Oh man!

Thanks for stopping by the website today.

Pass this web address on to everyone you know. We're gonna start having more and more fun here every day. And very soon when the weather gets a little warmer, if you live in or around New York City or are planning a visit, when you come out to "The Hill" to hang with me, you will be a part of the video-Podcasts we'll start shooting each Saturday in Central Park. (More about that in a minute.)

Okay... hey before anything else, I wanna give you a little someting fun. Here are a couple of videos.

One is a clip of Al Franken and Joe Scarborough talking about Dick Cheney... recently shooting a man. Franken makes a couple of really clear, common sense, very human points about the actual incident that I hadn't heard many other people address. (Of course, if you still support this particular administration and morally-vacant men like Cheney, you're probably not all that interested in common sense, truly American principle, or clarity.... so, you can just skip these videos and move on.)

(Click on the images for video.) By the way, when you click on the videos, you might hafta give them a minute to load. Y'know that, right?

But, this next one is just pee-in-your-pants funny, and a clever metaphor for the invasion of Iraq.

Click on the images to see video.

Okay, back to Podcasting.

Listen, Podcasting is a new wave in entertainment. But, don't be intimidated by it if you can't get your mind around what it is. Nobody really knows where it's all going, yet. Just think of it as a radio show or a brief video show you can listen to or watch on your computer... and, then that you can take with you listen to and share whenever you want to if you download it into your mp3 player.

No... those little sound clips over there on the right are not what we're talking about. The webmaster of this site, James Marino, and I are ramping up to begin a series of genuine Podcasts. It's gonna be interesting. I'm already lining up some wonderful and cool artists to interview and jam with... we'll play new songs and talk to some legends in the music business. I'll interview people in all walks of Life here in New York City. Maybe down the road... we'll even take it on the road.

Oh... oh... speaking of cool artists and interesting people.

I went down to Birdland again this week for Jim Caruso's Cast Party. It's a wild and very different kind of open mike night for an amazingly eclectic mix of artists. (Okay, sometimes it gets a little weird.) I mean, this week there were Broadway composers, cabaret singers, folk artists, some kickin' country songwriters... some really gifted people. Others... ah... not-so-much. Of course, there are sometimes egos the size of a small US state. But, it's always entertaining. This week there was even rock cellist named Trevor Exter. (He actually played on my first album "The People on the Hill". Wild to run into him 10 years later.) Like I said... it's very cool.

First off, let me say one more time... I am a fan of Jim Caruso. This guy is sooooo good at what he does. He's charismatic and fun... and when he's standing in the light he's just genuine and present. Like I say... "he gets it". (And, it's nice to be able to say I can call him a friend.) I guess Cast Party is still one of New York's little secrets, kinda like what we do on "The Hill" in the park. But, I can't understand why there isn't a line around the block for this gig.

Thats' Jim on the left.

This time, I wasn't sure what to do on stage. But, I wanted to bring the house up and get everyone singing. So, I sprung a brand new version of "Get Out Our House" on the audience. I think the lyric might need a little tweaking, but it seemed to go over well. (Ha! I think I might use Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" as an intro, and then parenthetically call my tune "Impeachment Song".) I'm sure I'll do it in the park this year.

But, let's see... who else was on the stage. Well, Christine Lavin did a great number about playing softball in Riverside Park. My buddy, Ray Jessel, did a song about... well, I don't wanna give it away, actually. But, it was hysterical. Janis Ian (Yes, that Janis Ian. "At Seventeen".) ...did a few songs.

Who was in the audience? Um... Michael Feinstien, Linda Lavin, Rex Reed. Really kinda cool.

Okay.... blah, blah... I gotta get to work.

Have fun today.

Be cool to each other.

Oh, and once again... THANK YOU! To all of you who are helping out with this year's Permit Fund.

Seriously.

It makes things easier.

Very soon I'll try to send a personal "Thank You" email to every one of you, okay?

If you feel like helping out with this year's "Permit fund"... now would be a good time to do it. I put the paperwork and fees in for most of the permits to play on "The Hill" in Central Park already. If everything goes smoothly, and it doesn't rain like it did last Spring, we'll be hanging out together before you know it.

So if you feel like it, the webmaster James Marino has made it really easy. There are two buttons over there on the right. PayPal actually keeps a smaller percentage of your donation. But, either method is good.

But, only if you feel like it and only if you can afford to help out. Remember, it's most important to me that you show up... with or without your money.

If you feel like emailing me about anything at all, just click on the "Contact" button. I can't answer all the email I get. But, I promise I eventually read every single one. And, listen. I know there are people reading this in different parts of the country and different parts of the world. If you're new here, go on and register in the message board ("Forum") and say "Hey". And, take a look through the "Archives" to see what we've been up to. There's alotta fun stuff in there... FREE songs to download, original political cartoons I've drawn... all kindsa stuff.

Thanks again.