Shelly Peiken, Confessions of a Serial Songwriter March 28, 2016
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Comedy, Football, Music, Personal.add a comment

Posing with Confessions of a Serial Songwriter after I finished reading it
NOTE: This is more of a recounting of my experience leading up to buying the book, and then reading the book, than a review of it. I didn’t want to give too much away.
A few years ago, I added a friend on Facebook via mutual friends. Her name was Shelly Peiken (“PIE-kin”), and she was a native of Freeport, New York. Her mutual friends included my aunts, Randy and Robin, and a few other family friends from Freeport, where I spent much of the first 11 1/2 years of my life. Little did I know that Shelly was an established songwriter, having written “Bitch” for Meredith Brooks and “What a Girl Wants” for Christina Aguilera, among countless others. I mostly listen to instrumentals, having fallen in love with them during the local forecasts on The Weather Channel, but I was as tuned in to mainstream music as the next person.
I first heard – or rather, I saw – “Bitch” sometime in 1997 on a weekly late night NBC show, which aired after Late Night, called Friday Night Videos. Another memory of that song came later that year when my friend Joey sang the chorus as we walked through Splish Splash water park in Riverhead on Labor Day Weekend.
“What a Girl Wants” came to my attention when I was a freshman in college at LIU Post (then C.W. Post). I vividly remember having the bridge to that song in my head during the 1999-2000 NFC Championship Game, as the Buccaneers were driving (unsuccessfully) to regain the lead over the Rams late in the 4th quarter.
I knew Shelly was working on an autobiography, but didn’t know the title, or if it was out, until I noticed a post of hers in my Facebook news feed last Monday. The book is called Confessions of a Serial Songwriter. I headed to Amazon to see the book’s listing (which I linked to in the previous sentence). I contemplated whether or not I should buy it throughout the morning and into the afternoon. I twice watched a video on the listing page where Shelly explained how the book came to be. I didn’t realize until typing this now and searching YouTube that the video was posted over a year and a half ago. For you prospective buyers, here’s the video:
Sold! I bought Confessions… after watching a second time. Since it was Prime eligible, I figured I would have the book by Wednesday, but it didn’t arrive until Friday. Little did I know that my father Bill had also purchased the book. His copy arrived the next day. It sat on the kitchen table, tempting me. Do I dare read his copy before I get mine?
I didn’t succumb to temptation…until Friday morning. I whizzed through 46 pages before putting it back where I found it. By afternoon, my copy had arrived. I read another 19 pages in the afternoon and another 21 pages in the evening. 86 pages in one day! I’ve never read that fast! It helped that I imagined Kevin Pollak narrating the book as I read. He was in my head because I’d been listening to his autobiography on Audible. It’s called How I Slept My Way to the Middle: Secrets and Stories from Stage, Screen, and Interwebs. Plus, I had discovered his long-running chat show, simply titled Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show.
Saturday was another busy reading day. I read 48 pages in the morning, 36 pages in the afternoon, and 16 pages in the evening. Another 98 pages down. Even though it was only 8:06 PM when I completed page 185, I felt tired and went to sleep.
I woke up at sunrise. After watching Kevin Pollak’s interview with Drew Carey, I resumed reading Confessions… I read 42 pages before stopping to craft the first draft of the post you’re reading now. By mid-afternoon, I finished the book! In under 54 hours, I had read all 276 pages, including thank yous, the glossary, the song index, credits, and “about the author.” What an adventure!
There’s more to Shelly than “Bitch” and “What a Girl Wants.” And there’s more to the book than all the songs Shelly wrote. She also goes into the business side of songwriting and the changes it’s undergone in the last 15 years. I highly recommend Confessions of a Serial Songwriter. You won’t be disappointed. Order your copy today.
January 23 blizzard pictures & video January 25, 2016
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Technology, Video, Weather.add a comment
Last Monday, I hinted at the end of my Lisa Hilton post that there could be significant snowfall by the end of the week. And there was.
Whereas the first major storm of last winter was initially supposed to bring up to three feet of snow, then brought half that, this year’s appeared to be destined for six inches at most. But by Thursday night, the forecast began trending toward the worst case scenario. Strong winds were also in play, which brought the flooding fear to waterfront residents and the downed trees and power outages fear to me, an inland resident.
Luckily, the wind wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. There were a few big gusts in the morning, but that was it.
Below is a photographic timeline of Saturday’s blizzard from eight hours after snow began through a few hours before it ended.

Every few hours, I shoveled the front porch to keep the snow from piling up. I chose to wait until after snow had ended to shovel the rest of the driveway.

I tried to go to sleep around 11:30, but I was too eager to shovel. So, with snow still coming down, albeit lightly, I began to shovel the driveway. I made it to the center, the widest part, before giving up.
According to the National Weather Service, 25.1 inches of snow fell in Wantagh, but I measured a few inches less in my driveway.
When I woke up yesterday morning, at around 10:30 AM, I took some pictures:

Then, it was time to shovel. It took three long hours, with a few short breaks mixed in. But with help from my mom, the task was nearly complete. All that remained, following a shower, was to shovel snow that had been under my dad’s car at the edge of the driveway. That took ten minutes.
These pictures were taken at around 3PM, after that last bit of shoveling:

I usually shovel the sidewalk up to the property line, but there was so much snow that I didn’t bother.
Over the next few days, daytime high temperatures are forecast to be above freezing, perfect for melting. Good.
There are snow showers in the forecast for Thursday night into Friday with little accumulation expected. I hope that forecast stands.
I’ll leave you with the video timeline shot on my Panasonic HC-V770 and iPhone 6 (with an Otterbox Defender case):
Lisa Hilton at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall: 2016 edition January 18, 2016
Posted by Mike C. in Baseball, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, Weather.add a comment
Previous Lisa Hilton recaps: June 2011, January 2014, January 2015
Later recaps: January 2018, January 2019
The second show I’ve attended in 2016 – the first was the Jeff Lorber Fusion, ten nights earlier – continued an annual tradition: Lisa Hilton at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Yesterday’s performance marked her third year in Weill and I’ve been in the audience every time.
Like last year, I got a ride to the Wantagh LIRR station at around noon. Once there, I bought a round trip off peak ticket and waited for the 12:18 train to Penn Station. The ride wasn’t as quiet as last year in either direction, but I didn’t mind.
When I got to Penn, I took the 1 train to 59th Street-Columbus Circle. I walked two blocks south and one block east to get to Carnegie Hall, taking pictures along the way:

My seat was front row center again. I had the row all to myself. You’d think people would buy front row seats if they’re available, but not in this case.
I grabbed a few shots of the stage, and ceiling, before showtime:

Lisa Hilton and the band were fashionably late, starting at 2:03. Lisa played piano with Ben Williams on bass and Rudy Royston on drums. Except where noted by an asterisk*, J.D. Allen and Ingrid Jensen rounded out the band on tenor saxophone and trumpet, respectively.
1/27 UPDATE: Here’s a shot from further back in the audience during the show:

I’m to Ingrid’s left (screen right).
All but the last two songs in the set were from Lisa’s new album, Nocturnal, which comes out this Friday. Copies were on sale in the lobby and I bought one before entering the hall. Here is the set list:
1. Nocturnal (also on Horizons, 2015)
2. A Spark in the Night
3. Whirlwind
4. Seduction (also on Seduction, 1997; Cocktails at Eight, 2000; My Favorite Things, 2005; and The New York Sessions, 2007)
5. Willow Weep for Me (written by Ann Ronell)
Midnight Sonata:
6. Part I: Symphony of Blues
7. Part II: Desire (also on In the Mood for Jazz, 2003)
8. Part III: Midnight Stars
9. Twilight
10. An August Remembered (rewritten from “August 1999,” which was composed for Cocktails at Eight in 2000)
11. The Sky and the Ocean (from Horizons, 2015)
12. Stepping Into Paradise (from Getaway, 2013)
“A Spark in the Night” and “Midnight Stars” had a Latin feel to them. “Midnight Stars,” in particular, sounded like a bullfighter song at one point. “Nocturnal,” “Seduction,” and “Twilight” sounded as good as they did last year. “Whirlwind” was a whirlwind. I loved it. I remember August 1999: Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs achieved the 3,000th hits of their eventual Hall of Fame careers, I had two weeks of diagnostic vocational evaluation at Abilities, Inc., in Albertson, and I spent an afternoon at Splish Splash water park in Riverhead. I thought of all that as I listened to “An August Remembered.” Unlike on the Nocturnal album version, which was a solo performance, the band accompanied Lisa.
I caught up with Lisa after the show and we posed for this picture:

I was caught off guard when I looked out the window and saw snow falling. And it was accumulating. But the end result was merely a coating. As I type, there may be more significant snowfall at the end of the week.
“See you next year,” I said to Lisa after we said our goodbyes. Year 3 at Carnegie Hall was a success. Thanks to Lisa, Ben, Rudy, J.D., and Ingrid.
The Jeff Lorber Fusion at Birdland January 11, 2016
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.1 comment so far
My first show of 2016 was the Jeff Lorber Fusion at Birdland Jazz Club. I had last seen Jeff at the Blue Note in June 2014. This was my first time back at Birdland since I saw Yellowjackets on November 17, 2006, my 25th birthday. Coincidentally, Yellowjackets were also celebrating 25 years at the time. I plan on seeing them at Birdland this April.
The Jeff Lorber Fusion were in the middle of a five-night engagement at Birdland when my girlfriend and I went to see them on Thursday night.
Andy Snitzer was on tenor saxophone:

…but played soprano saxophone on “Chinese Medicinal Herbs” and “Up On This”:

Lionel Cordew rounded out the band on drums:

Each night had shows at 8:30 and 11:00. Here is the set list for Thursday’s 8:30 show:
1. Chinese Medicinal Herbs
Originally heard on: “The Jeff Lorber Fusion,” 1977; “Now is the Time,” 2010
2. He Had a Hat
Originally heard on: “He Had a Hat,” 2007
3. Get Up
Originally heard on: “Step It Up,” 2015
4. Hacienda
Originally heard on: “Hacienda,” 2013
5. Rain Dance
Originally heard on: “Water Sign,” 1979; “Now is the Time,” 2010
6. Montserrat
Originally heard on: “Galaxy,” 2012
7. Up On This
Originally heard on: “Step It Up,” 2015
8. Anthem for a New America/Tune 88
Originally heard on: “He Had a Hat,” 2007/”Water Sign,” 1979; “Flipside,” 2005
Photographically, I figured out how to shoot great pictures in low light without raising the ISO too high. The trick was to shoot in shutter-priority mode rather than aperture-priority mode. Once I found a good shutter speed, 1/30 second, I was ready to go.
With that in mind, here are various shots of each band member, starting with Jeff Lorber:

Lionel Cordew’s “Get Up” drum solo:

After my girlfriend chatted with Andy and Jeff. Then, we headed for home. It was another great night of music for us. Thank you, Jeff, Jimmy, Andy, and Lionel.
2015 in review December 30, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Weather.add a comment
The following is an excerpt of an end-of-year post WordPress created for MikeChimeri.com. Scroll down for my editorial.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,400 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
2015 was an on-and-off year for MikeChimeri.com. But when we were on, there was plenty to write about: eight jazz shows, five WCWP events, five winter storms (plus more that I didn’t post pictures from), this website’s 10th anniversary, and a bit more. Check the archives (screen left) to see what I posted by month.
There will be more to write about in 2016. Until then, have a happy, healthy, and gainful new year.
Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2016 dates/lineup December 21, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.add a comment
The time has come to reveal the who and when of keyboardist Jay Rowe‘s annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit concert. This is the 14th year, the fourth since expanding to two nights.
Jay has the details in two separate Facebook posts. Here’s the first:
Reserved seating for the 14th annual Smooth Jazz For Scholars benefit concert are on sale now!! The shows will be held on 4/29/16 and 4/30/16. The line-up for 4/29 is Peter White, Marion Meadows, Brian Simpson and Matt Marshak. The line-up for 4/30 is Nick Colionne, Chieli Minucci, Nelson Rangell and Eric Darius. Tickets are $40 for each night and $70 for both nights. Purchase tickets by sending a check or money order payable to Smooth Jazz For Scholars Inc. to P.O. Box 3723 Milford, CT 06460.
General admission Smooth Jazz For Scholars tickets are on sale now at smoothjazzforscholars2016.eventbrite.com. Friday 4/29/16 line-up; Peter White, Meadows, Brian Simpson, Matt Marshak. Saturday 4/30/16 line-up: Nick Colionne, Eric Darius, Chieli Minucci, Nelson Rangell. The show will be held at the Parsons Complex 70 West River Street Milford, CT 06460. showtime at 8p.m. both nights. Tickets are $40 each 1 night $70 both nights.
I opted to go to both nights this year, meaning I’ll miss out on the 2016 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony at LIU Post. For the second year in a row, the ceremony conflicts with the second night. It was a tough decision to make as I’ve contributed quite a bit to WCWP alumni events with my pictures, video, and audio. It’s times like this when I wish I had a helicopter. I could take it from Milford to Brookville, and then go back after the ceremony. I hope 2017 is conflict-free.
As for Smooth Jazz for Scholars, this is the first appearance for Brian Simpson, Matt Marshak, and Eric Darius. I wonder if Brian will play his keytar and walk through the audience with it. And will Marion do the same for “Suede,” if he that’s on the set list? Can we expect Nick to play “Rainy Night in Georgia” and end the show with the always-wild James Brown tribute? What will Nelson’s whistle song be? Those questions and more will be answered this April.
Friday, April 29
Peter White
Marion Meadows
Brian Simpson
Matt Marshak
Saturday, April 30
Nick Colionne
Chieli Minucci
Nelson Rangell
Eric Darius
Location:
Parsons Complex
70 W. River St.
Milford, CT 06460
Tickets: $40 for one night, $70 for two nights
Reserved seating tickets can be purchased by check (like I did) or money order payable to:
Smooth Jazz for Scholars, Inc.
P.O. Box 3723
Milford, CT 06460
General admission tickets can be purchased at smoothjazzforscholars2016.eventbrite.com.
Here’s my recap of the first night of the 13th annual SJFS.
5/4 UPDATE: Recaps of both nights can be seen here and here.
Expanding my Christmas album collection again December 17, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Christmas, Jazz, Media, Music, New Age, Personal.add a comment

2014 Christmas presents prior to unwrapping
Two years ago, I wrote about my love of Christmas music, which I incorporated into an extensive iTunes playlist. I listed all the albums I had compiled prior to 2013 and the albums I added that year. Last year, I updated the original post:
12/21/14 UPDATE: This year’s additions to my collection were A Smooth Jazz Holiday compiled by Nu Groove; Grover Washington, Jr.’s Breath of Heaven: A Holiday Collection, and A Soulful Christmas from Brian Culbertson. Tracks from those three albums, plus additional tracks from albums I already had, increase the duration of my iTunes playlist to 13 hours and 34 minutes!
This year, three new Christmas albums came out and I didn’t hesitate to pre-order either of them on Amazon.com. A pair of men named Kim released their albums in October. Kim Pensyl’s Early Snowfall was released on October 2 while Kim Waters’ My Gift to You came out two weeks later. Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band released A Big Phat Christmas WRAP THIS! on November 6. I added to the Christmas Music playlist three tracks from My Gift to You, eight from …WRAP THIS!, and nine tracks from Early Snowfall.
But that wasn’t all. About a year ago, my girlfriend gave me several Dave Koz albums, including A Smooth Jazz Christmas (Dave Koz & Friends) and December Makes Me Feel This Way. I didn’t take the time to listen to those albums until March. There were plenty of gems to be found, including a Hanukkah song (“Eight Candles”). Six songs from those albums were added to the playlist.
And just yesterday, I bought the instrumental tracks from David Benoit’s 2 In Love and Believe albums. I added “Guaraldi Medley” from Believe to the playlist.
Those 27 tracks, along with more material from the albums I already had, added another four hours and two minutes to the playlist; 17 hours and 36 minutes overall.
So far, the only person to hear my playlist this year is me. Since Thanksgiving, whenever I’ve gone for a run, or when I want to drown out music I don’t like in a store or restaurant, I listen to the playlist on either my iPod or iPhone. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I’ll share my playlist with family and friends, as I do every year.
Merry Christmas to all.
Fourplay at the Blue Note December 3, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Christmas, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
I was at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village on Thursday night to see contemporary jazz group Fourplay perform. It was the third of six nights at the legendary venue, which they called their Blue & Silver Holiday Celebration. Each night had an 8:00 show and a 10:30 show. I was there for the 8:00 show.
I left my house in Wantagh at 4:00, walking about 20 minutes to the Wantagh LIRR station. From there, I boarded the 4:27 train bound for Penn Station.
Once at Penn, immediately walked to the Subway station and took the A train, as in the Duke Ellington song, downtown to West 4th Street. I ascended the stairs at West 3rd and walked a quarter block to Blue Note.
I arrived at 5:40, waiting outside until the doors opened at 6:00. I took this picture while I waited:

After I was let in and I checked my coat, I chose a table facing center stage and sat at the closest seat to the stage.
After dinner and dessert, it was time for Fourplay.
The band is made up of Bob James on piano and keyboard:

Nathan East on bass and vocals:

Chuck Loeb on guitars and background vocals:

It’s Chuck’s birthday today. Happy Birthday, Chuck.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t see Harvey from my seat, but I did get this shot of him when he stood up as he and the band introduced each other:

Fourplay is celebrating 25 years as a band, the silver anniversary. That’s why their latest album is entitled “Silver.” A few songs from the album were incorporated into the set list, as you’ll see below:
1. Angels We Have Heard On High
Originally heard on: “Snowbound,” 1999
2. December Dream
Originally heard on: “Esprit de Four,” 2012
3. Max-O-Man
Originally heard on: “Fourplay,” 1991
4. Chant
Originally heard on: “Between the Sheets,” 1993
5. Quicksilver
Originally heard on: “Silver,” 2015
6. Horace
Originally heard on: “Silver,” 2015
7. Silverado
Originally heard on: “Silver,” 2015
8. Silver Streak
Originally heard on: “Silver,” 2015″
9. Bali Run
Originally heard on: “Fourplay,” 1991
10 (Encore). Between the Sheets (The Isley Brothers cover)
Originally heard on: “Between the Sheets,” 1993
The rest of this recap contains various shots of each band member. We start with Bob James:

Shots from the encore: “Between the Sheets”:

I had a blast at this show. I was into every note of every song. Thank you to Bob James, Nathan East, Chuck Loeb, and Harvey Mason for a fantastic night of music. And thank you to Ken Freeman for his masterful mixing. The audio levels were just right – not too loud, not too soft – and each instrument was in tune.
Happy Silver Anniversary to all!
I’ll leave you with a few pictures I took at West 4th Street Station while waiting for an uptown A train back to Penn Station:

Matt Marshak at Houndstooth Pub: 2015 edition November 16, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
Other Matt Marshak show recaps: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
I was at Houndstooth Pub on Saturday night to see guitarist Matt Marshak perform. It was the first time I’d seen him in two years.
Matt’s band was made up of himself on guitar:

…and Matt’s brother Chris on drums:

SET LIST
SET 1
1. Kenny’s Groove*
2. Lifestyle
3. Summerfunk
4. A Silent Knowing
5. Wind Chill Factor
6. Feelin’ It
7. Put It Where You Want It (The Crusaders cover)
8. Cadillac Kid
9. Affirmation/Breezin’ (George Benson cover medley)
*-Matt didn’t join the band until the next song.
SET 2
10. Midtown
11. Funkology
12. Teddy P (audience request)
13. Sanibel
14. Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton cover)
15. Sleepwalk (Santo & Johnny cover, notably covered by Larry Carlton)
16. Kiss (Prince and The Revolution cover)
17. Matt’s Blues
Kenny Harris’ “Feelin’ It” solo:

Chris Marshak’s “Feelin’ It” solo:

Another successful Matt Marshak show was in the books. I had a blast. Thanks to Matt, Kenny, Etienne, and Chris for making my night.
2015 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming, 2016 Hall of Fame Announcement October 11, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Video, Weather.add a comment
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
Earlier 2015 Homecoming Weekend posts: FM 50th Anniversary Celebration, First few hours of shows on Friday
Later in this recap, I share the aircheck from my pre-recorded Homecoming Weekend show that aired early this morning. To see and hear my live show on Friday, click here.
Yesterday was my third day in row on the campus of LIU Post: Homecoming Day.
I arrived about an hour earlier than previous years. When I made my way to Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium, the LIU Post Pioneers and Merrimack College Warriors were in the second quarter of their game.
On the way to Bronko Piersall Field, I shot pictures from the carnival and signs in the parking lot:

Jeff Kroll and Neil Marks were back in the lower booth calling the game. Jeff’s wife Pat is to his left (screen right) and Joel Feltman is to Neil’s right (screen left).
Pat photographed Jeff and Neil before kickoff:

Unfortunately, the Pioneers did not score while I was by the field:

They did, however, miss a field goal:

Disappointed, I walked to WCWP, where I spent the rest of the day.
The Pioneers would trail the Warriors 3-0 at halftime, but score 20 unanswered points in the second half. The Warriors got back within 3 twice and had two chances to regain the lead. They couldn’t, and the Pioneers hung on to win 27-24.
Now for the WCWP portion of the day…

Maura “Bernie” Bernard’s show followed the football game:

Pete Bellotti announced the two 2016 inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame: the late Ann Gaffney…:

Bruce Leonard called in – speaking with Neil Marks, initially – and spoke with Bernie on the air following the announcement:

Jeff Kroll chimed in on Joe’s induction:

Pete Bellotti, me, Jay Mirabile:

Pete Bellotti, Bernie Bernard, Joe Honerkamp, Dan Cox, Bobby Guthenberg:

Bernie made way for Mike Riccio and Bobby G.:

Back in Studio 2, Bill and Debbie Mozer:

It was a fun few days of Homecoming festivites for me. It’s always great to catch up with my fellow alumni. The compliments I received for my multimedia work – pictures, video, and audio – have made this year extra special.
Now, here’s video from some of Bernie’s show followed by the start of Mike and Bobby’s show:
There was one part of Bernie’s show that I missed: Ted David called in. Here’s how that sounded:
That’s what I meant by the compliments I received. Thank you very much, Ted.
At 2:00 this morning, the second of my Homecoming Weekend shows aired: a bonus edition of Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri. I recorded the show two weeks ago. Naturally, I have pictures to show for it:

Here is the aircheck from the show:
I’ve been listening to the rest of the WCWP Homecoming Weekend throughout Sunday.






































































































































































































































































