WOMEX 2006 OLE!!

Hola-
Last week, world music movers and shakers from across the globe converged in the gorgeous Andalusian city of Sevilla, Spain for the annual WOMEX world music expo. Four days and nights of exciting new sounds from Algeria to Argentina, Finland to France, plus all the delicioso tapas, vino and cafe con leche we could handle! WOMEXicans, as we attendees were affectionately termed, had a chance to meet fellow publicists, managers, booking agents, publishers, journalists, organizers and artists from all over the world, with an emphasis this year on the "sounds of Spain." And some amazing sounds they were-highlights for me were the late night DJ sets by Barcelona's Electroputas and Los Rumberos, who blended strains of flamenco with everything from old school soul to lush electronica-que bueno indeed! And several international labels were already familiar with our roster and had heard great things about us-good news travels far!

Another musical gem that I discovered and have been listening to nonstop since returning to Los Estados Unidos is Chambao, a beautiful new flamenco-pop singer who is becoming a huge name in Spain and Europe and is about to introduce the US to her sweet vocals and dreamy sounds. If you see or hear about a performance, get a ticket por favor-I promise you won't be sorry.

And what trip to Spain would not be complete without some wicked comidos-anyone feeling the urge to get their soup on should look up a recipe for salmorejo, a divine cold, creamy soup made with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, jamon, eggs and blended until heavenly.

Ciao
Aliza aka La Chica Americana de las relaciones Publicados

Journalists' Juniors

I’ve decided to start a regular feature on the Shore Fire blog called “Journalists' Juniors.” The lucky tots are going to be a subject of a profile, covering everything from their favorite music to their taste in food.

Meet 4-year-old Declan Connor Henry Morden, son of LA based freelance writer Darryl Morden. Declan is one smart cookie. When his father asks him how he knows certain things, he replies “cause I got a big brain.”

Declan’s favorite bands: Wiggles; U2 (esp. Vertigo and Elevation); Brooce (he knows Mighty Max plays the drums and Clarence the big man plays saxophone); Depeche Mode (esp "Precious"); Franz Ferdinand (esp "Matinee" and "I'm Your Villain");Snow Patrol (esp. "Shut Your Eyes"); Muse (esp "Knights of Cydonia"); Ramones (esp "Rockaway Beach" and "Bliztzkrieg Bop"); We Are Scientists (esp "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt"); Cartoon themes - Teen Titans (by Puffy Ayumi); Batman (Elfman), What's New Scooby Doo (Simple Plan); Superman movie theme (John Williams).

Declan’s favorite foods are: pizza, pasta - penne with butter and cheese, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken tenders .

Favorite father/son activities include: going to breakfast on weekends; going to CD/DVD store; visiting the comic book store; playing with super hero action figures and reading books together.

Declan's favorite store: Target

On the other Declan: “When I met Elvis Costello at Springsteen's Pantages show last year, I told him my son was named Declan and he grinned!”

Holy Basil and Holy Rapture

Last night Nick Baily and I had a wonderful dinner at Holy Basil in the East Village with Marianne Meyer of the Washington Post and Shari Roman of Flaunt. Conversation included dealing with rock legends, objectivity vs. emotion when reviewing a concert and how to calm the beast that is Russell Crowe. All and all a great evening.

From there I walked up the street to see The Rapture blow the doors off Webster Hall. Since the expiration date for hipster hype stands around 6 months, I would say these guys are settled into just making great music at this point. Bodies moved and hands were in the air for the entire sold out show, and The Rapture proved that dance and rock really can be done well together.

Dobson, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars Share "Mountain Stage" Evening, Jan 5 Airdate

Mountain Stage head honcho booker Andy Ridenour writes with a report from the weekend: [Our own] Sasha Dobson performed six songs on the October 29 production of Mountain Stage scheduled for distribution to public radio affiliates, XM Satellite Radio and the Voice of America January 5, 2007. Her band included Richard Julian, Jesse Harris, Tim Luntzel, and Robert DiPietro. [And our clients] Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars also turned in a head-turning, terrific performance on the show.

Sasha Dobson at Mountain Stage taping, Oct. 29, 2006

Other guests included Alejandro Escovedo, Jess Klein and John Gorka.

The Hunchback of Colchester

Halloween tidings from Shore Fire client James Hunter....

A Whirlwind of Amos

Our client Amos Lee was in town all week for press and a fantastic show at Town Hall on Oct 24. On a side note, Mindy Smith opened for Amos and man, oh man was she on fire! Anyway, I had the pleasure of hanging with Amos on Monday for his performance + interview on NPR's Talk of the Nation which you can listen to at the link.

Over the weekend, Amos performed a couple of songs on CBS' The Saturday Early Show. Click on link to check it out. Perhaps the highlight for everyone in the green room was getting to meet James van Praagh - a real life 'Ghost Whisperer.' BOO! As usual, Amos was charmed everyone on and off the air and gave viewers a stellar performance.

Beck & Boldface Names At Paste Party Last Night

Paste Magazine folks threw a party last night here in New York at the Knitting Factory & Shore Fire turned out in force for fun...what turned out to be boys' night out with Nicks Baily and Loss-Eaton, Matt Hanks and Rob Krauser. Beck, who's on the current cover, turned in what Rob termed an "awesome" set.

Besides Paste editors and writers Josh Jackson, Reid Davis, Jay Sweet and Steve LaBate, other boldface names in the packed crowd (boldface to us that is) included John Jackson and Adam Block of SonyBMG Legacy, Revolver/Paste scribe Kristina Feliciano, NY Daily News' Jim Farber, Blue Note's Cem Kurosman, a bunch of Sacksco staff (who rep opening band Hem) and 2:59 Record's honcho Abe Bradshaw who came with his artists, upcoming Paste 4 to Watch subjects Matt Mays & El Torpedo (our clients) and Willie Nile, and Ben Kweller. We need to get out more, so we're psyched rumors are that this will become a monthly event in New York.

(l-r Jackson, Block, unknown, Satlof. All photos courtesy Theresa Coulter)

UPDATE:
We got reports that Adam Schlessinger (Fountains of Wayne), James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) were also there, and Matisyahu showed up later, after Beck's performance.

And we neglected to mention that our friend Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson was on the "wheels of steel" all night. Wow.

Two nights of great music: Amos Lee and Matt Mays

Am I lucky! For two nights in a row I got to see incredible performances by Shore Fire clients: Amos Lee and then Matt Mays & El Torpedo.

Tuesday night Alexis Tedford and I went to Town Hall in NYC to catch Amos' set. My favorite songs of the night from the new album: "Careless" and "Sweet Pea." Amos and the band looked like they were having a great time and so did the audience! They were shouting out requests and comments and Amos was talking right back. He was funny and charming. Another fun fact, we sat right next to music industry icon Bruce Lundvall, the head of Amos' label, Blue Note Records.


Last night, I caught a late set by our new band Matt Mays & El Torpedo (ABOVE). They opened up for Bettie Serveert. This was the first time I saw the band's acoustic side, because they usually rock out. It was cool to see another side of the band, more mellow but no less dynamic. The good news was the show was at the cool little venue South Paw in Brooklyn where I live. Note to all: Brooklyn Rocks!

I’m Down with Dobson

Sasha Dobson just keeps getting better. I’ve probably seen her a dozen times or more, but last night she played, IMHO, her best show to date. She was backed by the biggest band I’ve ever seen her with - five pieces, and a veritable who’s who of the scene that’s grown around the Living Room. Richard Julian and Jesse Harris on guitars. Tim Luntzel on bass. Dan Rieser on drums and Mauro Refosco on percussion. The expanded group turned songs like “Modern Romance” and “Crescent” from humble charmers into propulsive, rhythmically complex epics. Instrumentally, Bang Masters-era Van Morrison came to mind. Hints of Tim Buckley, and Jorge Ben too. As for Sasha, she’s singing with more confidence and range than ever before.

Sasha’s shows have become an “only in New York” phenomenon. Where else can you see a preternaturally gifted singer backed by a band of Grammy winners and world-class sidemen in a tiny club on a Wednesday night?

If you’re around for any of her Nov shows, you owe it to yourself to see Sasha. She plays Lincoln Center in Feb, and from there, who knows.....

Monday Nov. 6th - Rockwood Music Hall - New York, NY
Monday Nov. 13th - Rockwood Music Hall - New York, NY
Thursday Nov. 16th - Banjo Jims - New York, NY
Tuesday Nov. 21st - The Living Room - New York, NY

Ladies Night

I had a lot of fun hanging out in Williamsburg with my friends Nekesa Moody from the Associated Press and freelancer writer Rebecca Louie. We ate teriyaki, sushi and lots of rice at a cool little Japanese spot called Miyako on Berry Street. We also got a chance to catch up about our personal lives (what was talked about in Miyako, stays in Miyako!) and work.

By the way, Miyako had some incredible shrimp tempura sushi and beef teriyaki!

We moved to a little pastry shop and had coffee and hot chocolate and shared a ridiculously huge chocolate banana eclair. Rebecca can hardly believe her eyes.

'Cryin' 'Cause I Missed SLRAS in Nashville

You think you’ve got a long commute? Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars traveled some 30 hours and 6000+ miles to kick off their North American tour Friday night in Nashville. Turns out SLRAS mega-fan Joe Perry was in town (Aerosmith played in Antioch, TN the night before) and dragged his bandmates Steven Tyler and Joey Kramer out to the show. Joe and Steven joined the band onstage for several songs, including versions of Bob Marley’s “War (No More Trouble)” and “Get Up, Stand Up” that one eyewitness called “a once in a lifetime experience.” In the photo above, that’s SLRAS leader/songwriter Reuben Koroma rockin’ with Steven and Joe.

Sam Roberts Review That's Too Good to Let Pass Unmentioned...

Sam Roberts just kicks ass. There's no two ways about it. You can't beat him on stage. No one can (Ok, Bruce. But that's about it). Anyway, Sam Roberts Band has opened up for other bands ...and here's what someone wrote about one of those shows. I've made some deletions to this, but no additions. It's a cautionary tale:


X band shows signs of rust
Good thing it was not a 'Battle Of The Bands'


Many music fans blow off opening bands when going to concerts, either talking amongst themselves or just not showing up in time for them. As ... reports, for ...'s appearance it would have been a huge mistake.


...had a Texas-sized hurdle to overcome when he took the stage Saturday night. Picking an opening band can be a tricky proposition; you certainly want them to warm up the crowd, but maybe not to the mind-blowing level Sam Roberts Band set the bar with their smoldering set.

As demonstrated by all the exuberant to-the-beat hand clapping and psychedelic dance grooving going on throughout the packed venue, Sam Roberts and ..... either share a passionate fan base or Roberts gained a large number or ecstatic new fans at the show. The fiery Canadian band roared through a hard rocking set that culminated in the jaw-dropping fourteen-minute jam "Mind Flood", alternating introspective drizzling and typhoon furry. At the end of the night, several patrons were echoing each other that 'that second' band was amazing, including one family, in complete agreement, ranging in ages from 50 to early-teens; proving that Sam Roberts Band has a wide appeal and passionate live play that makes them a 'must see' band.

While the bar may have been set too high for an up-beat singer-songwriter to clear, X did their best.

PR. Also short for Project Runway.

Other than music and media the most talked about topics around the Shore Fire Office are usually food, baseball, food, did I mention food?, and Project Runway. The office was all a buzz on Wednesday as we made our predictions on who would win [Editor's note: not all of us!!!]. Chris T., Aliza, and our intern Nora all had their sites on Michael or Uli but I knew Jeffery would come out on top. Controversy stirred on Thursday morning after Jeffrey was announced the winner. Were the judges feeling guilty for not making Santino the winner last year? But Jeffrey broke the rules and went over budget?

Whatever your opinions of his collection may be, you have to admit his runway song rocked. Who care if he self promoting his band Lifter. Check out the song "Swing."

Also, Rob Sheffield's blog on the final episode is quite funny.

Gob Iron Ready for Their Close Up

Photo shoots in New York City are always a bit more treacherous than in other places... I don't know if those were Jay Farrar's exact words, but it was something along those lines. And, well, he'd definitely know better than I would.

The shoot was for Gob Iron -- Jay's side band with Anders Parker (whose debut album is out on Halloween!). After roaming around a bit and taking a several shots near an old abandoned lot/overpass area on 40th & 10th, we made our way -- through the bustling people, honking traffic, and around a Hummer that insisted on stopping right on the crosswalk.

We took a few shots on the street by a suspiciously empty-looking appliance store. There were a couple of fish markets in the area, and wow, did it smell....er, lovely.

But the folks at a cozy nearby tapas bar called Cafe Andalucia were kind enough to let us shoot inside, so we wrapped things up in there.

Just another NYC photo shoot.

Photographer Jim Franco was awesome, and Jay and Anders were real troopers. We should have some cool photos.

(photo to the right: Anders, me, Jay)

Where's Rory Gallagher Been All My Life?

I've a confession. A reissue label we were working with put out a series of Irish boogie/rock/blues guitarist Rory Gallagher cds six or seven years ago...which I never listened to at the time. In my defense, they were part of probably 5 or so releases a month, and I wasn't in charge of the account. Nevertheless, here I am. I'm listening. And I'm diggin' it. In the past couple weeks I've been getting into: Calling Card; Live in Europe; Stage Struck; and Photo-Finish.

Teng, Mays Make It on Ludlow St.

San Francisco's Vienna Teng riveted a standing room house last night at the Living Room on Ludlow Street in New York City. The pianist's melancholy songs and incredibly compelling performance kept the crowd completely hushed, so much so that Teng rewarded us all with a song she said she only played when she's got the right audience... a heart-wrenching a capella tale of a deadly car crash "four years ago." Earlier in the evening, Matt Hanks, Alexis Tedford and I got to have a terrific dinner at 'inoteca with Teng, her manager Amy Cox, Rounder exec Sherry Sands, and journalists Andre Poulin (Today Show) and Cristina Black (Time Out NY).

Following that excellent show, I popped in right next door to Pianos, where another of our clients, Matt Mays & El Torpedo,



were just going on for the second installment of a their Monday night October residency....the guys' rock-in-the-pocket self titled debut's out today.


Carrie Tolles (seen above with Matt Mays at last night's show) has been over the moon about the band, their great album and their winning live show. Man, these guys delivered and more. I'm going back next Monday. I'll buy you a drink there, just let me know you're coming.

Welcome Hazel Jane

Congratulations to Houston Chronicle scribe Andrew Dansby, whose first daughter Hazel Jane was recently born. Here's his blog about being a new parent, Babysteps.

I'm sure I am not the first to predict that she may become a fan of Bob Dylan ("Hazel") or possibly Nick Drake ("Hazy Jane").

rock and read

From the world of there-can-never-be-too-many-lists-about-music comes The Onion's 17 Essential Books About Popular Music, with intriguing selections abound. Congrats to the friends of Shore Fire who made the list. I really think The Onion's cultural criticism is largely spot-on. Keep up the good work, fellas. Of course, I also think Alan Lomax's The Land Where The Blues Began, Elijah Wald's Escaping The Delta, August Wilson's 7 Guitars, Clarence Major's Dirty Bird Blues and Bob Dylan's Chronicles make my personal list, which I admit is quite heavy on the blues literature.

“Radio City, You Are So Outrageous!”

“Radio City, you are so outrageous” was how singer Neil Tennant, one half of synth -pop dance duo The Pet Shop Boys, closed their show on Saturday night. Alexis and I were transported back to our teenage years (me in Chicago, Alexis in Knox-Vegas) when we were graced with “Domino Dancing,” “Go West,” “You Were Always On My Mind” and “West End Girls” amongst others. The show was fantastic and very flamboyant, complete with dancing queens and cowboys. We spotted David Fricke in the lobby while we waited for our flaming Radio City strawberry daquiris with red glitter glow sticks.

I just flew in from Chicago, boy are my arms tired!

Another road trip for Heineken's Red Star Soul Series took me to the Windy City and it was cold! Despite the temperature, soul fans flocked to the Chicago event featuring performances by R&B hitmakers Angie Stone and Bilal. There was so much buzz in the city about the event that even R. Kelly was in the house (I did not actually see him myself but there were several eyewitnesses).

Some of our journalist friends also made it out including Deborah Brown who is now at WMAQ-TV but used to book Shore Fire clients left and right when she was the morning show contact at WGN TV. Marti Parham of Jet Magazine was also there and we made sure she got the VIP treatment.

I took the next day off to visit with friends and got a chance to sit in on a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show. Tune in October 16 and maybe you will get a chance to see me.

Teng Takes BK By Storm (Literally)

Matt Hanks and I had the pleasure of checking out our client Vienna Teng at Park Slope's Union Hall last night. Her performance was fantastic! It was the first time I had seen her play solo (without strings) - just her and the piano. It may have been pouring rain outside but that didn't keep the fans away. Boy, did she have the crowd mesmerized. She played songs from her new album 'Dreaming Through the Noise' (which is out now on Zoe/Rounder) and songs from her past two albums and ended the set with a chilling interpretation of a Chinese folk song. I'll be catching Vienna again at the Living Room on Monday, Oct 16. Check out this fan footage from Vienna's show in her hometown of San Francisco this summer

And,I think I may have found my new favorite Brooklyn venue in Union Hall. Where else can you go see live music, play bocce ball and eat deep fried saga blue cheese balls coated in apple cinnamon cheerios? It really is a beautiful space and interesting set-up.

Porcupine Tree @ Nokia 10/6

Aliza and I had the pleasure Friday night of seeing our client Porcupine Tree perform their only NYC show of 2006 at the Nokia Theatre. Amazingly enough, it was my first trip to Nokia. I liked it. Very clean, and the VIP areas were spacious, with good seating and sightlines. Nokia also has my new favorite backstage hospitality room, with an Ali Baba and the 40 thieves vibe.

After an opening set by Robert Fripp and Adrien Belew that was by turns exhilarating and hypnotic, NY Times music critic Jon Pareles joined us for the first half of the Porcupine Tree program, in which they debuted new material that will appear on their upcoming studio album. Fans seemed to take to it- the ones I eavesdropped on while waiting to claim my bag from coatcheck were intrigued and surprised by how 'dark' it was. The second half of the show was devoted to fan favorites.

Rockstar weekend

Nick B., Alexis, Carrie and I caught former Shore Fire superstar Rona Rapadas at Pianos on Friday night performing as the second half of Alias & Tarsier. The packed crowd bobbed and swayed to the atmospheric melodies lead by Rona's moving, Bjork-like voice. Check them out at Myspace. Just amazing to see the girl that used to answer the phones here signing autographs.

And although the baseball season is over (for what is baseball without the Yankees?), I had a very exciting Columbus Day spending a few hours with my newest client, legendary producer (and fellow Italian) Phil Ramone. I was witness to Phil's brilliance as he produced a track at Legacy Studios with a "regal" singer for an upcoming Ella Fitzgerald tribute record. Stay tuned for more info on that.

Kids do the darnedest things....

Speaking of kids - here's a video that some fans (young fans that is) emailed to Sonya Kitchell recently, doing their own rendition of Sonya's single "Let Me Go":



Hard to say which one's more fun to watch, this or the actual video. Well not to mention Letterman and Ferguson. Hard to beat those kids though ain't it.

Jammin’ w/ Jamarama

On Sunday, I packed up the family (me, husband Peter and 5 1/2 month old Roxy) and we ventured out to the North Fork Theatre in Westbury, NY for the JAMARAMA LIVE! KIDSFEST. Shore Fire client Ralph’s World headlined the bill. It was Roxy’s first ever rock concert and boy, was she in for a treat! Roxy was mesmerized by Ralph’s catchy tunes and the other youngsters grooving in the aisles to songs about chocolate cake, lattes, puppy dogs, black and red ants who love to dance, happy lemons and a dinosaur who lived with the girl next door!

Here’s a photo of me and baby Roxy at the venue. Ralph’s the guy directly over my shoulder:

YouTube Friday Strikes Again

This rocks crucially. All out album artwork warfare:

Two Singers, Three Sheets To The Wind

Fellow Shore Fire clients, and Rounder Records artists, Madeleine Peyroux and Vienna Teng just wrapped up a run of tour dates, and we hear they got on famously.



"This photo was taken in Oakland CA,” recalls Vienna, “in Madi's mobile bedroom (i.e. the back room of the bus). Everyone was hanging out and drinking a great deal of red wine, and when the idea of picture-taking came up, we went through a bit of hilarious and not-entirely-G-rated posing before we decided to behave ourselves. The whole tour was fabulous -- can't wait to meet up with her again."

Terry Lickona, Meet Mark Foley....

We were surprised yesterday, (and thought, in a way that it was kinda cool to see him in the paper despite the context), that while reading the NY Times on the subway to work, we came across a photo of our friend Terry Lickona, who's booked so many of our artists on his terrific music performance tv show Austin City Limits. But there he is, in a star-studded photo with Lou Gosset Jr., Randy Jackson, Kelly Clarkson....and disgraced Republican, ex-Congressman (a Republican), Mark Foley, R - Florida.


It turns out that Foley, who was the Republican chair of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children (presumably installed there by the Republican leadership) had a predilection for Hollywood types too, and it's explained in a story titled "A Complex and Hidden Life Behind Ex-Representative's Public Persona." Next time we see Terry, we've got to get the whole story!

Westerberg's cool signature guitar...

It's a little shameless, but I can't resist calling attention to the our client First Act's newly announced Paul Westerberg Signature Model PW580 guitar. It got me to thinking... I remember in early September 1982, the Replacements were starting to get some attention in New York and they had a gig in town (maybe their first here, but not really sure). My friend Steve (see below re Flipper) dragged me and some other pals down to Danceteria to see this anarchic, who-knows-what-will-happen band that Christgau was hot on. We arrived early (it was $5, I think, to get in if you got there before 10). The night got later...and later...and later. Back then, the headliners at the NY clubs didn't go on until 2am or later. I had a little tummy ache, whined a bit, and got everyone to leave. Don't judge me too harshly, none of us really knew who they were or had ever heard the Replacements music. I'll regret it always, but it did get to see 'em a few times after that during their Bob Stinson heyday, including my favorite, a night at CBGBs when they played as Gary & the Boners.

My momentary fame...

I'd like to add the new job description of "official fender-offer of drunken guys stuffing dollar bills down the shirts of female reporters while the air" to my list of many publicist skills! Check out my momentary fame as I swat the offenders away...this first appeared on VH1 Best Week Ever randomly this past weekend, and now it has made its way to YouTube-ha!

Enjoy...

A Two Beer Lunch with Paste

I was in Atlanta last Friday, and had the pleasure of dropping by the stylin’ offices of Paste Magazine: beautiful open floor plan, a cool podcast studio, and of course, cds, books and dvds everywhere you look. They had just closed an issue the night before , so I was able to drag editors Josh Jackson, Reid Davis and Jason Killingsworth out to lunch. Or rather, they gave me a serious beer schooling, with lunch on the side. We went to the Brick Store Pub, where the fish and chips are pretty good, and the beer selection is INSANE! I'm talking hundreds, not dozens. They have an entire room devoted to Belgian beers, for chrissake! The Paste fellas are friendly with the owners. They hip them to new music and get to sample new arrivals in return. A truly inspired arrangement, if you ask me. L-R below, that's Reid, Jason and Josh. Cheers!

We're jammin'

Here's some footage of me jamming on the blues with illustrious guitarist-singer-songwriter Dan Kaplan in Cambridge, MA. Note Dan's superlightweight camping guitar! (Be patient: it takes a few minutes to load.)

Sufjan in wings

Saw Sufjan Stevens play at Town Hall on Friday night, opening night of a 3-night run. He and his band emerged attired in butterfly wings and were spot on all night. He actually has an understated concert presence, in spite of the plumage. His breathy tenor really shined though. And his drummer is fantastic.

In Shore Fire news, check out Amos Lee on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight. I ran into Amos in Greenpoint, Brooklyn a couple of months ago and you'll never meet a nicer guy.