I Snuck My Camera into Saturday Night Live to Take a Photograph of the Beastie Boys

Since my older brother was blasting License to Ill from his bedroom, I’ve been a huge Beastie Boys fan.

When I met my husband, there was basically one requirement: must love the Beastie Boys. Luckily that worked out. He even had some CDs I didn’t own, so we married each other and our music collection.

My kids have also been properly indoctrinated. The know they can only wear my Beastie Boys tshirts from high school on loan and that any given moment I may quiz them on Beasties facts like I’m Professor Booty.

Once in a while, I’ll get emotional about not being able to take them to a Beastie Boys show.

But I do have one pretty good Beastie Boys story I am able to share with them.

How I Ended Up at SNL

When I was a student at Boston University, I had a photography assignment: photograph someone famous. Around the same time I found out the Beastie Boys were going to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. My brother-in-law’s mom grew up next door to Lorne Michaels in Toronto, so when I heard the Beasties were performing, I called him and basically said, “Any chance you can call in a favor?”

And he did.

We ended up getting tickets, and I went to the taping with my brother-in-law and two friends.

And because I had that assignment, I brought a 35mm Minolta camera with me.

The Photo

We were sat in the balcony and I remember being disappointed we weren’t closer. They came out dressed up in their Sabotage gear and that’s when I snuck my camera out of the bag. I realized I was actually in a better position further away from staff (so they wouldn’t see the camera) and I was sat behind a bar on the front row of the balcony that I could rest my camera on. This allowed me to open up the F-stop a little more to bring some extra light and use that space as a make shift tripod for balancing.

The performance was epic. I may have run into MCA’s wife in the bathroom. We tried our best to find the after party that the SNL cast and hopefully the Beastie Boys were hanging out at, but no dice. As eager as I was to see them close up, I was even more eager to get back to campus and see how the pics turned out in the dark room.

The negatives ended up being a little thin, but I was able to adjust. Don’t ask me what I did. I just remember waving my hand around beneath the light. This was 28 years ago.

I turned in the photo, got an A, and the negatives went into a box like most things from college.

Years later I came across the film again and realized I had a black-and-white photo of the Beastie Boys performing on SNL in 1998, during the Hello Nasty era.

Which felt like a pretty good thing to have sitting in a box.

The Print

So I decided to make the photo available as a print for Beastie Boys fans.

It’s a black-and-white 35mm photograph from their 1998 Saturday Night Live performance.

You can see the available print sizes here:

AmandaGMarks.DarkRoom.com

Basically

It’s not a press photo or anything official.

It’s just a picture taken by a Beastie Boys fan who happened to be sitting in the audience at SNL in 1998 and had a camera because she had homework.

Which, in a weird way, feels pretty Beastie Boys.

Mmmm Drop: A Cooking Show Inspired by Beastie Boys Lyrics

The Beastie Boys didn’t just drop beats.

They dropped bites.

From White Castle cravings to pasta proclamations, from mangos in Jamaica to intercontinental French toast, the Boys built a buffet of bars across decades of albums.

So welcome to Mmmm Drop: A cooking show inspired by Beastie Boys lyrics and hosted by me, Amanda Marks. I’ve been a Beastie Boys fan since the 1980s, when my older brother was blasting License to Ill in his bedroom and I’m also a stand-up comedian and mom who acts as a short order cook whenever it’s meal time.

I’m not a professional chef. I’m just a passionate fan with a pantry and a plan. Each episode pulls a lyric, builds a dish, and celebrates the delicious details scattered throughout their discography.

Because let’s be honest, from punk-plate Aglio e Olio to fast-food White Castle fries, the culinary callbacks have been hiding in plain sight.

Food wasn’t accidental an mention. It’s a lyrical love letter.

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Mmmm Drop: A Cooking Show Inspired by Beastie Boys Lyrics Episode 1

And so Mmmm Drop begins. With every episode, I’ll be posting a link in my blog to the video and the recipes that accompany it.

Episode One:

“Intercontinental When I Eat French French Toast”

With “Got More Rhymes Than Jamaica Got Mangos” Compote

We’re starting with breakfast bravado. Because if you’re going to cook from a lyric, you might as well go intercontinental. And since we’re working with royalty, we used King’s Hawaiian Rolls. A subtle salute to King Adrock.

Intercontinental French Toast

Inspired by “The Move” – Hello Nasty

These rolls are soft and slightly sweet, so the custard needs control. Quick dip. Gentle heat. Golden exterior.

Ingredients

• 4 King’s Hawaiian rolls

• 2 eggs

• ¼ cup milk

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)

• Pinch salt

• Butter for the pan

Instructions

1. Prep the rolls.

   Separate the rolls. Leave whole for pillowy centers, or slice horizontally for more custard coverage. If very fresh, let them sit out 15–20 minutes to firm slightly.

2. Build the batter.

   In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar (if using), and salt until smooth.

3. Heat with patience.

   Warm a skillet over medium-low heat. Add butter and let it melt gently.

4. Dip decisively.

   Dip each roll about 5 seconds per side. Do not soak. Hawaiian rolls absorb quickly.

5. Cook carefully.

   Place rolls in the skillet. Cook 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown. Turn gently to maintain structure.

6. Rest briefly.

   Remove from heat and let them sit 1–2 minutes to set internally.

Golden. Custardy. Confident.

“Jamaica Got Mangos” Mango Lime Compote

Inspired by “Shake Your Rump” – Paul’s Boutique

Sweet meets sharp. Tropical meets toast.

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen mango chunks

• 1–2 tablespoons water

• 1–2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

• Pinch salt

Instructions

1. Combine frozen mango and water in a small saucepan over medium heat.

2. Let it thaw and soften, about 4–6 minutes.

3. Mash lightly as it breaks down.

4. Simmer until thickened but still spoonable.

5. Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice and a pinch of salt.

Taste. Adjust lime if needed. Brightness balances sweetness. Optional: Dust french toast with cinnamon and sugar.

Spoon generously over French toast.

Not Optional: Enjoy while listening to your favorite Beastie Boys album.

Got ideas for what to cook up next? Find me on Instagram and send me a message!

Southern Jewish Comedian for Private Events

If you’re looking for a Jewish comedian for a private event, fundraiser, synagogue program, sisterhood gathering, Jewish Federation event, or community celebration, I bring something a little different to the stage: I’m a Southern Jewish comedian raised in Birmingham, Alabama, where Friday night dinners and SEC football lived comfortably side by side.

Growing up Jewish in the Deep South shaped my voice. I learned early how to translate between worlds…Southern manners and Jewish humor, brisket and barbecue, “bless your heart” and “you call this kugel?” That perspective now fuels my stand-up. My comedy is smart, relatable, and rooted in family, identity, motherhood, and the beautifully absurd experience of being Jewish below the Mason-Dixon line.

I’m a stand-up comedian, live show producer, and co-host of the award-winning Sis & Tell Podcast. I’ve headlined and produced shows across the country, performed for Jewish community audiences and am available for synagogue events, federation programs, women’s groups, cultural weekends, and private celebrations. Contact me at mallofamanda@gmail.com for inquiries on show bookings.

Schtick Happens.

If you’re planning a Jewish event for your Sisterhood, synagogue, ORT chapter, Hadassah group, or JCC, and you’re looking to bring in a smart, relatable Jewish comedian who gets the culture, Amanda Marks is the name to remember. Because let’s face it, schtick happens… so why not make it hilarious?

Meet Amanda Marks: Southern, Jewish, and Seriously Funny

Amanda Goldstein Marks is a fifth-generation Alabama Jew now based in Atlanta. She tours nationally with the hit show Moms Unhinged, performs at stand-up comedy festivals across the country, and has opened for Jewish comedy legends Jessica Kirson and Judy Gold. She’s also the co-host of the award-winning Sis & Tell Podcast, where she blends Jewish storytelling with Southern charm and sharp wit.

Her material is clean, anecdotal and sometimes a little spicy and connects effortlessly with multi-generational Jewish audiences. Whether she’s joking about Jewish summer camp, synagogue social dynamics, or the unique chaos of Jewish family life in the South, Amanda’s comedy fits naturally into Jewish communal spaces. It’s never mean-spirited, always insightful, and always funny.

Book Amanda for Your Next Jewish Organization Event

Amanda performs regularly for:

• Synagogue Sisterhood events

• Jewish nonprofit fundraisers

• Jewish cultural arts nights

• Federation women’s groups

• ORT, Hadassah, and NCJW programming

• JCCs and adult education evenings

You can book her for a stand-alone comedy performance, or work with her to create a customized comedy showcase that fits your event’s goals, schedule, and audience.

She offers optional add-ons like:

• Q&Amanda – an interactive post-show Q&A using both planted and audience-submitted questions

• You Might Be a Southern Jew If… – crowd-sourced punchlines that make your audience part of the show

• Comedy storytelling – featuring true and hilarious personal stories selected by your group

Why Jewish Groups Book Amanda

• She is culturally fluent without relying on clichés

• Delivers clean comedy that feels fresh and current

• Engages diverse age ranges, from young adults to bubbes

• Easy to work with and experienced with Jewish organizational life

If you’re ready to bring laughter, energy, and a dose of Jewish honesty to your next event, book Amanda Marks today. Your audience will thank you with applause and a whole lot of knowing smiles.

Email: mallofamanda@gmail.com

Gotta Love Cheap Comedy Tickets

Hey Comedy Fans! For a limited time get 50% off tickets to the next Top Shelf Stand Up Comedy Show at Distillery of Modern Art on May 19th. Use code "earlybird" until Friday, May 3rd at freshtix.com/events/distillery

I’ll be hosting the comedy show and we will be featuring comedians Plug Chapman, Krystle Pierce, Amber Chandler and Amy Brown.

Free the Nipple

On our latest Sis & Tell Podcast episode “Free the Nipple,” my sister Alison and I talk about scandalous skinny mirrors, building a better bra, and searching for suitable shapewear. 

Listen HERE or wherever you get your podcasts.

Sis & Tell, an award-winning weekly comedic podcast, is hosted by southern Jewish sisters the Emmy-nominated Alison Goldstein Lebovitz from PBS' The A List and comedian Amanda Goldstein Marks.

The Seinfeld of Podcasts

Like Seinfeld is a sitcom about nothing (and everything), so is Sis & Tell Podcast. My sister Alison and I talk about everything from growing up Jewish in Alabama to parenting teenage boys. There is little to no planning before we hit the record button and the subject matter can shift by the second. Our fans often remark that it feels like you’re listening in one of our conversations and that’s because you literally are. We are the Jewish sisters you didn’t realize you were missing. So come on and hang out with our funny fam every Friday (that’s when new episodes drop). Hopefully, you’ll find us comedic and endearing and just the amount of escapism you need.

Our latest, podcast episode, “A Porsche or a Pulpit”, we come up with some COVID-inspired career changes as Alison considers going to online rabbinical school, while I try to convince her that I can use my rapping skills to accompany her as a comedic cantor.

Sis & Tell, an award-winning comedy podcast, is hosted by Jewish sisters Alison Goldstein Lebovitz from PBS' The A List and stand-up comedian Amanda Goldstein Marks and is best described by its tagline “A Whole Lotta Talk about a Whole Lotta Nothin’.”

Listen to the latest Sis & Tell Podcast episode: “A Porsche or a Pulpit”

Pandemic Pole Dancing

On this week’s Sis & Tell Podcast episode “Pandemic Pole Dancing”, I give Alison the details on my experience taking a pole dancing class at Vertical Joe’s in downtown Atlanta with my friend Tiffany Anderson, a fellow stand-up comedian. If you’re a reality TV fan, you may recognize Vertical Joe’s from a Real Housewives of Atlanta episode. On the particular day that Tiffany and I took the class, we shared the space with two members of the cast from TLC’s The 7 Little Johnston’s as they were recording an episode for their show. With some bumps, bruises and embarrassing moments aside, I had an extremely fun time ‘working the pole’.

Listen to the full Sis & Tell Podcast episode “Pandemic Pole Dancing” wherever you get your podcasts or visit Sisandtell.com for additional links!

Old Man Crush

For those of you who may or may not know, I do a weekly comedy podcast with my sister, Alison Goldstein Lebovitz, who also is the TV host for PBS’ The A List. On our latest episode “Gefilte Fish is the 11th Plaque” we somehow meander into a conversation about our #oldmancrushes — which I’m pretty much sure stemmed from her giving a behind the scenes of her interview with Back to the Future’s Crispin Glover.

Who is on your Old Man Crush list? And when you think of him, are you thinking of the OG version or the current? My top tier crushes are Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson and Jeff Goldblum — who I know is an acquired taste so to speak. Alison’s old man crush is pretty shocking. Spoiler alert: It’s NOT Crispin Glover.

Find out who her crush is on the latest episode of Sis & Tell wherever you may get your podcasts or click here for iTunes.

Camping is a little in tents

My Jewish mother paranoia reaches an all time high when I talk to my sister Alison about our future camping trip on the next Sis & Tell Podcast.  Listen here! 

Or watch a sneak peek here:

The Brisket Belt

Being a southern Jew, it is mandated that I eat brisket. Though I may be a bit confused about the origins of brisket -- Did it originate in a Jewish schtetl in Eastern Europe 200 years ago or in that defunct BBQ shack on the way to the Florida panhandle? -- one thing is for sure, brisket is delicious. Accordingly brisket is also the perfect symbol to encapsulate both my southern and Jewish heritage, which is why I came up with the name The Brisket Belt for a touring stand up comedy series I'm producing with fellow comedian David "HT" Rosen.  

Our first show kicks off on Saturday, December 16th 8pm at Highland Inn Ballroom and Lounge in Atlanta, Georgia.  You can get tickets at www.freshtix.com/events/brisketbelt. Read up on details about it in this Atlanta Jewish Times article: http://atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/atlanta-will-laugh-for-shelter/

We'll also be traveling to Tallahassee, Florida, my own hometown Birmingham, Alabama and making our way up to New York where HT grew up.  Stay tuned for details!

Atlanta's Best

Did ya hear? The Sis & Tell podcast was voted "Best Podcast" for Creative Loafing's Best of Atlanta 2017. If you haven't had a chance to listen, my sister Alison Goldstein Lebovitz (host of PBS' The A List) and I host and produce a weekly podcast. 

Catch up on episodes at Sisandtell.com

Time to Binge

Whether chocolate, Netflix, or Pamplemousse LaCroix, we all have vices we love to consume en masse. Now you can binge listen to all 13 episodes of the Sis & Tell Podcast Season 1. We're taking a break to relaunch and will start Season 2 this Fall.

In the meantime, you can reminisce with a sis. And yes, I do drink so much LaCroix that my pee is carbonated. 

Listen at sisandtell.com

Sis & Tell is a weekly podcast hosted by sisters Alison Goldstein Lebovitz from PBS' The A List and comedian Amanda Goldstein Marks.

The Coconut LaCroix Debate

To drink it or not to drink it: Coconut LaCroix. It's a century old debate that has broken up families, marriages, and Facebook friendships. Where do you stand?

A Mom Cam in the Minivan reprise...

A Neighborhood Facebook Feud and Randi Zuckerberg

On this week's Sis & Tell podcast, my sister Alison and I discuss our "dot complicated" lives from a neighborhood Facebook feud to Alison speaking with serial entrepreneur Randi Zuckerberg about Sue's Tech Kitchen. Links and listen at sisandtell.com

Sis & Tell is a weekly podcast hosted by sisters Alison Goldstein Lebovitz from PBS' The A List and comedian Amanda Goldstein Marks.

The Modern Day Prank Phone Call

I've got weird hobbies. One of them is the 'reverse prank phone call' where I scam scammers who call me. Here a couple of those moments captured on Facebook Live videos. 

"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on the Internet"

The next installment of the Sis & Tell Podcast is here! Visit www.sisandtell.com for all 11 episodes or listen to the latest here.

In episode 11, Alison does her best Dr. Oz impersonation as she helps diagnose and remedy a new era of ailments for her sister Amanda.

Sis & Tell is a weekly podcast hosted by sisters Alison Goldstein Lebovitz (from PBS' The A List) and comedian Amanda Goldstein Marks.

Sis & Tell Podcast

I've launched the Sis & Tell weekly podcast with my sister Alison Goldstein Lebovitz (host of PBS' The A List). We are at the tale end of season 1, so catch up when you can by visiting www.sisandtell.com or subscribing to the RSS feed via iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. 

It's kind of like S-Town except there's no murder, it's funny, and we no longer live in Alabama. So besides that it's exactly like S-Town.  

Subscribe, listen, and review!

Help Me Find John Stamos

On the next Mom Cam in the Minivan, I tell the story of how John Stamos kissed me. I'm depending on the kindness strangers to help me find John Stamos.

Disney Cruise Tips from a Realistic Mom

On the next Mom Cam in the Minivan, comedian and mother of three, Amanda Marks, provides a more realistic POV on Disney Cruises with your kids.