It is rare these days that I have a big chunk of hours, free to use as I wish. I woke up today and immediately made plans to spend the afternoon with myself, recording some new songs in my living room. No sooner do I break out my M Box and cables than I hear the sound of a motor from outside my window. On to my fire escape, and right below me is…

It is much louder than it is big.  I admit that I did think for a moment something like, “Poor me.”  But it seems to be making people happy, children and onlookers alike.  Alas, life will go on, just as Celine Dion’s heart did, 10 years ago.  And besides, with this free time, I am able to do write my first entry in just under two months.  And I don’t think this crazy contraption will stop me for running my set for the awesome sequel to the Bar Four May Residency that kicked off last Saturday… Tonight, Niall Connolly at 8pm, Not From Wisconsin at 9pm and then me and the band at 10pm.

I am the KING OF THE WORLD!!!

I am on the way to a funeral. It’s for a child. I’m starting to absorb that fact right now and it sits heavy. I’m on a Mega Bus, plugged in to Andrew Bird, senses sharpened, though I’m reeling from my Boston friend’s birthday party yesterday. I looked in the mirror after I dumped myself in a shower and thought that I looked worse than I felt. I couldn’t decide whether or not that was comforting. Just noticed “FUBAR” on the top of my right hand, the fading proof of last night’s events. Gotta figure out a way to rub this off before I show up at the funeral.

I feel I have missed my opportunity to tell the story of the rest of the Great Elk – Matt Singer tour.  I will say this:  Domination.

With that said, I turn to a rather frightening subject, not for the faint of heart, and certainly not entirely telling of the remainder of our great times on the road… shortly after being issued a speeding ticket on our way from Ithaca to Boston, the boys stopped at a roadside gas station.  And here’s what my iPhone (Steve) found:

Yeah yeah, I know.  I fell off the map.  Clearly I haven’t been taking my everything pill regularly.  Having made some notable life changes and collecting my thoughts I am ready to begin talking to myself again (and to anyone else who will listen), and perfect timing because fun things abound.  After the most memorable Living Room performance of my life, Great Elk and I have begun our Northeast Summer Tour with gusto, having played three very different shows in a few days.

Thus far, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have treated us far more kindly than New Hampshire — packed shows, enthusiastic new friends and warm beds in which to sleep were the stories of Montclair and Philly, whereas our finest moment in Portsmouth probably came when our show was over and we enjoyed our first cool breeze since June.  But we have hope for New England and our next few days in Vermont will surely be awesome.  I have few doubts.

More than anything else, I have enjoyed the people with whom I have shared great times — namely the boys from Great Elk, whose songs are starting to feel like my own.  Above we can see Paul and Patrick enjoying a mid-day PB & J on the Trinity College main quad before taking on New England.  But everyone has been amazing.  From my back-in-the-day MHS homeys, to our face-painted friends at Chernobyl to my new friend Ahmed, a Turk who has come to the states to study theology, almost all the people we’ve met have been great to us.  And those who haven’t do not really linger in my mind.

We move on.

Today I took the B train through Brooklyn, reading Mole People, a book that takes an inside look at people who live underground, when a so-called mole person actually came aboard my subway car.  He immediately took off his shirt and began screaming at the people on the train and told us of the horrors of his life.  It was ugly.  I put the book away.  Things got better when he accidentally dropped a bag and a guy picked it up and handed it to him.  He lightened up a bit.

That was certainly the grittiest moment of my day and it felt good to get home, make myself some beans and play the banjo for a bit.  Now I’m listening to the myspace page of my friend, Liam Carey, who invited me to open the evening of his debut record release for his project Second Star, this Friday, June 26th.  

For those who have not heard Liam’s music, I will say that it only that is a special thing, really, and his performance is always very intense.  For his big night, there is little doubt that this will be an exception.  I hope some of you people will join us… it will be memorable:

Friday, June 26th :: Bar 4 :: 8pm-11pm :: 444 7th Avenue :: FREE

Today I took the B train through Brooklyn, reading Mole People, a book that takes an inside look at people who live underground, when a so-called mole person actually came aboard my subway car.  He immediately took off his shirt and began screaming at the people on the train and told us of the horrors of his life.  It was ugly.  I put the book away.  Things got better when he accidentally dropped a bag and a guy picked it up and handed it to him.  He lightened up a bit.

That was certainly the grittiest moment of my day and it felt good to get home, make myself some beans and play the banjo for a bit.  Now I’m listening to the myspace page of my friend, Liam Carey, who invited me to open the evening of his debut record release for his project Second Star, this Friday, June 26th.  

For those who have not heard Liam’s music, I will say that it only that is a special thing, really, and his performance is always very intense.  For his big night, there is little doubt that this will be an exception.  I hope some of you people will join us… it will be memorable:

Friday, June 26th :: Bar 4 :: 8pm-11pm :: 444 7th Avenue :: FREE

It is not in the nature of man — nor of any living entity — to start out by giving up, by spitting in one’s own face and damning existence; that requires a process of corruption whose rapidity differs from man to man.  Some give up at the first touch of pressure; some sell out; some run down by imperceptible degrees and lose their fire, never knowing when or how they lost it.  Then all of these vanish in the vast swamp of their elders who tell them persistently that maturity consists of abandoning one’s own mind; security, of abandoning one’s own values; practicality, of losing self esteem. Yet a few hold on and move on, knowing that that fire is not to be betrayed, learning how to give it shape, purpose and reality. But whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man’s nature and of life’s potential.

AYN RAND – New York, 1968

Who’s coming with me to see Blip Blip Bleep destroy Bowery Ballroom this Friday?  Their songs will make you dance and weep. They even motivate a brother during a rigorous workout.  This is seriously some of the best pop music being created and performed today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS and FREE MUSIC– they always put on a very special show.  Don’t sleep on Bleep.

Memorial Day weekend did not feel like time “off” per se but there were many worthy moments of remembrance that could hardly be described as labor.  Thats for a different weekend, so lets just call these good works.

Saturday began with a long overdue meal with my good friend, George Bixby, a brilliant and painfully humble artist who is re-designing my painfully boring and stagnant matt-singer.com.  Look at some of George’s work HERE.  I suggest you hire him.  For something.

Later that day, Paul Basile and Patrick Hay (1/2 of the band Great Elk) and I made moves on our late August-early September tour that will take us as far south as DC, as far north as Montreal and as far west as Toronto.  If you read this and wish to support this tour with any kind of help — we’re particularly interested in identifying potential hosts for house concerts — let me know.  More on that, to be sure…

How appropriate then that our good (( Family )) friend Lisa Box invited me to play her father’s 60th birthday party on Sunday at a beautiful house, situated perfectly on idyllic Keuka Lake.

 

Thanks to all the new friends I made and big ups to the birthday boy, Alan, his beautiful wife, Cristiane, and of course their lovely daughters, Lisa and Nina.

Wow.

Saturday at Joe’s Pub was special.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt more love from a crowd and I’m so proud to be homeys with Pearl and the Beard.  Their record is amazing and their live show somehow keeps getting better.  It’s ridiculous.  Here they are, in all of their cuteness and post-show glow, backstage…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was also really fun to play solo for a big audience, something I have not done in a long while.  

That being said, the ever-evolving Matt Singer band will be playing a special show in Brooklyn on Saturday May 2nd, as part of a monster bill, with Wakey!Wakey!, Roots n Ruckus, Frank Hoier, Anti-Social Music and The Dig… not to mention that this evening will include work from the award winning puppet theatre ensemble, Lone Wolf Tribe.  Wait there’s more… This event also marks the one year anniversary of One Big Table, THE Brooklyn Supper Club.  Holy Jeez, click here to buy tickets and to check out the menu for this event.