alfred

“Down in the basement, at the eastern end of the Ping-Pong table, Alfred was unpacking a Maker’s Mark whiskey carton filled with Christmas-tree lights. He already had prescription drugs and an enema kit on the table. He had a sugar cookie freshly baked by Enid in a shape suggestive of a terrier but meant to be a reindeer. He had a Log Cabin syrup carton containing the large colored lights that he’d formerly hung on the outdoor yews. He had a pump-action shotgun in a zippered canvas case, and a box of twenty-gauge shells. He had rare clarity and the will to use it while it lasted.”

-from “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen

go small and learn

“The problem, though, is what follows “What about…” questions. The next step from almost any discussion like this one is to conduct further research. And, “What about…” questions never stop…Even if you do analyze your questions, frequently the analytical work, no matter how robust, proves wrong because of something that can’t be anticipated. To borrow a phrase from the great military strategist Helmuth von Moltke: “No business plan ever survived its first encounter with the market.”…So what’s the alternative? Substitute early action for never-ending analysis. Figure out the quickest, cheapest way to do something market-facing to start the iterative process that so frequently typifies innovation. Be prepared to make quick decisions, but have the driver of the decision be in-market data, not conceptual analysis. In other words, go small and learn. ” – How to Kill Innovation: Keep Asking Questions – Scott Anthony – Harvard Business Review (via helenrice)

shameless self-promotion

If I may, I would like to draw your attention to a few upcoming solo gigs I’ve got coming up. Expect lots of accordion, a little cornet, perhaps a bit of whistling, toy piano, and even (gasp) singing. I would be delighted and honored at your attendace.

First up, tomorrow evening:

Saturday, February 27 – Solo at Cafe Ortine, 8pm (622 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn) – a low-key and relaxed set at this lovely cafe in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.  Free show with some really wonderful food going on there.  Come hang.

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Saturday, March 6 – Anyway Cafe, 9:30p-1:30a (34 E 2nd St., Manhattan), I’ll be performing a mix of musics, sitting in for my good friend Clay Ross.  Chances are good that I will sing songs for you.  Maybe even in Spanish.  Either way this will be a lot of fun.

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Also on the horizon are a couple dates at Le Grand Dakar, March 11 with Russ Flynn’s A More Perfect Union, and March 16 with Zaha. March 20 and 27 I’ll be joining the wonderful new music ensemble TRANSIT on accordion, and April will see me at Le Poisson Rouge more than is likely healthy.  April 11 with Signal and Michael Riesman playing the works of Philip Glass, April 12 with the recently betrothed (and newly websited) Ted Hearne, and the whole week of April 19 with the MATA Festival (on the organizational, not performing, front).

but enough about me.