It's Almost Christmas Again!

My Facebook friends Socky & Jamie (the coolest sock puppets on the World-Wide-Interwebs) posted this video of Grandpa Puppet. I think we may just have a new Christmas Classic here at Valet Confidential.



Posting this reminds me that I have to write a little more about Socky & Jamie one of these days. They really are the coolest.

The Return of the Valet - plus live CTP

This past Saturday night, several of us from the Chandler Travis Philharmonic stopped by the WMFO studios in order to promote our upcoming Christmas Cavalcade shows and just to have some fun with Bubbles in the Think Tank EAST hostess Belinda. As Belinda occasionally refers to me as being the show's valet when I'm not being Chandler's, this was double duty valet business for me.

Last night Belinda asked me to write a blog post about our appearance for her site. You can find it, along with a an mp3 of our performance, here.

I'm really glad she asked me to write the blog post. I know it's been ages since I've written anything here, but I'm hoping this gets me writing more often. I'm going to try, anyway.

Enjoy!

Nyjer Morgan

Not that anyone is asking me, but I sure don't blame Nyjer Morgan for charging the mound after being thrown at twice in one game tonight against the Marlins. I understand why he got hit the first time (retaliation for his cheap shot hit on the Marlins catcher the previous night), and he didn't start a fight after that one, but then they threw at him again later in the game. What up wit that?

Apparently he broke some unwritten rule by stealing 2nd & 3rd with his team down by 11 runs after he got hit by a pitch earlier in the game. So what? Like a team has never come back from that far down? Every run counts, and the name of the game is to get yourself in a position to score runs. When a batter hits a home run after getting hit by a pitch his previous, we laud his determination. But Morgan isn't known as a home run hitter, he's a base stealer and run scorer, so he did what comes naturally ... he stole bases and got to 3rd base, where all sorts of things could have resulted in his scoring.

Don't get me wrong, I think Morgan is a bit of a punk, and he's definitely got some issues (he recently threw a ball at someone in the stands), but when the ball gets thrown behind you when you've already been hit by a pitch in the game, well ... he's sure not the first guy to charge the mound after something like that.

Would I rather have seen him get on base and steal 3 bases, including home, this time? Hell yeah. That would've shown 'em!

Just how stupid do you think we are, ESPN?

So ... last night I'm having a post-dinner cocktail with my friend Jen the Masseuse and I see on the ESPN crawl this breaking news: "LeBron James reportedly will announce his free agency decision during a one-hour special on ESPN Thursday night at 9pm, according to independent sources who spoke to Chris Broussard of ESPN".

Here's an idea, ESPN ... I'm guessing SOMEONE in the company knew for sure whether or not the report was true ... why not just announce it rather than some vague report based on "independent sources"? Are we really supposed to believe that you scooped YOURSELVES?

And really ... an hour to announce his decision? Will he hand out roses to the GM's of the final 5 teams, before he makes his final decision? Maybe we'll see exit interviews with the spurned GMs and coaches, as they cry for the camera because they just don't understand how he could have led them on like that.

I guess I'll skip the special and just wait to see the highlights on SportsCenter.

You have been Warned!

I'm going on a little 4-show Halloween weekend tour-ette with the Chandler Travis Philharmonic this weekend, and it sure would be much appreciated if any of you reading this were able to show up and see us! Also, if you have friends (or enemies) who you think might enjoy (or hate) the band, please encourage them to come out and see us, too.

We will be terrorizing the following towns:

• Thursday, October 29, 8pm - The Turning Point Cafe in Piermont, NY (468 Piermont Ave, Piermont, NY - (845) 359-1089) - $15
  
  Our first appearance at the Turning Point. I've been hoping to play this spot for quite some time, and we're all really excited about playing there. Personally, I think the admission price is worth seeing how we're going to fit all 9 of us in the general vicinity of the stage!
  
  
• Friday, October 30, 8pm - The Avalon Theatre in Easton, MD (40 East Dover St. Easton, MD - (410) 822-7299) - $20
  
  Our return to the wonderful Avalon Theatre. We were there in the spring of 2008 and had a great time. It's a beautiful old vaudeville theater with a great sound.
  
  
• Saturday, October 31, 8pm - Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, PA (7 East Fourth Street, Bethlehem, PA - (610) 867-2390) - $18.50
  
  We're back in steel country for the 3rd time since last November, when we played this intimate listening room for the first time. We were back again this summer for the Bethlehem Music Festival. And heck, it's Halloween - how much more fun can you have than seeing the Philharmonic on Halloween!
  
  
• Sunday, November 1, 8:30pm & 10pm - The Rodeo Bar in New York, NY (375 3rd Ave, New York, NY - (212) 684-6500) - FREE!
  
  The first of our Month-o-Sundays at the Rodeo Bar, our new home in NYC. We'll be there every Sunday in November except the 15th. Two sets, no cover charge. Come on down!
  

If you haven't seen or heard this band yet, be sure to check out the website; we have quite a few audio & video samples there. If you have already seen or heard the band, well ... please ignore what you remember and show up anyway!

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the band lineup for these shows will be:
Chandler Travis - guitar, vocals, King of the World
Rikki Bates - drums
Dinty Child - mandocello, mandolin, accordion, guitar, vocals
John Clark - bass
Phil Clements - keyboards, vocals
Mark Chenevert - tenor sax, clarinet, vocals
Keiichi Hashimoto - trumpet, vocals
Bob Pilkington - trombone, vocals
Fred Boak - vocals, valet

Sure hope to see youse - be sure to say "hi" if you make it.

Here's a tip ...

... if you're worried about being embarrassed by your pharmacy purchase, it's probably not a good idea to draw attention to yourself by yelling at the sales clerk.

I just saw it happen at the local CVS. A customer was purchasing something at the back sales registers, where the pharmacy stuff is normally handled. Apparently, they didn't have a bag large enough for her purchase. The cashier apologized and offered to run up to the front register and get a proper sized bag, but the customer was having none of it and stormed out, saying she was going to another CVS branch instead. Of course, everyone in the area noticed.

Jody

Sorry not to have written much in the last few months. I'll admit it, I've kind of become addicted to Facebook and have been enjoying meeting up with old friends, playing the scrabble-like game "lexulous", and trying to come up with pithy status messages.

Sadly, something has come along that makes me want to write a longer piece.

This past Monday, a good friend of mine, a spiritual brother, Joseph "Jody" Duncan, died at the far-too-young age of 41. His friends & family are saying goodbye to him today in ceremonies in Henderson, KY; there's another group of his friends who won't be able to make it, because we're far-flung all over the country. Most of us met Jody because of our mutual love for and obsession with the band NRBQ.

Jody was the guy who always knew the name and original artist of any obscure cover that NRBQ played. Or at least he had the music library at hand to figure it out. I would send him mp3's of cuts I didn't know, and he usually could get back to me with the right name & artist. Usually fairly quickly.

The first time I really spent any significant time with Jody was around Labor Day, 1999, when my then-wife, Maia, and I flew out to Louisville, KY to catch 4 Q shows in 4 days. The first of those shows was in Evansville, IN, which happened to be Jody's hometown. I remember ahead of time he recommended a hotel to stay in (cheap, but not too shabby, and in a decent neighborhood, if I remember). He met us at the club, introduced us to all his hometown crazies, and we were fast friends. The next night was in Louisville, KY, and it was more of the same. He showed us such wonderful hospitality. Later that year, we made a trip to see NRBQ in Chicago (OK, really Berwyn, IL) and Champaign/Urbana, and, of course, Jody was at both shows.

A few years later, a special NRBQ fan weekend was put together by Stacey Q. Naturally, it was called "Wild Weekend", and was held in Hartford, CT. Jody made the trip, along with a I don't know how many other Q-balls, and now, everyone knew each other for real, not just online. The Chandler Travis Philharmonic was one of the opening acts for the shows, and I still remember Jody's smile when Chandler sang "Surf's Up".

Here's one story that to me is pure Jody. The NRBQ 35th Anniversary shows, which featured almost all living members of the band, past & present, were held in Northampton, MA. Jody made the trip but wasn't sure if he could until practically the last minute. As I was filing out of the Calvin Theatre the 2nd night, the place was almost empty, except there was Jody, still sitting in his seat (the last seat in the far right corner of the last row of the balcony), with tears in his eyes.

Jody's graveside service starts around 2pm CDT today. I plan on playing something joyous by NRBQ (maybe "Me & the Boys") and raising a glass of Kentucky bourbon to Jody. I'm sure more than a few tears will be shed, too.

photo: Jeff Wilson

Until we meet again while travelling the spaceways ... I love you, Jody.