Todd « johnozed

Posts Tagged ‘Todd’

A Well Respected Man

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Well I was a bit crabby yesterday. The disheveled drunkards can do that to you. On my way home I got a text message from Rand who was telling me about his buddy Karl having an art opening last night at Maxwells.

Yes that’s right, I wrote Maxwells.

I was weary, and merely replied ‘Sweet’. Rand invited me and I couldn’t say yes or no. I came upstairs and wrote over 1000 words and felt a bit better, and less bitter. Bill came home as I ate a turkey sandwich.

He was pretty tired. I continued writing and thought about going to the art opening. Last time I went it was pretty crowded and all I could do was think about how the art openings at Maxwells were so much more fun 20 years ago. Free beer and wine and familiar faces made the difference.

Bill went to take a nap and asked me to wake him up in a few hours. I mentioned that I was probably going out. Though his body was tired, his mind was racing and was unable to nap so he wandered around the apartment.

By the time I was done writing and posting entry 1601 I had decided to head out. As I walked down the stairs I texted Rand and told him I was on the way.

Got to Maxwells and it was crowded and loud but I enjoyed Karl’s artwork. Very comic book style, a lot of fun. Talked to Rand and Mike C and Mike’s girlfriend Sarah who was very sweet. I talked about busking and music and made Sarah giggle a bit.

Chris Repella showed up and bought some artwork. I thanked her once again for the photographs of the civil union thingamajig on Saturday. She joined Rand and Mike and Sarah as well as Lisa, Rand’s wife. I spotted Todd and told him I needed to talk to him.

Todd and I used to butt heads back in the day. We went out side and I told Todd about the civil union and asked if he would let me use the back room for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon in the summer. To my delight he said yes.

I thanked him profusely and offered an invitation to join us. He asked that I send him an email today to remind him to keep the date booked for us. Quite nice. I called Bill and told him the good news and also called Annemarie.

After Maxwells I walked home with Chris Repella, walking with Mike C and Sarah. Chris and I sat in front of her building just talking about music. Mainly about the Kinks and how she doesn’t like the Beatles. Chris went off to either the supermarket or to Starbucks to see her daughter and I came home and invited about 120 Facebook friends to the summer Civil Union event.

Then I remembered that not all of my friends are on Facebook or even online so I text messaged about 20 more friends about it. I know that not all of the invitees will be able to make it, so I’m not worried about too many people.

Anyway if it gets too crowded there could be a nice back and forth between the front and back room at Maxwells.

A few trays of pasta and salad, paper plates and plastic utensils on the back bar and if you want a drink, you’ll have to pay for it in the front bar.

Today was a good day for busking. Yesterday while playing I spent too much time in the sun and my nose was bit red. Bill mentioned that this morning while kissing me good bye. So today I applied the sun block and wound up playing in the shade.

Today’s songs were Lola, Sunny Afternoon, I Should Have Known Better and You Can’t Do That, as well as the toddler’s favorite, The Lion Sleeps Tonight. I even sang today. Loudly and to the sky. Tariq joined me. Couldn’t keep up though. Not good with the sevenths still.

I indulged Tariq somewhat and we played Hotel California. Then the guy who sat next to me on Sunday showed up and it turns out Tariq knew him. The guy asked how to pass a screening for alcohol and I said the best way to pass the test is to not drink.

Tariq went off to buy some beer and asked me to watch his guitar again. I did and played my guitar while ignoring the guy to the best of my ability. Tariq came back with some beer and I took that as my opportunity to leave, saying that I had to bounce.

Sorry if this was a little disjointed tonight, but there were a few phone calls going on while I wrote. Perhaps I should shut off the phone while I write.

But still it was Jane who called who was thrilled to hear about the party and she said she will be there this summer, as will be Connie who plans on buying a new dress for the occasion. And Harpy who will probably show up naked.
FLOWERS

Tags:Bill, Chris Repella, Connie, Harpy, Jane, Maxwells, Mike C & Sarah, Rand + Lisa, Tariq, The Kinks, Todd
Posted in I Love Music | 3 Comments »

She Bang

Monday, March 29th, 2010

It’s a Monday and if you’re lucky enough to be employed you’re probably not happy about it. I remember when I was working, how I dreaded Mondays. Now all the days blend into one another and you can tell when it’s Monday when there are less people around. The usual downcast faces appear, coming in from the fog.

Just giving myself some poetic license.

It’s not foggy, but it has been rainy. I did go out a few times today, to the post office, to the Guitar Bar, the supermarket, as well as the bibliothèque twice.

Once to return Macbeth the DVD, the play and the Cliff Notes, the other time, just a few minutes ago to return Auntie Mame which I couldn’t watch since someone who may reside in Old Tappan might have scratched the disc. Right during the Christmas scene.

Jerry Herman would have pitched a fit! I need a little Christmas, right this very minute goddamn it! The candles are in the window and the spinet is in the shop but I’m sure we could use one of Bill’s keyboards.

I did get in return from the bibliothèque, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. Never saw it but my curiosity was piqued when I saw that it was Brian Eno’s favorite movie. And Kubrick was a master filmmaker.

I have even put Eyes Wide Shut in my queue at the bibliothèque. I saw that in the theater but wasn’t that impressed, but it does deserve another look. I also caught a little bit of the ending of Rat Race this afternoon.

That was a date movie with Bill when we started going out. Silly little movie, John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg and quite a few other people. It’s ‘It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World’ for the 21st century just in case you thought this century was lacking one of those. We saw it when it came out in August 2001. It’s a goof.

Bill and I have been debating whether or not we’ve been together for 9 or 10 years. I say 9 and will be 10 in September. Bill says 10 now. We met in September 2000 you see.

And Thursday is the day we’re having Jim Mastro say those magic words for the sake of saying those magic words. The license office here in Hoboken needed a date and when I said July they said it had to be within 30 days.

So it’s just for the fact that we have to do it for the sake of the government.

I suppose in July, that is when we will actually have some vows written and said. I myself am leaning towards ‘A Whomp Bomp a Loo Bop, a Whomp Bam Boom’. I think it sums up our relationship quite nicely. I don’t know what Bill has to say on the matter or if he has anything to say regarding it.

I would like Maxwells to be the spot for our party. A Sunday afternoon, 12-4PM. Ideally it would be cool if Todd gave us the room for free. Cash bar out front, to discourage drunk driving and dancing, music and food in the back room.

That’s how I’m envisioning it. And I’m really hoping for it so much that I’ve written Maxwells instead of McSwells. I am going to have to talk to Todd soon, hat in hat and with humility.

And this just over the wire, Ricky Martin is out of the closet. Yes he’s admitted that he’s a fortunate homosexual. That’s nice. Can’t say I’m a fan of his music (though when he blew up the Grammys 12 years ago that was a thrill) but he certainly is someone easy on the eyes.

Well good luck to Ricky Martin, Salud!

Sorry Girls, He's Gay.

Moving out in Hoboken. Police investigate.

Tags:Auntie Mame, Barry Lyndon, Bill, Hoboken bibliothèque, Maxwells, McSwells, Ricky Martin, Stanley Kubrick, Todd
Posted in What's it doing outside? | 2 Comments »

Steve, I Always Knew

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

Saturday, definitely out of the ordinary. Started out ordinary. Slept really well. Watched TV last night, of course since I hardly ever go out anymore. Not that I watched much of anything of importance. Do I ever? That’s a good question. I think occasionally in the wasteland called television, I find an oasis from time to time. Bill came home as I was watching Led Zeppelin live at the Royal Albert Hall in like 1969, a period where I don’t really care for Led Zeppelin wise. Bill thought it was the Who or Nirvana, might have even guessed the Stones, but the long hair on Robert Plant and Jimmy Page had him stumped. Just as well since Zeppelin are relatively unknown to him. Pink Floyd would definitely leave him in the dark since they were even more faceless than Led Zeppelin.

I stayed up until around 1AM, watched the Simpsons and Scrubs before turning in. Slept really well. Woke up around 8:30, Bill was running off to the Bronx to get some stuff from his cousin’s house. She sold it and Bill has to get his crap out of there, or at least throw it out. I woke up, made some coffee, showered and even shaved. I wanted to look good for the afternoon. A nice breakfast followed. Read the papers and did some laundry. Then it was just a small matter to kill some time before I went over to the Hoboken Historical Museum. It’s been a day I had been looking forward to since the summer. My brother Frank was supposed to come by but he was fatigued.

You see today at the Hoboken Historical Museum, it was all about McSwells, and Steve Fallon was coming to town. I have to admit, I really love and admire Steve. He was always very supportive of not just me but a lot of other people in Hoboken and around the country. New and upcoming bands from the eighties from this country and beyond. I hadn’t seen Steve since about tens years ago. He was a great boss who could have fired me a few times but always gave me a second, third and occasional fourth chance. I walked up Hudson Street towards the museum and saw Steve with Chaz Charas, Todd Abramson and Steve Shelley as well as Geri Fallo headed in that direction.

I called out Fallon and Steve turned around and we greeted each other with a hug and a kiss. He mentioned the blog actually, specifically mentioning the entry where I wrote about if you saw Steve at McSwells smoking a Newport and drinking a Rolling Rock, it meant it was going to be a long night. He mentioned the circumstances that that would happen, and I was glad I didn’t write about that. He wasn’t the only one. I know that I participated as well and that’s all I have to say about that particular subject. It was all a lot of fun.

The presentation was funny, Steve was talking so fast he was losing his breath. Not one for public speaking, not our Steve. But he was entertaining nonetheless. The introduction was lifted from Wikipedia which is where Steve was getting his speech from. So that was scuttled and he had to wing it. He did an admirable job, he explained that McSwells was so successful was because of the bands that were able to play there cheaply, since they weren’t playing in Manhattan. Also the club was a favorite for the music press who could focus on the music since there were very few distractions. But ultimately a good part of the success was because of the staff, some of whom, myself included, were in attendance.

Todd Abramson also had a few remarks about when he and Steve were running the show, before Steve walked away from it. It was an overwhelming hassle dealing with the task of running a club six night’s a week. I’ve butted heads with Todd a few times, but basically he’s a good egg. Steve had a loyal team supporting him and that is hard to find nowadays. Back then it was organic, it seemed to spring up all around him.

After the museum a few of us made it down to McSwells, Chaz and I had pints, everyone spread out in the restaurant. It seemed like old times. Steve made a point to say that it was important to still support McSwells, that it’s a good thing to have. I had to agree and decided that though I won’t be going there like I used to, at one point even having my mail delivered there, but a pop in for a pint every now and then wouldn’t be so bad.

Tonight, Steve Fallon was the richest man in Hoboken.

Here’s some pics from the past few days. I hope Annemarie gets her computer fixed.

The Watcher