Just was on IM with my old friend Alan Evans from Soulive. He's up in Woodstock mixing an album that he recorded at the country house in VT. Talking with him brought me back about a year to March of '06, when we dragged all their gear up to the very same farm house to record some demos. My role was to help record and to cook meals, two tasks which I excel at.
Those boys just finished work on their next record, and Al IM'ed over some of the tracks, which dare I say absolutely crush. As I commented to him, they sound so much better than the last record, Breakout. While I'd love nothing more than to slap a couple of the tracks up here for you to hear, you're just gonna hafta take my word for it, and check them out for yourself when the album drops.
Meantime, to sate your appetites, I'll put a recipe up on the old blog here. I made a bunch of stuff for us while we were up there in VT, and here's one. Its a simple appetizer that you can throw together last minute, should you be so inclined.
Stuffed Hot Peppers
In the summer, I'll make these on the grill, but during the winter, you can simplify or complicate the recipe. I prefer making them in July and August when the Greenmarket hits it's peak. Check out Ted Belew's stand on the north side of Union Square. His wife grows about 250 varieties of hot peppers in Hunterden County, NJ, and by mid July, his stand practically glows from the colors and the heat. Let's pretend it's July and we'll drop in on Ted. Since he also raises organically fed hogs, you can grab your peppers and some of your filling at the same spot. Then pop over to Coach Farm and pick up some goat cheese. If the artesian cheese people are there, you can check out their products too.
Ingredients:
1 strip Maple Smoked Bacon - I like thick cut
1 Sweet Italian Sausage
Assortment of Hot Peppers (I like to use some Anaheims, which are pretty mellow, some jalapenos (because people know them), and then some brown and red Habeneros for real heat. Your best bet is to ask the farmer's opinion on heat and taste - that's the beauty of the Greenmarket.)
2-4 oz of herbed goat cheese (if you can only find plain, herbed is simple enough to make - see below)
2-4 oz of another favorite cheese.
Start by cleaning the peppers. Give them a quick rinse, and blot dry. Slice the tops off and slice them in half. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. *VERY IMPORTANT* If your using any hot peppers, even Jalapenos, wear gloves, and never touch your face or eyes. Seriously.
Once cleaned, brush them with a bit of olive oil and toss them on the grill over medium low heat. You can also put them on a cookie sheet in the oven at about 350 degrees for 15 minutes or so. Meanwhile, cook up the bacon and sausage on the stove top. Once that's done, cut up both into bite sized strips that will fit in side your pepper halves. Take the grilled peppers halves, fill them with a bacon or sausage slice and top with a schmear of the goat cheese or a strip of the harder cheese. I'll usually pop the non goat cheese ones back under the broiler for a bit to melt the cheese. Then you're done.
Herbed goat cheese:
8 oz of goat cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
chopped chives
chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Leave the cheese out until it reaches room temp. Mix the cheese with the other ingredients. Herbed goat cheese. Done.
I love how the cool smoothness of the goat cheese contrasts with the heat of the peppers. The subtlety of the sweet meats works perfectly with the savory as well. Enjoy.
And Stay Gold.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
The announcements just keep coming - (Superfly at) Jazzfest!
SUPERFLY DURING JAZZFEST 2007
Superfly During Jazzfest is back for its 11th year in New Orleans!
Superfly Productions is proud to announce its 11th annual "Superfly during JazzFest" concert series. Series events will take place from Saturday, April 28th, through Saturday, May 5th, at several venues throughout New Orleans. Confirmed shows are listed below, with additional shows to be announced soon.
All shows will go on sale at Noon Eastern on Saturday, March 10th through Superfly Ticketing at www.superflypresents.com.
Saturday, April 28th
The Radiators
Riverboat Cajun Queen
$50
Doors 7:30PM / Boat leaves 8:15 PM sharp
Friday, May 4th
Greyboy Allstars
Riverboat Cajun Queen
$40
Doors 7:30PM / Boat leaves 8:15 PM sharp
Friday, May 4th
Ween
plus The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Contemporary Arts Center
$34.50 Advance / $36 Door
Doors 8PM / Show 9PM
Saturday, May 5th
Gov’t Mule / Dr. John’s Night Tripper
Contemporary Arts Center
$36.50 Advance / $38 Door
Doors 8PM / Show 9PM
Saturday, May 5th
North Mississippi Allstars
Riverboat Cajun Queen
$35
Doors 7:30PM / Boat leave 8:15 PM sharp.
Superfly During Jazzfest is back for its 11th year in New Orleans!
Superfly Productions is proud to announce its 11th annual "Superfly during JazzFest" concert series. Series events will take place from Saturday, April 28th, through Saturday, May 5th, at several venues throughout New Orleans. Confirmed shows are listed below, with additional shows to be announced soon.
All shows will go on sale at Noon Eastern on Saturday, March 10th through Superfly Ticketing at www.superflypresents.com.
Saturday, April 28th
The Radiators
Riverboat Cajun Queen
$50
Doors 7:30PM / Boat leaves 8:15 PM sharp
Friday, May 4th
Greyboy Allstars
Riverboat Cajun Queen
$40
Doors 7:30PM / Boat leaves 8:15 PM sharp
Friday, May 4th
Ween
plus The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Contemporary Arts Center
$34.50 Advance / $36 Door
Doors 8PM / Show 9PM
Saturday, May 5th
Gov’t Mule / Dr. John’s Night Tripper
Contemporary Arts Center
$36.50 Advance / $38 Door
Doors 8PM / Show 9PM
Saturday, May 5th
North Mississippi Allstars
Riverboat Cajun Queen
$35
Doors 7:30PM / Boat leave 8:15 PM sharp.
Sitting in at Hidden Track
For a unannounced guest spot. Internet Radio Gets Fucked Again Check it out.
NYC Page
From Page McConnell's (former keyboardist from the popular rock band Phish) myspace page:
Page McConnell will perform a very intimate showcase on Wednesday, April 4th at Gramercy Theatre in New York, NY. Page's band for the evening includes Adam Zimmon, Jared Slomoff, Rob O'Dea, and drummer Gabe Jarrett. Tickets will be available through a real time presale beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, March 7th at noon (Eastern Time) and ending Thursday, March 8th at noon (Eastern Time) here
Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, March 9 at noon (Eastern Time) and are $30.00 General Admission (16 and over show, with a two ticket limit). They will be available online at ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 212.307.7171. If tickets remain, they can be purchased at the Irving Plaza box office beginning March 10th.
Page McConnell will perform a very intimate showcase on Wednesday, April 4th at Gramercy Theatre in New York, NY. Page's band for the evening includes Adam Zimmon, Jared Slomoff, Rob O'Dea, and drummer Gabe Jarrett. Tickets will be available through a real time presale beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, March 7th at noon (Eastern Time) and ending Thursday, March 8th at noon (Eastern Time) here
Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, March 9 at noon (Eastern Time) and are $30.00 General Admission (16 and over show, with a two ticket limit). They will be available online at ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 212.307.7171. If tickets remain, they can be purchased at the Irving Plaza box office beginning March 10th.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Playin' Favorites: Ski Rack Supreme
I need to talk about a person that, in our lives, knows me as fan, capture-er, colleague, employee, awestruck fool, travel agent, archivist, care-taker, driver, writer, host, and special advisor. Better yet, he understood me when I acted short, confused, angry, and distant. Even f I never knew him personally or worked for him, I must still hold him in the light that I do. He's a friend, in the best sense of the word.
Once upon a time, two bands that I loved as a fan and a colleague toured together. Based on attendance, not many people caught that tour, but as both bands' FOH engineer, and as one's tour manager, I saw every date. Critters Buggin' and The Benevento Russo Duo hit the East coast as a package over two years ago, in Oct. '04. The event that causes me to write what I have and will, occurred in Asheville, NC, near the end of that tour, and if no other information survives to illuminate this person of whom I write, I'll make sure that what I captured that night in the Carolina Mountains serves as his eulogy.
If you still need to figure it out: I'm talking about Skerik. I won't bother to grace or burden you with background - you either know or you don't. Lucky enough for me, I KNOW.
That particular evening, at Stella Blue in Asheville, both bands fired on all cylinders, and each of them played perhaps their best show of that tour. As they almost basked in the glory of their performances (I say almost, because no matter how good the show, these musicians do not leave satisfied; they continue to boldly seek more than what they've already achieved), discussion about the evening's encore came to the fore. I refuse to condescend to say we made it happen, but I will say that my crew compatriot Bryan "Bronko" Aiello and I did offer a suggestion for said encore that was seriously considered, and ultimately chosen.
Here in lies the 4 paragraph later sensible segue. You see, Bronko and I both embraced a particular Critters' tune that features Eyvind Kang as the string arranger. And given that both Bronko & I operated at a high level, and made whatever they wanted/needed to happen, happen, the musicians in question trusted us enough to respect that request and play it. I speak about "Panang".
Picture if you will complete vibe, a crew, crowd, room and band caught up in a whirlwind and yet still able to perfectly exist in & capture a moment. The crowd fell silent as they began to comprehend what they witnessed. The entire room hung on every note, as all 6 players created a sonic tidal wave that dared not drown you, but instead warmed, comforted and awed you.
Enough you might say, about both the long winded story and the superlative laden description of this moment. I would completely agree with you if the moment ended there. But as the virtuosity of "Panang" wound down, the 6 musicians refused to abandon the proceedings . A memorizing jam arose from the ashes of "Panang". Apparently, a couple of weeks together on the road provided them with a foundation to support such exploration. As a fan, my attention piqued beyond what my favorite song had minutes ago demanded. Suddenly, and I kid you not when I say, in a moment that weakened my knees enough for me to never forget it, Skerik found John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" and the other 5 parts of his pioneering brain on that stage found it closely after.
Since I very much believe Frank Zappa, and his quote "writing about music is like dancing about architecture," I won't even attempt to capture that moment with words. The anticipation and foreshadowing included in this recount provides a firm enough foundation. I feel that detailing my reaction to what occurred says enough. I mix shows, when luck allows, for a living. As an engineer, the performances I've mixed only once caused me to uncontrollably weep as they occurred. As Critters and the Duo found "A Love Supreme", I broke down, as if I carried a thousand burdens and suddenly cast them off, only to find myself bathed in calming light and caressing warmth of my tears.
Needless to say, beyond the hyperbole, this moment lives in my head, heart and soul as the most intensely beautiful musical moment I've been lucky enough to experience. It forever lives vibrantly and beautifully in my head. As such, I can always draw on it to explain my place in this world.
Stay Gold.
Once upon a time, two bands that I loved as a fan and a colleague toured together. Based on attendance, not many people caught that tour, but as both bands' FOH engineer, and as one's tour manager, I saw every date. Critters Buggin' and The Benevento Russo Duo hit the East coast as a package over two years ago, in Oct. '04. The event that causes me to write what I have and will, occurred in Asheville, NC, near the end of that tour, and if no other information survives to illuminate this person of whom I write, I'll make sure that what I captured that night in the Carolina Mountains serves as his eulogy.
If you still need to figure it out: I'm talking about Skerik. I won't bother to grace or burden you with background - you either know or you don't. Lucky enough for me, I KNOW.
That particular evening, at Stella Blue in Asheville, both bands fired on all cylinders, and each of them played perhaps their best show of that tour. As they almost basked in the glory of their performances (I say almost, because no matter how good the show, these musicians do not leave satisfied; they continue to boldly seek more than what they've already achieved), discussion about the evening's encore came to the fore. I refuse to condescend to say we made it happen, but I will say that my crew compatriot Bryan "Bronko" Aiello and I did offer a suggestion for said encore that was seriously considered, and ultimately chosen.
Here in lies the 4 paragraph later sensible segue. You see, Bronko and I both embraced a particular Critters' tune that features Eyvind Kang as the string arranger. And given that both Bronko & I operated at a high level, and made whatever they wanted/needed to happen, happen, the musicians in question trusted us enough to respect that request and play it. I speak about "Panang".
Picture if you will complete vibe, a crew, crowd, room and band caught up in a whirlwind and yet still able to perfectly exist in & capture a moment. The crowd fell silent as they began to comprehend what they witnessed. The entire room hung on every note, as all 6 players created a sonic tidal wave that dared not drown you, but instead warmed, comforted and awed you.
Enough you might say, about both the long winded story and the superlative laden description of this moment. I would completely agree with you if the moment ended there. But as the virtuosity of "Panang" wound down, the 6 musicians refused to abandon the proceedings . A memorizing jam arose from the ashes of "Panang". Apparently, a couple of weeks together on the road provided them with a foundation to support such exploration. As a fan, my attention piqued beyond what my favorite song had minutes ago demanded. Suddenly, and I kid you not when I say, in a moment that weakened my knees enough for me to never forget it, Skerik found John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" and the other 5 parts of his pioneering brain on that stage found it closely after.
Since I very much believe Frank Zappa, and his quote "writing about music is like dancing about architecture," I won't even attempt to capture that moment with words. The anticipation and foreshadowing included in this recount provides a firm enough foundation. I feel that detailing my reaction to what occurred says enough. I mix shows, when luck allows, for a living. As an engineer, the performances I've mixed only once caused me to uncontrollably weep as they occurred. As Critters and the Duo found "A Love Supreme", I broke down, as if I carried a thousand burdens and suddenly cast them off, only to find myself bathed in calming light and caressing warmth of my tears.
Needless to say, beyond the hyperbole, this moment lives in my head, heart and soul as the most intensely beautiful musical moment I've been lucky enough to experience. It forever lives vibrantly and beautifully in my head. As such, I can always draw on it to explain my place in this world.
Stay Gold.
Driving
Just got back from a little jazz listening hang at Bar 4 here in Brooklyn, where I got to talking with my friend Tommy about the road. I tend to spend a vast majority of my life driving, as a result of my job as a tour manager, and my most recent stint with Jon Cleary found me behind the wheel of yet another Econoline. Its become a point of pride for me, the ability to cover absurdly long distances by myself, and I wear it as a badge of honor of sorts, at least in the sense of being able to name my most ridiculous drives (NOLA to NYC and back 2.5 times, a couple of Denvers to NYC, Dallas to NYC, etc.)
For this tour, I could have skipped the Louisiana shows, shipped gear and just done a little northeast run, but I had some CDs I wanted to listen to, and I wanted to go south and spend some time in NOLA, so I chose to take on the drives. Here's what I learned this time around. In keeping with my personality, I'll start with the bad news....
I'm a cruise control guy, I like to stay at one consistent speed (there's something to be said for consistency, right?) and its that habit that leads me to my first 2 complaints.
1) Numerous drivers across the country aren't into consistency of speed, and therefore, I found myself a victim of the "I'll pass you, slow down, you pass me, repeat" game, especially in Alabama. That game is so much more fun when one drives after a Maple Leaf show, fails at finding a hotel in Mississippi and starts logging their 9th hr behind the wheel with no sleep.
2) However, that game has nothing on what apparently passes for the new Virginia-wide sport of "almost passing", Having someone living in yr blind-spot? Not that much fun. Having someone living in yr blind-spot when yr driving a 15 passenger van, even less fun. Just pass me for fuck's sake.
3) Ok, on to the good news. Having driven out of NOLA 3 times, I'm starting to get used to the fact that there's gonna be an accident very near me somewhere around Slidell. Three trips out on 10 East, 3 near misses, two of them on 2.10. I'm getting good at avoiding trouble. (Knocks wood.)
4) Mississippi as a state has been much maligned, and rightfully so. However, I'm perfectly content to drive north on 59 as the sun rises, so much so that I had to stop and take it all in. Most of 59 is tree lined, and the country morning just smells so fresh. I also had to pee, but that's just between us.
5) People south of Philly suck at snow. I got into northern VA just as the storm did, and while it only dropped 2-3 inches in that part of the country, it wreaked havoc with the driving conditions. I'm lucky that I grew up in the snow belt, where 3-4 feet in a day was a common occurrence. However, when I left my hotel in VA in search of food, and got 500 feet in 38 minutes, literally, I figured driving in bad weather was a skill best showcased at another time.
6) Favorites. I have 'em, and yeah, I play 'em. For the first installment of what I figure will become a regular feature of this here blog, I want to concentrate on my favorite truck stop CD: "Covered by the J. Geils Band". As Acer wrote "Most people under the age of 35 don’t really know how awesome the J. Geils Band was back in the day," and I couldn't agree more. This collection features exactly what you want from good driving music, up-tempo covers played by a killing soul review at the top of their game. Many of the included tracks were recorded live, an extra added bonus for me. Get it for the "House Party" and "Believe In Me", stay for the "Raise Your Hand" and fall in love with a surprising "Truck Driving Man".
Stay Gold.
For this tour, I could have skipped the Louisiana shows, shipped gear and just done a little northeast run, but I had some CDs I wanted to listen to, and I wanted to go south and spend some time in NOLA, so I chose to take on the drives. Here's what I learned this time around. In keeping with my personality, I'll start with the bad news....
I'm a cruise control guy, I like to stay at one consistent speed (there's something to be said for consistency, right?) and its that habit that leads me to my first 2 complaints.
1) Numerous drivers across the country aren't into consistency of speed, and therefore, I found myself a victim of the "I'll pass you, slow down, you pass me, repeat" game, especially in Alabama. That game is so much more fun when one drives after a Maple Leaf show, fails at finding a hotel in Mississippi and starts logging their 9th hr behind the wheel with no sleep.
2) However, that game has nothing on what apparently passes for the new Virginia-wide sport of "almost passing", Having someone living in yr blind-spot? Not that much fun. Having someone living in yr blind-spot when yr driving a 15 passenger van, even less fun. Just pass me for fuck's sake.
3) Ok, on to the good news. Having driven out of NOLA 3 times, I'm starting to get used to the fact that there's gonna be an accident very near me somewhere around Slidell. Three trips out on 10 East, 3 near misses, two of them on 2.10. I'm getting good at avoiding trouble. (Knocks wood.)
4) Mississippi as a state has been much maligned, and rightfully so. However, I'm perfectly content to drive north on 59 as the sun rises, so much so that I had to stop and take it all in. Most of 59 is tree lined, and the country morning just smells so fresh. I also had to pee, but that's just between us.
5) People south of Philly suck at snow. I got into northern VA just as the storm did, and while it only dropped 2-3 inches in that part of the country, it wreaked havoc with the driving conditions. I'm lucky that I grew up in the snow belt, where 3-4 feet in a day was a common occurrence. However, when I left my hotel in VA in search of food, and got 500 feet in 38 minutes, literally, I figured driving in bad weather was a skill best showcased at another time.
6) Favorites. I have 'em, and yeah, I play 'em. For the first installment of what I figure will become a regular feature of this here blog, I want to concentrate on my favorite truck stop CD: "Covered by the J. Geils Band". As Acer wrote "Most people under the age of 35 don’t really know how awesome the J. Geils Band was back in the day," and I couldn't agree more. This collection features exactly what you want from good driving music, up-tempo covers played by a killing soul review at the top of their game. Many of the included tracks were recorded live, an extra added bonus for me. Get it for the "House Party" and "Believe In Me", stay for the "Raise Your Hand" and fall in love with a surprising "Truck Driving Man".
Stay Gold.
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