02.25.07
A Big Buy
It's beginning to look like Alaina and I will be buying some real estate soon. We found a condo overlooking the Greenwood Cemetery being built up the street from us and were immediately interested in it. After a few offers and counteroffers, we agreed to buy it. And just like that (plus months of paperwork and fees) we own a slice of the pie. A small pod on the mothership. We are very fortunate to have this opportunity and we are grateful to our parents, to whom we are deeply indebted for all they have invested in us, but who never ask anything in return. I hope our eternal Love will suffice on that loan.
02.22.07
Howard Fishman
Every time I see this guy play, it is such a fantastic joyous experience and his Mardi Gras show at Barbes was simply beautiful. He played with a brass band that included trumpet, tuba and trombone and tenor saxophone and a snare-rolling drummer. All this in a space about as big as my bedroom, which was packed with revelatory dancers. They played all the Mardis Gras/Music Together classics, including Shoo Fly, When the Saints Go Marching In and passed out scarves (actually napkins). I told my classes yesterday about it and said that it reminded me of the great power of music to unite and uplift people. That is its purpose and reason for existence.
02.20.07
Mardi Gras/Carnival
It's one of those days around the world today where everybody lets loose and gets crazy. Two days of this celebration stand out in my lifetime. The first was in Venice, Italy 1999 where we partied in the floating streets, I shot flames from my mouth then slept on a beach under the hugest reddest sliver of a moon that set just before the sun rose. And then there was New Orleans 2002, which featured the "Greatest Moment of My Life": Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI. Erupting in the Superdome, then pouring out onto the rowdy streets in ecstacy may never be topped. But here's to hoping it someday will be...
(EX-) President's Day
Yesterday was our celebration of past and future (but certainly not current) presidents. I honored our deserving leaders with a great day on the slopes of Mountain Creek in New Jersey, which is a neat place to ski just an hour and a half from the city. We had a beautiful day that turned into lighted night skiing. The mountain closes at 9 PM, so if you are a little slow getting up in the morning, you can still get as much time on the snow as you need. Sunset skiing is impossible at most resorts that close at 4, but it happens every twilight in Vernon, NJ. Great for families and beginners like my friend Eric, who got on skis for the first time yesterday and was instantly bombing down from the top of the hill to feed his need for speed.
02.17.07
Lily Allen
I just aquisitioned some of her new album, "Alright, Still" and I'm very impressed. The beats are tight and her melodies are sweet. She is a 21 year-old from England who is a Myspace queen for riding the wave of her online fans. Her sound is unique and her lyrics are clever and she isn't afraid to be a rabble rouser. It is exciting new music! Yay Internet for finding and promoting this great music! It feels like popular culture is actually chosen BY the masses rather than FOR the masses. Isn't it nice to know we finally have a say?
02.13.07
Supergood Subway
Five years ago, in February 2002, I began a project of videotaping subway musicians. Having moved to New York five months earlier (September 17, 2001), I was amazed by the quality of these underground musicians and wanted to document them, not just for people who have never been in the NYC subway, but for people who ride it every day and pass by without really seeing these artists. Free music from around the world pulsing through the city's arteries, unconsciously brightening the commute for many travellers, is a supergood ideal. To everyone who has ever played the rails, thank you.
Over the next few months, I will be periodically reposting these vignettes. I hope you enjoy them.
02.12.07
Supergood Kids!
Today is the official birth of Supergood Kids. My work, if you haven't been following along, is playing music with children. It seems like a natural transition to make this website kid friendly (Sorry, no parental control feature...) I have posted 2 new songs, M.O.M. (Mean Old Man) and Dream! for All Kids. It's good to be a kid at any age. The kid chorus in Dream! is comprised of students at the Beacon after-school program.
02.11.07
Midlake
Midlake played the Bowery Ballroom Friday night and I was fortunate enough to be in attendance. Their music has an ethereal dreamlike quality to it, capturing a mood deep in the heart. The lyrics bring us back to a simpler existence. It feels like the 70s: 1970s or 1870s I'm not sure... Their last album, The Trials of Van Occupanther is pretty special and you should make a point of hearing it.
Another impressive album is the newest Lyndsey Buckingham. Yes, of Midlake inspiration Fleetwood Mac. "Under The Skin" is a beautiful recording of guitar and voice with many layers of both; heavy delay and chorus effects give it a ghostly quality. Great listen.
02.09.07
S'Mac
Do you like cheese and macaroni, combined? You need to get over to S'Mac (345 E. 12th St, between 1st and 2nd) and put your face into a nosh at this this mac-and-cheese only joint. I work very close by a few days a week and have found myself there more times in the past few months than any other eatery. The menu, despite being limited in its medium, is broad with many options to satisfy your craving for the 4-cheese, bacon/gruyere, or buffalo chicken mac styles. Quick service makes it an ideal pit stop en route from one gig to the next. Is mac and cheese the next pizza?
02.06.07
The Fever
I saw Wallace Shawn perform his monologue, "The Fever" yesterday at Theatre Row on 42nd St., and I feel a little ill myself. The show was incredibly engaging; just one man speaking to us, implicating everyone there. He even invited the audience to join him on stage before the show for champagne. How cruel. A traveller becomes physically and emotionally sick in a poor country, asking nauseating questions about the human condition and the need for inequality. Why are we (oh yes, you and I) so rich while such extreme poverty exists in the world? How can this possibly be justified? We have told ourselves a very important story to rationalize this injustice and even the best of us, those who strive for supergoodness, are guilty of propagating this myth. How often do we actually do something to alleviate world sufferring? Donating is one thing but why not donate everything we have? Of course, we have our reasons... Too often we Just Walk On By.
It made me think back to the overwhelming despair I felt in Cambodia, watching kids take scraps of food off of tables in an outdoor cafe. I began to cry then wept for hours through emotional illness of pity, sadness and guilt. The experience still haunts me and I wish everyone could spend time in Cambodia to witness the real story of our wealth.
Or maybe spend some time in West Africa.