Confessions of the Starving Artist - 6/19/08

We watch the news
And search for clues
That we can use
to inform our views
But all we see's a shroud
For cryin' out loud
"When You Smile" by Elliott Glick

Friday the 13th of June. I don't subscribe to superstitions (the guy with the goalie mask and machete not withstanding). Apart from the bad news of Tim Russert it was a good day. Friday night was even better. Midnight Jester came to play. The band this time 'round was Denise Adorante on guitar, Dan Ajerman on bass, Glenn Miller - yes, Glenn Miller - on conga, and Sandy Breitstein neatly carrying vocal and rhythm guitar responsibilities. These players are well-suited to each other, forming a tight unit. Denise sings harmony, plays tasty and interesting lead guitar and accents the rhythm nicely too. Dan is a good bass player that plays for the sheer love of the groove. And groove he does. Glenn Miller - yes, Glenn Miller - plays conga to beat the band. Literally. Sandy sings most lead vocals and sings them beautifully. She plays acoustic guitar. Sandy writes some of the songs as well. As I said that night, they will return. This band is one great time.

Saturday night, June 14, brought us a young R&B artist, Christine Dominguez, who has the whole package. The look, the sound, the voice, the musicianship and the songs. She sang some covers and I thought they were hers. Her songs are sensual in nature and her voice matches this. If you click and listen, you'll hear what I'm talking about. If you were there, your pulse quickened and she had your attention. There was a nasty downpour outside, wind blowing and yet, inside, it was steamy humid and I swear it was from this girl and her songs. Just make a reservation now, okay?

Sunday, June 15, was Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all of the dads and dads-to-be. What did we do on Father's Day? We had Port o' Monkeys come and play for us. They are an extended family. Not just to each other but to the Artist as well. You bloggerinos may know that they play Spanish music from the Basque region and Middle Eastern as well. Beautiful Spanish guitar and instruments such as oud as well. Don Hayward plays gitarone and trombone, in addition to other instruments. Jeff Greene and Paul Harris add intricate counter melodies when not holding down the rhythm. Dolphi Wertenbaker played percussion and David Muller on Spanish guitar. Chris Wertenbaker leads the group. The line up changes sometimes but the music is consistent. Look up the past blog they are in to get the details of the sets, but listen to their music on the link above, and come and see the truly unique group of musicians. World minstrels I'd call them. I'd also call them great.

I hope all of you are boycotting Exxon Mobil. John McCain thinks the answer is lifting the federal tax on gas at the pump. That will make it a little cheaper for you but the revenue will cost us on the government services level and not touch the oil companies a bit. We subsidize these SOBs. We grow less wheat on the prairies so we can grow corn and not to feed people but our cars and we subsidize that too! From our own pockets through taxes. We are robbed at both ends. It doesn't stop there. It affects the cost of food at the market. This affects restaurants who have to pass this on somehow. A crazy spiral we must control. Vote for whomever you want. I'm voting Obama. Just the lack of lobbyist money in his campaign convinced me. Whoever you decide on you can pressure them to do the right thing for us. Well there I've said it.

Go and click all the links. Each artist that ever played at the Starving Artist has a link on our music artists' page. Listen to tem and decide who you want to see. I believe we deliver value for dollars in our field. "Click on Glick" at Neil Young's Living With War Web Site and "click on Glick" (#106 - Bitter Tears; #105 - Baby This One's For You) as of Tuesday, June 17, 2008. Check out the calendar and make reservations. Buy my music. (You can now buy my music on Amazon, Napster, iTunes, CD Baby, Verizon V Cast and about 20 other sites.) I've now sold more than 500 downloads of my songs, and that is only counting the Verizon V Cast site. "Blue Tomorrow" is still the number one seller off the "I've Been Told" CD. I'm working on a new CD now. I'm still in the writing stage at this point. I'm scheduled to perform at the Artist on Saturday, July 26, at 8 p.m. Start reserving now. It always sold out in the past.

Don't forget to vote for "wickedly awesome" Nicola in her Q104.3 competition - info also below. Continue to support live, independent music. It's important to the industry and the artists. Be good to each other and come in, and live right.

Elliott Glick

Confessions of the Starving Artist - 6/12/08

You'll see the light
You'll see the brightest shining light
All upon a new day
When the night is through with you
"Blue is the Night" by Elliott Glick

Well it wasn't a revival meeting, but I was revived. It was the return of the Starving Artist's "keeper of the soul" on Friday, June 6, Laura Berman Benelli and her husband, Craig. Laura has a great voice, plays really fine keyboard and writes songs that can break your heart and fix it all in three and a half minutes. Craig plays really good rhythm and beautifullly melodic lines on a really good looking Taylor guitar. Too many of their good songs became my personal favorites on Friday night. They are gaining a following at the Artist. Although it was no tent show, spirits were indeed lifted.

I love when I see a young performer already special in some way, and I get to be in on his / her rise. About three years ago, a 14-year-old singer / songwriter came to play and blew us all away. Well Anthony Da Costa is 17 now, and he returned to the Artist this past Saturday, June 7, and again blew us all away. Carefully chosen covers were done with his unique style. Then there's his originals. This kid is a pro. Ellen Topol, a Starving Artist regular and writer / poet herself, said this in an e-mail after the show: "I always enjoy my adventures at Starving Artist. However, I need to say that Anthony's performance Saturday evening was stupendous. I am blown away! This 17-year-old musician is unbelievable. His whole body, mind and heart are the instruments he plays with the precision of a master musician. Watching him is observing a special magic unfold and we are all blessed by his outstanding gifts." He's been getting some extreme gigs lately too - like opening for Dan Bern just this past May 31. Come see and hear him before it costs you big time. Big time.

Sunday, June 8, like Sunday as usual, we took the pace down a notch or two. Elizabeth Glushko led her duo, Cellar, to play jazz, among other things. She plays cello and he plays guitar. Their playlist included Beatles, jazz standards and originals such as "Tragic Prelude" (which you can hear at her MySpace). Soothing and smooth. They make a beautiful sound together. One of the best ways to spend a Sunday afternoon. It was a major heatwave in New York City. Cellar cooled us out. Thanks.

Coming up this weekend is another great line up: Midnight Jester, Christine Dominguez, and Port o' Monkeys on Friday and Saturday evenings, and Sunday afternoon, respectively.

Click the links in this blog. "Click on Glick" at Neil Young's Living With War Web Site and "click on Glick" (#106 - Bitter Tears; #108 - Baby This One's For You) as of Monday, June 9, 2008. Check out the calendar and make reservations. Buy my music or give the "Gift of Glick" for Father's Day. (You can now buy my music on Amazon, Napster, iTunes, CD Baby, Verizon V Cast and about 20 other sites.) I've sold yet another 200 or so downloads of my songs, bringing the grand total to over 500! (Thank you!) Boycott Exxon Mobil. Don't forget to vote for our "sweetheart" Theresa Sareo in the Ponds "Mamma Mia" competition - see more info on this page! And vote too for "wickedly awesome" Nicola in her Q104.3 competition - info also below. Be good to each other and come in, and live right.

Elliott Glick

Confessions of the Starving Artist - SUPERBLOG II - 6/5/08

You jump at the bump
at the price at the pump
And you stand like a lump
But you're gonna fill it anyway
"Well, I've had my fill."
"Baby, This One's for You" by Elliott Glick

Friday, May 23. Those Freakin' Ricans (there, I've said it) returned to the Starving Artist Cafe. I believe this is their third time up. It occurred to me while listening to them that singer / songwriters are not what they are. It's the great catchall for acoustic peformers - singer / songwriter is. These guys, Jorge Caraballo (of Rubber Soul) and Nick Morales (of two former bands, Musica Flammarum and Twin Flame) are entertainers. And I mean that in the highest sense of the word. They jump styles like musical chameleons. Mariachi, C&W, blues, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond, The Lion King, for God's sake. Nick Morales flexed his blues muscles on several numbers and Jorge Caraballo flexed his tonsils. They had many surprises up their sleeves too. My beautiful wife, Monica, joined them on a classic Johnny Cash / June Carter Cash song, "Jackson," which they sang to perfection. All the charm and humor in tact. Next surprise was Barbara Folts. She is not only the wife of Peter Parrella of Rubber Soul fame, Jorge's other band, she is a performer on Broadway. Together they did two numbers, including the Tom Petty hit, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Jorge sang the powerful "Granada," a hit for Mario Lanza. Jorge's favorite version these days is by Jose Carreras. An astounding performance of a difficult song. They save these "tightrope act" songs for the encore each time. No net, just guts and a lot of talent. A lot of talent. You got to see it.

Saturday night, May 24, I got in the act, literally. I joined my wife, Monica, and friend Lucille Rivin in the trio, Just Us. I sort of back them up and provide the basis on which the songs rest and they do the rest. We like harmony and they do a good job of it. Sometimes we do three-part harmony. Just Us includes three very different personalities. The material reflects that. Monica sang "Piece of My Heart"; Lucille sang "Since I Fell for You." They did "Time After Time." They did Dylan, Leonard Coehn and John Prine. They even did the "Glory of Love." Lucille did a couple of originals, including a very clever song about lies called "Phony Money" and a crafty song called "Frost." Somewhere in there I raped and murdered "Gimme Shelter." It was a packed house and I had a great time. There was Just Us for all.

Sunday, May 25, we had an open Jam Session. About an hour before opening a fire broke out in shops not too far from the Starving Artist - and our home - on City Island Avenue. Thirty or so fire trucks later, the Island was shut down to oncoming traffic. The Jam Session ended up being two other people and myself. There was "Cowboy" Dave Tillman from Texas and Mike Solomon from Ohio. Mike was visiting his sister, and SAC&G fine artist / City Islander, Cheryl, and Dave now lives in New York. We played something to please each of us and had a great time doing so. I closed early and got to spend an evening at home. The firemen were amazing. No one was seriously hurt.

Now this brings us to the last Friday of the month (May 30) which, of course, is Open Mic Night. I've been to a lot of different ones in different places. I must say that ours is crazy good. Quality poets and comics, performance characters. Former Artist waitress Lindsey Kinford recited a poem she wrote about September 11, 2001. We even had a heavy metal flamenco player. Open Mic runs from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. or so on that last-Friday-of-the-month. Come next time and check it out. Sign up to play or reserve a spot to watch. (Frank and Cheryl Koller, and Bob and Mary Lou Lachman have their reservations for open mic night from now until the end of time, I think.)

Ever listen to Bob Dylan's first two LPs and marvel at how old he sounded? He was 21 or 22 years old at the time. Saturday night, May 31, the Artist was filling up with people who had come to hear Phil Minissale. Phil is a 21-year-old blues player who has crammed a lot of blues expertise into his relatively short life. His voice is aged and grizzled. His knowledge of styles is complete. He plays Delta and Piedmont styles with perfection. He's been all through Dave Van Ronk, John Hammond Jr. and Mississippi John Hurt (who lived in the Bronx for awhile). He has incorporated all these influences and styles into his own personal technique with which he deftly fleshes out his own original songs. It seemed kind of humorous to me to hear an introduction to a blues song that is about a love gone wrong when he was in third grade. That, though, is part of Phil's charm - and charm he has. My waitresses Mariel and Shannon took him out for drinks after the show. That don't happen often, Phil. Ah, to be young. Buy his CD if you like the blues done right.

The Starving Artist has gotten a good reputation among performers, but we also have a loyal clientele. Frank and Cheryl, who I've mentioned before in my blog (and in this one too) hit the double play this past weekend attending two shows in a row. It's not the first time, but I wanted to mention it and thank them. I went to another club to see a friend play and Frank was there with Cheryl - and he was wearing a Starving Artist t-shirt. You can get yours - and other Starving Artist merchandise - on a special web site; click here.

Sunday, June 1, was the opening reception of an art exhibit at SAC&G. Don Nester's "Images of Infinity" took the wall of the gallery / cafe. Fractal photography, images of infinity, it all sounds pretty heavy, doesn't it? Well, it is. I've had conversations about fractals about five or six times, and words like quantum physics, calculus and Einstein's unifying theory come up. I know this because I heard, "Blah blah blah quantum, blah blah blah mathematics, blah blah blah atom, etc." My mind, I must confess, wandered to cheeseburgers, not Benoit Mandelbrot. Snowflakes that occur in nature approximate fractals. So there! These pictures are at once fascinating, intriguing, vast in their diversity and beautiful. I have been doing art exhibits every month or so for 11 years. I've know many artists, many of whom became friends. I have watched their growth from exhibit to exhibit, usually in a linear pattern, developing a theme or technique over a period of time and a series of shows. Don Nester has been with me almost the whole 11 years and has never done the same thing twice. Remarkable. Cheers, Don. This exhibit will run at the Artist until August 1. They are one-of-a-kind, not a series and sell for $300 semolians (which are probably worth more than U.S. dollars).

Speaking of math and dollars, in my last blog I talked about how, in a consumer-driven economy, could bring down the price of gasoline. Don't buy Exxon Mobil was the cry. Well it still is. I hope you joined forces with me and I hope you told others to do the same. This will work in time. The only power our dollar has these days is where and how WE choose to spend it.

I've sold another 200 or so downloads of my music on various venues. CD Baby, Verizon V Cast was the biggest. "Blue Tomorrow" was the highest-selling again which means it's different people each time. Too cool. Thank you to all who bought my music. It's a dream come true for me.

This weekend is Laura Berman, Anthony Da Costa and Cellar on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Click the links and make reservations. Don't forget to vote for our "sweetheart" Theresa Sareo in the Ponds "Mamma Mia" competition - see more info on this page! And of course, "click on Glick" at Neil Young's Living With War Web Site and "click on Glick" (#103 - Bitter Tears; #104 - Baby This One's For You) as of Monday, June 2, 2008. You can now buy my music on Amazon, Napster, iTunes, CD Baby, Verizon V Cast and about 20 other sites. Happy Birthday week to our best-est friend "Aunt Ma" Marion Rosenfeld! Take care until next time, and come in, and live right!

Elliott Glick