UPDATES~
07.28.08

Great op-ed piece in the Times today: "Barack Obama-branded change is snowballing, whether it's change you happen to believe in or not."
07.14.08
So... how's that Hemi working out for you, dude?
2.2.08
This video choked me up with all things good and stirred up a lot of patriotism in me - the sincere kind, not the banal flag waving kind. Please vote this Tuesday!


10.22.07
I could wax poetic, but this pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?


08.20.07
My goodness, what happened to summer?! Sorry I've been out of touch, but as many of you already know, there are big things brewing in the life of your friendly neighborhood songster. I'm getting married in 12 days! Holy $@#%! Not only that, but Gina and I spent much of the summer working diligently to revise the newest edition of this Boston guidebook--y'know, cuz planning a wedding wasn't enough!--which was a lot more work than you'd think!

Anyway, when the dust settles, I'll be back in the bar rooms of Boston, so stay tuned for shows in the fall. And until then, enjoy these last days of summer, and Go Sox!!
04.27.07
Everyone should read Adam Gopnik's comment piece from this week's New Yorker - it's a sensitive and well-written argument that sums up my feelings about gun control exactly. "Rural America is hunting country, and hunters need rifles and shotguns—with proper licensing, we’ll live with the risk. There is no reason that any private citizen in a democracy should own a handgun. At some point, that simple truth will register."
04.11.07
Caught the Kaiser Chiefs at Avalon on Monday night, and they put on an amazing show as hoped. The first time we saw them was at the Middle East Downstairs, on a Saturday night for ten bucks, and I was hoping the extra thousand people and the Monday night factor wouldn't tamper with their awesome energy- and it didn't. At one point, in the bridge of a song, lead singer Ricky Wilson crowd surfed his way to the bar, stood up on top of it, ordered a whiskey and Coke on the microphone, waited, got the drink, polished it off and ran back to the stage to finish the song. Brilliant stuff!

Also brilliant, but damned cold, was my first opening day game ever. It's been a life-long dream to go to the home opener, ever since, in probably second grade, Chris Sintros brought a radio in to school, and at recess we sat outside passing the headphones around and listening to the game. The thought of all those people skipping work or school in the middle of the week, like they're all invited to a private party to celebrate the beginning of baseball, of spring ...it's enough to make you giddy. Well, until the windchill hits you. I guess this wasn't exactly as I'd always imagined it...



...bundled up in the very last row of the bleachers, behind the scoreboard, rooting for the Patriots. But it was still a dream come true!
03.15.07
I'm away this weekend (unconscionable, I know) but I wanted to wish you all a very happy St. Patrick's Day, and best o' luck with your March Madness brackets!!

(By the way, I am absolutely crestfallen that I missed big-time Irish singer/songwriter Mundy play an under-the-radar show at McGann's, our favorite Irish pub, last Saturday. Crestfallen!! Check out his song "July." I even saw the poster 2 days prior and mistakenly thought the show was on St. Paddy's Day. Eejit!)
01.15.07

12.06.06
I know we're supposed to be in a grace period, but....

J.D. Drew?? Really, this is the answer Theo? For $14 million a year? $70 million for a number five hitter? And you couldn't pay this to the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball... why??

So, no; I'm not a huge fan of the Red Sox's latest acquisition, if you can tell. Believe me, I hope I get the opportunity to eat my own words. But something tells me that's not about to happen.

Consider this: in a survey last year among baseball players - his peers - J.D. Drew was named one of the most overrated players in baseball. HE'S A CAREER .286 HITTER! Hey, don't get me wrong, that's not bad. But for $14 million dollars a year?! And they want to trade Manny Ramirez, a future Hall-of-Famer who's only one of the greatest hitters of any era; someone who's won the Silver Slugger award - that's the award for the best offensive player at his position, like an offensive Gold Glove - every year for 8 straight years.

Drew has played an average of only 114 games a season since he became a starter in 1999 (and yep, he's been around awhile, it's not like he hasn't had the chance to reach his potential). So what, they say, Manny gets injured and misses a lot of games too. Um... the difference is that Manny still hits 35-40 HR's a year (Drew never even topped 30 doubles until last season), and in actuality Manny's averaged 142 games per season with Boston. And don't even get me started about how Drew's never played in the AL, much less the AL East. With apologies to you NL purists out there, 10 All-Star games in a row will tell you the talent level in the American League is superior. Edgar Renteria will tell you the same thing.

Wait, I'm not finished raving like a lunatic just yet (and it's not even mid-December - quite a season ahead I can tell!). In today's Globe article, Drew's agent Scott Boras - who has never said anything even remotely credible in his entire life - talks about how J.D. Drew is a speedy guy "who will steal 20-30 bases" a year. Ok, I just checked his stats: he's attempted all of 7 steals in the last 2 seasons... and he was caught 4 times! They think he's going to swipe bases on the perennially slow-footed Red Sox? How did Theo buy into this? They're just making things up!

Sigh.

Although if you think for a minute this means I won't be sitting in the virtual waiting room like a schmuck this Saturday morning, hoping to buy the Patriot's Day Pack... well, clearly you don't know me very well. :)
11.07.06
A big thanks to everyone who came out Friday night, what a great time! I was happy to see so many of you there, including friends I hadn't seen in a long time. Might've been the full moon but it seemed like everyone was in rare form... and I know some of you didn't have a great Saturday morning, but I hope Friday night was worth it! :)

In other news, today is Election Tuesday, so PLEASE go to the polls today and vote. I'm blessed to live in one of the most liberal states in the country, where Ted Kennedy (say what you want about the man, he was one of only 23 senators to vote against the Iraq war from the very get-go) doesn't even have to campaign to defeat his Republican challenger, but if any of you out there live in more divisive regions please get out today and vote for progressive minded, peaceful leaders.
10.25.06
Howdy folks! Just want to let everyone know I'll be playing at the Sweetwater Cafe on Friday night, Nov. 3rd- I've got a couple of new songs to debut for you guys that I'm excited about, so stop by for awhile if you can! :)
6.20.06
Hey everybody! Wow, it's been awhile- sorry about that! I'll confess, that St. Patrick's Day gig mentioned below really burned me out- 11 hours is a LOOONNNGG time to be singing in front of people, let me tell you! Anyway, next year I'll know better. For now I'm taking some time to cool off for a bit, rest up, and finish writing some songs- which I'll hopefully begin recording this fall. In the meantime I hope you have a fantastic summer!
03.16.06
Tomorrow's the big day- St. Patrick's Day! If you feel like making merry and celebrating the Irish tradition, come by Tommy Doyle's- I'll be playing all the Irish songs I know from 11am-4pm at the Harvard Sq. location (the old House of Blues), followed by a 5-8pm set at the Kendall Sq. location (near the cinema). Slainte!
01.19.06
Thank you guys so much, all of you who came out last night and managed to dodge the flying lamp posts, trees and other debris hurtling through the air! Hope you enjoyed yourselves (playing a show is like hosting a party, I'm always worried about whether everyone's having a good time!) and stuck around to see the immensely gifted, soon-to-be-famous Will Dailey. Details about another show opening for Boston's best (maybe America's best?) songwriter are on the way- til then, I'll be busy recording rough cuts of the new songs you heard last night and getting the band back together in acoustic form. I'm hopeful you'll like it! :)
12.28.05
Before I wish you all a happy new year, just wanted to let you know about a GREAT show coming up in January- I'll be opening up for friend and hero Will Dailey (with his talented band, The Rivals) at the Paradise Lounge on Comm Ave. The lounge is a great place to see a show and I'm really excited to play there. Expect some acousticompaniment— yes, I just made that word up, but I think you get what it means— and also a couple very new (and, I'm told anyway, very good!) songs that will find their way onto a new album someday soon.

If you're a forward thinker, you can buy tickets ahead of time online; otherwise it's 8 bucks at the door. Don't miss it!

And with that out of the way... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! Wishing all of you a wonderful crescendo to 2005, and a happy, healthy 2006.
12.05.05
I was doing some Christmas shopping yesterday— in the picturesque but conveniently unaccumulative* snow— and at Ritz Camera, 2 customers in a row were SO impatient and rude with the girl at the counter I wanted to lay into them (there's some holiday spirit for ya!)! I'm convinced that everyone should work a retail job at some point in their life, to gain some empathy for their fellow humans. That girl's got enough grief at $8/hour during the Christmas rush without people arrogantly condescending her or getting pushy. It's a season devoted to kindness and generosity! So in the approaching consumerist frenzy, I beg you: have patience, treat people with the simple respect they deserve, be considerate to your fellow shoppers... and be merry!

Anyway, sorry about the rant. In music news, I'm hosting the Open Mic at Tommy Doyle's tonight in Harvard Square (located at the old House of Blues). AND the new issue of the Dissolver is online:



* Yes, I believe I made that word up.
11.02.05
So THIS is where October's been hiding!! Glad to have some fall sunshine after the last few soggy (and snowy??!) weeks.

So there are a few things I want to vent about and/or just mention:

- HOW could the Red Sox let Theo go? Are they idiots? Forget the fact that I think he's a genius, even if he didn't do a THING he was still one of the most popular members of the entire franchise, a local hero. It's ridiculous and it's starting to make me a little crazy so I'm going to try and forget about it. (Addendum to this: the Sports Guy makes some very valid points why, from a purely baseball perspective, it's not the end of the world. But still.)

- On a better note, you can now preview Neil Diamond's new album on MySpace.com. Ahhh... Neil. The first song is my favorite.

- The Valvoline on Brighton Ave. in Allston is simply the greatest oil change place in the world. Those guys are so nice and they don't even try to sell you unnecessary junk. 4 stars.

- I'm playing a 45 minute opening set on Friday night (ahh, Friday...!) at the Sweetwater Cafe in the Alley, in case you're looking for weekend plans.

- And lastly check out our new and improved arts and music zine at www.DissolverMagazine.com.
09.26.05
I don't usually quote Irene Cara, but what a feeling! It was great to play in Boston again, to such a great crowd of friends. I really missed you guys! Thanks to everyone for coming out to the Burren last night, it was a blast. I even got pretty nervous which hasn't happened in awhile- I just didn't want to disappoint everyone and suck! Anyway hope you had fun for a Sunday night and thank you, thank you, for the warm welcome home.

(Photos from the Burren)
09.19.05
Wow, I'm at a desk- a desk! In an office?! I can't believe it. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks since we got back- big congratulations are in order to my friend Jeff by the way, who's now married (and probably in need of intensive liver repair)- and to keep up the pace I've even got a homecoming show this Sunday night at The Burren in Davis Square at 8pm. Hopefully a proper pint of Guinness and some great music (you MUST check out Danielle, the host) will give you a taste of the great craic I was lucky enough to experience this past summer. Hope to see you there!

A couple of other noteworthy bits for you:

-100% of profits from sales of "Indeed!" on CDBaby.com are now being donated to the American Red Cross to help out with rescue and reconstruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. So if you were waiting for a good time to pick up a copy, now's your chance!

- Also "Indeed!" has just been added to iTunes - the direct link to the album, I think, is here.
08.10.05
Yikes, just a few more weeks left for me here in Eire. Is there anything more depressing than the swift approach of summer's end? Well, yeah, there is, because I'm going to enjoy coming home a lot: crisp autumn weather, playoff baseball (hopefully... knock on wood!), and of course seeing all you friends and family again. But while I'm still here, time to make the most of it- so if you ARE in Ireland in the next month or so, come to Galway and say hello! You'll find me playing on High Street or at either of my last shows of the summer at Busker Browne's (Aug. 17th) and Massimo's (the 29th). Slainte!!
06.23.05
Just learned some very cool news! Our song The Sailor will be played at some point during Episode #4 of a new PBS series called "Roadtrip Nation." The episode is scheduled to air in Boston (Channel 44) on Sunday July 10th, at 11pm. Other dates include: Los Angeles (KCET) on June 24th at 9:30pm and June 3rd at 9:30pm; New York (WNET) on July 10th at 11:30pm; and Seattle (KCTS) on July 24th at 11:30pm.
06.10.05
Hello from sunny (yep, that's right, sunny!) Ireland everyone! Having a great time over here, meeting wonderful new people every day. Just wanted to let you know that Tales from Gauchoville is now available online at CDFreedom.com for a scant $3. Cheers!
05.20.05
Wow, just like that, we really played the Paradise last night! The same place I've seen Ben Harper, Josh Ritter, The Frames, even Peter Gammons play, not to mention of course many a Kay Hanley show. Thank you all who came out to cheer us on, it was a little daunting up there and it helped SO much to see your smiling faces! Hope you enjoyed yourselves despite the jacked-up ticket price— and I apologize for that, but will hopefully make it up to you with free shows galore and perhaps a paid position in my posse when we're rich and famous. :)

Our new 3-track CD, Tales from Gauchoville, will be finshed on Wednesday, so if you'd like one of the very first copies (on the house!) come down to Tommy Doyle's on Wednesday night, where I'll be performing and hosting open mic, to pick one up! And for everyone who came to the Paradise show last night, I promise I'll find a way to get your copy to you before I go, as a very small thank you!

05.16.05
So we're playing at the Paradise for the first time ever in just a few days. Tickets are $12 in advance, and $15 at the door-- though I heard $18 somewhere, I'm not sure which is accurate-- either way you should get them in advance and save yourself a little loot! You can see me before Thursday to get your tickets, or buy them online if you like with PayPal:
If you do buy them online, please get in touch so I can leave your tickets at will call for you, or make a plan to meet up with you outside the Paradise. We go on at 10pm SHARP-- they run a tight ship! Thanks so much everyone for your support!!!
05.04.05
As promised, here's a brand new-- and I mean BRAND new, I just picked up the mastered disc an hour ago!-- song from the new 3-song CD, Tales from Gauchoville, coming out in a couple of weeks (more on that later). It's called "New American Dream."
04.27.05
As a public service, I thought I'd let you all know about some (rapidly) upcoming shows you should be aware of! For starters, if you're on the West Coast, I MUST recommend you check out Will Dailey and the Rivals at the Viper Room this Thursday night while he's still out in LA- they'll be coming back to Boston soon and you'll be kickin' yourself if you missed them!

On the local scene, one of my favorite bands, Bishop Allen, is playing a free show at the Middle East Thursday night at 10pm, and on Friday night they'll play host to a heaping helping of great rock music highlighted by Max Heinegg and, even better, my good friends in Scamper. And if you like a little estro-punk in your rock coctail, check out The Dents next door at TT's later that same night. This is all presumably in celebration of my 29th birthday of course!

And what about me, you ask? Well, next week I'll post details about getting tickets to our show at the Paradise on May 19th, as well as some other fun stuff. Until then, see you around town!!
04.19.05
What a great Marathon Monday! Hope you all got to soak in at least a little of the Patriots Day tradition and the sunny weather... sorry if you had to work!!

So The Sailor will be featured this week on the Open Mic portion of NPR's All Songs Considered. You can rate it on a scale of 1 to 5- and who doesn't love ranking stuff?!
04.07.05
Baseball's back!! There is much rejoicing.

If you're looking for something to do, check out the new Links page on WheelkickRecords.com and our new online music zine, The Spanker. That'll keep ya busy for a few! :)
03.25.05
So the benefit was a roaring success! Thank you guys for supporting a good cause- I hope you got your money's worth of rock n' roll in return! I'll let you know when I hear the official figures of how much we raised (for tsunami relief organizations, if you weren't paying attention!) and I'll get some photos up here in a couple days.

(Note: we raised $545 total- thanks everyone!)
03.07.05
Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the Middle East on Friday night! Thanks to your cheers and your votes, we advanced to the semi-finals, which means we get to play at the Paradise, Boston's best rock club. We're psyched about that, and regardless we had a really great time playing in front of all of you- it was a fun show! Thank you SO much!


I'm waiting to get some pictures back* (if you have any please send 'em to me!) so I'll post those soon. In the meantime if you're looking to kill some time, check out the new web zine we started on the Wheelkick Records website. (If you're interested in writing reviews, or anything else for that matter, please email Jason Holloway, the editor.)


*Photos courtesy of Ivan Guerrero- thanks buddy!
02.11.05
Maybe it's a little late for a "Best of 2004" list. After all, we're nearly a month and a half into the new year-- I'm even writing 2005 on my checks by now. But I've always been a "better late than never" kind of guy (especially when it comes to electric bills, car payments, and uh... just about everything else for that matter) so what's the harm in posting this a little late? Without further delay, here is one man's humble thoughts on the past year.

2004 in Review
Favorite Albums
1. Green Day - American Idiot
2. The Killers - Hot Fuss
3. Josh Ritter - Hello Starling

Favorite Movies
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. I Heart Huckabees
3. Harold and Kumar go to White Castle

Favorite Live Shows
1. Bishop Allen (at the Abbey Lounge, March 5)
2. The Bravery (at Lit in NYC, March 11)
3. Josh Ritter (at the Paradise, Dec. 11)

Best Times of my Life, 2004 Edition
1. Seeing David Ortiz hit that bomb to right center in Game 4 to beat the Yankees in the bottom of the 12th. My God.
Here's a screen shot from Game 4, when Fox panned the audience in the bottom of the 9th inning. Little do I know I'm about to experience a level of joy previously unrecorded in human history.



(that's the fabulous Nate from Scamper next to me)
2. Seeing David Ortiz hit that broken bat bloop single to shallow center to win Game 5 --in the 14th!-- less than 24 hours later.

3. Playing the Scarlet Letter in New York City, surrounded by friends, as the Sox simultaneously came back against Rivera in the 9th inning to win 3-2 in Yankee Stadium. (Sep. 17)

Ahh... warm, happy, fuzzy feelings all over... what a year. 2004, you're all right with me!
02.08.05
WORLD CHAMPS!!

...And this time, there were THREE trophies in the duck boat. Bobbbbaay!!! Billllaay!!! Tommaay!!!

Amazing, 3 Super Bowl victories in 4 years, 3 world championships in just over 12 months here in Boston... has there ever been a better time to live in Beantown?

Hope everyone enjoyed the game on Sunday, and the parade today. Mumbles Menino started the parade early again (11am) and won't even let us have a rally on the beautiful Government Center concrete, presumedly to keep people from the evils of drinking, but he's not going to stop me dammit! It's Mardi Gras after all, so everyone go live it up downtown!

02.04.05
Mmmmm that February sunshine just makes you feel ALIVE doesn't it?! Ha. Well, if it weren't for football, rock shows and skiing-slash-fireside boozing, I don't know how any of us would get through this most dismal of months, but thankfully recreational opportunities abound! Hope you enjoy your Super Bowl weekend (featuring, I might mention, our beloved New England Patriots, in case you forgot) and make the most of these dreary weeks ahead.

After some acoustic college campus shows the next couple of weekends, we've got a big full-band show coming up in the opening (lion-esque) days of March at the Middle East Upstairs that'll thaw you right out and lurch us all into springtime... one hopes! It's a battle of the bands type music festival, and if we place in the top four, we'll get to play a show at the Paradise- big potatoes!

We're rehearsing with our new drummer, Dave Millar (no relation to Kevin, but he can play the washboard if that counts for anything... and in my book it does!) since Leah won't be able to make it that weekend. In fact, she might actually be touring Europe with her other band, The Glass - check 'em out if you get a chance!


The show's on Friday night, March 4th, and we go on at about 10pm. Tickets are available in advance for $10 (via PayPal below, or in person) and will be $15 at the door. I'm certainly not above subsidizing your rock n' roll experience so let me know if you need some financial assistance with your ticket. Hope to see you there!
01.28.05
I still just can't, cannot, understand or fathom how people would not have voted for this man. I think about it every day and it's lost, it's over, I know... but it still doesn't stop me from wondering how it could even be possible. How is it possible that so many millions consciously chose to endorse an aggressive, secretive, destructive administration led by a smirking cowboy over a) ANYONE else but b) in particular an intelligent and, while awkard and gangly, compassionate and thoughtful man like John Kerry? A man who-- after fighting in a bloody war, something our smarmy, daddy's boy Commander in Chief has never done-- realized its inhumanity and attended peace rallies with the likes of John Lennon? You're telling me you wouldn't want this man as your president?



"The military's job is to win the war. The president's job is to win the peace."
-John Kerry, 10/08/04

Ok, I'll let it go. But I'd be curious: if you voted for Bush, what do you honestly think is going to happen over the next four years? What do you hope the world will be like in 2008? What do you hope for and expect of his second term? Email me what kind of positive impact you think his reelection will have on our country, and I'll save the message and email it back to you in 2008. I'm serious! It'll be an interesting experiment, like when you get a letter you wrote to yourself in the 3rd grade that your teacher saved for years. Who knows, maybe you're right, maybe things will get better. We can only hope so... but I'm not too optimisitic about it. And if you know me, that's saying something.
01.19.05
Since I simply cannot stress enough how incredible the new Green Day CD is... I'm going to make an offer. If you buy a copy of Indeed! on CDBaby.com, I will BUY you a free copy of Green Day's American Idiot and send it directly to your house. It's that good! I'm serious, so take advantage! When you buy my CD I'll get a confirmation email from CDBaby, and I'll ship your Green Day CD right to you. This week only, while I'm feeling loopy. So get going already!
01.18.05
With Thursday's inauguration looming over (most of) us like an albatross, I thought I'd post this thought of the day from my good friend Steve Pope:

"This country needs leadership, not some wannabee crusader. A toddler could command the US armed forces to a military victory. It takes a leader to win without fighting."
01.06.05
Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed yours- we had a great time in London and Stockholm but it's great to be back home.

If you're interested, Indeed! is now listed on CD Baby and there's a 50% discount if you buy more than one copy at a time. Also, you can post reviews of the CD if you've got something to say- so express yourself!
Click for 2003-2004 blog entries