In July, Melissa and I packed up a rental truck and drove 3000+ miles across these United States — all the way from New York to California. It was quite an experience.

And now we both live on the same side of the country — namely the West Coast side — in Los Angeles.

I tweeted the trip and life here since and I’ve been actively instagramming as well, so check it out if you have a chance.

I’ll also be back here at CityCynic.com writing updates that consist of more than 140 characters or a single photo, so bookmark this site now and check back :)

Great quote from Touch.

I’ve watched all of the previous seasons of the show, which have been full of crazy challenges and great conflicts between celebrities (ie- Gary Busey vs. Meatloaf) playing the game for charity.

Plus there’s Donald Trump, who — no matter what you think of his politics — is a crazy production all on his own. (And I’m not just talking about his hair.)

This season is mega-sized with a series-high 18 participants. And as a bonus, the majority of them can actually be considered celebrities, which hasn’t always been the case in previous seasons.

Claymates will love Clay Aiken, Trekkies will enjoy George Takei, comedy fans will be excited about Arsenio Hall and Lisa Lampanelli, racing fans can cheer on Michael Andretti, television fans have Adam Carolla and Lou Ferrigno, 80′s fans can cheer on Debbie Gibson and Cheryl Tiegs, and reality tv fans have Victoria Gotti, Teresa Giudice, and Paul Teutel Sr. They also threw in Aubrey O’Day, Tia Carere, and Patricia Velasquez for good measure.

From what I’ve read, the two teams of celebrities will be divided by sex — men versus women — with the team names being Unanimous for the guys and Forte for the women.

It will be 12 weeks of celebrities competing for charity, Donald Trump’s notorious boardrooms, and plenty of “YAAAAH FIIIIYAAAAHHDDD!”

I’ll be recapping each week’s episode here at CityCynic.com, complete with an updated celebrity contestant graphic. So feel free to leave your comments and thoughts about the show… and enjoy!

RIP Gary Carter, Mets legend

Former Mets catcher and Hall-of-Famer Gary “The Kid” Carter died today from brain cancer at the age of 57.

As a lifelong Mets fan, Gary Carter was a legend. If he wasn’t the Mets catcher in 1986, it’s likely the Mets wouldn’t have won the World Series. Even in the years before and after the ’86 World Series, he brought great contributions to the team and always seemed to respect the fans.

Mets fans have already been dealing with losing Gary Carter, ever since his diagnosis with cancer. Seeing how much Mets fans cared about how Carter was doing really showed me how important a player — and a person — he was to all of us.

His contributions to the Mets — and to the game of baseball — can never be fully repaid. I just wish that the Mets had retired his #8 way before this day. His importance to the team cannot be understated and it’s really shocking to me that the Mets haven’t retired Carter’s number yet.

I was so excited when Gary Carter resurfaced a few years ago as the manager of the Long Island Ducks. It was just so exciting having such a baseball presence back at the ballfield.

Thanks for everything, Kid. You will be missed. And you will never be forgotten.

The One With Monica’s Boots - FRIENDS Photo Challenge #2

The One With All The Coffee – FRIENDS Photo Challenge #1

Well then you’re in luck because Melissa and Megan have come up with the FRIENDS Photo Challenge!

Anyone can join, just post links to your photos each day using the #FRIENDSpc hashtag!

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.]