Wild Times at Ralph's World, or....

..."Where's my kids?"

I had a few panicked moments when I lost track of my two kids during a mob scene, kiddie-riot this past Saturday at the SRO Ralph's World show at Symphony Space in New York City. Ever been to a Stooges show, where Iggy exhorts -demands- the audience to join him on stage? Things get scary up there, with a mob/scrum dancing and shouting, pushing and shoving.

Ralph's World's Ralph Covert does the same to close his shows, and every time I've seen him, the scene has been getting more and more raucous. This past weekend, I hoisted my boys up into the crowd...and then they disappeared. I'd lost sight of them up there. I took a few steps back, and wouldn't you know it, Leo and Eli had wormed their way through the other kids to end up planted directly in front of Ralph. Phew.

Ralph's World was incredible as usual, and they played a few terrific new songs from their upcoming new album "The Rhyming Circus" (May 20. Disney Sound). I can't get "Gotta Be Good" outta my head. We're psyched to be working with Ralph's World again (and so are our kids):

Here's my bored-looking kids Eli, the little kid w/ the horizontal striped shirt, standing right next to Leo (holding the camera). Rest assured they has a blast at the show.

Here's a wonderful shot of rock star Ralph, taken from the stage by 6 1/2 year old Leo:


An overview of the on stage crowd.


One sweet shot from the stage, taken again by Leo:


Ralph, Leo, Eli, and Eli's friend Skyler.

'30 Rock' Comes to 32 Court

As we’ve already told you, cool things have been filmed around our office in the past and even cooler things are being filmed around our homes right now, but is there anything cooler than '30 Rock'?

Of course not. Nothing is cooler or funnier or more awesome than '30 Rock' and, yes, I do have a (slightly unhealthy) obsession with anything Tina Fey does, so I was pretty excited to spend my lunch outside today with Maggie, hoping to snap a picture of the comedy genius or any of the show’s other stars. Unfortunately, it didn’t really seem like any of the actors were around, but their trailers were! I got as close as I could without seeming like a stalker, so I’ve highlighted important details in the photos (a little Perez Hilton-eque?) for your benefit.

Jack Donaghy's trailer (aka where Alec Baldwin hangs out and enjoys being really funny)


CC's trailer (looks like the lights are on...do you think Edie Falco was in there??)

Judging by all the wires and equipment the crew was lugging in there, I'm guessing most of the filming will take place in the courthouse.

We didn't see any trailer for Liz Lemon, which was a little disappointing. I guess I'll have to slip Tina this note another time:

Also, Maggie desperately needs to tell Mr. Baldwin that her father is ready to be his stand in. Can you tell the difference between the two of them? I can't.

Not One, But Two GRAMMY Award-Winning Producers

GRAMMY award-winning record producers Phil Ramone and Ken Mansfield posed together after meeting randomly at ABC Studios this week. Both were being interviewed about their recently released books, Ramone's Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music and Mansfield's The White Book, The Beatles, The Bands and The Biz: An Inside Look at an Era.

Check out Ramone's interview on the book, the music biz and his work with Shelby Lynne.

Biggie From The Block

People often don't believe me when I tell them I live in the building Biggie Smalls grew up in. They scoff when I tell them we once got a W2 form from Universal addressed to Christopher Wallace in the mail. Well, I now have definitive proof. Sort of.

As you can tell from the above pic, our living room windows are in serious need of washing. But if you squint you can see that a film crew, complete with massive crain, set up shop in front of my building yesterday, for the first day of shooting on 'Notorious' the Biggie biopic.

Stomping with Dr. Ike

Here's Dr. Ike (Ira Padnos) - founder, curator, producer and mastermind behind the Ponderosa Stomp - with Little Steven (Steven Van Zandt) following his interview for Little Steven's Underground Garage. (Dr. Ike specifically requested that this photo be taken in front of the "Untamed Youth" poster and check out Ike's cool western shirt, bought in Austin.)

Dr. Ike's a rock and roll encyclopedia, with a deep knowledge and deep record collection for blues, country, funk, soul, rockabilly, surf, swamp pop and rhythm and blues. Watching him converse with Little Steven was tantamount to watching two of the great rock historians interact with each other.

I can't wait to see the Ponderosa Stomp, which is set for April 29 and 30 down in New Orleans.

Birthday Girls

Cali Green (at left in photo) and Abby Johns both celebrated birthdays last week, so of course there was cake - pumpkin with delicious frosting, from Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

Sadly, this photo makes the cake look good, but doesn't do justice to either of the lovely celebrating humans.

CB's Second Coming

I got a sneak peak this morning at the Morrison Hotel Gallery's new space at 313 Bowery (former home to CBGB's Gallery) when NY1 News shot a segment there. The space, which opens this Thursday, March 27, is still pretty raw and no photographs are hanging yet, but I did get to take a close look at a super cool piece of CB's history. During the renovation, the owners of the MHG found several panels of old CB's flyers which were assemebled in a collage to celebrate the club's 10th anniversary, in 1983. Aside from all the CB's stalwarts - Ramones, Television, Talking Heads etc... - I spied a few surprises.

Sandy Bull, a true guitar visionary who by most accounts had stopped playing publicly by the late 70s, apparently played CB's:


A couple classic nights a CB's - one with current Shore Fire Clients the B-52s, another with one of my favorite, if criminally overlooked, bands from the club's heyday, the mighty Milk N' Cookies! If you're a fan of the Ramones et al, and you don't know Milk N' Cookies, you need to make amends immediately.


Dr. Feelgood were more punk than most of the band's who labeled themselves as such, but just a few years ahead of the zeitgeist. At least Hilly Kristal had the good sense to book them.

One More From South By

Eli "Paperboy" Reed, rocking blue suede shoes onstage at the Mojo Magazine party in Austin last weekend. The sartorial highlight of my SXSW 08.

Paul Thorn Rocks Conan

That handsome devil on the screen is none other than Mr. Paul Thorn. The pic is one of the in studio monitor screens in the Late Night with Conan O'Brien studios during Paul's soundcheck for his appearance on the show last night. Boy did he and the band kill.

They ripped through the title track from Paul's latest 'A Long Way From Tupelo.' Conan liked him so much he had Paul out to the couch for a handshake as the show ended.

It was a whirlwind 2 days for Paul and his band in NYC. Not only did they tape Conan, they recorded an in-studio at WFUV and got the crowd going at a raucous Living Room show on Tuesday night.

Can't wait to have 'em back soon.

All roads lead to Abbey

Like nearly every music-aware human on planet earth I'm a big fan of the Beatles, and it looks like I'm not the only one in Brooklyn. Spotted this morning on Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights:


Unfortunately the Yankees sticker reveals that our neighbor's taste is not infallible. But there's clearly much we can agree on.

Jesus Kreuz, That's Good Barbecue!

I've finally emerged from a three-day meat hangover, and can now post about my last supper at SXSW 08...

My name is Matt Hanks and I'm a barbecue snob. There, I said it. Before moving to NYC, I spent five years in Memphis where I learned the ways of barbecue perfection (if you haven't eaten at Cozy Corner, you haven't lived). Here in New York, it's a recurring storyline among the local press to tout the latest 'cue establishment for finally bringing "real" barbecue to the city. Hogwash. With one notable exception - Red Hook's dear, departed Pioneer BBQ - most of the stuff I've had in the city rates about even with the McRib.

Which made my meal at Kreuz Market in Lockhart, TX - about 30 minutes outside Austin - all the more spectacular. Simply put, it's the best barbecue I've had outside the state of Tennessee. The beef ribs were intensely smoky, with a unique salt n' pepper flavor; the cheddar and jalapeno sausage was killer; and the beef brisket blew my mind.

OK, I'm no food critic, but I know what I like, and I'll be going back to Kreuz next year and every year I go to SXSW. Here's some more pics from the expedition.

Went to the Colbert Report and all I got was this Lousy

...tote bag, plus a "wriststrong" charity bracelet and a baseball cap.

I was there today with Carole King for her first appearance on the Colbert Report. She did great with Stephen during his sit down interview, and her performance of I Feel the Earth Move was powerful and rocking. Carole spoke of her work with the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, now working its way through congress, as well as of her recent DVD Welcome to My Living Room and the upcoming reissue of Tapestry.

The crowd roared for Carole, and after she walked backstage, she decided on the spot to return for another song for the audience. I don't think there was a body in the house who wasn't floored by a stunning You've Got a Friend, replete with sing along. As usual, it was a thrill to get to hang out with Carole and watch her perform, while on the Colbert side, the entire staff was was a good bunch and treated Carole very well. Lots of fans up there.



Oh yeah, I also got to meet Stephen for a fleeting moment, but long enough to get this photo.


Oh, and this picture too of Carole with Kareem Abdul Jabar

SxSW: The Final Frontier

So as Saturday night draws to a close there's little left to do but set a mean, cruel, and merciless alarm clock to rouse me out of bed for a long flight home tomorrow morning. And PS since when is Chicago between Austin and NYC? Someone get me whoever runs American Airlines on the phone stat. But I digress.

Anyways, well if a picture is worth a thousand words this post may put us close to five figures. Let's get started.

This morning I met up with Justin Nozuka to tape his one hour special for DirectTV's Blaze music programming with exclusives from SxSW. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it definitely exceeded that. With amazing production (it must have taken about 10 eighteen wheelers to get all that gear into the convention center), pristine audio and video, and a star studded lineup of performers including Daniel Lanois, Dizzie Rascal, Sia, Tift Merrit, and many more, it was an honor to be a part of it. Here's Justin doing the interview portion of the special:


Here's Justin playing for broadcast and a large and enthusiastic in-studio crowd...


...and hanging post-show with the show's booker Siobhan Schanda:


The afternoon was full of highlights (among them a blazing set by Eli "Paperboy" Reed at my favoritely-named-bar Mean Eyed Cat) but I have to say the day's true highlight was when we somehow carved enough time from the schedule to drive out to Lockhart, Texas for a dinner at the legendary -- frankly world renowned -- BBQ establishment Kreutz' Market:


It's hard to do justice to the spectacle that greeted us there. About an acre of hardwood, stacked high. Probably two dozen smokers, giant slabs of extremely moist and well seasoned meat, some really sharp knives to serve us with, brown paper wrapping, and signs informing us that utensils were for the weak. Behold:


Not too many minutes later the assembled crowd was suitably meat-drunk. Here's SFM's Matt Hanks, right, and my brother Chris kicking back after demolishing a few armloads of smoked meat:


Once the beefness wore off enough to venture out into the downtown melee, I stopped in to join up with one of my favorite people in the world -- Marc Connor, manager of Jamie Cullum among others -- and his compatriots from Air, and head out to catch a few things I'd been meaning to see, including Crystal Castles, and a predictably raucous (and great) night-closing set by British Sea Power:


It's time to close out yet another great year at SxSW. I'll probably be hurting a little in the morning, but I'll be buzzing about it for weeks to come.

SXSW Day 3

Friday night in Austin was all about the Ponderosa Stomp for me, and the venerable New Orleans festival, which celebrates the unsung heroes of American music, threw the most rockin' house party in town. P-Stomp founder Ira "Dr. Ike" Padnos drew cheers when defied the crowd to name another SXSW showcase that gets as many butts on the dancefloor as this one. The P-Stomp presented seven acts in all - from the deep southern soul of Wiley and the Checkmates, Herman Hitson, and Ralph "Soul" Jackson, to the gutbucket blues of Little Freddie King, to rockabilly revivalists Michael Hurt and the Haunted Hearts, and Texas garage first-wavers Kenny & The Kasuals. And did I mention the troupe of Mardi Gras Indians?! Check out all the action below, and come down to New Orleans on April 29 and 30 for the P-Stomp's signature event. It'll be two nights of insane rock & roll!

Wiley and the Checkmates

Herman Hitson

Ralh "Soul" Jackson

Dr. Ike

A member of the Flaming Arrow Mardi Gras Indians

More Mardi Gras Indians

Little Freddie King

Michael Hurt and the Haunted Hearts

Kenny of Kenny & the Kasuals (with dancing girls!)

SXSW Day... uh, wait what day is it again?

OK let's keep this one simple. Paul Thorn rocks. Crucially. Part storyteller, tent revival preacher slash take the paint off the walls guitarist and bandleader, and even part boxer, Paul knows how to bring the house down. Here's Paul kicking off his set earlier tonight:


It's hard to pick the most amusing of Paul's anecdotes (there are quite a few) but I think my favorite from tonight's show was the one involving mouth to mouth resuscitation of a baby chick found the chicken coop, though I won't even try to do it justice by recounting it here.

If you weren't among the lucky few to catch him in Austin tonight do tune in to the Conan O'Brien show next week to see Paul make his late night television debut.

Paul was just one highlight of a busy night that included some great music at the Ponderosa Stomp at the Continental, followed by a tour of some well-worth-catching indie rock with Shore Fire's resident expert Carrie "yes I've seen them before they rock" Tolles (pictured below with Sonya Kitchell).

Capping things off again was another star studded (hey, look, it's the guy from Spoon!) post show-hopping party at the iLike house courtesy of our good friend Emily Glassman, which featured the surprise return of Moby on the DJ decks.



Wait, is tomorrow "Day Four" already? Actually it's later this morning isn't it...

Mid Day BBQ Update

Matt Hanks, pictured at left, contemplates his options at the Iron Works BBQ in downtown Austin, Texas. Upon reflection, Mr. Hanks was observed choosing the sampler platter, including brisket, sausage, and beef ribs. His companion Mr. Baily followed suit, and fellow eater Ben Sisario opted for solely brisket. All participants were said to be highly pleased with their meat choices.

SxSW: Body Of War

In an interesting convergence, a plethora of Shore Fire clients came together last night in support of a project called 'Body Of War.' Both an amazing documentary and accompanying soundtrack, the project centers around the story of soldier Tomas Young, paralyzed in Iraq. Here's the trailer:



Last night at Stubbs an incredible group of artists came together to support the project. Kicking off the evening was Brendan James solo on the piano, playing the moving "Hero's Song," which was chosen by Tomas as the lead off track for the soundtrack. Brendan was just the first of several Shore Fire artists to perform, a group also including Brett Dennen (whose video for "Ain't No Reason" is a chilling must watch), Billy Bragg, and Tom Morello.

This morning, Brendan was up early for an interview and performance with Andy Langer on KGSR, where he performed again and talked with Tomas on air. Here's Brendan and Tomas in the hallway at the Four Seasons just after getting off the air.

SXSW Day 2.5

I had the pleasure, make that honor, of seeing Billy Bragg perform twice yesterday. He may be a national treasure in the UK, but he's deeply loved in Texas too. He got a standing-o when he played the convention center daystage, and the crowd was packed to the rafters, literally, at the Cedar Street Courtyard or Billy's official SXSW set last night.

Billy played plenty of songs from the new album "Mr. Love & Justice" (Anti-, April 22) plus one brand new one which, he explained, doesn't have a title, but is inspired by a character he calls Johnny Clash. The song's a brilliant tirade against the status quo, and one line in particular "George Bush will soon be gone!" generated a wave of cheers both times he performed it.

Thanks to the kick-ass zoom on my camera (which I'm actually borrowing from my daughter - thanks Emma!) I was able to snap Billy's set list from above the stage.

And here's a shot of, L-R, me, Shore Fire's Brendan Gilmartin, Billy, and SF's Carrie Tolles after the show. By the time we said our goodbyes, it was 2:30am. Brendan, Carrie and I hopped in a pedicab, breathed in the beautiful Austin night, and talked about how cool Billy Bragg is.

SxSW Day Two

The evening kicked off with a bluesy powerhouse set from Brandi Shearer, who's been adding her formidable electric guitar skills to recent shows to great effect...


...and ended with another show from Justin Nozuka, seen below just before he ditched his microphone and spot on the stage to regale the assembled crowd with a whisper quiet encore, fearless and unamplified, sitting on a stage in the middle of the crowded venue.



Tomorrow has much more in store, including the incomparable songwriter (not to mention great writer) Paul Thorn.

And Matt and I have been working up plans for a serious BBQ expedition. Fingers crossed.

SXSW Day 2

You snooze, you lose! It was well worth the early call time this morning to see Eli "Paperboy" Reed serve up a soul breakfast on Austin radio KGSR, live from the lobby of the Four Seasons.

Lyle Lovett co-hosted the broadcast with Austin's own Andy Langer. Here's a shot of Lyle and Eli, with members of his band The True Loves, right after the show.

With more performances from Eli, Billy Bragg, and Liam Finn on the docket for later today, I'll report back soon.

SXSW Day One, or "if you look around the table and don't see a moderator...

...then it's probably you." That's a paraphrase of the famous line about poker of course, and as it turns out also applicable to the world of SxSW panel events. But we'll get to that later. Have you ever seen Laguardia airport at about 4:10am? Me neither, but no need to die wondering:


After a leisurely flight down, first on the agenda was the panel discussion "Crash Course - Press & Publicity" in the convention hall. As it turned out, it was not so much a discussion, but as advertised a crash course in PR hosted just with myself and the esteemed writer Kandia Crazy Horse, who was also surprised to find out that they'd decided to skip the agenda/moderator thing this time around. Here's a recap of the green room scene:


As it turned out it was a great discussion with a packed room, aided by some smart questions from the audience and a lot of talk about the role of the media and new media in music these days. I was even able to sneak my mom in, who was in town to see the premiere of a film my brother Chris has been working on for many months called 'Second Skin' that just debuted to raves during the film portion of the festival.

Then it was on to drinks with friends at the Driskill Hotel bar, which Matt has already ably documented below, followed by a leisurely stroll down sixth street and a stop in to visit with friends at iLike and catch a few minutes of a living room set by Moby:


That was about it for the night. Today kicked off with a noon set by the very talented Canadian songwriter Justin Nozuka (below) and next up is a whirlwind night including Brendan James, Brett Dennen, Tom Morello, Brandi Shearer, Sonya Kitchell, and most likely quite a bit more. But that'll have to wait for "Day Two."

When the Big Man Blows....It's Party Time

Chris "Big Man" Thieke, the heart and soul of our operation as the guy in charge of what comes into the office and what goes out, got his pick of Brooklyn's own Steves Authentic Key Lime Pies for his birthday celebration the other day. Praised by pundits and the American Pie Council alike, Steve's pies were a delicious and tart way to wind down the afternoon. Here's Thieke in action, with Michael Lavigne, Rebecca Shapiro, and Shore Fire President Marilyn Laverty.

SXSW Day 1

My SXSW 08 began with a 3:45AM wake-up call in Brooklyn this morning. Such is life when you have to make a noon panel in Austin. By mid-afternoon, I was front and center (well, rear and stage right, truth be told) for Liam Finn's killer set at the Austinist party. Here's a shot of him a split second before giving his drum kit a good punishing.

By early evening Nick Baily, Brendan Gilmartin and I were ensconsed in the Driskill piano bar for drinks with some FOSF (Friends of Shore Fire).

Here's a shot of Ira "Dr. Ike" Padnos - founder of the mighty Ponderosa Stomp - and Eli "Paperboy" Reed.


And get a load of Harp's Fred Mills and Shore Fire's Brendan Gilmartin mugging for the camera.

And last but certainly not least, give it up for (L-R) Gary Graff, Alan Sculley and Lynne Margolis.


Watch this space for more news from Austin.

Brooklyn Is Everything

Lifetime Brooklyn resident and FoSF (Friend of Shore Fire) since before he was born Derek Garcia (who's 16) just won a prize from Brooklyn Community Access TV (BCAT) for this nicely done video. It got me excited about what may be Astroland's final season, as well as seeing the Cyclones and checking out the Seaside Concert series (link shows last year's lineup).

Li'l Lebowski

The lovely folks over at WNYC Studio 360 created their very own version of the Big Lebowski, in honor of Michel Gondry's "Be Kind, Reward." Watch and learn:



Note Studio 360 host Kurt Andersen as Mr. Lebowski.

FYI: This version lacks the abundant profanities of the feature film and is safe for office and family consumption!

Michael's Birthday....Breakfast?

We broke from the mold a bit earlier this week in celebrating Michael Lavigne's birthday. This time, on Monday, we went with bagels and cream cheese to start the week off. But the candle stayed, stuck into a bagel hole.

Our Next Guest Is A Talented Young Performer From New Zealand...

Wow, did Liam Finn kill it on Letterman last week! It was his US TV debut, timed to the beginning of his current tour which includes headlining shows and dates supporting Eddie Vedder! If you missed the show, check it out here:

And here's a shot of Liam and his bandmate EJ Barnes cracking wise on the Letterman set after the show.

Sad All Over

One of my earliest ambitions was to be a dancer on Hullabaloo!The swinging music! The white boots! The fringed dresses!

I think that's where I may have first seen the Dave Clark Five. So learning of the death of lead singer Mike Smith was especially sad for me. Here they are, in happier times: