My debut novel, Walker, is now available for purchase on websites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Kindle and Audible too. Link in my bio.
I had the best time writing this. I don’t have many other words right now. I put most of them in the book. Hope you’ll go on this walk with me.
“DRUM NIGHT” IS REAL! Backstory: roughly 7 years ago, one of my now best friends/business partner @sampasternack would join me in my family’s music store after hours, locking ourselves in and wail on drums. At the time, I didn’t know how to play at all…but it didn’t matter. We’d blast music and whack drums. It wasn’t about perfection; it was about fun and catharsis. Eventually we started inviting tiny groups of friends to join us. We’d have a few spirits, wail, chat, wail some more, and then we’d suddenly realize it’s 4am and we all had work in the morning. This loose hangout was the impetus for our pilot presentation of “DRUM NIGHT” that we finally shot last week. This wild pipe dream could NEVER have been possible without the insane work and dedication of @thundercaneproductions and the crew they pulled together. Everyone who worked on this thing was kind and fun and got it DONE with the utmost professionalism. I’m so ridiculously impressed with everyone in that crew photo. Also, obviously, a MASSIVE thank you to our talent @davidwain and @electrolemon for not only understanding the assignment, but going above and beyond, by crushing the drums, being ultra fun to work with and doing it RIGHT before the holidays which is a hard time to ask anyone to do anything. Another enormously important thanks to @rwchernow , @mcgfilm and everyone at @mcgswonderland for helping us make this happen because there’s no way it would have hit this level of cool without them. And lastly, thank you to the one and only @jill.petracek (📸) who took the EXPERTLY FRAMED photos you see before you. Can’t wait until we can show you all what the footage looks like but for now, enjoy these photos. I know I am :)
Over seven years ago, Max (@mynameisntdave ) and I started drumming together in the flagship Sam Ash Music Store after hours, inviting friends and jamming all night. Last week, along with the remarkable teams from @marcunderhill & @mattkaneuk ’s @thundercaneproductions and @mcgfilm ’s @mcgswonderland , and a barrage of the most phenomenal artists and craftspeople, Drum Night leveled up into something new. Grateful to all of them, to @rwchernow for his belief in the project, and to @electrolemon and @davidwain for their talents and killer song choices. More to come.
All photos by the best in the biz @jill.petracek
Some moments from a fantastic weekend in Philadelphia, including;
1. A talk at the @pennbookstore .
2. A conversation moderated by my favorite Penn-alum-turned-Villanova-Professor, Dr. @allievlevin
3. A sideline photo with my mom during a Penn Football win
4. My decision to make the Penn Band March trio a little more fun.
5. Two hallmarks of my marching band drumming: improvisation and the inability to sit down.
Thank you to everyone who ventured out to the bookstore on a Friday evening and to the current @pb.drumline and @pennband for graciously letting me jump on a drum.
Some shots from a set visit to MOCK TRIAL, an absolutely wonderful production led by @jessjessmckenna@zachreino@marcunderhill@mattkaneuk , and featuring a team chocked full of the best people you could ever meet. Given what I saw both in front of and behind the camera last week, it’s not at all controversial to say that Zach and Jess should get to make as many movies as they want.
Thank you to ultimate bud and executive producer extraordinaire @mynameisntdave for inviting me to be a part of your first steps into producing. More steps to come 👀
All photos by @jill.petracek , who is the coolest.
Today is the first Wednesday without my dad. For the past five years, every Wednesday, my dad would host a concert over zoom or in person just for my mom, my brother, and me. He called it Wednesdays with Wayne, which was previously what he called his sales seminar series during his Bloomberg LP days. Every Wednesday for the next year, I’ll be posting a video of my dad reveling in music. These videos are meant to bring the kind of joy that performing and listening to music always brought to him. This is the first one, right here on my feed, then starting next Wednesday they will live on my IG story and in my story highlights. We’ll start with my dad playing “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens while a one-year-old me absolutely goes to town on a phone cord behind him.
My dad, Wayne Pasternack, passed away yesterday after an intense battle with spinal cancer. He was 64. To know what a remarkable dad I’ve had, you only needed to see him alongside his wife and two sons for a moment. He gave us everything, and did so with a blend of joy and humbleness that is incredibly rare. A stellar musician, investor, salesman, neighbor, friend, father, husband, and person. I am devastated.
These six months back in New York with him have introduced me and my family to the kind of unrelenting pain and tragedy that exists in dealing with serious illness, but I wouldn’t trade these months for anything since it meant spending more time with my dad. I don’t know where I go from here, but I know that for the past 34 years I’ve had a father who gave me all he had, and I tried to do the same for him.
See below for memorial arrangements:
Memorial Service
Sunday, May 18th, 2:30pm
Temple Beth Shalom
740 N Broadway, Hastings-On-Hudson, NY
The memorial service will be live-streamed here: /livestream-zoom
I found out that my cousin’s two-year-old likes the Walker cover so much that my cousin made this version for her to color! Friends with kids, if they’re not ready for a 350 page book yet, maybe give this a try!
Part 2 of my Philadelphia jaunt included a trip to The Platt Student Performing Arts House to speak with Penn students about my writing journey. They asked some excellent questions and it was great to see so many friends that day. Major thanks to @drkoosh , who I impromptu pulled out of the audience to read an interview I completely scripted out, including the part of the intro in this video. The Penn Band’s room, where the conversation took place, has felt like home for me for over 16 years, and it was so great to see that the rehearsal that preceded the event still ended with the same organized chaos as it always has. The Penn Band remains undefeated.
