Guest blogging about the Steelers

I was proud to be Saturday's guest blogger on Pittsburgh Post Gazette #Steelers beat writer Ed Bouchette's Plus page.  I delivered the PG as a kid, and have red it most days of my life, and Ed himself for years.

Long Live the King – paying tribute to B.B.

I took Jacob to see B.B. King at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair last night. BB is 86 and I wanted Jacob to see him, and sure enough he had a truly memorable experience. When Jacob went up front to take a picture, he was standing right in…

From my Slam archives: Original Old School with Jerry West

Jerry West was one of the first dozen or so old school NBA legends I interviewed for Slam, in 1997. I was struck by his intensity and his harsh assessment of his own legendary career, as having been "on the tragic end of things." is single…

I have signed my kids up for a cult

It's official. My children are now part of the cult of Steelers Nation - I took Jacob, 13, and Eli, 11, to their first game yesterday, along with my mother and father. I drove 350 miles each way by myself so they could be a part of this…

My report from Clapton’s 2010 Crossroads Festival

Well, this was sure a fun gig. Even got to go hang out with my dear friend Art Rummler and his family for a couple of days. Originally posted on guitarworld.com. The third installment of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival offered…

More jams with Mark Karan – “That’s What Love Will Make You Do”

I wrote last week about the off-the-hook San Francisco Big In China launch party at the Hi-Dive, where we had an epic jam with the great Mark Karan (Ratdog, The Other Ones) on guitar. I promised more video then and here is another...…

Big in China Excerpts

Four excerpts from Big In China, the book, illustrated with photos and videos: just click right here.

Jamming with Mark Karan – and more gigs

There have been some very memorable nights and events since Big in China was released last March and I hope there are many more to come,  but one epic night that has gone unfortunately unremarked upon here took place last March at the…

This NBA lockout piece is all you need to know, even if Bill Simmons is lame therein.

My own interpretation of the NBA lockout remains unchanged from the beginning: the owners are asking the players to structurally save themselves from themselves.  They just can't get stop overpaying guys...giving solid contributors max deals,…

Beijing pollution: A Big in China excerpt

All reports from friends and news sources yesterday indicated that pollution in Beijing was realy, really bad. When I read the opening line of this WSJ China Real Time Report about how the pollution levels are actually downplayed by the…