The Streets of New York

June was a fantastic month, with a lot of fantastic live music. The new album has gotten some decent play and support from some unexpected places, and I am very thankful for all of it.

And now, at the beginning of July, I find myself with a little bit of a break. Today has brought me back to New York City, and it’s been an interesting experience.

For context, I grew up right around here — just across the bridge in New Jersey — so I’ve been coming to New York City since I was a teenager. I also lived both in Manhattan and in Queens between about 1994 and 2003. So, I made plans to go ahead and walk around to a lot of the places I had known. Old neighborhoods, places where stores I’d loved had been, etc. 

I suppose I’m a little discombobulated both by how very little changes and by how much changes. 48th St. has none of the old music stores that I remember, and Sam Ash is now completely out of business. However, at the same time all of the rest of that part of Times Square is still…. well, pretty much exactly the same as it was back in the ‘90s.

I had the pleasure of spending time with a few of my very best friends here as well. Five of us happened into each other’s orbits in the ‘90s and we’ve stayed very, very close friends. Our lives have taken some different routes, and half of us have moved out of the state, but we still very much stay in touch. During the pandemic, we began the practice of getting together on zoom on a regular basis, and that reminded us how much we actually missed seeing each other regularly. So when the pandemic restrictions started to ease, we made a point of finding ways to get back together in New York once in a while.

Last night was one of those occasions, and the five of us got to head out on the town in Manhattan like we had back when we were in our 20s, except that the food we chose was more complex, the activities were more sedate, and the evening ended a little earlier than it would have back then. Conversations involved kids’ lives at college, plans for the summer, and changes in our jobs.

And yet the subtext to all of this text was the shared history and love of 30 years of friendship. Running jokes that have survived for decades, stories that each of us remembers, traumas commiserated over and gotten over together, triumphs shared and celebrated.

Today I’m walking alone again a little bit. It is beastly hot and stupidly humid, in the way that only New York can be. However, I am doing so thankful for the real company of friends from last night, and searching around the streets of New York I’m finding the ghost of the past.

Now, for the future…

Well, there are a few shows coming up, and I hope that you’ll be able to join me for at least one.  It’d be great to see you and spend time with you, too!

Thank you for being with me on this most wonderful voyage.

-Chris