Jimmy Fallon, meet your lost cousin Nick

I attended last night's taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and got to hang out with Loudon and producer Dick Connette and meet Jimmy! Jimmy was obviously excited about having Loudon on the show. He said, ""I'm so happy he's here. I'm a fan of this guy... he's one of my favorites... unbelievable." Loudon's performance of "Didn't He Ramble" was a home run. If you don't believe me, watch video for yourself.



Here's Loudon with Dick before the taping:



And Loudon with Jimmy:



And Jimmy with me. I told him that people have been asking me for years if we're related and he admitted that we do share a certain resemblance!

A Lifetime of Devotion

It's always a thrill to meet one of your heroes. And that's what it was for me when I met our client Smokey Robinson in the green room before his appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

I've adored this legendary singer and songwriter since the first time I slow-danced to "Ooh Baby Baby." And in person he's charming, smart and thoughtful, as befits the man Bob Dylan once called "America's greatest living poet."

After Smokey sang "Girlfriend" from his new 'Time Flies When You're Having Fun' album - with The Roots earning their title as the world's greatest house band - he did a special performance of "Tears of a Clown" for the studio audience, and it's now online.

And I ask you: How can you not be crazy about a guy who can not only make a new album that iTunes calls "timelessly seductive" but can also use the word "Pagliacci" in a lyric?

on the town with tom jones

spent a few days doing press with Tom Jones in the last two weeks. here's jimmy kimmel's satirical sneak peak at Tom's new show:



and a few behind-the-scenes shots. the whole thing was filmed in hollywood, in front of a green screen:





while out in la, tom also did the tonight show w/ jay leno:



previously, in new york, Tom did a few fascinating interviews. here he is interviewed by wnyc's stalwart host, and one of the best interviewers out of there, leonard lopate. listen here:



and here's tom after his interview w/ the washington post's chris richards:

We've Got Office Visitors!

Some of our friends from AOL Music stopped by last Friday to tell us about some of the cool things they've working on - which, as it turned out, included a nice "What's That Song?" item about our client Max Morgan, whose song "Secret" from his forthcoming debut 'Interrupting the Silence' accompanied a pivotal scene on Thursday's Grey's Anatomy.

From left below: Shore Fire's Andy Silva, Chris Taillie and me, and AOL Music's Bill Crandall, Jessica Robertson, Gaylord Fields and Mike Spinella.

Costello Kicks it on Letterman

Jenny Lewis and Elvis Costello kicked it out of the ballpark last night when they performed "Carpetbaggers." The song appears on Jenny's new album Acid Tongue, but the impetus for last night's gig was its inclusion on an upcoming episode of Elvis' TV show, "Spectacle, Elvis Costello With...." Costello also had a sit down segment with Dave to talk about Spectacle, which debuts December 3 on Sundance in the US.



Jenny Lewis is terrifically sweet and it was a pleasure to get to meet her before the taping.

Steven Van Zandt Talks Halloween on CW11

I love watching live TV from the set, and Steven Van Zandt is a hero, so this morning was extra special when I got to be with the all-around rock and roll missionary for his appearance on CW11 News here in New York. Steven's generally got a dozen or more amazing things on his plate at a time, but here he was discussing his new holiday compilations, Halloween A Go-Go and Christmas A Go-Go.

The first shot is Steven with CW's reporter Emily Frances in the green room, where Steven and I shared a chuckle at how many scary/creepy/Halloweeny songs there are to choose from in Roky Erickson's catalogue (he picked "I Walked with a Zombie" but says he'll consider my suggestion of "Don't Shake Me Lucifer" for Vol. 2).

Below that are Steven and Emily with me and Shore Fire's Nora Lyons added to the mix (thanks to our friend, talent exec Spencer Mindich, at the show for snapping the shot!).

Labelle on Today

Labelle stopped by the Today Show Wed morning to talk about their new record 'Back to Now,' their upcoming concert at the Apollo, and fashion - of course. Patti, Nona, and Sarah chatted with Kathie Lee and Hoda like they were long time friends.

Here are behind the scenes snapshots at the Today Show and the US Weekly Hot in Hollywood Party on 10/21
Watch the Today Show segment below.

While My Guitar Gently Walks The Runway

I am almost as obsessed with style as I am with music, and was amused by this photo in The New York Times's online coverage of last week's Spring/Summer 2009 Chanel show in Paris.

The model, wearing a gypsy-ish look, is nicely accessorized with a guitar, which the backstage stylist appears to believe she plays left-handed (when she's not busy texting her boyfriend or eating a meal consisting of three grapes). The bandolier grip is also something one doesn't often see on a musical stage. But the Chanel logo strap? I can see that catching on in certain circles, like maybe at The Pit on 90210.

Songwriter Summit

Spent a lovely afternoon yesterday with Joan Osborne. Backstage at Bloomberg's Night Talk w/ Mike Schneider, we ran into fellow songwriter Rodney Crowell. Next up for Joan in New York: a headlining show at Music Hall of Williamsburg Sept 25.

Real As An Animal

Shore Fire Online Marketing client Alejandro Escovedo is in NYC to celebrate the release of his 9th studio album, 'Real Animal' (out 6/24). He stopped by Conan O'Brien on Friday, The Today Show this morning and Sirius on Saturday. Monday night he performed at a private WFUV event at The Cutting Room, playing some old tunes along with several from the new album. Alejandro and his band (which includes a cello and violin) brought the house down with his ode to Iggy Pop, "Real As An Animal."

Here's Nancie, Alejandro and myself after the performance (below):










Here's Jan Stabile from Jon Landau Management, Evan Adler from Blue Note/Manhattan/Back Porch and myself (below):

Get Even Smarter

The movie version of Get Smart is out today, and while from the trailer it doesn't seem nearly as funny as the TV series written by two of the world's greatest comic geniuses, Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, it will probably become one of those movie remakes I go to primarily because of the theme song, a list that has included The Jetsons, Mission: Impossible and Life of Brian. (The last is in its own way a remake of King of Kings, isn't it? And don't you find yourself whistling "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" right about now?)

The "Get Smart" TV theme was written by Irving Szathmary, who doesn't seem to have written much else. The movie music is credited to Trevor Rabin (yes, of Yes), and what I've heard of the theme arrangement makes me suspicious (too many strings, not enough brass). But I will sit with my popcorn and see if anything in the film can equal this classic opening sequence:

Up Early With Hilary McRae

Hilary McRae made her national TV debut over the weekend on The CBS Early Show, totally delivering on two songs from her debut album 'Through These Walls.' Check out the performance here.

Bonus: her band vamped a few bars of my favorite Steve Miller jam "Swingtown" during the commercial break.

Here's a shot of a shoeless McRae, conferring with the Early Show's Brian Bingham, moments before her performance.



And here, from L-R, is Shore Fire's Carrie Tolles, me, Hilary, and Concord Records' Catie Monck after the show.

Edwards Makes It Four For Letterman

Kathleen Edwards was in town for her fourth appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman (seen below outside the studio with Mark Satlof, Matt Hanks, her manager Patrick Sambrook and Diana D' Angelo). At a convivial dinner after the taping, Kathleen reminisced about some of the other bookings...the time she pulled off to the side of the road waiting to see if a last minute offer would come in for that day (it did) and the memorable booking that had her on a marathon 13 hour bus ride from Toronto during a blizzard to make the show. By now, Letterman feels like home.

Went to the Colbert Report and all I got was this Lousy

...tote bag, plus a "wriststrong" charity bracelet and a baseball cap.

I was there today with Carole King for her first appearance on the Colbert Report. She did great with Stephen during his sit down interview, and her performance of I Feel the Earth Move was powerful and rocking. Carole spoke of her work with the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, now working its way through congress, as well as of her recent DVD Welcome to My Living Room and the upcoming reissue of Tapestry.

The crowd roared for Carole, and after she walked backstage, she decided on the spot to return for another song for the audience. I don't think there was a body in the house who wasn't floored by a stunning You've Got a Friend, replete with sing along. As usual, it was a thrill to get to hang out with Carole and watch her perform, while on the Colbert side, the entire staff was was a good bunch and treated Carole very well. Lots of fans up there.



Oh yeah, I also got to meet Stephen for a fleeting moment, but long enough to get this photo.


Oh, and this picture too of Carole with Kareem Abdul Jabar

Up Early and Out Late with the Blind Boys

The Blind Boys of Alabama kept us busy last week, in town promoting their new album ‘Down in New Orleans’ on Time Life. Among other things, they performed on Imus in the Morning, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and gave a knock-out live performance from the Cutting Room in Manhattan that aired live on WFUV.

Here’s a shot snapped just after the WFUV gig with, from left to right: WFUV’s Rita Houston, Blind Boys Joey Williams and Jimmy Carter, Time Life’s Bas Hartong, Blind Boys drummer Ricky McKinnie, me, and BBs bassist Tracy Pierce.

You can’t really tell from the photo, but Jimmy Carter’s cap reads “Jimster.” He is the coolest septuagenarian I know.

Ryan Shaw & Bonsai Trees

Ryan Shaw displayed his incredible chops last week on Martha Stewart, wowing the crowd. He sounded great during sound check, but Ryan really connects when there's an audience present. Met bookers Jeffry Culbreth and Maura Kelly, who treated us well in the green room. Martha, for her part, praised Ryan's "timeless" soul music.

Ryan and band are hysterical backstage, cracking non-stop jokes over turkey sandwiches and fresh fruit and, I'm told, the best cappucinos a green room has to offer.

Meanwhile, we learned how to shop for ecofriendly products with Josh Dorfman, "The Lazy Environmentalist"; how to make Poule au Pot with Anne Willan; and saw a multitude of gorgeous bonsai trees on the expansive set.



L-R, here's Rob (pictured with his gorgeous 1969 Telecaster), Keith, Martha, Ryan and Tiny (with awesome 5-string bass).

To see Ryan sing "We Got Love," click here and click "next" in the video box.