Is there a tension between the real-world concerns you have as a parent and the anti-police attitude you express in some of your songs? I think that if you haven’t broken the law, there’s nothing wrong with complying with authority. “The thing is: Don’t get shot. Don’t give ’em a reason to put their…
Read more30/90 – Tick Tick Boom
This was the opening of the show …tick..tick…BOOM! My first musical here in NYC. From the original Playbill listing: Larson’s Autobiographical tick, tick…BOOM! Opens June 13 in NYC On the edge of 30, lyricist-composer-librettist Jonathan Larson wrote about a songwriter named Jonathan at the edge of 30, at the crossroads: His girl wants to marry,…
Read moreGretsch Drums
I did a recording session for a colleague of mind that I’ve known for quite some time in NJ today. It was a lot of fun being creative again. So much of the stuff I have been doing recently requires a lot less creativity and more of the skill of being a team player and/or…
Read moreThe Skins – Pump Up the Speed
I think they can only get better and better… if they stick together. I like their vibe and energy: The Skins are an infectious Brooklyn-based rock band consisting of siblings Bayli, Reef, and Kaya Mckeithan, along with friends and dueling guitarists Daisy Spencer and Russell Chell. Although they range in ages from 13-19, The Skins…
Read moreSkip Child Support. Go to Jail. Lose Job. Repeat.
An excerpt from HERE: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/us/skip-child-support-go-to-jail-lose-job-repeat.html?smid=fb-share There is no national count of how many parents are incarcerated for failure to pay child support, and enforcement tactics vary from state to state, as do policies such as whether parents facing jail are given court-appointed lawyers. But in 2009, a survey in South Carolina found that one in eight…
Read moreOpen the Music Industry’s Black Box
By DAVID BYRNE – JULY 31, 2015 An excerpt from HERE: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/opinion/sunday/open-the-music-industrys-black-box.html?smid=fb-share Putting together a picture of where listeners’ money goes when we pay for a streaming service subscription is notoriously complicated. Here is some of what we do know: About 70 percent of the money a listener pays to Spotify (which, to its credit,…
Read moreLouder Than Words – “tick…tick…BOOM!”
This is my first TV appearance. The Today Show – Saturday on the Plaza June 2001. Geez…I think I had dreadlocks back then. No kids, no wife, no real responsibilities (yet). Rent was SO much cheaper and everything was relatively new. Man was I lucky to be playing with Matt Beck, Konrad Adderly and Stephen…
Read moreHow to be Successful – Tyler Perry
Idris Muhammad, legendary New Orleans drummer
Idris Muhammad – While he had spent the past two decades working with jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, Muhammad’s drumming covered almost every genre of contemporary music, including rock ‘n’ roll. He toured or recorded with a who’s who of big names — Roberta Flack, Grover Washington, George Benson, Sonny Stitt and John Scofield, to name…
Read moreQueen – Stone Cold Crazy (Live at the Rainbow)
I first heard this song when Metallica covered it. Queen was a great band!
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