I am an avowed unfan of Conan O’Brien‘s Triumph the Insult Dog, but even the stoic curmudgeon in me must admit that the execution of this bit was hilarious. At one point I shared a look with Melissa that indicated neither of us could breath from laughing so hard.
philly music
Phillyist votes a qualified “NO” on Philly promoter bill (#100267)
Short version: Phillyist used me a source for an article about the proposed Philly promoter bill! They agree with me that the bill is well-intentioned but misguided, and will likely do more harm than good to the city and its blossoming music scene.
Longer version:
Over the past two weeks Philly performers and promoters have been up in arms about a Philadelphia City Council bill (#100267) proposed on April 22 that would require local venues and promoters to be more closely licensed and monitored.
How closely? The following passage is drawing most of the ire:
A Promoter of an event must obtain a promoted event permit from the Police Commissioner for each such event. Application for such promoted event permit shall be made in writing to the captain of the police district in which the event is to take place at least thirty days prior to such event …
The application shall be deemed approved unless it is
denied at least ten days prior to such event.…must include all of the following:
(i) The promoter’s business privilege license number;
(ii) A detailed security plan…
(iii) A copy of the written contract between the promoter and special assembly occupancy licensee.
Speaking anecdotally from personal experience, let’s just say that I’m not always booked 30 days in advance, the promoter is often me or a friend putting something together on a lunch break, that our shows don’t usually require private security, and that I very rarely have a written contract to refer to as an artist or a promoter!
I have a lot of other things to say about the bill, and how it would have completely altered my opportunities as a musician as well as a promoter for our festival and #blamedrewscancer. While that opinion continues to brew into a post, Joe Ross of Phillyist did a great job of distilling my rambling to two succinct soundbites:
Peter is in support of the petition to kill the bill because it appears to limit the opportunities available to the local music scene, saying that “to try to legislate every performance takes away a lot of those opportunities — not only for artists, but for indie venues and promoters.”
Peter also had doubts about the solution we suggested above. He told us “that might just encourage known promoters to charge new, indie artists and promoters to use them by proxy. The entire system invites abuse.”
For more background on the bill, the petition, and how the two can be reconciled, check out Phillyist’s entire article on the topic.
(Also, many thanks to Joe for the multiple-platform shoutout to both my musicianship and my blogging!)
A New Band a Day
E has a way of ferreting out great new blogs out of nowhere.
Recently one of her finds was an awesome Brit blog A New Band a Day, which provides literate, in-depth looks at young bands on a daily basis. Author Joe Sparrow is deft and opinionated, and the combination makes for a blog filled with love letters to music and withering op eds.
One such op ed that got my attention was “The Trouble With Live Gigs,” which lamented the false promise that live is the only way to hear music. I responded at length in comments, and Joe was so ultimately cool as to collect my commentary into a massive guest editorial, which runs today.
Head over to read The Trouble With Live Gigs: A Response, by yours truly. And stay awhile to discover and download new music.
Bonus new music: Want the Philly local equivalent of New Band a Day? Philebrity just posted ten of their favorite tracks from Philly’s indie music scene, with photos, writeups, and streams for each band.
Open Mic-ing: Crossroads to McGillin’s, and the distance between
Last night I got it in my head to undertake a feat that I have only succeeding in once before – attending two open mics in one night.
This is especially tricky for me, since I turn into a very unmusical pumpkin if I stay out past midnight, but this week I had motivation – I was determined to get my new tune “Dumbest Thing I Could Do” out of my living room (where I blurrily video-demoed it earlier this week) and into the ears of as many people as possible.
Thursdays present a perfect non-pumpkin opportunity to do just that. First, hit the early open mic at Crossroads hosted by my dear friend Victoria Spaeth. Then hit a standard-timed one, playing in the first half. A popular choice is to hit nearby Buckets bar & Grill after Crossroads, but that puts me farther from home. Instead, I substituted McGillin’s, a super-popular pub in Center City.
Crossroads Coffee
Crossroads is an unpretentious coffee shop on Ridge Avenue in Roxborough/Manayunk. The counter at the front the shop opens up to a two-story, all-wooden room complete with a wrap-around balcony on the second level.
While I wish it had more of their comfortable armchairs and that the balcony was given more attention, I love the space for its golden natural acoustics. You barely need amplification. Also, the staff is super-friendly (shoutout to MIKE!) – full of suggestions of pescetarian food and their favorite drinks (last night: chai latte with a shot of espresso, which would have turned me into a human squirrel, so I just had tea).
The open mic was front-loaded with a lot of my favorite Philly performers. Vicky is quickly becoming one of the best singer-songwriters in the entire Philly scene, and now that she plays with a band it’s a rare treat to see her solo – especially doing newer tunes like “Electric Love.” (I’m still hunting a solo version of “Breathe & Release,” which may wind up being my song-of-the-year if she finishes recording the damn thing).
After our back-to-back sets I caught up with Joshua Popejoy (disclosure: client; awesome acoustic rocker) who is putting the finishing touches on a solo record bearing the title After the Ash. I have been dying for a studio version of at least half of the tracklist, so I encouraged him to FINISH IT ALREADY! (I can shout these things because I actually finished my own long-promised solo record.)
I also chatted up my open mic buds Bill McConney and Alec Stewart, both in fine form. Plus, Aaron Brown, who I’ve rhapsodized over previously. He’s got a songwriters-in-the-round show coming up at Tin Angel on 4/15.
Crossroads Coffee House. Thursday night open mic, signup ~6:30pm, music ~7:15pm. Usually limited to ten acts, two songs each. 6156 Ridge Ave., Philly, 19128. (Hint: Take the 9 bus from Walnut up Ridge Ave.)
After another songwriter (whose name I missed! I’m lame!) I had to excuse myself to bus down to CC, though in retrospect I could have spared another half hour. Deposited at Broad & Chestnut (by a Septa bus that did its best to run me over while I stood INSIDE THE BUS STOP), I wandered in a circle trying to remember which street leads to the special Underland occupied by McGillin’s.
McGillin’s
McGillin’s is the oldest continuously operating tavern in Philadelphia. It’s tavern in the classic sense – not dive-y in the least, a menu full of hearty, affordable food, and a lengthy beer list.
The best time you can have there is with a big crowd – either of your own making, or during one of their famously great karaoke nights. However, it’s a Philly open-secret that they also host an open mic night on Thursdays in their upper level, with its 20-foot antique oak bar.
The McGillin’s open mic is cool for a few reasons. The aforementioned food is high on the list. The setup includes a raised stage, sturdy stools, and a spiffy pair of wireless mics. The room can be still packed from happy hour, which gives you an audience happy to sing along to covers. And, host Mark is the friendliest possible dude in the world – affable, knowledgeable, and he makes me feel like I’m playing Madison Square Garden.
Last night the lineup was sparse, which meant mega sets for all. I played a monstrous five songs, including “Bad Romance” (HUT!) and a slinky, sweaty, rocking version of “Dumbest Thing I Could Do” (YES!).
While Mark played I got to know Philly bassist Mitch Beer. Mitch splits time between his supergroups BAM! and Soulfatronic while gigging with other local and national acts. He toured with Diggable Planets last fall, and might be heading out with them again soon! A very cool dude I hope to meet again.
McGillin’s Old Ale House. Thursday night open mic, signup from 9pm, start varies. 1310 Drury St., 19107. (Hint: Walk south on 13th from Chestnut; Drury is on your right.)
All in all, a great night of music. I even made it home before pumpkin time!
Open Mic-ing: Time, and the stuff that happens there
Tuesday night Gina and I went out to our first open mic in a while as Arcati Crisis. Between a holiday break, my never-ending February malaise, and a death in her family, we’ve probably seen less of each other so far in 2010 than we have in any year since early in college.
As a remedy, our first order of business was to head to one of our favorite open mics – at Time Restaurant on Sansom Street.
Time is one of the nicest rooms hosting an open mic in Philly at the moment. Beautiful atmosphere, great wines and beers, an actual stage(!) with drums and an upright piano, and an always chill audience who actually listen. Plus, a super-cool pair of attentive hosts in Mark and Pete G.
Then there are the artists. Time tends to be a hub of cool musicians, and you never know who you’ll run into. Tuesday it was Cris Valkyria, Casey Alvarez, Dante Bucci, Victoria Spaeth, and a lot of other familiar faces. New ones too – Benn Rabb visiting from Connecticut, and the nicest possible dude named Nathan, whose CD (and last name) is still in Gina’s possession.
Unusually, there was only a single microphone stand around for the night.
If you’ve ever seen (or even heard) Gina and I, nearly every one of our tunes has heavy duty harmony throughout. When I saw the single stand, I had a prima donna moment where I was like, “How can we even do this? WTF?”
I decided to turn a weakness to a strength. What if we did our hardest core of hard core harmony tunes together – face-to-face on a single mic? Wouldn’t it just make the spectacle of us a little more spectacular?
Well, I think it did. And, honestly, it was a lot of fun. We’re so used to our unamplified, unmodified voices that many times striking a perfect blend through a PA system can be more than a little daunting. What better solution than to just put the two of us into a tiny space and let us feel things out?
We played a good set, and had a good time. If you’re a Philly songwriter – or, a Philly wine-lover who also digs singer-songwriters – Time on Tuesday nights is prime destination.
Time Restaurant. Tuesday night open mic starts around 10pm. 1315 Sansom Street, Philly, 19107.