Ask a New Yorker: Let’s jump right in. This is your working hood, so to speak. Have you ever been to Jimmy’s Corner before?
Lori: No, I’ve never been to Jimmy’s before. I’m going to be back though. That’s for sure, especially since I work in the middle of Time Square at least once or twice a week. It’s always good to have local places to jump into with your crew.
Ask a New Yorker: Have you ever been to a boxing bout?
Lori: No, I imagine it would be fun to do, though.
Ask a New Yorker: Have you ever thrown a punch or been in a cat fight?
Lori: No I’ve never thrown a punch in my life. I think if I tried to I would fail miserably.
Ask a New Yorker: Words are your weapon of choice! How do you pronounce your last name?
Lori: Har-fen-ist. That’s my married name. I inherited it. Basically it means harp player. My sister-in-law did the lineage on the name. Supposedly the Harfenists were the harp players at Solomon’s Temple who were forced to flee. They headed to Austria were people called them the Harpfenists, people who play the harp, then it kind of changed into Harfenist. There you have it.
Ask a New Yorker: That’s very musical story.
Lori: My husband is a musician. It’s in his blood.
Ask a New Yorker: Your favorite band would be your husband’s band?
Lori: Yes, Absolutely, The Sound of Urchin is my favorite band. I go to see all their gigs.
Ask a New Yorker: What do they play?
Lori: It’s rock n roll, arena rock. They’re a very talented group of musicians that play all different kinds of music. They play everything from heavy metal to soft ballads and its all original. Their putting out a new album in a few months.
Ask a New Yorker: So what do you do?
Lori: I produce a video show called The Resident,which is social commentary on anything that is kind of bugging me that week. I started in advertising and I hated it. I needed a creative outlet. Our boss needed some on-the-street opinions on something that was relevant to the business at the moment. I did it and thought that was so much fun. I had such a ball doing it. I said,’ I’m going to keep doing that’ so it grew into what The Resident is today. Now it’s a weekly video. Essentially the topics can be political, cultural. It can be whatever. Whatever is on my mind? Basically it’s a place for me to vent. I’m a good venter.
Ask a New Yorker: In your videos I noticed you have a healthy sense of sarcasm.
Lori: Just a dash (laughter)
Ask a New Yorker: Why is it TheResident.net and not .com?
Lori: Dot-com was already taken. This was back in 2000. It was already taken back then. I just chose the name The Resident because I thought it sounded and could encompass enough so that I could do whatever I wanted with it. So, I wasn’t thinking of it as a business model. I was just doing it for a creative release.
Ask a New Yorker: Where you from originally?
Lori: Rochester, New York, upstate. I moved here when I was 18 and I’ve been here since. I’m 36 now. Half of my life I’ve been a New Yorker. I cannot leave New York. I’ve tried to leave several times in pivotal moments in my life. I’ve not been able to leave it. I don’t think I could at least not completely.
Ask a New Yorker: Who said, ‘I’m investing in great thoughts’?
Lori: I have no idea.
Ask a New Yorker: A gentlemen you interviewed who you thought was very interesting. That would be The Naked Cowboy.
Lori: Yes, that’s right he writes everything down. That’s what I call part of his Torah. Because he recites it all the time like one does with the Torah. The process is in the reading. You only learn through the constant reading. You read it from start to finish and you start again right after you finish. The idea is that new truths are continually revealed.
Ask a New Yorker: What do you think of the Naked Cowboy?
Lori: He’s the only human being on the planet that stands more days than not Naked in the middle of Times Square and sings to people. I like originals.
Ask a New Yorker: What did you score on your S.A.T’s
Lori: I believe 1290. It was enough to get me into Mensa without taking a test.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you chew gum?
Lori: No, funny that you ask; my camera man always has gum and offers me a piece which I turn down. It annoys him every time.
Ask a New Yorker: What do you think of the concept Ask a New Yorker?
Lori: It’s such an easily digestible concept. You can’t go wrong with that. The best ideas sometimes are the ones you just get like that. You got it. You don’t have to say anything. You don’t need a tagline or a subhead.
Ask a New Yorker. You get it.
