throw some cheese on it!

It's always interesting when a joke takes on a life of its own. For example, Weird Al's spoof of Chamillionaire's 'Ridin'- 'White and Nerdy'- threatened to overshadow the original. Similarly, Justin Timberlake's 'D**ck in a Box' has become so popular that he performed it live at MSG, while Uphree's McGee did a cheeky cover of it at their New Years Show.

All of which is by way of introducing Peter Rosenberg's immature, obscene, and hilarious Throw Some Cheese On It, a spoof of Rich Boy's Throw Some Ds. I love the original song, but I think the cheese spoof is genius. I wouldn't be surprised to see it start popping up on the idolators and stereogums of the world.

Relix Party

Last night, Diana D'Angelo and I stopped in to the Gotham Comedy Club for Relix' party in celebration of its two newest family members- Metal Edge and Metal Maniacs. We saw a lot of friends of Shore Fire, including Wes Orshoski, Josh Baron, Mike Greenhaus, Tad Hendrickson, Richard Gehr, and Heather Davis of the newly launched Drumhead magazine.

In describing his goals for the new group, publisher Steve Bernstein made a very interesting observation, one that I've noticed myself: while the music that the metal mags cover is dark, loud, and a bit frightening, the people who work at the magazines are the complete opposite- sweet, cheerful, and outgoing. He said that most people expect the "hippies" at Relix to be the nice ones, but in fact it's "most likely going to be the birkenstocks stomping on the black boots of the metal people".

Afterwards, Diana and I headed over to Trailer Park, a favorite haunt for several of us Shore Fire-ites, for a basket of their delicious tater tots. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Spazzmatazz!

In a crowded field, Dave the Spazz reigns as my favorite WFMU DJ. I’ll never know what it was like to tune to those unhinged early broadcasts by pioneering rock & roll DJs like Dewey Phillips or Alan Freed, but I like to think Dave The Spazz is as close as I’ll get. He’s turned me on to tons of great stuff - from Roy Head to Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution! - and his love for Charlie Feathers knows no bounds. I’m down with that.

But I had no idea Dave was a songwriter himself. So, imagine my delight to see him credited with a co-write on the new Mary Weiss album ‘Dangerous Game’ which comes out next week on Norton, and which we happen to be working. Check out the spazztastic track “Nobody Knows (But I Do)” and for heaven sake, tune in to Music To Spazz By, every Thursday night from 8-11pm on WFMU (or online anytime).

Not for the faint of heart

On Valentine's Day eve I slipped on newly fallen snow and ice on a sidewalk that hadn't yet been salted and well I think the photo says it all.


Thanks to all of the well wishes, the lovely doctors at St. Vincent's emergency room and a lot of ice I'm on way to a complete recovery.

Paste Party Pix...Shore Fire Clients & More at Mag Bash

Paste Magazine threw a party last night at the Knitting Factory in NYC to celebrate their March issue, featuring our own Norah Jones on the cover. Jay Farrar & Son Volt were the marquee surprise guest....they kept to searing rockers and they've never sounded better, with a set that featured mostly material from their last album 'Okemah and the Melody of Riot' and their upcoming March 6 release 'The Search,' plus a mind-blowing, rock star white -lighted encore of the Stones' Satanic Majesties space/psych "2000 Light Years From Home." Other Shore Fire clients in the house were upcoming "4 to Watch" subject Ryan Shaw, the begging/pleading New York soul singer who'd just played a packed showcase a few blocks uptown, and past "4 to Watch" pick Megan Hickey of The Last Town Chorus.

Here's a few photos from the evening:

Shore Fire's Diana D'Angelo in front of that Norah cover.

Relix Magazine's editorial head Josh Baron, Shore Fire's Nick Loss-Eaton, Ryan Shaw.

Jay Farrar

Shore Fire's Alexis Tedford, Megan Hickey, Paste Magazine's Reid Davis.

Sony BMG Legacy's John Jackson with his lovely friend Teresa.

Newest Shore Fire staffer Maggie Poulos, Relix Mag's Josh Baron, Shore Fire's Bianca Martinez.

Our own Carrie Tolles with...again...Josh Baron.

Sean Hoess, there with his Velour artist and one of the evening's performers, jaw-dropping guitarist Kaki King

soul thursday

AP asap's Jaime Holguin (above, right) with me (left) after he paid a visit to Shore Fire's offices with AP asap staffer Donald King to interview soul man Ryan Shaw. Shaw talked about his background singing in the Pentacostal church, his unbelievable story about moving to NYC and his "lateral move" (his words) to soul music once here. He talked about "music that lifts the people up," a concept borrowed from James Brown and applied forcefully on 'This Is Ryan Shaw,' his debut disc out April 17 on One Haven/RED. Finally, he finished with an a capella rendition of "We Got Love." Gorgeous. Can't wait to see him again in concert next Thursday.

...and yes, that's a giant Bruce Springsteen record in the background, adorning the walls of our conference room.

...and yes, that is an attempt at a beard on my part. Not sure how long it'll last. Comments are welcome.

Mondays with Bebel

Two Mondays ago-the beginning of the blistering cold run in NYC- I had a press day with the delightful and incredibly witty singer Bebel Gilberto. Luckily for us, one of her best friends owns the charming Casa restaurant in the West Village (Bedford and Commerce)-the best place in New York for "pan de queso" (yummy Brazilian cheese bread) and we held our interviews in the warm, friendly and private environs of this quaint spot. Rafer Guzman of Newsday came by and spoke with Bebel over cafe con leche and other Brazilian treats.

We then took a jaunt up to In Style Magazine, where music editor James Herman-a huge fan of Bebel's-kindly spent 45 minutes with us in the office chatting about Fashion Week, fashion designers, music, good food, the best things about Rio, the history behind the "Girl from Ipanema"and Bebel's new CD coming out April 24.

We then headed back downtown to her good friend Jusarra Lee's design studio/store in the Meatpacking District for a quick wardrobe change-gorgeous custom-made cashmere coats and suits galore-and then completed the day back at Casa with an interview and photo shoot with Elisa Lipsky-Karasz of WWD/Scoop. When work was done, Bebel insisted we have a hearty meal and a glass of port to celebrate a successful day-good food, good company and a great artist-Mondays with Bebel should be a weekly thing!

Aliza 2/15/07

Grammy Good Times

As another exciting Grammy weekend becomes a faded memory, just a few fond thoughts about some of the highlights...

First off, everyone should stay at the understated, lovely and very accommodating Le Parc Suites on West Knoll Drive in Hollywood-you never know who you will run into in the elevator (sshh-not allowed to say-the beauty of this little music industry spot) and the front desk couldn't have been more helpful!!

My client-and favorite reggae artist- Matisyahu brought his entire family out for his first Grammy experience on the heels of a sold-out South American tour, and he couldn't have been more thrilled! He stopped by The Roots allstar jam session Sat night (feb. 10) with his Dad and was met with much fanfare by many of the other music celebs in the room-Dave Chappelle, India Arie, Common-and ?uestlove himself of The Roots. Later in the evening, Matis got on stage and did a little beatboxing and freestyling and brought the house down-good times!

I also spent a lot of time with another client, the legendary Ms. Anita Baker, who participated the Roots jam session as well. She brought her good friend, Mike Powell (her longtime producer/songwriter), and joined India Arie on stage with her to scat and sing. Grammy Day was all about Anita-we had some hearty laughs in the limo ride over to The Grammys and the red carpet was a blast! She shared some tender moments with Mary J. Blige, chatted with Lionel Richie and introduced a big fan-Paris Hilton-to her entourage backstage. Although Anita didn't win a Grammy, the night was a winner-good times at the EMI and William Morris parties, where In and Out burgers and Krispy Kreme donuts sated our major post-Grammy cravings!

Exhausted and operating on 5 hours sleep over two days, I headed back to cold, snowy NYC with another batch of Grammy memories tucked away.

Aliza 2/15/07

Bromberg Slays at Packed Joe's Pub Gig

With just fleet fingers, an expressive baritone, a story or two and a cautionary tale about the abuse of executive power told during a song inspired by Rip Van Winkle, musician David Bromberg held sway over an oversold crowd last night at Joe's Pub in New York City. Besides the packed house were a bevy of smart journalists including Seth Mnookin, Ted Panken, Ashley Kahn and Emily Botein and Robert Dye, most of whom shared stories of seeing the musician in years past.

Much of the repertoire was from his new album 'Try Me One More Time,' which Bromberg said was both his first solo album and the first where he "wasn't trying to impress anyone." When he introduced his version of "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" as a favorite of his from the new album, neither I nor the crowd would disagree. And while much of 'night's guitar playing consisted of ace fingerpicking, the guitar legend pulled out the stops on one speedy flatpicking instrumental medley. Here's David backstage with Shore Fire's Rebecca Shapiro, who David had earlier surprised with a gracious on-stage shout out of thanks.

The Roots, The Roots, The Grammies, and more

Well I’m back from the Grammy Awards and boy what a time as it was all things ROOTS for me.

On Saturday morning I escorted The Roots bassist Leonard “Hub” Hubbard and keyboardist Kamal Gray to a brunch honoring Ludacris and Mary J. Blige. While there we ran into one of my favorite journalists, Billboard’s Gail Mitchell and R&B sensation Ne-Yo. They are in the shot below with Kamal. Everyone from actor Terrance Howard to LA Reid were there.(If you look to the right past the man with the white collar you can see Terrance's face!).















Here is a great shot of me and Gail!

Later that evening the band’s pre-Grammy concert “for the people” (as their manager Shawn Gee proclaimed it) and their 4th Annual Jam Session literally kept me up until 4am Sunday morning.

The concert featured Jill Scott, Akon and Lupe Fiasco who were all hanging out backstage getting ready for the SOLD OUT show! (I got a chance to meet Akon early in the day at the Grammy Style Sessions Studio and boy is he gorgeous!). After making sure our journalist friends got into the venue I ran over to the Key Club to get ready for the band’s 4th Annual Jam Session.

We had photographers and celebrities and journalists galore including Shore Fire clients Anita Baker (a personal request from ?uestlove) and Matisyahu made it and even jammed on stage with India Arie. There was also Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy who killed “She’s A Bad Mamma Jamma,” Queen Latifah who took us back and sang “U.N.I.T.Y.” and one of my favorite comedians Dave Chappelle crackin jokes.


?uestlove sent me on an errand to find Dave and I grabbed his hand to get him onstage. He teased me that my hands were soft and was wondering what kinds of lotions I used! ha! Here is a shot of him moments after I drug him to the spotlight.



Some of our journalist friends in the house included Josh Du Lac from the Washington Post, Chris Macias from the Sacramento Bee, Cori Murray from Essence, Octavia Bostick from All Hip Hop.com, Malcolm Venable from the Virginian Pilot, Ames Friedman from AOL and more!

In the restroom (I know that sounds gross but girls socialize in there!) I also got a chance to chat with Pauley Perrette who plays Abby Sciuto on NCIS on CBS. I love that show and she was soo sweet.

Although the band didn’t walk away with the two Grammys they were nominated for I know they still made their mark!

One funny note. I helped my colleague Aliza Rabinoff escort Anita Baker down the red carpet and can be seen in this photo of Anita and Mary J. Blige (that's me with the black and white jacket)! Mary told Anita the story of how she sang Anita's "Caught Up in the Rapture" in the karaoke machine at a mall where she was discovered. She cried telling Anita the story and I almost cried too it was so touching!

We're Gonna Have a Cheese Party Tonight...

Alright! I'd been wanting to have Martin Johnson of The Joy of Cheese over since he started his in-your-house cheese tasting business last year, and I finally pulled off all the scheduling, the babysitter, the guests et al for last Friday night. Johnson, who I've known for years as a freelance music writer, doesn't hide his passion for and expertise in all things cheese. On this night, he subwayed uptown, brought three flights of rare "Winter Warmer" cheeses and several mystery cheeses, and held forth at the head of the table while explaining their origin, the differences between the cheap stuff and the good stuff, and what to be looking out for tastewise. Throw in some cold cuts (um, charcuterie, I guess), some bread, sliced fruit and top-notch dark chocolate for desert, and it's a delicious and educational dinner. Here's Martin declaiming about the joy of cheese:

I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a bit of a different evening and who wonders what the best blue cheese tastes like. Martin also does a series of tastings at an East Village bar that I've heard are a blast.

My Favorite GRAMMY Moment

The performances on the GRAMMY awards last night were great however I felt there was a lack of rock n' roll so I thought I'd share my favorite GRAMMY moment from 2003. No it's not my favorite simply because it features three SF clients but because of the raw and spontaneous energy. Now that's rock n' roll!

Congrats to Shore Fire's Grammy Winners....

While we're waiting for reports to come in from the five Shore Fire staffers who attended the Grammy Awards on behalf of our many nominated clients, here's the news on some of the winners from our roster....

SHORE FIRE CLIENTS TAKE HOME 7 GRAMMYS

Last night, Shore Fire clients won seven Grammy Awards, spread across a number of genres. Producer Phil Ramone won his fourteenth Grammy for Tony Bennett's 'Duets: An American Classic' album. Bruce Springsteen won his thirteenth Grammy and Bela Fleck won for the ninth time. Meanwhile, The Klezmatics pulled down their first win in their first ever nomination.

The Roots hosted their fourth annual jam session the night before the Grammys at the Key Club Saturday night, with The Black Eyed Peas, Matisyahu, Anita Baker, Queen Latifah, Dave Chappelle, India.Arie, Isaiah Washington, Jill Scott, Akon, Lupe Fiasco and others in attendance.

Congratulations to Bruce Springsteen, Phil Ramone, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Enya, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, The Klezmatics and Thom Zimny ("Wings For Wheels: The Making of Born To Run"). Here is a list of the Shore Fire victors at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards:

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:
· Tony Bennett - 'Duets: An American Classic' (Produced by Phil Ramone) -
Sony BMG

Best Bluegrass Album:
· Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder - 'Instrumentals' - Skaggs Family
Records

Best New Age Album:
· Enya - 'Amarantine' - Reprise

Best Contemporary Jazz Album:
· Bela Fleck & The Flecktones - 'The Hidden Land' - Sony Legacy

Best Traditional Folk Album:
· Bruce Springsteen - 'We Shall Overcome- The Seeger Sessions' - Columbia
Records

Best Contemporary World Music Album:
· The Klezmatics - 'Wonder Wheel' - JMG/RED

Best Long Form Music Video:
· Bruce Springsteen - "Wings For Wheels: The Making of Born To Run" - Video Director & Producer Thom Zimny - Columbia Records

Me & Josh

On Saturday night my mom and I went to see the inimitable Josh Ritter at The Christ and Holy Trinity Church in Westport, CT. This was one of the more unusual venues on Josh’s 23 date solo acoustic tour. He is one of the most, if not the most gifted singer/songwriter of my generation but what is more incredible about Josh is his genuine love of performing and his admiration for his fans. The first time I saw Josh perform was at the Bowery Ballroom last Spring and I never felt so much positive energy emanate from one person before in my life. It was amazing how his smile and laugh ignited the crowd and his songs had everyone singing along and dancing. Although the of setting of Saturday’s show was much different than the dingy Bowery Ballroom Josh’s enthusiasm and lighthearted wit transcended the church settings in a rapturous performance. His alluring vocals and guitar picking sounded glorious in the church acoustics. He played songs off his acclaimed record ‘The Animal Years’ as well as some earlier stuff and one new song.



Josh is well-known for sticking around after shows to greet fans (like me, I'm just a fan) and to be honest I don’t know how he does it. He gives each and everyone his undivided attention and makes them feel special, signing autographs and taking photos. Here is a shot that my mom took of Josh and I that night.

Thank you, Tracey

Anyone that knows me can tell that I am a huge new wave/synth pop fan. Always have been, always will be. I've also been waiting for someone to come along and emulate that special early 1980s NYC dance pop that I spent my formative years listening to. This past weekend, I found it! Tracey Thorn (one half of electronic duo Everything But The Girl) is releasing her solo debut this year and I am in love with the single - "It's All True." Best dance pop I have heard in years with a voice that kills!

Check out the Daft Punk-esque video for the song that I have listened to obsessively for the past three days. Thank you, Tracey!


While we are on the subject of 80s pop, check out this video footage from OMD (yes, Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark). You know...the band that was known for hits such as "If You Leave" and "Enola Gay." This is footage I recently came across from a concert in Sheffield from 1985. The band is performing my favorite song of theirs called "Telegraph." Doesn't get much better than this..atleast that's what I think.

Soundcheck Soul

Ryan Shaw and I stopped by WNYC studios on Monday, Jan. 29 for an on-air chat with John Shaefer on "Soundcheck." Schaefer asked Shaw about his Gospel background, the timeless appeal of soul music and his move to NYC from Georgia to make the big time.

Then, last Tuesday, Shaw put on a jaw-dropping performance at The Cutting Room, belting out great soul tune after great soul tune and impressing an audience of hardened NYC music-lovers. He's really something to behold on stage; he captures an audience and has them hanging onto every syllable.

Dearly beloved:

I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought Prince's halftime performance at the Super Bowl last night was completely off the hook.

(PS - Rex, take notes on how to perform gracefully in the pouring rain, for next time.)

Here's a little more for those that didn't get enough, from the press conference before the game. Damm.

Celebrity Sightings...

Zach Braff, Sean "Diddy" Combs and New York Times scribe Jon Pareles checking out up-and-coming Scottish singer Paolo Nutini at the Bowery Ballroom last night.....