The Best of Brothers
Heath Brothers, A Tale of Two Delis, Brothers Gibb (Bee Gees), Kelce Brothers, Drop D
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. I hope you enjoy the picks and pics.
Fave Five 20: The Best of Brothers. Heath Brothers (Chip and Dan), A Tale of Two Delis (Canter’s and Brent’s), Brothers Gibb (Bee Gees), Kelce Brothers (Travis and Jason), and Drop D (A Tale of Two Sides).
Wintering in California offers multiple opportunities to spend time with my younger brother David. We both love music and food, and I have him to thank for introducing me to jazz and to many wonderful ethnic cuisines.
When I first visited Los Angeles in 1976, I joined him in the studio as he worked on his first record. I saw him perform in jazz clubs and enjoyed authentic barbecue, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and Mexican food for the first time.
David and I grew up eating great Jewish deli food because our father and our grandfather loved it so much. We had two chances recently to do so again. David drove up to Santa Barbara a week ago and brought a great spread from Brent’s Deli in Westlake Village. I drove down to LA so we could see May Erlewine in concert on Friday, and we dined at Canter’s Fairfax before the show at the Peppermint Club in West Hollywood.
The reason David visited me was to collaborate on a Pandora playlist with an accompanying chat. We operated several radio stations together during our school years, and this was our chance to revisit to those fun times.
We selected 51 songs by bands featuring brothers, recorded our commentary, and published it all as Bands of Brothers - Volume 1. Here is how Pandora promoted it on Facebook and on Twitter:
And on Instagram:
Here are my 16 favorites from the list:
Allman Brothers Band (Duane and Gregg Allman)
Beach Boys (Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson)
Bee Gees (Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb)
Crash Test Dummies (Brad and Dan Roberts)
Creedence Clearwater Revival (John and Tom Fogerty)
Crowded House (Neil and Tim Finn)
Dawes (Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith)
Dire Straits (Mark and David Knopfler)
Everly Brothers (Don and Phil Everly)
Jackson 5 (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael Jackson)
Kings of Leon (Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill)
Proclaimers (Craig and Charlie Reid)
Sly and the Family Stone (Sly and Freddie Stone)
Spencer Davis Group (Steve and Muff Winwood)
Tokens (Mitch and Phil Margo)
TOTO (Steve, Jeff, and Mike Porcaro))
On Sunday David performed a live concert on YouTube featuring the bass player we saw playing with May Erlewine on Friday — Joel Gottschalk.
You can watch the recording of this great acoustic jazz trio’s show:
Here are two other favorite brothers collaborating with me:
Book Best Bets
I have read the first three books listed below and found them all to be well-written, insightful, and of practical value. I heard Chip speak at a conference hosted by APQC and was impressed with what he had to say. He and his brother Dan wrote the first four books, and Dan wrote the latest one.
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Take Hold and Others Come Unstuck
From Amazon: Mark Twain once observed, “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.” His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus news stories circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas—entrepreneurs, teachers, politicians, and journalists—struggle to make them “stick.”
In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the human scale principle, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating curiosity gaps. Along the way, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds—from the infamous “kidney theft ring” hoax to a coach’s lessons on sportsmanship to a vision for a new product at Sony—draw their power from the same six traits.
Made to Stick will transform the way you communicate. It’s a fast-paced tour of success stories (and failures): the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of the Mother Teresa Effect; the elementary-school teacher whose simulation actually prevented racial prejudice.
Provocative, eye-opening, and often surprisingly funny, Made to Stick shows us the vital principles of winning ideas—and tells us how we can apply these rules to making our own messages stick.
Anyone interested in influencing others—to buy, to vote, to learn, to diet, to give to charity or to start a revolution—can learn from this book. — The Washington Post
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
From Amazon: Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives?
The primary obstacle is a conflict that’s built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the critically acclaimed bestseller Made to Stick. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems—the rational mind and the emotional mind—that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort—but if it is overcome, change can come quickly.
In Switch, the Heaths show how everyday people—employees and managers, parents and nurses—have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results:
The lowly medical interns who managed to defeat an entrenched, decades-old medical practice that was endangering patients.
The home-organizing guru who developed a simple technique for overcoming the dread of housekeeping.
The manager who transformed a lackadaisical customer-support team into service zealots by removing a standard tool of customer service
In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.
Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
From Amazon: Research in psychology has revealed that our decisions are disrupted by an array of biases and irrationalities: We’re overconfident. We seek out information that supports us and downplay information that doesn’t. We get distracted by short-term emotions. When it comes to making choices, it seems, our brains are flawed instruments. Unfortunately, merely being aware of these shortcomings doesn’t fix the problem, any more than knowing that we are nearsighted helps us to see. The real question is: How can we do better?
In Decisive, the Heaths, based on an exhaustive study of the decision-making literature, introduce a four-step process designed to counteract these biases. Written in an engaging and compulsively readable style, Decisive takes readers on an unforgettable journey, from a rock star’s ingenious decision-making trick to a CEO’s disastrous acquisition, to a single question that can often resolve thorny personal decisions.
Along the way, we learn the answers to critical questions like these: How can we stop the cycle of agonizing over our decisions? How can we make group decisions without destructive politics? And how can we ensure that we don’t overlook precious opportunities to change our course?
Decisive is the Heath brothers’ most powerful—and important—book yet, offering fresh strategies and practical tools enabling us to make better choices. Because the right decision, at the right moment, can make all the difference.
The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact
From Amazon: While human lives are endlessly variable, our most memorable positive moments are dominated by four elements: elevation, insight, pride, and connection. If we embrace these elements, we can conjure more moments that matter. What if a teacher could design a lesson that he knew his students would remember twenty years later? What if a manager knew how to create an experience that would delight customers? What if you had a better sense of how to create memories that matter for your children?
This book delves into some fascinating mysteries of experience: Why we tend to remember the best or worst moment of an experience, as well as the last moment, and forget the rest. Why “we feel most comfortable when things are certain, but we feel most alive when they’re not.” And why our most cherished memories are clustered into a brief period during our youth.
Readers discover how brief experiences can change lives, such as the experiment in which two strangers meet in a room, and forty-five minutes later, they leave as best friends. (What happens in that time?) Or the tale of the world’s youngest female billionaire, who credits her resilience to something her father asked the family at the dinner table. (What was that simple question?)
Many of the defining moments in our lives are the result of accident or luck—but why would we leave our most meaningful, memorable moments to chance when we can create them? The Power of Moments shows us how to be the author of richer experiences.
Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen
From Amazon: So often in life, we get stuck in a cycle of response. We put out fires. We deal with emergencies. We stay downstream, handling one problem after another, but we never make our way upstream to fix the systems that caused the problems. Cops chase robbers, doctors treat patients with chronic illnesses, and call-center reps address customer complaints. But many crimes, chronic illnesses, and customer complaints are preventable. So why do our efforts skew so heavily toward reaction rather than prevention?
Upstream probes the psychological forces that push us downstream—including “problem blindness,” which can leave us oblivious to serious problems in our midst. And Heath introduces us to the thinkers who have overcome these obstacles and scored massive victories by switching to an upstream mindset. One online travel website prevented twenty million customer service calls every year by making some simple tweaks to its booking system. A major urban school district cut its dropout rate in half after it figured out that it could predict which students would drop out—as early as the ninth grade. A European nation almost eliminated teenage alcohol and drug abuse by deliberately changing the nation’s culture. And one EMS system accelerated the emergency-response time of its ambulances by using data to predict where 911 calls would emerge—and forward-deploying its ambulances to stand by in those areas.
Upstream delivers practical solutions for preventing problems rather than reacting to them. How many problems in our lives and in society are we tolerating simply because we’ve forgotten that we can fix them?
Restaurant Recommendations
A Tale of Two Delis
In keeping with this week’s theme, I thought about including a restaurant with “Brothers” in the name. I previously featured Primanti Bros. (which unfortunately recently closed its Michigan locations) and plan to visit Brophy Bros. in Santa Barbara again in the near future. But I decided to write about Brent’s and Canter’s based on noshing on their offerings with David last week.
Brent’s Deli 2799 Townsgate Rd, Westlake Village, CA 91361
David brought pastrami, corned beef, cole slaw, rye bread, pickles, lox, bagels, and black and white cookies picked up on his way from LA to SB. The meats were glorious, the bread was perfect, and the cookies were scrumptious.
Brent’s was the last stop for Barb and me on the long drive from Michigan in December, and it was a perfect welcome to California. There was a group of older men hanging out talking at an adjacent booth, just as you would expect in great Jewish deli. It’s the real deal.
Brent’s Delicatessen & Restaurant is a family-owned deli in Southern California dedicated to serving guests quality meals—from traditional recipes to premium cuts. Established in 1967, Brent’s Deli has earned acclaim for its mile high Reuben sandwich and has been voted the #1 delicatessen and restaurant in Los Angeles by Zagat Survey, Los Angeles Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Reader’s Choice.
At Brent’s Deli, we combine family values with quality ingredients for a recipe of long-standing success. Voted as one of the best delicatessens in Los Angeles and Southern California, the story of Brent’s Deli begins well before we opened our doors in 1967.
For years, Brent’s Deli founder Ron Peskin had worked behind the counter at various delis throughout the San Fernando Valley, including his uncle’s establishment. When he was offered a position as manager at an established yet declining deli in Northridge, Peskin respectfully turned down the position, but the owner offered to sell him the business. Despite the advice he received against the financial investment, Ron Peskin and his wife Patricia bought Brent’s Deli and forged into the delicatessen and restaurant scene with just one delivery truck and 11 employees. They kept the name Brent’s Deli due to the coincidence of having a son by the same name (i.e., Brent Peskin).
“For the first year-and-a-half of reopening Brent’s Deli, I never took a day off.” Ron Peskin reminisces. “I made every single sandwich because I wanted each one to be perfect.” The rest is history. Famous for our mouthwatering Reuben sandwich, hand sliced lox, and rich desserts, Brent’s Deli follows in Peskin’s footsteps–from attention to detail and excellent customer service. These days, Brent’s Deli continues to be a family-run and operated business with Ron’s son Brent, daughter Carrie, and son-in-law Marc working as official members of the restaurant’s management team. Due to the business’ hands-on approach throughout the decades, Brent’s Deli has grown to become one of the best delicatessens in the state–and nation!
A combination of high standards, quality food, and a taste of home is what sets Brent’s Deli apart from other Los Angeles area eateries. Now home to two beautiful Southern California locations, Brent’s Deli serves its original locale in Northridge as well as food lovers in Westlake Village. Led by Marc, the new Westlake location houses Brent’s Bar for specialty cocktails, craft beers, mimosa flights, and small plates. Given our dedication to keeping our customers happy and full, we’re excited to see the Brent’s Deli family grow in the years to come.
Canter’s Deli 417 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
This was another place that David took me to on my first trip to California. I was no stranger to Jewish deli food but had not yet been to a place like this. I really loved the extensive menu, vibrant atmosphere, and high quality of the food. I hadn’t been there in many years before returning on Friday. It was great to see it still going as I remembered it.
I ordered the Jersey City: pastrami, corned beef, oven-roasted turkey, baked ham, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing on rye bread. A little bit of everything.
Over the years Canter's has sold over:
2 million pounds of lox
10 million pounds of corned beef
7 million pounds of pastrami
10 million matzo balls
24 million bowls of chicken soup
Since 1931, Canter's has been serving up LA's finest deli cuisine. Voted the best pastrami by the LA Times and LA Weekly, Canter's prides itself on delivering the amazing experience that has kept its clientele returning over-and-over again for decades. This culinary landmark is lovingly managed by the third and fourth generations of the Canter family, who take a hands-on approach to ensure the highest quality in every aspect of the restaurant. Whether it's the freshly baked breads, or the famous house-made pickles, Canter's always goes the extra mile to provide the authentic, traditional Jewish deli experience, which helped grow the restaurant from a small storefront to the massive operation that it is today. As inviting as its food, Canter's is also known for its welcoming ambiance, a perfect blend of contemporary comfort with the nostalgic charm of its stylish 1950's decor. Canter's continues to stand out as a unique dining experience that transports patrons back to the golden age of delis.
Canter's Deli is one of California's oldest delis. Located in Los Angeles' Miracle Mile District—the heart and soul of the entertainment industry—Canter's Delicatessen is a third-generation family-run business whose owners have an intense pride in their deli and a hands-on work ethic.
It all began in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1924. After losing a deli in the 1929 stock market crash, Ben Canter and his two brothers moved to California with just $500 in their pockets. Eager to succeed, they opened up a Canter Brother's Delicatessen in 1931 in Boyle Heights, the Jewish center of Los Angeles.
When the character of the neighborhood changed, Ben Canter's daughter, Selma Udko, and her then husband, Harold Price, partnered with Ben Canter and his wife, Jennie, to purchase a prime location at 439 North Fairfax Avenue. And instead of calling it Canter's Brothers they called it Canter's Fairfax.
In 1953 this new team purchased the old Esquire Theatre at 419 North Fairfax and moved Canter's Deli just up the street to the larger location.
For over seventy-five years now this third-generation family-owned business has served food to locals, tourist, and celebrities alike. With its Art Deco décor and its trademark autumn leaves ceiling, this hangout has hardly changed in its over half century at its current location.
As Sheryll Bellman wrote in her book, America’s Great Delis:
You wouldn't think that Los Angeles could have a deli rival to New York’s, but for those who know and love the deli culture and appreciate all that it evokes, this place is heaven. Voted the #1 Best Pastrami by the Los Angeles Times, Canter's Deli sandwiches are always served on rye, unless you ask for something else, but don’t do that! Made famous for its corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, Canter's Deli boasts of serving the best quality food at reasonable prices. . . Tour buses stop here, and many tourists eat here as well, but the real heart and soul of this deli are the locals who have never moved from the neighborhood and the stars who slip in here incognito for a late-night nosh. Canter's Deli is a place of solace, and they come for the old-fashioned Jewish food that reminds them of their past. Open 24 hours and only closed on Jewish holidays, you can come here anytime for a delicious taste of yesterday.
Marvelous Musicians
The Bee Gees are one of my favorite music groups. Despite being viewed by many as being only the Kings of Disco, their career was much more varied, and their songwriting and singing were outstanding. In 1967 “New York Mining Disaster 1941” was played on the radio in New York City attributed to a “mystery group.” My sister Joan told me about this, speculating that the group might be the Beatles. It turned out to be the American debut of one of the greatest bands of all time. Bee Gees' 1st was the second rock/pop album I bought, and I remained a fan as they explored different styles of music. They wrote and recorded a vast collection of wonderful songs that have stood the test of time, spanning folk, psychedelic, rock, pop, and of course, disco.
From Wikipedia: The Bee Gees were a music group formed in 1958. Their lineup consisted of brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful as a popular music act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers of the disco music era in the mid-to-late 1970s. The group sang three-part tight harmonies; Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s. The Bee Gees wrote all of their own hits, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists.
Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb CBE (born September 1, 1946 in Douglas, Isle of Man) is a British-American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the group Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popular music. With his younger brothers, twins Robin and Maurice Gibb, he formed a songwriting partnership beginning in 1955. Born in Douglas on the Isle of Man, Gibb was raised in Manchester, where he took part in the skiffle craze, in 1955 forming his first band, the Rattlesnakes, which evolved into the Bee Gees in 1960 after the Gibb family had moved to Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. They returned to England where they achieved worldwide fame. Well known for his wide vocal range, Gibb's most notable vocal trait is a far-reaching high-pitched falsetto. As a songwriter, he shares with John Lennon and Paul McCartney the record for consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number ones, each having six. In total, he has written or co-written sixteen Billboard Hot 100 number ones. Guinness World Records lists Gibb as the second most successful songwriter in history, behind Paul McCartney.
Robin Hugh Gibb CBE (born December 22, 1949 in Douglas, Isle of Man; died May 20, 2012 in London). As an instrumentalist, Gibb primarily played a variety of keyboards, notably piano, organ, and Mellotron on the Bee Gees album Odessa (1969); he also played acoustic guitar and organ on his debut solo album Robin's Reign (1970).
Maurice Ernest Gibb CBE (December 22, 1949 in Douglas, Isle of Man; died January 12, 2003 in Miami Beach). Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lead singers, most of their albums included at least one or two songs featuring Maurice's lead vocals, including “Lay It on Me”, “Country Woman” and “On Time”.
A Dozen Favorites
Turn of the Century (from Bee Gees’ 1st)
New York Mining Disaster 1941 (from Bee Gees’ 1st)
To Love Somebody (from Bee Gees’ 1st)
I Can’t See Nobody (from Bee Gees’ 1st)
Massachusetts (from Horizontal)
I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You (from Idea)
I Started a Joke (from Idea)
Black Diamond (from Odessa)
Nights on Broadway (from Main Course)
Stayin’ Alive (from Saturday Night Fever)
How Deep is Your Love (from Saturday Night Fever)
Tragedy (from Spirits Having Flown)
My Playlist
Sports Stars
Kansas City defeated Philadelphia in Super Bowl 57 on Sunday, 38-35. It was the first time that two brothers played against one another, although Jim and John Harbaugh coached against each other in Super Bowl 47 in 2013.
Here are a dozen sets of brothers who have played in the NFL, selected from a much longer list:
Eli and Peyton Manning
Sterling and Shannon Sharpe
Jason and Travis Kelce
J.J., T.J., and Derek Watt
Champ and Boss* Bailey
Ronde and Tiki Barber
Nick and Joey Bosa
Clay and Casey Matthews
Romeo* and Julian* Okwara
Trevon and Stefon Diggs
Equanimeous and Amon-Ra* St. Brown
Cameron and Connor** Heyward
* Current or former Detroit Lions
** Former Michigan State Spartan
Jason and Travis Kelce excel at their positions — center and tight end, respectively. They are among the best, if not the best, at what they do. It was impressive to see them compete for the Eagles and Chiefs and come together after the hard-fought game was over.
Jason Daniel Kelce (born November 5, 1987 in Westlake, Ohio) is an American football center for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Cincinnati. Kelce is a Super Bowl champion, six-time Pro Bowl selection, and five-time first-team All-Pro selection.
In September 2022, the Kelce brothers launched a weekly podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce. Episodes are released every Wednesday during the NFL season, with video highlights available on multiple social media platforms.
In a joint statement prior to the first episode’s release, the brothers shared their reason for starting the project:
We are two brothers from Cleveland Heights who, as kids, had a dream of turning pro, and now we’re here to give our thoughts from inside the game. We’ve been waiting for the right moment to do this show, and with 12 Pro Bowls and 2 rings between us, we have a few things to say about the league, the new talent on the field, the upcoming season, and our lives off the field. There will be a few notable names to join us on episodes, but for the most part, this will be a raw dialogue between two brothers who had the chance to live out their childhood football dreams together.
Travis Michael Kelce (born October 5, 1989 in Westlake, Ohio) is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft and later won Super Bowls LIV and LVII with the team. He played college football at Cincinnati.
Considered to be one of the greatest tight ends of all time, Kelce is an eight-time Pro Bowler and a four-time first-team All-Pro selection. He holds the NFL record for most consecutive and most overall seasons with 1,000 yards receiving by a tight end with 7. He also owns the record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a single season with 1,416 in 2020, despite playing in only 15 games. He also briefly held the single season record in 2018 before it was broken later that same day. During the 2022 season, Kelce became the fastest tight end to reach 10,000 career receiving yards, and he became the fifth tight end in NFL history to reach the milestone. Kelce was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
Travis and Jason Kelce hug after Super Bowl 57
There's nothing I could really say to him other than I love him, and he played a hell of a year, a hell of a season — Travis Kelce
Picture Pun
Probably keeps his guitar in Drop D tuning.
