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


https://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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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Metric Teen Tours group on Facebook

There's a Facebook group for alumni of Metric Teen Tours.

While doing some digging through old boxes I found an album from my 1979 trip across the western United States and uploaded a few shots to the group.

If you found this blog entry while searching for the Metric Teen Tour of Scarsdale, NY, jump over to the Facebook group for messages and photos

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=67057455008

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MP3 music on sale - lots under $5

Not bad! 50 MP3 Albums, just $5 Each.



What great finds did you grab for five bucks?

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Join this group if you grew up in North Miami Beach in the 1970s

A friend's Facebook status update gave me the idea to start a new Facebook group, "Growing up in North Miami Beach in the 1970s," with a focus on places and events that occurred in NMB in the 70s. There are many groups for other cities and times.  I'll try to keep the group on topic. 

Thousands of "kids" from NMB in the 1970s have shared their memories from restaurants, record shops, various pizza shops, delis, schools, sports, Haulover, and Greynold's parks.

Dozens of names I haven't heard in decades suddenly streamed across my computer.

Do You Remember any of these places... 

• Greynolds Park
• Skylake Mall
• Sandy's Drugs
• People's Gas on West Dixie Highway
• 163rd Street Shopping Center
• Record Shack, Record Land, Blue Note, Vibrations, Peaches
• Victory Park and Uleta Pools
• Figaro's, My Pi, Steve's on 164th Street

If you grew up in North Miami Beach the 1970s or are curious about "the way it was", join the Growing up in North Miami Beach in the 1970s Facebook group. Don't forget to answer the membership questions. If we knew each other in NMB, add me as a friend (send me a message and let me know you're adding me just in case I can't remember an old friend from the 70s).

  

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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.

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TRS 80 Model I

TRS-80 was a brand associated with several desktop computers sold by Radio Shack (Tandy Corporation). The original "TRS-80 Micro Computer System" launched in 1977 (later known as the Model I) was one of the earliest mass-produced personal computers.

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Amazon Kindle 2 - Slimmer, Thinner, Faster

Amazon.com unveiled a new version of its Kindle e-book reader, thinner and faster than the older model, but no cheaper.

Amazon tweaked the user experience a bit but Kindle 2 still lacks a color screen. The battery life was increased 25% and a useful new feature for many is a text-to-speech option. The company says the new Kindle will cost $359 and begin shipping on Feb. 24.

READ MORE and PRE-ORDER A KINDLE 2




Say Hello to The New Kindle
Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging

More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books

Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns

Read-to-Me: With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you

Large Selection: Over 230,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

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Empire State Building - Purple Green and Gold for Fat Tuesday / Mardi Gras 2009

Since January I've received two dozen inquiries about my campaign to color the Empire State Building in Purple, Green and Gold. I usually pitch the folks who manage lighting the ESB and emphasize that it's a

nod to the survivors and lives we lost when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. A silent acknowledgment that "we remember" and understand rebuilding is a slow, painful process.

Since we sucessfully pitched the ESB folks in 2006, requests [via forms, faxes, email, and voice mail] for the past two years to repeat the purple-green-gold lighting tribute led to a dead-end. I assume that the group who manages the ESB lighting is overwhelmed with daily requests and probably feels that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast had their acknowledgment in 2006 and Hurricane Katrina is just a memory.

The Meaning of Purple, Green, and Gold
In 1872 Rex chose PG&G as the official colors of Mardi Gras:
Purple = Justice
Green = Faith
Gold = Power

I'd like to see cities, large and small, who don't normally celebrate Fat Tuesday, take Purple Green and Gold, and in their own creative way decorate structures to send the "We Care!" message. Fat Tuesday is February 24, 2009: Lets use Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc) to spread the word. Reach out to the leaders in your home town.

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