A Video Reading of “The Odor of Belfast”

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I was lucky enough to join the Brothers Cogan at a special post-St. Patrick’s Day bash on 3/18 at Freebird Books in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. Freebird is still my favorite book shop in New York City — I found a collection of poems by Langston Hughes, a hardcover copy of Vonnegut’s Galapagos, and Electric Frankenstein’s How to Make a Monster on CD. So needless to say, I had a hell of a time and even came up with a brand new short story just for the occasion titled “The Odor of Belfast.” Below is video of me reading the story — I apologize for breaking it into two parts but YouTube has a ten minute time limit (which I went over by 30 seconds). Enjoy. Also below, a nice little Irish diddy by the Brothers Cogan. Enjoy.

“The Odor of Belfast” Part 1

“The Odor of Belfast” Part 2

“Johnson’s Motor Car” sung by the Brother’s Cogan

A Post-St. Patrick’s Day Reading

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It looks like the Irish have sunk to an all time low by drafting an Italian into their midst. My good friend Brian Cogan is hosting a late St. Patrick’s Day bash at Freebirdbooks out in Red Hook, where the Brothers Cogan will be playing music and several of us will be reading a few short pieces. Freebird Books is my favorite bookshop in all of New York City so if you’ve never been, you should make the jaunt out just for that.

Considering the fact that it’s gonna be St. Patrick’s day weekend, I’m going to read either a tribute to Phil Lynott or a short story titled “Smelly Colin.” Either way, the Brothers Cogan will be backing me up by playing an endless loop of the main riff from Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak” while I throw down the verbiage. The brothers Cogan have promised to learn the riff and I’m gonna deliver something at least half as entertaining as a John Hovorka band story.

Here’s the description from the man himself:

Host: Brian Cogan
Location: Freebird Books
123 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY
When: Sunday, March 18, 4:00pm
Freebirdbooks

Come out for a raucous celebration of all things Irish, and a few things Scottish, and maybe even a little bit of Welsh, with the Cogan Brothers and Mark Farley. As always Brian and his brothers promise good songs, hilarious stories and great craic. (The bookstore sells wine and beer, but bring your own bail money.) We’ll start singing promptly at four and will leave when the peelers (cops) come. Extend your St. Patricks weekend and if your head is pounding too much from the night before, we promise to sing a soft song or two just for you!

Go Metric Reading Recap

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Another grand time at Freebird Books out in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Myself, Mike Faloon, Brian Cogan, and Steve Reynolds all took part in the celebratory reading for the release of Go Metric Issue #21.

As expected a great crowd of friends and supporters came down to hear us read. My piece, “Let the Altar Boys Loose,” seemed to go over really well with good hearty laughs from the crowd. You can read a different edit of the piece in Go Metric #21. Of course, extra special thanks goes out to Rachel and the nice folks at Freebird Books for having us down once again and treating us so well. Go visit them in Red Hook and support the shop.

Here are some shots from the reading (audio to come soon):

You can get Go Metric at any magazine shop worth its salt, or you can order online at any of these places:

www.razorcake.com
www.quimbys.com
www.atomicbooks.com

Freebird Books Reading Recap and Audio

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A great time was had by all who showed up at Freebird Books in Redhook to hear myself, Mike Faloon, Tim Hall, and Brian Cogan (aka the Blacksmiths for Literary Progress) throwdown with a series of great stories. A nice large crowd came out to support all four of us and celebrate the release of Brian’s new book, “The Punk Rock Encyclopedia.” Extra special thanks goes out to Sam and Rachel from Freebird Books who were extremely gracious to us and kept the beers cold. Do pay them a visit sometime as it’s a great little book store and definitely worth the trip out to Red Hook.

For those of you that missed the Blacksmiths For Literary Progress reading at Freebird Books on August 27th, I’ve posted audio of the evening’s festivities below. Just click on the links to hear/download the mp3 files.

Mike Faloon
Tim Hall
Ken Wohlrob
Brian Cogan

A Reading and Other Mayhem

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Been a long while since I posted anything, but for once I actually have some news to report.

First: A Reading!
Sunday August 27th @ 6:00
Freebirdbooks (Red Hook, Brooklyn)

Come on down and watch myself, Brian Cogan, Mike Faloon, and Tim Hall read, wretch, yell, stutter, belch, and on occasion pontificate. The reading will be at Freebirdbooks in Red Hook and as an added incentive they’ll even be selling beer and wine. What more do you need: liquor, good stories, and four loons performing for your amusements.

Here is a map and directions for getting to Freebirdbooks.

Second: Music!
I have officially joined the mighty Dawn of Mechanized Farming, a helluva band led by John Hovorka of the 2×4′s and the Turbines. The scary part: I’m playing drums (so much for the hours practicing guitar riffs). I haven’t sat down behind a drum kit in well over six years, but I guess the bike riding analogy holds true. Gigs to come very soon and you won’t want to miss this band. A live show to be reckoned with I promise.

In the meantime, you can check some music from the past DOMF album and listen to Hovorka’s Brooklyn Bands Podcast here.

Finally: The Writing Continues! (sung to the tune of a Discharge song)
Still hard at work shopping around the manuscript for THE LOVE BOOK. In addition, I’ve already started on the stories for the next installment, THE LIFE BOOK. I’m very proud of this stuff, some of the best writing I’ve ever done. The first new story, “The Look” — a cute tale about a little girl, her stripper mom, heroin, and a dog named dog — is being sent to litmags as we speak. Maybe I’ll post a bit of it here sometime soon.

New York City Reading – 1.14.06

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On January 14th, I’ll be joining a bunch of fellow contributors at the Go Metric reading to celebrate the release of issue #20.

Also on the bill are:
Steve Reynolds
Tim Hall
Chris Gethard
Brian Cogan
and of course editor Mike Faloon.

The reading will be held at Jigsaw in the East Village, kicking off around 7:30 pm. The address is 526 E. 11th Street, between Avenues A & B.

Or you can click here for a map.