’t produced a thing. For a guy who gets…
Read More89th & Riverside
I was mostly speechless sitting on John’s rooftop at 89th & Riverside tonight. Sporadic raindrops punctuated the cool, dry air. Low-slung clouds rolled in from the Atlantic. Jet’s passed just overhead. And I sat quietly, not much to say. Sure, we discussed President Bush’s inability to pronounce Abu Ghraib, and Phish breaking up. As we…
Read MoreReason No. 72
Reason #72 why my job at The MTV rules, my new office 29-stories above Times Square notwithstanding… “I’ll T&E the tetherball set.” So said the president of MTV Networks not :30 ago on a conference call I’m on as we speak, er, type. T&E: Travel and expense, ie: write it off. (It’s funny to us,…
Read MoreSurprises
Every day brings its surprises. Today’s? The orange sun breaking through thunderclouds at sunset, and the sliver moon rising over New Jersey. Who ever thought the Garden State could be so beautiful. That wasn’t all. The first sip of iced-coffee. The afternoon cookie break. The early-evening downpour. The unexpected email. The fit of my linen…
Read MoreLove Me If You Dare
I’m not sure I’ve ever really loved. Oh sure, I’ve said it a few times. And I’ve meant it. But lately, as I plumb these depth within myself, trying to figure out just what love is, and how to know it when I’m in it, and how to sustain it for a lifetime, I’m just…
Read MoreMutual Admiration Society
Frontmen want to be drummers, and drummers want to be frontmen. In 24 hours, I’ve been both. Thursday night’s Open Center show was a challenge, but not because of the music. Musically, the band was spot on. After some twenty plus years of performing, I don’t worry about the music. (Which is kinda’ miraculous.) I’ve…
Read MoreI’m Braggin’
It’s Wednesday night, er, Thursday morning. And I’m braggin’. Everything’s in place for tomorrow, er, tonight’s show. Well, mostly. I discovered yesterday that the neck was peeling away from the body of my Martin acoustic guitar, I switched to Plan B: John Rosenblatt to the rescue. After a twelve hour day at The MTV, and…
Read MoreAll Things Music
This evening ended at the Subway Inn, an aptly named dive slightly uptown from where most of my party people would normally find themselves. But by midnight, only a few of the 20+ strong MTV News team remained. The die hards — Rod, Alyssa, Jem and I — were rewarded by bottle-only beers and a…
Read MoreEminence Front (It’s A Put On)
The problem with stepping out with The Who’s ‘Eminence Front’ on one’s iPod is that one easily confuses one’s self with Sonny Crocket. The off-white coat and aviator glasses contribute, sure, but they can’t be blamed. No, the blame begins with a beat. It’s that late-80s synth sound. Long before Eddie Van Halen’s discovered it…
Read MoreHow To Be Alone
“One of the great adaptive virtues of our brains,” writes Jonathan Franzen in his book, ‘How To Be Alone,’ “is our ability to forget almost everything that has ever happened to us.” I am writing, now, of pain. I ran 13.1 miles in 85 degree heat this morning in a little over two hours. The…
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