Anthony Bourdain in the kitchen and Harvey Keitel in Taxi Driver over Tony’s left shoulder. I love this photo as it includes two people I will always hold in very high esteem. After I read Kitchen Confidential I sought Tony out in hopes of making it into a series or a film. It was difficult but I managed to track him down. I can be relentless when I am on a mission, and lo and behold he invited me to lunch at Le Bernadin, his pal Eric Ripert’s (a dharma brother) stellar restaurant in Midtown. When I arrived, Tony was waiting and watching stealthily a few doors down, leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette. We walked in together and Eric fed us a seven course lunch with different wines for every dish…it was epic and revelatory. Tony and I connected right away on music, books, movies and NYC lore. Finally he asked why I reached out. I told him that I had worked in nyc restaurants for 9 years, as a prep cook, line cook, bus boy, food runner, waiter, bartender and deli counter man. I said that his book was so honest, accurate, articulate and entertaining that I thought it should be a film or a series. But sadly I was too late. He told me he had already sold it to Fox who fucked it up royally. It died on the TV trash heap having been fed through the Hollywood meat grinder. But the five hour lunch with Tony was unforgettable and well worth whatever effort I made to find him. He was a gem. @friendsofanthonybourdain #anthonybourdain #ericripert #lebernardin @ericripert @lebernardinny @anthonybourdain
A very happy 66th birthday to one of the best people on the planet: my partner in crime and dearest friend STEVE SCHIRRIPA! Have a great one brother! @steveschirripaofficial @talkingsopranos #thesopranos #bluebloods
was this the same face he made while he watched a seditious mob that he incited try to take over the government and destroy democracy? was this the face he made while he watched his traitorous rabble attack our nations Capitol, thirsty for blood, attacking police officers, searching for members of Congress to lynch? Is this the face he made while he did nothing to stop the worst moment in American history? for hours and hours he did nothing while violence, destruction and barbarism raged down the street, a violence he inspired and encouraged. These are facts. We know that’s what happened. If you are ok with all that, send him your hard earned cash. If you hate everything America stands for, buy a mugshot t-shirt, available on his website any minute i’m sure. Comments are off “cause there’s nothing else that needs to be said.
happy birthday to HIS EMINENCE KALU RINPOCHE. With much love and gratitude. @kalu.rinpoche #kalurinpoche
@jodipicoult #jodipicoult
………………..
he should run in the democratic primary.
JOHN FANTE (1909-1983) was without a doubt one of the greatest American fiction writers of the last century:
“I knew her troubled soul, and I pitied her. She was lonely, her roots dangling in an alien land. She had not wanted to come to America, but my grandfather had given her no other choice. There had been poverty in Abruzzi too, but it was a sweeter poverty that everyone shared like bread passed around. Death was shared too, and grief, and good times, and the village of Torricella Peligna was like a single human being. My grandmother was a finger torn from the rest of the body and nothing in the new life could assuage her desolation. She was like all those others who had come from her part of Italy. Some were better off, and some were wealthy, but the joy was gone from their lives, and the new country was a lonely place where “O Sole Mio” and “Come Back to Sorrento” were heartbreak songs.” -from “1933 Was a Bad Year “ #johnfante @eccobooks Note: Through the kindness of some followers i’ve learned that apparently this is a photo of the English poet Stephen Spender which proves that you should never believe anything you see on the internet.
………he should run in the democratic primary.
His Eminence PHIL LYNOTT: born on this day in 1949. Irreplaceable and unforgettable. @thinlizzy #thinlizzy #phillynott
GHOSTS OF THE CHELSEA HOTEL is a cool documentary about the fabled NYC landmark. They asked me to tell them about the ghosts (and witch) that I encountered during my year living there in the mid 90s. It’s showing in a bunch of cities in the US and Europe. for info go to @ghostsofthechelseahotel #chelseahotel
I was very moved by LIO MEHIEL’S performance in the film MUTT. They brought so much honesty, truth and passion to the role. What great work! @lio.mehiel @muttthefilm @filmforumnyc
IN CONVERSATION WITH THE SOPRANOS! Washington DC 9/23
Peekskill, NY 10/7
Detroit 11/4
New Haven 11/18
Phoenix 1/26
Costa Mesa 1/27
LINK IN BIO FOR TIX! #thesopranos
“Like everywhere else, in film it’s the men who have the power…The producers are men. The crew are men. The directors, for the most part, are men. The press is men. The agents who give you the scripts and advise you are men, and the scripts themselves are all just vehicles for men.”- from MY COUSIN MARIA SCHNEIDER: A MEMOIR BY VANESSA SCHNEIDER. This is a very moving and evocative portrait of a woman who was basically destroyed by the misogyny that prevailed in the cinema of the 60s and 70s. The book is skillfully translated from the French by MOLLY RINGWALD. This is an important document and a very compelling and clear read. @schneidervan @mollyringwald @scribnerbooks #mariaschneider #lasttangoinparis #marlonbrando #bernardobertolucci #mollyringwald #vanessaschneider #film #cinema
SOPRANOS LIVE IN PHOENIX! January 26 at the Celebrity Theater. Tickets on sale Friday. @thecelebrityphx @talkingsopranos @steveschirripaofficial @officialvincentpastore #thesopranos
somewhere in Minnesota…………..
Check out this very cool little homage to a cinema classic! I’m very proud to be working with @Kevinhart4real and @GranCoramino tequila. This is a brand that pays tribute to hard work and puts its money where its mouth is: Gran Coramino donates part of its profits to help put resources in the hands of aspiring entrepreneurs from under-represented groups in the U.S and Mexico supporting the limitless potential of new business people and their communities. #ClubCoramino #HardWorkTastesDifferent.
TOMORROW
ZOPA hits the road this fall:
11/6 Durham, NC: Motorco Music Hall
11/8 Baltimore, MD: OttoBar
11/10 Garwood, New Jersey: Crossroads
11/13 Boston, MA: Brighton Music Hall
11/15 Ardmore, PA:
Ardmore Music Hall
…see you there! ART by
@primieval (ANDY CARTER)
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
THROUGH THE LINKS IN BIO @zopaband @elijahamitin @olmotighe @anniversary_group @motorcomh @theottobar @brighton_music @ardmoremusichall @crossroadsgarwoodnj #rock #concerts #livemusic #thesopranos #thewhitelotus
I adored CLEOPATRA AND FRANKENSTEIN by COCO MELLORS!!! This New York story of love, family, passion and art was very hard to put down. And i was sad when it was over. Wished it would go on and on. A truly beautiful novel. @cocomellors @bloomsburybooksus @bloomsburypublishing #fiction #novel #books #author
TONDO the new EP by ZOPA is now streaming on most platforms. Of course it’s better to get the beautiful red vinyl while they last through MT. CRUSHMORE RECORDS (LINK IN BIO) @mtcrushmorerecords or buy one tonight at our gig at OUR WICKED LADY @ourwickedlady under the beautiful Brooklyn skies. These three songs are our first recordings ever, made back in 2008 and finally released now! Produced by Freddie Katz @freddie_katz_guitar with art by ANDY CARTER @primieval #newmusic #music #rock @zopaband.
The TONDO EP by ZOPA is now available for purchase. These three songs were recorded way back in 2008 and are the some of the first stuff we wrote together. Produced by Freddie Katz @freddie_katz_guitar The gorgeous red vinyl is distributed by MT. CRUSHMORE RECORDS @mtcrushmorerecords Art by Caravaggio and ANDY CARTER aka @primieval Get yours now through the LINK IN BIO. They will be available for purchase at Sunday’s show at Our Wicked Lady @ourwickedlady @zopa @elijahamitin @olmotighe @anniversary_group #ep #newmusic #vinyl #michaelimperioli #zopa #thesopranos #thewhitelotus
The TONDO EP by ZOPA is now available for purchase. These three songs were recorded way back in 2008 and are the some of the first stuff we wrote together. Produced by Freddie Katz @freddie_katz_guitar The gorgeous red vinyl is distributed by MT. CRUSHMORE RECORDS @mtcrushmorerecords Art by Caravaggio and ANDY CARTER aka @primieval Get yours now through the LINK IN BIO. They will be available for purchase at Sunday’s show at Our Wicked Lady @ourwickedlady @zopa @elijahamitin @olmotighe @anniversary_group #ep #newmusic #vinyl #michaelimperioli #zopa #thesopranos #thewhitelotus
