Tedford Day at Shore Fire

We gathered ' round the new kitchen table yesterday to celebrate Alexis Tedford's birthday. The vote around the office was that Haagen Dazs is the new official ice cream cake of Shore Fire.

Farewell Astroland

I read the sad news this morning that the summer of 2007 will be the last operating year for Coney Island's Astroland as we know it. I didn't get out there a lot as a child growing up in the city, but like the statue of liberty and empire state building, even if i didn't go there every year, i still had a very strong sentimental attachment to it as an integral part of the city's unique character.

More recently, this past summer, a group of Shore Fire staff and journalist friends made the trip out to a Coney Island Cyclones game, where The Klezmatics were performing as part of Woodie Guthrie Day. Afterwards, a group of us sampled some of the culinary delights of the boardwalk and took a few spins on the famed Cyclone (which, thankfully, will be spared redevelopment). It was a very fun evening.

I can't deny, though, that the amusement park is in its twilight. The weekend after the baseball game i biked out there and saw the snack stand directly across from the roller coaster, where i had bought a corn dog just days earlier, burning to the ground as several companies of firemen looked on helplessly- the result of what seemed to be an electrical fire.

I hope the new owners are able to rejuvenate the area while retaining some of the spirit of the old amusement park.

For the record, my high score on the skee-ball machines next to the Nathan's Hot Dog stand on the boardwalk is 340.

Grease Over Glitter

Going into Wednesday night's Little Steven's Underground Garage Rolling Rock and Roll Show at Irving Plaza I expected another night of intense rock and roll but little did I know that after The Charms and Chesterfield Kings put on thrilling sets I would be slapped in the face by the country tinged punk rock of Supersuckers. Having never seen them live, my jaw dropped as the crowd threw their middle fingers in the air and shouted along with Eddie Spaghetti as he road his bass like a bull rider. This made me wonder if the sold out show was really in part to the New York Dolls return home or the brilliance of these greaser outlaws with fierce and fast guitars and attitude for days.

Mule Tide Greetings

I’m proud of my husband Peter who has just directed a music video for the Southern rock band Gov’t Mule. Peter shot the video in Hunter Mountain, NY on a rainy Saturday afternoon this summer. Peter and the lead singer of the band Warren Haynes have been friends for several years and the video is a mini-retrospective of the band’s career. Here it is :

Rock and Wrap It Up

Kudos the homeless relief organization Rock and Wrap It Up!, who are recognized in Friday's Dallas Morning News in an article by Katie Menzer. I had no idea these guys existed; they take leftover food from major concert tours and bring it to homeless shelters. Also interesting is a list of what foods major stars request on their riders. Who knew that Prince likes Rice Krispies?!

WHOSE ARK WILL YOU EMBARK?

Noah ain't got a thing on Ola Salo, the luscious lead singer of the Swedish glam pop rock band, The Ark. All the young dudes voyaged to the Bowery Ballroom last night to soak up the fabulous extravagance of The Ark.

The glamour was in full-force last night, the band looked and sounded amazing. The hair - dynamite, the make-up - flawless, the fashion - phenomenal, the attitude - turbo-charged flamboyance and the music - theatrical, rebellious, outrageous rock. The spirit of Ziggy Stardust and Freddy Mercury converged on stage into a glittery eruption and the beguiled crowd danced all night. They performed songs such as "One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young," "Rock City Wankers," "The Others" and my personal favorite "Deliver Us From Free Will."

One thing is certain when the apocalypse comes I know whose boat I'm getting on and it ain't the floating farmhouse.

When Libby Met Hubert

Last Thursday, Libby Johnson hosted a wonderful event at her studio, The Shed. It combined a screening of the interesting new music documenary "Before the Music Dies" with blues great Hubert Sumlin's 75th birthday and a two-song Johnson performance. The film featured many Shore Fire friends, including super-critic Alan Light, Nick Purdy and Josh Jackson of Paste Magazine, Edna Gunderson of the USA Today, Toure, Tom Moon. Shore Fire clients Elvis Costello and Questlove (of The Roots) make poignant comments on the state of music and the industry. Definitely worth a viewing, especially for Erykah Badu's hysterical -- and spot on -- comments. Filmmakers Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen were in attendance after a stormy landing at JFK.

Libby debuted a new song and played "Annabella" and Hubert said of her, "She is going to go to the moon. The girl can really sing." For his part, Hubert turned 75 years young and turned in an incedible set also featuring GE Smith, including an incredible rendition of "Killing Floor." I got to chat with Hubert a bit, as did Libby. Above is Hubert signing Libby's cool guitar, which she decorated herself. Also sighted were XM's Bill Wax, artist Lipbone Redding, Ben Umanov and Dan Wise of Wrong Records, Jesse Brenner of Modiba Productions and Hubert's manager Toni Ann Mamary.



Many more, Hubert!

OLD "FRIENDS" COME BACK TO NYC

On Saturday night, I had the honor of witnessing a historic event at Town Hall. Legendary guitarist Doc Watson headlined the Friends of Old Time Music Tribute concert with a few very special guests including the New Lost City Ramblers, John Sebastian, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Jean Ritchie. PHEW! I have to say there were numerous times that I got chills hearing all of these legends tell their stories and watching them enjoy playing together again. Our client, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings recently released a phenomenal boxed set called Friends of Old Time Music which captures all of these artists and more performing at the original Friends of Old Time Music concerts in Greenwich Village from 1961- 1965. Saturday’s show captured all of those days and more. I have to say it was quite surreal being surrounded by so many fans/friends who knew every single lyric to every song being sung that night. I overheard audience members connect who hadn’t seen each other since the last original concert - pretty amazing. It was one big community coming back together after 45 years apart. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures inside the venue but I rounded up some footage of Doc Watson so you could get a feel for what I saw:

Happy Hanks Day to Matt...

....who celebrated his birthday in style at the Shore Fire office. Rebbeca W journeyed off to the wilds to track down this special peanut butter pie.

What a way to end the week, with Mary Weiss...

...the leader not only of the pack, but of the truly famous Shangri-Las. Mary came to talk with us about her upcoming album on Norton Records (along with legends of their own, Norton's Billy Miller and Miriam Linna). Weiss hasn't released any music in nearly four decades...you can read more about the album in the current issue of Mojo. We're not giving anything away when we say: It's a stunner and a rocker; that Mary hasn't lost a step as a singer; and that her aura's still black leather jacket and tough-as-Queens.

(l-r: Linna, Miller, Satlof, Mary Weiss)

Dinner with a legend and the "Jewish Brad Pitt"

I had such a great time at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala the other night because I got a chance to not only see Patti Austin's amazing performance but I got a chance to have dinner with the legendary singer. Patti is our new Shore Fire client and thanks to Hyman Katz of Rendezvous Entertainment I get to work with one of my favorite singers. That's me, Patti and Hyman in the photo.

At dinner Patti could hardly eat because everyone wanted to give her kudos for her show-stopping performance. Patti and Hyman were so much fun to talk to. They both have great stories to share about the music business and they also both have a great sense of humor. Hyman introduces himself as the "Jewish Brad Pitt."

Other highlights of the evening included Wynton Marsalis' touching tribute to Ed Bradley. Wynton Marsalis and a group of musicians, including his brother Jason Marsalis, had a New Orleans style funeral march through the audience. Kitty Carlisle Hart also shared personal stories about her friendship with George Gershwin

I also got a chance to meet the lovely Stephanie Simon from NY 1 News and Ashley Williams of People Magazine.

The Thrill of Anouk...

Marilyn, Nick, Bianca and me were just thrilled to spend time with European superstar Anouk (below, right, with Shore Fire President Marilyn Laverty) over the past couple of days.

Literally the biggest music star ever in the Benelux countries, Anouk was very gracious to all of us and to the top notch gaggle of journalists who met us for lunch at Le Bernadin on Tuesday. Some of the assembled (below, l-r) were Norbert Plantinga, EMI Netherlands; Elyssa Gardner, USA Today; Bianca Martinez, Shore Fire; Jonathan Cohen and Bill Werde, Billboard. Editors from Blender, Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire and Redbook were also present.

The visit was to introduce Anouk to press here in advance of the stateside release next year of her smash European album Hotel New York.

Brunch With Allen Toussaint

The city was a gloomy and rainy this past Sunday, but inside Joe's Pub, the atmosphere was joyous and lively as fans of all ages-including a few little ones getting an early start on the brunch tradition-filled the room for Allen Toussaint's jazz brunch to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. The menu had a New Orleans flavor and the room buzzed with excitement when the lights dimmed and on stage stepped the elegant and graceful Mr. Toussaint. He took a seat in front of his baby grand and launched right into one wonderful tune after another, reaching far back into his vast catalogue, playing crowd pleasers, dedicating a gorgeous favorite to the late Ed Bradley, and engaging the audience with his witty banter. The highlight was the surprise appearance by Elvis Costello, who sang five songs from their recent fantastic collaborative album THE RIVER IN REVERSE. They started with my personal favorite from the CD, "The Sharpest Thorn" and got the audience to join in a sweeping "do do do do do" at the end. After a stunning 15-minute monologue about growing up and spending evenings with his Creole family members on their porch telling ghost stories, Toussaint closed the set with the great "Southern Sky." Two standing ovations followed and I must say I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day at the pleasure Allen got in playing and sharing his stories-what a thrill for us all!

A "Tanner" day in Washington, D.C.

I took a whirlwind of a trip to DC this past Thursday to attend the record release party for Carl Tanner, Shore Fire client and operatic tenor extraordinare, whose Christmas cd ‘Hear The Angel Voices’ is out now.

Some highlights of my brief yet busy trip include:

•Catching up with my brother Zack Rosen in-person. He was just hired as editorial assistant for the Washington Blade and is already doing a ton of writing for the newspaper. My favorite article, thus far, is his review of Reichen Lehmkuhl’s new book “Here’s What We’ll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out and the U.S. Air Forces.” For those that are not up to the minute on their boy band trivia, Reichen is the current paramour of Lance Bass. Click here to read the article.

•A quick tour and meet and greet at NPR. For years I’ve been pitching several reports/editors/producers to do stories on our artists yet I’ve never put a face to a name. It was lovely to finally meet Felix Contreras, Bob Boilen, Brendan Banaszak, Sarah Beyer Kelly, Jordana Hochman and many others in-person.

•And of course, the record release party itself. Carl commanded the respect of the room full of Washington DC tastemakers by speakly grandly on one of his favorite topic: his newly released Christmas cd.

Here’s a photo of me (right) with Nell Mulderry (left) of Boss Sounds- she does Carl’s sales and marketing and Ron Kramer- his project manager.

I have to admit that there were a table of dreamy sweets in the corner of the party and I made more than one visit to sample the shaky pink jello and spoonfuls of perfectly crisp creme brulee.

I Have Seen The Future of Indie Lap Steel Guitar...

...and its name is The Last Town Chorus. Had my indoctrination into the church of TLTC last night when the group - i.e. singer/lap steel player Megan Hickey and friends - kicked off a weekly residency at Mo Pitkins.


Yowza! Though she admitted at the top of the set that her 65 year-old lap steel can be a bit finicky, you wouldn’t know by the incredible sounds she coaxed from it. At times her playing recalled Syd Barret’s slicing, zippo lighter guitar excursions on ‘Piper at the Gates of Dawn’; at others it sounded as expansive as a Sonic Youth sound collage. And it all served as a brilliant foil to Megan’s delicate, yearning voice.

We ran into Shore Fire client Libby Johnson (that's her below) just before Megan's set, and shared selections from Mo's food-coma-inducing menu (try the deep fried mac & cheese!) with Paste Magazine's, Reid Davis and Nate Douglas, and freelance friends Meredith Ochs, Steve Dollar and Kristina Feliciano.


The Last Town Chorus plays Mo Pitkins every Wednesday this month: Nov 15, 22 and 29. Come on down and be transported.

CMJ Panel Tales

So last Friday morning I headed over at the very un-rock'n'roll hour of 10:00am to trade stories with Steve Karas (Wind Up), Jay Wilson (Universal), Sue Marcus (Stunt Company) and moderator Ron Torossian (5W) at the CMJ publicity panel.

This year's title was "Indie Vs. Label Publicists," which despite the "vs." turned out to be far from adversarial. All agreed that when things are working, which is just about all the time, labels and indies complement and extend each other's work. That said it's always interesting to hear different perspectives.

Steve and Jay both talked about how they often find themselves as the face of their label, and involved in much more than publicity and have more of an ability to shape an artists path, like weighing in on a favorite single or suggesting album art. The indies brought up the other side of that, which is the advantages of being focused, and being able to keep your roster smaller and really spend a lot more time on a given campaign.

Sue pointed out that she loves the ability to stay with an artist for many years and albums, no matter which labels they move to. I couldn't agree more, especially as moving around keeps getting more and more common.

The audience questions were interesting and well informed. One person (who I'm assuming was a musician themselves) noted that he feels like artists often find that the strongest relationship on their promotional team ends up being the bond with the publicist, and asked why that was. Who knows -- my answer, a guess, was that perhaps we're the most connected with what people actually think of an album, and how it fits in. If we can't really convince people, we're toast. No slush funds for us.

(From left -- Steve, me, Ron, Jay, and Sue)

But my vote for favorite question has to go to whoever asked "what's the worst part of your job," which was met with a chorus of variations on "when you're stuck in meetings that just never end." Needless to say my answer was "the end of the day" since that's when I have to go home and wait as many as 12 hours before I can come back again. Other than that it's all unicorns and rainbows. So make sure to study hard when you get back to college on Monday, guys!

OK I lied.

I think I said long meetings too. Though there might have been a comment in there about the fact that even death metal cover bands who sing entirely in sanskrit and perform animal sacrifice on stage still ask if we can get them on Oprah. Maybe.

Fun News from Van Zandt's Underground Garage Show Last Night

Just got an on-the-ground report from last night's Rolling Rock & Roll show in LA...Steven Van Zandt's latest bullet in the battle for rock & roll music....

"Last night in LA/Hollywood was the 2nd night of the November Rolling Rock & Roll show and WOW what a show. First off, to get a packed house on a Tuesday night @ The Avalon (and election night, and with Aerosmith/Motley Crue down the street at the Hollywood Bowl and Joan Jett another mile away at the Henry Fonda theatre) is a testament to the drawing power of this show. The New York Dolls were amazing, The Supersuckers killed, The Chesterfield Kings were fantastic as always, first time seeing Davie Allan and the Arrows (while the rest of the country will get to see the Charms again) and the LA winner of the Battle of the Bands were...interesting but brought along 100 or so fanatic fans who crowded the front of the stage to get the night rolling.

And speaking of Aerosmith, Joe Perry and his family came to the Avalon to see the New York Dolls following his band's show at the Hollywood Bowl. Obviously he knew where the "place to be" was last night. And even Slash was spotted at the Underground Garage show as well...

As usual with chaos all around, Adam Parsons and Joe Lopez ran a tight ship and the bands couldn't have been nicer. And great to have the surprise LA appearance by Beauvoir and Bernacki...

Costello & Cash take on The Butcher's Boy

Elvis Costello and his friend Rosanne Cash, backed by a terrific all star group of musicians in an old-time lineup, turned in a hushed, gripping performance of the ancient murder ballad The Butcher's Boy at a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman last evening. No happy ending in that one. Costello's steady lead singing definitely fit the subject matter, and it recalled the matter of fact source version by Buell Kazee, recorded in 1928 and found on the famously influential Anthology of American Folk Music Edited by Harry Smith.
(above in the L-R: Cash, Larry Campbell [fiddle], Costello [guitar - a beaut!], Todd Phillips [stand up bass] and Mike Compton [mandolin]. Putting his guitars away at the time was John Leventhal)

This performance (to air this Friday, Nov 10), reprises Costello's performance on the recently released The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited, a live cd/dvd box set produced by the matchless Hal Wilner.

SHORE FIRE CMJ FEST HIGHLIGHTS

By: Diana D'Angelo
Slowlands is the best unsigned band I've seen/heard in a long time. Rob Krauser, his fiance Natalie and I caught them Saturday night at the Delancey. After a bite and a run in with "Charlie Rose Show" producer Taj Greenlee at Epstein's, we headed back and caught some of Carina Round's set. Her PJ Harvey meets Fiona Apple voice is amazing. We wrapped the evening with melted faces from the psychedelic rock riffs of Earl Greyhound.

By: Rob Krauser
Thursday night I saw a fabulously bluesy performance from Shore Fire's own Sonya Kitchell. She played to a packed house at the Living Room. After that SF staffer Carrie Tolles and I made our way over to the Harp/Thrill Jockey party at Tonic. We got there just in time to see Califone and the amazing Bobby Conn. Bobby was arguably my favorite performance this week.

Friday I started the night off with Deerhoof at Hiro ballroom, followed by the French Kiss showcase at Pianos. Plastic Constellations made me feel like a 14 year old at a friend's punk show and the Big Sleep caused permanent hearing loss.

I finished off my CMJ with Slowlands, Carina Round and Earl Greyhound at the Delancey. All and all a great but tiring 3 days of shows.

By: Carrie Tolles
Wednesday I stopped by Ace Of Clubs to catch Matt Mays & El Torpedo's set which was incredible as always. Having seen them a half a dozen times I can confidently say they get better and better with each show. Fellow Canadian's Wintersleep performed after. They were incredible, I would describe their sound as ambient indie pop. I'm looking forward to hearing more from them!

On Friday night I checked out one of Jesse Malin's two sold out performances at the Living Room. Jesse played some song's from 'The Heat,' a couple from 'The Fine Art of Self Destruction' and some new ones which sounded excellent. I can't wait to hear the new record!

Mire Las Estrellas!

Ricky Martin, Ludacris, Marc Anthony, J Lo... The real estrello (star) at the Latin Recording Academy's Person of the Year Tribute last night was our client Phil Ramone. Ramone served as executive producer overseeing fantastic performances of Martin's tunes by the hottest Latin stars. Highlights included a Reggaeton version of 'La Vida Loca' and Juan Luis Guerra's bachata twist to 'Vuelve'.

Here Ramone (right) shows off his threads for the official photos while fellow Shore Fire publicist Aliza Rabinoff (below, left) and I take a turn down the rojo carpet.

Wild Halloween on 138th St...

....when for the third year straight, a semi-unruly clutch of kids from 138th and 139th Sts gathered for a semi-organized Halloween romp on our landmark blocks. Considering that as of five years ago, there were literally zero children on the block (the older ladies say that our first son Leo was the first kid born on the block in 20 years), and that until three years ago we got no Halloween visitors at all to our house, it's quite a change. The neighborhood's embraced the new energy, with balloons tied to the railings on the stoop signifying that you're open for business, and the word's out beyond our historic blocks. Here's the neighborhood play group gathered on my next door neighbor's stairs. That's my kid Leo on the far left, in the suit of armor. His brother Eli's hiding behind him.

Here's Sir Leo and Fireman Eli on our stoop

Eli and his next door neighbor/playmate Tre.