Autumn Souvenir

I miss writing. I hope to start spending more time here. I also plan on starting to share snippets of my memoir. More to come....

Another of my favorite NYC haunts will soon cease having live music. From Brownies and the Lakeside Lounge to Great Lakes and now The Rodeo Bar, a large part of my twenties are quickly vanishing from the New York City streets. The rooms where I celebrated rock n' roll, bought and accepted many a drink and formed the strongest friendships of my life, are quickly disappearing. And with each closing, I realize that my youth is becoming more and more distant. The endless, blurry nights. The rock n' roll bouncing off venue or apartment walls until the sun came up. Many of these memories are now 15 years+ old. Time barrels on. Star City was the only band I really cared about on the Rodeo Bar calendar. I liked the Hangdogs alright, and seeing Lucinda Williams stumble around the room was fun to witness, but it was Jason Lewis' messy alt.country group of pros that brought me out. I'd eventually "manage" them, which really just meant that I'd collect merch money o

Whenever I listen to Slint, there's just something.....off. It's like watching The Shining ; you appreciate its brilliance but you feel like you should stop watching. Not necessarily out of fear of what's on screen, but for fear of where your mind is careening to. Slint's second and final record, Spiderland , is widely considered a masterpiece of indie/punk/sound/something. But again, it's almost impossible to describe. Four kids out of Louisville, Kentucky spit out something that must've come from the depths. And then they were done. But Spiderland was just finding its way. Twenty-plus years after their demise arrives the documentary Breadcrumb Trails . I watched tonight and although it's filled with interviews with band members, the mystery remains. It's briefly mentioned that one band member checked himself into a hospital immediately following completion of the record. But no explanation follows. All four members have gone onto different project