No need to go to the eye doctor, you read right!

Last week, Bootsy Collins was at 30 Rock filming an interview with TheGrio.com when a friendly fellow who works with Rachel Maddow came up to me and asked if Bootsy had time to say hi to Rachel.

“”OK, I’ll see.” is what I said when I was really thinking “Of course Bootsy has time to say hi to Rachel!”

The video above is how it went down.

Rachel was an absolute sweetheart about it even though we interrupted her staff meeting. After all, it’s not every day that a legendary funk pioneer drops by your offices.*

*Disclaimer: Does not apply to Shore Fire HQ in Brooklyn.

Here’s a photo of Bootsy giving Rachel tips on how to run the show:

Now, watch a video interview one of the show’s producers filmed with Bootsy for the Maddow blog here!

If you aren’t sick of winter storms yet, there’s one that’s just getting started: Okkervil River’s comeback with the announcement of their first new album in 3 years! The storm started when the band debuted their new single, “Wake and Be Fine,” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon earlier this month.

Watch their performance here:

The next day, we took Okkervil River to Rolling Stone HQ for an interview and performance. Here’s the band sounding and looking super snazzy, as per usual:

Then just last week, we took Will Sheff to a  ridiculously amazing Grammy party hosted Mayor Bloomberg and put together by our friends over at NARAS. For those of you that don’t already know, Will’s nominated for a GRAMMY award in the Best Album Notes category for his essay accompanying ‘True Love Cast Out All Evil,’ a collaboration between legendary songwriter Roky Erickson and Sheff’s group Okkervil River.

Here’s Will with Mayor Bloomberg:

The best part (as if this didn’t already kick enough ass)? For me, at least? MEETING CYNDI LAUPER!!!

Here’s Will with Cyndi. I didn’t get a photo with her (don’t really care) because I was able to tell her what I’ve always wanted to tell her. “Goonies ‘R’ Enough” defined/changed my coming of age musically, just about as much as The Goonies did for me the many times that I watched it. Cyndi raised her champagne glass to all of us and said, “Here’s to being good enough!”

Amazing! I’m getting closer and closer each year to dying happy, still have a a long list to go through…. but I’m getting there!

Here’s “Goonies ‘R’ Enough” for those that need a refresher:

Pictured Above: Andy's Favorite LP of the Year, The Album Art

This list isn’t of what I think everyone should think is the BEST, simply what records I’ve listened to most and foresee myself listening to for many years to come – starting with most certain (1). Obviously, this is a very personal list that speaks to my very specific tastes.

1). Sam Amidon – ‘I See The Sign’

2). Joanna Newsom – ‘Have One On Me’

3).  Villagers – ‘Becoming A Jackal’

4). Tobacco – ‘Manic Meat’

5). Kanye West – ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’

6).  Sharon van Etten – ‘Epic’

7). Arcade Fire – ‘The Suburbs’

8). The Radio Dept – ‘Clinging To A Scheme’

9). Sleigh Bells – ‘Treats’

10).  El DeBarge – ‘Second Chance’

Honorable Mentions (I’m Forgetting A Lot): Tame Impala, The Morning Benders, Deerhunter, Titus Andronicus, Girls (that EP), Jason Boesel, A Weather, Magic Kids, The Books, Sahara Smith, Roky Erickson with Okkervil River.

Did I miss anything?

As of today, I can cross out “Get a date with Ronnie Spector” off my bucket list. Check us out after her interview with NPR’s Sound of Young America!

It was an immense honor to meet the “first bad girl of rock n’ roll” during her NYC press day for her new Christmas release, ‘Ronnie Spector’s Best Christmas Ever.’ Here’s some interesting (and quite awesome!) facts you might not know about the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer:

* Keith Richards admitted Ronnie Spector was an “early love” in his new autobiography (the Rolling Stones opened for The Ronettes on one of their first European tours).

* She’s the only American singer to be backed by all four Beatles (“Try Some, Buy Some,” which was produced by George Harrison for Apple Records)

* Ronnie contributed vocals to Jimi Hendrix’s final recording session, “Earth Blues” from ‘Rainbow Bridge,’ in 1970.

* Ronnie has served as muse for Brian Wilson, who wrote “Don’t Worry Baby” for her, and Billy Joel, who paid tribute with “Say Goodbye To Hollywood.” Brian Wilson called “Be My Baby” one of the greatest pop records ever made

* Her music has endured like that of few other artists, inspiring generations of musicians from The Ramones, Patti Smith and Amy Winehouse to modern buzz bands like The Morning Benders and The Dum Dum Girls, who routinely cover “Be My Baby.”

* In 2009 she collaborated with Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, plus members of The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather for her aptly titled “The Last of the Rock Stars”

While my coworkers spent Friday night of CMJ seeing all the hot new bands, Mark and I went to Hill Country BBQ in Midtown to see veteran singer-songwriter Chip Taylor curate the Americana Music Association’s final night of the inaugural ‘Americana Live‘ series in New York City. Though not affiliated with CMJ, Taylor performed with various newcomers on the rise: his lovely fiddle protege Kendel Carson (whom we had the pleasure of working with last year), the “Velvet Underground of Canada” (as described by Chip) The Beauties and Oh Susanna.

The room was packed with authentic-country-and-BBQ-lovin’ spectators. We were there with a full table of VIPs: Meredith Ochs of Sirius, Carlo McCormick of Paper Magazine, Martin Longley of BBC Music, and photographer Rob Chapman, who was kind enough to take these amazing photos of the night.

The show was more of a hootenanny than a typical concert, with Chip taking the stage at various points to play his original songs with Kendel and members of The Beauties and Oh Susanna. The food was, well, great, according to our guests (I don’t eat meat, so the BBQ was secondary to my experience.)

Towards the end of the night, Taylor took the stage to play songs from ‘Yonkers, NY’ – his biopic album which recounts his adolescence growing up with fellow luminary brothers actor Jon Voight and renowned scientist Dr. Barry Voight. It was especially inspiring to hear Chip talk about his trials and triumphs as a young man coming of age at the dawn of Rock & Roll history. His onstage stories made me consider how, out of all the buzz bands performing at CMJ, Chip Taylor’s place in music is eternal and he’ll continue to inspire new generations for years to come. I certainly can’t downplay how moved I was when I first heard Jimi Hendrix cover “Wild Thing.”

The crowd went WILD for “Wild Thing” (see what I did there?), but they were especially enthusiastic for my personal favorite Chip Taylor track, “Angel of the Morning,” made a hit three times  thanks to Dolly Parton’s amazing rendition and Jamaican rapper Shaggy’s infectious 90’s hit.

On November 19 and 20, Taylor will be back in NYC to play The Living Room with the amazing, multi-talented Texan Carrie Rodriguez, supporting their new “Best-Of” release, ‘The New Bye & Bye.’ This collaboration features 13 of the duo’s songs from the Train Wreck Records years and four new tracks. Also appearing on this album are live cuts of two of Taylor’s most beloved and well-known songs, performed with an all-star band including Buddy Miller, Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz.

Guitar goddess and downtown NYC impresaria Viva DeConcini says she would marry her Gibson Les Paul Custom Lite if it were legal in NY State.  But this is no arranged marriage.  Viva has played guitar since first grade, and is one of the few female guitarists ever to be the subject of a three-page feature in Guitar Player magazine.

She knows from axes.

We asked Viva to recount some of the other memorable guitars she has owned and played over the years and the resulting essay is such a gearhead’s delight that we decided to make it our first Guest Blog Post for the newly redesigned Shore Fire blog, The Suite 16.

“I first started playing guitar at the Montessori school I went to in the first grade in Phoenix.  It was a Goya classical that belonged to my father.  Here’s a picture of it.  (We were in the paper in an article about alternate schooling.)  It was hard to play!”

Viva DeConcini on left

“My next guitar was a wine colored Gibson SG junior which my parents bought from our teacher Jerry along with a Randall Commander II amplifier.  Somewhere in the ether is an incredible photo of me playing this guitar but I don’t know where that photo is so this one will have to do for now.”

[Read more...]

Photo by: Sarahana Shrestha

Iceland is easily one of the top five places I’d like to visit. Although getting a glimpse of its mind-blowing landscape is very appealing, I’ll admit the songwriter side of me is curious to find out what’s in their water. I came of age as Icelandic artists like Björk and Sigur Rós rose to fame, and, just recently, I’ve had the great pleasure to work with the magnificent folk singer-songwriter Lay Low (nee Lovisa Elisabet Sigrunardottir). Lovisa is just a few weeks away from the release of her U.S. debut “Farewell Good Night’s Sleep” on her own Loo Records, so she packed her bags and crossed the Atlantic to play two pre-release shows in New York City.

Lovisa arrived over Presidents Day weekend with her troubadour partner Agnes and manager Kari Sturluson. As a fellow foreigner with a commonly mispronounced name on my birth certificate, I made sure to go over the correct pronunciations before they left. For curious readers, that’s:

Lovisa = Loh-visa (like the tourist’s permit)
Kari- Khaurie (Laurie starting with a “K” and with a muted “h”)
Agnes = AHg-nes (like starting with an “AH” of wonder)

Each day before her shows, Brendan and I played tour guide and took the group to the headquarters of some of New York’s finest media outlets. Below are some pics to document the rare occasion.

We started the frosty Tuesday with an interview/performance at NPR’s Bob Edwards Show, followed right after by an interview/performance at NPR’s ‘Here and Now.’ Here’s a pic of Agnes and Lovisa overlooking the Empire State Building from the NPR studios:

We then hailed a cab uptown to visit Last.fm. Their office is located in the same building as its parent headquarters CBS Radio. Lovisa, Agnes and Kari were thrilled to find out Last.fm’s studio was once Howard Stern’s. It was even funnier when we realized they were just at Stern’s current studio, XM Radio. Maybe it’s a sign? Who knows, Howard might dig Lay Low’s sweet, timeless songs… (if you’re reading this, you know where to reach us)

Here we are with our friends at CBS Radio / Last.fm:

Here’s a pic Brendan took at the Living Room on Tuesday night:

On Wednesday, we took Lay Low to record an interview with NPR’s “Weekend Edition: Saturday,” followed by an interview/performance at Out Magazine’s Chelsea headquarters. Out’s web editor Noah Michalson fell in love with Lay Low upon first listen. Be on the look out for an interview and a stripped down performance of three songs on Out.com soon.

Lay Low’s last night in town was well honored with a packed show at Rockwood Music Hall. Baeble Music.com was there to film a short documentary and Hooves on the Turf was there to take some really lovely photos (see the top photo of this post for proof!) and video.

Though I may not be able to get to Iceland for a few years, hanging out with Kary, Lovisa and Agnes definitely made me eager to start packing. In the meantime, we welcome back Lovisa, Kari and Agnes anytime to make our New York City a little more Iceland.

Here we are saying our goodbyes (but not for long!) at Shore Fire’s HQ: