Wii Fever

Over the last two weeks i've been involved in a personal mission: to find a Nintendo Wii. It's been a while since i bought a new video game system. almost 10 years, to be exact. But this year i could resist no longer, and being a longtime fan of Nintendo ("classically trained," as they say, on the original NES), i decided the Wii was they system i needed. Unfortunately, actually getting one proved quite difficult. two weekends ago i scoured just about every big-box store in the greater Albany area for one and came up dry. Multiple trips to GameStop, Target, Best Buy, and even the Nintendo store in Rockefeller center here in NYC also yielded nothing. I had a chance to play it for the first time last monday and that only made me want one that much more- it is so fun. Finally, last friday, I chanced into the Nintendo store again and there it was: an enormous line of customers leading to the counter, where the cashiers had stacks of boxes of the system piled up next to each register.

The wait was worth it. The sports games alone are endlessly amusing, and the boxing in particular provides you with a shockingly exhausting workout. Or maybe i'm just shockingly out of shape. in either case, I can tell that i'm probably not going to get through that stack of books i new years-resolved to read any time soon, and there are already plans in the works for a Shore Fire mini-tournament on the Wii. In the words of Ferris Bueller, "if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Happy Anniversary TuneCore

I'm very excited to be joining forces with the revolutionary new digital distributor TuneCore. Last Thursday I sat in on their team's meeting/ one year anniversary celebration. What an interesting and smart crew.

Now That's Entertainment!

Last night, Peter and I scored VIP passes to the first of Paul Weller’s sold-out three night residency at Irving Plaza to celebrate the release of Hit Parade, his new box set. (Tickets were selling up to $1200 a piece on eBay.) It was said that last night’s show would pay special attention to songs of The Jam but we discovered upon arrival that Paul was only planning to do 6 Jam songs which was kind of a bummer. Nevertheless, he was in impeccable form and belted out a slew of his hits spanning his entire career. Check out the set list which I got my hands on before the show even started:

Gab, Graze, and Groove

Last Thursday, Quincy Jones presented our client Phil Ramone with the National Mentoring Partnerships Excellence in Mentoring Award (pictured here with friend Maria Snyder). The two legendary producers and close friends shared many laughs through out the evening at the stunning space under the 59th Street bridge, Guastavinos.

Despite the elegant and sophisticated architecture of the venue, the mood was very lighthearted. Male guests were asked to check their ties in turn creating a colorful wall decoration and the menu for the evening featured all American cuisine like burgers , mac and cheese, chili, sweet potato fries, and an ice cream bar. No wonder the event was titled Mentoring's Big Night to Gab, Graze and Groove.

Taking in 'Fear of a Blank Planet'

Last Thursday night, Aliza and I had the pleasure of hearing Porcupine Tree's epic new album 'Fear of a Blank Planet' (Atlantic/ April 24) in a stunning 5.1 surround mix at Legacy Studios, on NYC's famous 'Music Row'. We were joined by some of our friends from Guitar One, Metal Edge, AOL cityguide, the newly-launched Drumhead magazine, OK! Magazine and of course, Mike Mettler and Ken Richardson from Sound & Vision, seen here with Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson.

The music is brilliant. Modeled, as Steven said, on those "great old rock LPs from the 70s," it blends myriad styles, tempos, riffs, and melodies into a single 51-minute rock opus whose six tracks transition seamlessly from one to the next. Everybody in the studio gave rapt attention to the music from start to finish, and afterwards, Wilson was gracious enough to answer a few questions from the audience.

Wilson will tour with Porcupine Tree later this spring, but until then, fans can check out his shows with his other band, Blackfield, set to begin March 10 in support of their new album Blackfield II (Atlantic/We Put Out Records/ March 6)

Phenomenal Night with Ruthie Foster....

at the Living Room. Shore Fire staff arrived in force last night for powerhouse singer and songwriter Ruthie Foster's New York solo show, previewing songs from her upcoming The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster album. Here's Ruthie (right) with Shore Fire's Diana D'Angelo:


As funny a storyteller as she is a deep singer, Foster's set kept Shore Fire's Marilyn Laverty and freelancer Anthony DeCurtis entranced (below), seen here chatting afterwards.


...and also in the house, more journalists and staff, L-R, Sirius Radio's Meridith Ochs & her husband Larry and Shore Fire staffers Bianca Martinez and Nora Lyons.

Diana vs The Huntington Beach Bad Boy

Friday night I had the chance to meet one of my favorite Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz! I was at the Tropicana hotel in Atlantic City to see one of my MMA instructors, Joshu Nissim Levy, compete in a cage match. Unfortunately he lost but meeting Tito and playing Texas Hold 'Em in a casino for the first time made up for it.

I'm not Slash...

...but there's no point getting hung up on that small detail. One of the more memorable TV campaigns this fall was the series of Volkswagen ads featuring Slash, John Mayer, and Nigel Tufnel playing a special edition First Act GarageMaster guitar directly through a VW. The ads were the public face of a promotion that matched a guitar with every VW sold during the period. "Rock out just like Slash... if you're Slash" was the tag line for one:


Anyways, it was an exciting time for First Act, a Shore Fire client that's been getting a lot of attention for their line of totally hand made custom guitars from their custom shop in Boston, as well as a line of entry-level guitars sold in mass merchant stores. The former are being played by Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Brad Whitford (Aerosmith), Henry Garza (Los Lonely Boys), Nick McCarthy (Franz Ferdinand), and a whole mess of other guitar heroes. Meanwhile one of the entry level guitars was picked up by Paul Westerberg on tour (while he was heading to a Wal-Mart to buy shaving cream) and he ended up playing it every night on tour.

So with all that going on, heading out to this year's NAMM show with First Act was a lot of fun. The NAMM convention is the annual big bash for the musical instrument industry, where companies introduce new products and generally make a lot of noise. This year First Act was the toast of the convention. Thanks in no small part to the VW campaign their guitars have been everywhere, and they brought out a car for an on site demo:


I did my best to rock out just like Slash. It's a lot of fun, but when it comes down to it... I'm not Slash. I can do a respectable Steven Adler impression though in a pinch.

Farrar & Friends, Up Close

Yesterday was one of those "oh yeah, this is why I do it" moments...I got to sit in on a solo acoustic set by Son Volt's Jay Farrar for a couple of dozen folks at Sony. Up so close and in such a quiet room, Farrar's voice was hypnotic on quietly strummed songs from Son Volt's new album 'The Search.' Here's Jay with freelance scribe Anthony DeCurtis (on left) and Legacy's John Jackson (right).

SLOAN @ Bowery, 1/19

Last night I came to the conclusion that I'’m just an American girl with a penchant for Canadian rockers when I caught the Sloan show at Bowery and was mesmerized once again by our neighbors up north.

This was the first time I've seen Sloan, since Matt Mays raved about his homeboys (both bands originated in Halifax, Novia Scotia, although Sloan now resides in Toronto). Where MM&ET influences run along the more rootsy side of rock (Neil Young, Tom Petty) Sloan reminded me more of The Replacements, The Beatles and The Stone Roses. Of the latter two comparisons their is a definite brit-pop aspect to their sound, not to mention the lead singer Chris is a dead ringer for Richard Aschroft (although much cuter). They played old songs and new songs off their recent release, 'Never Hear The End Of It,'” an epic 30-track record destined to become a classic out on Yep Rock. Their upbeat power pop/ electric rock roused the crowd especially on songs like "Who Taught you to Live Like That"” with an opening reminiscent of "Spirit in The Sky"” and a chorus equally riveting that begged the crowd to sing along and that they did.



I'll leave you with this: Sloan kicks ass on record and on stage - if you have a chance to catch them live do it and definitely check out the new album!

Our Friends from the Mother Country....

Marc Connor, a manager we know through his helming of Jamie Cullum, stopped by to visit with some of his staff. Connor owns and runs a terrific London-based company, Air MTM - media: touring: management - a combination pr, booking and management agency that's so simpatico with Shore Fire. Over Friday pizza, we traded war stories, shared tips and compared notes on how to find new staff. That's Connor second from right, next to Shore Fire's Nick Baily, along with three of his team in town for the International Association of Jazz Educators conference.

The Big Easy Meets TV

Went to Insignia Films' NYC premiere of "New Orleans," which will air in February on PBS, last night. It's a 2-hour documentary on the history and culture of the city, with tons of new and old footage. It's highly recommended, with a great sense of the way the city changed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. If anything, it was far too short to do the complex city justice.

Of course, I would've wished for more time spent on the music history (though I definitely caught a bit of Snooks Eaglin's "Saint James Infirmary" in there, from a recent standout Smithsonian Folkways release). I did get to catch up with the music supervisor, Tuff City Records veteran and proud dad Steve Saperstein, who knows more about New Orleans music than anyone I've ever met. Kudos to PBS and Insignia for another job well done.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that they thanked me in the credits!

Just a couple of crazy kids with crazy hair....

Nick Baily and I went to go see Ms. Erin McKeown perform live on WFUV for members only fund raising concert at the beautiful Bennett Studios in Englewood, NJ. After the incredible set and interview with WFUV's own Rita Houston, Erin learned what I had known for some time now....we are hair doppelgangers. That's right, both of us are blessed with a giant shrub like explosion of hair. Quite a sight to behold as you can see from the picture below. Needless to say we're both very excited by the development.


Can't wait till our hair meets again at Joe's Pub during Erin's 2 night stand January 23 +24.

Angi's engaged!

Our good friend and Angi Salomon from Sony/BMG/Burgundy Records got engaged on New Year's Eve to Ryan Barka who works for Primary Wave Music Publishing.

Ryan popped the question at The Living Room, the location of their first date. Although Angi says he's not a professional musician, he surprised her by renting out a room and performing an acoustic version of "True Love Will Find You in the End" by Beck.

Congratulations Angi!

I want this...

Unabashedly. Me and everyone else right?

Some pretty amazing videos here. I'm always skeptical until I try something (and in fairness it took a few rounds before the iPods had all the kinks worked out) but the just announced iPhone looks like a winner to me, at least on paper.

A full-on iPod and Blackberry that runs all my OSX apps too? Music 24/7/365 without having to carry more than one device around?

OK, I'm a sucker for things that look cool too. Sign me up.

Jukebox Heaven!

I'm psyched about some new stuff on our (NEW & IMPROVED!) website. Check out the new jukebox, which you can launch from the homepage (or click here) and you'll hear some of the great stuff we have coming up, from Lewis Taylor's California-style soul-pop to the most diverse Son Volt album I've heard to date. My personal favorite is "Dr. No" by Future Clouds & Radar, who make me think of a particularly psychedelic meeting between Beulah, ELO and Ted Leo.

In the improved category is the search engine, which is speedier and more precise. As always, we've got high res photos on the site. Any questions about ShoreFire.com? Hit me up: nlosseaton@shorefire.com.

Calling all French speakers...

So over the holidays I got a chance to tack a few days on the end of a visit to see my family in London and hopped the train to Paris to check things out. Not much going on there over the holidays, so besides stocking up on Mano Negro live bootlegs my musical discoveries were fairly modest. Except for this gem, which was in massive heavy rotation on the local music video channel. Behold my new favorite video:



According to the interweb the song title roughly translates to "insane of the hood."

I think I'm missing something. This is satire -- right?