Van Zandt At The Plate, Diana on Deck

The only thing I love more than music is the Yankees so booking Steven Van Zandt on the YES Network's CenterStage meant I would be one step closer to the team. It wasn't like hanging out in the dugout but the generous staff hooked me up with tickets to their luxury suites for the game vs the Red Sox last night. What a way to watch them stomp Boston! Plus Jeter passed DiMaggio in the standings for most hits in a career... I digress.

Not sure if it was the pleasant demeanor of the host and "voice of the Yankees" Michael Kay (seen below with me) or the fact that the show is taped in front of a studio audience but this was Steven's most revealing interview I've ever seen. Tune in on June 6th.
Go Yanks!

Electro-Folkie Block Plays Music/Readings night Happy Endings

Electro-folkie Block played a short set last night as part of the acclaimed Happy Endings Reading Series, hosted by novelist Amanda Stern at an underground lower east side bar for the past five years. The nights feature a few notable authors and a sympatico music guest. Our client Block, the recovering anti-folk musician, is gearing up for the release of his second album, The Last Single Guy, in June.

Here's Block with Shore Fire's Carrie Tolles, and below that Block in mid-song. You'll want to come see Block w/ a full band June 20 at Joe's Pub.

BREAKING- PETER LUGER POPULAR WITH PUBLICISTS 50 YEARS AGO

As has been previously noted on this blog, we were treated us to an absolutely delicious lunch at Peter Luger last week. I don't have much to add to the serifs that have already been devoted to the subject except this little tidbit, that struck me given our company's business.

Hanging in the foyer of the restaurant was a reprint of Stanton Delaplane's "Postcard From New York" column in the San Francisco Chronicle, dated 1953, meaning it probably was filed to the SF Chron offices from New York literally as a postcard. The relevant passage reads "Peter Luger's is famous for being frequented by news-paper people and press agents- and for a very curious reason. The steaks are so excellent that the press agents and New York columnists have agreed not to let it get in the press lest you and I fall upon this retreat and crowd it."

I guess the secret is out now, but one thing that hasn't changed is the food- his description of the meal he had during the Eisenhower administration sounded EXACTLY like what we had for lunch that day.

Peter Luger Here we Come...

With deep gratitude and heartfelt thanks, the entire Shore Fire staff dined at Brooklyn's own Peter Luger steakhouse last week, the result of a gift from a client who'd wanted to treat us all to lunch.

Vega Dazzles at Joe's Pub

Tuesday night I had the great privilege of seeing our client Suzanne Vega at Joe's Pub, performing music from her new album 'Beauty & Crime', out July 17 on Blue Note. I don't often gush like this, but I was floored. She's such a beguiling and powerful presence on stage, her songs are rich and melodious, and the band was just killer.

All the new material translated beautifully from CD to stage, and the few older songs she played were a revelation. She even pulled off a faithful reproduction of the DNA dance remix of 'Tom's Diner' (a song whose famous hook I first heard as a precocious 4th grader on the track 'Set The Mood' From the Austrian Euro-house trio Bingoboys' 1991 release The Best of The Bingoboys). It was also fun to picture myself in the song; I spent many a morning after an all-nighter at Columbia guzzling coffee and eating a greasy breakfast at the very counter she sings of.

You can check out Steve Smith's evocative recap of the evening on TONY's blog here

Mavis Takes Letterman Down to Mississippi

I had the supreme honor of hanging with Mavis Staples yesterday, when she came to town for a performance on The Late Show with David Letterman. She told me some great stories from back in the day, and when she said "Shore Fire's got it goin' on" I all but fell out of my chair. She continued, "you've been getting so much heavy stuff for me, I expected you to be a bigger guy."

Backed by Paul Shaffer and the Letterman band, Mavis killed it on "Down in Mississippi" from her new album 'We'll Never Turn Back.' If you missed it, the performance should be available on CBS.com soon.

Meet Keite

R&B rising soul star and Shore Fire client Keite Young and his manager Monica took some time to visit with us and tell us all about the great response he's getting from his live shows aroud the country (check him out performing "Pressure" )

Keite is signed to Hidden Beach Recordings'(home to Jill Scott) and his new album 'The Rise and Fall of Keite Young' will be released June 26.

This was such a treat to meet him because Carrie Tolles and I (that's Carrie on the left) hadn't had an opportunity to meet Keite because he's been on the road so much.

Were we ever surprised to see how tall he was! I guess we shouldn't be that shocked because his uncle is NBA star turned chart-topping jazz bassist Wayman Tisdale and he's from Texas!

Wind Me Up Chuck!

Yesterday afternoon Nick Baily and I took a trip to midtown to pay a visit to our friends at Bloomberg News -- our client Chuck Brown was making an appearance on Night Talk with Mike Schneider. The show's producer, Robin Wood, is a childhood friend and we were both very excited to finally collaborate on a project.

Robin was my guest at Chuck's April Joe's Pub show -- which was one of the coolest shows I've ever been to. The venue cleared out all the tables and chairs from the floor and hosted an impromptu dance party that night. I'd never experienced a Chuck Brown show before and thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I think I was pretty hoarse the next day from shouting 'Wind Me Up Chuck' along with the rest of the audience throughout the famous call and response sections of his set. The highlight of the show was when Chuck's daughter KK joined him on stage to sing 'Chuck Baby' -- my favorite song off of the new record. Needless to say, we had a blast.

After my arrival at Bloomberg yesterday (and a ride on the only curved escalator in the United States) we gathered in the green room to watch Chuck's interview. Our friend Taj Greenlee from the Charlie Rose show came over to hang out for a bit. Chuck and Mike waxed philosophical about performing live versus recording in the studio and what it means to be the 'Godfather of Go Go'. He looked amazing -- he's the only grandfather on the planet who can rock green snake-skin cowboy boots, a pinstriped suit, a black fedora and dark glasses...

Here's a photo of myself, Chuck, Robin, and Nick in the green room: You can stream tracks from Chuck's new record 'We're About the Business' here.

Check him out on Night Talk with Mike Schneider on Bloomberg TV on May 17th!

Journalists' Juniors: Introducing Ellen Elizabeth Davis

Journalists' Juniors: Introducing Ellen Elizabeth Davis

Meet the exceptional Ellen Elizabeth Davis, daughter of Reid Davis, Paste Magazine editor extraordinaire and Kim, also a writer. Here's a shot of Ellen atop Stone Mountain with Dad's SXSW souvenir:



We interviewed the proudest pop in the world about his “verbal, energetic, and cute” 4 year old and here’s what he said:

Q: Ellen's favorite bands/musicians/albums?

A: As befits a child of the digital age, Ellen's more of a songs girl -- whenever we hit something she really likes we add it to a playlist on my iPod. That said, she loves Queen ("We Are The Champions," "Bicycle Race"), The Polyphonic Spree ("It's The Sun" among others), the Flaming Lips ("Buggin'," "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song,") Sufjan Stevens ("Chicago"), Softlightes ("The Microwave Song") and James Brown (story below.) She adores Dan Zanes and Ralph's World. (At one point she had a hard time separating the two -- when we met Ralph Covert, she shyly looked up at him and said "Not Dan Zanes?") And what would parenthood be without a kid loving some stuff you can't stand? While Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow don't do a lot for me, to put it charitably, Ellen loves their contributions to the "Cars" soundtrack.

Q: What does Ellen like to dance to?

A: Ellen's taking ballet and tumbling, and will dance to pretty much anything, particularly anything rhythmic — James Brown, Verve Remixed, Röyksopp. That said, she loves to dance while "Dancing With The Stars" is on. (I'm just gonna embarrass myself real good here.)

Q: Ellen's favorite foods? Sugar or Salt? Books?

A: Ellen loves pizza, chicken nuggets, and fries, but she doesn't like things she considers "spicy." She definitely loves all things sugary, so we have to watch that stuff -- on the other hand, the promise of ice cream will definitely help her polish off a plate of broccoli. She has a massive amount of books (since both parents are writers, after all) but lately she really loves books by Park Slope author/illustrator (as well as past Sesame Street contributor, and—I'm assuming—proud member of the Prospect Park stroller set) Mo Willems. His books Knuffle Bunny, Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus, and Leonardo The Terrible Monster are big hits.

Q: Favorite weekend activities?

A: We love going swimming at the Y (ely.ymcaatlanta.org), climbing Stone Mountain, watching Pixar movies, riding bicycles on Atlanta's "Path" trail system, hitting playgrounds, going to Braves games (every Sunday afternoon they're at home) and attending our wonderful church All Souls Fellowship (www.allsoulsfellowship.org) which features great music, to the point that Ellen calls the sanctuary the "singing room."

Q: Other cute stories /tidbits about Ellen?

A: This one is courtesy of my wife, Kim. Because (fellow Augusta native) James Brown had a song on the "Robots" soundtrack "Get Up Offa That Thing," I saw an opening and started playing that song and other JB classics on our car rides— and that led to the following story from Kim:

Ellen was eating dinner and was excited because I had made her some tofu—so excited she was having a hard time staying in her chair. The tenth time I told her to sit down I had to pick her up and put her in the seat.

"Get up on to that seat!" I said, playfully.

Ellen replied in a low, growling but not angry voice, "Get up off of that thing!"

"What, Ellen? Are you saying that like somebody?"

Without missing a beat, and without further elaboration she said, "James Brown."

Obviously, at least in one way, we are raising her well. :-)

Here's Ellen playing her First Act guitar:
And relaxin' at home w/ dad:

Regional Mexican / Psychobilly / Christian Rap

Shore Fire friend, Paste journalist and music industry fantasy baseball guru Steve LaBate has been in the recording studio lately and the first track sounds great. It's gritty rock and roll, reminiscent of The Replacements (and no, I didn't copy that off of his influences section) and The Faces. He also appears to have been in about a million bands in his lifetime. Listen here.

Not Enough Anat

Our client Anat Cohen performed 2 nights with 2 sets each at the Jazz Standard here in NYC and people could not get enough of her incredible talent on both the clarinet and saxophone. The early sets on both nights were sold out which led to a lot of people taking standing room spaces or waiting until the next set. Below is a shot of a few people who greeted Anat and Oded Lev-Ari who composed music for Anat, is the conductor for the Anzic Orchestra and General Manager of Anzic Records!




Matt Hanks and I are lucky to be working with Anat so her label, Anzic Records, held tables for us as well as our journalist friends who came out to see her including Nekesa Moody(AP), Will Friedwald (NY Sun) , Lauren Matison (Parade), Robin Wood (Bloomberg TV), Derek John (PRI), Tad Hendrickson (Global Rhythm), Elizabeth McMullen and one of our favorite freelancers David Sprague. Below is a shot with Matt with David Sprague and Lauren with her friend Vince.






At the end of the night I got a chance to chat with Anat who is so sweet and has so much personality. She makes me deeply regret my junior high school decision to give up the clarinet to play basketball. Oh well! Here we are pretending to have a conversation so we can take a "candid" shot.



I suggest everyone pay close attention because she is on the rise!

Cool Costello Webcast News...

Check out CBS this coming Monday for a live Elvis Costello and the Imposters webcast...here's more info.

ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS TO PERFORM AN EXCLUSIVE LIVE WEBCAST CONCERT ON “LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN” WEBSITE AT CBS.COM, MONDAY, MAY 14

They Will Perform Songs from His Two Latest Album Releases During This Special Event, Streamed Live from the Historic Ed Sullivan Theater

Elvis Costello & The Imposters will perform an exclusive live webcast concert from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Monday, May 14, following the taping of their appearance on the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN. The concert will be streamed on the LATE SHOW website at CBS.com (www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow) that evening at approximately 8:25 PM, ET/5:25 PM, PT.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Costello's seminal debut album, My Aim is True, which was released the summer of 1977. He and The Imposters will perform songs from his two new releases: The Best of Elvis Costello: the First Ten Years and Rock and Roll Music, a collection of hits, key album tracks, b-sides and rare, previously unreleased cuts. Both albums were released May 1 on Hip-O/Universal Music Enterprises.

This exclusive webcast performance is only the second time the LATE SHOW has used the historic Ed Sullivan Theater as a concert venue – Pearl Jam was the first band to do so, performing a live webcast concert for the LATE SHOW and CBS.com on May 4, 2006.

Costello & The Imposters’ appearance on the LATE SHOW will be broadcast on Friday, May 18 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Also scheduled to visit the LATE SHOW on Friday, May 18 are actress Teri Hatcher and actor Jonah Hill.

For more information on the LATE SHOW, log onto CBS ; for Elvis Costello, log onto www.elviscostello.com.

The LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN is a production of Worldwide Pants Incorporated. Barbara Gaines, Maria Pope, Jude Brennan and Rob Burnett are the executive producers.

KCRW: Even Better Than YMCA

The other day I was scrolling through KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic archives and came across performances by several past and present Shore Fire clients including Norah Jones, Cat Empire, Madeleine Peyroux, Amos Lee and Neko Case. Showcasing their latest releases 'Not Too Late' and 'Fox Confessor Brings The Flood,' Norah and Neko's live renditions quickly reminded me why I own all their albums.



Morning Becomes Eclectic sessions are really intimate affairs and the audio/video is solid. On top of the exclusive performances, KCRW's music director and Morning Becomes Eclectic host Nic Harcourt chats with the artists about their latest albums, tours and side projects.

Six degrees of separation, Nic. Six degrees.

We Have Wii

Last night we welcomed our new SFM staffers Carla, Maggie, David and Abby by whipping them senseless in Ninetendo Wii tennis in our conference room. Alexis is the only real tennis player so we had an advantage.
Michael tries to distract Abby from her golf swing in this photo. He's obviously very excited to play Wii.

Hey Bjork....

Thanks for completely blowing my mind last night. A truly mesmerizing performance. I am in no way exaggerating when I say that the show at Radio City last night was one of the best I've ever seen.

Photo from BrooklynVegan (sorry for borrowing it, but I forgot my camera)

If you really want to ROCK

...just go to a Cliks show. Really, I'm not being biased. Last night, our clients The Cliks played a scorcher at the Mercury Lounge. It was a week after the release of their US debut, 'Snakehouse' out now on Tommy Boy's Silver Label.

I'm not sure if it was frontman Lucas Silveira's signature swing and sway on stage or his killer guitar licks and vocals. Maybe it was Morgan Doctor's ferocious drumming or Nina Martinez's rockin' guitar playing or Jen Benton's extraordinary show on the bass. What I do know is this: the constant comparisons to early Pretenders is no lie. The Cliks put on a show that clearly shows that they know how to write and play a perfect rock song. Or a cover...yes, they do a killer cover of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River" which segues into Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" when they play it live. A crowd favorite, indeed.

Oh, and I should also mention that The Cliks are one of the nicest bands you will ever meet. They are currently touring right now. So, go check out a show and introduce yourself. Tell them I sent you.

Pictures from last night forthcoming.

Ari Hest: World’s Tallest Musician

As a 5”2’ woman (and by 5”2’ I really mean 5”1’), I know the vast majority of the population is taller than I am. I know most people here in the Shore Fire office don’t have to stand on their toes to reach the plates on the top shelf in the kitchen. This does not faze me. From my perspective (bother literally and figuratively), you’re all tall and that’s that and I rarely even notice anymore.

Last night at the Ari Hest showcase, I noticed. Really noticed. That guy is tall. Really tall. Tall enough to give me pause.

Let’s pause now and take a moment to look at this picture from last night:


Aw, swoon. Ari’s great, and I loved hearing him play in the Columbia offices’ Artist Lounge. The room is intimate and inviting (a lot like Ari’s music, actually) and just the right size to make the showcase feel like a private gathering in a friend’s living room complete with sofas for everyone to sit on. Ari also had a really amazing presence and camaraderie with the audience that was so sincere.

Ok, look at the picture again now. Notice the people watching Ari. Notice how far they have to look up? Yeah. Pretty far. I know, I know. You’re saying “But Nora, they’re sitting down so of course they’re looking up at him.”

Fine. I present to you Exhibit B:

I rest my case.

That's me in the middle with fellow Shore Fire staffers Abby Johns and Diana D'Angelo to left and right, respectively. I would like to point out that it’s not just me that he towers over: Neither Abby (newest member of the Shore Fire family) nor Diana even cleared his shoulders! And Diana was wearing heels! Looks like he’s our kindergarten teacher or something.

It’s about lunchtime now. Who wants to help reach me a plate?

Honoring Ella

I had the great privilege this weekend of being part of the team (including the legendary producer and Shore Fire client Phil Ramone, one of our favorite bookers Tisha Fine and John Newcott of the great Verve Records) that put on a spectacular tribute to Ella Fitzgerald 'We Love Ella! A Tribute To the First Lady of Song' at USC's new Galen Center in LA which will air on PBS June 6. That's me with Phil, John and Tisha.







The set was glorious and the performers were incredible including Shore Fire client Patti Austin (who looked absolutely stunning and brought down the house by the way), Verve's new artist Ledisi who got a standing ovation for her rousing version of "Blues in the Night" and Natalie Cole who hosted and performed Ella songs like 'A Tisket A Tasket.' Both Ledisi and Natalie's songs are featured on Verve's tribute album 'We All Love Ella:Celebrating the First Lady of Song' out June 5. There's me and Ledisi below.




Backstage at the event it was a who's who of performers including Natalie Cole, Lizz Wright (who are also featured on the Verve tribute record), Quincy Jones, George Duke, Ruben Studdard, James Moody, George Duke, Take 6 and more. I love this shot of Patti Austin and Nancy Wilson. I also finally had the opportunity to meet Dave Koz who owns Patti Austin's label Rendezvous Entertainment.




This event was definitely one to remember.

I Heart Cherryholmes

A few months ago Nick Baily and I went to the Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center to check at a possible new client. Cherryholmes pretty much blew me away. Not in the "oh my god could Radiohead be any better live?!!!!!!" kind of way, but in the "oh my god that is the best collection of matching rhinestone suits, familial harmonies and choreographed mike sharing I've ever seen!!!!!!!" kind of way. The Cherryholmes clan has it together, and I was grinning ear to ear the entire show, even as they sang songs about broken hearts and murder ballads. They are ENTERTAINERS, from the outfits to the on stage moves. They brought the crowd in with the flash, but held us with incredible musicianship, great songs and the best harmonies this side of the Gibb brothers. Needless to say I'm psyched to be working with them. And then I saw this......

Could this band be any better?!!! I think not.