Poultry Emotion

Many of us will have turkey on our plates tomorrow, so in honor of feathered bipeds everywhere, and with gratitude and appreciation for the Muppets and Queen, and for feathered, furry, plush and human families everywhere, a very special version of "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

The People Speak Premiere

Last night, I attended the star-studded premiere of the upcoming History Channel documentary The People Speak. In attendance at Jazz at Lincoln Center for the screening and reception were Matt Damon, Viggo Mortensen, Allison Moorer, Danny Glover, Josh Brolin, Rich Robinson, and . I also spotted Tim Robbins and John Kraskinski, though neither are in the film. Check out photos from the red carpet. Was an amazing night and crawling with unbelievable talent!

It's an interesting concept: actors and musicians perform the words of activists and everyday history-makers of the past as curated by historian Howard Zinn. And the monologues are surprisingly powerful as a call to action: anti-slavery activists, peace protesters, civil rights demonstrators, union organizers, and other dissenters. Here's the trailer:

14th Time Around

I made a last minute decision to go see Bob Dylan last night for the 14th time. He performed at upper Manhattan's United Palace, an Egyptian-styled art deco theater. Sitting down, the smells of popcorn and incense mixed. Dylan was amazing, playing much more harmonica than I'd seen him play in past shows. For several songs, that was his only instrument as he stood center stage like a ring leader or medicine show doctor. His band was excellent as well, reacting to his melodic twitches and knowing when to heighten the tension and when to let it release. I thought he was in good voice all night and particularly enjoyed "Stuck Inside of Mobile with The Memphis Blues Again," his rewritten version of "Man In The Long Black Coat," an intense banjo-based "High Water (For Charley Patton)," and an absolutely thundering electric blues version of "Ballad Of A Thin Man." One of the best of the 14 Dylan shows I've seen and one of the best I've seen in 2009. And in case you were wondering, no, he did not play any Christmas songs.

Preview Daryl Hall and John Oates on The Cleveland Show

Check out this preview of Daryl Hall and John Oates on FOX's The Cleveland Show airing this Sunday, 11/22.

Jesus Lizard: Now & Then

Before last night, the last Jesus Lizard show I saw was in November 1993, the day after I turned 21 (I didn't have a thing to drink, I assure you). At that time, it was pretty much an empirical truth that they were the best live band on the planet.

Sixteen years on, I find that their catalogue has aged incredibly well, and I still listen to 'Goat' and 'Liar' on the regular.

But I wasn't sure what to think of the prospect of a Jesus Lizard live show in 2009. After all, the JL made some of the most intensely physical music I've ever seen, and frontman David Yow is now pushing 50 (he dedicated a song to his bald spot).

But last night the band was as punishingly, frighteningly brilliant as ever. In fact, they actually played some of their songs FASTER than on record. And don't even get me started on Mac McNeilly, still one of the best rock & roll drummers ever to sit on the throne.

I checked YouTube for clips from last night's show, and whadda ya know, I actually found one from that show I attended back in '93. It's not the best quality, but hey, I wuz there!

A fun couple of days w/ The Swell Season

The best part of my job is definitely getting to spend time with musicians that I respect and admire. The past two days have been a delight since I got to spend them with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the Swell Season. They came into town on Tuesday straight from a sold out show in DC. I met them at WNYC where they were guests on Soundcheck for part of the "Soundcheck Smack-down" series - they were debating the love song vs the break up song with host John Schaefer. It was a fun segment and both Glen and Mar spoke about the different types of songs beautifully. Then they performed one of their own, the slow-burning soul number "Low Rising" - one of my favorite songs! you can listen to Glen and Mar on Soundcheck here:

On Wednesday we did a couple of online performances for People Magazine and Rolling Stone. It's so incredible to see Glen and Mar perform in front of just a handful of folks when most people only see them perform in the larger venues. I'm not knocking the larger shows though, I love those too and can't wait to see The Swell Season at Radio City in January!

Above is a picture I took with Glen and Mar just before we said goodbye. I know its a bit blurry but you get the idea.

Discover a Lost Masterpiece: the "Jaw-dropping" Kinbotes

In 1986 a good friend of mine made a brilliant, odd, home-made album. I've been waiting since then for world to discover it and now it's happened..you gotta read this:

Out of the Bubbling Dusk: The Kinbotes

In a sea of mundane trendy over-hyped local 80s new wave LPs, a truly rare gem came to my attention last winter thanks to a glowing review by Mike Ascherman (“The greatest sub-garage band ever!”) and a cheap copy that fell into my hands from an online listing.

Stories from the City, Stories from the Yankees

As I snuck out of a bar in Carroll Gardens after watching the Yankees clinch their 27th World Series and walked happily to the G train, I passed a few cars blasting Jay Z's "Empire State of Mind." This song - which was played each time Derek Jeter walked to the plate this year- has become quite the anthem for the pin stripe donned boys but also for the city as a whole, as witnessed by the numerous lyrics I've seen on Facebook and Jay and Alicia Keys stellar performance at the MTV VMA awards (which were held in NYC this year).

This magical moment got me thinking about my favorite songs about or relating to NY. So here they are:
Simon and Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy in NY
Interpol- NY Cares
Frank Sinatra - New York New York
REM - Leaving NY
Fran Sinatra - Autumn in NY
The Wu Tang Clan- CREAM
PJ Harvey- Good Fortune
Duke Ellington- Take the A Train
Jay Z ft/ Alicia Keys- Empire State of Mind

Little Steven Van Zandt was also recently asked for his favorite songs about NY - check out his selections here.

My How They've Grown: Shore Fire Kids Halloween '09

Halloween is a highlight for the kids of Shore Fire.

Down at the Jersey Shore, Shore Fire President Marilyn Laverty donned a Dorothy costume for the festivities with her son Sam (on left, with friend, on right), who's dressed as Mario (from the Mario Brothers, of course).


Up in my neck of the woods in Harlem, Halloween's become the hang out holiday of the year for the growing number of kids on our block. For the sixth year in a row, we've gathered on the stoop for a group shot before running up and down the street to fill up buckets of candy. That's my Leo on the right, all in orange as a hermit crab, with my Eli behind him in the Revolutionary War soldier costume.


Eli in a home-made (by me) Revolutionary War costume.


Inspired by their trip to Disneyland this summer, Matt Hanks' daughters Emma (age 7) and Sally (age 3) both dressed as fairies, Silver Mist and Tinkerbell respectively. As for Matt, anyone who has ever eaten a meal with him will recognize he's dressed as creole seasoning kingpin Tony Chachere! He puts the stuff on everything but his Halloween candy.


Here's Rebecca Shapiro's 3 1/2 year old daughter Roxy dressed as Annie...she belted out "Maybe" while trick or treating.

Music Themed Halloween

Carrie Tolles and I had an action packed weekend frolicking through the city dressed as Ziggy Stardust (she) and Lady Ga Ga (me). The matching lightening bolts through some people off when they tried to figure out who we were.
Here Carrie... eh I mean Ziggy posses with good friend Gene Simmons.