What Happens In Vegas...

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.

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.

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.

Some Thoughts On Sunday's String Recording

The arrangements are done and we're less than 48 hours until the string session. Just so we're all on the same page, I wanted to record the strings last February. Then an attempt to record them last May and June proved to be a no-go. This has been a long time in the making, and I'm excited for what they're going to add to the album.

There were a few songs on my first CD that I had would've been interested in exploring strings on - songs like "Hold On," "Man of War," and "Trains." But money proved the prohibitive factor 5 years ago. That CD cost less than $8,000 start to finish and its amazing that I was able to keep costs so low. This album won't be as cheap (as I laughably thought it would be), but the songs are worth the investment.

I'm spending time at the studio today to lay down a piano track for tomorrow and play with some drum edits. Also, to make sure the studio is cleaned, set up, and ready to go. Equipment cleared out. Rugs put down. Bringing guests into the studio requires a little work. But when I leave tonight I will not be back until about an hour before the session on Sunday, so I need to be ready to hit the ground running when the players get here.

And as I have been told I need to try to keep my stress level down. Not by a doctor, just friends.

My Neurotic Throat: Part II

My throat has been feeling and performing much better lately. A week before Christmas I did an In The Pocket show on Friday and a solo/acousitc Mulligan's show on Saturday with no issues at all. However, on Tuesday, December 20, I had a meeting with a speech therapist at the St. Francis Center for Communication Disorders in Poughkeepsie. Ironically, the therapist and I went to the same school for two years about 18 years ago and she somehow recognized me. Craziness.

We had an informal discussion about my throat fatigue and how I sing, and then she conducted some quick tests to determine some things. For example, she had me take a deep breath and say "aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh" for as long as I could, and we did the same thing for "ssssssssssssssssss" and "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz." And believe it or not, it can be an odd feeling to sit in front of one person and hiss at them.

Afterward, we talked about her recommendation: half an hour of voice therapy a week for a few weeks and maybe even two months. Unfortunately, because of our schedules she wont be my regular therapist, but she did give me some hints, tips, and exercises to help protect my voice and improve my breathing. I'll be scheduling my regular sessions after the new year.

I also had a voice lesson scheduled on Thursday, December 22, but that didn't happen due to a Google map fowl-up and then me getting lost. And angry. And throwing my phone against my dashboard. Hard. We're going to reschedule.

About That Last Post

After I posted the last entry about my performance at The Bitter End, I got a comment from Peter Bliss and he didn't get the same impression that I did. He wrote, "I personally did not feel as you did about your performance. And I can say that the audience responded well to your performance." That's good to hear, and I guess this goes to illustrate the point I made last time, that performers are their own worst critics.

But thinking back, I don't want to leave anyone with the impression that I'm somehow beating myself up about how I felt I performed. I may have been disappointed, but my reaction can be compared to that of a professional athlete: if I feel like I had a bad game, I just shake it off and start preparing for the next one. I had a great performance Friday night with In The Pocket, and I was also happy with my show at Mulligan's on Saturday (thanks in large part to my hecklers Brett, Jeremy, and Jenn - they're in charge of morale).

I've also been asked why I posted my disappointed feelings at all, and the answer is simple: because it's real. We live in a world dominated by Facebook and Twitter where people are trying to look their best, most successful, and wittiest to others looking in on their lives. BUt I think everyone who reads this blog, comes to my shows, buys my CDs, is on my mailing list, or has contributed to the new album is a part of my career and I think you can relate when things don't go 100% the way I would like them to. Music is my job, and just like I'm sure you have them at your job there are highs, lows, and in-betweens. That is why I wrote that post, and why I occasionally comment on a songwriting roadblock or frustration in the studio. That's life. That's what all the people say. You're riding high in April, shot down in May. But I know I'm gonna change that tune when I'm back on top - back on top in June.

You like what I just did there?

The Bitter End/"Did You Have Fun?"

On Wednesday night I performed at an event at The Bitter End in NYC called “An Evening to Occupy Hearts & Minds,” hosted by Occupy Hearts & Minds in conjunction with the New York Songwriters Collective, and benefiting WHYHunger. Wow, that’s a mouthful. The idea behind Occupy Hearts & Minds is to bring the artistic community together to help channel the feelings of the Occupy Wall Street movement. My last blog post was about the lack of socially and politically charged music in the mainstream, and OHM is an attempt to foster more art of that nature. Among many name artists (some of my favorites were The Nutopians, Julie Gold, and the guy who must be the hippest cat in the world, David Amram) and others, I was there to perform my song, “Endless Sky,” thanks to my friend Peter Bliss.

I didn’t play very well. Now, to be fair I didn’t play terribly. I didn’t crash and burn and people weren’t coming up to me saying how much I sucked. But my performance did leave a little something to be desired. How do I know? Well, trust me, I know. Performers may be notorious for being their own worst critic, but I know when I don’t reach my potential. And in case I wasn’t sure, a short while after my performance I was sitting at the bar when Rex Fowler from Aztec Two-Step asked me, “Did you have fun?” Oh, that sucked. Did I have fun? Let me tell you: “Did you have fun?” is probably the worst thing you could say to a professional after a performance. “Did you have fun?” means that the person found nothing about you that they could positively comment on – not the song, not the performance, not even your clothes or the witty banter before you sang. “Did you have fun?” is asking whether you cleared the lowest possible bar with your performance. Which I didn’t because I’m a professional and I know when I don’t hit my mark.

So, there you go. In a world of Facebook and Twitter posts where we’re all trying to make our lives look great and successful to the people looking in, there’s a real life example of underperformance and disappointment. It really happens. It’s called reality.