Seasons Greetings from the S.A.G.!

As I sit here next to a gently crackling wood fire, I realize that this site has been all but dead for the past few weeks. Not to worry, fine friends. There is a heartbeat. The Starving Artist's Guide is merely hibernating...gaining strength for the coming year, which will prove to be a watershed year by no stretch of the imagination. Plenty of ideas have been perculating and an upcoming podcast is in the works-have no fear. On this momentous "Blue-Moon New Year," I promise to come back with a fire and passion that has yet to be seen from this little site. This includes fresh interviews, new tips and tricks, how-to videos, live show recordings and the freshest new music from the underground artists that make this site so unique.
I hope everyone has had an incredible Holiday season, I know I have, and thanks for sticking around and seeing what this idea is all about. Without you, the people, this wouldn't be worth the pixels it was written on.
Stay tuned.

much love, and a happy new years!

Johnny S.

ConC.E.R.Ning Blackhole formed above Norway

Hey folks,
Some of you might not even be aware of the story I'm about to unfold for y'all. It took place around a week ago, one day before President Barack Obama accepted his "peace" prize, partially because of the work he does exploding the unstable ground in Afghanistan and Iraq for poor people to then plant crops. It's true! He's not escalating two wars, he's helping natives grow crops! Talk about promoting peace. But I digress...this story trumps it.
I was reading an article about three or four days ago about the super collider known as C.E.R.N. on npr.org, and how it was broken for a year and a half. The basic story is that the thing cost about a gagillion dollars, and it super accelerates protons around a 16 mile underground track and has them collide. It was broken for a year and a half. On November 30th, it went back online.
So, you might be thinking this is just a really expensive science project, right? The real question is what does this thing actually do? According to the npr article, it does the following:

The "real thing," in this case, is the chance to find something new. For decades, physicists have had the same view of the universe. They call it the Standard Model, and it's just what the name suggests: sturdy, dependable, but a little boring. Scientists want a change, and if their calculations are right, the energy released by the LHC’s collisions should detect something new. That something might be a particle that helps give everything mass. Or maybe dark matter, which makes up much of the universe but hasn't ever been directly detected. Some people even think that the LHC will discover extra dimensions of space. The truth is that nobody knows.

John Ellis, a theorist at CERN, says whatever is revealed will be very exciting. "It'll be a little bit like watching somebody appear out of the fog. You're walking along through the fog, and then somebody comes out of the fog and you start picking out various aspects of them. And eventually you come face to face with the new physics. It's going to be very exciting."

"
Link to article from NPR.

But still, I have my doubts. I think it's far more challenging to our current world view than they lead us to believe in this article. For example, earlier this year, in an article from earlier this year, CERN scientists say that nature will "ripple backward through time" to stop the LHC before it can create the God particle... Link to article from news.com.au

Other scientists have claimed that one of the byproducts of the CERN subatomic particle accelerator is the creation of "mini black holes" as seen here. In fact, some groups tried to shut down C.E.R.N after they admitted to being able to create black holes.

Legal bids to stop CERN atom smasher from 'destroying the world'
The world's biggest and most expensive scientific experiment has been hit by a last minute legal challenge, amid claims that the research could bring about the end of the world.

Critics of the Large Hadron Collider - a £4.4 billion machine due to be switched on in ten days time - have lodged a lawsuit at the European Court for Human Rights against the 20 countries, including the UK, that fund the project.

The device is designed to replicate conditions that existed just a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, and its creators hope it will unlock the secrets of how the universe began.

Link to article from Telegraph.co.uk

Well folks, the machine is back in operation, and this is what occurred in Norway less than one week ago:


What I love is how blatant the lies come from chipper news anchors who seem perplexed enough to want to move on...

For a more in depth look into the Norway Spiral, check the next video out, which isn't cut into four second clips and some intensely interesting information by researcher David Wilcock.



My own assumption is that it is somehow a black hole created by our friends at C.E.R.N.
Think what you want, its the movie of your life and you're the star. Just know that "The times, they are a changin'..."

The 2009 Fork the Mainstream Awards!

The 2009 Fork The Mainstream Awards

Here you have it, folks, the first Annual "Fork The Mainstream" Awards show. Over the past year, hundreds of musicians and artists alike have submitted their work to the Starving Artist's Guide. The results are in! Take a listen to this episode to see who the winners are....enjoy!

Santa Con, Stress Free Shopping, and a few Updates

Hey folks,

Congratulations on making it this far into the holiday season without strangling an elf. Only 14 more days until we all get to sit around our christmakwanzakka bush and sing songs about 8 tiny reindeer and how they kept a candle going for eight days while under siege, only to realize the 7 principles of life, as dictated by the Koran. Did I mention Feats of Strength?
While shopping for me will be easy this year, (I just received 25 copies of my new book, The Starving Artist's Guide to New York City, available on the link to the side) it might not be so easy for y'all. Here's my suggestion: If you're an artist, get rid of some of the works you are less than fond of to your parents. They love stuff like that. If your a musician, do a live performance, record it, and give it away as stocking stuffers. Sure, your siblings probably don't listen to your music, but what the heck? They won't say anything 'cause it's Christmas.
This year, I'm doing a lot of my holiday shopping on Amazon. The newest Harry Potter is selling for just $10! If you get your order over $25, you get free shipping and they are prompt. I also plan on hittin' up a Goodwill at some point in the near future to see what kinda crazy stuff I can get for my fam. No one needs to know that you got mom that pair of electric socks at the Goodwill.
I've also been experimenting with some homemade gifts this year. The whole thing started a week ago when I got a few bottles of Three-Buck Chuck at Trader Joe's. I've always wanted to make a Wine Bottle Guitar Slide, but I've never had the right tools. Until now...
Last week, my bathroom had what I call a perfect storm. First, the toilet stopped flushing. Then, the tiles on one of the walls began falling down. I pulled the top of the toilet off and fooled around with the hoozey-whatzit, and WHAM! An eight-foot gush of toilet water sprung from the depths of it's poopy den. After being immediately rained down upon by god-knows-what, I managed to shake loose some Calcium deposits that had accumulated. After 10 seconds of chaos, I managed to get the pump back on and order was restored.
Johnny-1, Bathroom, 0. Well, maybe the bathroom tied it up with the poop geyser.
After fixing that glitch, I had to head down to the local hardware store and get some materials, one of which was a ceramic-cutting hacksaw blade. Upon reading what it could do, I realized I had created a perfect storm of my own--I now had the materials to finally make a wine-bottle guitar slide. It was also the same materials to get glass all up in my hands in a very bloody fashion. These things cost upwards of $10, like the one here.
I read the directions for making the slide, which are as follows:

1. Buy and drink a bottle of wine. ( Approx. $3) Check.
2. Buy and attach a Tungson-Carbonide Gritted hacksaw blade (Approx. $5) Check.
3. Start sawing a circle around the neck of the bottle, about three-four inches below the bottle opening. Do this for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Take a candle and start going around the line that you've made with the hacksaw. Do this for 2-3 minutes.
5. Place the bottle neck under cold running water.
At this point, the bottle should "pop," releasing the two parts of the bottle right on the line that you sawed.
The next step needs gloves! Learn from my mistake and you won't have to get stitches.
6. Go outside and grind the fresh cut on the cement outside of your house. Be gentle and remember that it is glass--It can break if you aren't careful.
TADA! You now have your very own glass bottle guitar slide, and you can give them to all of your musician friends.

So those are a few of the holiday ideas/endeavors/occurrences of this 2009 holiday season. My hope is to get a podcast up at some point, but as all of you know I've gotten fairly lazy at creating them and putting them up. I think I've gotten on a one-per-month schedule.

To all of you, a merry christmas and a happy new year!

Oh, and tomorrow is Santa Con at Washington Square Park, which is basically thousands of people dressed up as Santa converging on one place at 10am. Quite the sight to see. Only in New York.

Don't Join the Black Friday Death March!!

Hey folks,

I've been working on a few neat things lately, mostly putting together the nominee list for the 2009 Fork The Mainstream Awards to be given out before the end of the year! It's a pretty neat award, it's actually a golden fork on a Ramen Noodle Base. It's gonna go to the very best musicians/artists/comedians that have submitted work to the Starving Artist's Guide. More details and a list of nominees later this week.
Right now, I'm more concerned about the upcoming deaths of consumers that are absolutely hell-bent on getting a great "Black Friday deal." Here's the situation, as it unfolded last year:



Don't let this be you! If you're really interested in Black Friday deals, but don't want to be trampled to death by crazed Zombie Consumers, check out http://bfads.net/ This site catalogs all of the Black Fridays Deals, and a lot of them are available for you in your PJ's with a nice mug of coffee surfing the web. There are a couple of awesome ones, like an $80 10MegaPixel Camera that you'll save $40 off the regular price. There's also the website PropertyRoom.com in which you get great deals on seized items from Johnny Law. It's pretty sweet, and I got a Cannondale Bike for $130 from it. Now that's a deal. Not to mention, it doesn't add to the overflowing garbage heaps all around us, which some call New Jersey. Just kidding!

Whichever way the wind blows, be safe this Holiday Season!

Johnny

Starving Artist Radio

Starving Artist Radio

The latest episode of Starving Artist Radio features music from singer-songwriter Rachel Lee Walsh with her song "Please Come to Brooklyn" and Brass Knuckles, by Jedi Nemesis as well as new music from Bowery Boy Blue and Lesser Lights. Johnny also talks about finishing his new book and more...Stream it below or get it in the iTunes store for free.

The Dry Cleaner Myth

Lately, I've been posting some pretty weird but hopefully fun links, like the electric soda bottle and a funny one about "the Bodega," which can still be found directly below. Another one that I'll write about today in order to stave off actual "work" is the myth of dry cleaning. Fall is in full bloom and I recently took out my iconoclastic "orange lumberjack wool coat," which I sport on both the back cover of the new book and as my facebook pic. It's been in the closet for about 8 months and I finally felt the time was right to bring it out. To quote Dane Cook, "It smelled like it was dipped in a vat of piss." Truth be told, I've never washed the thing. I bought it at a Salvation Army about two years ago, but the tag said "Dry Clean Only". Being the Cheap Bastard I am, I never dry cleaned it. It started to make me feel icky a while ago, but I caved after I came home a week ago feeling like I was covered in slugs. I'm a pretty hygenic guy when it comes down to it--I do laundry once a week and generally keep a tight ship. But Dry cleaning is expensive.
That's why I decided to hand wash it.
I found a bottle of "wool cleaner" below my sink and gave it the washing of a lifetime. For an investment of nada, or what would probably be $2 at the grocery store, I didn't have to wait a week for dry cleaning and spend 10X the amount. It took two days to dry, as wool should, and it felt like a brand new coat!
So I know this is a gross story, but it ends happily ever after, with me in fresh threads and dirty no more.
Hopefully you can apply this story as fits in your life.
Keep Fresh, Keep Clean.
Johnny

So you can't pay your electricity bill?

If you're a starving artist like me, the electricity bill can end up taking a good portion of your paycheck. A few months back, I received an electricity bill for $500! I was outraged and called up Con Ed., and they told me that they were unable to get a proper reading because the meter reader guy couldn't get access to the meter. It's in the basement of my house, and a nice asian woman lives there, so I figured there had been a mistake. First off, it's HARD to read the electricity meter. I went down once, only to call back and be told that I had read it incorrectly. I scoffed and forgot to do it, and meanwhile I still hadn't paid the electricity bill. It took me a full two months to go back down and get the correct reading, and I finally called them up and still owed them $270 that I didn't have...
I guess my point is that if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, you might want to check out the video below--A man figured out how to turn a 2L soda bottle into a 60Watt lightbulb that is free and never burns out. Pretty cool, right? I think I want to do it to my apartment.

Eat Like a King on a Dollar a Meal

If this made you hungry, check out cheapassfood.com

Dropped the Ball and Picked it Up Again

Hey folks,
I dropped the ball today--I didn't get around to recording a podcast. Tsk, Tsk, I know. However, I did end up getting around to making the new book (ebook, at least) FREE on lulu.com by clicking this link. "What the hell are you thinking, Johnny?!" you might ask yourself. I will tell you what I'm thinking, Holmes, and that is that the more people to read it, the bigger and wilder things will become in my life. So why the heck not make it free?! It's not like I've not had money before--IF you want to support me and buy it, it's available here in good old-fashioned thinly- sliced tree-guts with jet-black ink pressed in very different patterns that coalesce into "letters" that form "words" that form "sentences" that form "paragraphs" that complete my "book," which is then decoded by your brain to tell you a pretty sweet story of my life in New York City. You can check that out here for $13.99. I should get my copy in the mail tomorrow! Send me an email to starvingartistsguide@gmail.com with what you think of it!

I'll try to have a podcast up tomorrow at some point.

The Corporations Have Won

So perhaps it's a sign of the times, but both the Yankees and Bloomberg have triumphed this week. Thus proving that money can buy a "win." Today I found out that the new stadium cost $1,500,000,000 US to complete. That's 1.5 bbillion dollars.
Bloomberg spent a total of over $250,000,000 to clamp down on his 3rd term.
Meanwhile, 39,000 people are physically homeless in New York City. The streets are riddled with potholes, the subways are falling apart, and the working poor still don't have health care.
I guess it's partly been this information, but also the fact that I've been exhausted from writing the book that I haven't managed to post much here.
That being said, I'm more fulfilled now than I've ever felt in my life. (Funny, right?) I guess in some strange way, having such monumental corporations to fight give us all some reason to wake up every morning. I just got my bike from Long Island on Sunday. It's beautiful. I've spent the last days fixing it up and it rides like a dream. I'm gonna take it down to the park for a cruise later.
I think that once people start buying the book, you'll realize how much money you can save just by changing a few random things in your life. It's pretty sweet. Everyone I've talked to has mentioned how much less spending money they have these days, so if you're in the same situation you might wanna check it out by clicking the link to the left. I ordered a copy for myself and I plan on printing a couple out if it's easier for you to get it from me. I swear I'm not gonna mention it too much anymore. I'm planning on recording a new podcast this weekend and getting this site a little more frequently updated.
In music news, Bowery Boy Blue just released a new EP, which rocks and I suggest picking it up on Itunes. With their permission, I might do a sneak peak of some of the tracks on the upcoming podcast. Also, Laura Meyer is heading back for a show in New York City on November 8th before heading back on the road for the third leg of her U.S. Tour. Her new album is getting rave reviews and if you've heard her exclusive S.A.G performance (ep. 24), you already know how flippin' good she is.
I also am working on releasing a free acoustic album sometime within the coming weeks available exclusively via starvingartistsguide.com. It's called "Aloha From Brooklyn, or: Songs for People who like songs" and will have a lot of never before heard B-sides as well as songs off of my PERMUTATIONS ep, available on Itunes. Again, I have a little mp3 for people who sign up for the email list called "The Creativity Builder Blueprints" that will increase your ability to get through bouts of writers block. Sign up for the email list and I'll send it to you free of charge!

Well, that's about all the writing I can do on this wonderful Thursday morning. Keep your ears peeled for the Sunday podcast!

Oct. 31st- The Starving Artist's Guide is Officially Launched

It's taken 3 years to create.
It's taken 1 year to write.
It took 10 days to edit.
10.31.09

The Starving Artist's Guide to New York City has officially launched.
To get a copy for $14, go to my book page.

You can check out the first 12 pages for free via that link.


Also:
For a limited time only, I'm putting the ebook up for only $5. This is great if you want to use the hundreds of weblinks in the book. This is a limited time only, and it will be going up to 9.99 at the end of the month.


It's been a journey.
It's been a labor of love.
Check it out today!

The Rats in City Hall have learned to Speak!

He's thinking "You idiots wouldn't know what to do with all of the money in my pocket. You'd probably spend it on something stupid like actually fixing the subways instead of a private jet and more machine-gun toting policemen!!"


Hey folks,

I know this website is kinda getting national, even international, but I still like to focus on New York City. This November 4th, a very important election will be happening. While I don't claim to be either Republican or Democrat, the situation is as follows. Mike Bloomberg is running for his third term. He went behind the backs of the people and had a two term limit for mayor repealed. This is not only a blatant act of disrespect to the voters of New York City, but also to the Country. Imagine if George Bush did the same thing. People would be outraged. But as far as the media in NYC is concerned, it's almost expected of the mayor. We need to put it to a stop. New York City is a barometer for the country. If our rights are trampled here, so will the rest of the country's. It must end here. I'm not saying for you to vote for Thompson, but definetly vote against Bloomberg on principal alone. While the working class suffers, he's made 11 Billion dollars in the past five years. For a cynical and honest look at his track record, read this article.

While his campaign for a third term has cost a quarter of a billion dollars, 39,000 people in this city are homeless.

Enough is enough.

Exclusive Mp3 for Mailing List and Book Buyers

Hey folks,
I recently recorded an exclusive mp3 designed to maximize your creative output called The Creativity Builder Blueprints and it's available to everyone who signs up for the mailing list or buys my book, which will be available Oct. 31st. Yep. Thats right. 4 days and counting.

Starving Artist's Radio

Starving Artist's Radio this week features Josh Weinstein, Matthew Barber, Jacqueline Francis, and Zion Judah, and some CMJ darlings. He also dips his toes in the SwineFlu craze. It's easy to subscribe by clicking the big orange button to the right!

Swine Flu & The Starving Artist

Greetings fellow artists,

A lot of talk has been going on about the Swine Flu, which is currently dividing the country. Should I get the vaccine? Should I not? Is a cute little piggy like this one really to blame for the downfall of Western Civilization? Is this just payback for all the bacon we eat? Wherever you fall on the debate, it's up to you to decide whether or not you want to get the vaccine. Don't listen to the hype that's being driven by Dr. Oz or Oprah. Since this whole silly thing started, under 300 people have died, out of 300,000,000 in the U.S. All of them had underlying medical conditions. Every year, the normal flu kills over 11,000. This is a non-issue promoted by the powers that be that want your money. Duh. We're talking millions of doses of Swine Flu Vaccination that were created for a great price of $24.95! Get yours now!
This thing is bigger than the Beatles.
But don't buy the hype.
As someone who is sane and also works with children on a daily basis, I'm pretty sure I had this thing over the summer. It knocked me down, for sure. I was sick for a whole week, but I still was well enough to work 12 hour days in Central Park. I took it easy on the weekends, and I got over it fully within two weeks.
Since my bout of the old piggy flu, I've taken some precautions while working with my little booger-factory friends. I don't have the money to get sick and miss work, but I do have the money to prevent such illness with a few simple pickups at the local health store.
Here's my health manifesto. Use it if you like staying healthy.

Vitamin C--So you've heard how great this little orange tablet is, right? Well, the rumors are true. Everyone who gets their daily amount of Vitamin C will feel better both mentally and physically. There's the added psychosomatic feeling (ie. "I'm taking something for my health, so I must feel healthy!) and there's the science behind it. Vitamin C acts as a natural antioxident that will essentially find "free-radicals" in your body (viruses, germs, etc) and pounce on them. Then, your white blood cells pick 'em up. Get a bottle of Vitamin C at your local Health Food Store for under $20. If you're already sick, SUPER DOSE YOURSELF. This means take a butt-load. It's safe to take a lot. Just read the label.
Vitamin D--Get some of this for the winter. Your body makes this on it's own by being out in the sun. If you suffer from seasonal anxiety disorder, this is a helpful supplement. It acts as an antioxidant and essentially a natural antibiotic.
A Healthy Diet--As much as I like Doritos, I do my best to not eat them. This goes for pretty much everything in that category. I limit myself to one "sweet" a day, usually something on the run to the next place I have to be. My main diet consists of a good amount of veggies like lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, onions, eggs, cheese, and a small amount of meat. I also love pizza, especially in Brooklyn. You can get a lot of the taste of sweets out of good fruit, like apples, kiwis, grapes, and the like. Do your body a favor and stop feeding it the sweets it doesn't need and start giving it the good stuff I just mentioned. As someone who was 20 pounds overweight on a bad diet, I can now say that I'm at a healthier weight level with my new diet. And I feel a lot better too!
Green Tea--After my mandatory two cups of coffee to wake up in the morning, I stop drinking it for the rest of the day. Tea is usually my supplement for the rest of the day. It's good for you, cheap, and feels good. Again, the whole anti-oxidants thing.
A Full Night of Sleep--This means at least 8 hours a night. You can usually skip a few hours if you gotta do a gig or show or whatever, but definitely catch up the following weekend.
Positive Mental Attitude--Even if you do get sick, your mindset does a lot to affect your day. Sniffles are never, ever fun. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun while having the sniffles. Try to catch yourself having negative thoughts and think of something you love. It really works!

It's much easier to prevent these things by taking the steps outlined above. It really is just about doing it, not just thinking about doing it.
Alright, that being said, I gotta keep plugging along on the book, which will be out on Halloween!

The Voice Of the Voiceless

The debate on health care has been raging on for decades, and it seems like it's reaching a peak these days. I even touch on this topic in The Starving Artist's Guide to New York City, available Oct. 31st, 2009 at Amazon.com. Can you get cheap health care in New York City? In short, Yes we can.
Though I don't know all of the ins and outs of the current plan being passed by Congress, I do know that health care should be one of the rights we have as tax paying citizens. Even the pigs and cows you eat for dinner get free antibiotics, so why shouldn't I?

For everyone that doesn't have health insurance--listen to this NPR clip...it seemed to speak to exactly the situation that I face as a "starving artist."


When you're done with that, take some action by clicking this link. This website, freelancersunion.org has the motto "working for the radical notion of fairness." The link above is a way to contact your senator and your house representative. With enough people clogging their inboxes, the message will be heard. Take the power back.

Another great thing about freelancer's union is that they offer healthcare. Word.

A&R discussion

Starving Artist Podcast Special Edition
Alright folks,

So I slipped away for a four day vacation/writing intensive in order to finish up the book this weekend. So while I won't be able to put up a cast this Sunday, you can take a listen to the "special edition" which is actually the cdbaby podcast dedicated to A&R. This podcast rocks and can be found at www.cdbabypodcast.com
The book is coming along well. Next weekend, I'm headed down to Washington D.C., so I probably won't be able to do one next weekend either, so it looks like I'll probably do a special edition right before the book comes out on Oct. 31st!

For now, enjoy the one I posted above.

much love,
Johnny S.

One Humdinger of a deal.

As I write this post, a large cumulus cloud is floating lazily past my window. I just tried a sip of my newest homebrew, entitled "Silverback Stout" to see if it's ready to bottle. It is. This is some serious magical alchemy, folks. I threw in a bar of dark Belgian Chocolate, and I'm planning to add some gorilla coffee to pull it to the next level. I designed the label for it today as well.
In other news, I am pushing hard to finish up the book, and I am editing a copy of it right now so that I can get it out on my Halloween Deadline. I've added a tremendous amount of resources, and I let a co-worker read it for about half an hour yesterday. Her response-- "I wish I could pay you just for reading this! It's fire. It's absolute fire."
High praise for someone who just got to read, like, a short bit of it. But nonetheless, I hope it comes out and everyone gets a copy. I'll certainly be promoting it some more in the coming weeks with different tidbits of information. The website has been fairly quiet for a few weeks due to sheer dedication to getting this book done. I have to say, if you follow just a few of my tips in this book, you'll save yourself hundreds (if not even thousands) of dollars a year. But the proof is in the pudding. You'll see the goods come Oct. 31st.
I ended up getting my round trip tickets for Thanksgiving and Christmas back up to Albany last night. A normal bus-ticket is about $33- For Christmas, I'm making the round trip(that's right, home and back) for a grand total of $2.50. That's in peak holiday transit, with a normal schedule(ie. I'm not getting into Albany at 4:30 on Christmas Morning) How am I doing it? Read the book to find out!

Starving Artist Radio

Starving Artist Radio


Check it out! I'm a bit under the weather thanks to dealing with 5 year olds every day (or as I call them, booger factories), so this is Johnny Lite on this episode of Starving Artist Radio. Check out some great tunes by Adriano Aponte, Erin Hill, Brash, Matt Simons and De Vries!

An Official Announcement! The Book Cover!

Here it is, folks, the realization of a small dream I had in November of 2007.

F#ck this Recession!

The other day, I got to go check out Michael Moore's new film, Capitalism: A Love Story at the Angelika on West Houston Street. He went over the fact that 1% of the population has more wealth than the bottom 95% of people combined. Holy shit.
This is a movie that everyone with or without a job should see. These kind of numbers make me a bit queasy, and I'm not helped by the fact that ABC now has a television show called "Shark Tank," which is only trying to justify the fact that such arrogant douchebags make money off of other peoples hard work. The show lends itself to the collection of already insufferable shows produced by Mark Burnett (Are you smarter than a fifth grader, Survivor, etc.) It's mildly entertaining in the same way that it's fascinating to watch the Discovery Health channel when someone is getting heart surgery--but give me a break. These 4 judges, all multi-millionaires, sit and argue about taking control over some poor schlub's idea on how to make the world a slightly better (if not more cluttered) world.

To quote t.s. eliot
"This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper."


Kinda like watching a car accident--you want to, but can't--look away.

Anyways, having said that greed has gotten rampantly out-of-control and is about to throw us all into a global meltdown/revolution, let's get drunk. And let's do it on Broke Ass Stuart's tab. He's putting together a "F#CK THIS RECESSION party" Thursday, October 8th at REBEL and the details can be found here. Great bands, $3 cover with RSVP, $5 at the door. Did I mention free beer? See You there!

Starving Artist Podcast Ep 27

Starving Artist Podcast Ep. 27
Space--The Final Frontier. What does it mean to be a 21st century artist? In this episode, Johnny looks at new media in what might be the most helpful podcast he's done. Featuring music by Alex Yacovelli, Laura Meyer, Alan Semerdjian and Johnny Sanford. Check it out!

The Big Lebowski--Some People Just don't Get it.

That's just, like, your opinion, man.



I am one of those guys, you know the ones, that say "dude" a lot. I think I did this a long time before I actually saw "The Big Lebowski,"( which I hated the first time) but now that I've seen the movie over 10 times, I say it a lot. A lot. I've even come to calling the kids that I work with in my after-school "dudes" and "dudettes." Unprofessional? Hardly. It's such a great name for someone who's name you can't remember. I work at four schools with over 50 kids at each school, so it's really kinda hard not to call them all "dude." But it got me thinking--aside from the word "dude," Lebowski is one of the movies I quote the most. And over the years, he's become a sort-of personal hero for this dude. But why? So many people don't get the movie, or any of the quotes, and refuse to see it as funny. I thought it sucked when I first saw it in 12th grade. But like that rash the dude has, this movie gets under your skin. The second time you watch it, it starts to make sense. The third time, and you're kinda wishing you had a white russian. And the fourth time, you're throwing a Lebowski-themed party, white-russian in hand. And it doesn't get old. The next time you throw your Lebowski Party, you're at a bowling lane. And then--you're dress as the dude's rug for the next one. So you suddenly become one of the people that know the inside jokes, and you pity those poor souls on the outside. For those of you haters that think it's just a garbage movie, or for all those lovers that can't get enough of the movie, check out this philosophical arguments for the tenants of the movie. Trust me, dude. There's a lot of ins and outs to this movie.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

The analysis comes from a dude named Rob Ager, and you can read some more of his stuff on the web at www.collativelearning.com

It's Official, I'm leaving it up to the Masses!

Hi there, Do you want to preorder a copy of the Starving Artist's Guide to New York City? If you do, check out this link and help a brotha out. I've been working on this project for 2 1/2 years if not more, and it's finally ready to hit the masses. Since you've watched it develop since the beginning, I want to give you an autographed copy. I am accepting donations for building a substantial website that will accompany the release of the book. For donating, there are a ton of great gifts that you will also recieve in return. I couldn't get this project off the ground with out the people who support me. If you're a fan of the free podcast or you just stumbled upon this website by chance, have a look at the kickstarter project. Thank you all for giving whatever you can in an effort to bring back good music, great comedy, and a lot of amazing art to the mainstream!

Much love!

Johnny S.

Official Starving Artist Contest Press Release

Press Release: September 2009
Brooklyn's Own “Starving Artist's Guide” to combined Safe Sex with Art
BAYRIDGE—Brooklyn

Brooklyn's own “Starving Artists Guide,” a website created by musician-writer Johnny Sanford, plans to create a bridge between free condoms and art this fall. His Condom-Catcher contest, which is open to anyone that considers themselves a starving artist, will be aimed at straphangers on the subway and buses alike. “The plan is to have artists from around New York City create cardboard cut-out condom dispensers,” Johnny said. “I like the idea of cardboard because it is so disposable, just like a condom. If police take them down, so what?” The condom-dispensers will be put up with zip ties around bus stop signs and in subway stations. The designs will be uncensored and limited only by the artists imagination. Johnny did make it clear that he would put them high enough so that children cannot get to them. One dispenser that recent transplant Laura Worrick designed is aptly titled the “Partysaurus Squid.” (see picture) The tentacles of the squid come up into a box-like holder that is perfect for placing a handful of condoms.
“I got the idea from a friend who had a bunch of condoms in a cardboard bowl on her coffee table,” Johnny recalls. “I liked the idea, and when I approached the city's AIDS prevention council, they were happy to give me 1000 condoms, no questions asked. I handed her a business card and she handed me a big bag of NYC condoms for free.”
Today marks the start of the contest, which isn't really a contest at all. “The aim is to get people who don't have condoms a free condom, and add a little bit of theater and creativity to it,” Artist and frequent collaborator with starvingartistsguide.com Sean Kenealy reported. Loyal fans and artists alike plan to put up the condom dispensers on Halloween night.
“I really hope people take to the idea. It's kinda subversive, but also pretty fun,” Johnny said, wryly adding, “If artists don't like the idea, I've got a lot of unused condoms to get rid of.”
So, get out a piece of cardboard and a box cutter, folks. Artists interested in participating in the contest can email starvingartistsguide@gmail.com in order to get a handful of condoms and a free gift for helping the initiative. “The Starving Artists Guide To New York City,” a book written by Johnny after 2 ½ years of experience in living on the edge of poverty and aimed at helping today's starving artists, comedians and musicians get gigs and a slew of other helpful resources as well is scheduled for a release with self-publisher lulu.com on Oct. 31st, 2009. More information about the book and contest can be found at www.starvingartistsguide.com.

The Magick Of Alchemy Music Series featuring Laura Meyer

Starving Artist Podcast Ep 26


This is a great live performance that I recorded with professional soothsayer Laura Meyer (No matter what you call her, don't call her a "singer-songwriter." She took out her congas and did her song and dance at an undisclosed paramilitary hanger in Manhattan for the Starving Artists Guide in preparation for her upcoming Album "Miles from Nowhere", available here. While cameras weren't allowed because of black-ops shit, we certainly managed to have a good time. Check it out, because she's going on tour and might play a show near you soon! The best way to describe her music is to compare it to a girly Conor Oberst mixed in with a hint of Lisa Hannigan and a dash of Robert Zimmerman. Check it out below by pushing the sideways triangle. Or subscribe in Itunes to the right!

The Good, the Bad, and the Most Definitely Ugggggly

It's been a watershed weekend for this guy.
The Good:
Friday night marked the opening night for the second annual Craft Beer Week of New York City. The situation is as follows: you get the "passport," which is a little book that has about 80 different bars in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx and Staten Island. You bring your little booky to all of the bars within the booky, and they check off 1 of 3 craft beers on their page and give you the pint for $2. It's awesome. We started at "Rattle and Hum," when to "Resto," "The Ginger Man", and the Waterfront Ale House. Then I met up with my friend Kev and his girlyfriend and we went to meet up with our other friend, Brandon, who was in town to see some peeps.
The Bad:
Since I was documenting the journey through Craft Beer Week, I brought along my trusty video camera to take pics and vids alike. Alas, after leaving another bar called "rebar," I got back to my place, the night before my Brooklyn Birthday Bash without said videocamera. A major blow to my psyche and wallet alike. And no pictures either! This day turned back to "good" when I had a great party that was flooded with the three homebrews that I created this past summer--the Cape Cod Cranberry, the Bill Hicks Wit Beir, and the Wild Thing Hefeweissen.

The weekend turned particularly "ugly" the next night, when I was suppooosed to cap my birthday weekend off with the biggest bang of my life--a free concert by one of the best rock bands in the world--MUSE. I got a sluggish start the next morning after my party, had incredible bagels at 5-star on 86th and 4th, and wished my friends a safe journey home at around 12. I came back to my apartment and promptly passed out. I woke up around 2, which was exactly when I had told myself that I would get in line to go see muse play for the VMAs that day. However, I decided that it was too early and I suddenly had the urge to record a podcast. I took out the equipment, set up a spontaneous interview and went to town...It was just like the Sundays I have always known and loved. It was around 5 when I got off my chair and decided to head in to NYC to wait in line. I thought this would be fine.
We got to the theater and a huge line had already formed that was a solid block long. We waited. And waited. And waited. At around 8, I was halfway to the door. They had overbooked guests to ensure a packed house. We got about 10 feet from the door when they stopped letting people in. It was almost 4 hours of waiting. For Nada. Zilch. Zero.

It was a despicable evening.
I came home and went to sleep.

Good.
Bad.
Ugly.

But, that being said, I still managed to have a good time. Sometimes, shit happens.

Starving Artist Podcast Ep 25

Starving Artists Podcast Ep. 25

Enjoy!

Quick Update

Hi folks,

It's been a hectic weekend but I thought a little post on the comings and goings would be a good thing to do. I had a great party last night and everyone had a ton of fun. A lot of cool things are headed this way and I will be announcing some cool plans for the direction of the site within the coming weeks.

Tonight I get to go see Muse play at the VMA's with a good friend for FREE thanks to 1iota.com. I'll do a full review of the show and hopefully some of you will catch their performance on that new fangled channel "Music Television".

I'm hard at work doing post production on the latest podcast. My apologies that I haven't been doing one every weekend, as I've been on vacation for a while. I'm getting back into the full swing of writing my Guide to NYC, and I only am just freeing up some time in my schedule to record the cast. This is a pretty sweet show, thus far, showcasing a lot of talented musicians from NYC. I did a little review of Megabus on the podcast, but will write something up soon enough.

Also, this week is New York Craft Beer Week, so I recommend downing a pint of your favorite brew in honor, or pick up the $35 passport and get $2 pints of great ale all around the city! Look for it at fine bars and restaurants near you. I will have a good amount of material for the bar section of the guide after this week is through.

Cheers!


J$

Yuppies.

As promised, here's another recording from an evening of transplants, 12 one-act plays performed by the International BTC. This is entitled "Yuppies," written by Sean Kenealy and directed by Matt Dunnam. With performances by Jordan Knol, Jeff Belanger, and Whitney Gardner

Finally Learned How to Read? Check this out!!

Alright folks,
I'm back in the bat cave I call home in Brooklyn, New Yawk. I've been resting and gaining strength for the upcoming release of The Starving Artist's Guide to New York City. I'm pumping in some incredible manhours to get this thing out to y'all with a Oct. 31st deadline. I'm a man of my word, and this should be about 120 pages of pure New York City Thrifty shizzzle. I'm gonna hit you with the places to go, the things to do, the places to shop, and the entertainment that is practically bursting from the seams of this damn place. It'll be helpful for anyone who is on a budget and likes good times, good folks, and good beers. There will be several sections exclusively for musicians, artists, comedians, and the like which will tell you exactly where to go, what to do, and how to do it in order to start getting your name out to people around this town. I've picked the brains of some great starving artists in order to get this information, interviewing dozens of artists, musicians, and comedians to let you all know exactly what's what here. My aim is to not only cure the illness that is commercial television, but also to enlighten the "would-be" artists that don't necessarily have the confidence or the know how to get their art to the world. Imagine if John Lennon just didn't know where to start playing open-mics, so he became a spot welder instead! So this is 2 1/2 years of solid research into the New York City scene. Come October 31st, you can have it shipped directly to your nest.
In other news, the Brooklyn Book Festival is scheduled to happen this Sunday, September 13th at Borrough Hall(Public Transportation: 2, 3, 4, 5 to Borough Hall; R to Court Street; A, C, F to Jay Street/Borough Hall). This is a must for any literate person in the know about the great writers that come out of Brooklyn, and it happens to be free. This year, the roster of speakers and moderators is incredible. Some of the big names include:
Jonathan Ames, Paul Auster, Russell Banks, David Cross(!),Edwidge Danticat, Amy Goodman, Lev Grossman(still gotta read The Magicians), Jonathan Lethem, Oliver Sacks, and about 100 other awesome but unrecognizable names. Anyone who's a literophile like me should be chomping at the bit to see such a great amalgam of writers in the same hall. For more information on this FREE festival, check out Brooklynbookfestival.com
If you're bored this Friday and want to check out some hot sh*t, check out friend of the site Alan Semerdjian play a free show in Washington Square Park @ 3:30pm. He's playing acoustic and he's got some great talent.
If you wanna check him out on Sunday, too, he's playing the Boog City Festival at Unnameable Books. Here's the doo-

Boog City Festival - 1:00pm
600 Vanderbilt Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11238-3803
USA 718-789-1534

Check back later for my full review of MegaBus, a company that runs buses all across the eastern seaboard for rediculously cheap fares.

J

Awesome Weekend and a Little Trick for NYCers

Happy Labor Day all,

hope all is well throughout the universe. I'm sitting in my upstate chateau with my two butlers(just kidding mom and dad) eating popcorn and watching "Into the Wild" on dvd. I've gotten a good amount of relaxation and wanted to tell everyone about a new website I recently found called 1iota.com. It's a free site that gets you free tickets to various shows and concerts. For instance, I snagged two tickets to see Muse play for the MTV VMA's on September 12th. Real cool. They also give tickets to those of you out in California, especially that show that Carson Daily does at 2am and the one Jimmy Kimmell does at Eleven. They're free tickets because corporations pay for attractive crowds to show up. It's pretty sweet. Check it out here. Just set up an account and check it every once in a while!

The Chair

Here we have "the chair," one of the original short plays that was featured in this past weekends "Transplants" by the International BTC. Charlie Brown just can't get out of that damn chair!
Written by Janis Butler Holm
Directed by Helena Gleissner
Charlie Brown--Kristopher Swift
Lucy--Amanda Sage Comerford
Linus--Matt Dunnam
Sally--Alison Rabiej

Starving Artist Podcast Ep.24

Starving Artist Podcast Ep.24

Transplants--Tiny Plays by the International BTC

Matt Chipman as homeless man in this weekend's "Folk Talkin'" a short play by writer Ernesto Rodriguez, featured in "Transplants: Tiny Plays"




Greetings,
I hope everyone has had a most excellent weekend. The podcast is in post production and I should have it up in a few hours. I got to talk to Matt Chipman about his role in a few plays in this weekend's Transplants, which was a great mix of 12 one-act plays produced and written by the International BTC, which features the minds of Sean Kenealy, Jeff Belanger, and Amanda Sage-Comerford. I got to go see the thing and it was quite impressive. Stand-out roles included John Warren as "Ron MacDonald" in Mr. Belanger's "Mr. MacDonald has Wings of Fire", as well as Tim Torres' off the wall antics as Maurice in "Salad Days."
As I get to see more and more of the plays that the International BTC comes up with, it's certain that they are growing in both creativity, scope and all-around quality. The writing seems to flow inbetween the three pillars of the group like water in a babbling stream. All three seem to ramble in and out of each other's path and in the end it comes together as a single cohesive thought. Every stream reaches the ocean, and they build off of each other in intensity. I got the chance to film about half of the performance, (my video memory ran out!) and unfortunately for this audience some of the greatest acts came at the end. My camera cut out in the middle of "Afternoon Delight," a piece directed by the wonderful Helena Gleissner, with another wonderfully spastic performance by Tim Torres (He once told me after a few drinks that one of his main influences in acting is Ren from Ren and Stimpy) But since it really anticipates the rest of the footage I got, below is an embedded youtube clip of this performance. I apologize for my wobbly camera work; I did it while drinking a 24oz of German Dunkelweisse. I'll be posting the rest of the clips this week and finally unleashing the comedic genius of this rag-tag group of performers upon the world!

"Afternoon Delight" Clip

America : the New Brewtopia of the World?

Today I began a new batch of lager, one I will be calling Procktoberfest II in honor of last years batch. It should be a great looking beer and I can't wait to enjoy it at my upcoming shindig. But what's come to my attention is the incredible resurgence of homebrewing in America. Everyone's neighbor is doing it these days, partly because it's dirt cheap, fairly easy, and it's something that you can be proud of (usually) when you're done. Who doesn't want to be the homebrewer that everyone knows and loves. Anyone interested in the intricacies can see my older post regarding BEER WARS, as well as my praise of mrbeer.com and their incredibly easy homebrew system. But for those of you who are looking for people who reallllly know their stuff, check out this article I pulled from CNN today...

(CNN) -- When it comes to taking spirited vacations, wandering a vineyard falls flat in the face of handcrafted brew. With more than 1,500 breweries across the United States, beer is not just a drink -- it's a destination.
Wooden barrels of beer are just part of the draw at The Lost Abbey Brewery in San Diego, California.

"What's happened is that the old world has influenced the new world; the U.S. is now a travel destination for beer, [even] for people from outside of the country," said Julia Herz, craft beer program director at the Brewers Association.

"What's so great about beer is that you have this range," said Randy Mosher, author of "Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Best Drink." "It's from 3 percent alcohol to 20 percent, from super malty to very hoppy, and then you throw in stuff like fruit, spices -- you have an enormous range of possibilities."

With such a wide flavor profile, said Stephen Beaumont, author of "Premium Drinker's Beer Guide," beer travel is less about hanging out at the brewery and more about the tasting. In other words, don't look just for an incredible brewer, but also for an incredible city in which to drink beer.

Although it's a highly contested question that Herz calls "fodder for late-night philosophical conversations," there are a few brew towns that these beer aficionados identify as the cream of the hops.

Eat, drink and brew local

If you didn't know that Portland, Oregon, is synonymous with "Beervana," then you clearly need an introduction to the beer scene.

"In a lot of ways, [it's] a very highly developed town for craft beer," Mosher said.

The city has a reputation for going local, and Portland thoroughly applies that philosophy to brewing.
Don't Miss

* Stylish digs along the Oregon coast
* Hawaii-style fun on the mainland

"When you live in Portland, you become entrenched in the whole hops and malts [thing] because you're living right where it's being produced," said Portland resident Angelo De Ieso of beer site Brewpublic.com. Thirty percent of the world's hops come from the Pacific Northwest and Idaho, De Ieso said.

The other major pull is the "high concentration of breweries," Beaumont said. "Portland is a fairly small compact area, [but] they've got a free transit system, and they've got brewpubs chockablock."

Higgins Restaurant and Bar is a great place to get advice on navigating the local beer scene, according to Beaumont. And while you're there, you can sample their impressive beer list including Oregon-bottled Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner and The Bruery's "Trade Winds" Triple out of California, a brewer that Beaumont notes is "up-and-coming, doing phenomenal stuff."

As for breweries, De Ieso said "the one that really stands out is Upright Brewery with their Belgian farmhouse style beers."

Another stop has to be Hopworks Urban Brewery, an all-organic brewpub fully powered with renewable energy. "They do a lot of the standard styles of Northwest beers, like the IPA, which is our flagship beer," De Ieso said. Try the signature Hopworks IPA for a taste of Pacific Northwest flavor.

SoCal brew style

Much further south, in San Diego, California, you'll find what Beaumont calls "a hotbed of innovation," where the beer tends "to be a little stronger, with more alcohol."

And while "all of California could be considered the state from which the innovators of craft beer came, San Diego specifically grabbed the golden ring from the merry go round and ran with it," said Matt Simpson, a craft beer consultant.

So when you're talking San Diego-style beer, for most beer geeks you're talking about The Lost Abbey. "The most notable guy right now is Tomme Arthur at Lost Abbey. He was one of the early adventurous brewers in Southern California," beer tasting expert Mosher said.

Known for Belgian-style beers and a "flavor first" philosophy, beer expert Beaumont said "they're doing some really innovative, interesting stuff in terms of barrel aging and unusual fermentations, beyond basic brewers yeast."

Beer experts also fawn over AleSmith, a microbrewery that has been pumping out diverse, high quality ales since 1995. "The special beers that they do are astounding, if not sublime," Simpson said. "They do a barrel-aged series, and those beers are limited to 250 bottles or less, so you can imagine the supply and demand market for them."

Flavors of the South

Although other beer lovers often skip over the South because of restrictive brewing laws in some areas, Simpson insisted that some of the best brew can be found below the Mason-Dixon line.

"One of my top three is North Carolina, with Asheville being the center of that. Not only is it a really fun place to visit, they make amazing beers," he said. "There's Foothills, a brewpub that has a breakout hit called Sexual Chocolate, an imperial stout that put them on the map of craft beer."

Simpson also touts his home stomping grounds, Atlanta, Georgia. "We have one of the top five beer bars in the world in the Brick Store Pub, across the board," Simpson said. "You can go to Greatbeers.com, Ratebeer.com, Beeradvocate.com -- they're rating the Brick Store Pub as one of the top beer bars in the world. And if you're here for a few days you can hit breweries like Sweetwater, 5 Seasons, and Twain's."

Whether your drink town of choice is San Diego or Philadelphia, San Francisco or Boston, Beaumont recommends chatting up locals for clues on the local beer scene.

"Beer is a social drink, and beer people love to talk about the beer," he said. "You can find a local or savvy visitor who can tell you about something you've never heard of, and that makes it a phenomenal experience."

Podcast Delay and A Hurricane

Alllrighty then..
So I recorded a new podcast with some great new artists, (one is from Italy!) but I had some issues putting it up this morning..Since I'm headed out to Long Beach, I won't be able to put it up for a couple days. Hopefully I don't get pulled into the riptide and the alleged 12 foot waves.
Wish me luck,

Johnny S.

Somebody's gonna get fired!

Aight so it looks like some buffoon in editing switched the tracks on Ep. 23. The first track is Sterling Peirce's "The Glory" and the second track played is Rod Washburn's "Our America"...Someone is gonna pay. For those of you who wanna check out more of these two fine acts, check out www.myspace.com/sterlingpeirce

For some of Rod Washburn's great Americana flavor, check out www.myspace.com/rodwashburn

Also, check out Alan Semerdjian's info @ www.alansemerdjian.com

Heads will roll when I find out who mixed up this week's episode!!!

Starving Artists Podcast Ep. 23

Starving Artist Podcast Ep. 23

In this episode, Johnny lists off the top ten free things to do in New York City for the remainder of the summer. He also does an interview with singer songwriter Alan Semerdjian about his new album "The Big Beauty". He also talks about the new NPR Sampler of Jazz and Folk @ the Newport Festival 2009. With music by Sterling Pierce, Rod Washburn and Alan Semerdjian. Check it out only on the Starving Artist's Podcast!

Alan Semerdjian Interview!

Greetings loyal readers!
it's been loathsomely hot down here in the nitty gritty city. Luckily I got to hit up the Jacob Riis National Park for some relaxing on the beach yesterday. I'd recommend getting to the beach before the end of the summer. My apologies for not getting a podcast out on Sunday, I was sitting phoneless and alone on the border of NY/NJ at a train station for most of the day. When I got back home to beautiful Brooklyn, I was too tired to do anything. Plus, I've been sick for the last ten or so days. So it goes. A nice day at the beach definitely upped my Vitamin D intake, so I should be fine as soon as I get all the boogers outta my lungs.

In other news, I'm excited to say that I did a great interview with singer/songwriter Alan Semerdjian this afternoon. The full interview will be featured on this Sunday's podcast. I asked him some pretty good questions about how he's gone about starting a tour, as well as discussed his new album, The Big Beauty. Just a heads up, but the album is lush folk rock americana beauty. The man knows what he's doin'. Best of luck to him.

Last but not least, this weekend marks the 11th annual Del Close Marathon over at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. For those of you who are not in on this, put on your jammies and go see 3 full days of improv genious at UCB for $25. It's worth it. Here's the info off their page:

The UCB Theatre proudly presents the 11th Annual Del Close Marathon.

This year's marathon starts Friday, August 14th at 4:30pm and runs continuously on four stages until Sunday evening, August 16th.

All shows are at the UCB Theatre, The Hudson Guild (441 West 26th Street), Urban Stages (259 West 30th Street), and FIT (Seventh Avenue at 27th Street).

Passes for the marathon are available for purchase at the UCB Theatre and the other stages during the marathon.

Passes are $25 and provide access to all shows based on seat availability. Guaranteed admission to special prime-time shows at FIT is also available for $12 per show.

Find the official schedule and more information at the official site of DCM11: www.delclosemarathon.com

And to show my graditude to the dude who introduced UCB to me, check out this video of Matt Chipman in his full glory on a skit he did with UCB king Zack Woods. Matt is the one with the beard.

Two Free Music Samplers From NPR!!!!

You gotta love the dudes and dudettes at NPR. Below is a link to download 24 free tracks from artists such as Fleet Foxes, DJ Justice, a rockin band called Deer Tick, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Iron & Wine, and the Avett Brothers. Did I mention FLEET FOXES?! The song, Mykanos, is one of my favorite songs, btw. The link to Itunes is here for the Newport Folk Festival 2009 CD Sampler.
For the Jazz dogs in the house, check out the Jazz @ Newport Sampler. Since I'm not a Jazzhead, I have no idea who's who. But you better believe that I'm getting it cause it certainly has the right price! The link to Jazz At Newport 2009 is here. This won't last, so download it ASAP! Here's the legal mumbo-jumbo.

The code expires on Sept. 30, 2009, or until supplies run out, and is redeemable only on the U.S. iTunes Store. To redeem the code, you must have an iTunes account, subject to prior acceptance of license and usage terms. To open an account, you must be above the age of 13 and in the U.S., iTunes 6.0 or later (7.0 or later for video), compatible hardware and software, and Internet access (fees may apply) are required. Not for resale. For full terms, see www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/gifts.html. For more information, see www.apple.com/support/itunes/store. Don't steal music. TM and © 2008 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple is not a participant or sponsor of this promotion.


Don't forget to also check out the Starving Artists Mixtape, Volume 1. It features many of the NYC-based bands that I've had the pleasure of working with during the past 6 months. Check it out at the very bottom of this page.

Happy Trails,

Johnny.

Finally Some Real Change in the White House.

Here's a video of Obama giving Helen Thomas, one of the greatest reporters in the U.S., (And one that actually asks real questions) some Birthday Cupcakes. Check it.

Starving Artists Podcast Ep. 22

Starving Artists Podcast Ep. 22

This episode features an excerpt from Broke Ass Stuart's Guide to living Cheaply in NYC, great info on what to do if you don't have cable tv but still want to watch tv shows and movies, as well as a Street Corner Spotlight on Union Square. With music from independent musicians Jim Bohn, Tam Lin, Randy Stern and Mark Berger.
To listen, either click play or subscribe in Itunes.

It was a dark and stormy night...

....and I sat on my computer trying my new homebrew "Lime in the Coconaut." Yes, coconaut like "astronaut." why? no idea. The lightning flashes have been pretty close and I'm kinda terrified to go close to the windows. Something that I've always been worried about is getting struck by lightning. The brew is just great though. Right now, I'm fermenting my next batch as we speak. Its a Wit beer, so I want to name it after either a famous comedian or philosopher. Any ideas? Send them to starvingartistsguide@gmail.com. Both will be served at my upcoming party that is scheduled for some time in either late august or early September. I'm gonna be throwing this shindig at my place all day on a Saturday with my homebrews and some tasty miller high lifes. Last year I went bowling for my b-day, dude-style and it was an awesome time. This year I think I wanna go skinny dipping in Coney Island late late night. Any takers?

This summer is absolutely flying by! I've been having such a great time, and look forward to the fall. I am currently working out the kinks of getting a job as a touring cartoonist for my employer. It should be awesome! Nothing pays the bills like cartooning. I've also decided as a part time gig I will make $10 six racks for people. If you want one, email me at starvingartistsguide@gmail.com, just let me know what kind and when you need it by. It takes approximately 2 weeks to be ready. Oh, and you must be 21 years young. If you are adventurous and have the time on your hands, go to www.mrbeer.com to get a starter kit and launch your own home brewery. However, I got that style and pinasche that you want; nay, need.

I also just picked up Broke-ass Stuart's Guide to New York, which is going to become mandatory reading for anyone looking to make it on a budget in NYC. It's great info, and is also hilarious to boot. Check it out on Amazon for pretty cheap.

Starving Artists Podcast Ep 21

Starving Artist's Podcast Ep. 21
The latest installment for S.A.G Podcast is here, just right click the above link and 'save as' or subscribe to the show in itunes for free. I did a great interview with rocker Neil Nathan about booking gigs and his upcoming release "The Distance Calls" and getting his music on the Californication Season Two soundtrack. With info regarding free booze, the latest iphone app, BoltBus, Mega Bus and Couch Surfing the safe and easy way. With music from Neil Nathan, Alan Semerdjian, Zion Judah and more!

Back with a Vengence

This is just a quick update for those loyal followers...

I meant to do this a while ago but here's a kudos to Neil Nathan and the show he put on at Highline Ballroom two Fridays ago--He rocked the joint and had some incredible talent supporting him. He's got some music coming out on the Californication Season Two Soundtrack, which can be purchased here. He rocked particularly well on his track "California Run" and the acoustic cover of ELO's "Do Ya", which is featured on the Starving Artist's Podcast, Episode 18. His latest effort, entitled "The Nearest Future" is on Itunes here. His live sound and backing band is tight as a polarbear's behind and I'll let everyone know when his next Pirate Vinyl Show will be. Check out more of his music at www.neilnathan.com

Also, a great performance by Alan Semerdjian. His music mixed folk and rock like a sweet sweet long island iced tea on a warm summer's eve. For my fellow upstaters, he's playing the Moon and River Cafe in Schenectady, (ska-neck-ta-dee) NY this Friday @ 7pm! He reaaally rocked my boat with the song "Can't Wait." "When there was something wrong with you" was also a killer track. You can check out all his music on his website at www.alansemerdjian.com. You can buy his music here on itunes or a physical copy at www.cdbaby.com/alansemerdjian. The sound is full with the added violin and flute live... Check out "Can't Wait" below.


In other news, I've been getting a lot of positive feedback with the site and it's growing by leaps and bounds. I've added a few more items in the cafepress store and you can check them out here. Thanks to Meagan and Laura for making such great designs. You both rock! All of the profits go directly into funding promotional support for the site. I've also begun work on the ebook that I will be debuting in late September, entitled "How to live like a Rockstar on Minimum Wage." More info to come.

Also, I tried my new homebrew, tenativly titled "Lime in the Coconaut" and it is fantastic. I will be serving it in Coconut half-shells at my birthday bash/S.A.G. extravaganza in late August/early September. Tickets are limited, so please RSVP @ starvingartistsguide@gmail.com for more information. There will be live music, free give-aways, and a dj.

A long and sure vacation.

Greetings!

I've finally found a moment in my life to let you all know what I've been up to. It's been a wonderful 2 weeks off and I am finally ready to get back on the horse. The last two weeks have been exciting and relaxing; I finally got to get back to my roots and go upstate. Though I was busy trying to relax for one hot second, I also felt anxious to get back on air doing what I love the most--talking to everyone about the music, comedy and art that makes New York City so amazing. And amazing it is. I've been collecting and organizing for the next podcast (which airs this coming sunday!) and I feel pumped to get back on the airwaves. What's more, I got my prototype starving artists guide t-shirt from the printer a few days ago and it's awesome. A few more designs will be showing up, but if you wanna check it out, go to www.cafepress.com/starvingartnyc Feel free to buy some stuff, and know that the selection will soon be much bigger! I'm ready to get back on the wave and ride. See you out there.


Johnny

News Update

Hi, folks.

These are the dog days of summer, and instead of doing a show today I have other things to attend to. However, there will be a special podcast that I will put up next week. Important and fascinating tips and tricks will be revealed. Stay tuned! For those of you who are bored and need something to listen to, check out this podcast mp3. It's reallllly helpful for musicians--
Cd Baby Podcast

Starving Artist Podcast Ep 20

>Starving Artist Podcast Ep. 20

In this episode, Johnny discusses the contest winner for starvingartistsguide.com graphic design contest, the websites cafepress.com, vistaprint.com, overnightprints.com, and Recycle a Bicycle program run out of Brooklyn, NY. With music by Alex Yacovelli, Neil Nathan, Sharon Kenny and Pastora.
Also, for those of you looking for it, the Starving Artist Mixtape Volume 1 is at the bottom of this site now! Still working on my new website!

Starving Artist's Tee-Shirt

Here is one of the exclusive t-shirts for starvingartistsguide.com by graphic designer Laura Worrick. There are other things available @the Starving Artists Guide Merch Table and I will be adding more and more periodically to the store as to keep things fresh and/or clean. If you dig it, buy it! We could use the promo and for every shirt you buy, we get like, $3. You could always donate using the Paypal button to the bottom right, too...