Heathens Like Me

Summer Vacation!

2008-08-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

Butch is in Cape Cod, Domenick is in Chicago and Brandy (I think) is in New York and I'm in Montana, minutes from charging into the wilderness in search of trout.

The New Heathens will play at Banjo Jim's, one of our favorite real good music clubs, on Sept. 20. First hometown gig in a while, so it should be a damn fun one.

Sucker curse, you ask? On Monday paid $75 to the city of Newark for the parking ticket plus $100 to the state Motor Vehicle Commission to get my license reinstated. On Tuesday the New York City Marshall towed my car for failure to pay tickets in Manhattan. I won't even TELL you how much that was (suffice to say it was many times the amount I owed in New Jersey). Then on Thursday when I drove way-the-hell out to see a judge about the initial ticket I got on Saturday, he fined me another $140.

All this for a car that if melted down and sold for scrap wouldn't net me enough money to buy a new set of guitar strings.

Rehearsals, Stooges, Fourteen Feet, Sucker Curse Pt. 2

2008-08-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Butch and I went to Domenick's house last night and worked on some cool music stuff. Stay tuned everybody...

Friday nite saw one of the best shows I ever saw. IGGY & THE STOOGES. Excitement! Weirdness! Energy!

No Fun? No! BIG FUN!

Later that night Dug the CD release party at the Lakeside Lounge of one of our good friends' bands, Fourteen Feet.

They got a mighty fine sounding new record.

On a personal note, despite thinking I'd shaken it, my SUCKER CURSE continues. After a day of work on Saturday I returned to the NJ fishing hole where upon my last visit I became cursed by catching a big, ugly sucker. A curse that initially manifested itself in the dunking of my cell phone when I bent down to unhook the wretched beast.

Immediately upon pulling into the parking area at the stream's edge I was pulled over by the lone town policeman, who was doing random license plate checks on a Saturday night. Turns out mine was suspended for failure to pay a parking ticket in Newark, NJ several months ago. I had to pay $175 in fines to get my license restored and I have to go to court tomorrow morning to fight my ticket for driving while suspended.

Worst of all the officer made me call a buddy to drive my car away (as I was prohibited from operating any vehicles) and he waited with me the whole time. SO I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO WET A LINE.

How will the curse of the sucker play out? Stay tuned and find out.

For Pete's Sake

2008-08-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Played solo at a Brooklyn Country guitar pull at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn last night along with Andy Mullen, Jon Itkin and Emory Joseph. Thanks to Jon, who sat in with the Heathens down in Baltimore recently, for hooking me up with the gig.

That's Andy Mullen , me, Jon Itkin, and Mr. Emory Joseph.

NYC accessible trout

2008-08-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

Friends, it's August and with the Heathens gearing up to go back into the studio in September, I thought I'd just share with you photos of some trout I caught on a recent expedition that I made entirely via public transportation.

From a stream somewhere in Westchester County today...

Brown trout #1

Brown trout #2

Rainbow trout!

And my weirdest catch...

Crayfish on a fly!

Dan Debauchery!

2008-07-28T15:32:00.001-07:00

Went to Chicago last week for a couple days of family business and had the good fortune of timing my stay along with a gig by one of my favorite dudes and one of the New Heathens' staunchest supporters, Dan McGuinness.

"Danimal," as he's affectionately known, hosts an internet radio show called Daytime Debauchery. When the Heathens descended on Chicago in April '07, the Danimal welcomed us into his studio with Chicago pizza, Miller Genuine Draft, and open microphones for us to sing and strum on. I wrote a blog about it here.

Dan's got his own band, Blue Diamond Revival , and last Wednesday I took my mom as my date and we went to check him out at Fitzgerald's, a rockin' little roots-rock joint in Berwyn, IL, a suburb on the southwest side of Chicago.

Danimal at Fitzgeralds in Berwyn, IL

Dan the Man kicked out some killer original tunes and a heap of tasty Creedence covers.

Me with Dan and his radio co-host Mike.

Dan's gonna' be in NYC in September, so we're looking forward to doing a show with him around that third Saturday in the month. Dig it, check it, stay tuned.

In the meantime, Butch, Domenick and I roughed out about eight new tunes in a smoky Hell's Kitchen studio yesterday...

All Together Now!

2008-07-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

New Heathens played at the 11th Street Bar last night and look who came out...everybody!

Singing the Backsliders' "Abe Lincoln," with Brandy. Out of frame is the song's author, Chip Robinson, flipping Butch the bird. Also note my Monty Warren t-shirt, he'll be at the Lakeside Lounge on Sept. 27, check it.

Heathens!

And from Brandy and Bart's wedding on the 4th of July...

On the left, in the cast, is Eric Jayk the charismatic frontman of the band Wildstreet. On the right is groom and Wildstreet collaborator Bart (who also came out to 11th Street last night, clad in slightly less white).

Steve Wynn jumped onstage to play the ever-romantic song "Money (That's What I Want)"

Brandy's mom, Sue Wood, fiddled the more apropos, "It Had To Be You." (In case you wondered if Brandy's musical talent had a genetic link).

Brandy, serenading her beloved Bart (foreground) with the tune, "Inagaddadavida." Dig!

Happily ever after...

I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock 'N' Roll?

2008-07-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

She still does!

That's Brandy, clad in an American flag wedding dress, rockin' the bass to "Sweet Little Sixteen" at her own wedding reception in Richmond, VA, July 4, 2008.

Solo at Freddy's Backroom

2008-07-06T09:59:00.001-07:00

Did this gig a few weeks ago. My friend Anne just sent the pic.

Had a great weekend watching the lovely Brandy Wood tie the knot with her beloved down in Richmond, VA. Stay tuned for more.

Baltimore, The Best NH Fans Around

2008-07-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

The New Heathens took it down to Baltimore last Friday for a gig at our favorite spot there, the Waterfront Hotel. We had a few members out for matrimonial reasons (Dom, Brandy) so my friend and great songwriter and guitar player Jon Itkin and his bassist Ben Sparks helped us out.

Me, striking a typical, understated pose. In the background are Jon Itkin on the left and Ben Sparks on the right, helping us out on guitar and bass respectively.

Butch!

Gotta' give a shout out to a couple of our biggest and best fans. Minerva, a.k.a. the "Bodiva," pictured below in the Jersey Girl t-shirt, drove all the way to Baltimore from Jersey City to see us play. Her friend Andi came all the way up from Virginia Beach for the show. And their friend Tamara, who we hadn't had the pleasure of meeting before, came from California. Gasoline ain't CHEAP, friends, these Gals are simply the best fans any band could ask for. Love 'ya all.

New Heathens, up top, and the New Heathen 'Gals below, Minerva, Tamara and Andi.

Jam Party at Mine

2008-06-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Domenick, Me, Emory Joseph & Chip Robinson, grinning.

Had a few friends over with guitars on Friday night. Wine & song until the wee hours. Great fun.

What a treat to hear Chip Robinson in your living room!

The Curse of the Sucker

2008-06-16T17:32:00.000-07:00

Sucker!

It was a fantasy gig: my good friend Joe Cassady booked me to play a solo gig in High Bridge, NJ. Just so happens my favorite Jersey trout stream, the East Branch of the Raritan River, runs through High Bridge. This gig meant I could fish until dark, then go play music. Perfect, right?

There are several fish species in the Raritan, the most prized are the trout; rainbows, browns and brookies. There are also a bunch of suckers, ugly fuckers that suck gunk off the riverbottoms and are rumored to bring a curse to whomever is unlucky enough to catch one. Fortunately, I'd never caught a sucker.

On my third cast I hooked a big one. My rod doubled over and I felt a mighty tug. I saw a flash of gold at the bottom of the river. "Ooh!" I thought, "I've hooked a big, brown trout." Judging by that flash of gold, I thought it might run 18-inches.

I battled that fish to the side of the river, it hung deep in the water and shook its head. Finally I got it up to the surface...

And saw, to my disgust, that it was a 20-inch sucker.

"Oh well," thought I, "that curse thing is just a fisherman's legend."

I bent down to unhook the ugly beast, and my cell phone fell out of my pocket and sank to the bottom of the river.

The real sucker, onstage at Circa in High Bridge

Of course I blame the sucker for any wrong chords I may have hit at my gig. Played at a bar/restaurant called Circa and had a good time. Looking forward to going back in July.

The only way to reverse the Curse of the Sucker, according to legend, is to catch a beautiful trout. Slept that night on Joe Cassady's couch and tried again in the morning. Nothing.

Finally got lucky on Sunday afternoon at a lovely little stream somewhere in Westchester County...

The little brown trout that reversed the curse.

Matching the hatch...

Great Bottle Rockets Show

2008-06-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

Butch, me & Brian Hennemann of the Bottle Rockets, one of my favorite songwriters. (Note: dig me in full nerd mode: wearing a Bottle Rockets t-shirt, posing for a picture with the dude from the Bottle Rockets.)

Saw a great Bottle Rockets show last night at the Mercury Lounge. The BoRox are celebrating its 15th anniversary with 15 special shows across the U.S. with a different fan writing the setlist at each stop. The BoRox tore through classics like "$1,000 Car" and "Indianapolis," and also stuff I've never heard them play live before, like "Wave That Flag" and a couple new tunes.

It was cool when Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, who opened for the BoRox with scorching set of his own, joined the band for their encore. Here's Brian and 'Scoe singing "White Boy Blues," a tune they wrote together on the Bottle Rockets 1999 record "Brand New Year."

How good was the show? So good that Charlene and Butch totally made out.

Review That I Missed...

2008-06-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

A friend/fan e-mailed this to me today:

Review by Michael Berick

The NJ-based New Heathens definitely have an East Coast, rootsy bar band sound going for them, but they distinguish themselves with the character-rich tunes and their gritty sound. "Getaway Baby" opens their debut disc with an endearing blast of boozy, blue collar rock & roll. Rough-hewn guitar riffs and a pounding backbeat lend a Faces/Stones-type sound to this sweet, sweaty number. But the lyrics, about a woman's abusive relationship, are far more ambitious and interesting than the typical bar band fare. Singer/songwriter Nate Schweber displays even more of his street poet smarts in the second song, "141," which deals with a white kid moving to New York City and settling in Harlem. Schweber loves to write colorful, richly detailed songs that traverse the American scene. The moody, slightly Smithereens-like "Doomed Generation" follows Hunter S. Thompson's life from Kentucky to Colorado to San Francisco. "July 1, Near Helena, Mt" is a wild, rocking story about restless Montana teenagers, while "Goodnight Paterson" serves as an affectionate look at the decaying urban city of Paterson, NJ. Although a song like "She's Wasted" offers a pretty standard, although quite rocking, look at a girlfriend whose "second home is at [a] bar, Schweber digs deeper lyrically on numbers like "Back to Jesus" and "Kansas, Romeo." The former deals with a quest of spiritual happiness while the latter investigates a controversial Kansas rape case involving a mentally challenged young man. Guitarists Butch Phelps and Domenick Tiziano play key roles in the band as their muscular playing stands as a potent counterpoint to Schweber's (occasionally wordy) storytelling. Schweber's working man lyrics, the band's Jersey home and their old-school rock & roll sound might draw comparisons to early Springsteen, but the more apt comparison would be to New York punk-fueled roots rockers the Del Lords and the Hangdogs. Comparisons aside, the New Heathens' impressive first release is a powerful, memorable effort.

Read the full thing here.

My favorite were the reviewer's list of "moods" that fit the record:

Exuberant
Confident
Aggressive
Freewheeling
Earnest
Literate
Intense
Playful
Rowdy
Street-Smart
Passionate
Rousing
Yearning
Rambunctious
Irreverent
Rollicking
Sprawling

And the record's "themes":

Late Night
Guys Night Out
Drinking
Cool & Cocky

Long Live Bo Diddley!

2008-06-03T17:37:00.001-07:00

"Elvis was a royal too
But his throne was hand-me-down
Because Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley
Already wore that crown" -- New Heathens, "Columbus Day."

Long live Bo Diddley!

Sad news: we lost Bo Diddley yesterday. I shook the man's huge hands one night after he played a show in my hometown of Missoula, MT in 2001. I couldn't make the show, because I had one of my own, but found out from friends that Mr. Diddley was having a post-show dinner at my hometown's fanciest restaurant. He sent his soup back to the kitchen three times because it didn't suit his Diddley-palate. In between servings I shook his hand. He was very gracious.

Saw him play at BB King's in NYC a few years later. He did the show sitting on a chair, but got up on the last tune ("Who Do You Love") to shake his knees like a wide receiver who just scored a touchdown.

Played a solo show at Niagra last night opening up for Joe Cassady. Before my first tune I yowled a few Hey Bo Diddleys. Then I after I'd barnstormed through two thirds of my last song, Proud Highway, I went into an impromptu Bo Diddley medley Bo Diddley's A Gunslinger, Cadillac, Mona, Who Do You Love and Hey Bo Diddley.

Thanks Bo.

Me & The Mustache opening for Joe Cassady at Niagra

Checked out Shayni Rae's Truck Stop at National Underground, my favorite Monday night hang.

Then blasted out to Hank's Saloon in Brooklyn for Kuntry Karaoke with Boo & Elena of the Demolition String Band (who you may have read about in the Village Voice's latest cover story on the New York Country Scene Don't get me started. Think it's hard to find country in the nation's biggest metropolis? Wrongo! It's nearly impossible to escape.)

I sang Mary Mary, the Monkees tune, with Boo & Elena, just like I did at a couple of their Monkees tributes in the past year.

And, for good measure, we reprised "Who Do You Love."

Montreal Part Deux

2008-05-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

Don't mess.

I did another acoustic show in Montreal last night at an excellent downtown brew pub called Brutopia . I opened for the band Playing With Diana.

When I played "When She's Wasted" my cadre of friends, about ten strong, sang along and their voices outpowered the house sound system. Made me feel like a rock star.

My last tune was Old Crow's "Tell It," and I asked Tom Holl to play guitar so I could blow harp. I taught him the tune onstage and dude played it so well he got the chicks dancing up by the stage.

Vive le Quebec libre!

11th Street Bar & Montreal

2008-05-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Melody Allegra on fiddle, Butch on mandolin, Nate on guitar and Domenick on lapsteel.

It was the New Heathens Salvation Army band at the 11th Street Bar on Wednesday night, anchored by the amazing fiddle playing and beautiful singing of Ms. Melody Allegra (how's that for a musical name?)

I asked Melody, who I'd met a few weeks earlier while playing a solo gig for the King's County Opry at Freddy's Backroom in Brooklyn , if she'd do a gig with the New Heathens. Melody is an incredible natural musician and mercy, she threw DOWN busting out pretty fiddle licks and wonderful harmony vocals.

With the lovely & talented Melody Allegra

The guitarmen, Butch & Dom opened up their full bag of tricks. Butch strummed a mandolin, Domenick teased licks from his lapsteel all night and I even played a wooden train whistle.

Hopped a train to Montreal early the next morning (and early mornings come HARD after an 11th Street gig) and played a 45-minute solo acoustic set at a really cool venue called The Pound . The Pound is a beautiful, huge former warehouse turned into a music venue and art space by a few friendly dudes who live on the balcony above the stage. It was like the best parts of Williamsburg, only with national health care.

At The Pound in Montreal, CA

I ran down a bunch of tunes off Heathens Like Me, plus a few new one's I'm working on. Later, my friend Tom Holl joined me onstage to sing Warren Zevon's "Carmelita." Tom's brother John Holl, a friend, colleague and stalwart New Heathens booster, is celebrating his bachelor party in Montreal this weekend.

With Tom Holl, in Montreal, singing "Carmelita." Photo credit: John Holl

Now, point me to the poutine (it means disco fries!)

Solo Acoustic in Boston With One Lone Car

2008-05-12T17:08:00.001-07:00

Andy, from One Lone Car

My buddy Andy, from the St. Louis Band One Lone Car , who are on tour with the Gin Blossoms called me up on Saturday and asked if I'd like to come to Boston to open up for them at the Cafe Midway the following night.

Would I LIKE to ride five hours on a bus, play by myself to a near-empty bar on Mother's Day, drink rotgut whiskey, forage potato chip crumbs for dinner, and sleep on a hotel floor in a room stuffed with five other dudes? Hell yeah I would!

Here's what Andy wrote on One Lone Car's blog about the night:

"What a time we had in Boston. Last night we played a great club called The Midway. Our good friend Nate Schweber, of NYC's New Heathens fame, joined us on the bill. He took a bus from NYC, made it just in time to play, partied hard with us, and then slept in his leather jacket. Now that is the description of a true rocker. We all could learn a lot from him."

Study on, boys!

11th Street, the place to be!

2008-05-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

Butch, Nate

Played a fun one at the 11th Street Bar on Wednesday night. The band did a bunch of instrument swapping, Butch played some mandolin, and we tossed out some tunes we haven't played in a long time. Some great friends came out and joined us, our friend Drina Seay even sang with us, and the evening just felt good.

The 11th Street Bar is like our downstairs den. It's a good spot. Expect to see the New Heathens (or a Few Heathens) playing there regularly, tossing out new tunes and having a good time.

Thanks to our friend Dan Herman, host of Radio Crystal Blue , a sweet internet radio show, for coming out and taking these pictures!

Brandy

Boston Reschedule, Cool Letter

2008-04-24T15:49:00.001-07:00

Friends, as you know we had to cancel our Boston show on 4.26. Really bummed me out.

Our friend Mike, who has played our tunes on his awesome podshow UC Radio Podshow , forwarded me this letter he got from a friend of his who saw us in New York recently. Pretty cool.

Mike,

It's been awhile . Just wanted to give to a heads up on some random UC Radio band related stuff happening recently:

I went to check out the New Heathens again a few weeks ago with my buddy Pat. They played at Rodeo Bar on the upper east side and just like the last time, they rocked!!! We sat on the side with a glass of Bookers and a beer chaser each and they got the crowd going! This place was perfect for the band. With sawdust on the floor and wood paneling on the walls, listening to "For Cryin' Out Loud" and "July First" seemed to fit perfectly. As my buddy pointed out, he had the swagger of the early days of Mick Jagger while the music was definitely a throwback to rock/blues with a hint of country. We talked to Nate and he mentioned to say hi to you.

-Henry

Arlene's, Newville, Shayni Rae's Truck Stop, Shine A Light

2008-04-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

The New Heathens played another fun night at Arlene's Grocery with the Apple Brothers and Tom Clark and the High Action Boys . A pretty damn good time!

And look at the sweet picture we took after the gig.

I had a blast playing Newville on Thursday. Played a couple of my own tunes then really had fun singing backup for Keith Christopher along with Brooke Lunde and Emory Joseph.

On Monday I played in what's turning into a very cool roots rock hang at the National Underground on Houston Street. It's called Shayni Rae's Truck Stop and most weeks it features Kevin Kinney , as well as a good lookin' bunch of soulful young'uns from Ohio called the Madison Square Gardeners.

I was pretty psyched to play. A couple weeks ago I saw Patterson Hood and Shonna Tucker from the Drive By Truckers hanging out there. Laura Cantrell too. I hear Justin Townes Earle is going to play next week...

Rounded up a posse of friends on Saturday and went and saw the new Rolling Stones movie "Shine A Light" at the IMAX theatre. OH BABY THIS MOVIE ROCKS! OW! OH YEAH! GET DOWN NOW, UGH!

Best of all, after the movie Emory suggested we go and rock out a little bit ourselves. So he, Keith, Brandy and I ended up back at the apartment I now share with our cool manager Kori Burkholder and we had a jam y'all.

A JAM Y'ALL!

Rocked Rodeo Like a Bronco, DBT, Bye to a Journalism Legend

2008-03-31T14:05:00.000-07:00

Oh baby, if playing a gig at Manhattan's Rodeo Bar was like a REAL Rodeo, then the New Heathens took home the top prize on Saturday night.

People danced so hard it was as if New York didn't HAVE a cabaret law. Fans shouted out requests, yowled along with me, and bought up New Heathens CDs and t-shirts like they were Rodeo Bar margaritas. They even danced all the way to the back of the Winnebago. A couple people even threw roses at us!

Our friend Dusan Sekulovic, director of the movie "Pussyfoot" said, and I quote, "I feel like somebody just made love to my ears."

I'm 90 percent sure that's a compliment.

I forgot my camera, but NH Superfan Anne Scatto sent me this picture:

Yes, I was totally blissed out.

The band rocked like a damn bucking bronco. Domenick's slide guitar turned my head around, literally. I've never seen a crowd go monkey-crazy like when Butch tore into Pig Pen. One of my favorite ever New Heathens moments came during our last tune, "Rockin' in the Free World" when Butch and Dom stood toe-to-toe trading licks.

You shoulda' heard the rhythm section! Brandy's shot the songs full of sick sounding low-to-high bass note runs (all while wearing shiny gold shoes and at times dancing the Riverdance). The word "rock" applies to Eric, not as a verb, but as a noun because he played as hard, heavy and solid as a great big one.

I even sang pretty good thanks to my good friend Charlene McPherson . Charlene gave me my first ever singing lesson on Friday. She showed me how to sing scales and be conscious of my breathing. Her most important lesson: warm up for 15 minutes before going onstage.

The only problem with warming up is that in the divey, rock 'n' roller bars we play there aren't any backstage areas, nor are there, say, dark corners where a dude would feel safe singing, "Fish and chips and vinegar, pepper, pepper, pepper, salt!" So before our Rodeo gig I wandered into some alleyway and sang my "Do-Re-Mi's." And nobody kicked my ass.

On Wednesday night Butch, Dom and I all went to see the Drive By Truckers. Great band. Great show.

Patterson Hood of DBT

On a sad note, my friend Dith Pran died of cancer on Sunday. Pran worked as a photographer for the New York Times and was a living journalism legend. The movie The Killing Fields was based on Pran's life and his escape from Cambodia during the genocide in the 1970s. Pran spent most of his life campaigning for human rights.

I don't think I've ever met a nicer, friendlier, more upbeat guy. It was a honor to call Pran a colleague and a pleasure to call him a friend. I said goodbye to him in the hospital last week.

Dith Pran

Anybody kept up with the body count on this blog? To everyone who knows anybody in the New Heathens I am hereby putting you on notice: you are not allowed to die. Nope. Sorry. Gotta' keep living. To Drew, Jonathan and Pran, I salute you brothers...

Ours Go Up To 11(th Street Bar)

2008-03-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Singing with beautiful & talented Brooke Lunde, mastermind behind the Newville Sessions

Kenny, the unflappable chieftain of the 11th Street Bar told me a funny story on Wednesday night about a police officer, concerned about neighborhood noise ordinances, paying him a recent visit.

Officer: "Kenny, do you ever have bands here at the 11th Street Bar?"

Kenny: "No officer."

Officer: "I see online that a band called the New Heathens is scheduled to play here on Wednesday."

Kenny: "Thanks for reminding me."

Half hoping for a Blues Brothers-esque scene ("And we would especially like to welcome all the representatives from New York's law enforcement community,") we barnstormed the 11th Street Bar last night and had a great time. Charlene McPherson joined us to sing Gram Parsons', "100 Years,", and for the first time Brooke Lunde, my good friend and founder of Banjo Jim's cool Newville Sessions, joined us on "Proud Highway."

Butch sang the heck out of "Pig Pen" and Domenick and I shared a microphone on his new song "Responsible." Brandy, in her t-shirt that read the two things she loves most about the south are Jack and Charlie, sang wonderful backup harmonies. And Eric played with a maestro's touch on drums that were half his, and half superstar drummer James Wormworth's.

Brooke Lunde's band played after us and they tore it up. Good thing there weren't any cops around...

New Heathens with wooden instruments AND Brandy Wood at the 11th Street Bar

The King And His Throne: The Waterfront Hotel

2008-03-16T04:24:00.000-07:00

Eric, our drummer, is the most organized and meticulous dude in the band. We needed microphones and stands for our gig at Baltimore's fantastic Waterfront Hotel on Saturday night, so I called Eric. When it came time to get out of there, I followed Eric because he knew the way.

Uncharacteristically, he totally airballed one vital thing Saturday night: the bottom part of his drum stool.

(I joked that's better than forgetting the top part.)

We borrowed a thick, wooden chair from an upstairs office for Eric to sit in while he played. Based on how he laid down a groove fatter than Elvis in decline, I think we may insist that he always sit in a chair while he plays.

Eric, sitting in THE chair, surrounded by New Heathens.

The only bummer part of the gig came when a dude grabbed my microphone mid song and shouted into it. I pushed him off the stage (note: I did not shove.) He walked with his middle finger in the air to the back of the bar, then marched all the way back to me to tell me (still mid song) that he'd kick my ass if I ever pushed him again.

Does this guy realize I'm doing a job? I mean, how would HE react if I staggered into his workplace drunk and grabbed his mop?

The rest of the set was nothing but highlights, par normal at the Waterfront Hotel. People were Saint Patty's partying and they danced and sang with us by the dozens. We got to visit with our great friend Jewels, plus my friends Heather and Rick. Butch and Domenick went back and forth trying to out-channel-Neil Young each other. It sounded amazing. Domenick would coax some tortured wail from his black telecaster only to have Butch cut him with shrieks from his black Gretch. Brandy nailed basslines on brand-new songs she's never even heard before. She sang a killer version of Bad Company's "Rock Steady" for our encore, and she actually did the Riverdance jig while playing her rave-up bassline to Butch's song "Pig Pen." Incredible.

We stopped at the Broadway Diner on our way out of town.

Butch ordered the awesomest looking stack of blueberry pancakes I've ever seen in my life.

It's 7:45 a.m. Time for bed.

Don' Hill's

2008-03-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

Brandy called us late on Tuesday asking if we could play a last-minute gig at Don' Hill's. Factoid: Domenick Tiziano's first ever gig in NYC was at Don Hill's opening up for none other than Norah Jones.

He had a rockin' little homecoming, plugged through a Marshall Stack. Butch plugged his big, bad, black Gretch into one too. Eric was up high on a drum riser surrounded by a cloud of fake smoke.

Eric, on the drums, through a cloud of smoke

The band was rocking along beautifully until...the PA system cut out. "You will get a show!" Brandy hollered to the crowd. I strapped on my wooden guitar and belted out tunes a-capella with Brandy and Domenick chiming in with harmonies and Butch bashing out badass licks. Gotta' love a band that's got 'yer back when the power is down!

Once the PA was up and running again we romped through the rest of our set. Butch set fire to Pig Pen, and we ended with "When She's Wasted." Miss Brandy says it's the best she can remember us sounding (and if someone in the band is happy, I'M happy!)

Afterward Brandy joined the house band and sang the holy smoke out of Humble Pie's 30 Days in the Hole and the Faces' Stay With Me.

Brandy, channeling Steve Mariott & Rod Stewart

Carter Family Tribute

2008-03-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

The Demolition String Band did it again on Wednesday night. Elena & Boo put on a tremendous tribute to the Carter Family at Banjo Jim's.

Here's some pix, courtesy of NH superfan, Anne Scatto.

Mighty fun time!

Watch out, the flu is going around...