Donald Trump’s supporters see his skill at verbally attacking others as a good thing, as a sign of strength, in fact, as what qualifies him to be the leader of the free world. But if they knew happens to the receiver, and the giver, of those attacks, it might change their minds.
We were coming to the end of our first psychotherapy session when I asked my new client, Paul, if he had any questions for me. Paul hesitated before speaking. “Well, I mean,” then he laughs. “Am I crazy?”
This is one of the two basic concerns that people have when they come into therapy. The other worry is, “will you be able to help me?”
“Whether I can help you depends on the answer to the crazy question, but in a way that may surprise you,” I answer.
It’s 1974, NYC. The coolest glam band in the world, The New York Dolls, are cutting their second album, Too Much, Too Soon, and I’m assistant engineer on the session. Read about their outfits, volume, chaos, and debauchery as they work on “Stranded in the Jungle” with producer Shadow Morton and engineer DIxon Van Winkle. Guest appearance by the Harlots of 42nd Street.
Order my memoir of my 1970s days in the New York recording world, working with the greatest artists of our age including Dylan, Jagger, Sinatra, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Judy Collins, Bette Midler, Bob Fosse and many others, under the tutelage of world-class producer/engineer Phil Ramone.
The weirdest album I ever worked on was of a tuba quartet. Here’s the amazing story of how this strange gig got me on stage at Carnegie Hall.
Some say that the answer to our gun problem is for more good people to have more guns to counter the bad people with guns. The question this leads me to ask is, who are the good people?
The secret to solving our problems is the last thing we want to do.
Do you want to know what it takes to be great? What follows is the surprising, and perhaps somewhat disturbing, list of the 10 things you’ll need to do to become world-class.
Read this tale of what happens when a therapy client waits too long to contact the man who loves her.
Come to Santa Fe, July 27 -31, 2015 to participate in this terrific conference, where I will be presenting Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz: A Portrait of the Artist as Madman.
Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a moment of joy, but for many it is painful. Let’s send some of our love to those who aren’t getting any.
Why do we have such a hard time doing what we say we want to do? Find the answer here.