Laurie Sandell

Continuing my weekend domination of VH-1

Yesterday I appeared, ever so briefly, on a Behind the Music about Christina Aguilera. In fact, my appearance is so brief I will spare you the trouble of watching the entire two-hour special, and instead direct you to my speed-of-light nano-appearance which can be found here, at  3:03. Enjoy!

A weekend of music and readings

When I started going to artist’s colonies, I became friends with artists, and now most of the art on my walls comes from friends. Likewise, I’ve gotten to know some musicians over the past few years, and as a result, I’m always listening to a friend’s CD or going to his or her show. Last night I went to Rockwood Music Hall to hear Amy Correia perform, along with her friend Richard Julian. Amy and I shared the Joe’s Pub stage last September for the Happy Ending Music & Reading Series, but I’ve been listening to her music for years. Her new album–a twangy, rockabilly collection of songs that was entirely fan-funded–has been in heavy rotation in my (cough) boom box and I think it’s her best one yet. It was so magical to hear her sing the songs live.

Then this afternoon I stopped by The Living Room to see my friend Randy Kaplan perform. He lives in LA but was in New York doing one of his kids’ shows. The guy is a genius songwriter and storyteller and there’s always plenty of winking subtext for adults in his songs (his cover of The Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is about kids’ id-based demands and the lesson they learn when their parents say “No.”) Capped off the weekend with a reading at KGB by my old “co-worker” David Goodwillie (we used to write together at NYU’s Bobst Library.) His new novel, American Subversive, has been winning raves in the press and the guy deserves it, because he is still hunkered down at the library, writing, while I am running around town attending shows. It’s OK, though, I am on a different writing schedule–one book every seven years.

Tonight: Karen Ramos at The Hotel Cafe

Genius singer/songwriter Karen Ramos is playing tonight at 7:00 PM sharp; I will be there–you should be there, too. I met Karen 15 years ago in New York ,when I was working at The New Yorker and a co-worker took me to hear her sing at The Living Room. I became an instant fan, attending all her performances, buying her CDs and stalking her after shows. We soon became great friends, bonding over our eccentric dads. I can’t say enough about her powerful voice, lyrics and onstage presence (half storytelling/half comedy show). Check it out, it may be her last LA show for a while.

A night of music in the Hollywood Hills

C. and I went to a great little dinner party last night, at the home of a talented director/musician. The place was filled with instruments, and apparently, they throw this party every few months, featuring a somewhat spontaneous performance by various guests. At the party I ran into Alexandra, a photographer I met a few years ago, who remembered me and my book; we completely hit it off. After dinner, we gathered in the music room and enjoyed a private show featuring many talented musicians, including Alexandra’s friend Eric Lumiere, who sang soulful, beautiful songs on the piano. I’m sure it went into the wee hours, but I crashed at around 11:30 PM and had to leave.

My new friend Alexandra

A trip to Dakar, Senegal

I have been inundated with baby cuteness from my friends, lately–and here is a shot of the latest, four-month-old Tess, whom I just met for the first time yesterday afternoon. Is she ridiculously cute, or what? She’s the daughter of my friend David Adler, a prominent jazz critic I met two years ago in Dakar, Senegal, of all places. We were there for the same reason–to interview the musician Youssou N’Dour (you’ve heard his mellifluous voice on Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes”). The trip so happened to fall over my 36th birthday, and it had to be one of the best birthday nights of my life. First, along with 100 or so other journalists, we were treated to a private concert with N’Dour on Gorée Island. The island served as the final exit point for slaves before they were shipped to Europe and America, and its turquoise water, palm trees, and artists selling their wares belie its tragic history. Sitting in a concert venue on the island felt a bit like being in a church, but it was also fitting, because N’Dour is Senegal’s national treasure. His music was transporting, absolutely electric, and David and I witnessed the whole thing front and center.

Surprise Meeting with Rob Wilkins in Dakar

After the show, I happened to glance in the direction of one of the cameramen and realized it was my good friend, Rob Wilkins! He directed a reality show I kind of, um, starred in, back in 2003–but that’s a story for another time. We hadn’t seen each other for years, but I’d just purchased a ticket to attend his wedding in England. I ran over to him and we jumped around, hugging each other, and made plans to meet back at the hotel. On the way there, he bought me a birthday cake, on the sly. Then Rob suggested David and I come to a Senegalese nightclub with him, to hear–rather, dance to–Mbalax music, which is what N’Dour plays and is the most popular genre of music there. Well. The dancing did not get started until 3:00 AM. And once it did…wow. You’ve never seen dancing like this: Limbs flailing everywhere, bodies gyrating, women wearing skimpy outfits grinding with muscular men. It was hot, and sweaty, and completely unbridled, and obviously I’ll never top that birthday, so I’m not even going to try.

Rob and I flanking Thione Seck

Here’s a shot of Rob and I with Thione Seck, the musician who played that night, and one of David with Seck. He is Senegal’s second most famous singer, after N’Dour, but you can walk right up to him at his club and take a photo with him. Here is David’s blog post about the night. And here is the article I wrote for Marie Claire about N’Dour. Now I just have to come up with a story idea that will take me to Africa again.

My darkest music obsessions

When I was in high school, I was a music fanatic. The first live concert I ever went to was Bryan Adams at Madison Square Garden, and it changed my life. I went with my best friend, Jen, and both of our mothers, and remember smelling “funny cigarettes” and feeling overwhelmed by the urge to run up on stage to embrace him. I would have done it, but my mom wouldn’t let me. Years later I actually met Bryan Adams, at Renee Zellweger’s birthday party, and talked to him for a long time, but I was too embarrassed to tell him how much he was woven into a young girl’s fantasies, so I pretended not to recognize him. Recently, I reconnected with my high school friend Ben, of the band Kaiser Cartel, and he told me, “You were such a huge music fan in high school–I always appreciated that about you.” Until he said that, I’d forgotten how much a part of my life music actually was, because after high school, I traded in that obsession for an obsession with books. But recently, I’ve returned to my music roots, going to lots of live shows, downloading new bands onto my iPod, and coming to terms with the spectrum of my music tastes, which, frankly, run the gamut. In fact, this post was supposed to be about my darkest music obsessions–the ones I’m embarrassed about–because those, too, have added so much to my life. They are:

Mariah Carey: Love the power ballads, particularly Always Be My Baby (my favorite), Circles, Stay the Night, and One Sweet Day. I have the video to Without You on my iPod, and it practically makes me cry, because her voice is so powerful and she looks so pretty. So there.

Britney Spears: Her pop songs are better than anyone else’s, I never get sick of them. Piece of Me, Freakshow, Toxic and even her ballad for Kevin Federline, Why Should I Be Sad, are all favorites.

In the not so embarrassing category, I adore Mary J. Blige, every single lyric she’s ever written. When she talks about relationships in Roses–ain’t all Roses, flowers and posin’/it ain’t all candy, this love stuff is demanding–I’m like, damn, girl, you go!

Lastly, a shout to to Alanis Morrissette. I interviewed her once, for Glamour, and though the story never ran, I was happy to find out she was just as cool in real life as I’d imagined her to be, since I’m a huge fan of her music. I met her at her home in L.A., and brought Violet along, to play with her two Chihuahua mixes. We sat in big cushy chairs and I laughed nervously as Violet growled at her dogs, giving Violet looks that I hope said, “Violet! Don’t growl at the celebrity dogs!” I could go on about this all day–thanks to my friend Paul, I have more than 10,000 songs on my iPod–but I’ll spare you.

Killer night at Happy Ending

My friend Amanda Stern runs the Happy Ending Music & Reading Series, which is, in my opinion, the best monthly cultural event in New York City, but I’m not alone in this assertion: The Village Voice called it “a perenially killer event,” Time Out New York dubbed it “the city’s most vital author series,” and The New York Times said that Amanda is “helping to keep downtown New York alive.” I’ve been keeping the perenially anxious Amanda alive, so I’m doing my part for downtown New York, too. Where’s my “new Bohemian” profile in The New York Times?

Anyway, I’ve been going every month for the past five years, and last night’s show was one of the best, featuring readers Paul Rudnick, Lauren Grodstein and Victor Lodato, with musical guest Kaiser Cartel. One half of the duo, Ben, was a friend of mine in junior high school, and we recently reconnected on Facebook. Last night we were laughing about the fact that he was a total punk rocker in high school, wearing studded jackets, combat boots and a scowl, and meanwhile, he came from the nicest, sweetest, happiest family. I, meanwhile, was miserable at home, yet I tried to fit in by showing up at school in Benetton sweaters and a neat side part (the same hairstyle I wear today). I’m so happy Ben has gone as far as he has, because is is ridiculously talented. Check out his band’s amazing video for their song, “OK.” I’ve watched it so many times I’m in danger of getting sick of it. The next Happy Ending show is called “Film Night” and will be on December 2nd, featuring John Cameron Mitchell (!), Jonathan Caouette, director of Tarnation, and musical guest Doveman. Get your tix now–it always sells out.

Pop Life at The Tate Modern

I did the normal tourist thing and visited the Tate yesterday with my friend Gen, Rob’s sister. On the ground floor, we saw–experienced–Miroslaw Balka’s installation, “How It Is.” The sculpture is an enormous, velvet-lined black box; you enter via a ramp, and are immediately enveloped in total darkness. It’s kinda scary, kinda sexy: This video best describes the experience. Then we headed upstairs to check out the Pop Life exhibit: Lotsa Warhol, some great Damien Hirsts, like his formaldehyde calf and the “Twins” exhibit featuring live identical twins (who we chatted with openly, breaking rules of the art piece, I think), and some X-rated Jeff Koons photographs of him having sex with his former porn star wife (I felt I would willingly have one of those my wall; Gen said she’d “prefer a Rothko.”)

After the Tate, Gen and I rushed back to her apartment to get ready for her gig. She was playing percussion in a nine-piece funk/dance band called Dekata. They were amazing. Gen is a really successful percussionist who has played with Lionel Richie and lots of big names; but this was the first time I got to see her perform. I’m surprised she doesn’t have 10 marriage proposals at the end of each set; she is so hot up there! (Apparently when she played with Lionel Richie he kept yelling, “Call the fire department, this girl is on fire!”)

Kaiser Cartel is playing tonight at The Living Room

When I was in high school, I was one of those people who didn’t have a clique; I was friends with a ragtag set of misfits from a variety of groups. One of the people I loved the most was this guy Ben R. (I’m not going to give away his real name, as he now goes by Benjamin Cartel), who used to wear Doc Martins and chains and play in a killer band that did a punk cover of the Carvel Ice Cream song. I lost track of him over the years, then, when my book came out, he found me on Facebook. Turns out he’s a successful musician who plays in a band with his musical and life partner, Courtney Kaiser, and I love their music–just love it. Listen to their song, Okay, on YouTube, and tell me you are not downloading their CD immediately. They are playing tonight at The Living Room; I am going to duck out of my meditation class early to hear them live. (If you’re my father or someone else angered by my memoir, please note that I have changed my mind and am not going to hear Kaiser Cartel tonight. Too tired. Yawn.)