Jan
Posted on 31st January 2009
There is a Bad Brains documentary coming out soon-ish. I can’t wait to see it. I’ve seen the band a bunch of times over the years and pretty much every time they made me forget that any other band ever existed.
Jan
Posted on 30th January 2009
Hi there. I just wanted to let you know that I will be on this the popular public radio program “This American Life” this weekend talking with host Ira Glass as part of their “New Boss” episode. Try and tune in if you can. It is a great show that will hopefully still be great with me on it.
In other news, recently I interviewed Daily Show correspondent and fellow show business professional Wyatt Cenac in the elevator at the New York Magazine building over there on Varick Street. You can watch all two minutes and seven seconds of this hard-hitting interview above. As it turns out, Wyatt and I both agree that John Oliver is a horrible, horrible person.
In still other news, last night’s Smiths/Speed Dating night at the Black Rabbit Bar in Greenpoint was a scorcher. Thanks to everyone who came out. I hope everyone had fun and we really apologize that some people couldn’t get in or got in and then weren’t allowed to speed date because we were full up. We didn’t expect to get such a big response the first time out and were totally overwhelmed by the whole thing. Who knew? I promise you, we’ll have this shit down to a science for the next one, which will be Thursday, February 12 at 8pm. Also, we’re going to figure out a way to insure an even amount of girls and dudes for the dating/making out. I hope you can make it. I saw a lot of people making out last night and word has it some people even hooked up in the bathroom. Nice work. The whole thing makes me want to believe in love again. You can read a semi-detailed account here and see great pictures taken at the event (including the ones above and below) by Gabi Porter over at Metromix.
Happy Birthday today to my bro Gian (above on the right), who turns very old today.
And finally, I meant to mention this sooner, but Lexie Kelly got her braces off and the world will never be the same. I imagine this has been on a lot of the blogs already, but just in case, I wanted to put it out there.
Jan
Posted on 29th January 2009
Hi there. I just wanted to remind you one last time that “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” the futuristic night of Smiths music, Morrissey music, and speed dating is happening tonight at the Black Rabbit in Greenpoint at 8pm. You should totally come. Even if you don’t want to speed date, you can still come and just hang out and listen to the music and drink stuff while other people engage in potentially awkward speed-dating conversation. It is going to be incredible. It’s gonna go late too, so feel free to straggle in whenever.
In other news, last night I went to see Doug Gillard play in the last night of his residency at Piano’s over there on the Lower East Side. I even got up on stage and talked and played a bit of guitar before Doug and his band commenced full-on rocking. They were great. You should pick up Doug’s new album “Call from Restricted.” He rocks big time. And we are both from Cleveland so there’s that too. It’s a magical town.
In still other news, thanks to the blog commenter person who passed this on to me. It’s a David Lee Roth-themed version of Asteroids that you can play on your computer. How anyone will ever get anything else done ever again once they’ve discovered this is beyond me. This is some serious genius here. I wish I had thought of it. Then again, I thought of the Smiths/speed dating thing, so I supposed I am doing okay in the incredible ideas department (See how I brought things full circle? Not too shabby).
Now, on a completely-unrelated-to-everything-else-I-have-just-said note, I noticed the deli near my house has stopped carrying Kombucha. Does this mean the Kombucha craze of 2007 is completely over? Are we not drinking that stuff anymore? I don’t drink it that often but I was thinking of drinking it today. But now I can’t unless I want to walk to another deli, of course. But I feel too defeated to do that right now. I’m just kind of stunned really. What are they going to take from us next, those weird bran bars they sell up at the counter? I thought things were supposed to be different now.
Jan
Posted on 28th January 2009
Maybe you’ve seen this before, but if not- you’re welcome. Courtesy of my friend Doug, I give you Wing. I’m told there is a “South Park” episode involving her somehow. Anyway, to use the language of the people, Wing pretty much owns.
Jan
Posted on 26th January 2009
Hi there. Happy Monday. Above is a mock-up of a possible T-shirt design we might use for my hot rock band Valley Lodge’s mini-tour of Japan this March. What do you think? Would you wear it if you were a Japanese person with a taste for rock?
Jan
Posted on 25th January 2009
Here is a pretty great video of the Raspberries performing their hit “Go All the Way” on the Mike Douglas Show back in the ’70s (I couldn’t find an embeddable version for some reason, so you gotta click on the link). Lead singer Eric Carmen’s hair pretty much deserved its own TV show if you ask me. Other guests on the show that episode were Joe Namath and Billie Jean King. They just don’t do it like that anymore. Oh, if only I had a time machine.
Jan
Posted on 22nd January 2009
Guess who is totally in a new book that is coming out next week? Me! Yeah! Anyway, comedian/writer/magic man Jon Friedman has turned his popular Rejection Show into a book and I am totally in it along with a bunch of other comedians and writers sharing works and stories of being rejected at some point or another in their career. The book includes a story I wrote for a British magazine about my night on the beat the Cleveland police vice unit during which I tried to buy crack (for real!) and picked up a transvestite prostitute (also for real!). You can buy the book right here or probably in a store or something too.
Also, there is a live show/book release party next week at the Bell House here in New York featuring such fine folks as David Rees, Mike Albo, David Wain, Todd Levin, Odd Todd, Sara Schaefer, Tom McCaffrey, Katina Corrao, the Defibulators, and host Jon Friedman. Get the lowdown here.
In other news, last night- because I hate sleep- I decided to set up a MySpace music page to host some of the incidental music I’ve recorded for some of my comedy videos, specifically the music that is my sad attempt at being the bastard son of Ennio Morricone who lives in a studio apartment and has not access to a full orchestra. I have named the “project” Conscience Point for the time being. If I find time, it would be fun to make a whole album of this stuff (not that anyone would want to listen to it, but still). Anyway, check it out here. Maybe you will enjoy it on some level or another.
In still other news, I (and when I say “I” I mean my friend Mike) am making all sorts of updates and improvements on my website. For example, I have added a shitload of new videos the video page that weren’t there before. And I am getting the blog in shape over there too, complete with the much-requested RSS feed button and whatnot. So take things for a test drive, kick the tires, give it the finger, whatever you need to do. The future is…n-now!
Jan
Posted on 22nd January 2009
Tonight my hockey team the King Williams played a game against the team with the tan jerseys that people are still talking about to this day. Before the game, I ate some fake Mexican food with a friend at a vegetarian restaurant where a lot of the customers had dreadlocks. I am not a vegetarian.
After I ate the fake Mexican food at the vegetarian restaurant, I got my hockey equipment and went to Lasker Rink in Central Park where our game was. I showed up, put on all my hockey equipment like it was weird not to be wearing it all the time, and then walked out to rink to totally play hockey.
When I got out to the rink, I looked at the players on the other team with an expression that asked “Who wants to get there asses handed to them?”
The players on the other team then looked back at me with a look that seemed to ask “Are you kidding?,” which is exactly the kind of look people tend to give when they don’t want their asses handed to them. But it was too late- I had already decided to hand their asses to them.
“You better put out your hands,” I said to them by looking back at them and not really saying anything out loud, “because you are going to need them to hold your asses when I hand them to you, which I something that is going to happen very soon.”
Then I went out on the ice and played hockey like only a guy who is 1/4 Canadian can. I didn’t score any goals but I would like to think that my general contribution to the game was positive.
I guess at this point you are totally wondering who won the game. We won the game 4-3. Also, one of the guys on my team, Sean Crespo, just got a new kitten named Mr. Cutiepants. I don’t know if Mr. Cutiepants can solve crimes but I sure hope so. No one would ever see it coming.
Jan
Posted on 21st January 2009
Maybe you’ve seen this before. If not, I apologize in advance for making you lose a big chunk of your day today to it. It’s the David Lee Roth soundboard. It’s pretty great for leaving David Lee Roth-centric voicemail messages to pretty much everyone and anyone. You’re welcome.
In other news, Shepard Fairey, the artist who did the iconic Obama “Hope” posters and is also responsible for those ubiquitous Andre the Giant stickers and posters, was interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR’s “Fresh Air” yesterday. Interesting stuff. Check it out here.
Hmmm, what else. It’s cold outside. Everyone is talking about it. It is on all the blogs.
Jan
Posted on 20th January 2009
I was bummed to miss Election Day (though, yes, I did vote) because I was in London at the time, but I’m psyched to be in America on this exciting day. I’m watching the inauguration on TV right row and kind of kicking myself for not heading to DC for the whole thing. Then again, whoa- that’s a LOT of people. Imagine the lines for the port-a-johns. Still, it’s exciting to watch history on TV if not in person. Awesome.
