Musings of music producers in NYC...

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Another Todd Alsup and MajorWho NACA Showcase!

Another MajorWho and Todd Alsup NACA success! Todd was selected for a showcase at the Mid-Atlantic Festival, a smaller NACA conference for schools in the region that didn't attend the main conference in the fall.

This is another great opportunity for Todd to perform for hundreds of student talent buyers and bookers from college campuses across the region. Todd already has a full calendar of college dates in the spring and we'll be looking to build on that success at the MAT Festival and continue to book more college dates throughout the Spring and Fall of 2010.

Here's a great shot of Todd hanging with Matt Pinfield backstage at the John Varvatos Road Recovery event from last week. Photo by Tracy Ketcher.

On gospel, Abba and the death of the record: an audience with Brian Eno

There's a great interview with Brian Eno this week by Paul Morley for The Observer. Here is one of my favorite excerpts concerning his work with U2 and Coldplay. Follow the link to read the whole interview.

On working with U2 and Coldplay at the same time:

"It was fine. A few jokes. I felt like a philanderer who was with another woman and might make a slip and call her by the wrong name in bed. I had one computer that had all of the Coldplay stuff and all the U2 stuff. I had to very carefully label each folder because I was paranoid that I might end up with the same basic track for each group and I wouldn't notice until it was too late. There was a chance the same track might have appeared on both albums."

Read the whole interview here.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Here's a great shot from the Road Recovery John Varvatos Benefit

I still have a hard time believing that these three guys closed the evening singing "I'm An A$$hole" on stage...

Friday, January 8, 2010

Road Recovery Benefit @ Varvatos Store (CBGB) a great success!

What a night! MajorWho was thrilled to help support Road Recovery's benefit concert last week at John Varvatos' store in NYC. His store is located in the old CBGB's and gets used occasionally as a performance space. So many of the performers and Road Recovery staff walked in with nostalgia in their eyes, remembering back as many as 30 years since their first gigs they played and attended at CBGB's.

Emceed by longtime Road Recovery supporter Matt Pinfield and his radio partner Leslie Fram, the show opened with performances by Road Recovery Performance Workshops, followed by the Road Recovery Staff band including: Knox Chandler on bass, Adam Roth on guitar, Mark Boquist on drums, Owen Comansky on guitar, Tom Dudley bv's- and Road Recovery house band Crazy James. It is such a thrill to see the kids perform the songs for a packed house that we've produced and recorded with them in the studio. The staff band was joined by MajorWho artist Todd Alsup, who sat in on keys and sang a fantastic version of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground."

Road Recovery Participants Meet With Peter Frampton Before The Show

Following the opening bands, the first of the two headliners performed. Denis Leary and The Enablers (featuring Road Recovery staff Adam Roth and Owen Comaskey) did their hybrid comedy-rock routine, including some of Denis' more well known songs such as "The Rehab Song," "F*** You," and his most famous, "A**hole."

Then came the headliner - the legendary Peter Frampton. Peter played a mostly acoustic set, but was joined by a keyboard player and bassist. The crowd loved hearing his classics - "Show Me The Way," "Baby I Love Your Way," and "Do You Feel Like We Do." He broke out the Framptone guitar/vocoder sound to raucous applause. For his encore, Frampton did his rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and then invited the Enablers on stage for a reprise of "A**hole."

The show was packed, John Varvatos was a gracious host, and was a terrific night for Road Recovery. All of the artists voiced their overwhelming support for Road Recovery, who both raised money and awareness for their cause. Congrats to Gene Bowen, Jack Bookbinder, and the entire Road Recovery family for such a successful event. We look forward to many more amazing Road Recovery events and collaborations in the new year.

John Varvatos with MajorWho Artist Todd Alsup