Hey...

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TONIGHT is the first night of the "Sunset on the Hudson Concert Series".

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Keep your fingers crossed that the rain which will signal a break in this mini-heat-wave will hold off until we get our first Sunset concert in. I'm thinkin' that it'll hold off until we're done.

HEY!!!! I guess by now you read that Anthony Weiner ruined my latest verse for the song "Tom Cruise Scares Me".

(Sung to Tom Cruise Scares Me)

Anthony Weiner scares me
And it's just such a shame
A man with his dilemma
Might wanna change his name

We all do really stupid things but let's be fair
Took a photo of his weiner, and I just don't care
But he claimed he couldn't recognize his underwear
And that scares me.

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It's cool... he wasn't gonna make it into the final Broadway show anyway. This story's gonna go away in a week or so. s long as we still have Sarah Palin hangin' around like a stubborn, bad cold there will always be more stuff to write about. (More about the stage project further down the page.)

Find out about the new project here.
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Now, I'm NOT gonna be in Central Park tomorrow. We weren't given the permit we need to hang by The Lake. But if you're lookin' for something "uniquely New York" to start your weekend, this gig tonight is a really cool thing to do.

Just head down to Christopher Street in The Village, and walk west. Keep walking until you cross the West Side Highway and out onto Pier 45. Then keep walking until you hear music... or get wet. We're out in the middle of the Hudson River, on that beautiful 100 yard, grass-covered pier. The music starts at 7:00 and I play the Sun down until 9:00. Really sweet. It's also gotta be a damn sight cooler out there on the water. (Might be a welcome break after this little springtime heat wave.)

And I think Teresa Reynolds is gonna come down and help us kick off the season.

Click for larger image

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Now about tomorrow.

First of all, we weren't given the permits for tomorrow, but it might have been a wash-out anyway. Funny the way that goes sometimes.

I'm sure you're reading in the news how the city is cracking down on musicians in the park. Before you get all nuts and angry about it, please realize that it's a very difficult and very fine line the Parks Department has to walk. If independent musicians like myself weren't regulated in some way, there would be a conga player or a trumpet about every 5 feet in that park. It's a cyclical thing that has to be done about once every 5 years or so... almost as if the volume level of the park inflates, and inflates, and rises and rises... until they periodically hafta pull the plug and let some of the decibels out.

Listen... I know how lucky I am to have become "That Guitar Man from Central Park". One of the reasons I've gotten to hold onto such an honor is that I agreed to play by the rules, pay for the proper permits, go through the proper channels and make music a maximum of one afternoon a week. I also try to keep my volume level down to accommodate only the people in the area of Hernshead Landing. I understand with my whole being that Central Park is not all about "me" and my guitar. In fact, if it wasn't for you guys... if it wasn't for the thousands of you who love hanging with me so much, I wouldn't be able to even get the permits.

So we weren't issued the permits for this tomorrow. BUT... I will see you next Saturday with neither fanfare or conflict.

Cool?

"It's Just Us"

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HOPE I SEE YOU TONIGHT!!!

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Like I said, Teresa Reynolds has told me that she wants to stop by and sit in for a set.

That will be soooooo cool. If you've ever been to "The Hill" in Central Park when she takes the microphone you know how much fun I have singing with her. So tonight if she shows up, it'll be a blast.

She's in a whole bunch of photos from last weekend in Central Park. It was her first day out there this year and it was great. All week I've been posting photos that people have been sending in to the website. All summer these photos will be added to The 2011 Photo Gallery.

Are you new here to this website? Are you checking it to see if I'm back in the park? Is this your first time here? if you're lookin' for a whole bunch of photos to see what it is we do out in Central Park every year... if you're new here and you need a little catchin' up... for any newcomers, you can check out both of these Photo Galleries.

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Click to visit last year's gallery

You can always hit THE ARCHIVE and catch up with what's been going on.

BTW -- "The Something'th Annual Year End Concert" is booked for Saturday night, December 10th. I know it's early, but I wanted to let you know if you're one of those people who travel down from Buffalo, or in from Pennsylvania, or Maryland, or Germany just for this gig.

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OKAY!!!! Now about the newest project!!!!

In a nutshell, we're putting together something that we hope is headed for Broadway or... Jupiter... or... I don't know. But it's gonna be done someplace. Broadway legend, TONY WALTON, a man who has more Tony Awards and Academy Awards than I have socks, is behind it 100%... so now it's just about getting the right team together and working it. I'll be inviting all of you to another one of those small, unplugged work sessions very soon, so keep checking back. The last 2 filled up in a matter of hours.

Here's a little 10-minute video from Tony and his wife... explaining the project.

Click to watch the video

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And here's a link to visit if YOU wanna be a real part of this process.

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VIDEO TIME

Here's another song that can't end up in the project 'cause I didn't write it. But it's a fun moment from last year's "Year End Concert".

Click to watch

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Here are a couple of different fun galleries to check out.

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HAVE FUN TODAY!!!!!! (And be cool to each other, okay?)

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Thanks for everything.

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Peace ☮