Posts Tagged ‘Rock & Roll’
“A Family Holiday” Benefit
A Family Holiday
I’m hoping it’s fairly apparent to you what I’ve been up to all weekend. With the exception of a few good runs, a few bad movies (yes, we sat through “Hot Rod”), and a whole bunch of reading (Vanity Fair, New Yorker, New York Times, Rolling Stone and “The Looming Tower: Al-Queda And The Road…
Read MoreBoys & Girls In America
I’m sure of it: I’m the last dude in New York City to hear The Hold Steady. Wednesday night’s Terminal 5 show — the conclusion of band’s sixteen-month Boys & Girls In America Tour — was packed with dudes: Budweiser chugging, hip flask tugging, tobacco chewing, weed smoking, fist pumping, frat boy, douche bags. Or…
Read MoreThe Blue Lights
I didn’t know The Olds could lose their shit like this! I’m in Philly with my pals, The Nadas. I snuck out of work early, hopped on Amtrak, and then cabbed over to World Cafe where the guys just opened up for The Subdudes. The Subdudes are a talented-enough New Orleans-based quintet. They sound something…
Read MoreBreathe In
Chris Abad and I were walking home from rehearsal Monday night when we said in near-unison, “I just want to release one great record.” I post about my music career less and less here, largely because I have less and less of a music career. I knew full well this was going to be something…
Read MoreWhat Lookin’ Pretty Cool’ll Getcha’, Part III
It’s a sad chapter, one about which we rarely speak. Chris, Tony, Ryan and I met in high school (Ryan was actually in seventh grade, but close enough). MTV was all about Skid Row, Mr. Mister and Mike & The Mechanics at the time, but we weren’t feelin’ it. One day after school, Chris and…
Read MoreBaby, Please Come Home
Once again, Christmas has come early to Soho. As we speak, Chris, Tony and Ryan are taking their second pass at “Feliz Navidad” here at Travis Harrison’s Serious Business Studios. Chris’ version — tracked well in advance of the October 15 “A Family Records Holiday” deadline — turns the tune on its ear in two…
Read MoreIn The Mix
It may not surprise you to know that I’m heading into the studio just forty-eight hours before leaving for my South Carolina wedding. In addition to the all-star cover of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” we recorded last weekend, “A Holiday Family Christmas” — the benefit album I’m producing with Wes Verhoeve — will feature…
Read MoreIt’s Christmas Time (There’s No Need To Be Afraid)
Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” was the right song at the right time. I was a newly-minted teenager when Bob Geldof and Ultravox’s Midge Ure rounded up Paul Young, Phil Collins, Sting, Bono et all to record the first-and-definitive benefit single on behalf of African famine relief. MTV was a nascent entity then…
Read MoreBlood Brothers
The van was idling in the loading zone, right where Jason left it. Mandy, Abbi, and I climbed aboard, and Jason pointed us back towards the park. The sun was beginning to sink in the west as we pulled in behind The Nadas’ bus, Meatloaf. I spotted my family striding towards me as I stepped…
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