April Lindner's Blog, page 12

Listening In: My Studio Visit with Jesse Malin

To thank the fans who contributed to his Pledgemusic campaign and who have been faithfully awaiting his next album, Jesse Malin held a contest.  First prize: a studio visit.

I entered the contest, and, to my amazement, I won.  If you've read any of my other posts about Jesse, you might have noticed that I'm kind of a major fan.  So this was a huge deal.  Wednesday morning--very early so there was no chance I'd get stuck in traffic and miss my visit--I made my way to the Lower East Side, and, much later, all aflutter, rang the doorbell of Flux Studios.


Jesse greeted me and gave me a quick tour of the studio.  Then we sat down in the mixing room with multi-talented musician Derek Cruz and engineer Brian Thorn.  The three of them were fine-tuning a song called "Stay Clean," listening to several different versions, trying to settle on a favorite.  Did it sound better with the background vocals punched up?  Should the vocals be warmer or cooler?  At one point Jesse even asked my opinion, and I had to admit that to my untrained ears all the versions sounded equally good.    

"Do you ever reach the point where you can't pick a favorite between one version and the next?" I asked him.  His answer was an emphatic yes.  

Brian Thorn, EngineerI marvelled at the complexity of the process as we listened through most of the album, song by song, version by version, and they picked out the best parts of each to be reassembled into the finished product. 

In between songs, Jesse caught me up on the album's history so far. An album's worth of songs had been recorded in Virginia, but Jesse decided the songs weren't yet telling the story he wanted to tell, so he resumed writing.  More recording sessions followed, first in New Jersey and then in New York.

"What will happen to all the songs you don't use?" I asked, distressed to think of the gems that might be lost to the public for good.  But Jesse assured me that some of them would most likely make it onto a future album or EP.  



As for the new album, based on what I heard, it's going to be varied but unified, with some rootsy touches.  Many of the songs will truly rock live, and there will be at least one haunting, piano-based ballad.  The lyrics were evocative and complex, multi-layered and poetic, as Jesse's lyrics always are.  In other words, it's going to be an amazing album, and I was dazzled by my sneak preview.

Two and a half hours later, I said goodbye and started the drive home to Philly, but not before grabbing a few last snapshots--one of Jesse and me:



And one of Jesse's very long to-do list:

The Santorini Mules and Temporary Respite from Wanderlust

photo by Jennifer Lynn Terrigno Shepherd
Possible treatments for wanderlust:

1.  Shop at ethnic grocery stores.  Stock up on exotic ingredients you have no idea how to cook, just because reading the labels is so much fun. 

 2.  Watch old episodes of Rick Steves' Europe and Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations while trying not to weep with envy.  

 3.  Live vicariously through the travels of your Facebook friends.  Drool over their photographs.  

Jennifer Lynn Terrigno Shepherd, coordinator of this year's Saint Joseph's University study tour to Greece, has given me permission to share her recent pictures from Santorini. 

One of the many things Santorini is known for (besides extreme gorgeousness) is its method of transporting visitors from its cities down the steep cliffside trails to the sea:




On my last trip to Santorini, I took about a thousand pictures of the island's famous mules, hoping I'd get at least one perfect one.  Then--as I may have mentioned here before--I lost my memory card.  

So I'm grateful to Lynn for the use of these mule pictures and for giving me some momentary respite from my own case of incurable wanderlust...or, as my husband calls it, "ants in your pants."

Stormy days: a LOVE, LUCY Update

Photo borrowed from
These are stormy days for authors and publishers.  On the edge of the dark clouds, however, there might be one of these:


If readers aren't able to pre-order or buy certain books by Hachette authors, maybe they'll turn to Indie bookstores, or other online booksellers. Increased competition, and an awareness of alternatives to Amazon has to be good for consumers, no?

And though I've been despairing on Lucy's behalf, I have a little happy news to share on that (storm)front: Anyone who is hoping to pre-order it is now able to do so at Barnes and Noble.

Red Vespa in sunshine

The Last Laugh: Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky in Pittsburgh

For almost two weeks now, I've been meaning to write about my latest concert experience--two nights of Joe Grushecky and the Iron City Houserockers with special guest Bruce Springsteen.  The shows were excellent--does Bruce ever give less than 200%?  And the setting was thrillingly intimate--"a lovely little jewel box of a venue" as promised by my friend Diane, who had seen Bruce and Joe at Pittsburgh's Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall before.  It was Diane who talked me into this outing, who scored us excellent tickets, and whose company made the long trip to and from Pittsburgh go by in a flash.

After the shows, I struggled to find a way to write about the experience.  First I thought I should discuss how different the Soldiers and Sailors shows were in feel from E Street Band shows; I could focus on the acoustic mini-sets he played at the start and finish of both shows, and how, in this setting, Springsteen the storyteller really came out to play.  

Or maybe I should talk about the many setlist surprises--the gorgeous acoustic rendition of Incident on 57th Street that closed out night one, or how both shows were studded with rarities like Mary Queen of Arkansas and Leavin' Train.  

Or maybe I would focus on one surprise in particular: this soulful song, written by Bruce but recorded by Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers:  





There was so much to say, but every time I tried to say it I had this uneasy feeling I was burying the lead.  As unusual and varied and exciting as the shows were, the thing that needed to be said was the thing I didn't much want to discuss: the rumors that started swirling right after the second show ended.  

Word spread quickly on the fansites and Facebook: Bruce had injured his back and would be going in for surgery.


Bathed in white light
Word was, he'd hurt himself before the Pittsburgh shows, on the last night of the official tour, jumping down from a piano.  Then he'd exacerbated the injury with a backbend from the mike stand during Tenth Avenue Freeze Out. 

The rumors rang true.  On the second night of the Soldiers and Sailors show, we could see something different in the way he held himself, the way he seemed to be soldiering through.  Usually Bruce makes it all seem effortless.  That's the legend Ben Stiller spoofed on his t.v. show way back when:



How does he crowd surf like that? the fans ask each other.  How can he run around that stage for three and a half hours a night when it hurts me just to stand in the audience and pump my fist? 

The news about Bruce's impending back surgery forced us to face Bruce's mortality--and our own.  But guess who got the last laugh a few days later, jumping on stage with those other Energizer Bunnies of Rock, the Rolling Stones?




So maybe those back surgery rumors were wrong after all?  If not, here's wishing the man smooth sailing and a speedy recovery.

Two Treats

Two real treats came in the mail today.  The first is yet another memoir by Marlena De Blasi, this one set in Sicily.  Isn't that the most beautiful book cover you've ever seen?

The second is the most recent issue of American Arts Quarterly, a journal I always look forward to for its fresh take on representational art, both contemporary and historical.  This time around, though, I've been awaiting AAQ even more breathlessly, because a poem of mine is in it, along with poems by Joseph Bathanti, and Kim Bridgford.


Nico-approved readingI'll post a link to my poem once it's up.  I wrote it shortly after my father's death, and it may be the truest thing I've ever put on paper.

Dreaming of Tuscany

Chianti  rooftopThis summer I'm sticking close to home.  It's not entirely by choice: my study tour to Santiago, Chile fell through; I couldn't round up enough students.  But maybe it's for the best.  There's writing to be done, dogs to be cuddled, an old house to be, if not renovated, at least whatever's the opposite of completely neglected.

So instead of travelling, I'm torturing myself by reading Marlena De Blasi's A Thousand Days in Tuscany, the follow-up to her memoir A Thousand Days in Venice.  I generally have a love-hate relationship with travel memoirs; they often make we want to toss the book aside, tie on my traveling shoes and hit the road myself.  Why read about travel when you could be doing it?


San Gimignano in the distanceBut De Blasi is a vibrant and likeable guide through Italy, so in love with food and her quirky Venetian husband Fernando that she makes me forget my own restlessness and envy.  Everything drops away, and for the moment I'm in Tuscany too.  

An agriturismo in the Chianti regionHere, for instance, is a passage that won me all the way over:

"I have never before gathered eggs from under a hen.  Fernando has never before seen a hen.  We bend low into the shed where perch a dozen or so fat lady birds.  There's no shrieking or fluttering at all.  I approach one and ask her if she has an egg or two.  Nothing.  I ask in Italian.  Still nothing.  I ask Fernando to pick her up but he's already outside the shed smoking and pacing, telling me he really doesn't like eggs at all and he especially doesn't like frittata.  Both bold-faced lies.  I start to move the hen and she plumps down from her perch quite voluntarily, uncovering the place where two lovely brown eggs sit.  I take them, one at a time, bend down and nestle them in my sack.  I want two more.  I peruse the room.  I choose the hen who sits next to the docile one.  I pick her up and she pecks me so hard on my wrist that I drop her.  I see there is nothing in her nest and apologize for my insensitivity, thinking her nastiness must have been cause by embarrassment.  I move on to another hen and this time find a single, paler brown-shelled beauty, still warm and stuck all over with bits of straw. I take it and leave with an unfamiliar thrill.  This is my first full day in Tuscany and I've robbed a henhouse before lunch."

A Pittsburgh Oddysey

In case you're wondering why you haven't heard from me for a while, it's because I've been road tripping again, this time to Pittsburgh to meet up with friends and converge on Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Museum for two nights of Bruce Springsteen with Joe Grushecky and the Iron City House Rockers.

A review will follow.  For today, I thought I'd just celebrate Pittsburgh, a city that fascinates me more with each visit, for its hometown pride, and for the way it's risen out of its rust-belt roots:

Glimpsed downtown
US Steel Tower
Jerry's music, a mecca for vinyl mavensAnd for Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall:


....a small and lovely venue that for two recent nights served as the capitol of Springsteen nation.

Kelly, Chris, and Dan (photo by Patty Colman)
Rhonda, Patty, Diane and me
Magnus and Zeke

Late May Update

Mule on Syros, GreeceLast night I stayed up late to finish the second draft of my Greek novel. Of course reaching the finish line felt good, and I allowed myself at least five seconds of satisfaction before I began worrying about what comes next.  

One thing is fairly certain: there will most likely be a third draft, and a fourth, and probably a fifth, but those can only happen after I get some feedback on what I've already got on the page.  So for a little while, I'm adrift and unsure, floating between imaginary worlds.


Which means I've got time for something (almost) completely different: writing poetry.

In other news, it's not too late to sign up for a Young Adult fiction workshop with me at the Nightsun Writers Conference this July in Frostburg, Maryland.  

Something else it's not too late to do: enter to win a $15 gift certificate from Amazon, in celebration of my new novel, Love, Lucy, now available for pre-order.


Central Market, Florence, where LOVE, LUCY takes place
Also I've been setting up a whole bunch of readings and book signings lately, with more to come. Please be sure to visit my Upcoming Events page, and if you're in the neighborhood, maybe even drop by an event and say hi.


I say hi to some cows on Syros

The Literary Bohemian Takes Flight

Approaching Naxos TownThe latest issue of The Literary Bohemian is on line now.  It's one of my favorite journals, so I'm tickled that this issue includes a poem of mine, about the Greek island of Naxos.


If you're intrigued by travel-inspired writing, grab your carry-on bag, kick off your shoes, go through security, and get on board.

Harbor with the Temple of Apollo in the background

Old and New Friends: Indies First Story Time Day 2014

The youngest of my two sons is just about to graduate from high school, so it's been a long time since my picture-book reading days.  Thanks to Indies First Story Time Day, I spent yesterday at Bethany Beach Books in Delawre revisiting two old friends: Frances the badger and Harry the dirty dog.

When I'd finished reading these two beloved books to some kids who'd never met them before, I took a little pilgrimage to see another old friend: the ocean.

Along the way, I made a new friend or two:

It looks like I'll be visiting Bethany Beach Books again on August 1 at 6 p.m. to sign copies of Catherine and Jane.  I hope to see some of you there!  And thanks to Amanda at Bethany Beach Books for being such a gracious host.