pandora.com
have you checked out pandora.com? this site builds a personal radio station for you based on an artist suggestion. crazy! awesome.

ps... this pandora thing is sort of weird. it went from animal collective to phil collins in like 5 steps. my coworkers yelled at me and said, what the hell are you listening to? yikes.

the magic numbers, feist, bright eyes @ landmark loews theatre



it was sort of a last minute thing but i went to see the magic numbers open for feist and bright eyes in jersey city of all places! at the landmark loews theatre, which is a slowly renovated old vaudeville theatre. quite majestic. i've been hearing about the magic numbers for a while now... i think the first person who referred me to them was kevin from one of my favorite bands, seafood. then i started hearing the buzz. now they have a happy-go-lucky self-titled album out that kind of reminds me of stars... and seafood, actually. i had no idea how the music would translate live, but they really charmed me and the sold-out crowd at the bright eyes show. i think everyone there was half my age, but hey, that's what you get when you go see conor oberst. they had the kids clapping and cheering. it made me smile. their boy-girl vocal play was cutesy, and their long hippie hair wasn't annoying -- it was... cute... the way it flipped to and fro to the beat of the clap-happy music. i liked it. should i remind you the band has a sold out headlining show at bowery ballroom tonight? pretty sweet if you ask me. check out their song "love me like you" on my jukebox above.

i was afraid feist would come out on stage by herself. the first and last time i saw her, it was just her and her guitar and her somewhat coy witty banter. now, i can see how the guys can be quite smitten with her, but i was just bored. i think she's a nice, eloquent person (i heard her speak on a panel during cmj, and she was smart and all...) but her music is borderline jazz pop, sort of like diana krall. it's like lounge music for the inside of a lexus jeep. it's silly because i like her voice a lot because it reminds me of beth orton or cat power, but the music is... eh.

the boys from bright eyes did come out on stage and join her for a song. that was supposed to be climactic, i think, but it fell a little flat. the kiddies liked it though! and that's all that matters.

this was also my first time seeing bright eyes... quite honestly, his band was better than him. i just don't get his music. i think it just doesn't speak to my generation or me or something. i'm not that old, but i am certainly not 15 and crying into my pillow because i think the world is against me and nothing will ever lift the black cloud that hovers over my blue pixie haircut. but i think his music does speak to people, and those were the kids at this show. i think i did like one bright eyes song, and he didn't play it the other night... the song that goes "i want a lover i don't have to love..."

total bliss

i've been in total bliss the last few weeks, despite the chilly weather in new york. i feel insane like it's all going to end suddenly. i'm crossing my fingers! i've also had absolutely no time to update this blog on any kind of regular basis. for this i am sorry, but i hope you will still stick it out with me because i will always feel compelled to write when i do have the time.

happy birthday, fon-lin! i hope this year they put birthday candles in your turkey.

right now i'm getting ready to attend the very dirty thanksgiving at dj's house. this will be the second time i've spent thanksgiving with friends (last year was a shitshow at 186 with belin, builder, kyle and friends). this year, i spend turkey day with the dirty on purpose crew and some others. i hear dj is cooking up a turducken. what!?

i'm taking some space up here to say, i love my friends. they are the best on the planet, and i guess it surely helps that a prerequisite to being my friend is that you have to be nice, humble and awesome. and they are!

ok off to the music stuff... recently i ran into peter from the walkmen. it's been ages since i've seen him, but he was looking happy. i asked him about that book the walkmen are writing, and he told me they are definitely writing it and publishing it... right now they are recording in DC, and i asked him if any of the songs that they played at the dentyne irving plaza show were going to be on the record. he said no... they were going with totally new songs. i can't wait to hear it!

i've been going to a lot more shows than usual these days! i saw echo and the bunnymen at irving plaza! (thanks to dtl and cheney). i was so happy to see this band live -- i didn't know what to expect but what i got back was lovely, spacey music that made my heart sway. bring on the dancing horses! lips like sugar, sugar kisses! the killing moon would come too soon! and i did attend the diesel party with echo's acoustic set, but you know... i just couldn't see or hear anything. i met some people from the spinto band at the party... the one guy looks soooo young.

i also saw we are scientists at rock and rare for some kind of weird industry showcase with lots of free sparks. i liked the first song ("the scene is dead") and the last song ("the great escape") but everything else in between was sort of whatever... kind of emo pop punk, if you ask me. it's not my thang, but that's just my steez. you may like it if you're into that sorta thing. but damn, those two songs are killer.

what else? oh, yes, i went to the GBV DVD listening party that louise from fringe benefits put together. i got there early to ensure that i got my GBV shotglass. it came to me complete with some kind of tasty shot. yay! she also sent me away with some posters to hang on my bland bedroom walls. (right now the walls are full of dirty on purpose posters. yes, i know... such a one-track mind!) i want that DVD damnit.

i also saw the sword at mercury lounge the other night. they were great but they looked so young! leave it to the youth to bring you some badass metal. apparently i was so drunk that i poured liquor down kevbo's throat! i don't remember doing this... maybe i had too much sake. anyhoo, jo, phil, sara, john, kevin and i booked it over to 2a and hung for a bit. i congratulated kemado on the new signing. are they turning into a metal label now?

oh my god, i almost forgot jay asked me to speak on a panel to talk about ascap and band management. that was a lot of fun. i can now put that i played mercury lounge. being under the spotlight was really weird for me, but i had lots of practice during the last two years of sxsw so i had my schpiel down pat. it was funny how one of the students knew about "south ex southwest" (that's how she pronounced it) because of the real world austin. seriously kids, get on the ball! that's the bestest music conference in the country! book your tickets now! is anyone else going down to sxsw in 2006? i just found out last week that i'm going, and i can't be more excited. brooklyn spring break part deux!

i almost forgot to mention that i went to the strokes listening party at black and white the other week, but i couldn't really hear the album. what i did hear though sounded like the strokes in their heyday.... what i did hear sounded nothing like the massive craziness of "juicebox." i have to say i'm really excited to hear the new album without the buzz of a crowd drunk on free harp and guiness. good party though, dani. you are tops in my book.

i also hosted a tasty get together of an expanded treats club at hotel 74 (aka my house). it was a cozy affair of friends who crave sugar. jennarator tested some of her recipes, and the the feedback was HOT. coffee heath cookies, pumpkin chocolate spice cookies, cinnamon bread, brownies, chocolate martinis. oh my gosh. it was good. check out photos of some key fingerlicking moments on my flickr page.

the lovemakers preview on loose record



read my enticing review of the lovemakers on loose record.

loose record holiday party



i think joe did a good job of illustrating jay in his underwear.

i could talk about how great my weekend was...
or i could just post this awesome photo. big up to jay belin!



real weekend update, coming soon. maybe.

doveman @ joe's pub



read my preview of the doveman show at joe's pub. [loose record]

the strokes are so cute

diamond nights are on tour


along with sara from manic mess, i am a big diamond nights fan. i'm not saying their music is going to change the world, but there is a certain subtle naughtiness to their music that i think is not present in any other bands today. it's just music that brings out the rebel in me, the mischief, the tease. and yes, it makes me want to shake my hips. it's not about being nice (read: sam beam), it's about debauchery.

check out the band in a city near you...
11/10 ­ Seattle, WA ­ Crocodile Café
11/11 ­ Portland, OR ­ Doug Fir Lounge
11/13 ­ San Francisco, CA ­ The Independent
11/14 ­ Los Angeles, CA ­ Troubadour (Indie 103.1 Presents . . )
11/15 ­ San Diego, CA ­ Casbah
11/16 ­ Las Vegas, NV ­ Beauty Bar
11/18 ­ Denver, CO ­ Walnut Room
11/19 ­ Lawrence, KS ­ Jackpot

11/21 ­ Greene Street ­ Greensboro, NC *
11/22 ­ Atlanta, GA - The Roxy *
11/23 ­ Nashville, TV ­ The End *
11/25 - Ok City, OK - Bricktown Live *
11/26 ­ Dallas, TX - Tree's *
11/27 ­ Austin, TX - Emo's *
11/29 ­ Tallahassee, FL ­ Floyds Music Store *
11/30 ­ Jacksonville, FL - Freebird Live *
12/1 ­ Tampa, FL ­ Masquerade *
12/2 ­ Orlando, FL ­ House of Blues *
12/4 ­ North Myrtle Beach, FL ­ House of Blues *

12/5 ­ Charlotte, NC ­ Casbah
12/6 ­ Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre
12/7 ­ Virginia Beach, VA ­ The Peppermint
12/8 ­ Baltimore, MD ­ Ottobar
12/9 ­ Boston, MA ­ Paradise Lounge
12/10 ­ Philadelphia, PA ­ The Khyber
12/13 ­ New York, NY ­ The Bowery Ballroom

* with Hot Hot Heat

iron & wine / calexico - in the reins


the tropical vibes of calexico intermingling with the pure poetry of iron & wine makes an irresistible combination ... much like one of those vanilla stoli and ginger ales. just like cream soda, yum. this record is made to make you smile. so lay back and give in already. both bands are taking over webster hall for three back to back nights. i heard they each do a separate set and then play a set together. oh, sweetness! check out the dates and buy tickets here.

if you've ever wondered about my philosophy on managing bands
read the interview the deli did with me, kip and perry...

fringe benefits and gbv
louise is promoting a special party on friday, nov. 18 for the GBV DVD, The Electrifying Conclusion. Free beer from Red Stripe and free shots... and possibly free shotglasses. are you in or what?? click here for more info.

dop the featured band in the filter magcast
big ups to penny and beth. we all heart you. click here to hear the magcast.

sam champion on woxy.com tonight!
sam champion is playing a full set of songs on woxy.com tonight with the glorious shiv. 7 pm EST. tune in and rock out.

sound team preview on loose record
read my thoughts on sound team and mazarin here...

i like to cuddle

so where have i been and what have i been doing? oh so much to tell. while i don't have as active a nightlife as the misshapes crew (congrats on the paper mag award), i can say that i've been enjoying my nights a lot. cuddle weather is coming. i'm ready and willing. and relishing! now if only i had a bearskin rug and a fireplace. just kidding.

on friday night, i met up with jay and mike, and we headed on over to snacky's in williamsburg. you've probably already read about this on good times roll, but i have to elaborate a little bit. that place always has a special place in my heart for its delicious selection of sake and yummy korean/chinese appetizers. and yes, i ate a kimchee dog while i was there. that pretty much put me out of commission for my other two choices -- the peanut chili wontons and the scallion pancakes. oh my. i had a whole carafe of sake to myself, and got quite tipsy. then i had the boys come over to my place and we met up with my roommate susan. i had some sparks in the fridge so i passed them around. then we all piled into a car and headed to mercury lounge, in time to catch the say hi to your mom set.

eric's band has progressed so much, and you could see the growth throughout the set. starting with some old favorites and ending with some amazing new jams, say hi to your mom came back to mercury lounge with a bang. eric told me some stories of their tour with nada surf, and i was completely jealous. what an amazing bill.

i was also excited to see dios malos, but i found out there was a band in between shtym and dios malos called swords. i hoped swords would be good... but they were sort of not good enough to keep me in the room. i started getting fidgety and impatient. it was quite painful. but soon enough they finished and dios took the stage. let me tell you, it was fucking well worth the wait. dios malos totally rocked it, so much greater than their recorded stuff! they did some remixed tropical versions of "starting five" and "you got me all wrong" which made me swoon completely.

towards the end of their set, i got a phone call... it was tom grubbs! he was like, "where are you?" and i was like, "i'm at mercury lounge." he was like, "i'm outside!" so i went out to say hello. he told me he was cruising by and saw the bill on the chalkboard and thought, "jinners has to be inside." his jinnerdar went off the roof. lo and behold, my rock schedules is pretty predictable. we got caught up, and it was nice to hear his life was going really well. i went back inside to try and catch the end of dios malos, but they were done.

the next day i spent some time in the recording studio and also getting to know our engineer scott and his black labrador mazzy. eric from shtym dropped by to hang for a little bit. you can see photos from the studio on dirty on purpose's flickr account.

then mike and i headed over to see levy and trick and the heartstrings. i had seen levy once before at a vicious showcase or something, and wasn't impressed with them. but i decided to try them again. i always like giving bands like 3 or 4 chances before i totally rule them out. usually over time, bands get better and better -- and they can surprise you with their progress. levy were definitely better this time, but their performance lacked a certain intensity that i think is lingering within the music. let it out, dude. just let it out. i also just got the cd, and i think i like it... it's like a softer version of the strokes, which i'm sure is a comparison that levy would personally hate (sorry, dudes) but it's just a little too obvious not to mention.

trick and the heartstrings were once again great, though i think their music has more power in smaller venues like pianos. the glory of a trick show is that moment they break out into coordinated dances, usually to a surprised audience who subsequently whoops and hollers in delight. it's a visual thing, as much as it's an audio thing. my favorite trick song went from being "i've got sex on me" to another song that i don't remember the title of... oh well.

i spent all of sunday at the studio, spending some QT with the band, scott and mazzy. we have all the drum and bass tracks done. some of the scratch guitar tracks are keepers too. we're on fire! the album is really starting to come together and feel like a whole era of our lives. i just can't wait until it's done!

yay for the upcoming three-day weekend

boy, has it been quite a weekend. at the moment i can't think of anything to write about, though i feel i have tons of stories to unload. ah, well. here's a flyer for the next knife skills show -- a right rides benefit at galapagos in williamsburg that remarkable booker camille acey put together. this may be their last show for the year before they head into the studio to record their full length. i'm pretty excited... the benefit is for right rides, a great service for the safety of women who go to late rock shows in new york -- if you are without cab fare and in need of a safe ride home, you can call right rides to pick you up and get you home safe. there have been so many instances of people being attacked, robbed, raped... and right rides has made a difference in the community -- having taken over 200 women home safely thus far. they need a little funding though to keep it going, so come on out to the show and support a good cause. if you would like to volunteer or get more info on right rides, visit their site.

on the record

hello peeps

so i just wanted to share some exciting on the moon music news about full length records from both bands i manage, dirty on purpose and knife skills. dop head into the studio to record their debut full length for north street records at head gear, and knife skills head into the studio in december to record their debut full length for 5rc (krs' slim moon's label - joining the noise revolution!!). we're all pretty excited about the opportunities ahead of us. i've heard the demos (both bands have new material posted on their myspace: dop & ks), so i can assure you they're both going to kick some serious ass and blow everyone away. is that setting the standard too high? i don't care. i believe in them both 1000%. i hope you see it too. woo hoo!!!

ps. thanks for supporting us!!!

pps. yes that is "girls and sunshine" on an episode of mtv's laguna beach. people have been asking... now you know!

sugar high social @ fortunato brothers

going to fortunato brothers is like stepping into an episode of the sopranos, but instead of stripper-laden jersey, you're in the middle of hipsterville. there are a group of italian goons standing on either side of the bakery, which sits snugly on the corner of manhattan avenue and devoe street in williamsburg, brooklyn. this is indeed only a hop, skip and a jump from my apartment.

mary and i got there earlier than the rest of the shs gang. it was a little uncomfortable standing around outside. i felt like we were being sized up by the loitering mafia types. a little nervous, i called sonya to find out if she and danny were on their way. she apologized and said, "we'll be there soon!" mary and i decided to case the joint and browse through the pastries. there were so many choices, our eyes widened with anticipation and delight. daniel rolled up a few minutes later, and we were thinking since we were the early birds, we would have an appetizer before team big sleep got there. of course, just then, danny and sonya walked in.

we picked a bevy of pastry goodies and sat down at our table to consume... the result is sugar high social!

happy samhain

so the other day someone posted "samhain" on myspace. nothing more than that one word. i thought nothing of it. then today, mary sent me this link to a gothic knitting site, and i see the word "samhain" again on that site. it turns out samhain is the celtic word for november. ya learn something new every day...

the whirlwind begins and swirls

wow my life lately has been a total whirlwind. what i thought wouldn't be a busy week has suddenly turned into something of an overwhelming mound of work. figures!?!

i went to a halloween party of a friend of a friend who turned out to be the lead singer of hockey night. his apartment was in carroll gardens... a nabe i had never ventured to ever before. that apartment was fabulous by the way... i was lazy and took a car with mary, joe and mike. i was the only one of our group with a "costume" -- which really just was my cat ears. everyone else at the party had some good getups. the winners of the costume party were food -- a hambuger and a mound of nachos. mmmmm.

on saturday, i ventured to upstate new york where my grandmother was celebrating... a very old birthday. she thinks she is going to die within the next year or so. she tried to give me a photo of myself graduating from college, which stands on her dresser. she said, "after i die, they will just throw this away. so you should take it." when she says things like that, it just makes me sad. she's from the old world view. she is paranoid. but there is nothing i can do to assuage her. i took the photo at the time but later slipped it back onto her dresser before i left.

we had this enormous korean cake for her that was absolutely delicious, and an elaborate traditional korean meal with lots of goodness -- braised beef, kimchee, mandoo, and all sorts of other concoctions that i don't know the english translation of. this is the perfect recipe for a food coma.

i got back into the city late on sunday, and started feeling ill. i tried to watch some of my csi dvds to no avail. i was too effing tired and sick. i spent all of monday trying to recover as much as possible, popping airborne every few hours, advil and nyquil. i'm happy to say i am feeling better, though not fully recovered.

tonight, sugar high social, the new official name of our "treats" club, is convening for the second time. i picked the place -- fortunato brothers. i love this place because of its mafia history and its even more infamous desserts. oh yeah, it is also three blocks from my apartment. i'm prepared to indulge!!! we are inducting mary into the club tonight. next time, sara. the fad for sweets is slowly growing. watch out.

tomorrow mike is taking me to see the go!team at webster hall. i'm very excited about this. i hope i have mustered up enough energy to dance my ass off. perhaps a few sparks light beforehand will help the cause...

on friday, dirty on purpose head into the recording studio. i'll probably join them some other day this weekend as i plan to hit say hi to your mom and dios malos on friday and trick and the heartstrings on saturday at mercury lounge. you should be there too...

whew. i feel winded already just thinking about my week. thanks for listening.

joe gets dirty with nerve.com... he's quite a funny charmer, ain't he?