Ben Model’s blog

  • I’ve now completely recovered from Slapsticon and am back in the swing of things. Bookings continue to come in nearly every day. Today I got a show at a library in East Meadow (L.I.) that’ll happen in November, which I’ll be doing with (and thanks to) Dylan Skolnick of the…

  • Haven’t had a chance to post since returning from Slapsticon, and am squeezing this post out. There’s lots to report, but this posting of photos taken last week will have to suffice and I’ll post again soon. Here are (L to R) yours truly, Richard Roberts, Philip Carli and Andrew…

  • July 15 – yesterday I accompanied Safety Last (plus the Lloyd 1-reeler Luke’s Shattered Sleep) and a shorts program at MoMA on piano. I’ll repeat the shows tomorrow on theatre organ. Safety Last knocked the audience out, as usual, and I was pleased to see a number of kids and…

  • Just picked up a copy of “The West Sider”, a free weekly paper that I’d heard that Father Gil had placed an ad in for the St. Paul the Apostle silent film programs. I was looking for somethinga few inches square, but was surprised to find a half-page full height…

  • July 12 – Weds and Thurs I played to Keaton’s The General, Lloyd’s The Freshman, and Keaton’s Sherlock, Jr. in the Titus 1 theater at MoMA. The Miditzer theatre organ sounded great in there (T1 is the bigger of the three theaters at MoMA). Shows were well-attended, and I saw…

  • Here’s a shot of the Yiddish Book Center, on the campus of Hampshire College. Nearly every summer for the last 5 years or so Bruce Lawton and I do a show there. This year was (yet) another program of Max Davidson comedy shorts. At right you see Bruce, me, and…

  • July 3 – watched Menilmontant and Brumes d’automne this morning; these films are on one of the discs of Avante Garde, a multi-disc DVD set of experimental and avante garde art films in the Rohauer collection that came out a couple years ago. Watched them films with sound off, to…

  • July 2 – De Luxe Annie at the Donnell Media Center went well today. We had around 175 people and the film went over really well. Piano sounded great; they have a nice Steinway D, which is moving to the Bruno Walter auditorium after the Donnell closes. My talk may…

  • July 1: Took a little time this afternoon to take a second glance at the screener of De Luxe Annie with Norma Talmadge, which I’m accompanying tomorrow at the Donnell Media Center auditorium. The show is part of the “Meet the Music Makers” series curated by Joe Yransky (the “Y”…

  • I’m going to try to post as often as I can in July with quick or short impressions of the shows, as well as the recording sessions I have (one for Kino, one for ReelclassicDVD, and a few for AllDay Entertainment). * * * * * * * * June…