David Tanklefsky

Writer

David Tanklefsky has been a performing musician for more than 20 years. He has a list of every show he’s played — all 900 of them — along with each setlist. It’s like a decades-long diary, in shorthand.

Some people keep a notebook. As a musician, I keep a very long list

The author playing at Cameo Gallery, Brooklyn, April 24, 2014.(Courtesy David Tanklefsky)

If there was a microphone or a few people in the room and it felt real enough, it goes into the list.

The author playing a solo set at The Garage in Charlottesville, Virginia, March 21, 2011 (left) and a house show, in Baltimore, Maryland, May 25, 2013. (Courtesy David Tanklefsky)

The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow playing at Levitate Flannel Jam, Marshfield, Mass., October 8, 2022. (Courtesy David Tanklefsky)

Commentary

Life

Opinion

Three generations of &quot;funcle&quot;: Rick Fentin holding his great nephew, and the author, on right. (Courtesy David Tanklefsky) 

As we looked at each other and out at the audience, where Rick had stood proudly for years and years, I felt him up there with me.

The author and his wife, Meaghan, and son, Noah, on stage, 2023. (Courtesy David Tanklefsky)

Let’s hear it for the fun uncles

The author's uncle, Rick Fentin, carrying a gift of a Shellcore Turbo racecar for the author's first birthday. (Courtesy David Tanklefsky)

The author's uncle, Rick Fentin, carrying a gift of a Shellcore Turbo racecar  for the author's first birthday. (Courtesy David Tanklefsky)

Bella Abzug as a child with her grandfather, Wolf Tanklefsky. (Courtesy Liz and Eve Abzug) 

“The Book of Famous Jews” board book, featuring the author’s cousin, Bella Abzug, on page 18. (Courtesy David Tanklefsky)

The author and his son, Noah, in 2023. (Courtesy David Tanklefsky)

I took my paternity leave this year. My cousin – feminist icon, breaker of doors, wearer of funny hats – would be pleased

Bella Abzug and the author’s father, Paul Tanklefsky, in April 1990, in Boston, when Bella came to deliver a speech as part of Suffolk’s Lowell Lecture Series. The author’s father, who worked as Suffolk’s director of career services and cooperative education for many years, gave the introduction. (Courtesy Suffolk University Moakley Archive & Institute)