A long, long time ago, I had a songwriting partner (or should I say, he once had me, some of you are hearing in your head). Jack is one of my dearest friends, and a remarkable polymath: he’s doctored film scripts of movies you’ve actually heard of; he’s published several books, including one about marathon television watching called “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”, which should have won a Pulitzer based on the title alone; he’s written the songs for a nifty off-Broadway play; he’s a professor in the film department at Columbia; you get the idea (or maybe you don’t, and maybe that’s the point). In any case, in 1994, Jack was working at Channel 4 in England, and he had the opportunity to attend a songwriting workshop in Bury St. Edmunds, in England, at a place called Fen Farm. The songwriting workshop was run by Ray Davies – yes, that Ray Davies – and Jack invited me along, and I’m pretty sure I’ve written about it here before. I met some amazing people there, and I considered myself fortunate to meet Mr. Davies, since “Waterloo Sunset” is one of the most perfect songs ever written. Read more »

As we’ve been discussing, I have a new album out, “The Great Indoors”. It’s really, really excellent, and you should buy it, or stream it, or, hell, smear it all over your naked body. You can buy digital tracks on iTunes or CDBaby for 99 cents each, or you can buy an actual drink coaster for $10 from Kunaki (the company that does my CD reproduction) or you can buy the drink coaster from CDBaby, but you won’t want to, because it’s $15 over there. Read more »

Those of you who have subscribed to these scribblings over lo, these many years will recall that I used to be in a ska band, called Agent 13, named after the guy in the sofa in the Get Smart television series. I loved that band. There were eight of us – full rhythm section, full horn section, lead singer – and I have never, ever had so much fun with my clothes on, as musicians I know have said. At least five or six of us were hilarious on a regular basis, and it was magic when the act was working. Read more »

My wife, She Who Must Be Taunted, is a published author. She co-wrote a mystery novel that was nominated for an Edgar award, and she’s working on a historical thriller that ought to be done Any. Day. Now. She’s the long-form writer in the family; our deal is she doesn’t write the songs, and I don’t write the books. Read more »

One night, as his father was tucking him into bed, little Sammy said, “I want my very own CD.” Read more »

So people have been keeping something from me. Read more »

So as you know, I’m just about done with my sonic masterpiece (my heavens, you must be so sick of hearing that by now). And it just so happens that my little bruddah Josh, jazz bassist extraordinaire, has just finished a sonic masterpiece of his own. So how, you might ask, did these two giants – nay, titans – of the industry get their start? Read more »

I’ve been listening to my album-to-be, in all its almost-mixed glory, and it’s making me pretty damn happy. You’re gonna love it, I’m pretty sure; it’s the best written and best recorded album I’ve ever done. And now that I can see the light at the end of that particular tunnel, I’ve turned my attention back to the thing that I always think I’m supposed to be doing, namely, songwriting. And as I’m listening to that album-to-be, I’ve been asking myself: how much better does it get? Read more »

This has nothing to do with music, but it’s a good story. Read more »

Ah, the winter holidays. A time for curling up by a warm fire, safely out of the – oops, never mind. Santa needed those training skis, this year, the ones with the wheels. Read more »