upcoming music in NY and beyond

For many reasons I've been neglecting the Google calendar created to keep track of shows in and around the area. So I finally added gigs for the next few months. Now I am wrestling with google calendars to actually display my shared/public gigs. Here's an attempt at sharing the calendar

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=spd6s2bgd57jc215ult6p8desg%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York
Click around and let me know if you see any gigs appear.

Funny State Signs found around the web

I stumbled upon a bunch of funny state "Welcome" signs from various places while surfing the web...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... in the studio audience at The Apollo Theater for taping

Last night we went to the Apollo Theater (125 Street) to be a part of the tv show recording "SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH...", which airs on Sundance Channel.

The music was great but I have a feeling there's a lot of post work on Spectacle, as Mr. Costello tends to ramble on, just a bit (smiley-face).

Appearing and performing on the show: Allen Toussaint, Richard Thompson, Levon Helm and Nick Lowe. Also sitting in, Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan's Love and Theft) along with Ray LaMontagne who came out to sing the closing song, The Weight.

Only one reshoot for The Weight because continuity was off when LaMontagne appeared on vocals without any intro. Overall the taping went smooth and ended about 40 minutes early. Celeb sightings at the theater: New Orleans piano player Henry Butler and actor Steve Buscemi.

Being a television geek, I enjoyed watching the program monitor much more than directly watching the artists up on stage. I also noticed all cameras were HD. Hmm, guess that new fangled thing is catching on.

After a great evening of tasty music with Elvis we ended the night at Dinosaur Barbeque on 12th Avenue (and 131 Street) with BBQ and Belgian beer.

Look for this episode of Spectacle appear on Sundance in a few months.




AIRS ON Wednesday December 23 at 10:00PM
Elvis Costello returns for a second season of "Spectacle," a refreshing mix of intimate conversation and live musical performances. Internationally acclaimed during its first season, this original series allows some of the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time a rare opportunity to reflect on their work and jam with Elvis. This time, the Grammy® Award-winning singer-songwriter welcomes Levon Helm, Nick Lowe, Richard Thompson and Allen Toussaint, who join Elvis in a memorable version of "The Weight."

Ken Burns - The National Parks

CBS News National Correspondent Jim Axelrod interviewed Ken Burns on CBS Sunday Morning and gave a sneak peak at the new PBS special called The National Parks, a 12-hour, 6-part documentary series that airs on PBS beginning next weekend, Sunday, September 27, 2009.

In the film, Burns calls the idea of the national parks "an idea that was as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical."

"For the first time in human history, land was set aside, not for kings and noblemen, not for the rich, but for everybody in all time," Burns told Axelrod.



Watch a sneak preview on Amazon.

Pre-order Price Guarantee! Order The National Parks now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you'll receive the lowest price.

a cell phone your Dad or Mom can use

I hear the same complaints about Cell Phones from the older generation...

• The buttons are too small and confusing
• Too many damn features
• Can't figure out how to make it work

Multi-function keys, touch screens, cameras, mp3 players? Forget it!

Take a look at the iNo CP09 from Foresight Technologies. Totally designed with the elderly in mind: buttons you can hit with a thumb, beefy fonts and a loud ringer, too loud maybe? The big monochrome fonts are easy to see and not very distracting.

Just in time for Father's Day.

Strange foods found on the net: Food in electronics, usb devices, and other odd places

I saw a blog about hamburger obsession, 10 ways to make your burger fantasies come true. It got me thinking, how many people buy food gadgets so I did a quick scan of the net to see what I could find. Due to time and space limitations, my findings are not too extensive, but I'm sure you can find a lot more strange food swag, if you check.

Hamburger
I've found usb devices, CD Holders, mouse pads, Hamburgers YoYos, and a Wimpy doll (with Hamburger)





Hot Dog
a full body costume, a wall clock, and a hot dog wedding groom.




Pizza
a pizza flash drive, party lights, a belt buckle, and a singing pizza elmo toy.



French Fries
Not too many, maybe everyone is calorie counting?




Kiwi fruit
an ipod case, some sort of toy, and drawer pull knobs.



I'm sure with time and persistence, this list could go on forever :) what surprised me most is not too many cool Frency Fry oddities showed in my search. Give it a try.

North Miami Beach in the 1970s

Recently a friend's status update on Facebook gave me the idea to start a new group, "Growing up in North Miami Beach in the 1970s," and it became an instant hit. Hundreds of "kids" from NMB in the 1970s jumped in with their memories of restaurants, record shops, various stores and parks. Dozens of names I haven't heard in decades suddenly streamed across my computer.

Do You Remember...

• Greynolds Park
• Skipper Chuck
• Skylake Mall
• Sandy's Drugs
• Pirates World In Dania
• on West Dixie Highway
• 163rd Street Mall
• Vibrations Records and Tapes
• Victory Park Pool
• Uleta Pool

If you grew up in North Miami Beach the 1970s or are curious about "the way it was", check out the Growing up in North Miami Beach in the 1970s Facebook group. And if we knew each other, add me as a friend (just send a note with the friend invite just in case I can't place the face).