Rockin Ralph and Rockin' Bowl

It was a typically rockin' time last Saturday at the Ralph's World show. In a reprise from a couple of years ago, I went with my kids Eli (l) and Leo (r) and as usual had a blast. Ralph's keeps putting incredible records out and he's got a brand new one All Around Ralph's World. Played a couple of tunes off that alongside crowd favorites like We Are Ants and the indelible Coffee Song. I loved working with Ralph in the past and was psyched to get to say hello. Ralph is on a major roll, just check out his song for Huggies, the Potty Dance.



Here's a picture that Leo took from up close.



Right after Ralph's World, we rushed over to the amazing Brooklyn Bowl. The place was packed, mostly with families, and all our kids had a blast while the adults got to have a few beers. It was impossible to get them all to smile at the same time so here's the best: Leo, my friend Denny's son, Eli and Shore Fire's Matt Hank's sweet girls Emma and Sally. Special thanks to Bowl owner Pete Shapiro for helping us get a lane and especially for the amazing desserts he had sent over.

Lay Low Takes Manhattan

Photo by: Sarahana Shrestha

Iceland is easily one of the top five places I'd like to visit. Although getting a glimpse of its mind-blowing landscape is very appealing, I'll admit the songwriter side of me is curious to find out what's in their water. I came of age as Icelandic artists like Björk and Sigur Rós rose to fame, and, just recently, I've had the great pleasure to work with the magnificent folk singer-songwriter Lay Low (nee Lovisa Elisabet Sigrunardottir). Lovisa is just a few weeks away from the release of her U.S. debut "Farewell Good Night's Sleep" on her own Loo Records, so she packed her bags and crossed the Atlantic to play two pre-release shows in New York City.

Lovisa arrived over Presidents Day weekend with her troubadour partner Agnes and manager Kari Sturluson. As a fellow foreigner with a commonly mispronounced name on my birth certificate, I made sure to go over the correct pronunciations before they left. For curious readers, that's:

Lovisa = Loh-visa (like the tourist's permit)
Kari- Khaurie (Laurie starting with a "K" and with a muted "h")
Agnes = AHg-nes (like starting with an "AH" of wonder)

Each day before her shows, Brendan and I played tour guide and took the group to the headquarters of some of New York's finest media outlets. Below are some pics to document the rare occasion.

We started the frosty Tuesday with an interview/performance at NPR's Bob Edwards Show, followed right after by an interview/performance at NPR's 'Here and Now.' Here's a pic of Agnes and Lovisa overlooking the Empire State Building from the NPR studios:

We then hailed a cab uptown to visit Last.fm. Their office is located in the same building as its parent headquarters CBS Radio. Lovisa, Agnes and Kari were thrilled to find out Last.fm's studio was once Howard Stern's. It was even funnier when we realized they were just at Stern's current studio, XM Radio. Maybe it's a sign? Who knows, Howard might dig Lay Low's sweet, timeless songs… (if you're reading this, you know where to reach us)

Here we are with our friends at CBS Radio / Last.fm:

L to R: Seth Neiman, Jerry Rubino, Lovisa, and Andy (me)

Here's a pic Brendan took at the Living Room on Tuesday night:

On Wednesday, we took Lay Low to record an interview with NPR's "Weekend Edition: Saturday," followed by an interview/performance at Out Magazine's Chelsea headquarters. Out's web editor Noah Michalson fell in love with Lay Low upon first listen. Be on the look out for an interview and a stripped down performance of three songs on Out.com soon.

Lay Low's last night in town was well honored with a packed show at Rockwood Music Hall. Baeble Music.com was there to film a short documentary and Hooves on the Turf was there to take some really lovely photos (see the top photo of this post for proof!) and video.

Though I may not be able to get to Iceland for a few years, hanging out with Kary, Lovisa and Agnes definitely made me eager to start packing. In the meantime, we welcome back Lovisa, Kari and Agnes anytime to make our New York City a little more Iceland.

Here we are saying our goodbyes (but not for long!) at Shore Fire's HQ:

L to R: Kari, Matt, Lovisa, Andy, Brendan

Mardi Gras, Mobile-Style

In recent weeks, when I would tell people I was going to Mobile, AL, for Mardi Gras I'd get one of two responses: confusion (they celebrate Mardi Gras there?) or disdain (you're going to Mardi Gras there?). Fact is, the Mardi Gras in Mobile pre-dates the bigger, splashier New Orleans carnival, and - this is key if you've got small kids - it's way less insane. We could actually find parking and get to the first row at all the parades. Plus, my parents live in Mobile.

My girls Emma (age 7) and Sally (age 3) had a blast. And we didn't encounter a single person vomiting or exposing his/her breasts.

Here's a quick photolog. That shot above is of a bead-strewn tree on Government St. - downtown Mobile's main thoroughfare - on Mardi Gras day.


Emma and Sally in position for their first parade.


...and again on day two.


A float on Joe Cain Day, aka "The People's Parade."


Emma, mid-parade: "Throw me somethin' Mister!"


Another float. You can't see it, but they misspelled Stevie Ray Vaughan's name.


Emma with her haul from the last parade, Mardi Gras night.

Presidential photos

In honor of Presidents' Day (the important holiday this weekend), you must check out the official Whitehouse Flickr page. Some amazingly intimate moments captured on camera.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/

(Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

Let's Get the Band Back Together

this is one of the funniest SNL skits I've seen in a long long time. I can still picture that punk rock girl on the Ocean City boardwalk with the Corrosion of Conformity logo stitched to the back of her jean jacket. I might just dig up my 7 Seconds and Dead Kennedy's records this weekend.

Big News In Social Media: The Buzz on Google Buzz

If there's one maxim in the world of tech media you can count on it's that when Google sneezes, it's news. So when Google makes a bold move to create a next-generation social media platform, it's really big news. This week's announcement and debut of Google Buzz was met with the expected level of breathless hype and cataclysmic predictions. Longtime commentator and internet celeb Jason Calacanis was among the first to weigh in with an unequivocal first impression:

BREAKING: Google Buzz is brilliant, Facebook just lost half its value.

My 30 second review of Google Buzz:

1. Google Buzz 1.0 is better than Facebook after six or seven years.

2. Facebook’s history is one filled with stealing other people’s innovations and doing them better (i.e. Zuckerberg has stolen every idea Evan Williams and the Twitter team have released). How ironic now that Google has out “Facebooked” Facebook.

3. Google has excellent privacy record and Facebook is a disaster. Most folks do not trust Zuckerberg and Facebook any more because of their privacy record (filled with lawsuits) and because they steal every good idea they see (i.e. Twitter’s innovations and FourSquare’s checking in).

4. Google Buzz auto generates your network–this is MUCH better process than Facebook’s.

5. Google Buzz is way faster than the sluggish Facebook–this is a HUGE advantage.

6. Google Buzz puts relies and updates into your GMAIL as threads–this is BRILLIANT and a HUGE advantage.

Facebook is going to see their traffic get cut in half by Google Buzz.

This really is game over for Facebook because you know Microsoft and Aol are going to copy Google Buzz as quick as they can. In fact, Aol would have a HUGE renaissance if they simply knocked off Google Buzz’s exact feature set. You would than have a reason to keep your @aol email address.

This could actually derail the Facebook IPO. It’s that serious. Facebook usage is going to plummet in the next year or two because of this. There really is no reason for non-game playing people who use GMAIL to log into Facebook.

If Google Ads social gaming to Google Buzz Facebook is 2012’s Pointcast.

Wow…. this is just stunning.

The "Facebook-killer" meme spread quickly (check Google News for proof) but is this revolution, or evolution? Let's take a look at some of the key features, straight from Google themselves:

• Auto-following: You don't have to build or rebuild your friend network, it happens organically as you send and receive email.


• Rich, fast, sharing experience: It pulls together a stream of information from your friends, media, photos, comments, in a dynamic way that feels more like a conversation.
  


• Public and private sharing: Self-explanatory, though it's hard to see how this is a huge differentiatiator. Twitter is of course public, Facebook is mixed (and a bit opaque on this point), but nonetheless.
  


• Inbox integration: This is the "killer" that threatens to make this a killer app. Let's face it, how much patience do people have to join yet another social network, especially a very generalist/aggregating one like this. It's a tough hurdle to jump -- but boy does it help to have 176 million unique users a month and a war chest of about $32 Billion in cash. Or so I would have to imagine.


• "Just The Good Stuff": This sounds like marketing hype, and is to some extent, but they're aiming for at least some substance with this point. The social media feed is prioritized, at least according to their claims it shows you the posts and updates you're most likely to read, and buries the stuff you least likely to be interested in. An innovation, but interestingly also something that Facebook ramped up hard as well, just this month.

So then -- what's it like? Well here's a quick overview primer:



And their five marketing points above leave quite a bit out. Integration clearly is core to the philosphy, leveraging Google's basket of heavyweight online properties such as YouTube, Picasa, and Blogger. The mobile integration looks to be one of the most formidable aspects to Buzz, when coupled with a GPS enabled mobile phone it enables functions ranging from finding people near you (perhaps a little creepy) to your own private Google Map that's like a bookmarks bar for the real world, geotagging your camera phone shot so you can remember where that little out of the way dumpling place was next time you're in the neighborhood.

OK, so back to Facebook's 400 million users and near total dominance of the core social network space? Is this a threat, a complement, an eventual also-ran? Here's a little more of what the experts are saying:

Techcrunch sums it up well:

The Battle

Without having had a chance to play with it yet, it would seem that the core idea behind Buzz is to take on Twitter and Facebook as the easiest way to share content online. Google is offering a number of compelling features such as smart curation (it gets better as you tell it what you like and what you don’t), and a rich mobile experience including location.

Because of the features it adds on to what Twitter does, and its overall look, it’s hard not to compare Buzz to FriendFeed. That service was arguably the better product than Twitter, but never took off in the same way for whatever reason (though I would argue that simplicity was a big factor). You could say the same thing for Twitter rivals Pownce and Jaiku (which Google actually bought) in the past. But by adding it to Gmail, Google is giving Buzz a great weapon to succeed where all of those others could not.

The big question is: will Gmail users buy into this quick sharing? Google thinks so because it’s a part of the evolution from email, to IM, to status updates. It’s also, in their eyes, a part of the evolution to the next step, Google Wave. So far, the public has proven to be not ready for Wave yet. But Buzz might be the perfect tool in getting people to think about communicating in a way beyond email and IM. Or it may be another misstep in Google’s social quest.

Core social media news source Mashable is measured, tackling the "zero sum game" question head on, but ultimately concluding that "Buzz Won’t Win the Social Web Without Facebook Integration"

We ought to consider the consequences of Buzz’s relationships with Twitter and Facebook. What are the relationships? Will Buzz, Twitter and Facebook co-exist elegantly or is this a zero sum game with a winner you can place your bets on?
...
I predicted at the end of last year that Facebook is well-poised to try to pry web dominance away from Google in 2010. Buzz doesn’t change my mind. Facebook is threatening Google, but Google isn’t threatening Facebook because it doesn’t offer any features so great that they incentivize people to leave behind their existing networks or spend their time updating and following yet another one when their friends are already all on Facebook or Twitter.

Facebook now dominates the social web so completely that it’s difficult to imagine an exodus to a competing service, unless that service offered some revolutionary new features that Facebook couldn’t possibly match — Buzz doesn’t.

I can picture one other success scenario, though: a service that aggregates other services’ features and content, and then offers up its own set of unique perks (like Buzz’s noise-control algorithms) that make the social web experience better. People would feel comfortable switching for the extra perks, because they wouldn’t have to leave their existing connections behind.

The outlook could change if Buzz integrates with Facebook the way it does with Twitter. Unless that happens, though, you’re better off keeping your bets on Facebook in the coming year or two — at least if your standard of success is something greater than niche appeal.

And tech guru Kevin Rose is witholding judgement as well:

Not sure where Buzz fits in my arsenal of social media tools, how often I’ll use it, or if it will eventually feel too much like unread email — but I’m happy to see Google taking social media seriously. It’s early days, let the attention/follower wars begin.

Indeed, let the games begin -- my thoughts as well. This was what I wrote late Wednesday night as a first take, before I read what everyone else was saying:

10 minutes in. Snap reaction -- they've got this more right than wrong.

It'll stick.

I don't know if it's going to kill Facebook. It actually doesn't feel that much like Facebook to me -- but I have this feeling it's going to kill something.

It's a fast moving space to say the least -- in fact just as I finished writing this post I hit refresh and saw two new headlines pop up on (where else) Google News:

"Google Snags Social Search Service Aardvark"

and

"Google Buzz Surpasses 9 Million Posts and Comments"

Nine million? Hmmmm.... this story is just a little over two days old. It's going to be interesting.

Geaux Saints!

Wanna know a secret? I don't like football. Not since I was 11 years old and Tony Dorsett was the best player in the league, anyway. What can I say, it's just not my thing. My wife and daughters are eternally grateful for this.

But I do like New Orleans. A lot! I went to college there and try to make it back a couple times a year.

Still, I fully admit I'm the worst possible fair-weather Saints fan. A month ago, I couldn't have told you the name of a single player on the team. But I did have a general awareness that they were having an historic season, and once they made the Super Bowl I decided I would watch it all the way through for the first time in my adult life.

Great game!

I had a pretty good time, but not as good as these folks. They're hanging at one of my favorite places on earth, The Saturn Bar in New Orleans' Bywater neighborhood. In fact, see those strands of hair in the lower right-hand corner of the photo? They belong to a friend of mine. This pic ran huge - half a page - in the NY Times today, and you can read the full story here

Behind the Scenes w/ ZBB at GRAMMYs

The excitement (and anxiety) was high from the moment I stepped foot in LA - and it only got better as the days went on.

From rehearsals, to walking the 400 ft. red carpet, to winning Best New Artist, to a mad dash through the media room, to celebrating with family and friends, Darren Doane (director of ZBB's "Toes" and "Highway 20 Ride" videos) was there with his camcorder capturing every moment.

They've already thanked us in front of 26 Million viewers so here's my chance to hit them back:

Congratulations to the Zac Brown Band for all their hard work and here's to another exciting year in 2010.

YouTube Friday Returns

I have been informed that if I am going to break the seal and post links to preposterous UK novelty hits then I have no choice but to inflict this upon you. Sorry.

Knights Of Bostonia visit NYC-onia

I had the pleasure of talking baseball and hanging out with Boston trio State Radio last week in NYC before heading to Montclair, NJ, to see their smokin set at the gorgeous Wellmont Theater.

I met the band at CBS Radio, where the Chad, Mike and Chuck played "Knights Of Bostonia" and "Calling All Crows" from their latest effort 'Let It Go.' From there we headed down to Relix to hang out for a bit.

Here's a shot at CBS Radio (in Howard Stern's old studio):

Here's the band with Peter Shapiro and Mike Greenhaus at Relix:

And their new video for the punk anthem "Knights Of Bostonia" is absolutely a must-see:

For No Particular Reason:

Here are 10 of my favorite quotes about music, collected over many years...

"Music should never be harmless."
- Robbie Robertson

"Years from now, after I'm gone, someone will listen to what I've done and know I was here. They may not know or care who I was, but they'll hear my guitars speaking for me."
- Chet Atkins

"James Brown is the only human to develop a musical style that didn't exist before him. He invented funk"
- ?uestlove

"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff."
- Frank Zappa

"Never look at the trombones. You'll only encourage them."
- Richard Strauss

"Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings." - Ed Gardner

"I've always felt that blues, rock and roll, and country are just about a beat apart."-Waylon Jennings

"You can't play anything on a horn that Louis Armstrong hasn't played"
- Miles Davis

"Music makes one feel so romantic - at least it always gets on one's nerves - which is the same thing nowadays."
- Oscar Wilde

"If there hadn't been a Sam Phillips, I might still be working in a cotton field"
- Johnny Cash

"I don't know anything about music. In my line of work you don't have to."
- Elvis Presley

"Hell is a half-filled auditorium."
- Robert Frost

Meanwhile, across the pond...

Let's not forget that American pop culture is not the only place to find some unexpected musical oddity, as this video - which is apparently a massive hit on the UK charts - clearly demonstrates.

I confess, I did have to Google "Jedward" for the backstory.

Should there be a Jazz Band video game?

Check out this good question proposed by Dan Ouellette in the March issue of Downbeat and interesting answers from some fine jazz musicians. What do you think? Stop by Shore Fire's Facebook page to comment...

Grizzly Bear, Balloons, and Summer

Another great video featuring a friend of mine. Keep watching because I think this is just about the best use of this amazing Grizzly Bear song.

Best Album Packaging Ever?

I may be overstating it slightly, but Marrow's insanely creative packaging for their new album 'Sunshine Enema' may be the coolest I've ever seen.

The "Master Cleanse" version of the album comes on a pill shaped USB drive, which can be found in a pill bottle and prescription bag complete with "dosing instructions.

Here's a look:




And the music on the album is equally as kick ass as the packaging it comes in, an electro/industrial hybrid filled with propulsive beats, desperate vocals and a dark pop sheen.

Grammys: The Glitz, The Glamour, The Shore Fire

There were enough of us from Shore Fire at the Grammys this year to field a basketball team (or would that be court a basketball team?). And with good reason. With 28 nominations, and 8 clients attending, we had to play a little zone defense at times.

I was in town with Neko Case and Booker T. Jones. Both were double nominees this year, and both performed at the Neil Young MusiCares dinner Friday night, before attending the Grammys on Sunday.

Neko and Booker contributed to two of MusiCares' most memorable moments, representing opposite ends of the Neil Young spectrum. After backing Dierks Bentley on "Cinnamon Girl," Booker cranked it to 11 along with John Fogerty and Keith Urban for a rafter-shaking "Rockin' in the Free World." Neko meanwhile joined Elton John, Leon Russell, Sheryl Crow and T Bone Burnett, for a heartfelt take on "Helpless" that had the room pin-drop quiet.

On Sunday, Neko and Booker both walked the red carpet, and Booker took home a Grammy for Pop Instrumental Album for his killer 2009 set 'Potato Hole.'

Between the two events, I caught up with the rest of the Shore Fire folks on Saturday and snapped the above pic on the Grammy red carpet. From L-R that's Elizabeth Lutz, Shore Fire Prez Marilyn Laverty, Carrie Tolles, yours truly, and Rebecca Shapiro.

Perez - I know you were just waiting for ID's on this shot before posting. You're welcome.

Monster Fun At Freestyle Jam at Nassau Colisseum

The kids, Eli and Leo, jumped up and down and roared, and so did the massive Monster Trucks we got to see over the weekend at Nassau Coliseum for the "Monster Jam Freestyle Mania." We all had a blast, me included. I'd put the whole thing down in the "good, clean fun" category. Nice seats, fair ticket price ($15 per kid + the onerous charges of course), started on time, matinee. Definitely kept everyone entertained. Plus, Flushing, Queen's Chinatown is on the way.

We got to see Sampson; Rap Attach, whose driver must have drawn the lucky straw at the drivers' pre-show meeting for the obligatory flip over; the Avenger; Grave Digger (every rally has to have a Grave Digger, the clear fan favorite); and Spider-Man.

In between the Monster Truck jumps and donuts, the Freestyle Jam showed off a truly amazing group of moto bikers, who did pirouettes and flips over a 50 foot-span jump; BMX bikers who also did flips and spins; and a trio of motorcyclists who did wheelie tricks.

Two very entertaining hours which I'd be happy to do again.

Shore Fire Clients Earn 9 Grammy Awards

Zac Brown Band Named Best New Artist; Maxwell Wins 2

Shore Fire clients last night earned nine GRAMMY® Awards, five of them in a diverse set of Best Album categories, and a clutch of our clients were seen onstage during the televised Awards ceremony. Zac Brown Band was named Best New Artist and, with Leon Russell, delivered a smoking rendition of America the Beautiful, Russell's Dixie's Lullaby and their own #1 platinum single Chicken Fried. Maxwell won two awards -- his first GRAMMYs® -- including Best R&B Album and tore down the house with his song Pretty Wings and a spirited duet with Roberta Flack on Where is the Love. Loudon Wainwright III took home his first GRAMMY® Award. Smokey Robinson sang, as did Butch Walker, who was invited by Taylor Swift to play on the arrangement of her song "You Belong With" made famous by his viral video cover.

Click here for video highlights of Maxwell and Zac Brown Band.

Shore Fire GRAMMY® winners:

Best New Artist:
Zac Brown Band

Best Americana Album:
Levon Helm - 'Electric Dirt' (Dirt Farmer Music/Vanguard Records)

Best Pop Instrumental Album:
Booker T. Jones - Potato Hole (Anti)

Best R&B Album:
Maxwell - 'BLACKsummers'Night' (Columbia)

Best Tejano Album:
Los Texmaniacs - 'Borders Y Bailes' (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)

Best Traditional Folk Album:
Loudon Wainwright III - 'High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project' (2nd Story Sound Records)

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance:
Bruce Springsteen "Working On A Dream" - from 'Working On A Dream' (Columbia)

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance:
Maxwell "Pretty Wings" - from 'BLACKsummers'Night' (Columbia)

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s):
Claus Ogerman, arranger (Diana Krall) "Quiet Nights" - from 'Quiet Nights' (Verve)