Pre-order update #4 June 24, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal.add a comment
Today, I received three CDs I had pre-ordered weeks ago in the mail:
The Jeff Lorber Fusion, “Soft Space” (reissue)
Eric Darius, “Goin’ All Out”
Gerald Albright, “Sax for Stax”
As with “The Jeff Lorber Fusion,” the “Soft Space” reissue sounds much better than its LP counterpart. I have yet to listen to the other two CDs in their entirety. I’ll get around to them after “Soft Space.”
The Dan Siegel Project, “Fables” June 23, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal.add a comment
Two Mondays ago, I ordered The Dan Siegel Project’s new album “Fables.” I received it in the mail five days later. The album is a rearrangement of songs Dan recorded in the mid-1980s, plus two new compositions. Here are the tracks:
1. Dark Star (4:29)
2. Concrete Jungle (4:51)
3. Fugitives (3:19)
4. A Day In The Country (4:06)
5. Celestial Body (5:45)
6. Behind The Shadow (2:24)
7. Before You Wake (3:55)
8. The Last Waltz (4:12)
9. Peace Of Mind (2:48 )
10. Where Are You Now (4:15)
11. Solitary (2:56)
12. Little Creek (4:28 )
13. Star Light (3:36)
Tracks 1, 5, 10, and 12 were “reimagined from” Another Time, Another Place in 1984.
Tracks 7 and 8 were “reimagined from” On The Edge in 1985.
Tracks 2, 3, 4, 11, and 13 were “reimagined from” Short Stories in 1986.
Tracks 6 and 9 were new compositions.
All tracks were written by Dan.
The album personnel was:
Dan Siegel: keyboards, melodica
Michael Lington: saxophone
Tony Guerrero: trumpet, peck horn
Pedro Eustache: flutes, duduk, various winds
Adam Glasser: harmonica
Michael Miller: guitar
Allen Hinds: guitar
Abraham Laboriel: bass
Alex Galas: bouzouki
Aloke Dasgupta: sitar
Paul Livingstone: sitar
Charlie Bisharat: violin
John Riley: oboe, piccolo, bass clarinet
Nadia Freeman: vocals
“Fables” has the same feel as Dan’s “Hemispheres” album in 1995.
My favorite tracks so far are “Concrete Jungle,” “A Day In The Country,” “Celestial Body,” “The Last Waltz,” and “Where Are You Now.”
Acoustic Alchemy concert recap June 22, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.1 comment so far
Later Acoustic Alchemy recaps: October 2010, June 2012, November 2016
Earlier tonight, I attended Acoustic Alchemy’s concert at IMAC. I sat in the first row of the Center Right section’s odd number seats. The theater’s audio mixing board was a few feet ahead to my left.
The set list included:
“Get Up (Levantar y Bailar)”
“Jubilation”
“Jamaica Heartbeat”
“Out of Nowhere”
“Big Sky Country”
“Carlos the King”
“Ariane” (last song before intermission)
“Ernie”
“Tied Up with String”
“She Speaks American/English”
“Tuff Puzzle”
“Lazeez” (encore)
I took 129 pictures during the concert. Here are the ones that stood out:
Greg Carmichael:
Miles Gilderdale on acoustic guitar…
…and electric guitar:
Fred White on keyboards:
Gary Grainger on bass…
…and younger brother Greg Grainger on drums:
Miles and Greg C. in the final measure of “Lazeez”:
And the band taking a bow (or, at least, about to):
It was an excellent show!
Afterward, my friend Kat Sarracco took this picture:
Standing left to right: Greg Carmichael, Miles Gilderdale, Mike Chimeri; Sitting left to right: Gary Grainger, Greg Grainger, Fred White
This was my first Acoustic Alchemy concert, but I guarantee it won’t be the last.
6/29 UPDATE: Kat has added my pictures of Miles Gilderdale (on electric guitar) and Fred White to the 2008 Fan Photo Gallery on the official Acoustic Alchemy site.
7/14 UPDATE: My picture with the band is part of the recently added 2008 Fan Archive.
Acoustic Alchemy at IMAC tomorrow June 20, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Personal.add a comment
I’ll be going back to IMAC tomorrow night to see Acoustic Alchemy in concert. To prepare, I’ll be spending the next two days listening to many of their songs. This way (hey, that’s their latest album title), I can identify what’s played.
Either tomorrow night or Sunday, I’ll have a recap of the concert, complete with any pictures I take.
1,000 views! June 17, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Uncategorized.add a comment
Earlier today, The Mike Chimeri Blog had its 1,000th view! Thank you to all of you that have visited in the two months since I started this blog. You have made that milestone a reality. Next stop: 2,000.
Tim Russert: 1950-2008 June 13, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Personal, TV.1 comment so far
Alex Wong/Getty Images file; used in MSNBC.com link
I was surprised, shocked, and saddened to learn about a half ago that Tim Russert has died of an apparent heart attack today. He was 58.
Tim was a great man, a giant in broadcast news, and one of my broadcasting inspirations. In July 2004, as I was beginning my run at WGBB, I bought and listened to the audiobook for his book “Big Russ & Me,” about his love and appreciation for his father. I listened to it again with my dad two months later, as we drove to Penn State, my sister’s alma mater (she was a senior at the time), to watch a Nittany Lions football game against UCF (the University of Central Florida) at Beaver Stadium. Flooding along the Delaware Water Gap – as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Ivan – forced us to turn around on I-80 near the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border and drive home, giving my dad and I an opportunity to listen to more of that touching book.
My condolences to Tim’s wife Maureen Orth, his son Luke, his extended family, and his father, the original Tim Russert: Big Russ himself.
No more posts about Cablevision June 12, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, TV.add a comment
I’ve decided to give up posting about my experiences with Cablevision. I have no confidence in any channels being added no matter how much we customers plead or demand. I don’t know what I’ll do in the future, but one way or another, I’ll get the channels I want, like Fox Business Network, even if it means moving and switching providers.
Thank you for reading my posts about Cablevision. I invite you to stick around for posts about other goings-on in my life, as well as concert recaps and album reviews. For example, next weekend, I’ll have a recap of Acoustic Alchemy’s concert at IMAC. And I’m bound to let you know about any albums I pre-order, buy, or listen to.
RnR concert recap June 7, 2008
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RnR Smooth Cruise recap: 8/4/10
Later today, I will recap last night’s RnR (Rick Braun and Richard Elliot) concert at IMAC in Huntington, New York. I attended the 7PM concert, sat in the first row for the third concert in a row, and straightaway center for the second time in three concerts (SJFS was the first).
Expect pictures and as much of the set list as I can identify or remember.
5:38 PM UPDATE: The recap will now be up by Monday at the latest. Please be patient.
6/8, 1:50 AM UPDATE: I have selected the pictures to use for the recap and cropped them. I hope to write the recap with those pictures later today.
6/8, 11:13 PM UPDATE: Here, finally, is the rest of the recap:
The band was comprised of Rick Braun on trumpet (with and without mute) and flugelhorn…
Richard Elliot on tenor saxophone…
Ron Reinhardt on keyboards…
Dwight Sills on guitar…
Nate Phillips on bass…
…and Ricky Lawson on drums.
The set list included, but was not limited to:
“Curve Ball”
This led off the show.
“Down and Dirty”
“Notorious” (Rick’s song from “Body and Soul”)
“People Make the World Go Round” (covered by Richard on “Metro Blue”)
Midway through, Richard tried to get as much growl as he could out of his sax.
“Cadillac Slim”
“RnR”
“Grazin’ in the Grass” (covered by Rick with Boney James on “Shake It Up”)
This was the last song before the encore.
“Use Me” (covered by Rick on “Kisses in the Rain”)
This was the encore. Rick encouraged the audience to sing the lyric “Until you use me up” as loud as possible.
And there you go. It was a very exciting concert. I can only imagine what the 9:30 crowd got.
Up and down feelings about Cablevision June 4, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Personal, TV.add a comment
5 1/2 hours ago, I called Cablevision and asked a customer service representative if any new channels would be added within the next few weeks. The rep said “no,” which resulted in me lashing out at her, venting my frustration that all my optimism for channels being added in the future was for nothing and that I hate Cablevision. I then hung up, wrote a frustrated post here, and called DirecTV. I told one of their reps what had just happened with the Cablevision rep. I was seriously considering, on knee-jerk impulse, to get DirecTV for my room because they had so many channels that I wanted that Cablevision will [seemingly, at the time] never add. I didn’t buy a package, though, wanting to go over with the idea with my parents. My mom didn’t like the idea, saying it was a “frivolous” one. My dad would probably feel the same way.
As time passed, my frustration wore off. So, I deleted my frustrated post, called Cablevision back, spoke to a different rep, and apologized for lashing out. This rep was more optimistic, said that the earlier rep shouldn’t have just said “no,” and filled out an inquiry on my behalf that I would like Fox Business Network added to the lineup.
Long story short, I’m not switching to DirecTV. I’d like to, but I just can’t do it. My patience with Cablevision can be tried at times, but I need to remain patient and, above all, calm.
So, I apologize to those of you that were here earlier and saw me so angry. Don’t worry, that post is long gone.
11/19/09 UPDATE: FBN has finally come to Cablevision!
Computer back to normal June 2, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Technology.add a comment
It’s been a long day, but my computer is just about back to normal. Phew.
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