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!

CBS made this show from a Twitter account? What accounts will they use for show ideas next?

CBS’ new sitcom $#*! My Dad Says starring William Shatner is based on the Twitter account of Justin Halpern, who lives with his 89-year-old father. The show’s premiere brought in 12.5 million viewers last week.

Maybe that’s why CBS is planning another TV show based on a Twitter account, @shhdontellsteve. That one is about a guy writing about what his roommate does and is currently being made into a pilot called “Don’t Tell Steve”.

Now I’m not too familiar with that second Twitter account, but if CBS is so intent on making shows from Twitter accounts, I might as well share a list that the network’s execs can use for future pilot ideas:

1) @WolfBlitzerCNN – Come on, Things Wolf Blitzer Says is sure to be a hit. Watch out William Shatner, Wolfie’s gunning for you!

2) @JohnCMayer – A show about a musician who connects with viewers through Twitter? That could be cool. Oh wait, just like John Mayer’s Twitter account, this show has also been cancelled.

3) @PerezHilton – Sure Perez Hilton initially got famous by drawing penises on photos of Lindsay Lohan and then blogging them, but a show about a gossip blogger becoming famous for his celebrity news tweeting would be cool.

4) @50Cent – I guess its not totally surprising that rapper 50 Cent employs no filter while he tweets, but between all the retweets of half-naked, booty-showing photos of fans he retweets, plus gems like the following, I would actually watch this show: “This b*tch is a super freak for real @beautydiorxz yal want some p*ssy follow this b*tch she crazy as hell look at her page.”

5) @KBurkhardtSNY – Kevin Burkhardt is the New York Mets’ on-field reporter who happens to tweet in the same way that he reports on the baseball team  — in a timely, relevant, and totally original manner. I’d love to see a show about an on-the-field reporter who covers baseball from unique angles and eventually earns his way into the broadcast booth.

6) @MollieWestie – Mollie the Westie is just one of thousands of Dogs Who Twitter. And let’s not forget cats who tweet, like @sockington who loves writing about his kibble! How about a show called Paws to Tweet, CBS?

7) @LilPecan – Speaking of pets with twitter accounts, Lil Pecan is a self-described “social media guinea pig” from Boston with over 3,500 followers, that is often snarky while defending the fact that her human doesn’t write her account, like some other animals. A talking-and-typing guinea pig right there on your television?!? Instant ratings!

8) @ev & @biz – Evan Williams and Biz Stone are the creators of Twitter. Could you imagine a show about the guys responsible for the newest way the world communicates these days? Hey, they made a movie about Facebook…

9) @AplusK – Ashton Kutcher helped put Twitter on the map with his competition to 1,000,000 followers against CNN and his straightforward tweeting. How about a show that focuses on  a celebrity’s struggle with what to share and what to keep private and how it affects his family? Sort of part-reality, part-entertainment? I’m sure MTV has a time slot or two open still.

10) @YOU! – Maybe you are the next tweeter that would make a good subject for a show because you use Twitter in a unique way that is also entertaining. Hell, if I’d follow you, why wouldn’t I also wanna watch a show about you too? At least CBS thinks I should…

What other tweeters/tweeple do you think CBS should consider for their own TV shows based on their twitter accounts? Share in the comments below!

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! <#

Yet today, there was some palpable excitement about the match between USA and England. Twitter was a abuzz with “fans” asking why the clock counts up instead of down, what the rules are, and how its called soccer and not football.

So with an increased level of attention from sports fans in the United States, you would think the two teams would try and put on a very exciting show to continue capturing our attention.

And wow, what a great game it was when the U.S. tied it up 1-1 before the first half. Even I began to think that maybe this game was exciting to watch.

Then the second half went by without either team scoring. And then the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

Way to make a lame sport seem even lamer, guys.

WAIT, WHAT?!?!?

A once-every-four-years WORLD tournament doesn’t even have overtime?

NO OT?!?

Even NHL games suspend the idiotic overtime shoot-out rule to allow overtime periods in the playoffs. But not World Cup soccer!

And with a game that had Americans excited, no matter how briefly, we can’t even call out our England FC club fans by taunting them about losing to the U.S. team.

How do you like that tie, England? Wow, how lame.

Yeah, thanks for proving that soccer sucks.

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?