Rockin Ralph and Rockin' Bowl

It was a typically rockin' time last Saturday at the Ralph's World show. In a reprise from a couple of years ago, I went with my kids Eli (l) and Leo (r) and as usual had a blast. Ralph's keeps putting incredible records out and he's got a brand new one All Around Ralph's World. Played a couple of tunes off that alongside crowd favorites like We Are Ants and the indelible Coffee Song. I loved working with Ralph in the past and was psyched to get to say hello. Ralph is on a major roll, just check out his song for Huggies, the Potty Dance.



Here's a picture that Leo took from up close.



Right after Ralph's World, we rushed over to the amazing Brooklyn Bowl. The place was packed, mostly with families, and all our kids had a blast while the adults got to have a few beers. It was impossible to get them all to smile at the same time so here's the best: Leo, my friend Denny's son, Eli and Shore Fire's Matt Hank's sweet girls Emma and Sally. Special thanks to Bowl owner Pete Shapiro for helping us get a lane and especially for the amazing desserts he had sent over.

Mardi Gras, Mobile-Style

In recent weeks, when I would tell people I was going to Mobile, AL, for Mardi Gras I'd get one of two responses: confusion (they celebrate Mardi Gras there?) or disdain (you're going to Mardi Gras there?). Fact is, the Mardi Gras in Mobile pre-dates the bigger, splashier New Orleans carnival, and - this is key if you've got small kids - it's way less insane. We could actually find parking and get to the first row at all the parades. Plus, my parents live in Mobile.

My girls Emma (age 7) and Sally (age 3) had a blast. And we didn't encounter a single person vomiting or exposing his/her breasts.

Here's a quick photolog. That shot above is of a bead-strewn tree on Government St. - downtown Mobile's main thoroughfare - on Mardi Gras day.


Emma and Sally in position for their first parade.


...and again on day two.


A float on Joe Cain Day, aka "The People's Parade."


Emma, mid-parade: "Throw me somethin' Mister!"


Another float. You can't see it, but they misspelled Stevie Ray Vaughan's name.


Emma with her haul from the last parade, Mardi Gras night.

Monster Fun At Freestyle Jam at Nassau Colisseum

The kids, Eli and Leo, jumped up and down and roared, and so did the massive Monster Trucks we got to see over the weekend at Nassau Coliseum for the "Monster Jam Freestyle Mania." We all had a blast, me included. I'd put the whole thing down in the "good, clean fun" category. Nice seats, fair ticket price ($15 per kid + the onerous charges of course), started on time, matinee. Definitely kept everyone entertained. Plus, Flushing, Queen's Chinatown is on the way.

We got to see Sampson; Rap Attach, whose driver must have drawn the lucky straw at the drivers' pre-show meeting for the obligatory flip over; the Avenger; Grave Digger (every rally has to have a Grave Digger, the clear fan favorite); and Spider-Man.

In between the Monster Truck jumps and donuts, the Freestyle Jam showed off a truly amazing group of moto bikers, who did pirouettes and flips over a 50 foot-span jump; BMX bikers who also did flips and spins; and a trio of motorcyclists who did wheelie tricks.

Two very entertaining hours which I'd be happy to do again.

Costello's Show is a Spectacle here in NYC

My kids and I stumbled across a massive display of posters advertising Elvis Costello's Sundance show "Spectacle," right in the heart of the Times Square subway station a week or so ago. There's at least 15 large posters in a row, so massive that I came up the stairs and stopped short in my tracks it was so impressive...and as of yesterday, it was still there. Wow. Then today, I gasped as I was reading the New York Times, flipped a page on the A section, and came across a full color full back page ad for tonight's episode. Double Wow!


From

My How They've Grown: Shore Fire Kids Halloween '09

Halloween is a highlight for the kids of Shore Fire.

Down at the Jersey Shore, Shore Fire President Marilyn Laverty donned a Dorothy costume for the festivities with her son Sam (on left, with friend, on right), who's dressed as Mario (from the Mario Brothers, of course).


Up in my neck of the woods in Harlem, Halloween's become the hang out holiday of the year for the growing number of kids on our block. For the sixth year in a row, we've gathered on the stoop for a group shot before running up and down the street to fill up buckets of candy. That's my Leo on the right, all in orange as a hermit crab, with my Eli behind him in the Revolutionary War soldier costume.


Eli in a home-made (by me) Revolutionary War costume.


Inspired by their trip to Disneyland this summer, Matt Hanks' daughters Emma (age 7) and Sally (age 3) both dressed as fairies, Silver Mist and Tinkerbell respectively. As for Matt, anyone who has ever eaten a meal with him will recognize he's dressed as creole seasoning kingpin Tony Chachere! He puts the stuff on everything but his Halloween candy.


Here's Rebecca Shapiro's 3 1/2 year old daughter Roxy dressed as Annie...she belted out "Maybe" while trick or treating.

The Kids love Black Moth Super Rainbow

The kids love Black Moth Super Rainbow, and not just the folks in their twenties who packed the band's concert Friday at South St. Seaport. No, I'm talking about the second-grade set, like my kid Leo. I picked him up at camp drop off and then we trained it down to the show (after a quick bite at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue on Fulton St.). Andy, a co-worker, hooked me and Leo up with VIP wristbands, which led to a highlight for the both of us: we got to meet the main singer and songwriter Tom. Leo and I (the whole family, really) are huge BMSR fans, so that was an extra-special thrill. Of course, Leo asked why we didn't get to meet Dylan last week, but that's another story.

We parked ourselves in the perfect location, right up front on the side, against the barricades, and stayed put the entire show. Leo was transfixed and I'll hand it to him, paid attention all the way through. BMSR now have a guy dressed in a gray animal suit, wearing an odd oriental visage mask, who jumps around with a mike lip-synching (without lips because of the mask) the vocals, while in truth, the singing comes from Tom, sitting cross-legged halfway back on the stage, leaning into a small mic. The furry man certainly gave the crowd something to focus on.

Brooklyn Vegan's got a ton of photos, including one that I cribbed below....if you look closely, that's Leo and me on the far right.

UPDATE: Here's a snazzier shot from Tearntan on Livejournal.

Shore Fire Kids do Dylan

In a fun confluence, Shore Fire's Nick Baily, Matt Hanks and I found ourselves at Bethel Woods on Saturday night for a Willie Nelson/John Mellencamp/Bob Dylan triple bill. After visiting with Nick at his amazing 1898 farmhouse a few miles from the venue, we all set out (separately) to the gig. Traffic jam and long slog later with kids in tow, we settled in at the back of the lawn.

The place was jammed, one of the biggest crowds they'd ever seen I imagine. I dropped Leo off at Matt's encampment, and mostly watched him from afar as he hippie-danced in circles with Matt's Emma (in stripes) and Sally (in pink). A little rain scared me off, but Leo demanded we stay for Dylan. My other kid Eli got pooped and retreated to the car for a nap. We're putting this one down as Leo and Eli's first official concert (not counting a clutch of Ralph's World shows) and Leo got a way overpriced t-shirt to prove it. Here's a couple of divergent but accurate reviews: The Smell of Clean Laundry and Frank Beacham's Journal. And here's the local paper's review Time's Herald Record.

A Budding Letterman

Here's my son Leo the other night on the set of the Late Show with David Letterman. He got the VIP tour including a chance to sit at Dave's famous desk for a few moments. He had a blast as you can see from that ear to ear grin....

The Kids Are Allright on Halloween

Shore Fire Kids were out in force on Halloween, as in years past. The classics are still in, witches, mummies, superheros and more.


Here's Matt Hanks with Emma as Dorothy and her little sister Sally as the Wicked Witch, in front of their apartment house in Brooklyn.

Eli Satlof as Speed from Speedracer, next to his brother Leo, the Mummy. We've got a nice family tradition going of homemade costumes...the kids continued the streak this year. (Notice Eli's yellow rubber kitchen gloves).

I think we're up to our fifth year of getting all the kids on our block together for a group trick or treat. Here's the gang gathered on my neighbor's stoop. We've got lots of princesses on the block, and this year, two Speeds.


It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's Supergirl, by day a nursery school student name Roxy Shapiro (Rebecca's daughter).



Here’s some Halloween pix of Maureen's kids as a cheerless cheerleader and a witch and their friend Lukas (the werewolf).

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.

Back to School

It was back to school for me today as I got to visit my youngest son Eli at his school in honor of his being Person of The Week (alphabetical, not merit based!), followed by sitting in at my other son Leo's lunch period. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to stay for Rest Period. In the lunchroom I had a flashback to my school days 30 years ago... I got in trouble from Leo's teacher for showing my table how to pretend to stick a strip of red pepper up your nose.

In Eli's class, I was there to read to the class and then play Eli's favorite music (Ralph's World)

Here's me and Eli (and notice the matching outfits, down to the Blundstone boots).


Eli, grooving to Ralph's World's classic "Surfing in My Imagination"


The pre-k mosh pit during "Surfing in My Imagination"



Then it was off to Ethical Culture on the upper west side for lunch with Leo:


Me and Leo at the lunch table.


Leo challenged me to a vegetable eating contest, which he actually won fair and square. Later he was proud that he "tricked me" into exercising by walking him up two flights of stairs to his classroom.

Watch Your Back, Renee Fleming!

Here's why I love living in New York. My daughter Emma's school has an arts partnership with the Metropolitan Opera, and yesterday they staged a performance of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. A member of the Met Opera Guild spent ten weeks with Emma's kindergarten class: they wrote their own songs, created sets, costumes etc..

Emma took her role as a "medium sized billy goat" very seriously, and talked about it for weeks. Here's a pic of her, mid-performance.


And the parent paparazzi.