Catching Up

A few things, some a roundup of links you might have seen elsewhere.

Peter Dizozza posted video from a Sidewalk Set going back to 1999. This is definitely worth a look. He opens with a song called "Hell Hole" and then merges into a piece with Jon Berger and Adam Green. There is much spoken word/narrration throughout, accompanied on piano by Peter. The video gives a good visual of an earlier Sidewalk setup before the red curtain was put up and when they had a grand piano on stage. It's also interesting to see younger versions of Peter, Jon, and Adam. I mean, I knew Adam Green was young when he started hanging out at Sidewalk but here he seems like he might have just come from his Bar Mitzvah class.

Major Matt and Nan have documented their tour with the Vaselines in writing and photos. I'll admit I have always had a fascination with life on the rock and roll tour bus. Here is about as close to the experience as you can get (without doing it yourself, of course, which I know you will).

Also, although it's been a few weeks now, I wanted to acknowledge the Debe Dalton/Dan Penta tribute that myself and others performed in on October 23. It was, of course, great to see Debe and to hear the songs by her and Dan. And I was glad to have a chance to play one of my favorite songs by Debe, "Tuesday, Wednesday" (although I'm considering my faulty rendition just a first step in perfecting that song, which I am planning on making a permanent part of my repertoire). However, the overall evening surprisingly had less participation and turnout than I would have thought. Even Dan Penta couldn't make it (because of work obligations). Other performers were: Kung Fu Crimewave, John Roche, Dan and Rachel, Joe Crow Ryan, Neil Kelly, Justin Remer, Ben K. and Morgan Herringer, and probably others who I am forgetting. Debe was at the Open Mic the following Monday, momentarily restoring the balance to a room that has been akimbo ever since she left town a while back. Debe assures me she is returning to NYC permanently in January.