Chieli Minucci & Special EFX at The Cutting Room again July 2, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.2 comments
I returned to The Cutting Room last Friday night to see Chieli Minucci & Special EFX perform.
I last saw them at that venue in January 2014. I arrived close to show time and missed out on a good table. This time, I showed up before the doors opened to ensure better results. The plan worked. I sat at a small table right next to the stage.
Special EFX was led by co-founder Chieli Minucci on guitar:
With Jay Rowe on keyboards:
Jerry Brooks, who’s about to tour with Journey, on bass:
…and Lionel Cordew on drums:
Plus, special guest Alan Grubner on violin:
SET LIST
1. Courageous Cats
Originally heard on: “Jewels,” 1995 (Chieli solo album)
2. Speak to Me (preceded by Chieli’s intro)
Originally heard on: “Masterpiece,” 1999
3. Crazy Eights
Originally heard on: “Genesis,” 2013
4.Till the End of Time
Originally heard on: “Genesis,” 2013
5. George Can’t Dance
Originally heard on: “Catwalk,” 1994
6. Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers
Originally heard on: “Renaissance,” 1996 (Chieli solo album)
7. Cruise Control
Originally heard on: “Butterfly,” 2001
8. Your Smile, My Heaven
Originally heard on: “Genesis,” 2013
9. Kickin’ It Hard/Spain
“Kickin’ It Hard” originally heard on: “Night Grooves,” 2003 (Chieli solo album); “Spain” is a Return to Forever cover
#2 and 9 featured occasional vocalizing from Chieli.
#8 and 9 featured special guest Alan Grubner.
Various shots of Chieli:
Vocalizing on “Speak to Me”:
Jay Rowe’s “Speak to Me” keyboard solo:
Jerry Brooks’ “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” bass solo:
Lionel Cordew’s “Speak to Me” drum solo:
Alan Grubner’s “Your Smile, My Heaven” violin solo:
Wide shots from “Kickin’ It Hard”:
The last note:
The end:
It was yet another superb set. Until next time.
Will Donato at Houndstooth Pub May 11, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.2 comments
Houndstooth Pub was the place to be Saturday night as saxophonist Will Donato took the stage.
This was the first time I had seen Will since he performed with fellow saxophonist Elan Trotman a few years ago. Both times, a significant personal event occurred the same day. Then, it was the removal of a curbside tree at my neighbor’s house, one that had been there since I moved to Wantagh in July 1993. Saturday, it was the tenth anniversary of MikeChimeri.com.
I was thrilled to see Will. He’s a ball of energy, winding his way through the crowd, connecting with every audience member, including me. He even has a humorous side, which he displayed when speaking to the audience between songs.
Will was mostly on alto saxophone:
Bill Heller on keyboard:
Kenny Harris on bass:
…and Chris Marshak on drums:
SET LIST
1. Kenny’s Groove (Kenny Harris)
2. New Life
Originally heard on: “Will Power,” 2004
3. I’ll Be Around (The Spinners cover)
Originally heard on: “Will Call,” 2007
4. Italia
Originally heard on: “Will Power,” 2004; “What It Takes,” 2010
5. Funkability
Originally heard on: “What It Takes,” 2010
6. Show and Tell (Al Wilson cover)
Originally heard on: “Universal Groove,” 2014
7. Working Day and Night (Michael Jackson cover)
BREAK
8. Always You
Originally heard on: “What It Takes,” 2010
9. Jaywalkin’
Originally heard on: “Universal Groove,” 2014
10. You’ve Just Been Had (Kenny Harris)
11. Down & Loaded (Bill Heller)
Originally heard on: “Find the Way,” 2014 (Bill Heller)
12. What Is Hip? (Tower of Power cover)
13 (Encore). Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry cover)
Originally heard on: “Universal Groove,” 2014
Now that you know the set list, let’s move on to various pictures of Will in the audience and on stage:
He switched to tenor sax for “Down & Loaded”…:
…before returning to alto for the last two songs:
Now for pictures of the rest of the band, starting with Bill Heller:
Vocals on “Show and Tell”:
Vocoder on “Working Day and Night”:
…and “Play That Funky Music”:
Kenny Harris:
Vocals on “Kenny’s Groove”:
…and “You’ve Just Been Had”:
Chris Marshak:
Wide shots:
“New Life”:
“Down & Loaded”:
“What Is Hip?”:
“Play That Funky Music”:
What a wild show this turned out to be. I had a blast. I spoke to Will and the band during the break and after the show, and before I left, Will and I posed for a picture:
Thank you to Will, Bill, Kenny, and Chris for making this a night to remember.
2015 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony April 28, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Interviews, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology, TV, Video.1 comment so far
Other Hall of Fame ceremony recaps: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2022, 2023
Saturday afternoon, the WCWP Hall of Fame inducted four more alumni in a ceremony inside the Goldsmith Atrium at LIU Post’s Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. In order of induction, this year’s inductees were Jeff Kroll, Bruce Leonard, Bobby Guthenberg, and Mike Riccio.
It was the third year in a row where the ceremony coincided with bright sunshine outside, allowing for plenty of natural light to illuminate the atrium.
I arrived about 90 minutes early following a drive of the same length from the Hampton Inn in Milford, Connecticut, after attending the first night of Smooth Jazz for Scholars. Slowly but surely, the inductees, their families, and fellow alumni filled the atrium and the ceremony began.
You can watch the ceremony at the end of this post, but first, the pictures:
WCWP station manager Dan Cox welcomed everyone and tossed to an introductory video narrated by Jim Cutler:
2013 inductee Bernie Bernard was this year’s MC:
The first inductee of the day was Jeff Kroll, introduced by Bruce Leonard:
The view from my camcorder:
The same view from a different focal point:
Bruce and Jeff swapped places as Jeff introduced Bruce:
Neil Marks came up to say a few words:
Then came Bruce’s acceptance speech:
Joel Feltman was next a few words of his own:
Joe Honerkamp listened as Joel reflected on how they were introduced:
The third inductee of the day was Bobby Guthenberg, introduced by Bernie Bernard:
Finally, Bobby introduced Mike Riccio:
Bobby’s gift to Mike:
Mike’s acceptance speech:
2013 inductee Bill Mozer was repeatedly referenced throughout the ceremony. He came to the stage after Mike spoke:
2014 inductee Frank D’Elia’s turn at the mic:
Bill returned with a few more words:
Dan Cox returned to wrap of the ceremony, bringing along a copy of the Hall of Fame sign, as posted in the background, to be autographed by the four inductees:
Jeff’s wife Pat bought a cake for the ceremony:
The ceremonial cutting:
Now that you’ve seen the pictures, enjoy the video:
Congratulations to Jeff Kroll, Bruce Leonard, Bobby Guthenberg, and Mike Riccio, the 2015 WCWP Hall of Fame class!
SJFS 2015 Night 1 recap April 27, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel, Video.add a comment
To borrow guitarist Jay Dobbins’ song title, it was “That Time Again” on Friday – time for me to head up to Milford, Connecticut, for Jay Rowe‘s Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit concert. This was the 13th year of SJFS and the third with two nights of shows. Unfortunately, I could only make the first night this year because of the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony on Saturday.
The headliners on Friday night were Peter White, Marion Meadows, and Vincent Ingala.
As always, Kevin McCabe had a few opening remarks:
Then, Jay Rowe took the stage. Jay was on keyboards:
Dave Anderson played bass:
Trever Somerville on drums:
Steve Scales on percussion:
…and for nine songs, Rohn Lawrence on electric guitar:
SET LIST
1. That Time Again (Jay Dobbins)
Originally heard on: “Anything for You,” 2013
Featured musicians: Jay Dobbins (electric guitar), Jay Rowe (keyboards)
2. Pleasure Island (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: “Laugh Out Loud,” 2001
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
3. Can’t Stop Now (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: “Can’t Stop Now,” 2012
Featured musicians: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
4. Kimi Trick (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: “Can’t Stop Now,” 2012
Featured musicians: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
5. Real Time (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “Soul Traveler,” 2015
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
6. Humanity (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “Soul Traveler,” 2015
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
7. Caravan of Dreams (Peter White)
Originally heard on: “Caravan of Dreams,” 1996
Featured musicians: Peter White (acoustic guitar), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)
8. Bright (Peter White)
Originally heard on: “Good Day,” 2009
Featured musicians: Peter White (acoustic guitar)
9. How Deep is Your Love (Peter White; The Bee Gees cover)
Originally heard on: “Reflections,” 1994
Featured musicians: Peter White (acoustic guitar)
10. In Rainbows (Peter White)
Originally heard on: “Smile,” 2014
Featured musicians: Peter White (acoustic guitar), Vincent Ingala (soprano sax)
11. Here We Go (Peter White)
Originally heard on: “Here We Go,” 2012
Featured musicians: Peter White (acoustic guitar), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)
12. Wish I Was There (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: “Can’t Stop Now,” 2012
Featured musicians: Vincent Ingala (electric guitar)
13. Coast to Coast (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: “Coast to Coast,” 2015 (released five days later [tomorrow])
Featured musicians: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
14. Suede (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “Player’s Club,” 2004
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
Unlike previous performances, Marion did not start in the audience and work his way to the stage.
15. Treasures (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “In Deep,” 2002
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows (soprano sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
16 (Finale). I’ll Be Around (The Spinners cover)
Featured musicians: Everyone
Now for various pictures of each musician.
First, Jay Rowe:
Dave Anderson:
Trever Somerville:
Steve Scales:
Rohn Lawrence:
Making his SJFS debut, Jay Dobbins:
Vincent Ingala:
Tenor sax:
Soprano sax:
Electric guitar:
Marion Meadows:
Peter White:
On to wide shots, starting with “Pleasure Island”:
“Kimi Trick”:
“Real Time”:
“Humanity”:
“Caravan of Dreams”:
“Bright”:
“In Rainbows”:
“Here We Go”:
“Coast to Coast”:
The finale – “I’ll Be Around”:
The last note:
With the night complete, Jay gave thanks:
Afterward, I packed up my equipment and headed for the meet and greet in the lobby.
The musician I met and greeted was Peter White:
It had been five years since I last saw him in person, aboard the Guitars and Saxes Smooth Cruise in 2010.
After speaking with Peter, I moved on to Marion Meadows, Rohn Lawrence, and Vincent Ingala.
Here I am with Vincent:
Rohn and Jay Dobbins:
While waiting in line, Jay Rowe asked if anyone had a Sharpie he could use for autographing. I gave him the one in my backpack and let him keep it. I can always get more.
I said my goodbyes and headed to the nearby Hampton Inn for the night. I left for LIU Post in the morning.
Winter’s second encore March 29, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
A second encore performance of snow affected my area yesterday. We were on the western fringe of a storm that left at least 2 to 4 inches of snow in Central and Eastern Suffolk County. Here in Nassau, snowfall was minimal.
We were treated to intermittent snow showers during the day that barely accumulated:
There was a little more snow at night that left a solid coating:
Here’s what the coating looked like at around 8:30 this morning:
The late March sun has already melted most of it. Surely this was the last snow of the season, right?
Winter’s encore March 21, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
The snow of two Thursdays ago turned out not to be the last snow of the season. An encore performance came through yesterday. This time, it was entirely wet snow. Thanks to two weeks of above-freezing temperatures, in addition to the strength of the mid-March sun, not much snow stuck on pavement. I measured an inch in the driveway last night as the snow was tapering off. The front lawn accurately represented the snowfall: 5 inches.
Below is a timeline of the snowfall from start to finish, followed by today’s rapid melting.
March 20
1:29 PM:
2:59 PM:
4:31 PM:
6:40 PM, five minutes before the vernal equinox:
8:05 PM, 80 minutes into spring:
9:49 PM, as snow tapered off:
March 21
8:36 AM, during a remnant snow shower:
9:24 AM:
1:21 PM:
3:19 PM:
4:13 PM:
There may not be any snow left on the ground by Monday, and that may be the last we see until late fall. Happy spring.
WCWP-FM 50th Anniversary Celebration March 20, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Education, Media, Personal, Photography, Radio, Video.add a comment
WCWP 88.1 FM, LIU Post’s radio station, commemorated 50 years on the air with an anniversary dinner Saturday night at Page One Restaurant in Glen Cove, and a celebratory anniversary show Monday afternoon.
The dinner marked my first time back at Page One in nine years when WCWP had its annual station dinner there. Here’s an exterior shot I took prior to the 2003 station dinner:
Station banner inside Page One:
A couple of group shots with the banner:
WCWP-FM signed on 50 years ago Monday at 4PM, which was marked by a four-hour anniversary show that ran an hour before to three hours after that original sign-on.
Hank Neimark provided that original sign-on. WCWP station manager Dan Cox shot a picture at 4:00:00 today of Hank reprising his sign-on (courtesy WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group):
Here’s how it sounded…:
…and looked (via Bobby Guthenberg):
Guest reading at my old elementary school March 5, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Books, Education, Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
Other guest reading posts: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022
I was at Leo F. Giblyn School in Freeport on Monday as a guest reader for Dr. Seuss Spirit Week. I read Dr. Seuss books to four different classes and an unrelated weather book to a fifth class.
It was great to be back where I attended third and fourth grade. (I spent kindergarten, first grade, and second grade up the road at Archer Street.) My mother has been a teaching assistant at Giblyn for about 25 years and my sister has also worked there in many roles for about a decade.
The books I read on Monday were One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish; Dr. Seuss’s ABC; and Gerald McBoing Boing, which I read twice.
The first Gerald McBoing Boing reading was the highlight of my day. I did impressions for two of the characters. One voice was Don Adams’ Maxwell Smart (which was an impression of William Powell) and the other was Casey Kasem with a hint of Vin Scully. When I noted in the Q&A that Casey was also the voice of Shaggy on the various Scooby-Doo series, I ended up taking several cartoon character voice requests.
When I wasn’t reading, I was jumping from classroom to classroom taking pictures of other guest readers.
The kids loved me, especially since I was Mrs. Chimeri’s son and Ms. Chimeri’s brother. Case in point, the next day, my sister told me one student said “your brother was awesome.” The teachers I saw agreed with that assessment.
I’d love to come back again. It was a busy day, but I enjoyed it. I’ll conclude this post with a collage I made from candid shots taken while I read:
I made the collage because I don’t know if I’m allowed to post full pictures with students in them without parents’ permission.
Brian Simpson concert recap 3 (7PM show) February 17, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
Previous Brian Simpson recaps: April 2011, September 2012
I was at Houndstooth Pub on Valentine’s Day to see keyboardist Brian Simpson perform. As with Lisa Hilton last month, this was the third time I had seen Brian live. Also like Lisa’s show, Brian debuted material from an upcoming album. Out of a Dream was released today.
There always seems to be an active weather pattern when I go to see Brian Simpson. The first time, there was a nor’easter. The second time, a severe thunderstorm threatened Manhattan, but weakened considerably by the time it crossed the Hudson River. This time, a clipper brought light snow to the area, but it was forecast to reform and intensify offshore at night, dumping heavier snow and strong gusty winds in the process.
I took this shot before I left with my girlfriend for the Wantagh LIRR station:
I considered it a before picture, expecting to take an after picture when we got home that would show a few inches on the ground with more to come overnight. Luckily, the forecast models changed dramatically while my girlfriend and I were out. The worst of the snow stayed to the south. The same coating you see above awaited us when we got back to Wantagh. An additional coating fell overnight.
Unfortunately, the wind forecast didn’t change. Gusts over 50 miles per hour began after 2AM and continued for about 12 more hours. From there, gusts were as high as 45 mph and occurred less and less until they were gone altogether by Monday afternoon.
But enough about the weather.
There were two shows that night: 7:00 and 9:15. My girlfriend and I got tickets to the 7:00.
Brian Simpson played keyboard:
Dave Anderson was on bass:
Les Cleveland on drums:
…and on seven songs in the set, Art Sherrod Jr. on saxophone:
The engineer was Neal Newman:
As I noted at the top, the show featured songs from Brian’s latest album, Out of a Dream. Here’s the full set list:
1. South Beach* – keyboard/keytar
2. It Could Happen* – keytar/keyboard
3. Just One Wish^
4. When I Say Your Name*^
5. Blues in G*
6. Sky Watcher^ – keytar
7. Can’t Tell You Why
8. Let’s Get Close – keytar
9. Just What You Need – keytar
10. Juicy* – keytar/keyboard
11. Saturday Cool*
12 (Encore). It’s All Good*
* Art Sherrod Jr., sax
^ From Out of a Dream
Now, for a series of pictures of Brian on keytar. First, pictures from “Let’s Get Close”:
One of the audience members he got close to – in the musical sense – was my girlfriend:
She’s been a fan of Brian for a long time. In fact, she first learned of me through my website after I posted my Mike Chimeri Show interview with him nine years ago. (That interview and more can be found here.) It would be another four years before she finally got in touch with me on Facebook.
For “Saturday Cool,” he went beyond the stage and into the audience, passing by Ron and Nydia along the way:
Back on stage, here are pictures from Dave Anderson and Les Cleveland’s “Saturday Cool” solos. Dave first:
Les Cleveland:
Wide shots:
“Saturday Cool”:
The encore: “It’s All Good”:
The last note:
Art Sherrod Jr.: “Once again, Mr. Brian Simpson, everyone”:
Brian greeted us when we arrived beforehand and we spoke to him again afterward. Then, we posed for a pic:
The red Sharpie in his hand isn’t what he signed my copy of Out of a Dream with. He went with a black one instead.
I’ve used this term before, but the set was wild! I can only imagine what it was like for the later crowd. Thanks to Brian, Dave, Les, and Art.
Five days of scanning January 30, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Bowling, Education, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology.add a comment
As snow fell outside Monday afternoon, I was going through a drawer in my room where I keep some personal mementos. Then, I was struck with inspiration. I had been using my Epson WF-3520 All-in-One Printer in the guest room to copy a few documents this month, via the printer’s sheet feeder. Why not use that sheet feeder to scan any personal mementos that were on letter-size paper? That’s what I did all this week.
I started with bowling scorecards between 1998 and 2006, plus a handful more between September 2007 and September 2014. Then, I moved on to my final college transcript, a paper I wrote for Introduction to Journalism, an e-mail reply from Tom Snyder, two e-mail replies from voice over talent Dan Chandler, a flyer promoting my Mike Chimeri Show interview with Colin Mochrie, and radio show and Live365 radio station playlists. I scanned anything that wasn’t letter-size on the traditional scanner platen. This included dot matrix score sheets from AMF Wantagh Lanes and two desk calendar pages that were dated September 11, 2001. Playlists that were handwritten on letter-size legal paper had to be scanned on my Canon CanoScan LiDE210 in my room. Since what I wrote on the other side could be seen, I had to scan in black and white – not grayscale – giving the scans an old photocopy or fax look.
The radio show playlists spanned my career to date: The Mike Chimeri Show, The Instrumental Invasion, MCJN (Live365 station), a few demos, the night I filled in for Martin Phillips on the defunct Thursday Night Jazz show, Evening Jazz, CJazzPlus (Live365 station), and all my homecoming weekend shows.
In addition to the copy of my Intro to Journalism paper, I also saved papers by two of my classmates. The paper had us write a profile of a few of our classmates, based on press conference-style interviews our professor, Bernard Bard, previously a reporter for the New York Post, had arranged one week in mid-semester. I remember little about my presser, but there was one quote each of the classmates that wrote about me used:
Broadcasting is my thing, my calling. I belong in that field.
This was in March 2001. Seven months later, I began at WCWP. While I may have had volunteer success, I’m still waiting and hoping for professional success. If “my thing, my calling” doesn’t pan out, at least I have photo and document scanning to make a career of.
MikeChimeri.com 
