La Vie En Robe

AOR Demolition Night

Yes, Chicago baseball fans, it's official — this coming Thursday night, June 24, the Big Hair & Plastic Grass party at Liars Club will also be "AOR Demolition Night"! In an attempt to ritually avenge the demise of all that sweet disco wax at Comiskey Park's "Disco Demolition Night" in 1979 (pictured above), we're going to be destroying a whole mess o' crappy '70s rock vinyl. Bring a '70s album by Foreigner, Styx, REO, Orleans, Kansas, etc., and receive a drink ticket for a free can of Pabst Blue Ribbon; Liars Club proprietor Herb Rosen has also decreed that anyone bringing a '70s Rush album for the pile will receive the free drink of their choice. Since we can't set off M-80s or plastic explosives in the bar without arousing the ire of the Fire Marshall, all albums will be destroyed with sledgehammers by BH&PG author Dan Epstein and authorized assistants.

Event info:

Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 8:30pm-2 am

Liars Club

1665 West Fullerton Ave.

Chicago, IL

Come celebrate the publication of Dan Epstein's BIG HAIR AND PLASTIC GRASS: A FUNKY RIDE THROUGH BASEBALL AND AMERICA IN THE SWINGING '70S with an evening of funky (and not-so-funky) music, cold beer, baseball talk and maybe a few surprises. The author will be on hand to read aloud from his writings (at least before he gets too liquored up to see straight), and sign his book — copies of which will be on sale at the venue.

DJ John San Juan will be spinning the '70s AM gold all night. Colt 45 and PBR tallboys for only $2! Don your afro wig, your '70s threads and/or retro baseball jersey, and get down with us — 'cuz we're riding on the groove line tonight (whoop whoop)! 

Please pass this invite along to anyone else who might dig it! Oh yeah — admission is FREE, baby!

Hello, New York!

After a crazy weekend at a friend's wedding in the Hamptons, I have finally landed in New York City to begin Phase One of my book promotion duties for Big Hair and Plastic Grass, which (and I can't believe I'm actually typing this) comes out tomorrow. NYC is grey and gorgeous, and once again giving me both a shot of adrenaline and a feeling of inner calm — kind of like, "Welcome home, kid; now let's ROCK."

Indeed, I was greeted last night by a nice notice for BH&PG in the NY Post's Summer Beach Book Preview section, a glass of Allegash Victoria at the Blind Tiger, and a coupla slices of the Nonna Maria pie from Bleeker Street Pizza. And with nothing much on my plate, promo-wise, until tomorrow (when I'll be appearing on The Daily Line and then guest DJing during Evan "The Funk" Davies' show on WFMU), I'm thinking this might be a good day to wander Manhattan, take pictures, and maybe buy some shoes. Life is good.

Taco Tuesday: Brian Posehn

In this special metallic episode of Taco Tuesday, metal-lovin' comedian Brian Posehn (best known for his work on Just Shoot Me!, Mr. Show and the Sara Silverman Program) fills in for Jay to eat tacos and talk about new albums from Periphery and RATT.

"Have You Ever Played Wizard Staff?"

I've been a fan of moody, rootsy Indiana rockers Murder By Death for a few years now, and I figured from Adam Turla's lyrics that he'd be an interesting cat to talk to when I interviewed him this year at SXSW. I was right — but I didn't expect him to enlighten me to what may be the most righteous drinking game in the world.

I'll let Mr. Turla explain it in detail, but let's just say that it's called "Wizard Staff" — and that, if you're doing exceedingly well at it, a henchman is required to help you drink. Does that fucking rule, or what? 

Take it away, Adam...

Mayer Hawthorne: The Reluctant Soul Man

Here's one of the more enjoyable interviews I did at South By Southwest, with Mayer Hawthorne, a nice Jewish lad from my former home of Ann Arbor, MI who — much to his own surprise — has become something of a neo-soul hero, thanks to his excellent 2009 debut, A Strange Arrangement.

Actually, when I say this was an enjoyable interview, I'm fibbing slightly. This was done on the last full day of SXSW, so Mayer had already blown his voice out playing several shows over the three previous days, and I was working on two hours of sleep and a fairly massive tequila hangover. Plus, the Austin weather had taken a turn for the miserable that day, going from 70 and sunny to 45 and drizzly in less than 24 hours, which didn't help anyone's mood much.

But somehow, the mellow n' gloomy vibe worked for this interview (as opposed to the one I did later that day with the guys from Dr. Dog, which almost put the entire room to sleep, camera crew included), and it was a real treat to connect with this very down-to-earth chap about music and food — it didn't make it into the finished interview, but he told me that seeking out local delicacies on tour was just as important to him as digging for dusty wax. Clearly a man after my own heart, he politely asked if we could finish up the interview so he could get some sweet potato pie from some Austin soul food joint before they closed.

Taco Tuesday: I Don't Know, Alaska

Man, I've been so busy and distracted lately, I even forgot to post last week's Taco Tuesday episode! This week, we go to the Land o' Palin to check out the debut LP by the Dum Dum Girls; next week, we'll be getting back to the two-albums-per-show format that everyone seemed to like a whole lot better...

Taco Tuesday: St. Patrick's Day

Sure and begorrah — Jay n' I talk about the new album by the Whigs (no relation to Henry Clay or Millard Fillmore) while some guy gets hammered in the background.

Taco Tuesday: Rings Around Uranus

Sit back and relax to the groovy sounds of the new Gorillaz album as Jay n' I explore Uranus. Don't laugh — this week back in 1977, scientists discovered that there were rings around Uranus. Seriously. You can look it up, since it went down in the anals of history...

Taco Tuesday: Wonderland

Jay n' I get lost in the Mushroom Forest while wearing top hats and listening to the new Jaguar Love album. What could possibly go wrong?

Taco Tuesday: Winter Olympics

Jay n' I went to Vancouver to go for the gold, and all we brought back was this damn Story of the Year album.