 |
| Photo by Andy Schwartz |
Showing posts with label 10036. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10036. Show all posts
Jun 30, 2014
Nov 15, 2012
Daily Travels: Mother New York
 |
| Dougherty, Letts, Gruen at a Mother NYC event for Don Letts' Fred Perry subculture films |
Oct 18, 2010
New years eve with Sharon Jones
The undisputed heavyweight champs of funk & soul, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, will be doing the holiday season in style this December with two sure-to-sell-out nights at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square on Dec. 30 and 31st.
Pre-sale tickets will be available to fans starting 10:00AM on Wednesday morning, Oct. 20. For Dec. 30 click here and for new years eve, Dec. 31, click here. The password for both is SJDK.
Tickets for the general public go on sale at 12 noon on Friday, Oct. 22.
Also, tomorrow night, IFC will be premiering The Game Gets Old: The Trilogy featuring videos for "I Learned the Hard Way", "If You Call" and the exclusive, "The Game Gets Old" directed by Philip Di Fiore.
Check out a behind-the-scenes look of The Game Gets Old: The Trilogy right here.
Aug 6, 2010
Tales of Times Square
UPDATE: Since posting this, I've found out that unfortunately the film ran out of funding, and it looks like it will not be finished.
Originally published in 1986, Josh Alan Friedman's "Tales of Times Square
" memorialized the "old" Forty Deuce before it had even disappeared. Friedman presented a history of the area which combined contemporary stories (circa late 70's into the 80's) and old timer's stories of an even older time. If stories of a pre-gentrified 42nd Street interest you, I heartily recommend this book. The reason I'm mentioning this is that friend-in-blog, NYCD, spotted a gem of a movie trailer over on Vimeo. It's apparently an in-production version of the book. Unfortunately the film makers have the sharing option turned off so you'll have to go to Vimeo to view it. Check it out here. I hope it's not too long before we get to see the results.
"WINNER BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY - LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL - TAMPA FILM FESTIVAL - MOONDANCE FILM FESTIVAL - NYC EAST VILLAGE FILM FESTIVAL.
Sex. Drugs. Crime. Corruption. Just another day in Times Square.
Tales of Times Square combines 16 mm footage and grainy Super 8, as well as original 35mm photography by Paul Stone and Porn Star Annie Sprinkle, to paint a vivid picture of Times Square’s seedy past, the sex industries that thrived there, and those threatened with extinction by a movement to ‘sanitize the square.’ The film investigates the past, present and future of the infamous neighborhood, at the height of its raunchy reputation.
The film is a complete recreation of 1980's Times Square, mostly from Paul Stone's own memories. The film features actual people from the book and real people cast as actors. Not one frame of the film is stock footage. Quite a feat given the massive gentrification transformation that has taken place in the last decade."
Visit the film website here.
May 11, 2010
Danceteria reunion 2010
For those who might be interested, there was a reunion of the denizens of Danceteria this past Sunday at the Aspen Social Club on West 47th Street. Steve Lewis dutifully reports on it over at Black Book. Far as I can remember, this was the first reunion since 2004, and marked a 30th anniversary of the club's initial opening.
Jan 21, 2010
Fela! Go see it!
I got to see Fela! last night at the Eugene O'Neill Theater on 49th Street, and all I can say is go see it! It's miraculous that a show like this has even made it to this level, and thank god for it. The politics alone would make it a tough sell, not to mention the polygamy, weed smoking, and the fact that this is no fairy tale. Yes, the music & the performances are that good. I suppose it also helps that Jay Z and Will Smith are the top billed producers. Hats off to both Antibalas for the musical consultation, and Sahr Ngaujah who plays Fela, sings & dances, and also plays sax and trumpet. If he doesn't win a Tony there's a problem.
Here's a clip from the show:
Here's the real deal:
Sony Pictures is also listed in the production credits, so I'd expect to see a movie version of this before too long.
Jun 1, 2009
Goodbye Manny's, hello internet
Manny's Music is gone, but the famous wall of photos lives on in cyberspace - visit the Virtual Wall of Fame and view the images contained in this post, plus many more. I need one of those schlepper t-shirts!
May 15, 2009
The Wall
Thanks to Andy Schwartz for pointing out this story by John Seabrook from the New Yorker. Its the incredible tale of the fate of the famous collection of autographed musician photos that cover the walls of Manny's Music here in New York City. It also, perhaps unwittingly, describes what can make the face-to-face retail experience in New York so much fun.
Manny’s Music, one of the largest of the West Forty-eighth Street musical-instrument stores, is closing soon, and among the matters yet to be resolved between Manny’s owner, Sam Ash Music, and Manny’s founding family, the descendants of Manny Goldrich, is the fate of the hundreds of publicity photographs of musicians that line the store’s walls. Many of them are inscribed with personal notes to Manny, who died in 1968, and to his son Henry, who is seventy-six and retired.
It was Holly Goldrich, Henry’s daughter, who, together with a filmmaker named Sandi Bachom, had the idea for Manny’s Virtual Wall, a social-networking site. Holly and Sandi are working with Kodak to scan the photos and to get camcorders into the hands of longtime Manny’s customers, who include many of the world’s best-known rock musicians. Their idea was that those musicians who couldn’t make it into the store for interviews could film themselves talking about their memories. The images and the interviews will be posted on Manny’s Virtual Wall.
One afternoon last week, three musicians gathered in the electric-guitar showroom at the back of the store to help build the Virtual Wall. John Sebastian, a founder of the Lovin’ Spoonful, arrived first, and was soon joined by Tom Chapin and Leslie West, the guitar player from the Vagrants and, later, Mountain. Sebastian, who was wearing a fedora, and Chapin, who had on a blue work shirt, played some country blues, while West, in a black shirt with a samurai sword embroidered on the back, tried out guitar effects. All three have been coming to Manny’s since they were teen-agers, fifty years ago.
Bachom asked Sebastian, who wrote “Do You Believe in Magic” on a Gibson J-45 that he bought from Henry, what made Manny’s special. “Other stores, they wouldn’t be as rude. It was more fun to call up Henry and then insult him, and then he’d insult you, than ‘Hello, Guitar Center,’ ” Sebastian said, in a simpering voice.
Soon Henry turned up, and he sat at the center of the group. West moved in closer to him.
“Get out of my face,” Goldrich said. “Seriously. You’re bothering me.” West retreated.
Manny’s is a vestige of a vital cultural industry that once flourished just north of Times Square—session musicians and band members used instruments purchased at Manny’s to perform songs written in the Brill Building, on Forty-ninth Street, and in the recording studios and ballrooms around Fifty-second Street. Manny’s, founded in 1935, provided not just the instruments but a place for players to hang out between gigs. Under Henry’s management, with the rise of the electric guitar, the store grew larger. Jimi Hendrix bought many of his guitars there. Ringo Starr got the Ludwig drum set used in the Beatles’ “Ed Sullivan Show” performances from Manny’s. Generations of guitar-besotted teen-agers followed their heroes through the doors, where they were greeted with thinly veiled hostility by the sales staff. The store didn’t encourage you to play the instruments unless you were famous, and you didn’t get to keep the pick when you were finished. “You gonna buy it today?” the head salesman, Carl, would ask menacingly. But there was a bracing in-your-faceness about the experience which felt like real New York.
“Henry would never let you turn the knobs up above two,” West complained.
“That was just you,” Goldrich said. “I let these guys.”
“These guys played acoustic!” West said. “Did you ever play an instrument?”
“I played cash register,” Goldrich replied.
After busting each other’s chops for an hour or so, the group walked to the front of the store to look at the pictures. Sebastian found himself in an eight-by-ten glossy of the Lovin’ Spoonful. West examined a shot of Keith Moon thrusting his tongue into West’s mouth. “Do I look fat?” he asked.
Goldrich was content to settle into his old spot, on a stool near the counter. “Every piece of popular music ever recorded was by people on these walls,” he said. “Only one who never came in was Elvis. He wanted the stuff delivered to the hotel—he stayed at the Warwick, I think. The Beatles—the Beatles were always very courteous. Almost all the rock stars were. Don McLean, Tim Hardin, Soupy Sales. The Who. John Entwistle—now there was a gentleman. He invited my wife and me to his house—his castle, I should say—in England. It took us forty-five minutes to go through it!” On and on, until it was hard to tell where the Wall ended and Goldrich’s memories began.
Manny’s Music, one of the largest of the West Forty-eighth Street musical-instrument stores, is closing soon, and among the matters yet to be resolved between Manny’s owner, Sam Ash Music, and Manny’s founding family, the descendants of Manny Goldrich, is the fate of the hundreds of publicity photographs of musicians that line the store’s walls. Many of them are inscribed with personal notes to Manny, who died in 1968, and to his son Henry, who is seventy-six and retired.
It was Holly Goldrich, Henry’s daughter, who, together with a filmmaker named Sandi Bachom, had the idea for Manny’s Virtual Wall, a social-networking site. Holly and Sandi are working with Kodak to scan the photos and to get camcorders into the hands of longtime Manny’s customers, who include many of the world’s best-known rock musicians. Their idea was that those musicians who couldn’t make it into the store for interviews could film themselves talking about their memories. The images and the interviews will be posted on Manny’s Virtual Wall.
One afternoon last week, three musicians gathered in the electric-guitar showroom at the back of the store to help build the Virtual Wall. John Sebastian, a founder of the Lovin’ Spoonful, arrived first, and was soon joined by Tom Chapin and Leslie West, the guitar player from the Vagrants and, later, Mountain. Sebastian, who was wearing a fedora, and Chapin, who had on a blue work shirt, played some country blues, while West, in a black shirt with a samurai sword embroidered on the back, tried out guitar effects. All three have been coming to Manny’s since they were teen-agers, fifty years ago.
Bachom asked Sebastian, who wrote “Do You Believe in Magic” on a Gibson J-45 that he bought from Henry, what made Manny’s special. “Other stores, they wouldn’t be as rude. It was more fun to call up Henry and then insult him, and then he’d insult you, than ‘Hello, Guitar Center,’ ” Sebastian said, in a simpering voice.
Soon Henry turned up, and he sat at the center of the group. West moved in closer to him.
“Get out of my face,” Goldrich said. “Seriously. You’re bothering me.” West retreated.
Manny’s is a vestige of a vital cultural industry that once flourished just north of Times Square—session musicians and band members used instruments purchased at Manny’s to perform songs written in the Brill Building, on Forty-ninth Street, and in the recording studios and ballrooms around Fifty-second Street. Manny’s, founded in 1935, provided not just the instruments but a place for players to hang out between gigs. Under Henry’s management, with the rise of the electric guitar, the store grew larger. Jimi Hendrix bought many of his guitars there. Ringo Starr got the Ludwig drum set used in the Beatles’ “Ed Sullivan Show” performances from Manny’s. Generations of guitar-besotted teen-agers followed their heroes through the doors, where they were greeted with thinly veiled hostility by the sales staff. The store didn’t encourage you to play the instruments unless you were famous, and you didn’t get to keep the pick when you were finished. “You gonna buy it today?” the head salesman, Carl, would ask menacingly. But there was a bracing in-your-faceness about the experience which felt like real New York.
“Henry would never let you turn the knobs up above two,” West complained.
“That was just you,” Goldrich said. “I let these guys.”
“These guys played acoustic!” West said. “Did you ever play an instrument?”
“I played cash register,” Goldrich replied.
After busting each other’s chops for an hour or so, the group walked to the front of the store to look at the pictures. Sebastian found himself in an eight-by-ten glossy of the Lovin’ Spoonful. West examined a shot of Keith Moon thrusting his tongue into West’s mouth. “Do I look fat?” he asked.
Goldrich was content to settle into his old spot, on a stool near the counter. “Every piece of popular music ever recorded was by people on these walls,” he said. “Only one who never came in was Elvis. He wanted the stuff delivered to the hotel—he stayed at the Warwick, I think. The Beatles—the Beatles were always very courteous. Almost all the rock stars were. Don McLean, Tim Hardin, Soupy Sales. The Who. John Entwistle—now there was a gentleman. He invited my wife and me to his house—his castle, I should say—in England. It took us forty-five minutes to go through it!” On and on, until it was hard to tell where the Wall ended and Goldrich’s memories began.
Feb 20, 2009
Manny's to close, rest of music row next?
Lost City has the scoop and is reporting a May closure for legendary West 48th Street music store Mannys.
"Manny's Musical Instruments, a Midtown landmark since 1935, will close its doors forever at the end of May, and the remainder of the Music Row—as the block of W. 48th Street between Seventh and Sixth Avenues is affectionately known—may soon fall like a row of dominoes." Continued here.
Feb 14, 2009
The Hotel Diplomat
Read an epic & fascinating history on New York's Hotel Diplomat over at This Ain't the Summer of Love. For a time, back in the late 60's through the early 80's or so, the Hotel Diplomat played host to some very cool music history at 108-116 West 43rd Street. It's no longer there.
Nov 25, 2008
Nov 21, 2008
Oct 3, 2008
An Echo From Another Era, Full of Romantic Nostalgia
In case any Bunnymen fans missed it, here's a good (if slightly patronising & factually incorrect) review of the Radio City Hall show from the New York Times.
"In the early ’80s Ian McCullough and Bono were both working on a new kind of strident romanticism in pop, a confident version of the moody-poet archetype. But Mr. McCullough’s group, Echo & the Bunnymen, from Liverpool, England, didn’t make it to the end of the decade, and U2 became the eighth continent.
Claiming its achievements, Echo & the Bunnymen has returned this year to playing its 1984 album “Ocean Rain” in full, with an orchestra and in style: the Royal Albert Hall in London last month, Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday, a homecoming in Liverpool next month. (Like most reunited bands, this one is only partly so: it consists of Mr. McCullough; the band’s original lead guitarist, Will Sergeant; and four newer recruits.)" Continued here.
"In the early ’80s Ian McCullough and Bono were both working on a new kind of strident romanticism in pop, a confident version of the moody-poet archetype. But Mr. McCullough’s group, Echo & the Bunnymen, from Liverpool, England, didn’t make it to the end of the decade, and U2 became the eighth continent.
Claiming its achievements, Echo & the Bunnymen has returned this year to playing its 1984 album “Ocean Rain” in full, with an orchestra and in style: the Royal Albert Hall in London last month, Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday, a homecoming in Liverpool next month. (Like most reunited bands, this one is only partly so: it consists of Mr. McCullough; the band’s original lead guitarist, Will Sergeant; and four newer recruits.)" Continued here.
Oct 2, 2008
Daily travels - Echo & the Bunnymen at Radio City Hall edition
I caught the Bunnymen at Radio City last night...Buying my tickets last April(!) I was very skeptical about their prospects for ticket sales. After all, they probably haven't played a place this size in New York for 20 years. Anyway, I'm happy to say I was proved wrong. I don't think the show sold out, but it was close. The place was packed.
The show was two sets long - the first set was comprised of various hits & album cuts with some surprising choices. Here's the set list that I can remember - I may have missed one or two:
Lips Like Sugar
Rescue
Bring on the Dancing Horses
New Song off forthcoming LP The Fountain
The Disease
All That Jazz
The Back Of Love
All My Colours/Zimbo
People Are Strange (The Doors)
Nothing Lasts Forever/Walk On The Wild Side (Lou Reed)/Wait Till The Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett)
The Cutter
The second set was the full performance of Ocean Rain from beginning to end with a 10 piece orchestra. It sounded brilliant. Ending on the title cut from the album, I had forgotten what a gorgeous song it is.
Ocean Rain (MP3):
Read a review of the show here.
Below are a few pix I snapped. As much as I love photography, I never take my camera out so I only have my crappy iPhone camera to work with. I ended up taking some shots of the beautiful ceiling at Radio City.
The room prior to the Bunnymen taking the stage:
More ceiling shots before & during the show:
Sep 29, 2008
Bob Gruen - New York Dolls book signing
Bob Gruen will be signing copies of his new book New York Dolls: Photographs by Bob Gruen
at the International Center of Photography on Friday, October 3rd, at 6-8 pm. The ICP is located at 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street.
Sep 24, 2008
The Clash - Complete Control
Complete Control (MP3) - self-titled album (US) version:
Complete Control (MP3) - live at Bonds, Times Square, NYC, 1981:
Click thru to the blog if using a blog reader or seeing this in your email.
Aug 21, 2008
Clash at Bonds - June 4, 1981
Not paticularly difficult to find if you're into these types of recordings, but here's an excellent (soundboard, broadcast quality) one of the Clash during their legendary run at Bonds here in NYC in Times Square.
Sample "Bankrobber" here:
Get the whole show here:
Part One
Part Two
If using a blog reader, you may need to clik thru to my blog to access all the links.
Jun 9, 2008
No More Virgins in New York
From Roger Friedman at FoxNews.com (don't ask):
"Soon there will be one less virgin in New York City. And it could be worse than that.
Next February, the Virgin Megastore in Times Square will definitely be shutting its doors. This means no more record store in a neighborhood that used to boast at least two Sam Goody stores, Colony (when it featured its beloved, now lamented back wall of 45 rpm singles) and numerous other chains.
But this isn’t all: the Virgin Megastore in Union Square, which was considered the anchor attraction when it opened more than decade ago, is being marketed by real estate agents. That means it will likely hit the chopping block as soon as enough shoes and ice cream can be found to fill it up. (What we really need is another bank or drugstore — not!) No decision has been made about the remaining stores, but the writing is on the wall.
This is all a result of Virgin’s billionaire balloon traveler Richard Branson quietly leasing the existing 12 megastores to Vornado Realty and Related Properties last year. Branson, who made his billions in the music business, obviously wanted someone else to do his dirty work as the business died. Now the two real estate concerns control the fate of what’s left of the "record" biz.
In Manhattan, the end of the Virgin stores is particularly bitter. Tower Records is gone, so is Sam Goody, Coconuts, FYE and HMV. There are few record stores left and they are specialty-driven: Bleecker Bob’s, House of Oldies, the Golden Disc, Disco Rama, etc. Only J&R Music World down on Park Row still sells CDs and even vinyl, but who knows how long that will last.
According to the New York Times, 80 record stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn have closed since 2003. Soho’s beloved Rocks in Your Head closed in 2006, two years shy of its 30th birthday.
Of course, I sound like an old curmudgeon when I lament the passing of the record store. Idling away hours at such a place must seem like a big waste of time to today’s 20-year-olds. But it was one of the most pleasurable experiences I knew as a youth — a community experience of discovery. And there was nothing like being there to get a new recording as it was released. You’d rush home to play it, and nothing else mattered.
How life has become so much less rich in a short time! Waiting in front of a computer screen for a download is not quite the same thing. It’s just another soulless experience. And maybe that’s why "kids today" don’t care much about music, the artists or paying them for their work. The passion is gone. So are valued New York haunts like CBGB’s, the Lion’s Head, the Cedar Tavern, Chumley’s and so on. At least we still have Starbucks!
On a more serious note: the remaining record labels should be concerned about this occurrence. So should the big-name recording acts. Frank DiLeo, Michael Jackson’s former manager, recently suggested that the labels get together and open a "state" store, one in each big city, to carry their catalogs and new releases. It’s not a bad idea. Otherwise, the record industry will soon have no public face at all."
The major's should have gotten together a long time ago & started supporting retail. Also in the news today are stories about new releases from AC/DC (a new album) and Journey (a boxset) being Wal-Mart only! Very disheartening stuff for folks who enjoy the record store experience.
"Soon there will be one less virgin in New York City. And it could be worse than that.
Next February, the Virgin Megastore in Times Square will definitely be shutting its doors. This means no more record store in a neighborhood that used to boast at least two Sam Goody stores, Colony (when it featured its beloved, now lamented back wall of 45 rpm singles) and numerous other chains.
But this isn’t all: the Virgin Megastore in Union Square, which was considered the anchor attraction when it opened more than decade ago, is being marketed by real estate agents. That means it will likely hit the chopping block as soon as enough shoes and ice cream can be found to fill it up. (What we really need is another bank or drugstore — not!) No decision has been made about the remaining stores, but the writing is on the wall.
This is all a result of Virgin’s billionaire balloon traveler Richard Branson quietly leasing the existing 12 megastores to Vornado Realty and Related Properties last year. Branson, who made his billions in the music business, obviously wanted someone else to do his dirty work as the business died. Now the two real estate concerns control the fate of what’s left of the "record" biz.
In Manhattan, the end of the Virgin stores is particularly bitter. Tower Records is gone, so is Sam Goody, Coconuts, FYE and HMV. There are few record stores left and they are specialty-driven: Bleecker Bob’s, House of Oldies, the Golden Disc, Disco Rama, etc. Only J&R Music World down on Park Row still sells CDs and even vinyl, but who knows how long that will last.
According to the New York Times, 80 record stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn have closed since 2003. Soho’s beloved Rocks in Your Head closed in 2006, two years shy of its 30th birthday.
Of course, I sound like an old curmudgeon when I lament the passing of the record store. Idling away hours at such a place must seem like a big waste of time to today’s 20-year-olds. But it was one of the most pleasurable experiences I knew as a youth — a community experience of discovery. And there was nothing like being there to get a new recording as it was released. You’d rush home to play it, and nothing else mattered.
How life has become so much less rich in a short time! Waiting in front of a computer screen for a download is not quite the same thing. It’s just another soulless experience. And maybe that’s why "kids today" don’t care much about music, the artists or paying them for their work. The passion is gone. So are valued New York haunts like CBGB’s, the Lion’s Head, the Cedar Tavern, Chumley’s and so on. At least we still have Starbucks!
On a more serious note: the remaining record labels should be concerned about this occurrence. So should the big-name recording acts. Frank DiLeo, Michael Jackson’s former manager, recently suggested that the labels get together and open a "state" store, one in each big city, to carry their catalogs and new releases. It’s not a bad idea. Otherwise, the record industry will soon have no public face at all."
The major's should have gotten together a long time ago & started supporting retail. Also in the news today are stories about new releases from AC/DC (a new album) and Journey (a boxset) being Wal-Mart only! Very disheartening stuff for folks who enjoy the record store experience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
