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Benjamin Wagner Biography
When the walls collapse, the storm passes, and the dream ends. When the bones are healed, and the song is over. What’s left behind? New York City singer/songwriter Benjamin Wagner probes these depths with lyrical nuance and melodic faculty in his extraordinary new album, “What’s Left Behind.” The 11 songs reflect the zeitgeist: entropy, decadence…
Read MoreHome For Christmas
Thus far, parenthood is riddled with cliches: chubby cheeks, bare bottoms, wide eyes — the whole thing. Unlike other things stretched to the point of stereotype, though, the scale and scope of these new feelings are so huge, this new love so massive and revelatory at every turn, that its very triteness is completely superfluous.…
Read More“A Holiday Benefit, Vol. 4” Release A Colossal Success
It’s taken nearly all weekend to recover from Thursday night’s “A Holiday Benefit, Vol. 4” release party. Yes, I was over-served. Accordingly (perhaps), the entire event is a bit of a blur. And while there’s video (of the finale, anyway, see below) to help piece it together, I’d rather not watch; I prefer my sepia-toned…
Read More“A Holiday Benefit, Vol. 4” Silent Auction Is Open!
Tonight (December 16th) we celebrate the release of “A Holiday Benefit, Vol. 4,” our annual “A Holiday Benefit” for 826NYC, at Rockwood Music Hall. Chris Abad, Bryan Dunn, Casey Shea, Charlotte Sometimes, Dave Pittener, Kelli Rae Powell, Rachel Platten, Wes Hutchinson, Zach & Sarah and I will rock your holiday socks off with a hosting…
Read MoreFor Maggie, In Her Sixth Month
Dear Maggie, You were born six months ago today. It was a humid June afternoon when your mother and I walked from our East 71st Street apartment to New York Presbyterian Hospital. You were breach and — despite our best efforts in those final weeks — refused to turn. You were delivered via c-section June…
Read More“Christmas All Over Again” Video Premiere
For me, it was always crucial that “A Holiday Benefit” be more than just a compilation album. “A Very Special Christmas” (one of our original inspirations) did that well enough; we wanted to do more. It was Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” that set the bar. Phil Collins, George Michael, Bono, Simon LeBon,…
Read MoreGolden Slumbers: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” Track-By Track
The hardest part about recording “Golden Slumbers” with Casey Shea was asking Casey Shea to record “Golden Slumbers.” I’ve known Mr. Shea pushing ten years now. Still, it didn’t take ten minutes to discover his affinity for The Fab Four. At his own wedding, Casey nailed “All My Loving.” At my wedding (where the purvasive…
Read More“A Holiday Benefit, Vol. 4” Drops December 16
Last Sunday afternoon, a dozen New York City’s finest and kindest musicians gathered at Galuminum Foil Studios in Brooklyn to record our fourth “A Holiday Benefit” group single. This year, the group tackled Tom Petty’s “Christmas All Over Again.” “A Holiday Benefit, Vol. 4,”, the fourth installment of our annual charity compilation CD, features brand-new…
Read MoreYou Are My Sunshine: Benjamin Wagner’s “Forever Young” LP Track-By-Track
Funny how things change. Years ago now, I was in a country cover band called The Smith Family. Almost Home producer Kevin Anthony had tired of of his techno outfit, Electroland, so formed the band with a nod to his Galveston, TX, country roots. I eagerly signed on. Kevin and I split front man duties…
Read More2010 Chicago Marathon In 4:03:49
“It’s not the heat,” I Tweeted in the wee hours of Sunday morning, “It’s the uncertainty.” Ends up it was both. See, Chicago has a bit of history with extreme weather. In 2007, one runner died and another 100+ were rushed to area hospitals on account of too much heat (the mercury topped ninety!), and…
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