End Of Summer

Hello fine folks in the wide world of Cyberspace. Yep, for me anyway, summer's over. And, I have to say, I'm pretty excited about it.

That sounds awful, huh? But I'm a man of routine. I need to get back to doing my normal thing, which is working, going to shows, teaching the young children and smiling. These are the things I do.

When I'm on vacation for too long, or when I'm writing columns about a wonderful tennis tournament, I don't have time to do a lot of stuff. I know that sounds silly since, you know, I'm on vacation and should have tons of time, but it's not true. I had barely a minute to myself over my three-week vacation of sorts.

Whew. I'm happy to be teaching at the bum-crack of dawn tomorrow. What this means for you is plenty more blog entries. Yep. We'll be back to normal.

While I type this, I'm listening to "Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy," a tribute record honoring former Miracle Legion frontman Mulcahy. Of course, Mark is a former New Havener, and Miracle Legion is one of the finest acts to ever come from these parts. When I moved here, it was the only band from the Elm City that I already owned records of ... or at least that's what I thought.

A little more than a year ago, Mark's wife died, leaving him to care for young children. This 21-song disc aims to raise funds for the family. Shout Factory is putting it out, and what a lineup. It's mind-blowing.

Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Dinosaur Jr., Mercury Rev, Elvis Perkins, Frank Black and The National are just some, um, national names. Plus, locals like The Butterflies of Love appear. It's a seriously great record. Look for a full story on it from me in the Arts section on Sunday Sept. 27.