Music League: Name-dropping
Songs from artists you know personally or have met
- Gillian Welch: Annabelle
My buddy’s sister is Gillian Welch’s lone full-time employee, handling merch and various other odds and ends. (She also plays drums in a ripping all-girl Rage Against the Machine tribute band in Nashville). I’ve been a casual fan since the ’90s, so when they came through NYC awhile back, I got to tag along and briefly meet Gillian and David Rawlings backstage before the show. We had great seats too! - Andrew W.K.: Music Is Worth Living For
On his early tours, it was not hard to meet Andrew W.K., as he would hang outside the venue for hours after most shows until everyone who wanted to talk to him got to do so. But in the 17 times I saw him live (and often made my way onstage), I only spoke to him once, and it was outside the Troc before a show, when I bumped into him and the band on their way back from dinner. It was my ninth or tenth AWK show and I told him so. He said, “Holy smokes! Can you do something for me? Can you make sure you dance?!” I assured him I would, he hugged me like I was his best friend in the world, and off he went to pulverize his patrons with positivity.