thunderbolt

This weekend I'm driving up to Ventura to see the Gaslight Anthem perform live at the Ventura Theater. The Gaslight Anthem are a Jersey band whose influences range from Stax soul to the Clash, as well as a guy named Bruce Springsteen. It was because of Springsteen that I was initially interested in their music, but I soon became a huge fan of their work. The '59 Sound was the album that put them on the map in 2008, and they've release two others, American Slang in 2010 and Handwritten which came out last year. The latter is particularly strong . In honor or seeing the band this weekend, here is the Basement Songs column I wrote about "The '59 Sound" back in November of 2008. Back in January, I wrote a special Basement Song column dedicated to my daughter, Sophie, on her birthday.  Tomorrow, November 14, is my son Jacob's birthday, and I now I want to dedicate something to him. When it came time to choose a song to focus on, I couldn't help but re

I have run two marathons and many half marathons. Each race ended with a feeling of triumph and accomplishment. Here in Santa Clarita, the people of our community come together to volunteer and cheer on runners of all ages and skill. One of my proudest moments was crossing the finish line with Jacob when we ran the SC 5K two years ago in a freezing rain. Race days are a time of celebration, a time to embrace our differences and root for your fellow man. I have seen the carnage from the bombings today and I want to cry. I have read about the dead (including a child) and I want to cry. I think about the fear that has been gripped so many tonight and I want to cry. I think about the families whose lives are shattered thanks to some asshole(s) and I want to cry. But I see how the volunteers and the people of Boston came together as a community to help one another and, well, I want to cry. Dear Monster who decided to detonate a bomb in a crowded area in the middle of the day, this afternoon

Jacob has been sick all week fighting a nasty cold. He missed several days of school, but went on Friday when he seemed to turn a corner. Waiting around that corner seems to have been a wall. Yesterday and today he has had a squeaky cough that keeps him hacking all day long and into the night. Not sure how he's getting any sleep. Right now I can hear him coughing away. He complains that his chest hurts and I can only imagine how it must feel. When I get sick with a cold I actually get nauseous from the pain in my chest when there's nothing left to spit up, yet my body keeps fighting and making me cough. "Everybody gets a cold," Julie reminded me the other day, but I still worry. Hearing him like this makes me feel useless, the worst feeling any parent can have.  I just want to wrap him up and squeeze the germs out of him. I wish I had super powers to do that. Jake would really get a kick out of that. Last year Jacob seemed to be fighting the same damn cold for half th

One of the downfalls of my writing nature is that the moment I get caught up in a project something else gets neglected. I began writing two new scripts in the past month and the blog took the hit. Sorry! However, I left with a strong post for people to mull over. Great Strides is less than a months away and I hope those of you reading this book blog will take the time to consider donating. Exactly what have I been up to? Glad you asked. First of all, on the book front, I've entered Basement Songs into a couple of indie book contests. Not sure how it will do, but I hope that those who read it might pass it along to a friend. I also continue to query about reviews for music magazines and blogs. Elsewhere, I've started the work on a new series for Popdose. It doesn't have anything to do with basements, but there is music involved. When it gets closer to the premiere I'll let everyone know. The scripts I'm working on have nothing to do with each other. One is a teen d