Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Keb' Mo' at the Paramount, Asbury Park

Singer-songwriter guitarist Keb' Mo' comes to the Paramount Theatre on August 25,2008. Mo's blues is a post-modern expression of the artistic and cultural journey that has transformed the blues, and his own point of view, over time.

Come to the renovated Paramount Theatre and Asbury Park Boardwalk on August 28, 2008 and listen to Keb' Mo' and his music. It will be a great evening.


Tickets are $31-$48 plus Ticketmaster service fees. Click here to Purchase Tickets or cut and paste the url: http://www.asburyboardwalk.com/events.htm.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Josh Ritter April 24 at the Stone Pony

Josh Ritter will be performing April 24, 2008 at the Stone Pony.

The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter catches the Idaho musician in the midst of a radical transformation. While last year’s The Animal Years had Ritter thinking about the state of the nation, his latest offering finds him pining for Joan of Arc, Calamity Jane and Florence Nightingale, all of whom seem to be stuck together in the belly of a whale, a la Jonah. He also manages to squeeze in a few admiring words about ladies’ underwear—and that’s well before Ritter, backed by drums, bass and organ and cacophony, arrives at a rollicking chorus you might be able sing along with if you’re quick enough to get all the words.

Ritter is clearly having fun—and you will, too—but there is a method to his madness. Those legendary heroines he name-checks were each responding to an inner voice that pushed them toward some extraordinary mission, one both noble and a little foolhardy. “Those voices can be pretty confusing,” he says, “but there is no doubt that if you follow your two a.m. voices you’ll end up someplace fairly extraordinary.”

And Ritter did follow those late night voices. While The Animal Years was a meticulously crafted and stately paean, for Conquests the artist radically revamped his working methods and his sound. “I needed to be somebody different,” the singer says. “The air of gravitas around me was getting oppressive. For some reason it seemed like there was a premium being placed on earnestness and that can be pretty stifling. There was a lot of talk about true love and righteous indignation. I wanted to write about gunslingers and missile silos.”

But it didn’t start like that. “I was tired of writing with the guitar,” says Ritter, who began writing The Historical Conquests by committing to tape wordless tunes and melodic fragments, certain that the lyrics and thematic ideas, whatever shape they might take, would soon follow. Setting aside the guitar, he began writing on an upright piano some family friends had given him—an instrument, he admits, he didn’t actually know how to play.

The result is an often raucous, occasionally dizzying affair, with pounding keyboards, strings, horns, and his new producer and long-time collaborator Sam Kassirer, leading the charge. About the recording conditions in the Maine farmhouse where the record was made, Ritter enthuses, “You should have seen it up there. It was January and twenty below. We had horns in the attic, we had strings in the barn, we had a gaggle of people shooting targets with bb guns in the woods. It was a full house and everyone was there to throw themselves at the music. There was no holding back.”
As he says in the drum and Steinway-driven “Rumors,”

My orchestra is gigantic.
This thing could sink the Titanic
And the string section’s screaming
Like horses in a barn burning up.

Giving the project a literal go-for-broke feel was the fact that his then-label, V2 America, had just fired the entire staff. “They went under the night we performed on Letterman!,” laughs the songwriter. “It seemed me and my band were pretty much storming the heights of irony that day.” The situation emboldened the self-reliant artist; after all, Ritter had launched his career DIY-fashion with his self-titled 1999 debut and released its 2001 follow-up, The Golden Age of Radio, on his own, before finally signing with an indie label. When he rushed back into the studio in early ’07, after another year of worldwide touring, it was on his own timetable. “One thing I’ve realized is that at the end of the day, you’re on your own. There isn’t a song, a record or a record label that can teach you how to swim or how to keep your head above water,” Ritter says. “You have to be the one getting out of the boat and taking your chances every day. In what you write and in how you play. If not…”

The artistic leaps Josh Ritter displays on Conquests are not without their stepping-stones, however. On a conceptual level, Paul McCartney’s Ram served as an ever-present reminder to enjoy the process of writing. Ritter was attracted to the free-spirited quality of the solo album McCartney made at his own farmhouse—amidst the Beatles’ tumultuous breakup: “It sounded like he had something to prove, but also like he didn’t really care. In terms of my favorite records, Ram is more about the philosophy. If this guy can do this after what he came through, then, okay, maybe I could try something like this too. It really loosened me up.”

Stepping farther back, he sites Buddy Holly’s apocryphal The Apartment Tapes as a major influence. “A friend passed me Buddy Holly’s Apartment Tapes. The tapes are plain and genius. Buddy sang ‘Learning the Game’ and ‘That’s What they Say’ in his apartment in New York City and you can hear his wife bumping around in the kitchen and the whole thing feels clear but not simple. Those recordings feel like a Raymond Carver story. I listen to him and remember that it doesn’t have to be all nine-minute songs. That guy can get more across in a couplet than some people are lucky to learn in their whole life.”

With a new approach, a new producer and a new location, Ritter got underway in earnest. “I shaped the songs and recorded a basic shell with Sam and then asked my bassist Zack Hickman and my new drummer Liam Hurley to come on up.” Skeleton tracks in hand, Ritter collaborated further with his band mates and a group of assorted musician friends he dubbed The Great North Sound Society Orchestra, who were clearly up for trying anything.

The results speak for themselves. The upbeat, vintage “Right Moves,” the Liberty Valance standoff “Mind’s Eye,” the pre-(and possibly post-) apocalyptic love song “The Temptation of Adam” and the Robert Altman era “Next to the Last” combine to hold a kind of punk-meets-Peckinpah fiesta.

Says Ritter in summary, “On my last disc, The Animal Years, I went pretty deep inside the gears of what I do. I knew where the words fit and how the songs dovetailed with each other.” He adds, however, “If I hadn’t approached the writing that record on such a clockmaker’s level, I may not have decided to step back and try shooting the clock to pieces on Historical Conquests. I’m glad we did though,” he adds. “I wanted to blow something up.”

Given the new lyrical and musical trails that he is blazing, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter proves that one can still cross any number of Rubicons all the while not taking themselves too seriously. Historic indeed.

April 24, 2008 7:30 pm doors. Go to http://www.asburyboardwalk.com/events.htm for tickets.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Red Carpet Charity Event April 3

The Garden State Film Festival (GSFF) will host Starline Films' theatrical documentary, "4CHOSEN" at a special red carpet premiere screening on Thursday, April 3rd in the Paramount Theater, 1300 Ocean Ave. Asbury Park, NJ.

The event kicks off at at 6:30 pm with celebrity red carpet arrivals including: Danny Aiello (Do The Right Thing), Montel Williams (4CHOSEN), Vinny Pastore (Sopranos), Randy Jones (The Village People/The Gentleman), Chuck Zito (HBO's OZ), Kwame Jackson (The Apprentice), Jon Doscher (REMEDY/The Gentleman), The Cast of The Gentleman, and many more! Come and see a bit of Hollywood here in Asbury Park.
The red carpet hosts for this event are Valentine Leone and Shannon Leroux.

The following items will be displayed at the after party for you to bid on.
All proceeds will benefit the Montel Williams MS Foundation



  • Derek Jeter Hand-Signed "The Dive" 16x20 Photograph
  • Jerry Koosman/Nolan Ryan/Tom Seaver Triple Hand-Signed 16x20 Photograph
  • Henrik Lundqvist Hand-Signed 16x20 Photograph
  • Brian Leetch Hand-Signed "Jersey Number Retirement" 16x20 Photograph
  • Jerry Kramer Hand-Signed "With Vince Lombardi" 16x20 Photograph Feat. Quote Inscribed
  • Joba Chamberlain Hand-Signed "Joba Time" 16x20 Photograph
  • Martin Brodeur Hand-Signed "Versus Sidney Crosby" 16x20 Photograph
  • Phil Rizzuto Hand-Signed 8x10 Photograph
  • Evel Knievel Hand-Signed 16x20 Photograph (Deceased Daredevil)
  • Goose Gossage Hand-Signed "With Thurman Munson" 8x10 Photograph
  • Alex Rodriguez Hand-Signed Official Big Stick Bat
  • David Wright Hand-Signed "Barehanded Catch" 16x20 Photograph
  • 1968-1969 New York Jets Team Hand-Signed Official Full Size Helmet (Super Bowl III Champs)
  • Lou Holtz Hand-Signed "Play Like A Champion Today" 20x24 Photograph
  • The Sack Exchange Hand-Signed "Stock Exchange" 20x24 Photograph
  • Joe Frazier Hand-Signed "Staring Past Muhammad Ali" 16x20 Photograph
  • Walt Frazier Hand-Signed "Graffiti Schoolyard" 16x20 Photograph
  • Joe Namath Hand-Signed "Walking Off Field" 16x20 Photograph
  • Tony Hawk Hand-Signed Official Skateboard Deck
  • James Gandolfini Hand-Signed "Meet Tony Soprano" 16x20 Photograph
  • Tedy Bruschi Hand-Signed "Snow Bowl" 16x20 Photograph
  • 2007 New York Giants Team Hand-Signed "Huddle" 20x32 Photograph
  • Michael Strahan Hand-Signed "Over Tom Brady" 16x20 Photograph
  • Osi Umenyiora Hand-Signed "Sacking Tom Brady" 8x10 Photograph
  • Eli Manning & Tom Coughlin Dual Hand-Signed 16x20 Photograph
  • David Tyree Hand-Signed "The Catch" 16x20 Photograph
  • Eli Manning Hand-Signed Official Super Bowl XLII Commemorative Full Size Helmet
  • Brandon Jacobs Hand-Signed 8x10 Photograph
  • Robinson Cano Hand-Signed 8x10 Photograph
  • Bernie Williams Hand-Signed Rawlings Glove
  • Whitey Ford Hand-Signed "With Yogi Berra" 8x10 Photograph
  • Kevin Boss Hand-Signed 8x10 Photograph
  • 1986 New York Giants Team Hand-Signed Official Full Size Helmet
  • Mark Bavaro & Phil McConkey Dual Hand-Signed "Celebration" 16x20 Photograph
  • The Rat Pack Limited Edition Masterpiece Feat. Actual Vegas Casino Chips & Cards
  • History of the Masters: Limited Edition Champions Masterpiece Collage
  • Star Wars' Carrie Fisher & Dave Prowse Dual Hand-Signed Original Movie Poster
  • Willie Mays Hand-Signed "The Catch" 16x20 Photograph
  • High School Musical Limited Edition Movie Masterpiece Collage
  • Miley Cyrus Limited Edition "Hannah Montana" Masterpiece Collage
  • 1980 US Hockey Miracle on Ice Multi-Signed 16x20 Photograph
  • Abbott & Costello's "Who's On First?" Limited Edition Masterpiece Collage
  • Beauty and the Beast Limited Edition Lithograph Feat. Actual Film Strip Cel
  • Jackie Gleason/Arnold Palmer Vintage "And Away We Go" 11x14 Photograph
  • Johnny Pesky Hand-Signed 8x10 Photograph
  • Edgar Prado Hand-Signed "Riding Barbaro in the Kentucky Derby" 8x10 Photograph
  • Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" Larry Thomas Signed 8x10 Photograph
  • Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy & William Shatner Dual Hand-Signed 8x10 Photograph
  • Yogi Berra Hand-Signed "With Babe Ruth" 8x10 Photograph
  • Dr. J Julius Erving Hand-Signed Official ABA Basketball
  • Larry Bird Hand-Signed 16x20 Photograph
  • Bernard King Hand-Signed & Game Used Circa 1980s New York Knicks Converse Sneaker
  • Montel Williams hand signed book

Red Carpet Event - April 3rd "4Chosen"

The Garden State Film Festival (GSFF) will host Starline Films' theatrical documentary, "4CHOSEN" at a special red carpet premiere screening on Thursday, April 3rd in the Paramount Theater, 1300 Ocean Ave. Asbury Park, NJ.

The event kicks off at at 6:30 pm with celebrity red carpet arrivals including: Danny Aiello (Do The Right Thing), Montel Williams (4CHOSEN), Vinny Pastore (Sopranos), Randy Jones (The Village People/The Gentleman), Chuck Zito (HBO's OZ), Kwame Jackson (The Apprentice), Jon Doscher (REMEDY/The Gentleman), The Cast of The Gentleman, and many more! Come and see a bit of Hollywood here in Asbury Park.
The red carpet hosts for this event are Valentine Leone and Shannon Leroux.

The screening begins at 7:30pm and the VIP reception follows with the shore band Brian Kirk and the Jirks. Limited # of tickets are available for $25 and can be purchased at http://www.starlinefilms.com. Proceeds will benefit the Montel Williams MS Foundation and support the 6th Annual Garden State Film Festival.

"4CHOSEN" tells the story of four young minority basketball players from New York City who were traveling to North Carolina for a college basketball showcase when they were profiled by two NJ State Troopers and shot 13 times. A powerful team of attorneys led by Johnnie Cochran assist them as they rebuild their lives and influence major law changes. April 23, 2008 marks the 10 Year Anniversary of this incident.

This documentary, produced and directed by actor Jon Doscher and narrated by Montel Williams, features interviews with Reverend Al Sharpton, Peter Neufeld, Barry Schek, and Wynton Marsalis.

Starline Films is a motion picture production/distribution company currently working on several films including the major motion pictures 4CHOSEN and Anyone's Son, in which Academy Award Nominated Actor Danny Aiello will be making his directorial debut.

More information is available here on asburyboardwalk.com