Hippiefest - Brooklyn Style

Thousands gathered in Brooklyn’s Asser Levy / Seaside Park for the Seaside Summer Concert Series presentation of Hippiefest last Thursday night. Featuring icons Felix Caveliere’s Rascals, The Turtles, The Zombies, Country Joe McDonald, Denny Laine and Melanie, the show was jam-packed with memorable classics from the 60's and 70's and, well, hippies. Highlights included Denny Laine formerly of The Moody Blues and Wings performing “Band On The Run,” The Zombies playing their biggest hit “Time of the Season” and The Turtles bringing me back to family road trips with “Happy Together.”

Backstage the bands chatted with crews from NY1 and the Madison Square Garden Network, which brought a sizable entourage led by Steve Shirripa of The Soprano's. DJ Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow of Sirius and guest of honor Sid Bernstein, who was responsible for bringing The Beatles and several other British rock acts to the States in the 60's and 70's, also reminisced with the artists. As I listened to Denny Laine, Country Joe McDonald and Felix Caveliere share stories, I realized Hippiefest was more than a tour -- it was a caravan of long-time friends brought together once again by music.

Here are some pics –

L-R (Top Row): DJ Bruce “Cousin Brucie” Morrow and Felix Caveliere.
L-R (Bottom Row): Denny Laine and Sid Bernstein.
Photo credit: Bobby Bank.

Denny Laine, me and Sid Bernstein in the backstage area before the show.

"Flo" of The Turtles and Melanie.

Photo credit: Bobby Bank.

Shore Fire's Mark Satlof with "Cousin Brucie" who co-hosted the show with Country Joe.

L-R: Debbie Garcia, the organizer of the Seaside Summer Concert Series, with Shore Fire's Nancie Martin.

Shore Fire's Rebecca Shapiro handing out credentials. Scroll down to see the Hippiefest tie-dye in action.

Melanie with Steve Shirripa of The Sopranos.

Photo credit: Bobby Bank.

Me, WNYC Producer Melissa Egan and Denny Laine right after Denny's interview on the Leonard Lopate show, which you can listen to here.

L-R: CBS Producer Brian Bingham, Corky Laing of Mountain (Mountain, Iron Butterfly, Mitch Ryder and Badfinger are also on the tour) and me before Corky's interview on the Saturday Early Show.

Ryan Shaw happened to be performing on the Saturday Early Show. Here are Shaw and Laing together. Priceless.

Celebrating a Legend - An Evening With Linda Thompson

Tuesday night we celebrated the forthcoming release of Linda Thompson’s new album ‘Versatile Heart’ at the Bowery Hotel, the elegant new hotel that recently opened on the Bowery.

L-R - Shore Fire's Matt Hanks, Anthony DeCurtis, George Kalogerakis, Linda Thompson and grandson Zak.


Guest enjoyed hors d’eurves and cocktails while listening to the soothing sounds of Linda’s new record. Following the cocktail reception we made our way to the extravagant fireplace room where Rolling Stone scribe and Shore Fire friend Anthony DeCurtis led a Q&A with the folk-rock legend. Linda was charming and funny as she answered questions about her new album, recording with her family, her collaborations with Rufus Wainwright and Antony. After the Q&A we were delighted with a performance by Linda’s grandson Zak on the guitar. At 12 years old, Zak bowled over the audience with his skills, guess somethings run in the family (Zak’s grandfather is Richard Thompson).

Brett Dennen Show at Tiny NYC Club Draws Big Fans

Towering and inspirational American troubadour Brett Dennen added a last-minute NY show just following the end of his tour opening for John Mayer. The show last night at the new fancy/seedy nightclub the Box (a hundred or so capacity) sold out instantly, with tickets selling for a big premium on ebay and elsewhere. Journalists from Elle, MTV, Bloomberg News, New York Magazine, Billboard and more were in the house alongside enthusiastic (very!) fans. Besides his guileless and cynicism-free songs, I was impressed with his interesting guitar playing...shades of Graceland-era Paul Simon and other lilting African styles like Sierra Leone's palm wine music (see S.E. Rogie).

Dennen's been playing arenas with Mayer, but on his own, his audience has been growing so fast that over the last six months he's moved from small clubs to headlining 1000+ seaters on the west coast, and he's moving up quickly on the east coast too with a Bowery date earlier this year also a sell-out. Meanwhile, Dennen and his new album 'So Much More' (Dualtone Music Group) continues to rise in the critical world. NPR's Christian Bordal cheered "The first time you hear Brett Dennen, it's his voice that stops you short and makes you pay attention," and Rolling Stone saying "He's timeless -- he's probably twenty-five, but he seems like he's twenty-five in 1972."

Here's Dennen under the lights at the Box


and MTV's Jim Allen with Shore Fire's Maggie Poulos and Nick Baily.

Linda Thompson Talks, Journalists Listen....

At the new Bowery Hotel last night, the thrilling singer Linda Thompson spoke to an audience of several dozen journalists about her stunner Versatile Heart (August 14), in a Q&A conducted by noted music writer Anthony DeCurtis. Besides a major contingent of Rounder Records staff down from Boston, the crowd included top media personalities -- bloggers from New York must-reads Stereogum and the Gothamist, to staff from respected print outlets like Relix, Entertainment Weekly, NY Daily News and NY Times, to radio producers and hosts from tastemakers WNYC, WFMU, NPR and Sirius, among others. Here's Thompson with New York's top country songstress Laura Cantrell. (Not shown is the detail on Thompson's ultra snazzy sunglasses, a set of silver Skull and Bones on the ear pieces. Just reminded me that she's still cooler than most of us will ever be.)


Shore Fire staffer Carrie Tolles with interviewer Anthony DeCurtis.


Tolles-about-town with Rounder's head of PR Jen Sacca.


and the bonus shot, Laura Cantrell and hubby/Sirius Radio's Jeremy Tepper's beautiful one year old Isabella.

Envisioning the road from a cello

Saw the incredible Erik Friedlander on Tuesday night at a SRO Joe's Pub show. Erik's a remarkable cellist with an incredible range and imagination to his work. During the performance, his father Lee Friedlander's photos were shown on a screen. They are mesmerizing images that bring alive the road trips of Erik's youth.

Shore Fire friends at the show included Howard Mandel, who memorialized Erik's performance with an entry to his newly minted blog Jazz Beyond Jazz. Steve Dollar, whose piece on Erik appeared Monday in the NY Sun, was there as well and bravely stuck around for a Shore Fire doubleheader of Erik and then the remarkable Cherryholmes.

Ben Sisario's incredible NY Times piece ran the morning of the show.

I've got a pig...

...home in a pen, corn to feed him on. All I need is a pretty little girl, to feed him when I'm gone.

These sublime, porcine lyrics are of course the chorus to the classic "Pig In A Pen," which was one of the nine songs performed by Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby during their CBS Early Show booking on Friday morning outside the statehouse in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. The show was the second in the show's "Summer In The City" series currently crisscrossing the country.

The duo were on hand to showcase their new album, which just this week celebrates its 17th week at #1 on the Bluegrass albums chart. Ricky and Bruce performed three full songs on air, including two from the album - Hornsby's new original "The Dreaded Spoon" and a bluegrass inflected reworking of his classic "Mandolin Rain" -- as well as "That's Just The Way It Is." In addition the crowd on hand was serenaded by classics including "Sheep Shell Corn," "Going To The Ceili," "I Want To Be At The Meeting," and of course the aforementioned ode to livestock.

Needless to say, the best part about morning TV is getting up before the sun. Here's a shot taken just before the morning soundcheck, circa 4:40 am:


Here's a shot of host Hannah Storm interviewing Ricky:


And here's Hannah, Ricky, Bruce, and Early Show producer/booker Cathy Black:


A great time was had by all, and here's to another 17 weeks at #1 for Ricky and Bruce. Oh wait, I almost forgot the other pig-related incident.

Behold:


To my distinct joy, just about 100 yards from the concert site was Clyde Cooper's, renowned as possibly the best place there is to get real "East Carolina" BBQ. That's the kind with pulled pork piled high and a spicy vinegar-based sauce, for those who believe (rightly, of course) that if it doesn't involve a pig, it's just not BBQ.

I couldn't resist. I got a pig. Mmmm.

New Kids on the Block

It was the "first day at school" on Monday for Shore Fire Media's new online marketing division, so we sharpened our digital pencils, inhaled that good new computer smell, and took a class picture! Left to right, that's Deana Graffeo, Chris Taillie, and me. More news from us soon...

The Simpsons: The Movie Is Coming!

I'm so stoked about the upcoming Simpsons movie that this weekend I spent $10 at a street fair to win a Homer Simpson stuffed doll and re-introduced "Doh!" into my lexicon so I was thrilled to find this YouTube gem on the LA Times Buzz Band blog.




God I wish I had kept the bootleg Simpsons T-shirts I used to rock in the '90s!

A Big Birthday and a Goodbye, All in One Day

Earlier this week, we feted Shore Fire President Marilyn Laverty with a Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory *** party...a complete array of the famed local creamery's day's selection. See below for the before, during and after (an action shot in which Laverty has just "chugged" whipped cream). On a more reflective note, we gathered in the evening to say goodbye to Paula Witt (see her post elsewhere), who has left Shore Fire after six great years to do a bit more traveling, and who knows what else.



(Laverty, Alexis Tedford, and Witt)

***I am reading The Battle For New York, a really terrific book about Revolutionary War battles in around New York, and the city's pivotal role in the conflict. Anyway, near the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is the site of the ferry landing (still in existence though presumably not the 230 years old one) where George Washington oversaw the evacuation of his army from Brooklyn Heights over the East River to Manhattan in August 1776, a masterpiece of military logistics that is credited with pretty much saving the American cause. Extra side note: a few blocks from our office, at Court St and Atlantic Avenue, stood a hill on which Washington watched the British roll up his Continental troops during a headlong battle towards the Heights!

Salute to Animation

A few weeks ago Rebecca talked about the claymation music video from Jeremy Fisher and now another Shore Fire client has set animation to song. Peter Buffett's video for "Reminder" is accompanied by a somewhat erie animation by Frank Anderson staring Edwardian actors.


Check out another spooky animation by Anderson (reminiscent of one of my favorite movies 'The Nightmare Before Christmas') here:

Paula Witt - The Goodbye Girl

Today is my last official day at Shore Fire and it has been a terrific 6 years! Last night the Shore Fire crew sent me off in style. I had to say goodbye to this great bunch of people. I will truly miss everyone but will have great memories to cherish always!!

We hung out at this marvelous spot called Corio at 337A W. Broadway at the corner of Grand Street in Soho. Rebecca Shapiro found the spot so thanks to Rebecca. Good drinks, great food.

Check out some fun photos from last night!

YouTube Monday... Al Gore Edition...

It was way too hot and sunny in NYC this weekend to hang around watching TV all day, but somehow I managed to tune into the Live Earth concert at the right time to catch this bit of genius:



Way to take it to the next level, Tap. That's a whole lotta bass.

Hot BBQ and Cool Jazz with Manuel Valera

On Tuesday, we coordinated a pre-4th BBQ dinner at Blue Smoke for Anzic Records just before pianist Manuel Valera took the stage at the Jazz Standard downstairs. It was a wonderful night! (There's Shore Fire's Matt Hanks and Manuel above). Manuel and his manager Lisa St. Cyr stopped by to say hello to our guests and Anzic record GM Oded Lev-Ari was also in the house (below).



We had great company including Steve James from Reuters, Brandon Bodow of Good Morning America and freelancer Rebecca Louie. (Below I've included a photo of Steve as well as a shot of Rebecca Louie with my friend Indra who was visting from Atlanta.)






The food was also fantastic and I would highly recommend eating dinner there. The table favorite was the Texas Salt and Pepper Beef Ribs. I was a little late taking the photo below as most of the ribs had been eaten and the table was so full of food we had to move the left over Brisket sliders to the rib plate! We also had chopped salad, hush puppies, salmon and much more.


We then moved downstairs to catch Manuel's 7:30pm set and eat an array of mouth-watering desserts (please, please order the chocolate cupcakes and the Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler).

Manuel blew everyone away on the piano performing songs from his new album 'Vientos.' He was also joined by a group of outstanding musicians including Joel Frahm on sax, Ernesto Simpson on drums and James Genus on bass. Joining us was Gen Stewart, VP of Wynton Marsalis Enterprises and her family. Gen is second from the right with her arm around her husband Stu (maroon cap).