May We Check Your Bags Sir? - Showboat Resort & Casino 2/22-24/11 Atlantic City, New Jersey

Jamie, Sean and myself were offered a great deal on rooms so we took a mini-trip to Atlantic city to frolic and cavort. I had some of the best and worst food the boardwalk had to offer and am still awaiting my winning streak, however I did adopt a ceramic squirrel and discovered that Potato Chips and Onion Dip have finally gotten the respect due to them and are officially in the snack portion of the menu.

THE PROS: Potato Chips and Onion Dip on the menu, Extra pillow sent promptly to room, Ice machine on each floor, Room darkening curtains,

THE CONS: Potato Chips and Onion Dip for Ten Dollars (Room Service), Shampoo.Conditioner combo, Soda machine dispenses warm soda, No Ipod dock, No writing paper,





The view from the mall



Surprisingly the tastiest thing I had was Johnny Rockets Philly Cheese Steak with a Cherry Coke.



The Potato Chips and Onion Dip.

Cymbals

Support Your Local Business - Maggio Music

Like many important places in ones formative years you never lose memories of them or the experience you had there, the local movie theater, the restaurant a few blocks away, your nearby newsstand and for the musically inclined the neighborhood music store. Maggio Music and Bath Music were such mecca's for a whole lot of us and a joy to walk into feeling as though you were soaking up knowledge and inspiration just by being in the vicinity of these wonderful musical instruments.







The Drumstick rack has remained in the same spot for over 30 years.

Honorable Mention

This Very Blog Right Here was nominated by my special secret friend for the "Stylish Blogger" award. Her Excellent Blog "Confessions of a Preacher's Daughter" can be found HERE

White Wedding - Heritage Bar 2/19/11 Yonkers,New York

The band has become somewhat of an unshakeable force after all of our experience and travails and while we have never been ignored the crowd at the Heritage bar did not really approach the dance floor until our second set and "Mickey" was the number that got people out there. Dancing was intermittent throughout the evening but patrons told us how impressed they were and more importantly the management really enjoyed us. Songs premiered tonight were 9 To 5, The Gambler, Rock Me Amadeus and Funkytown.

The bartending and wait staff treated us Very kindly and Spicolli and myself had to tear ourselves away from the Jamieson and creamily DELICIOUS Guinness on tap at the end of the night.





This is not the first time that our Music has persuaded young men to take off their clothes.





Pre-Gig I purchased a few appetizers (Chicken Fajita Tortilla and Black Bean & Cheese Tortilla) from the unique Japanese/Tex-Mex place next door only to find that it tasted identical to the more popular Chinese/Tex-Mex establishments around town.

Pre-Japanese/Tex-Mex While awaiting the 4 train on the Atlantic avenue platform an aromatically drunken fellow started spouting to me (in a friendly enough fashion) about Steven Tyler, J-Lo and Randy Jackson as if I looked like I knew about American Idol or even Music in general, I told myself "oh the hair and I'm carrying a snare drum" which was promptly followed by another gentleman interrupting and proclaiming "I'm a musician". WELL, this is when the red flag goes up and the "suspicious new yorker" comes out. He begins to ask me what kind of drumsticks I use, I answer honestly and say Pro-Mark. he ruminates mysteriously about drumstick brands I have never heard of then he hits upon something. "Do you use Ambian Drumsticks? How about Xanax drumsticks? fifty cents apiece" I tell him thats a really good price but no thank you and fortunately my train pulled in at that moment which I had no problems/obstructions boarding. As a parting question he asks me "Who's the best drummer you ever seen?" to which I reply "Keith Moon" even though I have never seen Keith Moon in person.

Do I look like a pill popper, I mean seriously,.....

O.K. DONT Answer That.

White Wedding - O' Flanagans 2/18/11 New York City

Doc Brown and Spiccoli Rocking Out at our return performannnn ,.......
Hold On a Second There, THATS NOT DOC BROWN!!!

Awhile ago I had mentioned the band considering understudies performing at some shows due to our busying schedules and just two weeks ago we began rehearsals with Marty McFly and in a stunning feat of musicality and studiousness Marty learned 30 songs and ran through them with us at an average of once per tune spanning about 4 hours of solid rehearsal. I had a Great Gig and Marty gets the V.I.P of the night in my book for musicianship, professionalism and getting along with this lot.



Do They Not Look Alike ?
(L to R) Marty McFly, Doc Brown.
Callbox Lounge 2/2/11.



Considering this was the bands first gig with Marty McFly we didnt miss a beat and gave a typical High Energy White Wedding performance. O'Flanagans provided a nice lively crowd but we were very pleased to entertain bowling team "The Lois Lanes" who saw us at the Brooklyn Bowl last month and followed us into Manhattan, They asked to take a photo with us and we obliged of course.

The 19th Annual Napoli Pizza Bake & All You Can Eat Extravaganza - 2/12/11

It was my honor and pleasure to be invited to the inner sanctum of the Napoli family annual Pizza making celebration and all you can eat extravaganza. Started by artist Augie Napoli nineteen years ago and kept alive by his wife Helen.

Many,Many,Many Pizza's have been created over the years by the Napoli family under these historical eaves.



Uncle Andrew Helming the conveyor belt and "Keepin' It Real" with style and grace. Twenty Six Pizza Pies were created at this years gathering.



Possibly the most Delicious Pizza of the night was Conchetta's Sausage with Onions and multicolored Baby Peppers. This entire presentation was made by Jamie but was of her moms creation.



Undoubtedly the most Exciting and Original Pizza came via Carol with her McGredients purchased en-route to the party.

The McPizza Boasts {All Toppings Authentically McDonald's} Hamburgers, French Fries, Cheese, McLettuce and Special Sauce. Pickle slices added after the Pizza cooled off just a little.



A Repeat requested performance of Donna's Rice Ball Special Pizza which was a big hit last year as well, Delicious.



The Newest and most exciting of the night Edition from Master Chefette Jamie was the Chicken Cordon Bleu Pizza. Breaded Chicken Cutlet filled with Ham, Grated Pecorino Romano, Fontina Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese Sliced thinly atop and 'neath a Creamy Cheese Sauce.



I Dared to be stupid and made the "Elvis" Pizza Pie. (pre-cooked) Bacon Flecked/Loaded Dough baked then Drizzled with melted Peanut Butter, More Bacon and Banana slices.

The Good Yeggs Website

Dont Forget to visit the Official Website for the latest information, MP3s, Photos, Video and more at www.thegoodyeggs.com or click HERE

The Drummers of Frank Zappa DVD

Submitted to Amazon.com which explains the "consumer/advertisement" slant of this entry.

A Fascinating and Insightful discussion between five of Frank Zappa's most well known drummers. Terry Bozzio, Chester Thompson, Chad Wackerman, Ralph Humphrey and the charming Ruth Underwood reminisce on the experience they each had in various ensemble's serving under Maestro Zappa's baton. Conversations of the Black Page, Frank's conducting style, Mahavishnu Orchestra/Billy Cobham and details of the individual auditions each of these extremely gifted players underwent getting into Frank's band are enthusiastically and humbly told. If you are a Drummer, Zappa fan or just someone with an interest in music you will certainly enjoy this film. Incidentally the running time for the discussion is 106 minutes as opposed to the 60 minutes in the DVD specifications listed above.

For The Drummers and persons who enjoy music made with four drumkits (unfortunately Ruth Underwood was not part of the proceedings) The drumming portion runs 42 minutes in length and is nothing short of revelatory noodling. Fantastic to see these four improvise (assuming this was improvised) a piece of drumming music while giving it texture and dynamics. Gazing at the DW and Yamaha drumkits is no eyesore neither. No best drummer here they work so impressively as a mini-zappa gamelan quintet.

There is no official Frank Zappa music or archival clips in the film and it really is just a "discussion" about the whole challenging and rewarding experience. One wonders whether or not the producer's at Drum Channel approached the Zappa Family Trust at all for permission to use clips & music which seem appropriate at certain times during conversation but it doesnt sorely need it and most watching this specialty DVD will probably be very familiar with the music in question.

White Wedding - Ski Party/Coalition for the homeless benefit 2/5/11 New York City

This Was an AWESOME gig for us with a packed room singing along and dancing. The theme was a Ski party and they were also raffling off tickets to benefit the Coalition for the homeless.

The Band arrived at this sprawling eleventh floor loft on fifth avenue before me and since I was late I missed the Cheese Fondue portion of the evening but there was music to be played and a crowd to be rocked. Aside from our Speed Metal rendition of "Jenny/867-5309" (of which the drummer's fault it lies in the hands of) The band performed exceptionally well striking all of our marks.











Delicious "Punch" was served complimentary at the bar and I loved the cute cups so much that I just had to have four servings.

White Wedding - Napper Tandy's 2/4/11 Miller Place, Long Island

We missed last months gig at Napper Tandy's due to Blizzard expectations so it was nice to get back to the place again and fall right into the swing of things. Tonights performance started out sedate but before the second set a crowd had filtered in and onto the dancefloor requesting songs and enjoying themselves liquidly.







And Now a photo of the "certificate" on the inner shell of my DW snare drum. Ya See Two days ago I broke the batter head on my drum (and with excellent timing as this happened during rehearsal, PHEW) so I got the chance to upgrade to my current head of choice the Remo Powerstroke lll Coated Batter Clear Dot (Say that Ten Times Fast) which I proceeded to apply gig-prior. Batter head removed allowing "Inner Shell Photography"

About the DW/Powerstroke combo, the ring/overtones seems to have completely disappeared due to the skins second "thin underlay" and I am getting a nice dry crack. The DW/Remo Factory provided head was fine (and had the DW logo on it which I liked) but the Powerstroke is an improvement to my ear's taste and as I try her in new and different rooms I shall fine tune accordingly.



Our sound technician's Sean and Ginger lend their expertise to our in-house mix at Napper Tandys so once mic'ed I was guaranteed a resonant Bass Drum which is always personally a nice touch and people can really HEAR it as well. I would like to thank Ginger for offering to take some pics of the gig at the gig (see above) and their company Boardwalk Entertainment can be found HERE.



On the road to Tapper Nandy's



I did a Very Brave thing and decided to try Mexican Food a la Friendlys (YES The Friendly's) and it was Not unenjoyable, As a matter of fact I enjoyed it quite a bit, This is EXACTLY what any Mexican Frozen Meal tastes like before it is frozen and then reheated again, the Rice was the deal breaker here and I finished almost every last grain. What appeared to be a Paltry Dollop of Sour Cream to my greedy eyes was quite enough to compliment the Meal.

Bistec y Pollo y Chili Burrito Soup

I would Really like to take credit for this but it was just a logical extension of my take out eating habits and I am sure that Burrito Soup already exists somewhere. This All happened quite by Delicious Accident.

A few months back at J's house I was on a big Soup kick so we ordered some Chinese Tex Mex and I tried the Black Bean Soup (Horrid) and the Chili Soup (Should Be Horrid) which was too Salty even for my tastes and appeared to be a simple combination of Chicken Broth, Shredded Cheese with Chili and a few Scallion slivers tossed in, doesnt sound so hot but I became obsessed.

By the second or third time that I ordered the Chili Soup (I had graduated to Quart size by now) I took a piece of Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla and submerged it into the broth and a "Eureka" moment was born.

Just the other week J ordered a Steak & Chicken Burrito which swayed me away from my usual Quesadilla and Soup into the land of Burrito and Soup and due to the circumstances of eating before you eat (while waiting for delivery we had Wonton Soup, Hot & Sour Soup and two Wrap's with Peppers, Cheese and Homeade Chili melted within) making my appetite indifferent. I took the Soup & Burrito home with me and a day or two later had to use Le microwave to reheat them and in a "fit of pique" cut off a piece of Burrito which I diced then submerged in the Soup Broth much like a Fresh Mozzarella waiting in its underwater lair.

I Can Only call it a Chinese Mexican Stew. Its SO GOOD it should be canned and marketed preferably by some Chinese Mexican day laborers.

WINK WINK : Incidentally those are three slices of Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp Cheddar floating upon the broth for effect.