... and the Oscar goes to..."

I was chatting with my pal Chris Avello online today and this story came up...

Back around 2000 or so, some friends owned an art gallery in Asbury Park. They used to have live music there sometimes and put on a show one Saturday night with several singer-songwriters. I was one, and Glen Hansard was another. He was on holiday from the Frames and doing a solo tour of the U.S. I had heard of the Frames but had never actually heard their music, so I was really impressed by Glen's set.

Gentrification hadn't taken root in Asbury Park yet so we all sat outside on the sidewalk after the show on lawn chairs, drinking beer into the wee hours and passing around an acoustic guitar. Cops would drive by and just wave at us. They had a lot more to worry about than a few white people drinking beer outside. That would never happen today, we'd be shut down in a minute. But the luxury condos hadn't gone up yet at that point, and the local cops were still very laid back.

So anyway.... When it was my turn with the guitar, I decided to bust out Loudon Wainwright's old novelty song, "Dead Skunk." As I announced the song, Glen interrupted me and exclaimed, "I love Loudon Wainright, brilliant selection, let me sing it with you." So Glen and I sang "Dead Skunk In The MIddle of the Road" together.

Now I can say that I dueted with an Academy Award winner. Pretty cool.