Dan McIntosh has recently purchased several packs of colorful index cards from a Staples office supply store in the financial district of Manhattan. McIntosh couldn’t be reached for comment, but sources confirm the cards will soon be put to use visually mapping out the first act of Al Dente: The Musical.
Paul is Looking Great Today
Things are heating up in the Al world. But as we prepare to map out the final scene of the first Act, I want to take a moment to acknowledge how nice Paul looks right now.
It’s 9:30 on a Saturday morning.
Damn, We’ve Got Some Talented Friends
Over the past couple of days Dan, Paul, and I have been to a couple of great performances of friends’ bands.
The first was The Nepotist, an alternative blues band fronted by our friend and co-worker Chris Frank. He and the rest of the band are so talented its outrageous. They played at Rockwood Music Hall, a little venue in the LES, and took the place down with a lethal dose of soul and sex.
Next up was Great Caesar, another incredible band fronted by another friend and coworker, John-Michael Parker. Where The Nepotist was gritty and smooth (can those ideas co-exist?), GC was a vibrant party. They opened the show from the back of the room, with JMP leading the band through the audience as they all played a jamming congo beat. By the time they reached the stage, we were all eating out of their hands.
It’s impossible to go to these things and not think of Al Dente – from actual staging decisions like the conga line to a constant mental refrain of “WTF WE NEED TO BE UP THERE!!”
Seriously grateful to have such inspiring and talented dudes like Chris and JMP in our orbit.
Straight LOL’in
It’s a good sign when writing a scene leads to this…
We Own This Now
And down the puppet hole we go…
Extracurriculars
Yes, Paul, Dan, and I are all old friends and collaborators on Al Dente, but did you know that we’re also honest to goodness coworkers? We all work for The Future Project, an education initiative working to empower every young person in America to live lives of passion and purpose. (Learn more at our website)
Today Dan and I were painting murals in Malcolm X Shabazz HS in Newark, NJ. (Paul’s the Operations Manager, so he stayed back at our office in the South Street Seaport and figured out how to pay for it all).
Check out the progress of one of the murals and, more importantly, Dan’s innovative getup.
It's Official
Andy has purchased an Al Dente notebook.
No rules – like our approach to musical theater.