We just finished our semi weekly Ichat video conference with Punk Rock Avy and is City Lovin' Sister, which was a nice way to end what has been a whirlwind few days, and this baffling SOPRANO's finale didn't help much cause that ending was so weird I thought the cable broke. But I liked it! Did you? AJ becoming a development exec for a film company? Shit your pants thats funny.
Here's the rundown:
WEDNESDAY: I watched my friend Kitamura-San's new movie from Japan, LOVEDEATH, which was like 3 hours long and really over the top and funny. Also, violent. I mean, he did VERSUS, which The Kidd hasn't returned to me in four years. Classic. Anyway, check LOVEDEATH's trailer out:
THURSDAY was a free night, intended to devote time to music. B was unavilable, so social thoughts were put into effect. My original plan of ending up at Duffs was derailed by that miserable cunt Lurch and I found myself on the N train to Queens. I tried to steal the Kidd's deoderant, cause everyone knows he's not using that shit, but to no avail cause his girlfriend was over. I also found tons of my shit in their apartment. DVD's, CD's, G, clothing. Weird. Anyhow, G, Kidd, Evan and Leigh took my NYC ass to ACES (32-07 36th Ave between 32nd and 33rd Sts, Long Island City, Queens (718-278-0143). It was really fucking good. I'll let Time Out do the talking:
"Aces is minimalist but sexy, with an iPod-fueled salsa-and-house soundtrack, a glittering red bar and a shadowy dining room. Aranda (Country, Town, Royalton) concocts his own syrups and infusions for creative non-Cosmo cocktails like cinnamon mojitos and ginger margaritas. The talented Huerta enlivens his modern, market-savvy cuisine with Latin American sauces (peppery mole on melting short ribs), Asian touches (luscious panko-crusted skate, pictured) and South of the Border sides (plantains, huitlacoche). All that’s missing is an Aztec chocolate dessert—though we can’t complain about the scrumptious tres leches cake. Aces’ overall appeal is considerable, and the value even more so, with prices topping out at a $20 rib-eye steak"
This was the good shit. But there was a revelation. Perhaps you have read previously or even had the horror of witnessing your hero have a few shots of Jaegermeister. As you know this is akin to giving Osama Bin Laden the keys to the White House. I haven't drank the shit since Dulli at Warsaw in like 03. The Moscow story is whole other ballgame, as mentioned last week. ANYHOW, the revelation, as pointed out by the Kidd, was that the Mojito has the total OPPOSITE effect on me as Jaeg. I was ON. Happy. Funny. A damn good time. Me. Anyhow, the centerpeice was me revealling the details of the eulogy I will give Dan Hamill many years from now at his funeral, titled "10 Things You Didn't Know About Dan Hamill". I revealed 5 of them, my companions guessed two, and I am leaving three blank cause I know I will learn more as we get older. Weird right? Anyhow, a fun night. I also liked having Leigh there cause she is new to the gimmicks and stories you are all tired with. A new audience is great. Fake Married Evan never gets fucking old. Nor does "I feel rejuvinated"...
FRIDAY we re-assembled the group, lost Leigh, but got Lurch and saw OCEANS 13, which of course I loved. Afterwards, while having beers and burgers at Stand (very good), Irene pointed out that the reason we like these movies is because the crew in the movie speaks like the MOGpac: in their own language that no one else gets. I sorta agree with that. If you know what a Susan B. Anthony is, you're part of Ocean's 13. If you know what an Angry Ellie is, you're MOGpac. (someone remind Danny)
SATURDAY was the music. Sweet music. We knocked out some of my last bass for the album (on 1956) and recorded some B guitars on the hidden track. We of course hit Dokebi. We drank Sake and beers. We kept going cause we thought we were gonna do Bday drinkies with Carlos L, but he was stuffing raw fish down his throat or something. While buying beers a bum got some money out of me because he needed help with my contribution to his "Saturday Night Dream". Man you can't argue that shit. B got a lil frustrated with some opening guitars for OUR FAITH, so we called it a night. Then I met irene and her crew for some drinkies at Heathers and I brought it back to Britpop 95 with the gin and tonics. Rich. A day of beers, sake and multiple G&T's beat my ass silly and your hero was scarfing a hot dog at the grays papaya in the wee hours. Thats when you know its been a good day.
SUNDAY was the chaos. My mom showed up early to take Irene to a wedding shower and I ran to find B, in his new toupee ready to play some guitars. Before that, we talked music, mostly about Stevie Nicks, Genesis and the Police reunion, and the asshole Stewart Copeland and I declared my new revelation that Sting is a "douchbag with no sleeves". We squeezed a few hours and a beer out of that before I had to race my ass BACK to the city to meet DeSanto Senior to polish off some wine and prociotto at Bar Jamon while we waited for the ladies to return. They returned, and off to Les Halles for a fine meal. And here we are.
That Just Happened.
F
10.6.07
6.6.07
Rockin Avy
Sending a copy of Vision Thing to the house was the best thing I ever did. This kid is on his WAY.
3.6.07
MATT GENTILE INJURY REPORT
See for yourself. He missed P&T for this? Does that say "Pathetic Dept" on his shirt? Must be an old Chaminade Gym shirt!
"What, do you have a gun in there? What the fuck, are you Jack Bauer?"
What can I say, it was one of those nights. Hard to put into words, sorta like the quote above, which was said to some girl with a very heavy purse that made a very loud noise when she dropped it on the floor in San Loco at 2am...But first let's start from the top...
Friday saw Irene and I dine on the roof of our building. It was, like Thursday night, one of those, man are we lucky to live in the city moments. The weather was great, she cooked like a champ and just enjoyed the sun going down and watching the lights kick in at the Empire State. Magic. Then we saw KNOCKED UP, which we loved. I enjoyed it much more the second time. Apatow is the master, long may he reign. Nothing more enjoyable than watching Irene pop for Martin Starr.
Saturday was a whirlwind day. We of course started off right, as B and I met at P&T for some good breakfast action. Donut Holes in full effect and my biscuit and gravy breakfast was the fucking awesome. And then it was time to work. And we worked like men on songs. Then we were joined by Carlos L and we worked even more, getting him to lay down his final bass on four songs. Phew! It sounds good. Luckily, Carlos L has a photographic memory, remembers basslines like I do wrestling history and bring the smooth low end the right way. We went long and Carlos did a lot of the heavy lifting though his tummy took a bit of a dive when introduced to the P&T Sweet Tea. It happens. It is tough sometimes. Then we had beers.
Then it was time to race into the city. We had PEOPLE to meet, including the legendary and influenced ASH, because it was once again time to keep it MAD JERRY with Maserati. Ash brought his old school sidekick Justin, Justin's girl, and Justin's scientifically obsessed younger brother so they could get a piece of the awesomeness known as Jerry. We were also joined by photographer Al Brown, also known as saint who lets us play music in her house. This was a solid crew. First, we grabbed some drinks in the increasingly wack LES, and then had a slice at the pizza place where G used to throw the cuntplexs in the rain and then it was off to Cake Shop to check out Jerry and co. The lads had seen them a few days earlier with !!!, who I refuse to see, and they reported good things, especially since their original guitarist was back, so I was psyched. Drinks were aplenty. Chris Rini of the Equation joined us and NOTHING, fucking NOTHING was better than the fucking heroes welcome Ash received from JERRY. HEYYYYYYYYYYYY MIKE!!!! You gotta love that shit. Ash is a star and the other talented fuckers KNOW.
The place was packed. The room was tiny, but the band was HUGE. Just fucking epic. Loved it so much. Jerry was nuts, the band were feeling it and honestly, we marked out like the Kidd on his last day of employment. It was very hard to see, but easy to feel and hear how fucking awesome they were. It might not be Jarvis, but its one o the top gigs of the year for sure. The Beer helped a lot, but their shit is genuinely mind-blowing. Awesome fucking rock.
The vibe was good, so the adventure continued. It was off to 151, the bar where G almost punked a guy in a thong out a few years ago. Again, more drinks. I won't bored you with details, but everything from lost Hypefactor songs, to Justin's T-shirt, to us trying to teach an aspiring musician how to be a man was discussed. I know that sounds weird. Believe me kid, we saved you a lifetime of pain. Not that he'll listen, but at least he will follow my advice and tell anyone who will listen that his shit is the BEST SHIT EVER, as any real musician should believe about themselves. Some don't. That's why they're vags. Anyway, Ash had a great quote which was something like "the way to be a great producer is through manipulation". You get the idea. Ash and his people started to disappear, so we gathered the posse and brought it to Loco for more beers and nachos. Observer Hypefactor's own B dining with Carlos L:
You know, its the 3am snack. People are drunk. loud, bored, horny, depressed, or packing heat. Or so I thought when the chick from THE MOOD (http://www.themoodrocks.com I have to plug them not that I have ever heard them, turns out when I saw their myspace that we have a mutual friend), overheard a conversation about The Not So Legendary Frank had some Jaegermeister in Moscow and then at Warsaw when he called Dulli a Fat Fuck stories and wanted to hear them. Of course, then its showtime, cause MOGpac Drunk and/or Abroad stories usually get the pops. No different here. By then though, everyone had gone home, leaving Ash and I talking music. We tried to hit another bar with the Mood crew, the place was closed, and Ash called it. Then I went home, real quiet like to not wake my beloved, and then tripped over a fan (a air fan, not someone who owns whiteline), and fell right onto the bed. It was like stepping into a bear trap. Bear suits are funny. Bear traps are not.
Ash summed it up best this morning: "I had an AWESOME time with you last night! How's that for positivity!?"
It was a productive, fun and hilarious day. YES, positive. The rest of you can taste the fucking hate.
F
Friday saw Irene and I dine on the roof of our building. It was, like Thursday night, one of those, man are we lucky to live in the city moments. The weather was great, she cooked like a champ and just enjoyed the sun going down and watching the lights kick in at the Empire State. Magic. Then we saw KNOCKED UP, which we loved. I enjoyed it much more the second time. Apatow is the master, long may he reign. Nothing more enjoyable than watching Irene pop for Martin Starr.
Saturday was a whirlwind day. We of course started off right, as B and I met at P&T for some good breakfast action. Donut Holes in full effect and my biscuit and gravy breakfast was the fucking awesome. And then it was time to work. And we worked like men on songs. Then we were joined by Carlos L and we worked even more, getting him to lay down his final bass on four songs. Phew! It sounds good. Luckily, Carlos L has a photographic memory, remembers basslines like I do wrestling history and bring the smooth low end the right way. We went long and Carlos did a lot of the heavy lifting though his tummy took a bit of a dive when introduced to the P&T Sweet Tea. It happens. It is tough sometimes. Then we had beers.
Then it was time to race into the city. We had PEOPLE to meet, including the legendary and influenced ASH, because it was once again time to keep it MAD JERRY with Maserati. Ash brought his old school sidekick Justin, Justin's girl, and Justin's scientifically obsessed younger brother so they could get a piece of the awesomeness known as Jerry. We were also joined by photographer Al Brown, also known as saint who lets us play music in her house. This was a solid crew. First, we grabbed some drinks in the increasingly wack LES, and then had a slice at the pizza place where G used to throw the cuntplexs in the rain and then it was off to Cake Shop to check out Jerry and co. The lads had seen them a few days earlier with !!!, who I refuse to see, and they reported good things, especially since their original guitarist was back, so I was psyched. Drinks were aplenty. Chris Rini of the Equation joined us and NOTHING, fucking NOTHING was better than the fucking heroes welcome Ash received from JERRY. HEYYYYYYYYYYYY MIKE!!!! You gotta love that shit. Ash is a star and the other talented fuckers KNOW.
The place was packed. The room was tiny, but the band was HUGE. Just fucking epic. Loved it so much. Jerry was nuts, the band were feeling it and honestly, we marked out like the Kidd on his last day of employment. It was very hard to see, but easy to feel and hear how fucking awesome they were. It might not be Jarvis, but its one o the top gigs of the year for sure. The Beer helped a lot, but their shit is genuinely mind-blowing. Awesome fucking rock.
The vibe was good, so the adventure continued. It was off to 151, the bar where G almost punked a guy in a thong out a few years ago. Again, more drinks. I won't bored you with details, but everything from lost Hypefactor songs, to Justin's T-shirt, to us trying to teach an aspiring musician how to be a man was discussed. I know that sounds weird. Believe me kid, we saved you a lifetime of pain. Not that he'll listen, but at least he will follow my advice and tell anyone who will listen that his shit is the BEST SHIT EVER, as any real musician should believe about themselves. Some don't. That's why they're vags. Anyway, Ash had a great quote which was something like "the way to be a great producer is through manipulation". You get the idea. Ash and his people started to disappear, so we gathered the posse and brought it to Loco for more beers and nachos. Observer Hypefactor's own B dining with Carlos L:
You know, its the 3am snack. People are drunk. loud, bored, horny, depressed, or packing heat. Or so I thought when the chick from THE MOOD (http://www.themoodrocks.com I have to plug them not that I have ever heard them, turns out when I saw their myspace that we have a mutual friend), overheard a conversation about The Not So Legendary Frank had some Jaegermeister in Moscow and then at Warsaw when he called Dulli a Fat Fuck stories and wanted to hear them. Of course, then its showtime, cause MOGpac Drunk and/or Abroad stories usually get the pops. No different here. By then though, everyone had gone home, leaving Ash and I talking music. We tried to hit another bar with the Mood crew, the place was closed, and Ash called it. Then I went home, real quiet like to not wake my beloved, and then tripped over a fan (a air fan, not someone who owns whiteline), and fell right onto the bed. It was like stepping into a bear trap. Bear suits are funny. Bear traps are not.
Ash summed it up best this morning: "I had an AWESOME time with you last night! How's that for positivity!?"
It was a productive, fun and hilarious day. YES, positive. The rest of you can taste the fucking hate.
F
1.6.07
RETURN to Pies and Thighs
What can I say? The previous blog entries about SHATNER and PIES & THIGHS have been met with much acclaim by the mass of people who visit this blog daily. All 8-10 of you. Anyhow, P&T really struck a chord with several readers, especially certain MOGpac members, and thus I was told specifically that if I dared enter Brooklyn again, that I would HAVE to return to P&T and have to take certain MOGpac members. Who the FUCK am I to say no?
While Matt had a softball game, in which I am proud to say he WON while sustaining an injury (I am hoping to have visual evidence of up here shortly), Mr. DANNY HAMILL was determined to make P&T a part of his life. I called his assistant, Dan, and set it UP. The original intention was to grab a bite and go back to B's and play some music, but alas, while the plan doesn't always come together, it CAN certainly lead to fun night. Danny was late, B was walking the dog and we didn't get there till much later than anticipated, but we got there. Oh lord did we get there.
Danny did his fucking homework. On the L train, he was already telling me what he was going to order: THE CATFISH BOX. I think he just liked the idea of the fish in a box. What he really wanted was the free donut holes, but B later informed us that the holes are only there on weekend. Sorta like some assholes I know. I don't know what that means. Anyhow, Danny has already figured out how to bike there from Queens through some secret passage (I wasn't really paying attention). However, I will now let the visuals do the talking:
Your perfect hero got himself some PULLED PORK. Cause it must be pulled:
Danny was kinda upset his catfish wasn't actually IN a box, but he kinda loved his meal like nobody's business:
I put this picture up of Handsome Danny so he, and his assistant Dan, can stare at himself all day:
Brandt got some beans or shit, which actually looked really good but I was too lost in the world of pork. Anyway, for the record, two sweet teas can be deadly to the tummy, but sometimes you just gotta do it. However, I was sweeted out and desert was again off the table for me, but Danny came through and got some really fucking awesome pie.
By the time this epic was over, music was no longer an option. We were having some laughs and annoying Danny with some of the topics of the day, and your hero wanted to check out the dead end down the block to see the river. However, the cops came and that was actually kind weird, as if they were dumping a body off or something. So we walked around the middle of nowhere Brooklyn, checking out all the Domino Sugar Factory buildings, which seem to be in some kinda trouble. We gotta save the sugar so the tea can stay sweet son!;
Then B tells us we are not far from DUFF's the Heavy Metal bar run by the former owner of our beloved BELLVUE bar in Hells Kitchen. THUS we had to go. It's tiny, cool, in the middle of nowhere (just to make sure you understand), and you can drink outdoors, which we did. We discussed the Happy Mondays and Danny tells me that Type O recently had a party at the very bar we were at (it was actually Carnivore, but hey) and of course our past adventures to L'Amours were discussed. Especially funny was the original trip in which 10 of us wanted to go, and only Mohtashemi and I had the balls to actually do it. True story. While i was never a metal guy, I love metal bars. Who fucking knew.
We finished out drinks and B went home, Danny went back to Queens and your hero bought a DVD at the Virgin, the first official release of the HK classic RIGHTING WRONGS, known here for some stupid reason as ABOVE THE LAW, and starring Jackie Chan sidekick, and all around acrobatic superstar, Yuen Biao. Anyway, it's an amazing film:
I actually own the original HK movie posters for this flick. I can't wait to watch it. I probably watched it 200 times as a kid. It's a fucking masterpiece and really violent at a time when Jackie was making kid friendly stuff. Because of the tricky protagonist, they shot several endings, which are all here for the first time. I did watch those when I got home.
So i bought the DVD and sat in the park waiting for Irene to finish work. Sometimes you forget how awesome this city and how you can go buy a DVD at 11:30 at night and just hang out in a park. Its a perk, the park. Park Perk. Um. Irene got out of the subway, we bought some ice cream and that was that. Another fun summer night in the world of MOG. Can't wait till #1 nephew is here to share it with us.
F
While Matt had a softball game, in which I am proud to say he WON while sustaining an injury (I am hoping to have visual evidence of up here shortly), Mr. DANNY HAMILL was determined to make P&T a part of his life. I called his assistant, Dan, and set it UP. The original intention was to grab a bite and go back to B's and play some music, but alas, while the plan doesn't always come together, it CAN certainly lead to fun night. Danny was late, B was walking the dog and we didn't get there till much later than anticipated, but we got there. Oh lord did we get there.
Danny did his fucking homework. On the L train, he was already telling me what he was going to order: THE CATFISH BOX. I think he just liked the idea of the fish in a box. What he really wanted was the free donut holes, but B later informed us that the holes are only there on weekend. Sorta like some assholes I know. I don't know what that means. Anyhow, Danny has already figured out how to bike there from Queens through some secret passage (I wasn't really paying attention). However, I will now let the visuals do the talking:
Your perfect hero got himself some PULLED PORK. Cause it must be pulled:
Danny was kinda upset his catfish wasn't actually IN a box, but he kinda loved his meal like nobody's business:
I put this picture up of Handsome Danny so he, and his assistant Dan, can stare at himself all day:
Brandt got some beans or shit, which actually looked really good but I was too lost in the world of pork. Anyway, for the record, two sweet teas can be deadly to the tummy, but sometimes you just gotta do it. However, I was sweeted out and desert was again off the table for me, but Danny came through and got some really fucking awesome pie.
By the time this epic was over, music was no longer an option. We were having some laughs and annoying Danny with some of the topics of the day, and your hero wanted to check out the dead end down the block to see the river. However, the cops came and that was actually kind weird, as if they were dumping a body off or something. So we walked around the middle of nowhere Brooklyn, checking out all the Domino Sugar Factory buildings, which seem to be in some kinda trouble. We gotta save the sugar so the tea can stay sweet son!;
Then B tells us we are not far from DUFF's the Heavy Metal bar run by the former owner of our beloved BELLVUE bar in Hells Kitchen. THUS we had to go. It's tiny, cool, in the middle of nowhere (just to make sure you understand), and you can drink outdoors, which we did. We discussed the Happy Mondays and Danny tells me that Type O recently had a party at the very bar we were at (it was actually Carnivore, but hey) and of course our past adventures to L'Amours were discussed. Especially funny was the original trip in which 10 of us wanted to go, and only Mohtashemi and I had the balls to actually do it. True story. While i was never a metal guy, I love metal bars. Who fucking knew.
We finished out drinks and B went home, Danny went back to Queens and your hero bought a DVD at the Virgin, the first official release of the HK classic RIGHTING WRONGS, known here for some stupid reason as ABOVE THE LAW, and starring Jackie Chan sidekick, and all around acrobatic superstar, Yuen Biao. Anyway, it's an amazing film:
I actually own the original HK movie posters for this flick. I can't wait to watch it. I probably watched it 200 times as a kid. It's a fucking masterpiece and really violent at a time when Jackie was making kid friendly stuff. Because of the tricky protagonist, they shot several endings, which are all here for the first time. I did watch those when I got home.
So i bought the DVD and sat in the park waiting for Irene to finish work. Sometimes you forget how awesome this city and how you can go buy a DVD at 11:30 at night and just hang out in a park. Its a perk, the park. Park Perk. Um. Irene got out of the subway, we bought some ice cream and that was that. Another fun summer night in the world of MOG. Can't wait till #1 nephew is here to share it with us.
F