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My first inclination was to hail a cab. According to my Apple Dashboard weather widget, it was fourteen degrees when I stepped through the revolving doors of 1515 Broadway into Times Square. I live just over a mile from my office. It takes me roughly twenty minutes to walk west on 45th, then north on…

Last weekend, I live blogged Superbowl XLII. Tonight, I bring your The Grammys from the cozy confines of my office twenty-nine stories above Times Square. 8:00 – “It’s Grammys 50th Birthday, and everyone’s coming to the party.” Nothing puts asses in seats like two minutes of black & white television. 8:02 – Ooouuuch, Alicia Keys…

The release of “U23D” has prompted a wave of quips about how even a 70mm IMAX screen can’t hold Bono’s oversized ego. I dragged my pal Brian to a screening on Thursday night, my second. Once again, what struck me wasn’t its size, volume, or depth (though all remain impressive, especially in front of a…

The very first rock show I ever played was Conestoga Senior High School’s Jamfest. The year was 1987. I was a sixteen-year-old junior in high school. With just a few months of rehearsals in drummer Wako Iwasaki’s basement, my band, Neoteric Youth, was performing its very first show. We prepared a fistful of disparate covers…

Who are these ghosts, really? Whence we last saw The Midwest’s Favorite Sons, The Nadas, co-frontmen Mike Butterworth and Jason Walsmith and I were hanging backstage at Philadelphia’s World Cafe. The boys were seeding a new venue while road testing a few new tunes. They had shared demos for their forthcoming record with me just…

In the fall of my sophomore year, I hung three fliers that read: Seeking: Bass, Guitar, Drums Influences: REM, U2, Police Call: Ben 315-412-8735 The advert was posted on three key bulletin boards on campus: The Schine Student Center, Crouse College of Music, and School of Visual & Performing Arts.The boards were selected for their…