Posts Tagged ‘Steve Fallon’

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I Just Can’t Help Believing

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

Ah, I just had a nap. Nothing spectacular, just a nap for about an hour. A few miles away from here, the meadowlands are on fire. There hasn’t been much rain in this region lately so brush fires have been happening for the past week or so. Hoboken doesn’t seem to be in any danger.

Yesterday was a work day, after a day off on Monday. It was full staff which made for some difficulty sales wise. I came in second behind Jerry Vale so that wasn’t so bad. It was a long day, made longer by a staff meeting which promised to be short, but really wasn’t.

Many things were covered in the staff meeting led by Zack and Bradley. And also performance reviews were handed out. I can’t speak for anyone else but of course it was mentioned there was room for improvement. My emotions do get in the way and affect the atmosphere of the store which is true. I have to do better at concealing how I feel. I suppose that is where Xanax would come in. But since I don’t use that too often I generally wing it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

I was a bit anxious anyhow since the great and wonderful Steve Fallon was in town and I did not want to miss him. A whole slew of old faces promised to make an appearance to wish Steve a happy birthday and good old Rand kept me abreast of what’s what and who was there.

After the meeting I hot footed it to the subway and caught a train to the bus terminal. And since it was after 10:00, I had to catch a bus on the third floor. It wasn’t so bad, only a short wait of about 10 minutes.

The bus ride was fast enough and I got off at 12th Street after listening to See No Evil by Television. I walked into Maxwells where See No Evil was playing on the jukebox. I saw Rand and Lisa, Mike Cecchini and Sarah Baker (so that’s her last name!). I was offered a drink but wanted to eat something since I hadn’t eaten since 3:00 in the afternoon and now it was past 11:00.

I nabbed a seat by the jukebox where Rand was entertaining with his gimlets. I ordered a bar pie and had a pint of Stella. I ran into Christine and Alirio who were quite happy. Alirio is a sweetheart and also went to Maxwells a lot in the past, but never really spoke to anyone. Now thanks to Facebook he is known to everyone and quite chatty.

Also in attendance was Chaz who had his birthday last week, as well as Butch who I totally forgot about from back in the day. Sure enough up walked Steve Fallon, a bit grayer than he used to be with some longer hair than he used to have. He was great as usual and we had a nice hug and kiss. All these years later he still looks out for me somewhat and will always have my eternal gratitude and friendship. Steve’s partner Arnold was also there and I hadn’t seen him since the 1990’s. Great to see him as well.

It was one of those nights where every time you turned around you saw someone you hadn’t seen in years.

Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, Emily Hubley, Glenn Morrow, Michael Hill , Christine Repella, the lovely Suzanne, Julie Panebianco, were all spotted and kissed and hugged. I found myself talking to someone then excusing myself for a moment to say hello to yet another friend passing by. Quick catching up, and then it was back to whomever it was I was talking to.

Sadly I was too late to see Patti Quinn. She left a few minutes before I got there, had to go home and deal with her kids which is totally understandable. Rand did send me a picture of Patti and Lisa which was quite nice and both women looked great in the photo, which was in 3D, though only visible in 3D on Rand’s camera.

Drinks were had by everyone and none of the nonsense that occurred in the past seemed to be going on which was quite nice. I said hello to Mike Mills and clinked pint glasses with him since he was standing next to where I was sitting. Peter Buck was there as well and I didn’t see Steve Wynn, but Suzanne told me they covered a Dream Syndicate song in the back room, Tell Me When It’s Over. I think Rand, Lisa and I left Maxwells around 1:30, walking home and being a bit noisy.

Rand insisted on walking me to the corner near my house which was awfully kind, even though Lisa did have to work today. He was three sheets to the wind and Lisa wasn’t so I can only guess it wasn’t that difficult for her to start her day. I was invited to visit Steve and Arnold at their house and certainly hope to work something out somehow. It really was great to see all these old friends and faces and it was special seeing Steve, and seeing the love that so many people have for him.

Some people didn’t know Steve was going to be in town even though he did announce it on Facebook which made for a lot of interest. I came home and posted the pictures I had taken and put on Facebook which when I woke up had many likes and comments on all of them. All the good parties have to end and last night ended on quite a nice note.

I slept fairly well, I wasn’t drunk just buzzed. Bill kissed me goodbye once again and I slept until 9:00 this morning when the workers in the apartment below ours started hammering and drilling. Not the way I wanted to wake up but still it wasn’t so bad. A shower and some coffee and a trip to the supermarket was in order. I did see Isis and asked about how she was doing, and she was doing fine.

I walked around Hoboken and stopped by the Guitar Bar where I gave Mr. Wonderful Jim Mastro a tin of Winston Churchill Spitfires. A mini cigar, and a way for saying thanks for accepting my packages. He was most appreciative and told me he was taking daughter Ruby to see Pulp at Radio City Music Hall. He was also at Maxwells last night but oddly enough we didn’t see each other. He was in the back room where I was mainly in the front room.

It was a cool day in Hoboken so I didn’t stay out too long. Came home and chatted with some friends online and posted comments to friends’ comments with regards to my pictures. Then I had a nice nap which brings me to where I began at the top of this entry.

Mike and Rand


Rand, Lisa & Sarah


Georgia & Ira and Karl the bartender


Chaz!


Arnold & Butch


Georgia, Steve & Emily


Me & my dear friend, Steve Fallon


Rand and tree stump outside Christine's house.


Lisa & Patti Quinn


05 Brushfire In Hoboken
A lot of love was had by all.

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I Just Came Back From A War

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Yesterday was Sunday and today is Monday. Yesterday was Easter and today isn’t. Yesterday was work and today is a day off. It was a long and slow day at the cigar shack and not much money was made. I would go so far as to say more money was spent paying salaries for Zack, Jerry Vale & myself than what came in. Maybe, it was a stab in the dark.

It wasn’t too bad. I wrote the cigar shack blog yesterday and added the photographs of David and Joseph and me in the humidor, as well as some other photographs. Zack usually makes some editorial suggestions and I follow them, but there wasn’t much in the suggestion department, just an idea to remove something that was a joke. Once I told Zack it was a joke he didn’t bring it up again. He thinks I am a good writer and I accept his praise. He’s published a book of poetry a few years ago so he certainly has a leg up on me.

The day did crawl and Jerry Vale nabbed the lion’s share of sales. I walked down to the bus terminal after work, 19 minutes, 49 seconds is what it took. From Modern English’ Life in the Gladhouse to Echo & the Bunnymen’s Heaven Up Here, I blazed a trail, avoiding tourists (tons of them) and walking in the street to avoid them.

The usual problem with my fellow commuters, on weekends courtesy is thrown out the window. People don’t seem to realize that schedules are kept and missing a bus could happen by mere seconds. It was a long day like I wrote and I had no patience for my fellow riders. And my antipathy was palpable. I sat by myself and ignored the people that pissed me off. I probably pissed them off as well anyhow.

Bill was fast asleep when I was home by 8:00 last night and I just let him sleep. He needed the rest and he wound up sleeping throughout the night, about 9.5 hours. I watched Bob’s Burgers which is one of the funniest shows on TV, then the season premiere of Nurse Jackie which blew me away. No spoilers here, but Bobby Canavale was on it and I would watch him in anything.

After that I watched The Big C which I totally missed last season and I enjoyed its return last night. It was good but not as good as I remembered. Still I was happy to watch it. After that was Mad Men which was very good and intense at parts. I did guess one thing right, though I did have to rewind the DVR to make sure I saw what I thought I saw.

Today was mellow. Bill was up and out as I lay sleeping, giving me the customary good bye kiss. I got up got some things together and headed out after a few cups of coffee, getting a hair cut from my barber Tony. His arm isn’t getting better and I fear the opportunities to get groomed by him will be running out soon. He was cheerful as he cut and cleaned me. Trimmed down my goatee, which was laden with white hair.

Then a trip to the supermarket. My favorite cashier, Isis was training someone so I got on a different line which took forever, but I didn’t mind. I came home to a nice breakfast before a stroll around Hoboken. I went in a different direction this time, heading north and winding up above 14th Street. A walk back home, then followed by a nap.

I woke up a little while after that and decided to head out. People coming home, walking up Washington Street from the Path train, me walking in the opposite direction. I picked up last week’s New Yorker since it wasn’t delivered to me and did some window shopping. A meatball hero purchase was the goal which I got and brought home for dinner instead of cooking.

Back to work tomorrow with a staph meeting at the end, followed by a visit to Maxwells to say hello to Steve Fallon. I am more excited about seeing Steve than anything else. Will I write? Will I have time to write? I do try to get a few words in while at work, but with a full staph and Thomas lurking about it seems unlikely.

No guarantees.







05 Computer Love

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I Hung My Head

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

Now- Ooh La by the Kooks is playing. A good song. I initially thought it was Phoenix. I don’t think the Kooks are French though.

I did have one thing right today. Yesterday was such a good day, a fun day at work that I knew that today would not be like that at all. And it wasn’t. It certainly was a long arduous day.

Last night was alright, I got home and spent some time with Bill who was tired, but stayed awake for me to come home. It was greatly appreciated, and he was soon fast asleep. I stayed up, watched Colbert, followed by 30 Rock and then The Office before bed. I had forgotten how The Office was a bit mean spirited when it first broadcast.

Now Rufus Wainwright is singing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. I watched a video of Rufus’ latest song which features Helena Bonham Carter and I have come to the conclusion that maybe Rufus is better heard rather than seen. Also hearing about he might have been escorted from a party in West Hollywood in handcuffs a few weeks ago left me thinking how he should really get his act together and stop molesting go go boys.

Of course it’s all hearsay since I wasn’t there but a Facebook friend was, and you know that they don’t lie. A dear truthful Facebook friend, someone I know has gotten in touch with me. Steve Fallon will be in Hoboken last week so that gives me hope. he’s such a great guy, I couldn’t resist a chance to see him. He’s coming up for The Baseball Project, a group of known and semi known names, but I bet the majority of people will be there to see Steve.

I also got an invite from Steve to visit him in Rehoboth soon. I must make arrangements to do so. I figure I’d be going without Bill though with Bill would be ideal. I also have to figure out how to get to there from here. I’m quite sure NJ Transit does not make trips to DE. It would probably be an overnight trip I guess.

I am home now. Bill is asleep with a headache. He asked me to wake him when I came home and I shook his foot and announced I was home. He mumbled something, then I gave him a kiss which roused him a bit from slumber. Not enough though. He said he needed to get up but it’s probably best to let him sleep.

Tomorrow I have a physical scheduled with a doctor I hadn’t seen since 2004. I’d been seeing a doctor I have little respect for and finally decided to go back to Dr. 2004. Nothing major happening but since I am approaching 50, it’s probably for the best to see exactly what is under the hood. I am not stressed out about this at all since nothing seems wrong. I am happy that if there is any blood work to be done, he will extract the blood in his office rather than send me to Journal Square in Jersey City.

That’s it, I’m tired and hungry.

a friend's band, playing Maxwells 4.6.2012




04 – Yes – I’ve Seen All Good People_Your Move

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I Am Mine

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

Monday Monday, Can’t trust that day. And here I am on a Monday and it hasn’t been so undeserving of trust. Yesterday was quite an interesting day, much more so than today.

For one thing, it was a Sunday and it was a day off. I requested it earlier at the beginning of April. I had plans to visit Hyman Gross in the hospital, first visit post-surgery. His bone density was enough that the surgeon felt setting a pin in his leg/foot/ankle would suffice.

I only expected to be there for an hour but it turned into 2 hours. Hyman had an ultrasound on Friday pre-surgery and while he was waiting there was an alarm in the hospital causing most of the staff to abandon Hyman on a gurney in the hallway, leaving him to holler in vain as he heard the scurrying of mice around the wheels of the gurney.

I hung in there with Hyman, and even offered to move the gurney back to his room so I could get moving along myself, but it was advised to have an orderly do it. I figured it was no big deal since 20 years ago I carried dear Harpy from one floor to another when he was in the hospital.

Luckily Harpy weighed less than the 98 pounds he usually weighs and carried him in my arms down a flight of steps. It all went well with Hyman and I was able to head to the Hoboken Art & Music Festival, a little later than I expected but really it was no big deal.

My main goal was to see Ian Hunter and the Rant Band playing featuring Mr. Wonderful Jim Mastro. And with Jim involved that meant it was more than likely that Lily, Ruby & the funniest girl alive, Meghan would be there. And they were. As was Chaz!

I met Ivan Julian who I have seen on stage a few times. Ivan played with Richard Hell & the Voidoids as well as the Outsets. He looked great then and hasn’t aged one bit, looking as sexy as ever these days. Steve Fallon was around as were several other people from the Maxwells days. I kept mainly to myself though, after saying hello to Steve.

I missed the Steve Wynn & Peter Buck thing, the Baseball Project but I didn’t really know they were playing until about an hour or two before I left the apartment. It was great to see Meghan and the girls, Lily off to Bard, Ruby to be a sophomore next semester and Meghan maintaining her reign as funniest girl alive.

Ian Hunter took the stage, opening with All the Way from Memphis, and doing Mott the Hoople and solo hits, Cleveland Rocks, Once Bitten Twice Shy among others like Somewhere from West Side Story, finishing off with a sing along of All the Young Dudes.

It had gotten cooler and after saying my goodbyes to Meghan and Lily & Ruby and the Jack of Hearts I started for home. Ran into Rand & Lisa, and then the three of us ran into RoDa & Elly with Logan and Autumn in tow.

RoDa, born & raised in Hoboken knows everyone and we lost track of him. Rand & Lisa walked me to the corner of my block before they headed to their home. I came upstairs, quite slowly since once again I was standing on concrete for a few hours, though wearing Airwalks helped.

I turned on the TV and noticed there was no audio. Instead I watched a DVD via Netflix. An Australian movie, Animal Kingdom. I heard it was like the Australian version of Goodfellas and this was way more intense than how I remember Goodfellas to be.

It was so good, nicely paced and so intense that at one point I thought about turning off the movie, it had gotten that far under my skin. Jacki Weaver who plays the matriarch was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar, but went home empty handed. This movie was bound to give her more notice, worldwide if not the States.

Bill came home in the last 20 minutes of the movie and I told him about the cable audio being out so he called the cable company as I watched the extras on the DVD. The woman on the other end of the line instructed Bill who instructed me to unplug the cable box and plug it in again so the box would reboot.

Fair enough. But before that I had turned on the TV to show Bill how it was not working when we saw the Osama Bin Laden had been killed. Big news indeed and here we were without any TV News.

The NY Times website had the info and Bill relayed the news to the woman on the phone who was understandably excited. We eventually got the audio back and watched the news being repeated eventually deciding on the BBC and waiting for President Obama to make the announcement regarding Osama Bin Laden being killed.

Bill went to bed after a little while, I stayed up late watching and not getting anything but the basic information. Tomorrow I have off from work. Bill is taking a half day since he is singing the National Anthem at CitiField before the NY Mets/ San Francisco Giants game tomorrow night. Very exciting and we are understandably nervous.

Bill more so than I am, but still I will probably catch up eventually.

Ian Hunter's Back!


Ian Hunter & Jim Mastro



Baby, It WAS You



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I Got A Gal I Love

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

It’s a day off for me. And it’s been somewhat busy. A visit to 2 supermarkets, some errands on Washington Street, 2 trips to the bibliothèque and the dry cleaners. It was also a day filled with communication problems.

I had some coffee after showering and padded around the apartment, deciding to go out around 10:30. A trip to the dry cleaners and dropped off a few shirts. I was running out of coffee and decided to go to Dunkin Donuts and pick up a few pounds of coffee.

I went and stood in line behind a guy who works in a local pizzeria. There were 3 women behind the counter and all 3 were totally infatuated with the pizza man. He wasn’t good looking which made me think they were angling for jobs at the pizzeria.

I had to pick up the 2 bags of coffee and display them in front of the women before I got the attention of one of the women. The total for 2 pounds was $11.99 and I gave her $12.00. She didn’t even look at me as I placed the 2 pounds in my bag and threw the penny in the tip jar and crumpled up my receipt.

I asked for both the penny and the receipt, which surprised her. If she paid attention to me instead of the pizza man I would have walked away, but since she didn’t…

Dunkin Donuts has printed on every receipt an invitation for a free donut if you fill out a questionnaire about service. After that I got the newspaper and some bagels before walking over to the supermarket. There were several items I wanted to get that wouldn’t fit in the hand basket so I needed a shopping cart.

I walked over to where the shopping carts, where an elderly woman was arranging the bags of groceries she just bought. She was in the way of the other carts so I asked if she could step aside for a moment while I got myself a cart. Oh, the look she gave me.

Someone was waiting for her in a nearby car, not helping her out. I said that I needed a cart and excused myself as I maneuvered around her. She cursed me, so I told her god loves her but I certainly don’t. Then she told me to drop dead to which I replied she was more than likely going to do just that before me.

Not much chicken at the supermarket, perhaps it was due to the fact that the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company had declared bankruptcy a few weeks ago. I paid for my groceries and stopped by the dry cleaners again.

There was a shirt that has been hanging in the shop for over a year now and I frequently commented on how nice a shirt it was. Earlier when I dropped off my shirts I noticed the shirt wasn’t there anymore. I asked Mona, the shop owner if the person who owned the shirt came and picked it up and it turned out they hadn’t it had simply been moved.

She pulled out the shirt and showed it to me. There was another shirt with it, which Mona said would be too small for me, but the shirt I had my eye on, a pink shirt with a contrasting collar, seemed about my size. It was a custom made shirt so there was no size tag on it.

She offered it to me and I tried it on. It fit quite nicely and with that, Mona gave me a shirt that no one wanted after a year. I plan on wearing it to work tomorrow.

I came home and dropped off my shirt and groceries in the hallway and then went to the bibliothèque and picked up a few CD’s and a DVD as well as Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Finishing the Hat’. Bigger book than I expected, still I will lug it around if I need to.

Came home, started some laundry and talked on the phone. First off a call to my brother Frank. I brought up Steve Fallon who to the surprise of a lot of people, logged into Facebook the other day. Steve told me he was writing a book and mentioned if I had any stories about Maxwells I should send them to him.

I mentioned it to Frank who mentioned the sordid aspects of the 1980’s, and that was not the angle I was thinking of. I mentioned about how Steve and Bill Ryan had gone to WFMU and were on Frank’s show when the Coyote Records sampler ‘Luxury Condos are Coming to Your Neighborhood’ was about to come out might have been a more interesting story. No need to visit stories of AA or NA.

Then I headed out after the phone call to Shop Rite. If I wanted chicken, I would probably have to go there instead. It’s a much bigger store and basically a much better store. The other supermarket is right around the corner from me and usually gets my business since they’re that much closer.

I came home again and spoke with Bill on the phone who heard from a bus driving friend that Hyman might have attempted suicide. It’s been a rough year for him since his companion passed away at the end of 2009. Bill didn’t know how accurate this story about Hyman is and there’s been no word from Hyman after texts and emails from Bill and myself.

All in all it’s been a weird day with regards to communication. I communicated with Steve Fallon who thought I was upset with something he wrote and I had to set the record straight.

I love Steve Fallon and never had any problems with him. He’s always looked out for me, and even though he constantly busted my balls, he was also very kind and generous. He could have, perhaps should have, fired me a few times, but despite that I would never have a cross word about him and would definitely defend him against anyone who did have something bad to say about him. So there is nothing but love for Steve Fallon in my heart, and writing that here places it on the record.

I’ve written over 1,000 words and it was not my intention, but there you go.

Steve Fallon?


Steve Fallon?


Steve Fallon?


Steve Fallon !

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Back Off Boogaloo

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

It was a humid day today, but maybe that was me. But when walking around Hoboken I saw people that weren’t bundled up, in fact I was relatively overdressed. A bit sweaty when I came home. I didn’t mind, it wasn’t raining and the temperature has been predicted to drop quite a bit.

Last night I went to the McSwells holiday party. I wasn’t invited per se, but I did go as Chris Repella’s chaperone and also as Roda’s guest. I didn’t really know what to expect since I hadn’t been to the McSwells holiday party in a long time, at least when I used to write it as Maxwells.

I don’t recall it starting at 9:00, maybe it started at 8:00. I DJ’d it a few times, Steve Fallon would make a run and brings back dozens of White Castle burgers. An occasional pot luck and an open bar with 2 irregular regulars behind the bar, one a high school teacher and the other part of the scene at the Elysian Cafe down the block.

It was always a good time, drinks flowing, people running upstairs to various apartments to sniff or smoke various things that couldn’t be done in public. Nobody got hurt, no fist fights, just a general good time.

The first time I went I did feel privileged to be there and had Rand as my guest. One time his sister showed up after seeing him and Rand had to tell her she couldn’t stay, she wasn’t invited. That was how exclusive it was, if exclusive was the right word.

Mainly it was all about the love for Steve Fallon and his family, from the workers and regulars. Last night it was a different scene, quite crowded and no open bar. That was a shocker. I had a couple of singles for tips but not enough for an actual drink, thinking that it would be a freebie.

I met up with Chris and we strolled up. Once inside, I saw Rand & Lisa chatting and it was crazy crowded in the front room as a two man band played some funk and soul classics. It was fun for me but for others it’s was the same bloody thing they’ve had the past four years.

I saw Roda and he is much loved there, or at least he was last night with various people among his co-workers saying and slurring how much they loved him. He is a loveable guy. I tried to get a Guinness but couldn’t get served though most everyone else around me at the bar seemed to have no problem.

I decided to leave, perhaps vanish and no one would notice, I hoped. But the coat rack was laden with winter coats and I couldn’t find my navy pea coat on a rack, mixed in with other coats, much the same color.

After about 10 minutes of searching, Lisa and Chris both saw what I was doing and asked where I was going. I said I was going to the ATM to get some cash and they both said forget about it, they’d buy me a beer.

So I stayed and had a beer. I was swept into the backroom where a DJ was playing some old and obscure 45′s of soul and garage songs. Lisa was on the floor dancing and Rand and I were holding up the wall when Chris grabbed me by the arm and soon had me dancing on the floor.

It was fun, Rand & Lisa, me & Chris, Todd Abramson and his wife, Gaylord Fields and his wife, and quite a few others all doing whatever frugs or watusi’s or foot stomping required. I wished it was Madison Time myself.

I was quite sweaty by then. Went out for a smoke with Roda and should have worn my coat, but got over it. More dancing in the front room to the two man band playing Brick House by the Commodores and Give It To Me Baby by Rick James.

It went on like that for a while. Finally Roda got me and asked if I wanted to take a walk so walk we did. A good walk, a bit gossipy and a bit fan boy, talking about the Dark Knight movie and how good it was. Also how McSwells had changed from people that showered daily (when I worked there) to guys that proudly did not.

Heard about one guy who used to be quite friendly, Chris Ward and no longer around in NJ, out west somewhere who treated Roda like crap, enough so that Roda had to threaten to belt him just to get out of his face.

Yep, Maxwells had changed into McSwells and apparently I got out at just the right time. And so did Steve Fallon. Who would want to deal with the ABC, the Health Inspector, taxes, Hoboken politics and various bands? After almost 20 years, that would be enough.

Still times being the way they are lately, if offered a job there I’d probably take it. But that won’t happen since Todd doesn’t like me very much.

Me & Roda are 'The Thing with 2 Heads!' Photo by Lisa

Me & Roda are 'The Thing with 2 Heads!' Photo by Lisa

Lisa & me dancin' dancin' dancin'! Photo by Rand

Lisa & me dancin' dancin' dancin'! Photo by Rand

Getting my groove on, thumbs aloft! Rand's forearms! Photo by Lisa

Getting my groove on, thumbs aloft! Rand's forearms! Photo by Lisa

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