Dispatch from Around the Globe – Summer Quarantine Edition
What’s a favorite song of yours that reminds you of summertime?
I know this is trite, but the entire Blue Album and first half of Pinkerton by Weezer. In the summer of 1998, this is all that would fit onto a cassette tape, which coincidentally was exactly how long it took to drive to the shore.
We are always on the lookout for new TV shows and films to check out. What’s one of your favorite shows and/or movies that you’ve watched over the past few months?
Lately I’ve been entertaining myself with some throwbacks. Netflix just released an updated version of Unsolved Mysteries complete with a UFO episode which totally brought me back to my childhood days staring off into the night sky in wonder yet terrified that I would get abducted by aliens. In between stories of missing persons and murders, I’ve been rewatching HBO’s The Wire. Every episode is a punch in the gut as it puts on display the flaws in our government programs and the systemic racism and corruption that is prevalent in the police force, school systems, politics, and media. 15 years later it is still a sad reminder of where we are today…. woof.
Your vacation plans probably got thwarted due to the global pandemic. Where had you hoped to travel to this summer? Where are you planning on doing some fun summer activities instead this year?
Luckily I did not have any travel plans on the books this year. Back in April when it became apparent that social distancing was going to be a thing for a while, I decided to invest in my backyard and make it a cool hangout spot. My realtor Meg Augustin, wrote a fun little piece about it and the other renovations I did on my house. So other than retiring to my high-walled backyard garden, my goal this summer is to find creative weekend getaways to escape the city for a bit. So far I’ve been able to sneak away to the Jersey shore a few times and in the future I have plans for a late August camping trip in Ricket’s Glenn and a tubing trip on the Delaware. In the meantime I have committed my free time to helping my brother get his house ready to sell by renovating his bathrooms and installing a new floors.
Can you recommend a local Black owned business that we should check out?
Oh yeah! Faheem’s Hand of Precision! Amazing barber shop and kick ass joint to get a beard trimming. A few years back I was interviewing for a job and I really wanted a fresh cut for my beard. After some research, I found Faheem and was drawn to his shop because I thought it was pretty cool that he’s making regular trips to NYC to cut for the Roots. So I show up as just a walk-in and he immediately greets me by name, which was shocking because I didn’t give it and I didn’t immediately recognize him. He reminded me that the last time we saw each other was at the closing table over my current house. I purchased my Point Breeze home from Faheem in 2016 which allowed him to finally open his shop in south Philly. Subsequently, his hand of precision did such wonders on my appearance that I was hired for the job and launched me on a whole new career path.
What’s your favorite shore town?
Brigantine, NJ. Growing up, we would spend weeks at a time at my Nanny and Pop-pop’s house in Brigantine. After a day at the beach then cooking a giant meal for an army of grandkids they would sit at the table drinking manhattans and smoking cigarettes while the adults challenged them in endless rounds of pinochle and us kids ran around like idiots. As a kid, I found Brigantine to be so quiet and boring. It didn’t have a boardwalk like Ocean City and it lacked the hopping bar scenes of Sea Isle. But now as an adult, for all those reasons I hated it as a kid, I now love it. It’s a nice quiet beach town where you won’t get overrun by screaming kids and you don’t have to put up with a constant stream of late night obnoxious drunkards crawling home from the bars.
Lots of people have been releasing music over quarantine. What’s a favorite release of yours that has come out since March?
Back in March we put a video together for an online fundraiser event for United Way of Gloucester County and it got over 1.4K views. It’s an unreleased song we’ve played live a few times but haven’t yet officially recorded it. We wrote it about a year ago as a collaborative effort between Amanda (violinist/vocalist) and I. At the time, it seemed that I was only capable of writing lyrics about breakups and sad things so I reached out to the band to help put some words to the catalog of unfinished songs I have. Amanda came through with some amazingly sweet lyrics to this twangy little tune. Watch it here.
What’s your favorite summertime treat?
My favorite summertime treat is Jersey corn on the cob, fresh Jersey tomatoes, and my mom’s homemade blueberry cobbler.
You’ve probably sharpened your cooking skills since quarantine began. What’s your favorite thing to make for a meal these days?
I’ve always loved to cook, but this quarantine has really pushed me to try some kick-ass recipes. There are two favorites I’ve cooked since COVID – Homemade biscuits and sausage gravy… for dinner, and a mole beef stew which turned into enchiladas a few days later.
Best summer concert you’ve ever seen? What’s your favorite venue to go to for a summertime show?
Best summer concert was in 2006 at the Festival Pier. Wilco played for hours with My Morning Jacket as the opener. It was the first time Wilco toured with Nels Cline as their guitarist. He adds such a raw and explosive element to their songs… when they actually use him. (More Nels Cline please)
Favorite Philly bands right now?
Favorite Philly Bands are War on Drugs, Low Cut Connie and I gotta give a shout out to my buddy Archpalatine who is doing some really badass Soul Glam Rock
Favorite non-Philly bands right now?
I have a musical crush on Damien Jurado. He tends to have this simplistic approach to song writing and creating melodies that just crushes me. Otherwise, recently I’ve been taking a deeper dive into late 70s/early 80s rock and rediscovering the Talking Heads, Bowie, Lou Reed, etc
Favorite Summer Blockbuster(s)? Did you see this in the theater?
Blockbusters? In COVID times?? I did go to a drive-in for the very first time ever a few weeks ago down in Vineland, NJ to see Palm Springs. It was a fun experience but I think we did it all wrong. Everyone else was sitting in the back of their pickups and hatchbacks with a battery powered radio and a cooler while we sat in the cab, draining the car batteries. Next time…
Current summer reading? All time favorite summer read?
I just finished a fun action thriller called Lexicon. My all time favorite summer time read is Jurassic Park. I read it when I was 12, just before the movie came out
What’s your favorite summertime jawn?
My favorite summer time jawn is taking the time to workshop my Delco accent.
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