I had the honor of accompanying Mavis Staples to the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on Saturday. It was one of those can’t-believe-I-get-paid-to-do-this experiences. Everyone from Stewart and Colbert to Kid Rock and John Legend greeted Mavis with huge hugs. And IMHO, her rally-closing rendition of “I’ll Take You There” was the highlight of the day. She had the entire 6 billion strong crowd (Colbert’s estimate, not mine!) singing along with her. Here’s a few more pics from a beautiful afternoon on the National Mall.
This was literally the first media outlet I saw on-site. And a popular photo-opp.
Mavis really looks up to Kareem Abdul-Jabar.
John Legend, Mavis and Jeff Tweedy working out a tune backstage.
Mavis and me at the end of an unforgettable day.

This is the picture outside my window right now
So intense!!
What does this mean?!

There weren’t many people in Tennessee making a living off indie rock in 1996. Andy Kotowicz was one of them, and I was another. Andy worked at a label in Murfreesboro called Spongebath Records, and I worked at a small PR company in Memphis called Autotonic.

Spongebath hired us to work a release or two and Andy and I immediately hit it off. Though in his early 20s, he was already a true record man with an abiding love for the Flamin’ Groovies (he penned the liner notes for the 1999 Buddha reissue of ‘Teenage Head’) and the MC5. He had impeccable taste in music, which he shared with me generously and enthusiastically.

When Andy moved to NYC, I crashed on his floor a couple times before moving here myself. On one of those trips we went to a show at Tramps and ran into David Fricke. Talk immediately turned to Andy’s favorite subject, Michigan rock & roll. I remember clearly David Fricke – David Fricke – marveling at Andy’s encyclopedic knowledge of his home state scene.

When I finally did move to NYC and began looking for a job, I called everyone I knew. The first call back came from Andy. He took me out to lunch, and told me he’d heard that Shore Fire might have an opening. He said he’d put in a good word for me.

Shortly after I started at Shore Fire, Andy was offered a position at Sub Pop and picked up stakes for Seattle. He told me it was his dream job.

I’m sad to say that we fell out of touch after the move. We both got busy with work, families etc…

I ran into Andy at SXSW this past spring, and though we hadn’t spoken in a few years, we picked up the conversation just like it was another night at Tramps. He was that same warm Andy: easygoing and eager to talk music. We talked about our kids too. And work. He said Sub Pop still felt like a dream job.

When I heard the news yesterday that Andy passed away over the weekend I was shocked. I was reminded of the profound influence he had on me.

The concept of “sharing” is different now than it was when Andy and I first met. Back then, we traded cds and went record shopping together. We spent hours sitting in front of a turntable listening, talking.

For a hopeless record collector, the only thing more exciting than a rare find is that rare person who shares your musical worldview, and expands it. I can count on one hand the number of people who have had that kind of impact on me. Andy Kotowicz was one of them.

Herman Leonard, one of the true giants of music photography, passed away over the weekend. I had the honor of meeting Mr. Leonard a couple years ago through our work with the Morrison Hotel Gallery. At 87, he was sharp as a tack and told some incredible stories about some of his most famous images.

Of those famous shots, the ones that made the strongest impression on me were a couple prints that were ravaged by the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina in Leonard’s New Orleans studio. I couldn’t – and can’t – stop looking at these. They’re beautifully decrepit. Like New Orleans itself.

RIP, Herman.

Best introduction ever?

“My guest tonight has been called the father of reggae music.  He’s going to be upset when I tell him what his kids have been smoking.”

And so began Stephen Colbert’s interview with Jimmy Cliff yesterday.  We had a blast at the show and Jimmy was gracious enough to perform three songs:  His classic “The Harder They Come” for broadcast, a new song “One More” for a web exclusive, and the timeless “Many Rivers to Cross” just because Colbert loves it!  Check out the links and backstage pics below.

L-R that’s your truly, Jimmy Cliff, and Shore Fire’s Andy Silva hanging in Jimmy’s dressing room right after the taping.

Jimmy getting down during rehearsal.  The man can dance!

Here’s “The Harder They Come”

And the web-exclusive new song “One More.” Check it out!!!

So, this past weekend I went up to Woodstock and caught a show in the basement at Big Pink.  Let me repeat that:  I HUNG OUT IN THE BASEMENT OF BIG PINK!  There, that’s better.

The occassion was the launch of a new series of intimate concerts being filmed there, and the pilot episode featured Dawes, who were awesome.

I had been to Big Pink once before.  My wife surprised me by taking me there for my birthday about ten years ago.  This was in the pre-GPS days and we made a couple wrong turns before finding the place (it’s on a gravel road, off a backroad etc.etc.).  But once you round the bend of the driveway, there it is, looking pretty much the same as it does in this ca. 1968 photo.

But, seriously, I never thought I would set foot inside the basement!  There are cool/odd artifacts everywhere.  Those piano guts hanging from the ceiling, did they once live inside a piano that Richard Manuel played?  Dawes singer Taylor Goldsmith commented that his band probably wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for that basement.  I’m sure a lot of his peers feel that way too.

The Shore Fire Oscar Pool ballots are in! And despite a couple contrarians (Stanley Tucci for best supporting actor? Seriously?), some clear favorites emerged. Though the winner will probably come down to who picks the foreign movies and docs that none of us have seen, here’s the office favorites in the top categories. It’s worth noting that Mo’Nique was the only nominee from the below list that delivered 100% of the Shore Fire voting block.

Best Picture: Hurt Locker
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges
Best Actress: Meryl Streep
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique
Best Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds
Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air