Tommy Chong Photo Credit: David Shankbone

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Author: Tommy Chong
Show time: 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM FREE
Venue: Bryant Park Reading Room
Food: Island Burgers and Shakes
Drink: Smith’s Bar
Miscellaneous: Colony Music

One half of one of the greatest pot smoking comedy teams Cheech & Chong, Tommy Chong makes an appearance to discuss his book Cheech & Chong: The Unauthorized Autobiography and his controversial soon to be released documentary AKA Tommy Chong. For a kickass burger or chicken sandwich, Island Burgers and Shakes specializes in making great burgers like the Bourbon Street Burger that’s blackened, with bacon, Jack, bayou mayo, and onion on sourdough. One cheap bar in midtown, Smith’s is a dive bar with cheap booze, friendly locals, and live music daily in the next room. Though the place is way expensive, Colony Music is a fun music store that sells albums and sheet music. You can walk around and check out the entertainment memorabilia. Whether you’re looking for an autographed guitar signed by the Rolling Stones or an autographed 8x10 of Linda Carter, they’ve got it.




Also, nearby at the Lacoste Store (575 Madison Avenue; Midtown East), meet Jasmin Rosemberg, author of the new book, How the Other Half Hamptons, from Grand Central Publishing/5 Spot from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, where there will be complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres while you shop. Receive a copy of How the Other Half Hamptons signed by the author with any purchase.

The Faint began making music in the mid 1990’s, experimenting with different elements of dance, punk, and new wave keyboard synth. After seven albums and a few lineup changes, the band has just released a new album Fasciinatiion and is heading out on tour across the world. I had a chance to catch up with the band’s lead singer and keyboardist Todd Fink for a conversation about the band, their creative process, and the essence of geekdom.

One thing I always loved about The Faint is that as a band you have this modern electronic-synth-punk sound and that you guys came out of the unlikely locale of Omaha, Nebraska.

Yeah, coming from Nebraska from a New Yorker’s perspective is kind of the middle of nowhere, and I agree, it is.

How did you guys originally break into the scene out there? What was your big break?

I’d say, for us it was Blank-Wave Arcade. The album came out in 1999 and that was probably our first real inspired moment of stumbling upon something that we felt comfortable with as Faint music.

Congratulations on the new album, Fasciinatiion. From listening to songs such as: “The Geeks Were Right” and “Machine in the Ghost” it seems like you guys tackled some different kinds of content. Was it a thing you guys wanted to do or just came out organically?

When we planned to make the record, it was going to be more simple, more of a rock band type of thing, but we just kind of fell back into what we do naturally. With “Machine in the Ghost,” we wanted it really rhythmic, stripped down, and somewhat awkward sounding. We thought maybe the song can be silent in between the words.

I guess that’s what an artist does; you can’t help being who you are even if you fight it.

Right, you can try to steer it but you got to be real hard on yourself if you want it to work. I haven’t figured out how to make that work yet. I think if it were just one person, you could change quite a bit but to have five people, you’re always going to be working with the same five opinions about how music should sound so you’re going to end up with things that you know, kind of sound like, The Faint.

You guys have become doctors of the remix after remixing whole albums and other musicians work. Should we look forward to hearing any cool Faint remixes?

Yeah, there’s some new remixes coming out of our stuff and we’re talking about remixing The Kills and some other things.

For this album you guys left the Saddle Creek label and went to your own- blank.wav. What lead to that decision?

I guess just our need to keep taking control of things. I blame a lot of it on that and just the way the music world works, I think. We like Saddle Creek and we grew up together but we kind of always planned on moving on at some point when it makes sense and now is the time where I think it makes sense. We had considered going to other labels, bigger labels, for a long time and never found one that we liked. I don’t like the idea of trusting people in desperate positions and people in the music business are in desperate positions. I think it’s best to make your own mistakes.

Outside of music, what do you guys find inspiring when you’re working on songs?

Well, I think all of us like visual art in general, there are influences there but I don’t want to speak for everybody. There’s literary influences as well. On this record from my perspective I was interested in, I guess, Geeks. I feel like I had to become one of these guys, you know. I grew up skateboarding and thought of it as more of an art form, not a sport like it is today. I knew geeks and liked them but it wasn’t me and now I’ve really become a geek. Everybody in my band has become a geek. We’ve got tables of toy keyboards with tons of soldering irons and tables everywhere with books about, well the future for one thing with Mr. Fuller type of diatribes. I was reading some Ray Kurzweil, Mark Pesce and that kind of psychedelic nerdy stuff like Terence McKenna, who is a genius.

It’s funny you mention Fuller because there is a lot of Fuller material coming out recently and he is sort of the anti-nerd in a weird sense - he was a geek but the hippies jumped on his boat and accepted him.

Yeah, he should be celebrated now and everybody should be embarrassed at what they didn’t learn from him in the last forty years. He had it all worked out. People just kept fucking it up. But it takes real problems to make real changes. You really have to have a lot of pain and death and bad shit before you could really make much of a turn.

What new music are you guys listening to lately?

Well, that Kills record, everybody in the van likes that one. A bunch of us like Mr. Oizo and I checked out Of Montreal today. My friend Connor’s [Oberst] got a new record out, -I think he’s always getting better. I’ve been a fan of his since he started- he was in our band at one point.

I wanted to ask a little bit about your image because The Faint is often associated with an image and a genre. I wanted to know how you felt about it and whether it was a blessing or a curse because I would imagine that it could be confining.

I think it was at one point to us. The one that we didn’t like was when we couldn’t see our name anywhere without an 80’s reference. I think it was because we were real early in the keyboard resurgence and electronic pop kind of stuff but I feel like we shook that pretty well when Wet From Birth came out. I haven’t heard any new slick jargon and I’m happy with that because to me, as soon as you think of yourself as like Industrial Goth or something you’re never going to have a banjo on your record. There’s certain things you will never do if you think of yourself too narrowly. I think we’re in a healthy position now.

Tim Needles

Location: Financial District, NYC
Band: BUST 15 Year Anniversary Party with Morningwood + Free Blood
Show time: 8:00 PM
Venue: The Spiegeltent
Food: Burritoville
Drink: Jeremy’s Ale House
Miscellaneous: Century 21

Bust-the magazine for discerning ladies-celebrates its 15th anniversary with this knockout show MC’d by Amy Sedaris featuring music by Morningwood and Free Blood and the antics of Murray Hill. JD Samson (Le Tigre) spins and The Pontani Sisters perform burlesque as NYC’s Lady Circus amaze. While most people buy hot dogs and grab a beer at expensive restaurants in the Seaport mall, you’ll be smart and head over to Burritoville for inexpensive and delicious California inspired burritos, all under $10. For drinks, Jeremy’s Ale House has a lively crowd and a beer list that will get you a pint for $5 and under. If you get down to the financial district early, check out Century 21. They won’t try to sell you some property, but they have some great designer clothing on the cheap, plus the place is huge to roam.

I used to think “frizz control” was an oxymoron. After trying out Garnier Fructis Style Brilliantine Shine Glistening Drops, I have to reconsider.

Last week I cut five inches off my hair. After using this product, it was not the change in length, but the lack of frizz and visible smoothness that my friends noticed first.

The miracle ingredients in this product are fruit “micro-oils.” While I did not know fruit to possess “micro-oils,” they absolutely work. At least it does when coupled with the equally-miraculous work of a flat iron. Also worth noting is that although the bottle looks small, a little bit really goes a long way.

In the past, I’ve tried almost everything to manage frizz, that is, everything short of throwing a fruit salad on my head. Now it’s clear that such a last resort is not necessary. At least not when Garnier is offering a far less messy alternative.

--Jessica Stein

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Art: 2008 Vice Photo Show
Show time: Tue-Fri 3:00-7:00 PM, Sat noon-6:00 PM. Through Aug 31
Venue: Vice Gallery
Food: SEA
Drink: Zablozki’s
Miscellaneous: Hugs

Vice Gallery hosts the 2008 Vice Photo Show, where many of the photographers who are featured in the magazine will be showing their works till the end of the month. Just as much fun as any show and just as big a venue, SEA is one BIG Thai restaurant. Big enough to have a pool surrounded by tables as a giant Buddha stands above it. Luckily, the food is really great. Offering traditional Pad Thai ($7) to more involved dishes like the Mummy Fish ($14). On N6th, a street full of bars and restaurants, Zablozki’s is the local bar of the bunch, with a pool table and a friendly atmosphere and 12 beers on tap. What looks like some dark basement with tables and some couches, Hugs will end up being a dance party with an awkward blend of music genres that you will grow to love quickly.

Dead Prez Rock The Bells. All photos: Marc Amigone

Rock the Bells
Jones Beach
August 3, 2008

The New York City installment of the International Rock the Bells tour may have been the best hip-hop show in history. In a night where De la Soul, Biz Markie, Afrika Bambaataa, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Method Man, Redman, all four original members of A Tribe Called Quest with Busta Rhymes, and more hit the stage, the 15,000 hip-hop fans who made it out witnessed an historic event.

The doors opened at noon. Dead Prez had the crowd jumping to their anti-establishment message while Immortal Technique followed and continued the anti-government vibe. De la Soul got on next and took things to the next level, being joined on stage by old school cats like Dres from Black Sheep who performed “The Choice is Yours,” Q-tip to do “Buddy,” and Biz Markie who brought the house down with, “You Got What I Need.”

Raekwon and Ghostface had the sold-out theater chanting Wu-Tang. They were joined on stage by Cappadonna and played Wu classics like “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Victory,” and a tribute to the late O.D.B., “I Like it Raw.” Scratch and Supernatural came out after and Supernat kicked a freestyle incorporating any object the crowd could hand him or reference.

Mos Def came out as the Sun dipped behind the back of the stadium, donning a kaleidoscopic basketball uniform repping Bed-Stuy. He did a few songs from The New Danger before being joined on-stage by Talib Kweli at which point they kicked it back to Black Star performing songs like “Brown Skin Lady,” “Definition,” “Respiration,” and “K.O.S. Determination.” The reunited duo was joined onstage by Pharoahe Monch when the DJ dropped “Simon Says,” and the crowd went nuts.

Method Man and Redman came and seriously got the crowd jumping. They climbed on top of the speakers, jumped into the crowd, stopped the beat to hit a blunt, and did anything else they could think of to incite the crowd. Guest MC's during their set included Slick Rick, who spit the first few bars of “La Di Da Di,” Raekwon, EPMD, and Keith Murray, who did his verse from the Def Squad version of “Rapper's Delight.”

Nas came out next and played possibly the best set of the show. He had a 6-piece band and Dj Green Lantern on stage with him. He kicked it back to Illmatic and made all stops in between that and his newest album. The entire concert just about stopped in its tracks when Jay-Z came onstage with a Yankees hat on. Nas put on his Mets hat, and the two rival MC's rocked a brief song before Jigga ran back off.

Finally, Q-Tip came onstage around 11 to close out the legendary night. He played his new single and other solo hits with Mos Def before all four original members of A Tribe Called Quest, Phife Dawg, Jarobi, Q-Tip, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, came onstage together in New York City for the first time in 10 years. They played all the old-school joints off The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders. The highlight of the concert was when Busta Rhymes came onstage during “Scenario.” In a night where hip-hop history was taught, while simultaneously celebrating new school stars, Rock the Bells lived up to its reputation as a world-class hip-hop forum.

--Marc Amigone

More Pics:


DRES D-R-E-S



Immortal Technique


De la Soul's Posdnuos

The Fathers of Punk, Iggy and the Stooges Photo courtesy of Peter Whitfield

Friday August 8

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Band: 88BoaDrum
Show time: 8:08 PM FREE
Venue: East River State Park
Food: Relish
Drink: Radegast Hall & Biergarten
Miscellaneous: Zebulon

Picking up where Japanese band, The Boredoms left off last year with 77BoaDrums, that saw 77 drummers perform together, Gang Gang Dance will have 88 drummers beat the skins this year in N.Y., while The Boredoms will perform the piece three hours later in L.A. Get FREE tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com or at Other Music and/or Sound Fix. Though Relish looks like a 50s diner, this restaurant offers up some gourmet treats for dinner. With influences from all over the globe, Relish features diner classics like burgers and onion rings, and step it up with the likes of Blackened Yellow Fin Tuna ($21). Williamsburg’s first beer garden, Radegast, has a beautiful all-wood interior, an enclosed outdoor backyard, and 12 German/Austrian beers on tap and more than 30 bottles. Another great bar in the area, Zebulon offers free live jazz and afrobeat. The drinks here are inexpensive, and I’ve never seen a bad show here.

Friday August 8

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Band: Iggy and the Stooges
Show time: 9:00 PM
Venue: Terminal 5
Food: Zip Burger
Drink: Subway Inn
Miscellaneous: Kinokuniya Bookstore

Though their newest album The Weirdness is in no league with their classic Funhouse, seeing Iggy and the Stooges has always been where it’s at. Iggy still writhes on stage like a wild animal, and though older they still sound raw. At Zip Burger they offer farm-raised, organic, and grass-fed meat and poultry, letting you build your own burger with plenty of gourmet toppings. The first time I went to Subway Inn I thought it was completely strange that there was a dive bar off Lexington Avenue, especially in this neck of the woods, but somehow it works. Born in the 30s, this bar has somehow remained, and thank god, as it’s easily the cheapest place in the area for a drink. For fans of Japanese pop-culture, Kinokuniya Bookstore has a large selection of Japanese themed books, videos, CDs, magazines, comics, and stationary.

Saturday August 9

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Band: Grizzly Bear + Violens
Show time: 9:00 PM
Venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg
Food: Chimu
Drink: Union Pool
Miscellaneous: Eks

One of the most eclectic and inventive bands out there today, Grizzly Bear play with part of the proceeds going to The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation flood relief. Joining them are Violens featuring former member of Lansing-Dreiden. With so much good food in Williamsburg, you should not forget about Chimu. A Peruvian steakhouse right next to Union Pool, the rotisserie chicken and every other dish I’ve had here is amazing, and it won’t break the bank! For drinks, Union Pool is still one of the best bars in town. If you’re single, it’s a goldmine for ass, the drinks aren’t pricey, and the DJs play an eclectic mix of ridiculously good music. Not exactly Pinkberry, yet just as expensive, Eks is Williamsburg’s answer to the yogurt fad currently popping up.

Saturday August 9

Location: Upper West Side, NYC
Band: Dulsori + Cyro Baptista and Beat the Donkey
Show time: 7:00 PM FREE
Venue: Damrosch Park
Food: Josie’s
Drink: Candle Bar
Miscellaneous: Emack & Bolio’s

Blending percussion and performance, Dulsori are a Korean troupe bringing their culture to you live. Joining them is Cyro Baptista and Beat the Donkey, one of the best NYC based percussion ensembles out there today. Josie’s offers dishes like Warm Macadamia-Crusted Natural Chicken Breast Dinner Salad ($17.75), several tofu and seitan specialty dishes and the Freshly Ground Char-Grilled Brandt Natural Beef Cheeseburger ($15.75), so everyone here will walk away happy. Comfortable and dimly lit, the Candle Bar has a pool table in the back and drink specials daily. For some of the best and most interesting ice cream in the city, Emack & Bolio’s offers eclectic flavors like Deep Purple Cow (Black Raspberry ice cream with white and dark chocolate chips and blueberries).

Sunday August 10

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Band: Langhorne Slim
Show time: 8:00 PM FREE
Venue: Sound Fix
Food: Wild Ginger Pan-Asian Vegan Café
Drink: Teddy’s Bar & Grill
Miscellaneous: Verb Café

Brooklyn folkie Langhorne Slim sounds like he came straight out of another time and place. His music has a touch of soul and blues combined with country that makes people dance. His live show is surprisingly high-energy. For vegetarians and those not in the mood for meat, Wild Ginger offers Pan-Asian cuisine in a relaxed earth-toned environment with a menu featuring veggies, tofu, seitan, and soy. The best thing about Teddy’s Bar is that it’s just got this great neighborhood vibe that’s warm and friendly, while also having a great menu of drinks and American bar food favorites like burgers, salads, sandwiches, and steak. A great place to get good coffee, take a seat, and watch the passing hipsters stroll by, Verb Café even has excellent sandwiches and baked goods to snack on before the show.