New York, New York

Still recovering from a whirlwind trip to the Big Apple (got a bad cold up there, unfortunately). I love Manhattan and would live there if I could afford the kind of lifestyle I have in Atlanta. The energy is envigorating! Even when you're walking down the street by yourself, you're surrounded by people -- nice people (NY gets a bad rep). For example, the Kinkos on 5th did a job for me at 60% off the regular cost just because they wanted me to come back again.

Gotta make the most of every trip to the city, especially since I don't get a lot of face time with NY business colleagues and partners. The guys and I met with some ad agencies, publicity firms, record labels, and managers. I even saw Matt Pinfield (in passing), who made me want to pursue a job in the music industry and who no one else seemed to recognize but me.

The real purpose for the trip to NY was the "Paste Presents" concert at the Knitting Factory. Joseph Arthur & the Lonely Astronauts opened with new material from their upcoming album, including "Cocaine Feet" and "Diamond Ring."



As I previously posted, Joseph Arthur is also a painter and I'm always fascinated by his work. Lonely Astronauts guitarist Jen Turner has a "Joseph Arthur original" tattoo. For the past year I've thought about getting a tattoo on my foot -- the outline of a blackbird, inspired by my favorite Beatles song. Jen said I should've asked Joe to draw it for me... how cool would that be? It would hurt like hell to get a tattoo on the top of my foot, but it would be cool...

Kaki King, one of Rolling Stone's "new guitar god(esse)s," showed up to play between sets... she was freakin amazing! And as the only woman on the Rolling Stone list, I guess that makes her the queen of the guitar world!



Son Volt headlined with a long set, including new songs from their March release. I was a bit intimidated by Jay Farrar cause he is a cool dude and influential musician. "The Picture," with backing brass, is my fav of the new songs.

We were hoping Norah Jones would show up for the show, but she said she could only do it if her schedule permitted... guess there was a conflict. Turns out Brandi Carlile was uptown, though, so she and the Twins showed up to play an impromptu set. Tracks included "The Story," from her sophomore effort, and covers of "Creep" and "Hallelujah." I have video but the audio is awful... I'll try to fix it and post. Read more about Brandi in the April issue of Paste.



And stay tuned for live tracks and interviews from the show on the Paste Culture Club podcast.

Variety coverage of the concert
Cool picture from the crowd
Shore Fire's blog and party pics

Joseph Arthur, Painting, and Expression

I've been painting and drawing all my life, and as a child had work in some local galleries and public spaces. I regret that I haven't kept up with it as much as I would like, but here's something I recently finished in honor of Paul McCartney's 64th birthday... [picture of it was taken with a camera phone, so quality and size aren't accurate]



Most everything I draw or paint revolves around people -- no landscapes or abstract things. I have a hard time capturing those images, whereas I am fascinated by the emotion people convey in their faces and body language. Still, whenever I see really off-the-wall, imaginative works I get frustrated that I can't see the world that way.

Jay Sweet has a cool story about Joseph Arthur over on his blog.

Reminds me me of the poem Arthur wrote for Issue 15 (April/May 05) of Paste. It's my favorite thing we've ever published.

Painting might be impossible to write about
It’s a place beyond words from where it comes
It’s nature showing strange flowers
It’s a drug that obliterates the self
It’s a mirror in the spirit world
It’s where the shadows come out to play
It’s a shared hallucination
It’s dream made material set ablase in the night
Maybe it goes beyond everything else
Like playing a guitar without strings
It’s a place man meets God and says
What the fuck
I love to paint
It’s where I go to church.