Council

I recently had a chance to sit down for an interview with Doug, Pat, and Andy Reeves to discuss the band, their plans, and how they got the opportunity to play at Citi Field.

ANTHONY CANTIELLO, METSTALK.COM: Tell us a little about yourselves… Who is Council? When and how did you guys get started and how would you describe your sound?

DOUG REEVES: Council is made up of myself, my twin brother Pat, and my year younger brother, Andy.

We are farmers on our family farm and just looking to find a way out. It is a fruit and vegetable farm. We have everything from strawberries, sweet corn, peppers, squash, tomatoes, to gourmet peppers, pumpkins, gords and blueberries.

PAT REEVES: Such a tragic life we lead [Joking and referring to Doug’s answer]

DOUG: Our band was formed in the same manner as the way we write music and do anything else together, arguing. Pat picked up Andy’s guitar that wasn’t being used and decided to learn to play some chords. Andy didn’t like Pat using his guitar, so he decided he was going to learn to play guitar.

ANDY REEVES: And we’re all lucky I did.

DOUG: Pat would have to settle for the bass. However, he was quick to claim lead singer after losing out for guitarist.

PAT: And we’re lucky I did.

DOUG: I was never interested in either, I always liked the drums, so I just bought sticks and played on pillows till I could afford a set. Even though we all decided to play instruments, it wouldn’t be for some time before we would all agree to be in a band together. We had no other options anyway, but no one wanted to give in too quickly.

Whenever answering the question, “How would you describe your sound”, your inevitably going to fall short in some aspect. The simple answer is driving bass and drums with big melodic guitars.

METSTALK.COM: You’ll be playing at Citi Field on September 27th before the Mets take on the Cincinnati Reds. How did the band get the chance to play there and at what other venues and with what other bands have you played?

PAT: Well it’s really Lori Martini that gave us this chance. We met her at our Sullivan Hall show in March and realized very quickly we were all huge New York Mets fans. She proposed the idea of our band making a rock version of her song, “Believe.” [--Editor's Note: Mets fans may recognize that song as one of Justin Turner's walk-up songs.]

We thought it was a great idea and that got the ball rolling for us to be playing at Citi Field.

ANDY: We have played most of the club staples in New York City like Kenny’s Castaway and Sullivan Hall among others.

DOUG: We also played Trash bar in Brooklyn and The Annex. And we played a lot of shows in Hawaii including, the Pipeline Café, with The All American Rejects, The Kooks, The Toadies and The Presidents Of The United States.

METSTALK.COM: Okay, before we go any further, are any of you guys actually Mets fans? Is so, who are your favorite Mets players of all-time? And God help you if you reveal yourselves to be Yankees fans or worse — Phillies fans — coming to play Citi Field!

PAT, DOUG, & ANDY: Absolutely, we are Mets fans! They’ve been our favorite team in any sport since we were kids.

DOUG: My favorite Mets player of all time…I would say it’s a tie between Nolan Ryan and the 1986 New York Mets team. I just loved the whole team and probably couldn’t narrow it down.

PAT: For me it would have to be Gary Carter. Number 8. I started out as a catcher in baseball because of him and really loved watching him and his Mets teammates.

ANDY: Gary Carter and Nolan Ryan, yes… But without sounding too diplomatic, I think I can say truthfully all Mets players past, present, and future mean a lot to us.

METSTALK.COM: As a New York-based rock band, do you guys view being able to play at a major metropolitan area venue like the Mets’ Citi Field as a special opportunity?

PAT: Of course we do. We would be crazy not to. Not many bands get this kind of opportunity. Being from New York and lifelong Mets fans, this will be a very special night for us.

METSTALK.COM: Not to put any pressure on you guys, but since Citi Field opened in 2009, the stadium has hosted concerts by both Paul McCartney and Dave Matthews Band. Are you up to the challenge of being the next band to play there? Which songs will you be playing?

DOUG: When someone says, “Not to put any pressure on you,” usually that means there is a decent amount of pressure already. I was not aware that only two bands have played Citi Field since 2009. Having said that, yes our band is up to the challenge!

We will be playing, “Welcome The Change,” and “Believe.” It should be a high energy show.

ANDY: I think in some respects we play better with more people. The songs seem to translate better and we feed off the crowd.

METSTALK.COM: Most Mets fans are probably wondering this, so it might as well be asked… Why Citi Field and not Yankee Stadium? Have you been to both and which one do you prefer?

PAT: We chose Citi Field because if our relationship with Lori Martini and the New York Mets.

We wouldn’t be opposed to playing Yankee Stadium. It just worked out that we get to play our favorite teams stadium.

DOUG: We have been to Shea Stadium but because of our other occupation, farming, it makes it hard for us to take time off to go to either stadium. If I had to choose to play either one I would chose Citi Field everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

METSTALK.COM: Besides being home to the Mets, Citi Field has quite the collection of culinary delights. Have you guys ever eaten there and what’s you favorite food at the stadium? If you haven’t, please allow me to recommend the BBQ ribs at the Blue Smoke stand!

ANDY: We have not been to the stadium so therefore we have not been lucky enough to taste the extraordinary food that is there. However, I will take your recommendation for BBQ ribs at Blue Smoke and definitely make sure to stop by and try them.

PAT: I do love ribs so I can guarantee I’ll be stopping by Blue Smoke.

METSTALK.COM: How can Mets fans — or anyone else who enjoys your Citi Field performance — listen to your music and find out about your upcoming shows?

DOUG: You can find us online at CouncilBand.com, follow us on our Facebook page, and at ReverbNation.com.

METSTALK.COM: Thanks for taking the time out to talk to Mets Talk today. What’s on the horizon for Council that fans can look forward to? Anything else you’d like to add?

PAT: We remade the song “Lithium” for a 20 year anniversary tribute album coming out in late September. It will span 5 continents and we are the only American band on the album, which is very humbling.

ANDY: We also have new songs we are finishing up in preparation to record this fall.

PAT: Our next goal for our band is to obtain a major label recording contract.

DOUG: Major MAJOR recording contract!

PAT: Hopefully drop farmer from our resume, at least temporarily. Thank you for the interview, it’s been a pleasure.

DOUG, ANDY: Yes, thank you very much.

Come see Council perform in a pre-game concert on Tuesday, September 27th at Citi Field. Arrive early before the Mets take on the visiting Cincinnati Reds to catch the performance.

I will be doing an interview with the band that will appear on MetsTalk.com and BicoastalBaseball.com (as well as re-posted here) that should be up within the next few days.

I’m excited to find out more about the three-brother band and how they view their upcoming appearance at the stadium. Look for it to be published very soon!

[If any other Mets-related blogs are interested in republishing the article (with proper credit) please contact me through the comments or email me.]

Talk about battling some serious heat! The Mets players and C.O.O. strapped on firefighter gear to climb up FDNY ladders, battle a blaze, and rappel down the side of a building. Check it out:

And now some screenshots of the Metsies in action:

FDNY commissioner Sal Cassano with Mets pitchers R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey, Dillon Gee, Bobby Parnell, and Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, who took part in the Firefighter For A Day Challenge

R.A. Dickey climbs up a ladder

"Firefighters" Bobby Parnell and Mike Pelfrey

R.A. Dickey rappels down a wall

R.A. Dickey and Big Pelf fight a car fire

FDNY Commissioner Sal Cassano talks with Mike Pelfrey

Looks like a cool team-building event for several Mets players, or as my girlfriend calls it, “Really smart thing to do right before spring training!”

RELATED: FDNY training an eye-opener for Mets [mets.com]

[This post originally published at MetsTalk.com]

My Mets kind of collapsed right after the All-Star Break under the management of Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel. Luckily, Mets management has corrected that error, firing both of them and apologizing to their fans. Here’s to a brand new start in 2010!

The Yankees and Rays fought ever-so-hard to lose the AL East pennant… with the Yankees sending out a “We clinched the Wild Card” email after they lost one of their final games to lose the division. Talk about putting a positive spin on things!

The Rangers made the playoffs much more easily by cobbling together players from all over the league, making them a Frankenstein-parts-sewn-together type ballclub that also happens to be bankrupt. I honestly have no idea how the Twins made the playoffs, but it has to have something to do with Joe Mauer.

The Phillies are back to defend their NL Championship from last year after climbing back to first place, moving the Braves out of the way easily. Still can’t stand them and their maroon/baby blue uniforms. The Braves slid into the Wild Card at the last minute, eliminating the Padres from the playoffs, while trying to win it all for retiring All-Star Manager Bobby Cox.

The Reds used their offense from Joey Votto and others to ensure baseball fans could enjoy an Albert Pujols-free postseason, so we can thank them for that. Let’s see what they can do this postseason. The Giants got to the playoffs after the Padres collapsed and they’re bringing Tim Lincecum with them to give them an edge.

Of course, don’t forget to catch all my baseball postseason tweeting on Twitter at @citycynic!

And like every year CityCynic.com has been around, I’m back with my picks. So here we go…

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Braves vs. Giants - Giants in 4.

The Braves sure have a lot of motivation this postseason — to win one for outgoing manager Bobby Cox, their first appearance in the playoffs in a while, winning one for their injured face of the team Chipper Jones… It all comes down to how well their batting matches up against SF pitching.

And the Giants have proved they have the pitching to give them an edge in this series. Unless the bats of all-star rookie Heyward, etc can overcome, the Braves won’t make it very far for Bobby Cox’s curtain-call.

Reds vs. Phillies – Phillies in 3.

The Reds have shown they can put together a brilliant offensive team, but its going to take some awesome pitching to get past Rollins, Howard, and Utley on this Phillies team. The Reds will have to be perfect to beat the Phillies this postseason.

The Phillies managed to pick up what seems like the entire league’s best pitchers to compliment their offense, giving them the edge. Look for them to take the series as long as their pitching remains strong.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Rays vs. Rangers – Rangers in 4.

The Rays were certainly on a downtrend at the end of the season, possibly signaling fatigue amongst the team. While the young team has proved to be a contender over the past few seasons (since they dropped the Devil), they’ll have to have their offense come together to score enough runs to surpass the Rangers.

The Rangers have picked up just enough players to patch the holes in their team during the regular season. Making their first postseason birth since 1999, look for the excitement and grit of this team (under the ultimate guidance of Nolan Ryan) to get them through to the ALCS.

Yankees vs. Twins – Yankees in 4.

The Yankees plummeted into the Wild Card after faulty pitching from A.J. Burnett and others and their pitching rotation after the 1-2-3 pitchers is surely in question. Can Andy Pettite come back from injury to contribute to a Yankees success? Can Derek Jeter regain his previous postseason form? If it comes back together for the team, despite not having homefield advantage for the first time in years, then they’ll make it to the ALCS.

The Twins are really a team that has been good all season long, but without Justin Morneau, will Joe Mauer be enough to power through the Evil Empire? Can a small-market club make it past the first round of the playoffs? My guess is no, especially not against the team of a billion dollars, the Yankees.

WHO I’M ROOTING FOR

Like all my fellow Mets fans, I face the challenge of choosing a team or two to root for during this postseason, since the Mets are already off playing golf! I think I’m going to have to go with the Cincinnati Reds, who are definitely an underdog team. In that way, they remind me of the Mets. Plus, that Joey Votto is no joke! Believe me, I know that for the Reds to make it even to the NLCS, its gonna be quite a struggle, but I just CAN’T watch the Phillies make it to the World Series yet again! And I’m definitely no fan of the Giants or Braves, although to a lesser extent.

In the AL, I’m going to be rooting for the Texas Rangers. Besides the fact that they are owned by Nolan Ryan (don’t even get me started), they are operating under a specific strategy of patching up their weaknesses by trading, something I am STILL waiting for my Mets to do. This postseason is the perfect chance to see if their experiment will pay off. Plus, there’s no way I’m cheering on the Yankees to ANOTHER World Series! Especially one coming in as the Wild Card! The Rays don’t particularly inspire me to like them and I haven’t heard much about the Twins since Kirby Puckett.

Now let’s play some baseball!

Not only was Jerry Seinfeld absolutely hilarious, but he also was really good at calling the game AND providing color comedy commentary!

Seinfeld also discussed Keith Hernandez’ memorable guest appearance on Seinfeld, as SNY came back from break with a couple of clips.

Here are some choice exchanges between the trio from the event:

SEINFELD: “This is the greatest booth in baseball… 1-2 on Johnny Damon…. Gary Cohen is the greatest broadcaster… the best booth”

“I don’t want to do play-by-play. I’m here for the color Mets comedy.”

ME: “Wow, Jerry Seinfeld actually does some great play-by-play. Ron Darling better watch out! His seat is in danger! LOL”

SEINFELD: “Speaking of innovative at first base… Who was more innovative at first base than Keith Hernandez?”

“I dont think there’s anything more fun than being a Mets fan.They have 2 World Championships but they are two of the most exciting a team can have.”

“When are we going to talk about Lady Gaga, that’s why I’m here.”

“Well we don’t understand the kids today & the music business. Maybe, I’m sure we’ll all be bigger fans now that she cursed us out.”

“She should make a nice apology to the Mets fans… then I’m willing to forget the whole thing.”

“Is that Johnny Damon in center?!? What is he doing out there? He can’t cover THAT much ground!”

“Why are the Tigers EVEN HERE?!?”

And when Mets on-field reporter Kevin Burkhardt made a reference to wearing a shirt to the game from the J. Peterman catalog in Seinfeld’s honor (a Seinfeld reference), Jerry replied right back:

“Don’t do my stuff, Kevin.”

I think Gary, Keith, and Ron should have Jerry Seinfeld on once (or twice) EVERY season and make it a yearly Seinfeld Night! So hilarious!

This past year has been both amazing and exhilarating. We’ve traveled and we’ve spent time together at home. We’ve both seen new places and met new people that have made our lives better. We’ve learned just how great helping each other feels. We’ve enjoyed being in sync and seen more than enough signs of “446″ together.

We’ve tweeted, blogged, and dailyboothed. We’ve used thousands and thousands of cellphone minutes.

She’s inspired me to express myself again in word and photographs. We created a baseball blog together about our favorite MLB teams, the Dodgers and the Mets.

We’ve shared new foods together and enjoyed new experiences. We both loved going to the movies and listening to music together. We’ve decided on and then watched our television shows together.

We’ve shared our love of dinosaurs and history together. We’ve traded baseball stats and players our teams have shared.

We’ve heard our song, You & Me by Dave Matthews Band, many many times, just about everywhere:

And we’ve laughed, cried, joked, debated, discussed, lived, and loved together more than either of us every have before.

And all of that is exactly why our relationship works so well and why she means so much to me.

I’m looking forward to what the next years will bring! Love you, sweetie! <#

So without further ado, and in no particular order, I present ten things that make me happy:

1) Baseball – Namely my New York Mets, who have me on the Mets Rollercoaster this season.

2) Having time to myself, including a little bit of silence. Doesn’t happen that often these days…

3) Turtles – Including my several pet turtles, just awesome creatures all around.

4) Discovering new music and listening to my old favorites. Paramore and Dave Matthews Band, thank you.

5) Taking photographs – I always enjoy capturing what I see and sharing it.

6) Twitter (@citycynic) – Meeting new people and tweeting along with my fellow Mets fans!

7) [CENSORED]

8) Dinosaurs. (Nothing more to say)

9) Late Night Comedy – Yes Team Conan, nooo Jay Leno!

10) Her – She’s my everything.

What are some of the things that make you happy?

Now while I could go into the next moves the team needs to make to get back to World Series shape, I’d much rather share something I found in the comments section of MLB.com… a poem from a Mets fan (different, right?):

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE METS’ NEXT SEASON

Twas the night before new years / and all through the town / a slight smile was forming / from an uncomfortable frown /

The Mets and J Bay have come come up with a deal / hopefully jumpstarting the teams offseason wheel /

But there is still “quite” an opening / on the teams starting rotation / With an emphasis on quite / which i have in quotation /

There is plenty of room / for the arm of Piniero / But his agent and him / want too much dinero /

We don’t need an ace / we need an arm with no cuts /  a starter with heart / some brains and some guts /

How about Brett Myers from Philly / his teams lookin full / maybe Bedard, Smoltz or Pedro / one or two would be cool /

So on David, on Carlos, on Jose, and John Maine / On Luis, and on Frenchy / I’m not tryin to complain /

You guys need some help / and some Vitamin C / To contend in the East / with the team from Philly /

So rest up this winter / and get ready for Spring /

And keep your fingers crossed / for a World Series Ring

[Originally written and posted on MLB.com by user hudge36. I added the title and formatting for better readability.]

While I definitely don’t agree that John Smoltz or Pedro Martinez are viable options for the Mets future, I do like the effort put into that Mets poetry.

Hopefully the Mets will make the necessary moves and the 2010 season will flow just as smoothly as the above prose, getting our Metsies to the playoffs.

#1 – Mets Nutcrackers

#1 – Mets Nutcrackers [link]: While watching the Nutcracker Suite, I never imagined the Nutcracker prince watching Mets games, but he had to be doing something while hiding around in that giant present.

#3 - Homemade Mets Sweater

#3 – Homemade Mets Sweater: Jennifer from Major Knitter knitted up this homemade beauty.

#4 - Mets Christmas Tree with Santa

#4 – Mets Christmas Tree with Santa [link]: The best part of this ornament is the Santa putting the Mets star on top of the Christmas tree. Told you Santa was a Mets fan!

#5 - Mets Santa Bear with Mets Santa Hat

#5 – Mets Santa Bear with Mets Santa Hat: No Christmas tree is complete without a Santa bear and no Santa Bear is complete without a Mets Santa hat!

#6 - Mets Snowman with Scarf

#6 – Mets Snowman with Scarf: There are many Mets snowman ornaments out there, but this one has the large Mets logo and matching orange and blue scarf and hat.

#7 - David Wright and Pedro Martinez team up with Santa

#7 – David Wright and Pedro Martinez team up with Santa: Okay, fine. Pedro isn’t exactly a Met anymore, and we’d rather see a Wright and Santana team up with Santa ornament, but the spirit behind this ornament is in the right place, so it made the list. Not sure which position Santa plays though…

#8 - David Wright

#8 – David Wright: Okay, so if you couldn’t stomach the Pedro part of the last ornament after his turn to the dark side (ahem, Philadelphia), then this David Wright ornament is for you. Too bad none of the player ornaments actually look anything like the players they are supposed to represent.

#9 - Mike Piazza Shiny Christmas

#9 – Mike Piazza Shiny Christmas: This ornament kicks it old school in a I-didn’t-just-jump-on-the-Mets-bandwagon sort of way. Plus, Piazza is one of my favorite Mets ever… too bad this ornament can only be found in baseball card packs from the 90′s.

#10 - Mets mini stocking

#10 – Mets mini stocking: Jennifer from Major Knitter is at it again. Am I happy she uses her knitting skills for good and not Yankees stuff evil.

What other Mets Christmas ornaments have you found that you think should be on this list? If you take a look, there are actually many more around than you would ever think of around the web or on your neighbor’s Christmas tree.

At least they can keep our minds off of the injury debacle of 2009 and allow us to focus on the presents waiting for us in the 2010 season!