Posts Tagged ‘Family & Friends’
Top Ten Christmas Songs That Rock
It’s presumably little surprise that I love Christmas songs. Not, like, all Christmas songs. Christmas songs with a backbeat. Christmas songs that rock. You, Dear Reader, may recall that it all began in the passenger seat of my brother’s Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser station wagon, nog in the belly, weed on the brain (sorry, mom), WYSP…
Read MoreHome For Christmas
Thus far, parenthood is riddled with cliches: chubby cheeks, bare bottoms, wide eyes — the whole thing. Unlike other things stretched to the point of stereotype, though, the scale and scope of these new feelings are so huge, this new love so massive and revelatory at every turn, that its very triteness is completely superfluous.…
Read MoreJeff Jacobson’s Abatab
I first met my pal Jeff Jacobson at singer/songwriter Casey Shea’s wedding. He was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with chanteuse Amy Hills. I sat down and slipped right into their conversation, one that continues to this day. Jeff has a thoughtful demeanor and dry, self-effacing wit. He’s one of the best guitarists…
Read MoreSomething 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…
Read MoreThe Year In Photos, 2009
What a year. From The Inauguration to The Oscars to my tenth New York City Marathon, no previous loop around the sun has been more jam-packed with mind-blowing moments. I played the Iowa State Fair, contributed a song to The Nadas “Crystalline” compilation, and helped raise four grand (and counting) for 826NYC with “A Holiday…
Read MoreMazel Tov!
Way back in 2000, my then-boss foisted an interview on me with a recent college graduate named Jonathan. “Trust me,” he said. “This guy’s cover letter was so over the top, you’re gonna’ love him.” I won’t front; I was dubious. But sure enough, the kid had moxie. So we hired him. In his first…
Read MoreThe Wild Rumpus
For me, Maurice Sendak’s “Where The Wild Things Are” is mixed up with the wild rumpus of my parent’s divorce. I don’t remember when Sendak’s creatures first appeared in my life; his fifteen-page book was always present. I do remember wandering the wide, book-strewn aisles of the Oak Park Mall’s Kracht & Brentano’s with my…
Read MorePretty Good Shape (For The Shape I’m In)
The Abads are a force to be reckoned with. Example. Last Saturday night, The Abads celebrated Chris’ 31st birthday with a roucous night of Cranium (yes, the board game). I showed up from VMA rehearsals well after one o’clock. The shenanigans didn’t wrap until just before five. The next morning, Chris send an email to…
Read MoreCadre Of Awesomeness
After ushering in my thirty-seventh year alone on a strange Angelino couch, I wasn’t about to let it happen again with thirty-eight. Accordingly, Abbi and I kicked off my Birthday Week (what the heck, right?) last night with drinks, dinner, and a dozen dear family and friends. The criteria was simple: no one from work…
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