You know, the whole "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" thing is real. I mean, it's not just a commercial or an ad slogan - they make you sign a confidentiality agreement before you board your plane to leave. So with that in mind, please don't repeat anything that you read here.
One of the best moments of the trip came on the first day I was there - at the Hoover Dam. Of course, the joke of the day was the "dam tour" joke a la Vegas Vacation. And so we were standing on one of the observation decks when a older couple asked if one of my friends or I could take a picture of them. Sure thing. So, I take the camera, square them up in the view finder and say, "OK, hold still - I'm gonna take your dam picture." Seth completely lost it, and the couple smirked, but I'm not 100% sure that they got the joke. They may have thought I was just some asshole guy who was pissed to be taking a picture for them. Either way, score one for me! I got some great pictures of - and from - the new overpass bridge. Check out my twitter feed to find a picture that I posted of the dam.
We saw two shows while I was there: Penn & Teller and Cirque du Soleil Beatles LOVE. Both were great. Penn & Teller were a lot of fun, and I can officially say that I've heard Teller speak! However, due to the Nevada penalties for revealing certain Las Vegas information I am not going to tell you how that occurred. And obviously at Beatles LOVE the highlight was the music. I had to see it since the Beatles are such a huge part of my musical foundation, and the way that they stripped, reworked, and remixed the Beatles recordings was just phenomenal. And not to give anything away, but one of the most exciting moments was right the beginning of the show when the mysterious first song built and then dropped into the true opening of the show. I literally got chills.
Question: what kind of food in Vegas is the best? Answer: comped food. Our last day there we had two complimentary meals at the M hotel/casino - one at the buffet and one at Anthony's Burgers & Brews (amazing burgers). I tweeted during my trip about how great the M is and this is one of the reasons why. Sure, you can gamble anywhere, but you're not going to get that kind of attention on the strip. A place like the MGM Grand or Mandalay Bay or Venetian has such a never-ending flow of tourists and fantasy campers that you're never going to get any kind of attention unless you're dropping some serious money. But the people at the M are so great to deal with and always make you feel welcome; and the atmosphere is just classy, lacking the gaudiness of the strip. And that's why we keep going back.
And in the end, I'm back home in NY. Our flight was delayed coming home but all's well that ends well. I was already being asked when I'm going back out. Who knows? Maybe sooner than I think.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Grammys 2012
OK, here it goes:
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: More, please, and he was classic Springsteen - energetic and with a message. I'm hoping to see him when the tour swings back stateside in the summer. And as per the cries of bad taste for him saying, "Are you alive out there?" Get over it - he says that at every show and it had nothing to do with Whitney Houston.
Chris Brown - who cares?
Adele - of course she was going to sweep, and I felt bad for anyone nominated in the same category as her. And the performance? Dynamite. Interestingly, I thought that her voice sounded noticeably different since she had her surgery, but not in a bad way. Just different. Almost stronger and more confident.
Rihanna & Coldplay - I honeslty didn't think either of them sounded that good, which is too bad because I like Coldplay's song "Paradise." But vocally I think Chris Martin needs to do something a little different live.
Maroon 5, Foster the People, & The Beach Boys - Eh. This didn't really do anything for me. It didn't even seem like the bands were playing - just the lead singers singing over the Beach Boys' regular band while everyone else faked it. But I thought the looks on the faces of Foster the People were great. They looked exactly how I imagine I would look, nervous and thinking "oh my god, we're playing the Grammys!" As for the actual Beach Boys, it's never fun to see former stars way past their prime and yet still holding on to it. Maybe I shouldn't, but I felt kinda bad for Brian Wilson, like he didn't really want to be there. And I've always thought Mike Love was a dick. I still do.
Katy Perry - was is about Russell Brand? I don't think so. But to be honest I don't care about her personal life.
Jennifer Hudson - spot-on. She did a great job.
Nicki Minaj - what the hell was that? Like seriously, what a collossal waste of time, money, effort, and talent. Talent of the dancers, by the way - not her. Being able to talk really fast and rhyme words that have nothing to do with each other is not, to me, a talent. Or if it is she should be relegated to the ends of radio commerials. Its people like her who make it so hard for real music out there. But I know that if I hate it, then there is someone who absolutely loves it. There is no justice in the world.
The End - Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, and Joe Walsh trading guitar solos? Pretty cool. If you've never seen Paul live then you may not know that he kills it on guitar - now you do.
So, I guess it was an alright show. It did well in the ratings, anyway. I imagine I have more of an appreciation for it since I went to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame induction back in June. That wasn't nearly as overblown and excessive, but I can understand the draw. And let's not forget that for every deserving artist who wins a Grammy there are undeserving ones who win, too, and a lot of deserving artists who never did.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: More, please, and he was classic Springsteen - energetic and with a message. I'm hoping to see him when the tour swings back stateside in the summer. And as per the cries of bad taste for him saying, "Are you alive out there?" Get over it - he says that at every show and it had nothing to do with Whitney Houston.
Chris Brown - who cares?
Adele - of course she was going to sweep, and I felt bad for anyone nominated in the same category as her. And the performance? Dynamite. Interestingly, I thought that her voice sounded noticeably different since she had her surgery, but not in a bad way. Just different. Almost stronger and more confident.
Rihanna & Coldplay - I honeslty didn't think either of them sounded that good, which is too bad because I like Coldplay's song "Paradise." But vocally I think Chris Martin needs to do something a little different live.
Maroon 5, Foster the People, & The Beach Boys - Eh. This didn't really do anything for me. It didn't even seem like the bands were playing - just the lead singers singing over the Beach Boys' regular band while everyone else faked it. But I thought the looks on the faces of Foster the People were great. They looked exactly how I imagine I would look, nervous and thinking "oh my god, we're playing the Grammys!" As for the actual Beach Boys, it's never fun to see former stars way past their prime and yet still holding on to it. Maybe I shouldn't, but I felt kinda bad for Brian Wilson, like he didn't really want to be there. And I've always thought Mike Love was a dick. I still do.
Katy Perry - was is about Russell Brand? I don't think so. But to be honest I don't care about her personal life.
Jennifer Hudson - spot-on. She did a great job.
Nicki Minaj - what the hell was that? Like seriously, what a collossal waste of time, money, effort, and talent. Talent of the dancers, by the way - not her. Being able to talk really fast and rhyme words that have nothing to do with each other is not, to me, a talent. Or if it is she should be relegated to the ends of radio commerials. Its people like her who make it so hard for real music out there. But I know that if I hate it, then there is someone who absolutely loves it. There is no justice in the world.
The End - Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, and Joe Walsh trading guitar solos? Pretty cool. If you've never seen Paul live then you may not know that he kills it on guitar - now you do.
So, I guess it was an alright show. It did well in the ratings, anyway. I imagine I have more of an appreciation for it since I went to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame induction back in June. That wasn't nearly as overblown and excessive, but I can understand the draw. And let's not forget that for every deserving artist who wins a Grammy there are undeserving ones who win, too, and a lot of deserving artists who never did.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Ken Connolly & the New York Giants
It's been an odd couple of weeks - mainly because I have had no gigs with In The Pocket. We're on a short break where we have 4 weeks between shows, and to be honest it feels weird to have so many Friday and Saturday nights free. What the hell is a person supposed to do with these nights if you're not playing music?
However, I'm currently working on a new 3-song EP by singer/songwriter Ken Connolly. Ken and I met when we shared a bill at the Chance in July 2009, and so he's come into the studio to do some recording. The first song we did was an acoustic number that we recorded and mixed in August. Then due to the flooding we had at the studio and scheduling issues we were unable to get back to do the remaining two tunes until a couple of weeks ago. But get back we did.
We got together some musicians that we know - Chris Snykus on drums, Ben Basile on bass, Tony Basile on trombone, and Will Smith on sax - and we did some recording. We recorded a 3-part horn section for one of the songs, and it was a challenge because there were no written music. I had to play the trumpet line from memory and then write out the harmonies for the other instruments on the fly. But I'm happy with the way it came out and it sounds really good!
We actually finished up the recording yesterday afternoon before the Super Bowl (Ken is a big Giants fan so there was no chance of missing the game), and now Seth Rivers is going to mix it down in the next couple of weeks. To be honest, working on someone else's recordings was a great mental break from working on my own. I can get a bit...OCD about my stuff. Just a bit. But what about that game! It was the first Super Bowl I watched in probably 3 years and it was great. I felt the halftime show was a bit unwheIming despite the immense production of it, but that's how I am. I'm a huge Springsteen fan and even thought his halftime show was kinda eh. Always a critic. Anyway, I ate a bunch of food that I shouldn't have yesterday and will now enjoy the leftovers.
P.S. This was my favorite commercial from the game - http://youtu.be/STb6ZSo5CPw.
However, I'm currently working on a new 3-song EP by singer/songwriter Ken Connolly. Ken and I met when we shared a bill at the Chance in July 2009, and so he's come into the studio to do some recording. The first song we did was an acoustic number that we recorded and mixed in August. Then due to the flooding we had at the studio and scheduling issues we were unable to get back to do the remaining two tunes until a couple of weeks ago. But get back we did.
We got together some musicians that we know - Chris Snykus on drums, Ben Basile on bass, Tony Basile on trombone, and Will Smith on sax - and we did some recording. We recorded a 3-part horn section for one of the songs, and it was a challenge because there were no written music. I had to play the trumpet line from memory and then write out the harmonies for the other instruments on the fly. But I'm happy with the way it came out and it sounds really good!
We actually finished up the recording yesterday afternoon before the Super Bowl (Ken is a big Giants fan so there was no chance of missing the game), and now Seth Rivers is going to mix it down in the next couple of weeks. To be honest, working on someone else's recordings was a great mental break from working on my own. I can get a bit...OCD about my stuff. Just a bit. But what about that game! It was the first Super Bowl I watched in probably 3 years and it was great. I felt the halftime show was a bit unwheIming despite the immense production of it, but that's how I am. I'm a huge Springsteen fan and even thought his halftime show was kinda eh. Always a critic. Anyway, I ate a bunch of food that I shouldn't have yesterday and will now enjoy the leftovers.
P.S. This was my favorite commercial from the game - http://youtu.be/STb6ZSo5CPw.
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