Are You Dave?

I’ve been looking forward to this show for quite some time! I love boats, I love the water, I love Hoboken, I love music… so playing music on a historic boat on Hoboken’s storied waterfront was a perfect combination.

If you haven’t visited The Waterfront Museum, check it out. I can wait. David Sharps bought the barge for a dollar, some 20-25 years ago. Since then he’s spent something like a million dollars making it livable (he and his awesome family live aboard) and serviceable as a venue (he hosts a circus every Sunday, among other things).

Shout-outs to Carter Craft for connecting us with David, and to Geri Fallo for working out the details involved in getting the barge to town, and more importantly, getting them a license to serve alcohol aboard (no, there was no booze at the Lemons’ show). We’d been concerned about the show in the weeks leading up to the date because advanced ticket sales were low, but close to 100 people came out see us on the day of… not too shabby.

I have some pretty darn good video of the show, thanks to my friends Guy and Dana and their HD camera. (Guy owed me a solid after I did some music for some of his movies. We’re even, Guy!) The barge had a little stage area complete with a painted backdrop, which David lowered theatrically as we took the stage.

The barge rocked! No, I mean that literally: The barge rocked with the swells and continually slid around underneath us. A few of the Lemons were feeling lime-green throughout the show, and I found that my usual leaping about had to be tapered down a bit, lest I come back down on a floor that had decided it had better places to be. No one fell, no one hurled, so all’s well.

I have to say, I think the Lemons rocked too (in the musical sense). Dave Entwistle did another amazing job on sound, so if we sounded less-than-stellar, it’s our fault, not his. The rocking (boat) did have an effect on the rocking (band). The video reveals some sloppy moments, but it also reveals that our energy was good and our audience was into us. The wooden walls of the barge made for a warm, rich acoustic atmosphere, and the open doors ensured our sound carried across to all of the sunbathers on Pier A. In fact, more than a few people heard us from there and wandered over to get a better look.

High points:

• Julio Fernandez wandering by and shooting me a wink through the hatch. He’s awesome. 
• Dana stepping out from behind the mic to lead the girls in the crowd in “Girls Rock!”
• Bantering with Justin and Kipley between (or even during) songs. We’re getting better at that.
• Rocking the big finish with “If You Are My Friend.”
• All the amazing fans who clapped and cheered and hung out to say hi afterwards (sometimes it seems like there’s a silent stampede for the door).

Up next, three outdoor shows!
~Dave

Wow, the calendar has been gig-free for a few weeks, and I’ve neglected to check in! But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening. Last week, for example, The Fuzzy Lemons had a great session with Dan McLoughlin in our rehearsal studio–he gave us copious pre-production notes to help us prepare for our next sojourn into the recording studio.

On a personal note, I had two awesome weekends in a row–first I got to go to a ManKind Project bonfire, the first I’ve been to in a whole year, and it was fantastic to connect with some old friends again. Then, last weekend was Memorial Day and I got to take my li’l family up to CT to visit my folks, my sisters, and assorted spouses, nieces and nephews. I even got a waterski run in, as my aching shoulders will attest 2 days later.

And now it’s time to gear up for a whirlwind of activity: I have 5 gigs in the next three weeks!

• May 30: The Fuzzy Lemons at the Waterfront Museum, which is a way-cool restored barge. I’m excited to play there but concerned because ticket sales seem low.
• June 4: Pete Seeger 90th Birthday tribute, featuring some of Hoboken’s top musicians! This is the first of the town’s Thursday-night summer concerts, and it’s an honor to have been invited by Geri Fallo to be a part of it. My original fantasy of doing a duet with Jim Mastro fell through (he’s out of the country apparently) but I’ve been in touch with The Demolition String Band and they’ll be backing me up on a song, it seems. Also, the New York Times asked for photos of the performers for an article on the event. Below is the photo I sent. Exciting!      
    

  Photo by Fred Eisner

• June 6: June-A-Palooza in Jersey City: We just got confirmation that we’re on for 2:30. We’re not getting paid but it’s a big deal in Jersey City and we’re hoping to sell some CDs and build our fan base outside of Hoboken.
• June 7: TFL at the OLG Fun Fest at Church Square Park. Outdoor show #2 of the summer; we’ll be in the gazebo at Church Square (you last saw us there in August).
• June 14: TFL at Kiddiepalooza on Pier A. Outdoor show #3 of the summer! We’ll do three big sets.

 

Then we’ll enjoy some time off until we’re back at the Shipyard in August (and I have sets with Music Together, Erin Lee & Marci, and the Gordys around the same time–everything happens at once!)

First one of the year! The Fuzzy Lemons have been e-mailing with a local dad about the Waterfront Museum, which will be docked in Hoboken later this spring. It’s fun to play down on the waterfront; it’s be even more fun to play on a barge on the water! According to the web site: “Over the years, a variety of performers have graced the Barge deck, including rockabilly legend Sleepy LaBeef, former Saturday Night Live band leader G.E. Smith, “Hot Rod Lincoln” Bill Kirchen, and many more!”

Tonight, the dad in question cycled past me, stopped, and asked “Are you Dave?”

He’s meeting with Geri Fallo and the City Hall folks tomorrow, then he and I will hook up afterwards to talk about the possibility of an event or two.

On an unrelated note, I gave a Fuzzy Lemons Demo CD to a woman I met tonight who works at EMI, in their T.V. division.

Wow, it’s been such a busy week that I forgot to tell you my BIG news: Geri Fallo has invited me to MC the 3rd Street Stage at the Fall Arts & Music Festival! So I’ll be introducing the bands and bantering with the crowd all day. But that’s not all, wait until you hear who the bands are!

• 12:00 and 1:00, MUSIC TOGETHER
• 2:00 and 3:00 ERIN LEE & MARCI
• 4:00 and 5:00 THE FUZZY LEMONS

Yes, that’s right, I’m IN two of the three bands, and sitting in for a few songs with the third! In other words, I’ll be on stage ALL DAY. 

The good news is, I get to invoice the town for two band gigs and the MC job. The bad news is, I may die of sunstroke or something.

So be sure to bring the kids because you never know what might happen! September 28th at the Arts & Music Festival! Whee!

Dave

The following is not a Gig Diary. It’s a bit of a vent leading up to a Gig Diary. You may want to skip it.

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We’ve got to buy a P.A. That’s all there is to it. 

We’ve had a great summer, lots of outdoor shows all over Hoboken. The big wrap-up was at Church Square Park, smack in the middle of town, on Wednesday August 27. I’ll blog about the show itself in the next Gig Diary. But there was a lot of other stuff that went on that I’ll complain about here.

This show was Justin’s baby, he came to us in early May with the offer from the city and O’Nieals Bar & Restaurant to do one of the Wednesday night shows in the gazebo. The city would provide the location and the electricity, the bar would provide equipment and a meal, and we’d provide the music. “Heck yes,” said the Lemons. We were originally scheduled to play in early July. But some weather-related postponements pushed us back to August 27, and so the show became our summer swan song.

I don’t know all the behind-the-scenes things that Justin worked with O’Nieals, but I do know that Jesse (the manager) and her husband Jeff (the bouncer) are close friends with Justin and his wife (and Jeff plays drums for us at HEFC some Sunday mornings). When it turned out that O’Nieals wasn’t able to provide much in the way of equipment, I lay none of the blame on any of the parties mentioned above. I just wish we’d known in advance. Justin texted me at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday to say we had no P.A. gear for a Wednesday gig–not an auspicious way to prepare for a show!

It was frantic phone-call time. Justin tracked down a guy who could provide a P.A. for $325, but that would have eaten up our entire stipend from O’Nieals, and it would mean that we had to use that guy for sound, not our hero Dave Entwistle. I told Jay-Money to wait while I made another call.

Fortunately, my dear friends Stefanie and Marco of Blue Number Nine were able to help us out. A quick check of Facebook confirmed that they were home from their extensive midwestern tour, so I gave ‘em a shout. Lo and behold, they had a bunch of PA gear sitting in their basement and they were happy to share it. All they asked in return was that I put in a good word with Geri Fallo at City Hall. I’d LOVE to see Blue Number Nine play in Hoboken next summer! Geri are you listening?

Justin and I decided that the rest of the band didn’t need to be dragged into the equipment drama. It’s possible that some of the Lemons will read about it here for the first time. Hi guys! Some decisions require the whole band’s approval, but a fire-fighting situation like this would have just spread panic throughout the band, most likely (Dana thanked us the next day for not telling her that night). I’m pleased to say Justin and I handled it… though it was a close thing.

I woke up Wednesday thinking we were probably 90% covered, equipment-wise; close enough for a gazebo gig, right? Between Blue Number Nine’s gear, some stuff from O’Nieal’s, and our own gear borrowed from our rehearsal space, Justin and I figured we had assembled a pretty good Frankenstein’s Monster of a P.A.

But first we had to get the gear to the stage, hook it up and turn it on. Never as easy as it sounds.

The fun started when Dana drove us up the hill to Stefanie and Marco’s place, only to find an empty house. I almost gave up at that point, ringing their doorbell and re-dialing their phone. But Marco showed up only a few minutes later, toting a replacement bulb for his kitchen ceiling. We were back on the road with an SUV full of gear in no time, and in fact we were back in Hoboken before 5:00.

We unloaded quickly, and Dana and Justin headed off to our rehearsal space to grab the rest of our gear while I started assembling the PA. They were back quickly, and the rest of the band showed up, but by then the next problem had presented itself: No electricity. There are outlets in the gazebo, situated WAY high up near the ceiling, but they weren’t “hot.” Frantic calls to city hall turned up a park worker named Louie (thank you Louie!) who was more than happy to turn the lights and juice on for us.

Meanwhile, no one at O’Nieals had any inkling that they were supposed to be hooking us up with gear for a show that night. In fact one staffer said “No, the live music is on Tuesdays.”

At this point I was stunned. The gig had been on the calendar for months, yet no one seemed to have any clue whatsoever that a band was scheduled to perform in the park that night. Looking back, I have a theory. We showed up before 5:00 for a 7:00 show, and I just think no one was prepared. The proper folks were all happy to help us out, but they didn’t start arriving on the scene until after 6:00. Once Jessie and her helpful crew arrived, things just started rolling. She’s the kind of person who says “no problem!” to just about anything you could ask. Tape? Equipment? A basket of fries and chicken fingers? No problem! And of course Dave Entwistle showed up promptly at 5:30 and got right to work, which is always reassuring.

Ok, that’s the end of my rant and the beginning of the happy part. The official Gig Diary — you know, about the gig itself — will be in the next post.

-- Weather When Posted --

• Temperature: 72°F;
• Humidity: 68%;
• Heat Index: 75°F;
• Wind Chill: 72°F;
• Pressure: 30.02 in.;

Sorry to say that this gig was rained out tonight! I met Erin Lee and Marci at the Shipyard at about 5:30 for a quick run-through. By 5:45 is was POURING and we’d retreated into the nearby playroom. By 6:00 it was clear that, even if the rain stopped, the stage and field were going to be utterly soaked.

We’re working with Geri Fallo to reschedule it, maybe for Tuesday Sept. 2. Watch this space for details!

Thanks,
Dave

Six years ago, when I first tumbled into Music Together, Erin Lee Kelly and Marci Applebaum were among my new co-workers. Erin especially took me under her wing and showed me how much fun it could be. (Before then I’d only ever held desk jobs. Ick.) I remember her telling me that one could even teach Music Together hung over, if need be. She’s that kind of cool. (I’ve tried it, and it’s not recommended, but it can be done.)

She and Marci had already been best friends and singing buds for just about ever, and now they’ve got a whole band with CDs and videos and the whole deal.  We’ve kept in touch, and I was able to put in a good word with Geri Fallo at City Hall, and now I am thrilled to announce that Erin Lee and Marci will be bringing their special brand of musical zaniness back to Hoboken on Tuesday at the Shipyard! Even better, they’ve invited li’l ol’ ME to join them on stage for a couple of songs! 

(Erin’s e-mail to me said “we would love to have you, the Bodhisattva of Hoboken, sit in with us on a few tunes.” I googled ‘Bodhisattva’ to make sure it wasn’t an insult of some sort, and according to Wikipedia it either means ‘a person whose aim it is to become fully enlightened,’ or ‘a being that compassionately refrains from entering nirvana in order to save others.’  Cool. Perhaps in a later post I’ll explore my relationship to either/both of those definitions. One thing’s for sure: The Fuzzy Lemons will have to find a way to show our thanks once we hit it big!) 

We’ll see how it goes Tuesday–we’re throwing together a last-minute 5:30 rehearsal for a 7:00 show, and I’m slightly out of my comfort zone playing mandolin and banjo instead of guitar–but it sure is flattering to be invited to share the stage with them. Seriously, they’re creative and funny and I wish I had half of their energy and talent!

Come check out the show, and ask Erin what it’s like to have Hugh Jackman bring his kid to her Music Together class.

See you there,

Dave

After seven months of doing children’s music, it’s always a treat to get together with the Gordys and play some old-fashioned grown-up Rock’n'Roll. The Gordys are a rag-tag collection of local folks like me who love to sing and play when the kids are otherwise occupied. Over the years we’ve managed to accumulate guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, sax players, singers, even an accordionist. And we’ve managed to put together a nice repertoire of tunes that we’ve played up and down the lengths of Hoboken (plus one show in Bayonne).

This was our fourth annual concert at Sinatra Park on the banks of the Hudson River. We went with a “greatest-hits” set, rehashing some of our greatest tunes rather than wasting valuable rehearsal time on new material.  

 

This year we had a one-hour set following local rock star Bill McGarvey. He did two songs that I’d been thinking of bringing to the Gordys—”American Girl” by Tom Petty, and The Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man.” Thank goodness I didn’t push for those tunes—that’s the musical equivalent of wearing the same dress as the hostess at a party.

 

 We did our best Beatles, Springsteen and even the Partridge Family, in front of a huge crowd (I think the entire congregation of the Synagogue comes every year). This year’s band was made up of Howard Olah-Reiken (guitar, vocals); Rob Harari (keyboards, trumpet); Adam Laden (guitars, sax, vocals); Pamela Strell (vocals, percussion); Barbara Arnett (accordion); Christopher Speich (drums); me (guitars, harmonica, vocals); and new member Justin Micheal on bass, replacing the semi-retired Jorge Fernandez.

 

We only had three or four big rehearsals before the set. I think the combination of talented musicians playing the songs they love made for a beautiful, entertaining night. The two big highlights were the ever-popular klezmer set, and a guest appearance by Geri Fallo and her friend Wendy Setzer. We’d been badgering Geri for an entire year (literally, we began about an hour after we finished the 2007 Gordys show) to get up and sing with us, and finally she relented. Not only did she agree to sing with us (provided she could bring a friend for moral support), she surprised the whole band by choosing a They Might Be Giants song, “The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas.”

 

Thus are legends born.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos courtesy of Jeffery Vock

Hoboken’s “Summer Enchanted Evenings” program brings great music to town all summer long. I’m scheduled to perform in a total of five shows for the town this summer!

Tuesday nights are Family Fun Nights at the Shipyard, the big complex of high-rise apartments on the northeast end of town. Shipyard Park is a little grassy quad overlooking the Hudson River, with a nice fountain in the middle and an open-air stage on the western end.  The Family Fun series has featured all kinds of acts, from Rebecca Frezza to Princes Katie & Racer Steve. Now we’re proud to say that the Fuzzy Lemons have joined those illustrious ranks.

This was our first gig with the town since the May Arts & Music Fest. Since then, Geri has hired a new sound guy, Scott Altizio, who also works at Water Music, Hoboken’s big-deal recording studio. He’s another young hipster, a worthy successor to Scott Wiener, who has since gone on to run a pizza-tour company.

There were the usual delays with set-up—it’s a rough job, unpacking and building a sound system, then setting up and sound-checking a six-piece band, all in about 90 minutes. Scott and his crew did a great job, considering that he was still familiarizing himself with the gear.

While the band waited we mingled with or crowd. The Shipyard shows are great because EVERYONE comes out, the whole quad from the fountain to the stage is covered with picnicking families. Kids are running and shrieking everywhere, with parents making half-hearted attempts to chase them between bites of Uptown Pizza. It’s festive.

I think the show itself went great. On stage we wrestled each other for more mix in the monitors, a common struggle, but as a band we’ve rehearsed often enough that we’re comfortable performing our material even when we’re not 100% happy with the gear. I think that’s a real sign of maturity. In fact I’ve never seen any evidence of “Spinal Tap”-style drama relating to equipment or scenery (but that may change this fall, as we’re starting to talk about getting a big backdrop to take around to shows).

People are starting to come up after shows and ask for CDs. Our home-recording project is in full swing but we have a long ways to go. Our goal is to have a CD ready for the big Tenafly gig in September (on the theory that we can ALWAYS sell CDs in Hoboken, but we may only get one shot to do so at the big JCC up the Hudson). Watch this space for details.

Meanwhile, I’ll be back at the Shipyard in 2 weeks with Music Together, see you then!
Dave