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Mike C. November 16, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Radio.
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Starting today, I’m shortening my display name from “Mike Chimeri” to “Mike C.” Since this is The Mike Chimeri Blog, you’ll know what the “C.” stands for.

In other news:

My 29th birthday is tomorrow.
CJazzPlus continues to chug along and I have an eye on expanding listening hours next month. Stay tuned.
My grandfather, Arthur Rose, passed away on November 5. May he rest in peace. Thank you to those that have expressed condolences.

20,000 views!!! November 1, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Personal.
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This afternoon, The Mike Chimeri Blog passed 20,000 views! Thanks to all of you that have dropped by since April 2008. You’re always welcome here.

News Corp-Cablevision impasse over October 31, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Media, Personal, TV.
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Our long regional nightmare ended last night. After two weeks, News Corporation and Cablevision reached a new retransimssion deal. The channels kept from customers were Fox, MyNetwork TV, Fox Business Network, Fox Deportes, and Nat Geo (National Geographic) Wild.

Many of the early posts at this blog were requests for Cablevision to add FBN to its lineup. It was finally added last November.

Nine years in radio October 12, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.
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October 5, 2001, was the day that launched my radio career. I hosted “The Mike Chimeri Show” on WebRadio WCWP (now myWCWP). I didn’t think of recording my shows until a week later, October 12. Here’s how that show sounded.

I’ve come a long way since that second “Mike Chimeri Show,” as you’ll hear when you listen to my last “Evening Jazz” show a few months ago.

Acoustic Alchemy concert recap 2 October 11, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.
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Other Acoustic Alchemy recaps: June 2008, June 2012, November 2016

Last night, I went to the YMCA Boulton Center in Bay Shore to see Acoustic Alchemy perform. I last saw them in concert in June 2008 at IMAC. I was only one row from the stage.

On guitars were the boss of the band, Greg Carmichael:

And Miles Gilderdale, who played both acoustic…

…and electric guitar:

Fred White was on the keyboards (the best picture I could get from where I sat):

Gary Grainger on bass:

And younger brother Greg Grainger on drums:

The set went on for nearly two hours, every minute a thrill. Here’s what they played:
1. No Messin’
Originally heard on: “Radio Contact,” 2003

2. Overnight Sleeper
Originally heard on: “Natural Elements,” 1988

3. Angel of the South
Originally heard on: “The Beautiful Game,” 2000

4. Jamaica Heartbeat
Originally heard on: “Back On The Case,” 1991

5. Marrakesh
Originally heard on: Upcoming 2011 album (9/14/11 UPDATE: Will be heard on “Roseland,” which comes out on 9/27.)

6. One for Shorty
Originally heard on: Upcoming 2011 album (9/14/11 UPDATE: Will be heard on “Roseland,” which comes out on 9/27.)

7. Passion Play
Originally heard on: “AArt,” 2001

8. Ariane
Originally heard on: “Blue Chip,” 1989

9. Playing For Time
Originally heard on: “Back On The Case,” 1991

10. Tuff Puzzle
Originally heard on: “AArt,” 2001

11. Lazeez
Originally heard on: “Against the Grain,” 1994

Encore 1. Unnamed
Originally heard on: Upcoming 2011 album

Encore 2. Flamoco Loco
Originally heard on: “AArt,” 2001

Now for that part of the recap where I post a series of pictures:

“Tuff Puzzle” featured a Grainger duet:

The final note on “Flamoco Loco”:

And that was it!

After the band left the stage, many fans, myself included, got in line for the upstairs lounge for the meet-and-greet. When it was my turn to meet and greet, I got a pic with the band:

Acoustic Alchemy’s next stop is the Daniel Street club in Milford, Connecticut, on Wednesday night. (6/22/12 UPDATE: Daniel Street closed in January.)

10/13 UPDATE: Yesterday morning, the band had their gear stolen when their truck and nearby cars were broken into. Katherine Gilraine has more on this (h/t Acoustic Alchemy Official Facebook Page):

One of my favorite bands, Acoustic Alchemy, had their truck broken into while in Milford, CT. It’s bad: pretty much all their gear has been stolen.

Here’s your call to action, people:

If you are local to NYC, NYS, NJ, PA, CT – keep an eye on your local papers for sales of the following items; if you are close to a pawn shop, keep an eye on it and see if anything on the list below will show up there; keep an eye on the local Dumpsters in the unlikely case you will find this gear tossed.

The list is as follows:

Pod X3 live pedal board
Fender Deluxe guitar amp
Tec Amp bass cabinet
Tec Amp Amplifier head
Roland A90 Keyboard
Yamaha Motif Rack unit
Korg Trinity rack unit
Rolls in line mixer
Roland Drum Pad
Large case of Pearl drum hardware
Fishman Aura Pedal
Ernie Ball Swell Pedal
M-Audio midi interface

The loss of this gear puts the current and ongoing Acoustic Alchemy tour in serious jeopardy. The guys have temporary replacement gear thanks to local vendors, but they need their original gear back ASAP. They are residents of the United Kingdom, and it seriously sucks that this happens to them on the rare occasion that they come to the US.

Please help these guys recover their gear. They have much more beautiful music to make, and they’d like to tour the US more often – without things like this.

Chieli Minucci & Special EFX concert recap October 1, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.
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Wednesday night, Chieli Minucci & Special EFX performed at S.O.B.’s (Sounds of Brazil) in the South Village section of Manhattan, New York. The performance marked 25 years of concert touring.

Chieli Minucci was on electric guitar…

…and acoustic guitar:

Jay Rowe on keyboards:

Jerry Brooks on bass:

Philip Hamilton on percussion…

…and vocals:

And Lionel Cordew on drums:

SET LIST
1. Uptown East
Originally heard on: “Slice Of Life,” 1986

2. Daybreak
Originally heard on: “Global Village,” 1992

3. Courageous Cats
Originally heard on: “Jewels,” 1995 (Chieli solo album)

4. Ascension
Originally heard on: “Sweet Surrender,” 2007

5. The Night Is Ours
Originally heard on: “Without You,” 2010

6. Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers
Originally heard on: “Renaissance,” 1996 (Chieli solo album)

7. Mountina Jameroon
Originally heard on: “Without You,” 2010

8. Kickin’ It Hard
Originally heard on: “Night Grooves,” 2003 (Chieli solo album)

9. Cruise Control
Originally heard on: “Butterfly,” 2001

Let’s now take a pictorial trip through the night:

The final note:

That’s it!

After the band left the stage, I mingled with Chieli and Jay.

Here I am with Jay:

And with Chieli:

Here’s to 25 more years!

CJazzPlus debuts September 28 September 18, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.
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On September 28, I will launch a new Live365 instrumental music station doubling as a weekly show: CJazzPlus. It’s contemporary jazz plus traditional jazz, jazz fusion, latin jazz, instrumental pop, and new age.

CJazzPlus will be on the air Tuesdays at 1PM Eastern and Pacific, with encores Thursdays at the same times. A given month’s shows will air a final time on the last Saturday of that month. Check back here for times.

Not all sub-genres will be played on each show, but I think you’ll like what you hear.

(Cross-posted on the new CJazzPlus blog page.)

9/27 UPDATE: Shows will now premiere Tuesdays at 2PM Eastern and re-air Thursdays at the same time. A given month’s shows will not re-air at on the last Saturday of that month, but will re-air on weeks when there isn’t a new show.

Fan phone call! September 1, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Pets, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, TV.
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Since March, I have been a semi-regular viewer of Alison Rosen’s weekly internet show, Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend, on the website UStream. One of the segments on her show, which streams through a webcam on her laptop, is Fan Phone Call. Phone numbers e-mailed to her by fans are taken out of a pot at random. The lucky fan is then called. If there is no answer, Alison leaves a funny voicemail and picks another number. If there is an answer, she interviews the fan. I e-mailed my number in March but it was never picked. So, I e-mailed it again on August 1.

This Sunday, my number was finally picked. You can see the call here. Scroll ahead to 27:40. I also recorded my end of the conversation in Adobe Audition with my mic in hand. I later mixed Alison’s end and my end together. Here’s the end result.

As you listen or watch, keep the following in mind:

I bear no malice toward WCWP or any of the management. I have nothing but fond memories and best wishes. I’ll have more on my Homecoming show in a later post. (9/25 UPDATE: The show is not happening, but I will be at Homecoming. 10/16 UPDATE: I’m not going, but should be on hand for WCWP’s 50th anniversary next year.)
I didn’t notice that Alison and her friend Dustin Goot were referring to the former JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater as they were pressing me on my departure from the station.
I was speaking generally when I said I’ve stormed out of places in the past, later coming back and apologizing. It comes with having Asperger Syndrome. I may regret writing this publicly.
As you’ve seen in a few concert recaps on this blog, I do take pictures of street signs, highway markers, and exit signs. I used to have Hagstrom’s New York City, Western Suffolk, and Eastern Suffolk atlases. Now, I only have a recent Nassau atlas. With sites like Mapquest and Google Maps with printable directions, there’s less of a need to rely on atlases.
Despite the heat, I kept my word and went for a walk 20 minutes after the call.

Dharma All Stars recap 6 August 20, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.
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Last night, it was time for another trip to Mirelle’s restaurant in Westbury, New York, for John Favicchia’s Dharma All Stars. Last month marked five years since I began attending Dharma gigs. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen them, but I know I’ve written six recaps for this blog; this recap being the sixth.

Chieli Minucci was on guitar:

Bill Harris on tenor sax…

…and alto sax:

Nick Lazarev on bass:

Misha Tsiganov on the keyboard:

And John Fav on drums:

THE SET LIST:
1. Horizons
2. Coincidence
3. Sing a Song of Song
4. Snakes
5. Sister Cheryl
6. April Fools
7. Kukuc

Bill just happened to have his alto sax with him from a lesson he gave before the gig. It was fitting that he had it to use on “Snakes,” a David Sanborn cover:

Dave’s primary instrument has been the alto sax.

The band posed for a pic after the set…

…and I had to get a pic with promoter Lori Baldasano:

Incidentally, that pic was taken by author, and fellow fan, Katherine Gilraine.

Guitars & Saxes 2010 Smooth Cruise recap August 12, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Photography, Travel, Weather.
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8/18 UPDATE: I’ve added more pictures of Arlington Jones, Braylon Lacy, and Eric Valentine.

Yesterday, I went to my second Smooth Cruise in a row; this time, for Guitars & Saxes 2010. As usual, I took the sunset cruise aboard the Spirit of New York. As with RnR, the last time I saw G&S before yesterday was in 2008 at IMAC.

The ship left Chelsea Piers’ Pier 61 at 6:37. The set began at 6:50.

A sold out crowd saw Peter White on guitar #1:

Jeff Golub on guitar #2:

Gerald Albright on the alto sax:

And Kirk Whalum on the tenor sax:

They were backed up by Arlington Jones on the keyboards:

Braylon Lacy on bass:

And Eric Valentine on drums:

SET LIST
1. Intro Medley: Promenade (PW)/Roundtrip (KW)/Dangerous Curves (JG)/To the Max (GA)
2. Bright (PW)
3. All I Do (KW)
4. Shuffleboard (JG)
5. My, My, My (GA)
6. Influences: Oh Happy Day/The Thrill Is Gone/Mercy, Mercy, Mercy/Day Tripper/In The Mood
7. Medley: No Two Ways About It/Cold Duck Time/Goin’ On (JG)
8. Georgia On My Mind (GA)
9. You Are Everything (KW)
10. Bueno Funk (PW)
11. When the Saints Go Marching In