I became such a Metallica groupie last week that my friends are calling me Penny Lane, the “Band Aid” groupie character played by Kate Hudson in the movie Almost Famous. They accuse me of having a “man” crush on Lars — Ahh, jealousy does not wear well on them.
Where to find the best shows
After seeing several shows in all sorts of venues, I can say Metallica is consistent — they alway deliver a rockin’ set. It’s the crowd and the venues that really set the energy level.
The Oakland show was the most intense I saw, followed closely by the Nassau Coliseum show in Long Island. What makes one Metallica show more intense than the other? The size of the mosh pits and slam dancing groups. Try to see a show where there will be an aggressive, active crowd. The great shows with super high energy can happen anywhere (and always in Europe), but I found the older venues in the U.S. tend to promote more energy than the newer venues. But, all that is just on the margins — all the shows had tons of energy.
Check out the Nassau mosh pit love these two shirtless skinheads are showing — they are about to hug it out after slamming the crap out of each other.
Check out the New York Times Review of the Naussau show.
A tight band rockin’ in New Jersey.
After party
After the Saturday night Newark show, the band hosted an after party at Craftsteak at 10th Ave. and West 15th St. The band was all there: Lars, Kirk, Robert and even James who usually passes on the late night scene.
Spoke with Kirk Hammett’s security guard/assistant. We were reliving a story about a plane trip from Belgium to London last summer. The band was playing at a music festival in Belgium, and Lars let me tag along with him.
Metallica had two planes working that trip because James and Lars were in London and Kirk and Robert were in Paris. They all met in Belgium and, after the show, one plane took James and Robert to Greece (for their next gig three days later) and one plane went back to London and Paris because Lars and Kirk were going to go down to Greece the day of the show.
Kirk got on our plane, and when we landed in London, Kirk realized he had forgotten his passport. Not wanting to mess with the paper work, he hid in the toilet and was completely freaked out trying to avoid detection by the custom agents. He ended up getting away with it — amazing enough — but it was fun to relive that story.
Lars, on top of the world. His night is just beginning.
Had a good talk with the bass player, Robert Trujillo, and his wife. They went out on my boat with their baby a few months back, so we were reliving that and talking about the Bay area.
Hung with Lars until the end. From a peak of maybe 100 people at 2 a.m., there were about 15 die-hards left around 4 a.m. when the bar officially closed. The rest of the band had left but Lars was not quite done yet — he has a bit of a reputation as a night owl — so they agreed to let us stay. It was me, Lars, Steve, the guys from the warm up band, the Sword, and about 5 other random folks. We sat around a table drinking wine and shooting the shit until we finally stumbled out around 5:30 a.m.
Next day
I went back to the Hotel Gansevoort, packed, got 45 minutes of sleep from 6 to 6:45, got in a car for JFK at 7, and caught the 9 o’clock American Flight back to San Francisco.
Thank God I got a business class upgrade ’cause I slept from wheels up to wheels down. I got home in time to join my family at a Super Bowl party that was being thrown by, of all people, Skylar Ulrich — Lars’ ex wife and mother of two of his kids. They threw a great party with about 10 couples and lots of kids. After an awesome game, I finally got to sleep. Exhausted.
So, maybe I do have a slight man crush. Better get back to work this week or people will start talking. I will check in next week from the MBA CREF Conference in San Diego.
I shot this Master of Puppets video. Rock!
— — —
Jim Flaherty is CEO of CMBS.com and the creator of the Backshop loan origination system. He is a trained credit professional with experience installing enterprise underwriting systems for commercial real estate lenders, rating agencies and investors.
https://www.cmbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cmbslogo030619.png00jimflahertyhttps://www.cmbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cmbslogo030619.pngjimflaherty2009-02-04 21:52:042020-09-16 21:54:01Rocking with Metallica part 2: That is Mr. Penny Lane to you sir
Today John Courson of the MBA held a conference call with the residential and commercial leadership of MISMO to let us know that MERS, Mortgage Electronic Registry System, has taken over management of MISMO (See news release below).
MERS was created by the industry (the MBA has an ownership stake in MERS) to facilitate the electronic exchange of mortgage rights in support of securitization. It is a registration system (think universal loan ID) so loan servicers can do their job when it comes to releasing liens or foreclosing on loans that had been securitized. MERS has had great success in the Residential MBS market, and their services seem just as applicable to the commercial side. To be honest, I have heard about them forever but, I am not an expert in loan servicing, so I’m not sure how widely they are used in Commercial (I will find out).
Is this a Big Deal? Could be.
If every CMBS loan had a universal ID, that would be a big deal. The main headache with the existing IRP data is making the relationships between the various reporting files (loan, bond, property). If we standardized the way we relate these things together, that is half the battle. IRP in XML is nice to say, but I know firsthand that the data is not there in the raw form to facilitate it. It can be figured out to be sure: Lots of people are doing it (me, Trepp, Intext), but it is a painful, manual, value-added process. If all loans had a universal numbering system so the basic relationships were electronically available, that would be ideal.
What about deals that have multiple loans and multiple properties?
In MISMO, a commercial deal is defined as having many Loans (first mortgage loan, second mortgage loan, even partnership liens) and many properties. Usually, systems from the residential side are focused on the loan level, not the deal level, so tracking multiple loans — with various liens and many pieces of collateral — within one deal is challenging. If MERS registration solves both the loan and deal relationships, that will be a Really Big Deal.
Even if a MERS registration only solved the relationship between loan and bond and property, it would still be a big deal. The majority of the 850 billion dollars in CMBS are first liens, so knowing my position in the capital stack is less important than if I’m in a lower position. So, even if MERS is only at the note level, and since I am usually in first position, it would still deliver substantial benefits by clarifying the relationship from loan to the property and bond files.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 4, 2009) The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and MERSCORP® today announced the two organizations have entered into a management agreement under which MERSCORP will be responsible for managing the day to day operations of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, Inc.® (MISMO). Under the management agreement, MBA retains full control of MISMO and will maintain a permanent seat on the MISMO Board of Directors.
“MBA is pleased to enter into this agreement with MERS signaling the next generation of MISMO,” said John A. Courson, president and CEO of MBA. “It has always been the intent for MBA to develop and nurture MISMO and then align with another entity to conduct day-to-day management of the company in a way that best serves the real estate finance industry. MERS, as an industry utility owned in part by MBA, provides an ideal infrastructure for MISMO and will ensure the user experience of current MISMO participants remains constant at its current high level. We are confident this agreement will result in the continued enhancement of data standards and transparency which are critical to the return of investor confidence and liquidity in our marketplace.”
“As the mortgage industry’s utility, MERS has always been a strong supporter of MISMO in the advancement of industry standards,” said R.K. Arnold, President & CEO of MERS. “We are pleased with the confidence that the MBA has shown in us by entrusting management of MISMO’s day-to-day operations to us on behalf of the real estate finance industry.
The management agreement is effective immediately. MISMO subscribers should contact Dan McLaughlin (danm@mersinc.org <mailto:danm@mersinc.org>) or Gary Vandeventer (garyv@mersinc.org <mailto:garyv@mersinc.org>) at MERS, (800) 646-6377, for assistance with any MISMO matter.</mailto:garyv@mersinc.org></mailto:danm@mersinc.org>
###
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 370,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation’s residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,400 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA’s Web site: www.mortgagebankers.org .
MERS is a utility launched by the mortgage banking industry to eliminate paper from the mortgage life cycle. MERS facilitates the electronic exchange of mortgage rights and supports the transition to electronic mortgages. It currently has more than 3,800 members.
— — —
Jim Flaherty is CEO of CMBS.com and the creator of the Backshop loan origination system. He is a trained credit professional with experience installing enterprise underwriting systems for commercial real estate lenders, rating agencies and investors.
https://www.cmbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cmbslogo030619.png00jimflahertyhttps://www.cmbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cmbslogo030619.pngjimflaherty2009-02-04 21:50:292020-09-16 21:51:44MERS takes over management of MISMO from the MBA
I have been looking forward to this week for months. Metallica is finishing up their North American Tour in support of their Grammy nominated new album Death Magnetic with shows in Chicago and New York. I am friends with drummer Lars Ulrich, so I have the privilege of getting great seats and passes to their shows (thanks Steve!).
Now that I’m a groupie, I have learned that, while not everyone loves (or even likes) Metallica, those who do like them, really love them. Since I have clients/friends in both Chicago and New York — and I love Metallica — I figured why not do some entertaining Heavy Metal Style!
So, last night in Chicago, 15 of us met for dinner/drinks at the Ram Brewery, then we hit the show at Allstate Arena.
Our seats were in row AA — literally the first row off the floor — and Metallica put on an amazing show.
Heavy Metal — up close and personal.
Afterward, we had a few drinks at Club Magnetic, the backstage open bar, then I took the three woman in our group into the “inner sanctum” to meet Lars and get an autograph. We all figured Lars would rather meet 3 ladies than 12 men, so that is why we took the women! Thanks Lars!
If you want to meet a rock star, 3 women are much more effective than 12 men.
I arrived in New York today and will be going to the shows with more clients and friends. The trip is not all fun as I also have several meetings lined up. So, if my wife is reading this, it really is a work trip (at least partially), and thanks for holding down the fort while I am playing Heavy Metal groupie!
BTW, I also saw the Oakland show on December 20th with my wife and 10-year-old son, who is taking guitar lessons and already has an ear for metal. Who says Heavy Metal and the Holidays don’t go together?
It’s a Family Affair: me, Andy and Larie.
Last night I shot this video of the opening of “The Day That Never Comes.” Have a taste!
— — —
Jim Flaherty is CEO of CMBS.com and the creator of the Backshop loan origination system. He is a trained credit professional with experience installing enterprise underwriting systems for commercial real estate lenders, rating agencies and investors.
https://www.cmbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cmbslogo030619.png00jimflahertyhttps://www.cmbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cmbslogo030619.pngjimflaherty2009-01-28 00:00:182020-09-17 00:02:31On the road with Metallica
Rocking with Metallica part 2: That is Mr. Penny Lane to you sir
/0 Comments/in What's going on /by jimflahertyI became such a Metallica groupie last week that my friends are calling me Penny Lane, the “Band Aid” groupie character played by Kate Hudson in the movie Almost Famous. They accuse me of having a “man” crush on Lars — Ahh, jealousy does not wear well on them.
Where to find the best shows
After seeing several shows in all sorts of venues, I can say Metallica is consistent — they alway deliver a rockin’ set. It’s the crowd and the venues that really set the energy level.
The Oakland show was the most intense I saw, followed closely by the Nassau Coliseum show in Long Island. What makes one Metallica show more intense than the other? The size of the mosh pits and slam dancing groups. Try to see a show where there will be an aggressive, active crowd. The great shows with super high energy can happen anywhere (and always in Europe), but I found the older venues in the U.S. tend to promote more energy than the newer venues. But, all that is just on the margins — all the shows had tons of energy.
Check out the Nassau mosh pit love these two shirtless skinheads are showing — they are about to hug it out after slamming the crap out of each other.
Check out the New York Times Review of the Naussau show.
A tight band rockin’ in New Jersey.
After party
After the Saturday night Newark show, the band hosted an after party at Craftsteak at 10th Ave. and West 15th St. The band was all there: Lars, Kirk, Robert and even James who usually passes on the late night scene.
Spoke with Kirk Hammett’s security guard/assistant. We were reliving a story about a plane trip from Belgium to London last summer. The band was playing at a music festival in Belgium, and Lars let me tag along with him.
Metallica had two planes working that trip because James and Lars were in London and Kirk and Robert were in Paris. They all met in Belgium and, after the show, one plane took James and Robert to Greece (for their next gig three days later) and one plane went back to London and Paris because Lars and Kirk were going to go down to Greece the day of the show.
Kirk got on our plane, and when we landed in London, Kirk realized he had forgotten his passport. Not wanting to mess with the paper work, he hid in the toilet and was completely freaked out trying to avoid detection by the custom agents. He ended up getting away with it — amazing enough — but it was fun to relive that story.
Lars, on top of the world. His night is just beginning.
Had a good talk with the bass player, Robert Trujillo, and his wife. They went out on my boat with their baby a few months back, so we were reliving that and talking about the Bay area.
Hung with Lars until the end. From a peak of maybe 100 people at 2 a.m., there were about 15 die-hards left around 4 a.m. when the bar officially closed. The rest of the band had left but Lars was not quite done yet — he has a bit of a reputation as a night owl — so they agreed to let us stay. It was me, Lars, Steve, the guys from the warm up band, the Sword, and about 5 other random folks. We sat around a table drinking wine and shooting the shit until we finally stumbled out around 5:30 a.m.
Next day
I went back to the Hotel Gansevoort, packed, got 45 minutes of sleep from 6 to 6:45, got in a car for JFK at 7, and caught the 9 o’clock American Flight back to San Francisco.
Thank God I got a business class upgrade ’cause I slept from wheels up to wheels down. I got home in time to join my family at a Super Bowl party that was being thrown by, of all people, Skylar Ulrich — Lars’ ex wife and mother of two of his kids. They threw a great party with about 10 couples and lots of kids. After an awesome game, I finally got to sleep. Exhausted.
So, maybe I do have a slight man crush. Better get back to work this week or people will start talking. I will check in next week from the MBA CREF Conference in San Diego.
I shot this Master of Puppets video. Rock!
— — —
Jim Flaherty is CEO of CMBS.com and the creator of the Backshop loan origination system. He is a trained credit professional with experience installing enterprise underwriting systems for commercial real estate lenders, rating agencies and investors.
www.cmbs.com
MERS takes over management of MISMO from the MBA
/0 Comments/in Industry news, Industry standards /by jimflahertyToday John Courson of the MBA held a conference call with the residential and commercial leadership of MISMO to let us know that MERS, Mortgage Electronic Registry System, has taken over management of MISMO (See news release below).
MERS was created by the industry (the MBA has an ownership stake in MERS) to facilitate the electronic exchange of mortgage rights in support of securitization. It is a registration system (think universal loan ID) so loan servicers can do their job when it comes to releasing liens or foreclosing on loans that had been securitized. MERS has had great success in the Residential MBS market, and their services seem just as applicable to the commercial side. To be honest, I have heard about them forever but, I am not an expert in loan servicing, so I’m not sure how widely they are used in Commercial (I will find out).
Is this a Big Deal? Could be.
If every CMBS loan had a universal ID, that would be a big deal. The main headache with the existing IRP data is making the relationships between the various reporting files (loan, bond, property). If we standardized the way we relate these things together, that is half the battle. IRP in XML is nice to say, but I know firsthand that the data is not there in the raw form to facilitate it. It can be figured out to be sure: Lots of people are doing it (me, Trepp, Intext), but it is a painful, manual, value-added process. If all loans had a universal numbering system so the basic relationships were electronically available, that would be ideal.
What about deals that have multiple loans and multiple properties?
In MISMO, a commercial deal is defined as having many Loans (first mortgage loan, second mortgage loan, even partnership liens) and many properties. Usually, systems from the residential side are focused on the loan level, not the deal level, so tracking multiple loans — with various liens and many pieces of collateral — within one deal is challenging. If MERS registration solves both the loan and deal relationships, that will be a Really Big Deal.
Even if a MERS registration only solved the relationship between loan and bond and property, it would still be a big deal. The majority of the 850 billion dollars in CMBS are first liens, so knowing my position in the capital stack is less important than if I’m in a lower position. So, even if MERS is only at the note level, and since I am usually in first position, it would still deliver substantial benefits by clarifying the relationship from loan to the property and bond files.
Is this a Big Deal? Could be. …
— — —
News Release
CONTACT: Cheryl Crispen
(202) 557-2726
ccrispen@mortgagebankers.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 4, 2009) The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and MERSCORP® today announced the two organizations have entered into a management agreement under which MERSCORP will be responsible for managing the day to day operations of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, Inc.® (MISMO). Under the management agreement, MBA retains full control of MISMO and will maintain a permanent seat on the MISMO Board of Directors.
“MBA is pleased to enter into this agreement with MERS signaling the next generation of MISMO,” said John A. Courson, president and CEO of MBA. “It has always been the intent for MBA to develop and nurture MISMO and then align with another entity to conduct day-to-day management of the company in a way that best serves the real estate finance industry. MERS, as an industry utility owned in part by MBA, provides an ideal infrastructure for MISMO and will ensure the user experience of current MISMO participants remains constant at its current high level. We are confident this agreement will result in the continued enhancement of data standards and transparency which are critical to the return of investor confidence and liquidity in our marketplace.”
“As the mortgage industry’s utility, MERS has always been a strong supporter of MISMO in the advancement of industry standards,” said R.K. Arnold, President & CEO of MERS. “We are pleased with the confidence that the MBA has shown in us by entrusting management of MISMO’s day-to-day operations to us on behalf of the real estate finance industry.
The management agreement is effective immediately. MISMO subscribers should contact Dan McLaughlin (danm@mersinc.org <mailto:danm@mersinc.org>) or Gary Vandeventer (garyv@mersinc.org <mailto:garyv@mersinc.org>) at MERS, (800) 646-6377, for assistance with any MISMO matter.</mailto:garyv@mersinc.org></mailto:danm@mersinc.org>
###
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 370,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation’s residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,400 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA’s Web site: www.mortgagebankers.org .
MERS is a utility launched by the mortgage banking industry to eliminate paper from the mortgage life cycle. MERS facilitates the electronic exchange of mortgage rights and supports the transition to electronic mortgages. It currently has more than 3,800 members.
— — —
Jim Flaherty is CEO of CMBS.com and the creator of the Backshop loan origination system. He is a trained credit professional with experience installing enterprise underwriting systems for commercial real estate lenders, rating agencies and investors.
www.cmbs.com
www.backshop.com
On the road with Metallica
/0 Comments/in What's going on /by jimflahertyI have been looking forward to this week for months. Metallica is finishing up their North American Tour in support of their Grammy nominated new album Death Magnetic with shows in Chicago and New York. I am friends with drummer Lars Ulrich, so I have the privilege of getting great seats and passes to their shows (thanks Steve!).
Now that I’m a groupie, I have learned that, while not everyone loves (or even likes) Metallica, those who do like them, really love them. Since I have clients/friends in both Chicago and New York — and I love Metallica — I figured why not do some entertaining Heavy Metal Style!
So, last night in Chicago, 15 of us met for dinner/drinks at the Ram Brewery, then we hit the show at Allstate Arena.
Our seats were in row AA — literally the first row off the floor — and Metallica put on an amazing show.
Afterward, we had a few drinks at Club Magnetic, the backstage open bar, then I took the three woman in our group into the “inner sanctum” to meet Lars and get an autograph. We all figured Lars would rather meet 3 ladies than 12 men, so that is why we took the women! Thanks Lars!
I arrived in New York today and will be going to the shows with more clients and friends. The trip is not all fun as I also have several meetings lined up. So, if my wife is reading this, it really is a work trip (at least partially), and thanks for holding down the fort while I am playing Heavy Metal groupie!
BTW, I also saw the Oakland show on December 20th with my wife and 10-year-old son, who is taking guitar lessons and already has an ear for metal. Who says Heavy Metal and the Holidays don’t go together?
Last night I shot this video of the opening of “The Day That Never Comes.” Have a taste!
— — —
Jim Flaherty is CEO of CMBS.com and the creator of the Backshop loan origination system. He is a trained credit professional with experience installing enterprise underwriting systems for commercial real estate lenders, rating agencies and investors.
www.cmbs.com
www.backshop.com