My good friends down in New Orleans, Preservation Hall,  have hunkered down like the Saints and exploded to the super bowl of new music as they drop a dope collaboration project where the band plays classic NOLA repertoire with frontmen that range from Tom Waits to Jim James. Proceeds from the sale of the project benefit the Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program. Learn more.  Album streaming here; peep this video here.    

Last night I took my precious Charlie to the Sixers game. He wanted to stay til the end of the game and be the “last ones there”. So we were hanging and he was like “can i go on the court and shoot some baskets?“
and i said “you probably will get kicked off, and it’s technically not allowed BUT…..if you’re feeling good about it, try”. And he tried, and succeeded, and I have this little video clip to share as proof.

Have you ever been recruited? like, the phone rings, you answer it and it’s somebody calling (out of the blue) saying they know all about you, love what you do, and want you to come work for them?  Up until last month that NEVER happened to me - have had to knock down every door i’ve entered in this little life of mine.   So when i got a call from Professor Marcy Wagman at Drexel University asking me to join the faculty there, well….just couldn’t resist. Will miss those temple owls as i leave to become a Drexel Dragon but like my 5 year old charlie says “dad, a dragon can soooooo kill an owl”. Word to charlie.

in (yet another) strange twist of fate, i find myself now booking a nightclub! (see the old john lennon quote “life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans”).   yea, my plate is full, but this gig was too good to give up.  amazing space and we have a rather dope offering of music coming your way. what do you say? meet me at marbar.

typically aovid posting pictures and/or videos of my kids, but geeeeeez louise, my little baby julius is just too cute, it’s hard to handle.  exhibit one - check out j.j. talking and hanging in the bathtub last night.

Mary only wanted one thing for her 95th birthday - to celebrate at the Piazza and watch the Eagles game.
She stole the show as the entire crowd of 600 plus cheered her on during halftime as the band played and Mary danced.....

So, the long gap in posts here is due to my recent gig consulting for the Piazza at Schmidt’s.  It’s a truly amazing space - 80,000 square feet smack dab in the middle of Northern Liberties here in Philly. There’s a huge 40x20 foot stage and my job is to program it with music, culture and life in addition to all the marketing and related websites.  Will try and get back to the posts and in the mean time, if you’re in town, come visit, it’s a great spot and there’s always something going on (for free!) day and night

Hard to believe this was the most popular “movie” in America some 80 years ago - but here it is. Louis armstrong aka Satchmo.  Bizarre story, unbridled stereotyping, surreal costumes, great music.

93 year old cook and great grandmother, Clara, recounts her childhood during the Great Depression as she prepares meals from the era. Learn how to make simple yet delicious dishes while listening. Dig the Poorman’s Meal here; start our day off with the depression breakfast here; mix it up with some peppers and eggs here wrap it all up with some yummy sicilian cookies here.

Rob Alberino is not only one of my best friends in the world, but also one of my heros - not just because he single handedly created the Eagles Television Network and now flourishes at the helm as the Eagles Vice President of Broadcasting, but really because he’s one of the nicest humans on the planet with one of the biggest hearts to boot.   Have to share his 2009 broadcast reel because it’s totally redunkulous whether you like football or not.  And he’s ALWAYS rocking the ropeadope gear - like in this picture here with none other than the old #12 Randall Cunningham.

this afternoon i was on wnyc radio as a guest on a show called “soundcheck“ where two folks “square off” on an issue. today’s issue was “kids music - love it or hate it”.  the lady i was debating seemed so bitter and took a couple shots below the belt (she said baby loves disco is as bad as chuck e. cheese!)  but i think i recovered pretty well.  anyway…....it’s a fun listen if you have the time.

my sister lisa is not only one of my favorite humans on this planet, she’s also one of my favorite artists. check out her website here and jump into her blog here. neat-o interviewof lisa from squam here.

my main intern tim keeps telling me that shift happens, but i really had no idea that this shift happened too! and you wanna trip out on the world? check out this shift that happens. and ummmmmm, this shift too. whew.

it was a magical fall last year in philly.  we root, root, rooted for the the home team as they went on to win the world series for the first time in 28 years! we all went to the parade, we all brought our kids, and we all waited for the floats to float by. we kept ourselves entertained by simply being happy.  click here for an awesome video of 19 month gavin realizing he has the power of thousands of people by simply showing us all “how big is the whale?“

for the first time in my professional career i had to hire a publicist to funnel all the crazy media requests  heather and i were getting over the baby loves disco “phenomenon” (says USA today).   at first they were fun local casts with the local reporters and the local news crews. i would put on my glitter shirt and played the role. always thought i did okay until donny deutsch used his pre-taping jedi mind tricks to turn me into cindy brady staring at the red light  when donny recorded this feature for his big idea show.  and then came this video here of me and naomi on the bbc’s most popular show, dragons den where again, i look like i am on crystal meth. i think i fared a little better here on nightline.