2009 September — The Suite 16

Sheik In The City, pt. 2

September 28, 2009 By Miya Hannan Leave a Comment

Geoff Muldaur beat me to WQXR where I found him tuning a gorgeous, signature model Martin and chatting with NY Times Popcast host Ben Sisario about the death of radio, and the rising popularity of live performances online. He taped “Cairo” in one take (“I messed it up real good for ya” – Geoff) and spoke with Ben about the custom Ed Ruscha cover art on his latest record ‘Texas Sheiks,’ and recording with the various Sheiks, including late Texas songwriter Stephen Bruton, to whom the album is a tribute.

We stopped briefly at Geoff’s daughter’s polished West Village studio, where Jenni Muldaur solicited her father’s advice on artwork she might invest in and answers to a crossword puzzle (a passion they share). An accomplished musician in her own right, Jenni has backed Lou Reed and David Byrne, and has a record out titled, ‘Dearest Darlin‘.’

SIRIUS Radio was my last stop with Geoff. We joked about Michael Moore’s crazed personal assistant (he was undoubtedly there in support of Capitalism: A Love Story), then quieted as Geoff warmed up for the interview. As he strummed through a couple chords he muttered, “What was that?” – and turning to me said, “That was a pretty new chord.” Imagine that, Geoff Muldaur discovering a new chord.

Here’s a photo of me and Geoff with the hosts of FreeWheelin’ (Sirius Road Dog Trucking Channel), Meredith Ochs and Chris T:

Left to right: Miya Hannan, Chris T., Geoff Muldaur, Meredith Ochs

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: geoff muldaur, jenni muldaur, ny times, sirius, texas sheiks

Sheik In The City, pt. 1

September 28, 2009 By Nick Loss-Eaton Leave a Comment

Geoff Muldaur came to New York to celebrate release date of his wonderful new album Geoff Muldaur & The Texas Sheiks. I found him to be full of gracious warmth. He’s also a hell of a singer and guitar player. First, he appeared on WNYC’s Leonard Lopate Show. Here he is (at center) with Lopate producer Melissa Eagan and WNYC engineer and folk expert Ed Haber, in front of one of the station’s original doors:

We then wandered up the block to the newly remodeled Newsweek, where Geoff taped an interview and a song performance of “Cairo” for Newsweek.com’s Malcolm Jones and Jonathan Groat.

I can’t wait to see a full Muldaur concert! – Nick L-E

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: geoff muldaur, leonard lopate, newsweek

Lessons I’ve Learned on My Travels for Hennessy Artistry

September 26, 2009 By Elizabeth Lutz Leave a Comment

In the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to travel with the Hennessy Artistry 2009 Series and learned a few things along the way:

Why is Chicago called The Windy City?

While heavily debated around the table at Shore Fire’s Pizza Friday, it seems that no one is exactly sure why Chicago is “The Windy City.” While I thought the moniker was a result of a local politics, and others insisted that it was the lake effect that resulted in actual gales, Wikipedia was unable to solve the debate – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_name_%22Windy_City%22#References

And, where does one go when Wikipedia has no answers? The Weather Doctor seemed like a good idea – and they backed me up!

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/whys/chicago.htm

Where is the best breakfast in Chicago?

Hands down – its the Bongo Room in Wicker Park, this place rivals my all time favorite breakfast eatery Zaftig’s in Boston’s Coolidge Corner neighborhood. (Nora, THANK you for opening my eyes to the possibilities of a Benedict breakfast.)

Where do you get the best Chicago hot dog?

Not nearly enough time to time to answer this question – I must go back soon.

Does HotLanta live up to its name?

Well, the hip-hop scene and female attire is red hot – as evidenced by my evening at The Velvet Room surrounded by spandex, leather, Project Runway’s Mychael Knight & Real Housewife Sheree Whitfield. But as far as the weather goes, we made it out of there just in time to avoid the state of emergency flooding… given the circumstances, I’ll need to revisit Atlanta when its not raining to weigh in on this one.

Does Delta’s electronic boarding pass get you on the plane?

Short answer – no. Despite the fact that I spent 20 minutes trying to get the pass on my iPhone, as soon as I got to the first security check point they wanted to scan my phone to print a boarding pass….. but the scanner was running low on batteries. Luckily, I had printed a back-up. Then when I got to the gate and asked about why they needed to do this, I was informed that even the boarding gates at Delta’s U.S. hub hadn’t been upgraded to accept their new technology. Maybe next time.

So here I am back in Brooklyn – a little wiser and ready to take on our grand finale at Terminal 5 on October 7th with Common, The Roots, Elevator Fight, Colin Munroe and a yet-to-be-announced but truly iconic surprise guest.

Will I see you there?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: elizabeth lutz, Hennessy Artistry, Mychael Knight, Sheree Whitfield, Shore Fire Media

Don Waller’s Imperial Dogs Gets Belated Due with New DVD

September 22, 2009 By Mark Leave a Comment

My old pal Don Waller’s secret proto-punk history is slowly coming to light. Now there’s solid proof of the existence of his mid-70s LA answer to the NY Dolls, The Imperial Dogs. As a New Yorker I can’t say I knew much about Don’s band, other than a few passing mentions in Chris Stigliano’s Blog to Comm, until now with the launch of The Imperial Dogs website and the new black & white DVD The Imperial Dogs Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974). I haven’t seen it yet, but any band that was covering the Velvet Underground in 1974 is jake by me.

Here’s a clip from the DVD of their best known song, This Ain’t the Summer of Love, later covered by Blue Oyster Cult, the Nomads, L7 and Lizzy Borden. Don’s the singer, snarling an intro to the song: “to all you hippies, out there, this ain’t the summer of love.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su101Rb7Qp4]

I’ve known Don for years as a journalist, as a repository of LA’s rock history and LA’s answer to our our own Norton Records folks Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, and an all around stand up guy. Good luck Don!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: rock and roll history

New Jack Swinging With Hennessy Down South

September 21, 2009 By Nick Baily 1 Comment

If you’re of a certain age, it doesn’t matter what albums you were buying at the time, the fact is you were listening to Boyz II Men on a regular basis. From the inevitable “MotownPhilly” roof raiser at the school dance, to the song that must have been a part of 94% of all high school graduations that year, “End Of The Road.”

But I have to admit, it had been awhile since I’d thought about it — until this past weekend that is, thanks to the fine folks at Hennessy and everyone involved in their fantastic Hennessy Artistry series. Curated by Common and The Roots, with the latter as the backing band, the series is all about the concept of blending — performances and collaborations, and a blend of musical, artistic, cultural (not to mention flavorful) experiences.

Saturday night’s event in Atlanta was action packed, with sets by Amerie and Anjulie as well as solo turns by Common and The Roots. But if I had to pick the one part that’s been etched in my eardrums for two days now, it actually happened early in the afternoon when we went over during soundcheck. Walking into the venue I heard the familiar groove of “MotownPhilly” at full volume through the soundsystem, and proceeded to take a leisurely look around to check out the space, thinking I was listening to a CD being played by the soundman. It wasn’t until I was almost on top of the stage when I glanced up and saw Ahmir in full force on the drums that I realized it was the real thing. Man, that is one ludicrously tight band.

And keeping to the blending theme, I realized in restrospect just how perfectly matched they were to the series. At the time the first New Jack Swing artists broke through, what now seems obvious — that hip hop and R&B; are a natural blend — wasn’t the consensus at all. Those two genres were often kept in their own little niches, and it took guys like Teddy Riley, Atlanta’s own Babyface, among others, to knock down a wall that Boyz II Men came through in a big way.

Have to give Hennessy credit for pulling this one together, it was pretty special to be just a few feet away when they brought the house down later that night. Here’s a little taste of what that was like:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaIBxg7WAWk]
Oh and keeping to the high school theme I discovered that not only are Boyz II Men and The Roots both well known as Philly natives, but they were in fact high school classmates as well at the School for the Performing Arts, and in fact if you look closely at the original video, that’s Ahmir on drums too.

I guess it all comes back around if the blend is right.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Amerie, Anjulie, Boyz II Men, Common, Hennessy Artistry, The Roots

You Always Remember Your First Time

September 21, 2009 By Matt Amoroso 1 Comment

[mp3] Ezra Furman: “We Should Fight”

You always remember your first time. The first time you drove a car, the first time you heard Sgt. Peppers, the first time you and that girl (or guy) went to the movies and well… you get it. So, here we have it, my first post on The Suite 16. It feels good. I’m feeling loose. Limber. So, what to write about? The question has been vexing me for oh, about 5 seconds. I’ll try and answer the most important question probably on everyone’s mind when someone new comes to Shore Fire, what do they listen to? Ok, maybe not the most important question, but it’s a question.

To begin, sometimes my jeans may be a little “tight” and you may hear some sort of random, fuzzed-out, lo-fi, chill-wave, no-fi, post-gaze whatever coming out of the speakers on my desk. But I’m no indie elitist. I believe Townes Van Zandt is one of the greatest songwriters that has ever lived. But I’m no fool either. Bob Dylan is almost always tops for me. Cliche? Too easy? Sure, say what you’d like, I’ll stick by Bob anytime. Except for Self Portrait. Not so much there.

My favorite record of the year so far is a tie between The Antlers Hospice and The Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca. Yes, I also happened to really love the debut from Those Darlins. Oh well.
Furthermore to whatever point I’m making, I love The Drive by Truckers immensely, but I also love anything the Numero Group puts out, especially the Eccentric Soul series. Levon Helm is my hero, and Rick Danko had a voice of gold, so did Richard. I’m not so much a Robbie fan. Read This Wheel’s on Fire, you’ll see.

My favorite youngster that no one ever writes about is Ezra Furman, and my favorite old timer that no one writes about is Sam Baker. Except for Geoff Himes, he’s the one who turned me onto him.

I could go on and on – as everyone else in the office can, but I won’t. Thanks for reading, and come by anytime. I’ll listen to you ramble if you listen to me ramble. Fair deal.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Bruce Springsteen, Dirty Projectors, Ezra Furman, Shore Fire Media, The Antlers

Wine + Music= Good Evening

September 18, 2009 By diana Leave a Comment

Nick Baily and I had an amazing time at Nitty Gritty Dirt Band founding member John McEuen’s solo show at City Winery this week. He is just as funny as he is a talented musician and we left there even more excited for NGDB’s show at BB Kings on Oct 6th.

This was my first time at City Winery and I fell in love with this new space with its wine and cheese pairings, flat breads, and wonderful acoustics. If you haven’t checked it out yet be sure to do so on Oct 8th for Bob Schneider’s show!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: client events, shore fire events

A guy walks in a movie theater…

September 17, 2009 By rkrauser Leave a Comment

…and expects to just see a movie. Well, not the other night. Me and two of my friends went to see Big Fan at the Angelika, starring Patton Oswalt and written and directed by Robert Siegel. Right before the film was about to start, a voice came in over the loud speaker announcing that after the movie Robert Siegel himself would be there to answer questions! How cool is that?

Lo and behold after the movie ended, which I thought was excellent by the way, Robert came out and answered questions from the audience for about a half an hour.

It was fascinating to get insight from the writer/director. Topics touched on included how much the film cost to make, how a certain cast member auditioned for a part in a strip club VIP room and why Patton Oswalt was perfect for the lead role.

I unfortunately chickened out on asking Robert a question, so I’ll put it to him here.

Robert, if you’re reading, what was your inspiration for the 50 Cent birthday cake? Did you have a similar experience in real life?

Filed Under: Blog

Wild Thing: The Songs of Chip Taylor

September 17, 2009 By Mark Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: chip taylor, clients

Basebrawlin’

September 17, 2009 By Mike LaVigne 1 Comment

On Tuesday of this week we had our biggest yet trip to Yankee Stadium by Shore Fire Staff and friends. Seen here, from right to left, are Chris Thieke, Laura Watson from CBS, Brian Bingham from CBS, me, and Diana D’Angelo. Not pictured is camerman Brendan Gilmartin, who also used his connections to get us into the posh Mohegan Sun sports bar in center field during the 8th inning.

Sadly, it was a snoozer of a game. The Yankees got pummeled by the Blue Jays, until the 7th inning, when both teams just started pummeling each other. Literally. with their fists. I’ve never before been at a game when a genuine benches-and-bullpens clearning brawl happened; it was quite entertaining. The only problem was that being in the stands, we got no replay and no commentary so it took us quite a while until we finally learned what had happened. All we got in the stands was this incongruous cartoon of some happy dancing flowers in a garden that stayed on the jumbotron for the entire brawl, because Brett Gardner (get it?!) had gotten the base hit that set off the whole fracas.

Anyway, it was a great night.

And while we’re talking baseball, i have to share this insanely cute clip from a Phillies game that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.