Posts Tagged ‘Guitar Bar’

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I Fought The Law the Bobby Fuller Four

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

It’s a day off after four days of eleven hour shifts and it’s a welcome day off. Last night when I came home my legs felt like lead and I wasn’t that communicative walking through the door. Bill was understanding and sympathetic and gave me my space as I wordlessly got out of my suit and tie and into something a little more comfortable like track pants and a sweat shirt.

I sat at the computer much like I am now and added the pics and whatnot to last night’s entry. After a little while Bill went to bed after a generous hug and kiss while I stayed up watching whatever it was that I was watching. I slept really well and once again woke up to Bill kissing me good bye for the day. I am so grateful that Bill is my spouse, forever in my life.

He told me he loved me and how sweet I looked and I mumbled and went back to slumber once he left. I slept a lot later than I expected to and eventually got up and did my morning shuffle. After just one cup of coffee I headed out, walking to the library to return the Ahmet Ertegun biography (spoiler alert: Ahmet died).

It was an enjoyable book, he certainly was a character. And there was one brief mention of Arif Mardin in the book, calling him ‘arranger extraordinaire’. That was it. Tom Dowd was mentioned as was Jerry Wexler. I guess Arif came onto the Atlantic scene later in the story where Jerry Wexler was there almost at the beginning and Tom Dowd shortly thereafter.

I ran into Mike C from up the block at the library where he does some volunteer work. We chatted for a while as I picked up Green Lantern which was really bad. Mike recommended X-Men First Class saying it was much better than Green Lantern. I hope he is right. I also picked up the first season of Community which is really a funny show and now in limbo on broadcast TV.

Tony’s chair was occupied at Mr. L’s so I came home after running to the supermarket and had some breakfast. I went out again, a little while after that and Tony’s chair was now free. I walked in and Tony was happy to see me. Once he again he did a very good job, cutting my hair and trimming my goatee while telling me about how he is going to see a nerve specialist in Paramus to look at his arm which he injured a while ago.

Tony is in his 70’s and not mending as much as he used to. He’s worried that if he gets an operation done on his left arm he won’t be able to use it anymore and then no more haircutting for him. After that I headed back home before taking a stroll around Hoboken, stopping by the Guitar Bar where I saw darling Lily and her father Mr. Wonderful.

I mainly talked to Lily as Jim was conducting business on the phone. She looks great and is enjoying college life. I told her I was enjoying her radio show on the college station and she got a big kick out of that. After that I was going to go to the post office but I neglected to bring my Netflix DVD as well as any holiday cards.

It didn’t matter about the holiday cards since I am still not sure about sending any out this year. I have a feeling some will be sent out, and some will be received late. But they are holiday cards so it really doesn’t matter since they’re not specific as to what holiday I am sending a greeting about.


05 Save It For Later

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I Don’t Need You

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

And today is/was a day off. I woke up at a decent hour and almost immediately set about starting my day. Laundry was in the works as well as the trips to the supermarket and the dry cleaners. It was a good start to the day.

Not much else was going on, a stop at the Guitar Bar to say hello to Mr. Wonderful Jim Mastro. Jim’s former band, The Health & Happiness Show is reuniting for a fundraiser at Maxwells tomorrow night to help a former band mate’s wife who has fallen ill and has enormous medical bills. I can’t go to show my support, but if you’re in the area maybe you can go. It starts at 7:30 and it’s for a good cause.

I saw the Health & Happiness Show a few times, even worked the door for them when they played the Shannon Bar in the 1990’s. They weren’t my cup of tea then but I could appreciate their talent and they had a good amount of fans.

Then I saw them opening up for the Bongos a few years ago. I used to love the Bongos and they had reunited for the Art & Music festival in Hoboken, and they got some kind of proclamation. The funny thing is this time around I loved the Health & Happiness Show and found the Bongos to be quite lackluster.

If they reunited ten years earlier it probably would have been exciting, but they were ten years too late this time Jim (who also played with the Bongos) & the Health & Happiness Show blew them away. It must have been a comedown, shifting gears from hi-octane to merely regular.

The news of the day has been about the death of Khadafy in Libya. It even featured gruesome pictures of what appeared to be Khadafy’s head all shot up. John McCain and Joe Lieberman traveled to Libya a few years ago, promising Khadafy aid and equipment. Lindsay Graham and Susan Collins also made the trip and I could easily picture the four of them sitting in grief and reminiscing.

I finally got the latest Mojo and Uncut Magazines. I could have picked up Uncut by itself since it was available, but I always buy the two together. I started Mojo after I finished last week’s New Yorker and it’s a good issue. Better than the one edited by Noel Gallagher which was a yawn.

I did a lot of walking around and when I got home I was bushed. So I decided to take a nap. I was watching the Harry Belafonte documentary on cable but was too tired to watch the whole thing. I could always watch it on demand later, or as a repeat which this afternoon’s broadcast was.

I certainly slept later than I expected. It felt good though but instead of a body clock reset like it usually happens I woke up a bit discombobulated. Now a few hours later I am back in the swing of things.

And that’s the name of that tune.






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I Could Have Lied

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

A nice day to have off. It’s a Friday which is nice, a holiday weekend too. Bill had to work though which was too bad. He kissed me good bye as I slept in bed. I slept longer than I expected too, but I guess it was warranted. Slept really well so I was in no rush to end that.

I got up, made some coffee and showered before going to the supermarket to get what I needed. Came home and had a nice breakfast and read the paper at a leisurely pace. After a quick cigar I started on the laundry which had piled up considerably after a long week.

Some running around after that, strolling the streets of the Hoboken area I was surprised that no one I knew was around. I swung by the Guitar Bar where Mr. Wonderful was quite busy, selling ukuleles to toddlers. Ukuleles are hot right now. I almost wrote ukuleles were big but that might have confused some readers, specifically the first Noel.

It was good to see Jim, daughter #1 seems to be adjusting to college life splendidly and daughter #2 is truly a comedic genius, which she probably gets from her mother, the funniest girl alive. Good kids both of them, and I am still waiting for the results of the paternity test with regards to daughter #1.

So the summer seems to be winding down, though it is not official. The end of summer is towards the end of September and here we are only on the second day of the month. Still time to get to the beach if I only had the proper transportation available. And the good timing would be nice. After Labor Day weekend all bus and trains schedules fall by the wayside with regards to public transportation.

It was a beautiful day today and much easier to deal with than writing this here blog. So many distractions! I returned a few CD’s to the bibliothèque, a Patti Smith cd, a Patti Smith and Kevin Shields cd as well as The Queen is Dead and the Singles Collection by the Smiths. Is there a theme here? It’s what happens when you fall into a Wiki hole. One thing leads to another and before you know it, the ADD kicks in and you forget what you were looking for in the first place.

A quiet night at home, Bill working in the next room, I sit and type and play DJ. Right now, Do You Really Want to Hurt Me is playing, by Culture Club. I’ve been playing ‘Guess That Band’ with Bill, I play a track and he tries to guess what band it is.

I played Bizarre Love Triangle earlier by New Order and Bill thought it was Joy Division which is oh so close, but no cigar. He also guessed Emotional Rescue by the Rolling Stones earlier. Now I am playing DJ Shadow, Midnight in a Perfect World which for sure Bill will never guess.

Back to work tomorrow. President Obama wished everyone a happy Labor Day weekend, John Boehner and Eric Cantor swore to make sure that doesn’t happen.















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I Love Paris

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

A day off. And it’s been a productive day again. Slept fairly well last night, had dreams that I remember. One dream featured my mother and it was a nice feeling to see her again. That dream either involved or preceded a dream that involved a varsity jacket that had NUTS written on the back.

I’m not sure if that meant a scrotum or in fact something to do with the state of mind. Then at some point after that I had an itchy palm which to superstitious folk (which I am sometimes) means that I will be coming into some money.

I eventually woke up around the usual time to the sound of Barry White singing ‘You’re My First, My Last, My Everything’ which I took to be a good omen since Barry White and I were both born on September 12.

Bill took the day off since he was feeling exhausted and in need of a rest. I puttered about as usual making some coffee, pouring some cereal and showering and shaving. I had time to get myself ready to head out, and Bill eventually got out of bed to offer his support once again.

I got it together and though I couldn’t find the suit that I wanted to wear (superstition again) I did find another suit that did the job just as well. I wore a belt instead of the braces I usually wear. I thought the braces would have been a bit much, a bit overreaching for a job interview, even though it was for an investment institution.

I thought it would be best to dress like I was in an office support position rather than dressing like an investment banker. Braces make people think ‘stock broker’ or ‘investment banker’ so for an administrative position a belt was in order.

There was a slight snow storm outside as I walked to the Path train, heading to the World Trade Center stop. Of course I was crazy early so I decided to stop by Century 21 and looked at some clothes to kill some time. I still was early after that, but only five minutes early.

I made it to the building and checked in with security. A phone call was made to the woman I was supposed to meet, Shirley. Unfortunately Shirley was unavailable and her voice mail was reached. I of course panicked a bit, but thankfully, having had half a tablet of Xanax it wasn’t so bad.

I hung around for a few minutes until the security guard called me back, Shirley contacted him and I was granted access to the 14th floor. On the 14th floor was a security guard who escorted me to the 12th floor, where I was shown to a conference room overlooking the Hudson River.

It was an impressive sight, a snowstorm was going on and I saw various boats and tug boats going up and down the river. I was tempted to take a photograph of the view but decided against it. This was a serious job I was after and no artsy shenanigans were to be had.

Shirley came in and we seemed to hit it off quite nicely. They need to fill this job which is basically a job that I have done for the past 10 years and did an exceptional job I might add. After a few minutes with Shirley, I met Nelson, who if I get the job, I would be working with.

All around it was a 45 minute interview. Thanks to the Xanax I don’t think I had any scent of desperation on me. Shirley and I talked some more, she showed me the offices as she walked me to the door. I think it was a good sign, for why would they show someone the office to someone who had no chance for the position?

It had basically stopped snowing as I headed back to the Path train, and I stopped in Century 21 and picked up some nice cufflinks as a present for Bill. Back in Hoboken, the Path from Hoboken to the World Trade Center is about a 15 minute ride.

I stopped by the Guitar Bar and picked up some cigars that I had shipped last week. Calvin had something in the order which made me think that was why he was being relatively kind for the past few days.

When I give Calvin the cigars tomorrow when I return, I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes back to being a dick again. But that’s then and not now so as far as I’m concerned the cigar shop simply does not exist for me. It would be nice to get a Monday through Friday job again. I liked the people I met today and I hope they liked me.

Also talked with Harpy for a bit as well as a nice talk with my dear friend Billie in DC today. Billie’s still looking for a job, he’s been out of work longer than I have. I wish him the very best in the world, he’s my chocolate sister and I love him very much.

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Hold Me Tight

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

A beautiful day today. A bit blustery though. An ambivalent day for me as well. Just feeling meh. No word from the interview yesterday but I wasn’t expecting that.

In the back of my mind there was the hope of them calling me up and saying, ‘You! John Ozed! It is you that we want! It is you that we need! So much so that we want you to write for us! We’ve seen your blog but we don’t care!’

Of course the phone didn’t ring. It did notify me that I had some texts coming in. I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and head out with the guitar and play by Pier A.

After tying up my newspapers (which broke open of the third floor leaving me to sit on the floor and retie them up) I wandered over to the Guitar Bar where I found that Jim Mastro was en route to England to do a short tour with Ian Hunter.

No matter though when he gets back I would like to ask him to show me how to play a song or two. I just can’t figure some songs out, despite YouTube, despite watching Stine play it. I think having Jim or one of his associates show me how to play would do the trick.

I wandered over to Pier A where there weren’t too many people out. There were some on the grass and of course there were clusters of cigarette smokers outside the Wylie building. I practiced my repertoire, All My Loving, Instant Karma, Don’t Play That Song.

Tariq showed up but didn’t take his guitar out. He was just hanging, encouraging me to keep playing. I tried Visions of Johanna, Panic by the Smiths, Gangsters and Do Nothing by the Specials, and my tour de force, Hercules by Elton John.

Also trying to figure out and commit to memory, (Love is Like a) Heatwave by Martha and the Vandellas.

I’m trying to get 10 to 15 songs that I know inside out that I can perhaps play for tourists in Central Park. That’s for the warmer weather and also depends on whether or not I have a job.

Once the sun went behind the Wylie building it got a lot cooler out so I just packed up and walked to a bench that was a it sunnier and sat there, staring at the Carnival Miracle luxury liner cruising down the Hudson while I smoked a cigar.

Went to the supermarket, bought juice and picked up Bill’s laundry and dry cleaning. So while the day has been mired in the humdrum I’ve been keeping myself busy. Last night I picked up a CD from the bibliothèque, Big Star .#1 Record / Radio City.

I’ve heard it in bits and pieces over the years but never got my own copy. So the bibliothèque came through and toady I returned that and took out the latest Madness release, The Liberty of Norton Folgate. Both are good CD’s.

I also ordered the latest release from MGMT and Hot Chip as well as a boxed collection of Big Star (which was Alex Chilton’s former group). Promises to be another quiet night, not much going on. Comedy on NBC which is something to look forward to.

That’s about it on this end, how are things on your end? I know besides Harpy and Annemarie responding it’s unlikely anyone else will.

Friggin’ lurkers.

ambivalance

ambivalance


a sunny ambivalance

a sunny ambivalance


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Just Like (Starting Over)

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

Well today has been a busy day. After some weeks in planning Bill and I finally had our civil union officiated by then one and only Jim Mastro. The whole thing was under 2 minutes and that was a factor in not really telling anyone about it.

I’m sure there was bewilderment and perhaps even some hurt feelings but we didn’t want to waste anyone’s time and when there is marriage equality in New Jersey, that is when people will be invited. Until then a civil ceremony would have to do.

The whole thing started on March 11 when Bill and I went to the Soviet bloc building to fill out paperwork for a civil union with Stine and Alexander. Stine was our witness while Alexander was fascinated by the Soviet kitsch.

They asked when the ceremony would be done and I said July. They said too late, has to be within 30 days so I quickly rethought and came up with April 1. Seemed like an apt day to get civil unionized in my book.

I asked Jim Mastro if he could say the magic words and he was more than happy to help. As April 1 approached Jim suggested meeting at the Guitar Bar before the store opens at 11:00 in the morning. Fine with me, not so fine for Bill since he’s employed.

We thought after work at around 6:00 but that wasn’t too good for Jim.

So we aimed for today, April 3. It worked out for the best for all concerned. Since I was putting it all together somewhat I thought Bill should see if he could find a witness. He asked his friend Tom from work. I had a feeling that was who he would ask.

Tom’s a really nice guy, former Marine and a guard in Bill’s office tower. Jim asked if we were going to have anything to say vow wise and I figured if we did, I could at least say something off the top of my head.

I asked Bill last night if he had planned on saying anything and he felt the same, off the top of his head. As I lay in bed last night, trying to sleep I kept in mind that whatever I would say I would think of right then and there but I tossed and turned trying to thing of what I would say.

Crazy dreams followed. Jake Gyllenhall and I at the Elysian Cafe joined by my friends Connie, her sister Jennifer and Susan Sher. Then a dream about a Caribbean cruise with my sister. Clear blue water. Both dreams had ominous overtones though.

Bill was up first this morning, I followed groggy from not sleeping that well again. A shower, a shave and a nice breakfast fixed all that. We were on our way to the Guitar Bar, Bill trying to keep track of where Tom was.

Tom was bringing his wife Carmen, their son Sebastian and Carmen’s daughter Ashley and her son, all coming in from Harlem. We got to the Guitar Bar where Jim and Ruby Mastro were waiting. Spoke with Meghan Taylor Mastro on the phone, beating herself up for not being there like she said she would. It was OK, it would have been nice though.

Sorry Harpy.

We were thinking about heading over to the Hudson river to do the civil union thing but Tom and company arrived late and we wouldn’t make it there and back in time for Jim to open the store at 11:00.

Jim suggested the back of City Hall so that’s what we did, on the grass, in the sun, next to a big tree. All very nice. Chris Repella witnessed along with Tom and she also took some pictures. Ruby recorded it on a flip cam.

I set up my camera to record it all. You can see it but you can’t really hear it so I’m depending on Ruby’s video.

After all that Jim and Ruby went back to the Guitar Bar and Bill and I went with Tom and company to the Spa restaurant, a true greasy spoon for breakfast. My second, their first.

Then a walk to Pier A where we ran into Tariq. He went off to get some plectrums and I strummed his guitar a bit which had a calming effect on Tom and Carmen’s kid. The sun was certainly beaming.

We were soon joined by Ruby and her sister Lily and a friend. They were all heading into the city to take part in a pillow fight in Union Square.

Tom and family were headed out to New Jersey in their Zip Car and so Bill and I walked them to the car and thanked them once again. Then Bill and I came home, he was off to rehearsal for yet another play, this time playing a child molester. Eww.

I uploaded my video, tagged the pictures Chris took and an hour or so later was headed to Pier A to play the guitar again. No guitar improv this time, no one there to back me up. I did play for about 45 minutes but it had gotten considerably colder and so I came home.

And that’s where I am now.

We hope to have a party in Hoboken on July 11 for all of this to do, and of course I’ll keep you posted.

You, meaning you.


Jim Mastro, Me & Bill getting Onioned

Jim Mastro, Me & Bill getting Onioned


'I now pronounce you Dude & Dude!!

'I now pronounce you Dude & Dude!!

And of all my entries, this is #1,599.

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