Moved

NB: All the new official blog posts have now moved.

Please go to alexnackman.tumblr.com for the Alex Nackman Blog. Thanks!




posted from BROOKLYN, NY AT 1:42 PM

On Fire

I know I'm a real late bloomer on this one, but in between breaks at the studio, I've been obsessed with the show "Rescue Me." It was my buddy Michael who suggested it to me 2 years ago. I didn't listen to him. Well, now I have and I can't stop. It's like a drug. My Netflix instant plays have never been used so frequently and I'm flying through these "Rescue Me" seasons like nothing.

Also, I think I got a couple songs out of it...nothing like burning buildings, high drama, and some sadness to provoke new music.

New record is nearly finished.

-Alex



POSTED FROM BROOKLYN, NY AT 3:46 AM

Israel

Hey Guys....It's been far too long since the last post. My apologies. I've been traveling a bit now that the new record is finished. I'm writing from Israel at the moment. I had to hop on a plane and sort of clear my head and gain some new perspective. It's been an amazing trip here with a ton of stops along the way and a couple risky days with rocket attacks down in Southern Israel (a world I am not used to in Brooklyn). I've seen it all here. When I get back to NY, I'll be finishing the new album artwork.

Tel Aviv below...many more photos on the way.

Much Love,
Alex



POSTED FROM JERUSALEM, ISRAEL at 8:53 AM

Watching: 8 1/2

POSTED FROM BROOKLYN, NY AT 12:57 AM

L'équipe

Motivational tools...





POSTED FROM BROOKLYN, NY AT 3:10 PM

Throwback

Found this near Hackensack, NJ on my way to an awesome vintage furniture shop. I'm updating some apartment elements in Brooklyn. Hackensack is caught in a serious time-capsule. This old time Sears logo was just the start of it...really odd, like off the set of "Back To The Future."

....Now music.

-Alex



POSTED FROM BROOKLYN, NY AT 11:46 AM

I Laugh Everytime

24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE: GEORGE EPSTEIN


POSTED FROM BROOKLYN, NY AT 11:41 AM

Brooklyn Heights

I grabbed a coffee and croissant this morning and walked down to the Brooklyn Heights promenade. I do this pretty often. The view of the City is pretty spectacular and it always reminds me about the control and freedom of my days. Seeing the skyline is both amazing, gorgeous, intimidating, and comforting. But, it also is relieving to me that I am able to view this skyline while also not being trapped within it doing something that doesn't make me happy. Music does not always give me happy days nor is writer's block a comfortable thing to experience, but at the end of the day I know that it's all on me and it's all up to me. Having choices is what makes that walk to the promenade important.

And, some music usually comes of it.

-Alex

POSTED FROM BROOKLYN, NY AT 11:35 AM

Good Coffee

Exhibit A:

I have been perfecting great coffee for some time now, both espresso and regular coffee. My morning is never complete without a French Press. I can even go so far as to say that the French Press has been the apparatus that sparks musical inspiration.

P.S. I'm rebuilding my studio in my new pad located in Brooklyn Heights. I finally found the coffee press buried in a box of microphones.

-Alex


POSTED FROM BROOKLYN, NY AT 10:29 AM

Food Network

Ok, don't get me wrong, music is my life. But, when am I getting my own show on the Food Network? As displayed by the evidence below I have made a wonderful breakfast that could easily be sold for $14 at a posh Manhattan eatery at brunch.

Poached Egg with Black Truffle Cheese and Paprika on a Baguette


Much Love,
Alex

Re-vamped UK Site & Vimeo

There's spanking new re-vamped and renovated UK/Europe site. More news soon, new music coming, thanks for the patience dear friends. For now, check out the new www.alexnackman.co.uk

In addition, there is a new page at Vimeo:
www.vimeo.com/alexnackman

All love,
Alex

POSTED FROM NEW YORK, NY AT 2:58 PM

NYC Relocation

So there has been major construction going on at my apartment in Brooklyn. It's been absolutely terrible. I wake up at 8am with a drill bit in the my skull and dry-wall dust wafting into my lungs. So I've relocated to the upper west side temporarily to get sleep, peace and quiet, and have the slightest possible chance to write some music...

Good things coming.

-Alex


______________________
www.alexnackman.com


POSTED FROM NEW YORK, NY AT 3:23 PM

Beach Thinking, then Trembling

Peaceful today in Santa Monica. Then, apparently and unbeknownst to me, there was a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Mexico that apparently was felt in L.A. I was lying on the beach near the PCH and felt nothing. Very weird.

-Alex

POSTED FROM SANTA MONICA, CA AT 7:03PM PST

Film Today

Re-watching Scorsese's "Mean Streets" right now...please tell me you've seen it. "Mook."

-Alex


POSTED FROM LOS ANGELES, CA AT 6:47 PM

L.A.

'ello peeps...i'm back in Los Angeles this weekend. Partly for some time with my younger brother (and terrific screenwriter at USC Film School) as well as for a much needed spacial change from Brooklyn for some new songwriting inspiration. I've got to change scenes every now and again to gain some perspective. During Christmas this past year, snowy New Hampshire became my oasis. This weekend, it'll be L.A.-- a town I'm pretty familiar with, but still want to find a root to grab onto.

Had some breakfast this morning in Los Feliz at Mustard Cafe and have been catching up with my brother. We're going to visit one of his film shoots tomorrow morning in Hollywood and I might check out a few of my favorite vintage music shops as well. Though I need to be very careful there. I should leave all my credit cards at home lest I get too tempted to make another large pruchase.

I'll keep you updated on some new song ideas and some new moods I might stumble upon here in L.A. It's a city I certainly don't feel as connected to as New York, but one that I've grown fond of after many shows and many visits over the years. I think we'll hit Umami Burger tonight. So good.

-Alex

POSTED FROM LOS ANGELES, CA AT 5:50PM

Staples of My New York Diet

As a life-long New Yorker, I have certain NYC staples of my diet that must be met on a weekly basis. Now, given that I cannot in good faith and in good health go to Katz's Deli everyday for Reuben sandwiches, I must have other options...

MOTORINO PIZZA
BROOKLYN, NY
heaven.

-Alex

POSTED FROM NEW YORK, NY AT 8:31 PM

w.b. yeats

as i write and think i remember:

"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."

-William Butler Yeats
---------------
-Alex

POSTED FROM NEW YORK, NY AT 4:18 PM

Writing stumbles

I started writing a couple new songs today at my apartment. The melodies are slowly shaping, but lyrically, I feel odd. I was playing with a few ideas for lyrics, but I honestly began to not quite believe myself in what I was saying and writing. It's a weird feeling and even stranger to admit. I feel these writing-ruts sometimes and it's hard to talk my way out of them. It's like I am in a room that I want to leave, but I can't find the door.

The good news is that I've been in this place before. I recognize it. It usually takes a day or two to find my way. It's frustrating, but not new. It's not exactly writer's block per se because the words and melodies are flowing. Rather, it's a "lack of writer's credence" or something like that. If I talk about love, I don't feel like I really mean it. If I talk about things that bother me, I don't feel compassion for myself. I compare it to an actor whose actions on stage seem perfunctory. It's all just sort of grey. Nothing is defined or committed. There doesn't seem to be conviction or color in the words I am writing, despite those same words having meaning in other songs I've written that I love.

Alas, I'll keep pushing.

-Alex

Film: Crazy Heart / Jeff Bridges

I saw the new Jeff Bridges film "Crazy Heart" last night with my brother in New York. I had been really eager to see this film because it was sort of an indie project that nearly didn't get a distributor once it was completed. Jeff Bridges, one of my all time favorite actors, is just so incredibly real in this film about an old country singer/songwriter still trying to make it and keep success going. It was a wonderful film with a lot of themes close to me as a touring artist and songwriter. Some of it was comical in its "relatability" for me, while other parts were sad because I know the feeling of being on the road and being lonely, low on cash, and wondering if you're pursuing the right path...in the end though, it's about the music and what it does to you.

See this film.

-AN

POSTED FROM BROOKLYN, NY AT 7:13 PM

Photos from the wilderness (sort of)

Some photos from New Hampshire where I was able to be reclusive, drink wine, stay up very late, and hone the new songs...

-Alex









POSTED FROM BROOKLYN, NEW YORK AT 2:48 PM