Mark Humble Music

Dick Clark Took No Prisoners

Back in 1980 I saw Dick Clark in action. I was in high school in New Jersey, on a field trip to a taping of the $20,000 Pyramid.  The yellow bus took us through the Lincoln Tunnel and let us out in midtown.  Me and my friends laughed and yelled as we walked down the street, excited to be in The City.  Our teacher yelled back at us to be quiet once we got inside.

We filed into our seats, whispering that the Pyramid looked a lot smaller in person than it did on TV.  Cameras blocked part of our view, TV monitors hung all over the place and crew people worked on the stage.  We all started to relax and talk louder and got shushed by our teacher.  In a few minutes the show’s theme song came blaring through the speakers, the “APPLAUSE” lights went on, and the Warmup Guy took center stage.   As we all clapped, he yelled “HI THERE!” into his hand-held microphone.

The Warmup Guy explained that we’d meet Dick Clark in a few minutes.  Then he launched into a very smooth explanation of how the taping would work.  He was interrupted by a guy in the back of the audience who yelled “when’s Jeopardy coming back?!?” really loud.  The question got an anxious chuckle from the crowd; the Warmup Guy laughed it off, saying we’d all have a chance to ask questions real soon, and went back into his speech.  Less than a minute later, the same interruption, louder this time, with a tinge of pleading desperation: “when’s JEOPARDY coming back!?”  We all turned around to look at the yelling man.  He looked like someone’s grandpa, in his 60s or 70s, wearing a dark suit.  He was a bit agitated.  He wasn’t crazy - ‘Jeopardy’ was off the air at the time.

I looked back at the stage.  The Warmup Guy was a little flustered now - the balance of power had shifted.  Suddenly without fanfare, Dick Clark himself(!) walked on stage.  Without breaking stride, he took the microphone from Warmup Guy and verbally pounced on Grandpa Jeopardy:  “all right asshole, you keep that shit up and you’re out of here, you got that, asshole?”  As we all recoiled in horror at what had just gone down, Clark handed the microphone back to the Warmup Guy and walked off stage. Grandpa Jeopardy had been silenced, order had been restored and the energy in the room was electric.  I could never tell you in a million years what else happened that day.

Rest in peace, Dick Clark.

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Singing my songs on 91.1 WFMU - Monday May 21st

I’ll make a return visit to Irene Trudel’s show on 91.1 WFMU with my pal Dave Foster on Monday, May 21st.  I’ll play some of my songs, Dave will play some of his, maybe we’ll even play a Louvin Brothers cover, who knows?  Irene’s show airs Noon-3pm every Monday - check her out!

It’s been many years since I’ve been on Irene’s show, and I’m glad to be back.  Besides being a wonderful host with knack for putting her guests at ease, Irene is an outstanding engineer with a great depth of musical knowledge.  I asked her to record and co-produce “One Centre Street” and I was delighted when she said yes.  The result speaks for itself.  

You can listen to WFMU on the radio in the NYC area on 91.1 FM.  WFMU also broadcasts at 90.1 as WMFU in the Hartford area.  AND…you can listen to the station streaming online.

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I lived.

I played the Songwriter Deathmatch at Freddy’s Bar in Brooklyn on Friday, April 6th.  It was touch and go for a while…would I make it out of there in one piece? 

I decided to start my set with 30 seconds of abuse (an idea I borrowed from the late great Graham Chapman) in order to get a sense of the brutality that lay before me…after offering up a handful of halfhearted insults, the abuse petered out, long before 30 seconds.  What was I to make of this?  Was the audience nice, or were they simply laying in the weeds, waiting for the right moment to go for the kill?  Or maybe it was my fellow songwriters who were going to try to kill me…satisfied that I had reached my comfortable level of confusion, I began the music portion of my program.   Long story short - everyone had a good time, and nobody got killed.

The first song I played is a brand new one called ‘Underneath the Sun’ - I haven’t recorded it yet.  Lyrics and video to come.  I followed that with ‘Wait and See’ from ‘One Centre Street’ and then led the crowd in a singalong on the old Beatles’ tune ‘This Boy’ (I’m pretty sure I’m singing ‘cry-yi-yi’ in the picture below) 

The next song was ‘One More Kiss Goodbye’ from my ‘Guilty Pleasure Cabaret’ album (and come to think of it, that picture above might have been from that song, too).  

I finished out my set by inviting my old pal Dave Foster to the stage.  He played and sang on “Falling On the Ground” from ‘One Centre Street.’  Dave played guitar and sang on all the tracks on that album.  Great job, Dave! 

My set was followed by terrific performances by Karen Dahlstrom, Dave Keener and Dave Foster.

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Who decided that music shows in New York should be modeled on the Long Island Railroad?

Who decided that music shows in New York should be modeled on the Long Island Railroad—scheduled on the hour, starting late, and taking 20 minutes longer than you want them to?

Songwriter Deathmatch seeks to change all that. Debuting Friday April 6^th at Freddys Bar in Park Slope, the show is fun and fast-paced, with four singer-songwriters playing shorter sets, and a host to move things along. The musicians even take turns on the same guitar to minimize sound adjustments between acts.

A short set lets listeners concentrate on new songs in brief bursts, working with the 21^st-century attention span, not against it. And, instead of keeping each player and their supporters separate, Songwriter’s Deathmatch brings everyone together for one shared night of music.

The Performers:

Karen Dahlstrom

Karen Dahlstrom has a lush, gorgeous voice to go with her spare, passionate songs. Her new EP, Gem State, is inspired by her home state of Idaho and is currently moving up the folk charts. She has recently appeared on the radio shows Women in Music and The Folk Tree.

Listen: karendahlstrom.com/music

Mark Humble

Village Voice Pazz & Jop nominee Mark Humble just released his second CD, One Centre Street. Melodic, moody and often quite funny, Mark is a master craftsman who has also contributed songs and soundtracks to Scrubs, A&E’s Biography and The Smithsonian Institute.

Listen: markhumblemusic.com

Dave Foster

Like his hero, Alex Chilton, Dave is a rock and roll singer, a songwriter and lead guitarist all wrapped into one. Long-time front-man of the band Bubble, Dave is a frequent member of Loser’s Lounge and has appeared at Lincoln Center with his show Bubble Does Beatles.

Listen: myspace.com/davefostermusic

Dave Keener (Host)

Host Dave Keener has just released a new CD The Easy Way, which has received positive reviews in the music press and recently appeared on the New York Radio Roots & Americana chart. Dave is also a member of the music and comedy team, Them Keener Boys (NY Press Best Local Comedians).

Listen: davekeener.com

Additional Details

Friday April 6^th, 8PM

Freddys Bar 627 5th Ave Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215
No cover charge, Always FREE.
21 and over only

freddysbar.com/map/

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• Sara Lee
• Mark Humble
• Chuck Berry
• Maybelline
• Guitar
• Singer Songwriter

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