I Love NYC

Dear Taxi Driver, I know why you just quickly rolled your window down and then back up. Love, Audra(holding her nose in the backseat)
— Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) June 18, 2013

I Love NYC

Reflections on New York City - Part 2

Had a nice, though brief, recharging at home and now I'm at the midway point to my final destination of Des Moines, IA.  The nice lady at George Bush International has ever-so-thoughtfully picked up my lunch trash, so here I sit and ponder until flight #2.
Had some time nice family time as well as some writing time this past week.  Even started a new song.  In addition, added 61 keys (ie "keyboard") to my modest studio arsenal.
(Ed. Note: This post was eventually completed en route to Amarillo, TX after a successful engagement in Riverside IA)

And now for "Reflections....blah, blah, blah..." ;)

"Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh

It's slightly riveting seeing these works of art all your life and then actually seeing them in person.  Expect a crowd of people waiting, as I, for the chance to get up close.

I spent as much time looking out the windows of the Museum of Modern Art as much as looking at what was inside! (Okay, an exaggeration, but I did love gazing out the window from many a perch above the city streets.).  Snapped a photo of this apartment just after I saw someone come out onto the balcony to water plants or something.  Wondered what it's like living in the heart of Manahattan.

Photo on left:  Without actually seeing Marcel's creation, I was intrigued just by the medium description alone.  Guess eggshells are less costly than say, matching shoes and purse?  And did Maria have these?  To see the actual work CLICK HERE

Yes, it's "Kichka's Breakfast I" by Daniel Spoerri.

Just to be absolutely clear, the woman taking the picture is on the floor - the "wood chair hung on wall with board across seat, coffeepot, tumbler, china, eggcups, eggshells, cigarette butts, spoons, tins cans, and other materials"  are on the wall. ;)

I wonder how far "out of the box" in songwriting I will go after experiencing the MoMA in NYC?

UP NEXT TIME: In part 3, we finally leave the Museum!

Reflections on New York City - Part 2

What A Night For "Promises, Promises"!

On a whim, I "splurged" and procured for myself a seat to see, well mainly, Krisitin Chenoweth in "Promise, Promises" at the Broadway Theatre this past week.

I am both a fan of Kristin's (since discovering her from "Wicked") and the tunes of Burt Bacharach/Hal David.  To hear them both at the same time was indeed a treat for me!

Of course, a trip to the stage door after the show was in order!  Something that is so easy to do on Broadway since the venues' stage doors spill right out onto the street.  Now, here's a tip (and reminder for me next time) if you want to do the same for an autograph:

Get by the back-stage door earlier right after the show and get right up against the barricade.  I was approximately 2 & 1/2 people behind (not far at all actually).  I was close enough to see Kristin's gracious, smiling face and her perfectly crafted eyebrows, but not close enough for her to reach my Playbill for a quick black-sharpie squiggle of acknowledgement and thanks.

Now I could have been rude and lowered it into the faces of fans in front of me, but that didn't seem right.  And Kristin is quite tiny and I supposed reaching up would have been a little difficult and, quite possibly, a little unsafe for her.  So a gaze upon her presence amidst the hoopla that goes with it will have to suffice.

She signed just enough momentos before being whisked away in a black Audi sedan which sequence of events went like this:

1. All the actors, ensemble, main characters (Sean Hayes being one of them - but hey, I'm a guy, and Kristien's better lookin') exit the theatre.

SIDE NOTE: It's interesting, maybe a little sad, that the amazingly talented ensemble players just kind of saunter out one-by-one in their sweats or whatever street clothes and everyone pretty much just watches them walk out into the late-night NYC city streets.

2. Tall serious-looking guy enters black Audi parked in front of the stage door and starts car, lights on, and goes back into the theatre back-stage door.

3. Out comes KC to fan cheers, with said body guard and another guy carrying her small dog who stands by the car in waiting while she proceeds to sign various sized paper and cardstock items.

There she is next to bodyguard with assistant in background holding her Maltese, "Maddie"

4. Then off she goes "whisked away in a black Audi sedan."


So there you have it.  An inspiring night at the theatre for me!  On broadway, no less!

Next thing on my list,  buy the soundtrack.

What A Night For "Promises, Promises"!

On being inches away from Picasso and others

A quick photo before melting in the 102 degree NYC heat

Reflecting on my recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, it reminded me of a game I used to play with the kids that used as playing pieces little cardboard squares with tiny prints of world famous paintings.  They were merely just that - nice, little cardboard replicas.

Well, it was a different story being just inches away from such works of art. Suddenly, this was the real thing, close enough to touch (though I dare not!!) .  It gave me the chills.   I Never thought I would enjoy it so much!

"Good artists borrow, great artists steal" ~ Picasso

The majority of the time I spent in the special Picasso exhibit and paid for the audio headphone tour (which I highly recommend-I got tired of reading, especially because it was really crowded and hence distracting) (Did you just see that?  The beginnings of art-snobbish-ness).  When it came closing time, there was sooo much I DIDN'T see!

I'm definitely going back and when I get home I'm going to have to pay a visit to some of those museums in LA.

Do you enjoy art musems?  Can't stand'em?  Share your thoughts below.

On being inches away from Picasso and others

Colossal "Tourist Moment" Meeting A Wall Street Celeb

Finally got the time to edit & post this story from 2009 below:

Talk about timing! We had a show scheduled in Hackensack, NJ on a Tuesday in July 2009, but the weather decided not to cooperate whatsoever. So, being that the New Jersey-ites are the great forecasters of impending outdoor event-failure-due-to-rain, the concert was postponed until the following month. This was some-what great news in disguise for some of us boys in the band (Hotel California-A Salute To The Eagles), being that our base of operations for the week was in the Meadowlands, NJ area, and only a short New Jersey Transit/under-the-Lincoln-Tunnel ride away from the Big Apple. A day off so close to NYC? Are you kidding? So what if It's raining! Forgettabouddit! So, off three of us went into Town. That's, "town" with a capital "T".

After a full afternoon of exploring, my walking compadre, Scotty "V" (see photo), and I had a little time to kill before we caught a cab from the Broadway district of New York City to meet up with our cohorts for dinner down in Little Italy. We decided to find a place to plant it for a beer, and since we were by the Gershwin Theatre, home of the Broadway favorite "Wicked" (which I love and did end up seeing a number of weeks later - but that's another blog), I made the call of portage and we temporarily anchored ourselves just east of there on 50th Ave. at Emmet O'Lunney's (yes, an Irish bar/grill), and got off of our tired feet for a few (that's minute's, not beers!) and a brew.
 

Very shortly after, a guy in a plaid shirt and baseball cap carrying a box of books proceeds to walk in with his devoted woman by his side. He sits next to us at the bar, and starts enthusiastically talking to the barmaid (whom actually DOES have an Irish accent, by the way-gotta love this town!) and hands her a book from his cardboard "carrying case". This was obviously a place he'd been before and at this moment he was obviously very proud. "Wow, we were sitting next to a famous author in the heart of New York City!" thought us "wayward traveling musician/tourists only in need of a place to get off our feet."

Striking up a real, neighborly NYC conversation in a real NYC kinda good-natured way, we learned that a very good friend of his, Lawrence McDonald was actually the author of the book and, smiling, he removes one of is treasures from his box of A Colossal Failure Of Common Sense - The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers, opens to a page, and has us read one of his adventures in the book with one sentence catching my attention which read, "...later in fall 2005 we decided to go up to the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut for a couple of days." (You'll have to get the book and read the rest for yourself. This is a long blog already)

Okay, so we learn we are sitting next to and conversing with a major player in the book, Larry McCarthy, which we later ascertained after taking in the story in full, that we were actually in the presence of a Wall Street celebrity! But wait, need I say...."there's more!" ?

What immediately caught my attention right at the start (and I told Larry so) was the particular location of the narrative he was now having us read. My eyes flew open (cliche', but true), because coincidentally we had just performed at that same Mohegan Sun Casino of Larry's described adventures only 2 DAYS BEFORE! Holy Serendipity, Batman!

After further conversation, and one including talk of a possible performance opportunity in the future for Hotel California at one of the parties he hosts, he signs a copy for us, and give's it to us along with his card.

His brief visit coincided with our need to hit the streets once again and wave ourselves down a cab for our rendevous with all good and tasty things Italian-NYC style, so we all sauntered out together on that late Tuesday afternoon, eastward along the sidewalk of 50th Ave., with Larry eventually pointing out what once use to be the actual Lehman Bros. Building where he worked. (Making millions at a time makes "worked" seem like an understatement!) I took this photo on a street corner and we parted ways.

Scott and I talked about this chance encounter for weeks (and still do), reading the book and making comments about it as we went on down the road to wonderous adventures. What will top this?

Just a highlight of that trip for me, and I'm sure for Scott as well. Yes, we met a financial celebrity indeed, but more notable than that, is the priviledge, Lord willing, of just living life in all it's unexpectedness and to experience some warm generousity from a local (well, sort of - he told us he commutes from Florida) boy who didn't know us from Adam! That's the stuff that life is made of. I love New York!

Mini-book review: I find I'm fascinated with the world of finance. Maybe it's because I try to stay so in-step with my right-brain awareness of the world, always on the hunt, my "songwriter radar" being tuned into sights, sounds, words, conversations, emotions, etc. It was a fun, imaginative escape to envision myself a part of the fast-paced, high-pressure atmosphere of Wall Street. And this book really gives you an excellent feel for that (not to mention the incredible inside-story of the Lehman Brothers debacle).

And by the way, you can find the Lawrence McDonald, the author, on Twitter at: @Convertbond.

Colossal "Tourist Moment" Meeting A Wall Street Celeb