Tag Archives: Hoboken Public Library

This is Pop

Ah, had a good nap after going into the city and meeting Bill. I needed to get some cables for the DJ gig I’m doing at McSwells on Sunday. It’s a benefit for a local musician and a host of bands from the past are all playing.

When I first heard about while riding the bus during the summer I volunteered my services. And now the time has come. It hadn’t exactly been on the front burner until about a month ago when the guy who initially told me about it on the bus contacted me about it, suggesting that I play Grand Funk Railroad, Paul Revere & the Raiders and other groups like that.

Whether he was joking I couldn’t tell. It’s just as well for when this guy contacted me and asked if I was ready to DJ and I said sure. Jokingly I replied that what I was going to play was going to be amusing, entertaining and perhaps infuriating.

Almost instantly a reply was sent, berating me with the worry that it was a benefit I was going to be playing, and infuriating people was NOT the way to inspire people to give to help the ill musician pay her medical bills.

Once again, humor did not translate through email, much like I wasn’t sure if this guy was joking about playing Grand Funk Railroad for the benefit. I did speak with one of the people who is playing and they weren’t so much into doing the gig.

They didn’t know the musician and neither did I, though I probably did see the band the ill musician did play for at one time, but more than likely did not stick around for a full song since it wasn’t my type of music then and thought the band rather lackluster.

But I suppose my heart is in the right place. I won’t be getting fucked up like I used to back in the day when I would DJ at McSwells on a regular basis. I guess while the bands are playing I’ll be going outside having a smoke and listening for each of the bands to end their set.

The sound guy, Carson seemed nice enough when I met him last month so I guess I’ll find out how long each set will be and time my exits and entrances accordingly.

I am doing my best to promote the event, at least once a day I repost it on my Facebook page and Kirk Gardiner of the Hoboken Journal was nice enough to give it a blog on his blog.

I also have planned some things to play and since we’re slipping and sliding towards the holidays, I have a playlist of about 125 Christmas songs that I can draw from and alternate with the standard rock and roll fare that is probably expected.

So today I had to head into the city, braving the 24 degree weather with a most nasty wind chill factor. When I met with sound guy Carson I asked what I needed to use my iPods instead of vinyl or CD’s and he told me which type of cables to get.

After checking with Radio Shack as Carson suggested I decided to try Sam Ash. Bill said he would buy them since he would need them eventually for whatever projects he would have down the road. Bill called up a audio place down the street from where he worked and he said they would probably have what I needed. If not, they could make them for us.

I went a different route and contacted Sam Ash on 48th Street and they said they had them. So a custom made cable wouldn’t be needed and I thought it would be good to save Bill some money on that front. I met Bill on 43rd street and walked up to 48th street.

Times Square filled with tourists despite the shoot out last night outside the Marriott Marquis. We made our way to the DJ area and the salesman was most helpful. I actually hadn’t been to Sam Ash since my late friend Tony Sankitts was running the DJ department.

I bought 2 cables and headed out with Bill, back into the cold midtown air. We walked to Godiva chocolate where Bill is a regular and bought me some chocolates which was nice. I then walked him back to his office and I walked over to JR Cigars on Fifth Avenue and bought a couple of cigars that were incredibly cheap.

Came home exhausted, and took a nap which is where I started this thing tonight. I still have no idea what I will be playing on Sunday night, but then again I never did when I had a regular DJ gig at McSwells.

I was invited to their Christmas party on Monday night by Roda, but having been to one or two of those during the new regime, I probably won’t go. Too weird for and Rand is better with the current McSwells scene than I am anyway which is 180 degrees than how it was 20 years ago.

Galaxy-NJ-Musicians-evert

It’s funny, I can’t help but run into people who thing the guy who runs Hoboken411 is a jerk.

That’ll Be The Day

Well it rained quite a bit overnight. So much rain it woke me up. Why, I was awake before 9:00 it was so loud. Bill was off to deal with the Department of Motor Vehicles in Bayonne so he could have a legitimate New Jersey address.

It could come in handy should we decide to tie the knot. The other night I showed him how to make a square knot, which is something my brother Frank taught me way back when.

Right over left, left over right. Ta da!

Have some good news possibly. Juan might have been misdiagnosed. What they thought was kidney cancer might actually be a tumor. A type of tumor which is sometimes mistaken for cancer. More info next week on that.

You’d think he’d be over the moon but he had just made arrangements with school to suspend his studies, spoke with his landlord who canceled his lease.

It turns out he didn’t have to do all that. I told him he now has an opportunity to restart his life, but oddly enough he’s worried that his friends and school will think he was trying to get over. I wrote oddly since he never cares what other people think.

And in any event, if he has this tumor, an operation will more than likely need to be performed so he will have the scar to show that it wasn’t cosmetic surgery. He’s on his way over right now and I guess things are back to normal since he’s basically furious with certain members of his family.

I expect him to initially be as charming in person as he was on the phone. I’m so HVAC sometimes.

Made fast friends with Kurt who runs The Hoboken Journal blog. He’s anti-Hoboken411 too so it’s good to have an ally in the blogosphere. I did visit that other accursed site, Hoboken411 and saw how good ol’ ‘Libertarian’ Perry so damn excited that a 7/11 is coming to town.

He’s more than likely angling for free Slurpees and burritos. Across the street is Hoboken Daily News which is a nice little store currently run by Andy and his brother, both upstanding gents. I’ve been going there since I moved to Hoboken in 1984.

Andy and his brother are worried since 7/11 is a big impersonal powerhouse and these newcomers to Hoboken probably have no loyalty and will cling to the comforts of the suburbs that apparently have followed them to Hoboken.

Andy is a great guy and will let you slide if you don’t have enough cash, just pay the next day. In this day and age that is a rare thing.

Last week while I was in there getting my smokes, a thug wannabe was hanging out reading the magazines. Apparently he’d been there long enough so Andy told him he couldn’t read the magazines anymore.

The wannabe was indignant despite standing directly in front of a sign that said ‘Please Don’t Read the Magazines’. It’s OK to thumb through but to stand there and read an article is fairly enough, not allowed.

So the wannabe throws the magazine to the floor gets behind me muttering to himself that he’s going to ‘duff’ this guy. For those playing at home, ‘duff’ means to deliver a severe beating. I heard this and said ‘Whoa. Easy with that duff talk’.

The thug wannabe was obviously surprised that a white dude like myself would know what it means and challenged me on what it meant. I told him using the Queen’s English and he asked how I knew. I told him I knew because I knew.

I didn’t say my good buddy, Pedro the corrections officer told me. Anyway the thug wannabe buys himself a cheap ass plastic tipped cigar like the kind Snoop Dogg smokes and tries to walk all hard out of the store. Andy was most appreciative. I kept it gully. It was all on tape.

I picked up the magazine the thug threw down after saying that Andy wasn’t respecting him, and ironically enough, the magazine’s title was Respect.

I know, I thought it would be Cat Fancy or Modern Bride too.

I don’t usually involve myself in situations but I do consider Andy to be a friend.

This afternoon I had a nice little chat with Andy and his wife about blogs, told him about mine and Kurt’s Hoboken Journal. Kurt had posted about Hoboken Daily News and a few people commented how much they liked the store and Andy was very much interested so I gave him both blog addresses, telling him that Kurt’s was more political and social whereas mine was ‘all up here’ and pointed at my head.

I heard crickets in a hollow hall.

Walked around after taking pics of Andy and his wife as well as the exterior of Hoboken Daily News. Ran into Chris Repella on the street. Ran into her yesterday too. She was with her charge, a young autistic boy. She was a bit blue, broke up with her boyfriend and her cat died this week.

I did my best to bolster her spirits and told her that she’ll be OK. I love her and told her so. She’s a sweetie from the McSwells days 20 years ago. She appreciated it and I was glad to say it.

Now Juan is here reading and cutting up magazines and slowly coming in off the ledge. He wasn’t going to jump, just scream at the world about his frustration.

Also spoke this afternoon with that Chasm fella in Vermont. Mr. & Mrs Chasm and the baby are doing OK, Casey is trying to figure out some major life choices. He was surprised with the fact that I’ve been cannabis free for about 3 weeks now. He asked why and I told him financial. He asked if I had a job would I go back to it and I said probably not. I really don’t miss it.

OK that’s a bit of a lie. I miss it when trying to go to sleep at night.

Oh, last night Bill and I watched the Dark Knight on DVD. Bill had never seen it before and it was than Lawn Hors d’œuvre repeats. He loved it, sitting at the edge of the couch throughout the movie. We will probably watch it again before I return it to the Library. That’s where I get my DVD’s now since I suspended my Netflix account.

Flowers while on the phone with Casey Chasm

Flowers while on the phone with Casey Chasm

Hoboken City Hall

Hoboken City Hall

12.9.09 Hoboken Daily News 007

12.9.09 Hoboken Daily News 006

Not the job for me...

Not the job for me...

Andy and the Missus

Andy and the Missus

Hoboken Daily News @ 500 Washington Street

Hoboken Daily News @ 500 Washington Street