So it’s CMJ week and it’s looking like I may skip most of the festivities this year, but I did make it over to Pete’s Candy Store to check out my boy Teddy Blanks.  I am not sure why CMJ picked Pete’s Candy Store as a venue because you could probably play a better show in my bedroom.  Teddy doesn’t have a very big draw so I didn’t mind the small room, but he had to go home and get speakers from his stereo because they only had two small speakers and a monitor.  Teddy doesn’t use amps or drums, so the sound was inadequate.  On top of that the “sound booth” was a mixer nailed to the wall.  Teddy had to do his sound while he was on stage.  It was a very strange set up. Teddy overcame however despite that fact that he had only the right channel working and ended up playing a pretty good show.

After Teddy’s show I headed over to Happy Endings and pretty much hung out outside for the rest of the night.  I did go inside for a bit but I was out of there by 315 and home full of crepes by 345. It was a pretty uneventful way to start CMJ week, but there are a bunch of pictures.  You can click here to check them out of course…

The last time Teddy Blanks played CMJ he was fronting the Gaskets and they were opening for a huge band at the Blender Theater. Well, Blender is out of business and so are the Gaskets, but Teddy is kicking ass on his own and he is playing a CMJ showcase tomorrow. Pete’s Candy Store is just slightly smaller than the Blender Theater, but I think it will be a good time just the same. I think you should come out. He plays at pretty much exactly 11 Tuesday night. Flyer with all the info below…

Also, I should mention that Teddy redesigned his website, because that’s what he does.

I am almost caught up with old stuff although I shot a ton of stuff yesterday, and today is going to be nuts as well.  I probably shot three galleries yesterday and I’ll shoot three more today.  So it may be another few days before we are fully caught up, but just know I am trying.

Last week my friend Teddy Blanks played with Rebecca Schiffman at some bar in midtown called Bar Nine. I am not sure why they play there, but it’s their second show.  I have talked about Teddy relentlessly, so all I will say is that during his set three girls started doing choreographed dances and by the end there were about 6 or 7 people doing the same dance through his entire set.  It was very weird.

Rebecca is this little adorable girl who makes some sort of singer/songwritery acoustic folk type jams.  She is pretty much nothing like Teddy musically but evidently they have a lot of friends/fans in common.  Rebecca is not just a musician but an artist and writer as well. Her website has music, links to her zine and jewelry line as well as her writing and her fine art work.  My favorite of her work is paintings she has done of photos from ebay auctions.  I am really into net based art, and I have done my fair share of ebay pranks, so that stuff is really up my alley.

Anyway, I have to go shoot photos for about 14 hours now, so just check out the pictures from Teddy & Rebecca’s show last week.

As promised I am finally getting the Teddy Blanks photos from Friday up.  I think one of the reasons it has taken me so long to get these up was because I sort of blame the show on blowing out my knee.  Teddy left his TV in my brother’s car and my brother was at work.  I have the other set of keys so Teddy asked me to steal my brother’s car and drive us all to the show in Greenpoint.  I walked all the way to the car (about a 20 min walk) before I realized I didn’t have the keys on me.  I ran a few blocks to find a cab, then ran up my stairs as fast as I could and ran back down so the cab would wait for me.  By the time I got to the car my knee was killing me.  I took the car into the city for the night before dropping it back off at my brothers and starting the walk home.  I didn’t get two blocks from his apartment before I collapsed and had to call a car service to drive me back home.

Speaking of my injury… evidentially it is not as bad as I thought.  I went to a specialist today who saw me for a total of 90 seconds but he told me that my knee seemed okay.  I have to get an MRI soon, but I have to get approval from my insurance company which could take a week. In the mean time he said to rest and ice it, but that I can walk on it.  That being said, I have never been to the hospital before and I decided this merited a trip to the ER. I broke my finger in high school and didn’t even put a splint on it.  The point is, despite what the doctor deduced in under two minutes, until I get that MRI, I still think I am fucked. I got some pain killers and a pretty sexy brace to wear in the mean time. So, I am going to attempt to shoot some fashion week stuff in the next couple of days, but I am going to be moving… very… very… slooowwly…

Moving on… Here are the pictures from Teddy’s show. I was mostly having fun at the show and just fucking around with the photos.  I was dragging the shutter so the TV was all over the shot.  Anyway, enough with the excuses.  I will be back tomorrow with some surprise NSFW shots and new excuses for why they suck too.  See you then.

UPDATE: Tonight’s show was moved to Tuesday by the Annex new owners, unfortunately Teddy is not able to make it Tuesday night so he will not be playing. My friend Grier’s band Great Tiger is still playing though, so you should check them out if you get a chance.

Well the Annex is closing in a about two weeks, but Teddy Blanks is playing there first Monday night. He is playing at nine so you can use it as a chance to pregame. I can get a few people in for free I think so if you know my number text me and I will see what I can do. Either way he puts on a hell of a show an it is worth whatever the small cover price is. Hope to see some of you there.

And if you can’t make the show, you can always pick up his new EP on iTunes.

Significant Objects is a project where writers and artists try to attach significance to a thrift store object there by creating something of greater value.  After the object as are written about they are placed on eBay at their original price and then their added value is determined by how high the price goes over the minimum bid.  As of Wednesday, 35 objects valued at under $50 have been sold for over $1000.

Significant Objects teamed up with the design blog Design Observer last week.  Several of Design Observers bloggers signified about some significant objects this week.  My friend and musician Teddy Blanks is a pretty regular contributer to Design Observer and he was asked to do something for the project. Teddy decided to write a song called “Figurines” about a small Porcelain Scooter that he was assigned.  The scooter cost $1 at a thrift store and is currently selling for $2.38.  That is a 138% increase! But don’t worry, you still have time to bid!

Check out the song below, and read the lyrics by clicking here.

Teddy Blanks – Figurines

Somewhat Hasty first solo video from my boy Teddy Blanks. It was directed by friend and former Party Rock 3 member Christian Schultz. While consistently maintaining a retro synth pop feel in all his music this has to be the most 80’s thing he has done yet. My first thought was he was a pair of leg warmers away from Flashdance but a friend of mine compared it to a Billy Squier video. I think he has a point.

Also Teddy has just redone his website with a lot more music up as well as an archive of flyers and a header that quotes a different line from a song every time you refresh the page. He also has a show this Thursday. You should check that out. In the mean time, dig the video, I think it’s pretty great.  Also, download a free Mp3 of Somewhat Hasty here.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj8fBtGywCI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI[/youtube]

Hey guys, I know how you guys hate spending money and all, but Teddy Blanks is playing again tonight and it should be a blast.  I would really like to see you guys out there.  I am leaving for a week or so tonight and I will miss you all. Come say goodbye.

Speaking of, this site is going to be slow moving for the time that I am out of town. I am going fishing with 3 of my oldest and dearest friends for 4 days then off to DC/VA for a day or two and then I might hit up Philly for a night or something.  It is sort of up in the air but I borrowed a car, and I need some relaxation and/or adventure. I will try to update once a day at least, but I can’t promise anything.  I have some photo shoots tentatively set up with some cute girls, so if that happens, there might be some fun stuff up next week.

Until then, come see me tonight and rock out with the amazing Teddy Blanks.

I got an email from my dad today about my website.  Now while I hate the idea that my dad reads this site (Dad, if you are reading this, please close your browser window and go back to work, my kids college education is not going to pay for itself.) his email brings up up something I wanted to talk about again.  His email was in reference to this post, where I was talking about how I wanted to shoot some day time photos and less night life stuff.  He told me he was glad to see me “moving into the light”.  I am not sure I want to exactly move into the light so to speak, but I do want to do more editorial and portrait work, so I just wanted to bring it up again.  If anyone has any ideas let me know. If any stylists or art directors or anyone wants to do some portfolio building stuff together let me know.  I just need a reason to leave my apartment before midnight.

Anyway, I think the primary point of this post is to show you a shot or two from the mini shoot I did with Teddy Blanks.  He needed a photo for his Electronic Press kit.  Clearly not the greatest photo shoot ever, as we shot it in less than 10 minutes due to time constraints, but I just wanted to show you guys something other than the standard party pics.  Enjoy.