As many of you know, I maintain a list of open mikes in the Boston area. Like most acoustic musicians in the area who (a) aren’t genuises and (b) don’t know the CEO of Rounder Records, I’ve spent a good deal of time at open mikes in my performance career, and because of my prominent (har, har) role in the open mike community, I’ve frequently been mistaken for an open mike host, or asked why I don’t host an open mike myself. Read more »
Song Stories: Rust in the Pipes
July 22nd, 2006
So let’s say you’ve been away from home for a while, and you come home, and you turn on your faucet, and something that doesn’t bear much resemblance to water comes out. Maybe it’s brown. Maybe it’s got stuff floating in it. Maybe both. So you let the faucet run for a while, and eventually, it turns back into water. Eventually. Read more »
The Long Road Back
July 1st, 2006
I remember, quite clearly, the moment I decided I wanted to be a rock star. Read more »
Must Like Dogs
June 11th, 2006
I’ve been told that everybody has to have a dog story, so here’s mine. Read more »
The Price of Everything
May 26th, 2006
Not too long ago, a Gurian cutaway guitar sold on eBay for $4,000. The exact price, if you’re curious, was $4,051.99. (99 cents? What’s with the 99 cents? There’s something odd going on in the world of eBay that I simply don’t understand.) Now, I like Gurian guitars. Bought one myself recently. $1450. So, you ask yourself: was our eBay buyer on crack, or what? Well, I think it’s safe to say that, no, he wasn’t on crack, but he wasn’t buying a guitar. Read more »
Be Careful What You Wish For
April 13th, 2006
This month, my tale of woe begins in the most unlikely of places. Or not, depending on how rich your sense of irony is. Read more »
I’m therapeutic!
March 19th, 2006
My friend Caroline Gelman, a professor of social work at NYU, is going to be using the instrumentals from my song “Love Letters” as the soundtrack to one of a series of social work training videos she’s producing. (She’s probably never heard “Therapy”.)
So I’m a shoo-in for the Oscar for Best Soundtrack for a Social Work Training Video.
Trans Canada Two
March 19th, 2006
This issue’s edition of “Song Stories” is a little on the heavier side, and I hope you’ll indulge me – I promise you that there’s a prize at the bottom of the box, but there are some Cracker Jacks to eat in the meantime, if you know what I mean. Read more »
That and Seventy-Five Cents…
March 18th, 2006
My wife and I went to the Paradise City Arts Festival the other day. It’s one of those high-end craft shows, like CraftBoston – juried, most likely, and more than a hundred artisans from all over the country, each more talented than the last. Fabric, glass, metal, pottery, wood, photography, paint – the best that American crafts has to offer. Almost every booth staffed by the craftperson him/herself, smiling that fixed, open smile that says, “I’ve been standing here for a day and a half now and my feet are sore and I haven’t picked up my brush/chisel/blowtorch/camera since Thursday morning, and I’d better damn well make the booth fee.” And I look into their eyes, and I see art in America. Read more »