friends

interview: evan shinners

in

there are three types of people that wear sunglasses inside:
blind people, assholes, and evan shinners.
at sunrise you may find him reading rameau and drinking whisky,
and he once climbed inside of a piano to play beethoven backwards at the moma. his album, @bach, was released last month. 
+++++++ 
mniy: if thelonious monk and j.s. bach arrived for brunch on sunday morning, what would you cook for them?
es: i'd encourage them to drink raw eggs and stand on their heads while i sang to them katy perry.
what was the last food you dreamt about?
i had a dream about ray charles appetizers. i tweeted about it actually. we had different singers for lunch, including van morrison dim sum.
what is in your ideal reception spread?
different types of pu-er teas, preferably from 1985-1998, to wash down caviar-- mostly black or taiwanese.
if the reception spread sucks, what do you eat after a concert?
i usually waltz with the loal girls and drink japanese whisky alone in my hotel rooms.
thank you, evan!
-yeh!!!

interview: kyle brightwell

in

some time during 2008, kyle discovered that if ever i was mad at him {which happened quite a bit}, he could compliment me on my hair and everything would be fine. he got away with stealing a lot of cymbals from my setups that way. regardless of that, he is one of my favorite humans, and i am so proud of him because as of last week, he is part of the boston symphony orchestra! 
here is a little interview with him:

what was the first thing you ate after you won the bso audition?
  mcdonald's, 6am. only thing vegetarian-friendly was a hash brown. regretted it immediately.

did you ever feel like you were going to vom during the audition?
almost constantly.
malletech browns or innovative rusts or the american drum convertabell mallets?
oh you're just asking for it with this one. i strongly endorse all american drum crotale related products.

if you could choose any processed cheese product, such as kraft singles or ez cheese, to be endorsed by, which would you choose?
never had a thing for processed cheese. however, i am desperate to be endorsed by the forever lazy {available by calling 877-291-8657, or visit https://www.orderforeverlazy.com/, or at all bed bath & beyonds}. pelase check out the dope infomercial as well. mckay and i used these to sleep/practice in for audition prep. we think there is something magic in that made-in-china fleece-wear.

 using three words, describe how you felt after that juice cleanse you did in july.
i'd like to make this funny, but honestly, that experience was the best.  accomplished, whole, zen.

who was the best cook in the juilliard percussion department when you were here?
aww molly wants a shoutout.  who else??  the incomparable YEH.


thanks, kyky!!!

-yeh!!!!

{photo by kevin wong}

shameless loves, by cliff

in

things that cliff loves
{but really probably shouldn't}
1. putting the tv on mute and adding my own words to television shows and commercials...not gonna lie, the dialogue i make up is extra vulgar and out of pocket, but it's pretty funny (well...to me at least)
2. reading and watching anything anthony bourdain is a participant of/in.... i swear i wish that man was my uncle
3. listening to the jackson 5 christmas album anytime of the year.... yes i know it might be july and 80 degrees outside, and i'm singing "have yourself a merry little christmas" in 9-year old michael jackson falsetto....don't judge me.
4. judging restaurants by the type of lemonade they serve...
5. eating peanut butter cookies ONLY if they have criss-cross fork marks in them...
6. looking up old clips of michael jordan from the 90's....he was so great!
7. rooting against the detroit lions every sunday. i was a die-hard fan back in the day, but when barry sanders retired, the team broke my heart.
8. randomly singing cannonball adderley solos note-for-note
9. habitually lifting my feet when i'm in car crossing train tracks...even if i'm driving. in 3rd grade, my best friend told me that the devil lives on the train tracks and will try to grab your leg and drag you to hell when you drive past. it has messed me up ever since, haha...
10. RED. LOBSTER. BISCUITS. ....that is all.

thank you, cliff!!!!!!
and a very happy no shame december to you!!

-yeh!!!

timeless.

in , ,

i have a favourite bar snack and it is the
cheese + onions + crackers {with mustard} 
at mcsorley's. there is something refreshing about onions when you're drinking dark beer, and *ohmygah* that mustard is by far the strongest mustard i have ever had. ever. ten times the hotness of amora, i'm serious. 
when i was 12 and experienced new york for the first time, with my dad, we stumbled upon mcsorley's. "oh hey, this is the place where all of my friends went after concerts... but i wasn't old enough so i was left out," he said, as he dragged me in to see the saw dust on the floor and old pictures on the wall.
and then last night after my cheese and crackers i thought: what if timedimension didn't exist? what if a 12-year-old me came teetering out of mcsorley's into that sunny october day to find present-day me standing on the curb and laughing with rob? would i say hi to the 22-year-old me, who by this time, having gone back to unwaxed eyebrows, minimal facepaint, and the same ponytail that i was wearing on that day ten years ago, would be absolutely unmistakeable? would the fact that 22-year-old me was in new york confuse me? why wasn't i in evanston or boston? why on earth does my bag say juilliard?
do you have any tattoos? she'd maybe say.
no, i'd answer.
is stoop married yet?
no.
why does your breath smell like that?
i--you--eat onions now.
what else do you eat now?
everything.
NO.
oh right, still no bananas or mushrooms.
what about spinach?
love it. 
*guffawwww* what is your job?
you'll find out.
do you ever go on a date with--
GO. you're about to experience zabar's for the first time. you'll love it.
bye, geezer
bye, doofus head.