Are You Dave?

Goodness, I’ve had NO gigs this month! I’ve only had one birthday party, and I’m only teaching 9 or 10 classes a week instead of my usual 13 or 14. This is gonna bring my numbers way down. But on the up-side, I’ve had a LOT of great time to spend with my family. We’ve been up to the pool on campus quite regularly, and we’re off to northern CA at the end of next week to visit a whole bucketful of relatives. Tonight we went over to the Shipyard to see our pal Big Jeff perform with his band, The Bouncy People. Which reminds me, next Tuesday I am sitting in with Erin Lee and her new band at the Shipyard. I’d better rehearse….

This was a fantastic event featuring local musicians and performers including The Fuzzy Lemons, Big Jeff, and the kids from Garden Street Music and Be Vocal. Kipley was absent so Dan McLoughlin sat in on keys and we had a blast. Plus, I had the honor of serving as MC for the event! Woohoo!

Everyone did a great job and we raised a few grand for Haiti. Later in the evening there was a grown-up show too, featuring even more bands! Here’s what Geri Fallo wrote the next morning:

On behalf of Mayor Dawn Zimmer & the City of Hoboken, I want to thank you for sharing your time & talent and helping us make the Hoboken for Haiti benefit concert such a wonderful success. Your generosity & support are so appreciated. Please send my regards to your other band members as well.

We raised $4,433.00, twice what was anticipated. The money will be divided between the American Red Cross & the Clinton Bush Relief Fund.

Thanks, Hoboken!
~ Dave

I can’t even believe I am typing this: The Fuzzy Lemons are now the AWARD-WINNING FUZZY LEMONS! Last night at the Goldhawk, our good friend Dave Entwistle hosted the first annual Hoboken Music Awards, and the Lemons picked up the prestigious People’s Choice statuette.

THANK YOU HOBOKEN!

Dave did an amazing job setting up the awards. He was inspired by the Asbury Park Music Awards. They’ve got Springsteen, he reasoned, but we’ve got Sinatra. Hoboken deserves its own music awards. And so he made it happen, setting up a panel of judges culled from his many music-industry contacts and putting together a crackerjck list of nominees. He won’t admit it, but I don’t think he would have had a Childrens’ Music category if he hadn’t worked so closely with the Lemons for the past year.

The whole evening was a blast. The weather was wonderful, a perfect spring night, so most of us met at Ben & Jerry’s for some ice cream before andering over to the Goldhawk.

Once we got there, the event was just winding up. Kipley and I caught the first band while Brandon, Justin and Dana enjoyed a drink outside in the warm air. Big Jeff (our competition) and his wife wandered in and I invited them to take a couple of seats at our table. I say “competition” but he’s such a sweet guy and our philosophies are all about sharing and collaborating. That was Dave’s philosphy in creating the HMAs, too: bringing people together, allowing musicians to connect and honor each other and have a good time. Hoboken’s musical family is alive and well.

But I digress. After the first band was done, Dave got up and made a little speech about the origin of the HMAs. Turns out that he’s, like, HUGE in his home country of Canada. Anyway, We’re thrilled to announce that the VERY FIRST AWARD handed out at the very first Hoboken Music Awards was the “People’s Choice” prize, and we clinched it. Our fans are the best!

We floated up to the stage to accept our statuette, and only then did we realize that none of us had even remotely considered what we’d say if we won!

I’d write more about the rest of the night, but it was a bit of an anticlimax. Big Jeff (deservedly) won the Children’s Music award, and some more bands played, and some other people got awards. We finally realized that it was past our bedtimes and went home. But we’re going to update our MySpace so that we can make a big impression on the judges at the next Hoboken Music Awards!

The local paper covered the event and even took our picture, check it out here.