Year Two Day 137 – August 27th 2010
The 10! Show
Come on...Like I could sleep last night.
Today would be culmination of a couple of years of work. The boys and I would play the 10! Show this morning.
For those of you who don't know, The 10! Show is a local lifestyle show that comes on NBC 10 (Philadelphia) after the Today Show Monday through Friday. It's one of very few locally produced programs in the city that has an audience that watched the show regularly. It may be the only show in town that features local music artists ever (as well as national/international acts) so to get on the show is a big deal. I've been trying to get on the show since the Superego days. It's one of the few chances you get locally to reach an audience that may have never seen you before so when I was finally able to get it I was over the moon.
This wasn't my first time on television, I had done VH1 Fanclub in 2001, Comcast's Broadcast of the Philadelphia Distance Run in 2008 and (of course) Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2009 with Bang Camaro. I had some idea as to what to expect but I was still nervous because this would be the first appearance on television for the Boy Wonder Project.
I “woke up” around 6 to shower get dressed and head to the studio. We pick up Jake on the way and Rob is already there when I arrive (as per usual) We load the gear in and then I see it...the Set of the 10! Show. There are always a few things that leave you taken aback no matter how many times you step onto a television set.
One is the size...they're always significantly smaller than they look on TV, chalk that up to wide angle lenses
Two is how different segments either happen in different rooms or set pieces are rolled onto the set for them...on TV it looks like a different piece of a vast set, I guess going back to size.
Three...this is the third time I've been on television, and no has ever put me in a make up chair.
Four...When Bands play they always have to do a rehearsal for the cameras
Five...It always goes by really fast
After the rehearsal was done we step into the green room and we met the other guests on the show True Blood's Tanya Wright, “Be Sleeveless and Sexy” Author JJ Virgin, WDAS DJ Patty Jackson and Phillies chef Katie Cavuto Boyle. Pretty much all of them were very nice and we got to talk to pretty much all of them.
About half an hour goes by and they tell us that they're ready for us. I was pretty tight initially because we had to do a new arrangement of the song that cut for time, I was concerned we'd forgetand by we I mean me.
I was nervous until I see the album cover swing into focus on screen and Bill Henley introduces me it sounded so pro like I was legit and I had to look around ot make sure it was me they were talking about. I get a little amped up because this is MY moment, I don't have to worry about the other groups that are sharing the bill, I don't have to take a backseat to someone else, I don't have to question whether or not I deserve to be there because they wouldn't have let me come on the show if they didn't feel I was good enough. It's not about the other 3 bands that I'm apart of (God Bless Them and I dig all of the things that I get to be a part of) it's about me, Jake and Rob and all I have to do is concentrate 100% on my performance and what I have to do pull this off. I hear the roar of the crowd and we're ready and we go into the song and I can't help but smile.
As I'm busy amping myself up I'm not noticing the battle I'm about to wage against a front stage light. I'm not standing in the right spot and It starts shining directly into my eyes and I can't see shit. I focus on the song and try to be as natural as possible hoping that muscle memory and a few well placed looks will hide the fact that I'm blind. 15 seconds or so go by and I step to the correct spot and I'm fine after that. Jake is enjoying himself and Rob is laying it down and I can't think of two people who I'd rather share this with. My band is sweet.
It all went by so fast. We did a post tape following the show of another song and then it was time to go. We went to Fridays after wards and then I went home.
All in all it was a positive experience I'm still getting texts and calls and emails from people who've seen the show and gave me nothing but positive reviews. Some were snarky but that's part of the territory, I'm learning people don't have good things to say no matter what you do.
WSTW Hometown Heroes is Sunday and I can't wait.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 270
Year Two – Day 123 – August 13th 2010
When you come home from a tour (even a brief one) it's always a good news/bad new proposition. One one hand you are excited to be home, you get to see your family and friends and get to slide back into a life that's a tad more normal. On the other hand, you miss being out there because you leave other endeavors behind and your only mission in life is to get to the gig and play music.
Back Home and Psyched about the next few weeks. This blog will be the first one that shy's away from the narrative and give the few of you read this blog regularly some news about things that are upcoming in the Boy Wonder Universe
With the release of Animated coming up we've got quite a bit going on.
Boy Wonder Presents: Animated Unleashed
On September 4th we will celebrate the release of the Animated Album with a huge show Downstairs @ World Cafe live @ 7PM. The show is going to be a night to remember featuring a collection of artists who are not only some of the best in the region but are reflective of the ecclectic sound and feel of the new album including
Boy Wonder
Wyldlyfe
Caitlin Potter
Shon Penn
Catherine Prewitt
Damien Anthony
More Artists will be announced soon
Tickets are $11 if you purchase them from me beforehand and $13 at the door. If you haven't been to a Boy Wonder show @ World Cafe Live before, or it's been a while since you've been, this would be the one to catch. Hope to See You There
Tickets can be purchased on-line HERE
New Myspace
As with every other Album Release I've done, I'm celebrating it with a change to my Myspace page. It has a simpler sleek new look as well as two new songs from the Upcoming Album upoladed to it, so if you have a chance take a look, it'll be like traveling back in time five years
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
Range Recording Studios Newsletter
I am featured in this month's Range Recoding Studios E Newsletter which goes out every month.
For those of you who Follow the Blog Range Recording Studios is where I recorded Animated as well as my last Album Superego. It's an amazing place and I was more than happy to sit down with marc Eimer to give him all of the information he needed for his article, which turned out pretty sweet
The Article can be found HERE
The 10! Show
In what was probably the worst kept secret ever, I will be appearing on the 10! Show on Friday August 27th. The show airs at 11am, most of you will be at work but that's what the DVR is for. We will be playing Surrender off of the new album Animated. This will be the first major Television appearance for Boy Wonder and the first time I've been on TV since I did Jimmy Kimmel Live with Bang Camaro.
If you want to see the show live you can get tickets HERE.
93.7 WSTW – Hometown Heroes
On Sunday August 29th I'll be the guest on 93.7 WSTW's Hometown Heroes show. Hometown Heroes is a show hosted by Mark Rogers. The station is based out of Deleware and it features some of the Deleware Valleys finest local music. They have spun me on their station several times as well as nominated me for their Homey Awards last year, I even walked away with two (Best R&B and Hip Song and Best Open Mic Host)
It's going to be an awesome show, the boys and I are gonna play some acoustic tunes, I'll do some interview stuff and we'll play some stuff off of the new record which will be exciting
The Show airs August 29th @ 8PM
WSTW's Hometown Heroes can be found on the web HERE
So many cool things are happening around the release of this record
I'll keep you posted as more cool things should be happening once the record comes out
Be Good, if not, Be Good At It and I'll see you real soon
When you come home from a tour (even a brief one) it's always a good news/bad new proposition. One one hand you are excited to be home, you get to see your family and friends and get to slide back into a life that's a tad more normal. On the other hand, you miss being out there because you leave other endeavors behind and your only mission in life is to get to the gig and play music.
Back Home and Psyched about the next few weeks. This blog will be the first one that shy's away from the narrative and give the few of you read this blog regularly some news about things that are upcoming in the Boy Wonder Universe
With the release of Animated coming up we've got quite a bit going on.
Boy Wonder Presents: Animated Unleashed
On September 4th we will celebrate the release of the Animated Album with a huge show Downstairs @ World Cafe live @ 7PM. The show is going to be a night to remember featuring a collection of artists who are not only some of the best in the region but are reflective of the ecclectic sound and feel of the new album including
Boy Wonder
Wyldlyfe
Caitlin Potter
Shon Penn
Catherine Prewitt
Damien Anthony
More Artists will be announced soon
Tickets are $11 if you purchase them from me beforehand and $13 at the door. If you haven't been to a Boy Wonder show @ World Cafe Live before, or it's been a while since you've been, this would be the one to catch. Hope to See You There
Tickets can be purchased on-line HERE
New Myspace
As with every other Album Release I've done, I'm celebrating it with a change to my Myspace page. It has a simpler sleek new look as well as two new songs from the Upcoming Album upoladed to it, so if you have a chance take a look, it'll be like traveling back in time five years
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
Range Recording Studios Newsletter
I am featured in this month's Range Recoding Studios E Newsletter which goes out every month.
For those of you who Follow the Blog Range Recording Studios is where I recorded Animated as well as my last Album Superego. It's an amazing place and I was more than happy to sit down with marc Eimer to give him all of the information he needed for his article, which turned out pretty sweet
The Article can be found HERE
The 10! Show
In what was probably the worst kept secret ever, I will be appearing on the 10! Show on Friday August 27th. The show airs at 11am, most of you will be at work but that's what the DVR is for. We will be playing Surrender off of the new album Animated. This will be the first major Television appearance for Boy Wonder and the first time I've been on TV since I did Jimmy Kimmel Live with Bang Camaro.
If you want to see the show live you can get tickets HERE.
93.7 WSTW – Hometown Heroes
On Sunday August 29th I'll be the guest on 93.7 WSTW's Hometown Heroes show. Hometown Heroes is a show hosted by Mark Rogers. The station is based out of Deleware and it features some of the Deleware Valleys finest local music. They have spun me on their station several times as well as nominated me for their Homey Awards last year, I even walked away with two (Best R&B and Hip Song and Best Open Mic Host)
It's going to be an awesome show, the boys and I are gonna play some acoustic tunes, I'll do some interview stuff and we'll play some stuff off of the new record which will be exciting
The Show airs August 29th @ 8PM
WSTW's Hometown Heroes can be found on the web HERE
So many cool things are happening around the release of this record
I'll keep you posted as more cool things should be happening once the record comes out
Be Good, if not, Be Good At It and I'll see you real soon
Monday, August 9, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 269
Year Two - Day 118 – August 8th 2010
Minneapolis Minnesota
We drove through the night from Indy, probably a bad idea. Rest is so important when you're doing this job and frankly it's tough to get it in a conversion van.
As I say good morning I realize my voice sounds and feels like I smoked a bag of cigarettes. Lizards was full of smoke last night even the pregnant ladies were smoking. Of course I'm concerned about my voice tonight. My throat is killing me and my chest is muccusy (probably not even a word) and as I scratch my face I realize that I probably need a shave as well so when we touch town I need meds and a razor. Sounding and looking good is essential tonight.
We pull into town around 1PM, I can't get over how hot it is here. I walked to the Walgreens and was baking in the Minneapolis sun. I hadn't showered so I was smelling awesome. I got in, got what I needed, and got out. I arrived back at the hotel and was pretty much ready to crash. Luckily the room had an awesome shower and an Law and Order SVU marathon on TV. As I drifted off to sleep I heard a knock on the door. Jake and Brian are dressed to kill and they're ready to go out. I'm glad these guys are here to balance me out, if they weren't here I'd probably stay at the hotel all day till the show and never see any of these places.
There was a storm threatening to bust open and soak the twin cities so we opted to hit Cause (Formerly Sauce) for an early dinner instead of roaming downtown Minneapolis. I remember the gig in October like it was yesterday; the filled room, the cheering crowds, the lines at the merch table. It was the first time I felt like a legitimate artist and I knew that making a life for myself out here was possible. We were so well received that playing in Minneapolis again was at the top of my wish list of things to do. Would it be like it was before? Who knows, it's a Sunday night, there's no cover, and people have seen us before. But I know we've got a crowd coming and if Grey Matador delivers (which they always do) this house will be packed.
My voice is loosening up as I walk down Lyndale street looking for gum (Dinner although delicious, made my breath quite scummy and disgusting) and a button down shirt (which I didn't find) I get a call from My good friend Katherine Mundy called. She has a respiratory condition that is going to force her to pull out of the CD Release show on September 4th. This is unfortunate because not only is she an awesome singer/songwriter, she's featured on Animated. She'll be missed but I'd rather her sit this one out than do permanent damage to her voice. The sky is getting even darker so I head back. Nerves are starting to set in, is anyone coming? Will they enjoy it? Is anything strange going to happen?
When I saw Roe and Brue of Grey Matador I felt a lot better. Brue's running the show so I feel better with him here. As the rest of the band walks in I get pretty stoked, it's nice to see some friendly faces. Working through booking agencies and clubs directly for all of the previous dates I missed the camaraderie the comes with doing shows with fellow musicians. It adds a certain touch and flare to the proceedings because the bands have a stake in people showing up.
As the night progresses Kibra, Lori, and Kristin among others walk in. The Twin Cities are awesome because we have real fans here. Kibra saw us in Chicago on Wednesday, Lori came the last time out and brought people with her this time and Kristin came all the way from Fargo to check it out, Rob had some buddies show up, and I recognize a lot of the people who came to the show before. We were missing some soldiers but I couldn't be anything but happy that we have such a strong contingent of people so far away from home.
Matador hits the stage first, and they play one helluva set, I've always been intrigued by how Brue can hit the drums like a tank but not be earsplittingly loud. They get better and better every time I see them. I enjoy watching them, they seem to have such an easy chemistry. After about 40 minutes of pure unadulterated post punk power we were up. It was time to play the show that I'd built this tour around. I take a deep breath and I count it off.
Set List
Ex- Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed To Be This Way
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Surrender
Feels So Good
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Psycho
Encore
Baby One More Time
We tore into this set with a sheer ferocity unmatched by the rest of the dates on this tour. We didn't have to focus on winning the crowd over because 90% of them were already there to see us and were expecting a good show. They were in it with us and it raised our game to another level. I was floating on air which made it difficult to be in the moment. I flubbed a couple of pedal switches, but even I didn't notice till later.
I got the idea in my head to use Roque (Grey Matador's guitarist)'s Amp in conjunction with mine to create a bigger more stereo guitar sound, it's something I've seen people do but I've never done myself. It rounded out my sound and I think I'll probably use two amps from here on out.
It was truly an amazing experience. We played a great show, hung out with some awesome people, and saw some great bands. The John Snell Xplosion was pretty awesome and Grey Matador...I mean what else can be said. I can't wait to do stuff with them in the future.
The last note played marked the end of this tour. Possibly the best tour yet. We worked like a well oiled machine and these three guys were a perfect example of professionalism and basic kick-assness. We played for hundreds this time but I'm more determined to play to thousands next time around. As we've done before, all of us will take the lessons we learned and apply it to future endeavors
I could stay out here forever but I know it's time to come home...we got big things ahead. Brace yourselves Philadelphia, we'll be back in a few days
Minneapolis Minnesota
We drove through the night from Indy, probably a bad idea. Rest is so important when you're doing this job and frankly it's tough to get it in a conversion van.
As I say good morning I realize my voice sounds and feels like I smoked a bag of cigarettes. Lizards was full of smoke last night even the pregnant ladies were smoking. Of course I'm concerned about my voice tonight. My throat is killing me and my chest is muccusy (probably not even a word) and as I scratch my face I realize that I probably need a shave as well so when we touch town I need meds and a razor. Sounding and looking good is essential tonight.
We pull into town around 1PM, I can't get over how hot it is here. I walked to the Walgreens and was baking in the Minneapolis sun. I hadn't showered so I was smelling awesome. I got in, got what I needed, and got out. I arrived back at the hotel and was pretty much ready to crash. Luckily the room had an awesome shower and an Law and Order SVU marathon on TV. As I drifted off to sleep I heard a knock on the door. Jake and Brian are dressed to kill and they're ready to go out. I'm glad these guys are here to balance me out, if they weren't here I'd probably stay at the hotel all day till the show and never see any of these places.
There was a storm threatening to bust open and soak the twin cities so we opted to hit Cause (Formerly Sauce) for an early dinner instead of roaming downtown Minneapolis. I remember the gig in October like it was yesterday; the filled room, the cheering crowds, the lines at the merch table. It was the first time I felt like a legitimate artist and I knew that making a life for myself out here was possible. We were so well received that playing in Minneapolis again was at the top of my wish list of things to do. Would it be like it was before? Who knows, it's a Sunday night, there's no cover, and people have seen us before. But I know we've got a crowd coming and if Grey Matador delivers (which they always do) this house will be packed.
My voice is loosening up as I walk down Lyndale street looking for gum (Dinner although delicious, made my breath quite scummy and disgusting) and a button down shirt (which I didn't find) I get a call from My good friend Katherine Mundy called. She has a respiratory condition that is going to force her to pull out of the CD Release show on September 4th. This is unfortunate because not only is she an awesome singer/songwriter, she's featured on Animated. She'll be missed but I'd rather her sit this one out than do permanent damage to her voice. The sky is getting even darker so I head back. Nerves are starting to set in, is anyone coming? Will they enjoy it? Is anything strange going to happen?
When I saw Roe and Brue of Grey Matador I felt a lot better. Brue's running the show so I feel better with him here. As the rest of the band walks in I get pretty stoked, it's nice to see some friendly faces. Working through booking agencies and clubs directly for all of the previous dates I missed the camaraderie the comes with doing shows with fellow musicians. It adds a certain touch and flare to the proceedings because the bands have a stake in people showing up.
As the night progresses Kibra, Lori, and Kristin among others walk in. The Twin Cities are awesome because we have real fans here. Kibra saw us in Chicago on Wednesday, Lori came the last time out and brought people with her this time and Kristin came all the way from Fargo to check it out, Rob had some buddies show up, and I recognize a lot of the people who came to the show before. We were missing some soldiers but I couldn't be anything but happy that we have such a strong contingent of people so far away from home.
Matador hits the stage first, and they play one helluva set, I've always been intrigued by how Brue can hit the drums like a tank but not be earsplittingly loud. They get better and better every time I see them. I enjoy watching them, they seem to have such an easy chemistry. After about 40 minutes of pure unadulterated post punk power we were up. It was time to play the show that I'd built this tour around. I take a deep breath and I count it off.
Set List
Ex- Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed To Be This Way
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Surrender
Feels So Good
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Psycho
Encore
Baby One More Time
We tore into this set with a sheer ferocity unmatched by the rest of the dates on this tour. We didn't have to focus on winning the crowd over because 90% of them were already there to see us and were expecting a good show. They were in it with us and it raised our game to another level. I was floating on air which made it difficult to be in the moment. I flubbed a couple of pedal switches, but even I didn't notice till later.
I got the idea in my head to use Roque (Grey Matador's guitarist)'s Amp in conjunction with mine to create a bigger more stereo guitar sound, it's something I've seen people do but I've never done myself. It rounded out my sound and I think I'll probably use two amps from here on out.
It was truly an amazing experience. We played a great show, hung out with some awesome people, and saw some great bands. The John Snell Xplosion was pretty awesome and Grey Matador...I mean what else can be said. I can't wait to do stuff with them in the future.
The last note played marked the end of this tour. Possibly the best tour yet. We worked like a well oiled machine and these three guys were a perfect example of professionalism and basic kick-assness. We played for hundreds this time but I'm more determined to play to thousands next time around. As we've done before, all of us will take the lessons we learned and apply it to future endeavors
I could stay out here forever but I know it's time to come home...we got big things ahead. Brace yourselves Philadelphia, we'll be back in a few days
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 268
Year Two - Day 117 – August 7th 2010
Indianapolis Indiana
I woke up in the hotel in Cleveland pretty stoked about tonight. Lizards in Indianapolis was the kickoff for our first tour almost a year ago, we had a strong draw and met some super cool people. After the weirdness that was Cleveland I was like “Yeah this is where we're gonna get it goin” No one was looking forward to the ten hour car ride, and then a realization was made as I'm carrying my suitcase to the car
Brian: Andre
Me: Yo.
Brian: Indianapolis is only five hours away.
Me: I see
So the plans that we had were more or less blown up and we would have to travel to another city and find a way to fill space until the show.
A whole Pizza, a couple pictures of Miller lite and some sandwiches later it was time for us to hit the stage. I look around and 4 things are apparent
1)The Cigarette smoke is so thick in here you can cut it with a knife (Meaning singing's gonna be a real hoot)
2)My Family's not here (Which means the rooms damn near empty)
3)Vocally My upper register is shot (Probably because of fatigue)
4)We're all pretty wiped
But because we are who we are. We fire up the amps and we go to work
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Surrender
Feels So Good
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Psycho
The sounds less than stellar. The monitors make me sound like I was in that movie white noise and you can hear the monitor feedback in the house. The sound guy's not even at his post to fix it, and when the time came for my talk box solo he was nowhere to be found to turn my mic up, by the time he finally did I was finished. Cool guy, but because of the broad range of stuff we do (especially if we're playing longer and have to dip into the catalog) we're not the kind of band you can set levels for and go smoke a cigarette. We had the same problem in Cleveland last night (I take solace in the fact that I know these problems won't be problems tomorrow) it can be pretty frustrating because you do all you can to put on a good show but if the sound guy's not paying attention it's not gonna go right.
My voice is shot and I don't get it going really till midway thorough the set. Unbeknowst to me the few people there are falling in love with us. There aren't many people there but the numbers are increasing. I talk to a guy that runs a couple of radio stations in town who was interested in the possibility of airing some of the tunes on the station (A tremendous help for when we return to Indy) and the promoter of the event wants us back. He likes us so much he wants us to play a short set tonight for the new people that just came in.
Set List
How Can This Be Love
Hit Me Baby One More Time
Wasted
I think we really proved our steel the past few days. It's easy to be professional and kick ass when things are going well. It's harder
We hung out for a minute and then we hit the road on the way to Minneapolis...for a night of Epicness
Indianapolis Indiana
I woke up in the hotel in Cleveland pretty stoked about tonight. Lizards in Indianapolis was the kickoff for our first tour almost a year ago, we had a strong draw and met some super cool people. After the weirdness that was Cleveland I was like “Yeah this is where we're gonna get it goin” No one was looking forward to the ten hour car ride, and then a realization was made as I'm carrying my suitcase to the car
Brian: Andre
Me: Yo.
Brian: Indianapolis is only five hours away.
Me: I see
So the plans that we had were more or less blown up and we would have to travel to another city and find a way to fill space until the show.
A whole Pizza, a couple pictures of Miller lite and some sandwiches later it was time for us to hit the stage. I look around and 4 things are apparent
1)The Cigarette smoke is so thick in here you can cut it with a knife (Meaning singing's gonna be a real hoot)
2)My Family's not here (Which means the rooms damn near empty)
3)Vocally My upper register is shot (Probably because of fatigue)
4)We're all pretty wiped
But because we are who we are. We fire up the amps and we go to work
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Surrender
Feels So Good
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Psycho
The sounds less than stellar. The monitors make me sound like I was in that movie white noise and you can hear the monitor feedback in the house. The sound guy's not even at his post to fix it, and when the time came for my talk box solo he was nowhere to be found to turn my mic up, by the time he finally did I was finished. Cool guy, but because of the broad range of stuff we do (especially if we're playing longer and have to dip into the catalog) we're not the kind of band you can set levels for and go smoke a cigarette. We had the same problem in Cleveland last night (I take solace in the fact that I know these problems won't be problems tomorrow) it can be pretty frustrating because you do all you can to put on a good show but if the sound guy's not paying attention it's not gonna go right.
My voice is shot and I don't get it going really till midway thorough the set. Unbeknowst to me the few people there are falling in love with us. There aren't many people there but the numbers are increasing. I talk to a guy that runs a couple of radio stations in town who was interested in the possibility of airing some of the tunes on the station (A tremendous help for when we return to Indy) and the promoter of the event wants us back. He likes us so much he wants us to play a short set tonight for the new people that just came in.
Set List
How Can This Be Love
Hit Me Baby One More Time
Wasted
I think we really proved our steel the past few days. It's easy to be professional and kick ass when things are going well. It's harder
We hung out for a minute and then we hit the road on the way to Minneapolis...for a night of Epicness
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 267
Year Two Day 116 – August 6th 2010
Cleveland Ohio
We left Toledo with the feeling of conquering heroes...well at least I did. Touring is such a gamble when no one knows who you are but when it works, it works. Those kids could have basically went in the other room while we played but they clapped and swayed and crowded the front of the stage and showed us love, I never take that for granted.
Cleveland was only an hour and some change away from Toledo. One thing that I've done this time around I think is booked things closer together so that we're not spending 9, 10 hours in a car at a time (*pats self on the back*) we're a lot fresher or we would be if I wasn't so wiped. The anxiety of the last two days has made more tired than anything else. I'm looking forward to Saturday and Sunday when I know that I'll have people there and that the jitters of doing new songs will be done.
We pull into the hotel and are unable to check in so we grab a coffee somewhere and I check on the things that are going on at home.
We just booked the 10! Show for August 27th, I've been wanting to do that for the past 4-5 years, no time like the right time. We just booked CampJam for September 18th another thing I've wanted to do the past few years, that weekend's going to be epic. I'll be losing a night at Lickety Split but possibly gaining one at Triumph, that's how these things work, and things are looking pretty rosy in the personal life department.
Jake had a really good idea this time around; instead of stopping and eating bad rest stop food on the road, we;d hit a grocery store and make some sandwiches to eat while we're driving. It saves money and it's probably better for us then the crap one would usually eat out here, and I don't have to step foot inside of a subway which is a nice added bonus.
We laid around for what seemed like forever. Jake came back and put the sandwiches together and we headed to the venue.
Wilbert's is a pretty cool spot behind Progressive Field where the Indians played, Major League is one of my all time favorite movies so it was kinda cool to be near the ballpark. We meet the owner, Mike who's really nice. He loves music and is happy to have us here. I look around and see pictures of some really good blues musicians on the wall. I guess in Ohio they want you to get a feel of a places history and pedigree by letting you know who's played here. We ate and basically waited around for sound check when Paul walked in.
Paul Eager is another friend from the virtual world known as the internet. We used to efed together when I was in High School and College (if you really wanna know what that is you'll have to look it up) we kept in touch via Aim and Facebook over the years but it was nice to finally meet him. It was very similar to the meeting I had with Sophia a few days back. You would think that we;d feel like strangers but we clicked in real life the same way as we did on-line which was cool. Unfortunately we went on to late for him to catch the whole set but we got to talk for a long time which was really cool. He said he was making an art piece for me, he's really really good so I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm looking forward to coming back here and hanging out with him, might just take a non music trip out.
So I'm then told by Mike that he wanted us to play for like 75 minutes so there had to be adjustments made to the set. There was a sweet post game Fireworks session before hand.
Set List
The Way You make Me Feel
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
Surrender
Feels So Good
How Can This Be Love
Body
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Walking on the Moon
I lost a string during the Feels so Good Solo which caused me to lose a lot of momentum. I was really freakin out when we realized that after Feels so Good Was Over we'd only been playing for 45 minutes. I had to add a few more songs to the planned set to make it longer. Fortunately I had another guitar and I got through the gig.
Kind of a weird crowd. Superdrunk and they kinda just sat and watched us. Some people danced and gave us fist pumps, people came in and out from the deck outside to check it out, and two people were even making out on the dance floor. But the sports bar crowd weren't as enthused as the kids in Toledo were last night. Not to mention that we were the only band there that night. We probably would have benefited from having a local band with a decent draw on the show before us. Mike dug it and it looks like we're gonna get another shot so thank God for that.
Indianapolis is tomorrow. The first long drive of the tour. I'm excited about returning to Lizards
Cleveland Ohio
We left Toledo with the feeling of conquering heroes...well at least I did. Touring is such a gamble when no one knows who you are but when it works, it works. Those kids could have basically went in the other room while we played but they clapped and swayed and crowded the front of the stage and showed us love, I never take that for granted.
Cleveland was only an hour and some change away from Toledo. One thing that I've done this time around I think is booked things closer together so that we're not spending 9, 10 hours in a car at a time (*pats self on the back*) we're a lot fresher or we would be if I wasn't so wiped. The anxiety of the last two days has made more tired than anything else. I'm looking forward to Saturday and Sunday when I know that I'll have people there and that the jitters of doing new songs will be done.
We pull into the hotel and are unable to check in so we grab a coffee somewhere and I check on the things that are going on at home.
We just booked the 10! Show for August 27th, I've been wanting to do that for the past 4-5 years, no time like the right time. We just booked CampJam for September 18th another thing I've wanted to do the past few years, that weekend's going to be epic. I'll be losing a night at Lickety Split but possibly gaining one at Triumph, that's how these things work, and things are looking pretty rosy in the personal life department.
Jake had a really good idea this time around; instead of stopping and eating bad rest stop food on the road, we;d hit a grocery store and make some sandwiches to eat while we're driving. It saves money and it's probably better for us then the crap one would usually eat out here, and I don't have to step foot inside of a subway which is a nice added bonus.
We laid around for what seemed like forever. Jake came back and put the sandwiches together and we headed to the venue.
Wilbert's is a pretty cool spot behind Progressive Field where the Indians played, Major League is one of my all time favorite movies so it was kinda cool to be near the ballpark. We meet the owner, Mike who's really nice. He loves music and is happy to have us here. I look around and see pictures of some really good blues musicians on the wall. I guess in Ohio they want you to get a feel of a places history and pedigree by letting you know who's played here. We ate and basically waited around for sound check when Paul walked in.
Paul Eager is another friend from the virtual world known as the internet. We used to efed together when I was in High School and College (if you really wanna know what that is you'll have to look it up) we kept in touch via Aim and Facebook over the years but it was nice to finally meet him. It was very similar to the meeting I had with Sophia a few days back. You would think that we;d feel like strangers but we clicked in real life the same way as we did on-line which was cool. Unfortunately we went on to late for him to catch the whole set but we got to talk for a long time which was really cool. He said he was making an art piece for me, he's really really good so I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm looking forward to coming back here and hanging out with him, might just take a non music trip out.
So I'm then told by Mike that he wanted us to play for like 75 minutes so there had to be adjustments made to the set. There was a sweet post game Fireworks session before hand.
Set List
The Way You make Me Feel
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
Surrender
Feels So Good
How Can This Be Love
Body
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Walking on the Moon
I lost a string during the Feels so Good Solo which caused me to lose a lot of momentum. I was really freakin out when we realized that after Feels so Good Was Over we'd only been playing for 45 minutes. I had to add a few more songs to the planned set to make it longer. Fortunately I had another guitar and I got through the gig.
Kind of a weird crowd. Superdrunk and they kinda just sat and watched us. Some people danced and gave us fist pumps, people came in and out from the deck outside to check it out, and two people were even making out on the dance floor. But the sports bar crowd weren't as enthused as the kids in Toledo were last night. Not to mention that we were the only band there that night. We probably would have benefited from having a local band with a decent draw on the show before us. Mike dug it and it looks like we're gonna get another shot so thank God for that.
Indianapolis is tomorrow. The first long drive of the tour. I'm excited about returning to Lizards
Friday, August 6, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 266
Year Two – Day 115 – August 5th 2010
Toledo Ohio
We hit up Giordano's in Chicago before heading to Toledo. The pizza was off the chain, very heavy, I only got through a slice before we boxed it up. We got some Starbucks and hit the road.
I always try as best I can to look out the window and appreciate nature. I really love how the scenery changes as we hit different areas of the country. It's a little flatter out here and a few more farms then home. Kinda reminds me of Smallville.
With a rough but successful first night behind us I was looking forward to see what Toledo would be like. It's been my experience that the smaller cities/towns usually pack the room for the original music shows and they tend to be a tad more participatory than the crowds on the east coast who are most of the time too cool for the room.
This would be the first time for all of us in Toledo. The Venue Frankie's Inner City...and from the looks of it, it looks like it's one of “the” places to play here. I look at posters on the wall and it's a virtual who's who in rock music for the past 20+ years or so, The Goo Good Dolls, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Modern English, The B-52's, Puddle of Mudd, The Silversun Pickups, the list probably goes on and on. All these people had played this spot and gone on to bigger things. So because I'm a basket case I allowed that to intimidate me.
We were only given 30 minutes so we had to rearrange the set. Jake came up with the set, looked good to me so we did that. As the show was about to start Brian walks over
Brian: I just met Electric Six's Merch Girl
Me: Em's here
Brian: Yeah Out Front
I run like a school girl to find her. Emily (One of the few people from the whole Bang Camaro/Electric Six crew I talk to on a consistent basis) helped set the gig up. I actually was never really sure where Em was actually from so it was nice to have that question answered. We caught up while we listened to the first group it's always nice to see her.
Once the first act was done the place really started to fill up. You never really know whether or not you're gonna play to an empty room when you play out of town, you're kind of crossing your fingers and hoping to God that the rest of the bands can put people in the room. We met the band that would be following us on stage, they were all about 17 so all these teenaged girls belonged to them. Fine with me hopefully they feel the music.
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
Surrender
Sexy Machnie
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
So how'd it sound? Beyond a shadow of a doubt it was better than last night. There's just a feeling you get on stage when you know you are killing it. Jake, Rob, and I are in lockstep sounding like the true power trio that we've always have been.
By the time we get to Surrender people are clapping along...by the time we get to Psycho everyone has crowded the front of the stage. People were smiling at us (mainly Jake and Rob) and they were having a good time, which is all you can ask for. We built our mailing list sold some product and made a bunch of new awesome friends.
I've got way too much whiskey in my system at present time and have to find a way to keep rob from eating my left over deep dish so I will bid you all good evening.
Toledo Ohio
We hit up Giordano's in Chicago before heading to Toledo. The pizza was off the chain, very heavy, I only got through a slice before we boxed it up. We got some Starbucks and hit the road.
I always try as best I can to look out the window and appreciate nature. I really love how the scenery changes as we hit different areas of the country. It's a little flatter out here and a few more farms then home. Kinda reminds me of Smallville.
With a rough but successful first night behind us I was looking forward to see what Toledo would be like. It's been my experience that the smaller cities/towns usually pack the room for the original music shows and they tend to be a tad more participatory than the crowds on the east coast who are most of the time too cool for the room.
This would be the first time for all of us in Toledo. The Venue Frankie's Inner City...and from the looks of it, it looks like it's one of “the” places to play here. I look at posters on the wall and it's a virtual who's who in rock music for the past 20+ years or so, The Goo Good Dolls, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Modern English, The B-52's, Puddle of Mudd, The Silversun Pickups, the list probably goes on and on. All these people had played this spot and gone on to bigger things. So because I'm a basket case I allowed that to intimidate me.
We were only given 30 minutes so we had to rearrange the set. Jake came up with the set, looked good to me so we did that. As the show was about to start Brian walks over
Brian: I just met Electric Six's Merch Girl
Me: Em's here
Brian: Yeah Out Front
I run like a school girl to find her. Emily (One of the few people from the whole Bang Camaro/Electric Six crew I talk to on a consistent basis) helped set the gig up. I actually was never really sure where Em was actually from so it was nice to have that question answered. We caught up while we listened to the first group it's always nice to see her.
Once the first act was done the place really started to fill up. You never really know whether or not you're gonna play to an empty room when you play out of town, you're kind of crossing your fingers and hoping to God that the rest of the bands can put people in the room. We met the band that would be following us on stage, they were all about 17 so all these teenaged girls belonged to them. Fine with me hopefully they feel the music.
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
Surrender
Sexy Machnie
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
So how'd it sound? Beyond a shadow of a doubt it was better than last night. There's just a feeling you get on stage when you know you are killing it. Jake, Rob, and I are in lockstep sounding like the true power trio that we've always have been.
By the time we get to Surrender people are clapping along...by the time we get to Psycho everyone has crowded the front of the stage. People were smiling at us (mainly Jake and Rob) and they were having a good time, which is all you can ask for. We built our mailing list sold some product and made a bunch of new awesome friends.
I've got way too much whiskey in my system at present time and have to find a way to keep rob from eating my left over deep dish so I will bid you all good evening.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 265
Year Two – Day 116 – August 4th 2010
Chicago, Illinois
Back on the Road...the more I do this the more unencumbered I feel. The less I'm concerned with happenings back home, don't get me wrong I still have business to take care of back in Philadelphia, but that's the only thing I'm concerned with these days. What I mean by happenings is the drama that I often subject myself to at home. I was able to avoid a lot of it by spending time with Nikki and Aydan last week followed by a great time at The Plateau Jam. Home for a little over a day to do Philly Rising and then yesterday we were headed towards Chicago. It was quite the long ride to the hotel We pull in and get some much needed rest.
Today was a very big day. First Boy Wonder gig ever in Chicago (I had been here previously with Bang Camaro at the Double Door), first night of the tour, first night playing the tunes from Animated, I'd been nervous for pretty much the entire day. We decided to get up early and see the city, I had originally bitched and moaned about going out last night, but after a good nights rest I was up to spending some time with the guys and seeing a city I missed out on last year. We'd planned to meet up with our friend Ed who was going to give us a tour of the media arts school he works at. It took a lil bit to park but it was worth it, it was a pretty awesome facility. We went back to the lot, grabbed the van and headed towards The Tonic Room.
The Venue was small, but it had an awesome vibe. We at at the Thai Place next door as we watched other bands and their fans come inside. Our people start to trickle in Ed and Lindsay, Kibra from Minneapolis surprised us with her buddy JaJa, and Sophia Dilberakis even showed up. Sophia's been an e-friend of mine for almost ten years (She, I, and a few others bonded over our love for a certain bass player/singer) so it was nice to finally meet her and chat face to face. The whole internet thing is kinda weird, in the sense that you meet these people and you have a connection with them, but you've never actually met. But we chatted and laughed just like we did on-line, it was really really cool.
We spent some time talking to our friends and then at 8:30 we hit the stage. I say hello Chicago and then we're off to the races
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
Surrender
Feels So Good
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Encore
Walking on The Moon
I was pretty rattled the entire time, I generally don't do nerves but for some reason I was so eager to please this evening. The guys played well but I didn't play as well as I wanted to and there are some adjustments that need to be made to the set but all in all the people seemed to like it and that's all that matters in the end. I know things in Toledo will be even better tomorrow.
We saw some great bands and headed back to the hotel. A flurry of txt messages and leftover thai food was followed by me passing out. Toledo's tomorrow...we're gonna rock it.
Chicago, Illinois
Back on the Road...the more I do this the more unencumbered I feel. The less I'm concerned with happenings back home, don't get me wrong I still have business to take care of back in Philadelphia, but that's the only thing I'm concerned with these days. What I mean by happenings is the drama that I often subject myself to at home. I was able to avoid a lot of it by spending time with Nikki and Aydan last week followed by a great time at The Plateau Jam. Home for a little over a day to do Philly Rising and then yesterday we were headed towards Chicago. It was quite the long ride to the hotel We pull in and get some much needed rest.
Today was a very big day. First Boy Wonder gig ever in Chicago (I had been here previously with Bang Camaro at the Double Door), first night of the tour, first night playing the tunes from Animated, I'd been nervous for pretty much the entire day. We decided to get up early and see the city, I had originally bitched and moaned about going out last night, but after a good nights rest I was up to spending some time with the guys and seeing a city I missed out on last year. We'd planned to meet up with our friend Ed who was going to give us a tour of the media arts school he works at. It took a lil bit to park but it was worth it, it was a pretty awesome facility. We went back to the lot, grabbed the van and headed towards The Tonic Room.
The Venue was small, but it had an awesome vibe. We at at the Thai Place next door as we watched other bands and their fans come inside. Our people start to trickle in Ed and Lindsay, Kibra from Minneapolis surprised us with her buddy JaJa, and Sophia Dilberakis even showed up. Sophia's been an e-friend of mine for almost ten years (She, I, and a few others bonded over our love for a certain bass player/singer) so it was nice to finally meet her and chat face to face. The whole internet thing is kinda weird, in the sense that you meet these people and you have a connection with them, but you've never actually met. But we chatted and laughed just like we did on-line, it was really really cool.
We spent some time talking to our friends and then at 8:30 we hit the stage. I say hello Chicago and then we're off to the races
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
Surrender
Feels So Good
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Encore
Walking on The Moon
I was pretty rattled the entire time, I generally don't do nerves but for some reason I was so eager to please this evening. The guys played well but I didn't play as well as I wanted to and there are some adjustments that need to be made to the set but all in all the people seemed to like it and that's all that matters in the end. I know things in Toledo will be even better tomorrow.
We saw some great bands and headed back to the hotel. A flurry of txt messages and leftover thai food was followed by me passing out. Toledo's tomorrow...we're gonna rock it.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 264
Year Two – Day 105 – June 21st 2010
Mastering Session
I take a train to Frankfort, get in Joe's car and we ride to Blue Bell. We listen to the mixes on the way up and he plays me some City Line Stuff. It's funny how a relationship can shift just by spending time with someone. It's even funnier when someone is exactly who you thought they were when you first met them. You never know what sort of effect a person is going to have on your life when you first meet them, God reveals that to you with the passage of time. This guy opened up a creative door that I didn't even know was in the room and finally I got the right person to make the record I always wanted to make.
Today we were mastering the record. I don't know much about the mastering process, the guys who are going to do it, or where the hell we are in fact going. But for the first time in this entire process I'm putting my faith in Joe and not even questioning it. He's been right 99% of the time throughout the entire recording process (I did win one acoustic guitar battle) so I figure why fight it in my head or out loud.
We pull into a house. An older lady answers the door and so does a strange looking dog (I would find out later it was a poodle owned by the mastering engineer, he basically didn't do the punk ass poodle haircut on his dog...a thing I respect) she tells me and Joe that the guys are downstairs.
We walk downstairs and into a very impressive recording studio. It's not very fancy but there's something about the room that let's you know that it gets a good sound and that if the walls could talk they'd tell you some very interesting stories.
I meet two guys named Paul they will be taking care of my record today. Joe has to work so he departs not soon after they begin. I sit for a while and it wouldn't be long till I start asking questions. This is the first mastering session I've ever sat in on and I'm curious about what actually happens. The general thing people say is that they just make it louder, but even I can see there's so much more than that. Paul starts talking to me about equalization, compression, limiting, noise reduction among other things...my eyes glaze over as I don't have a clue what he's talking about. All I know is that the songs sound better then they did before and that they are working to establish a sonic consistency so that everything sounds like it came from the same guy.
They're super cool guys. We chat about music and life stuff, I realize that they are the guys from Get The Led Out, this super cool Zeppelin Tribute band that Andrew Lipke plays in, I laugh at how small the world is. I'm flattered by the compliments they give me as we go through the songs. I'm even more flattered when they compliment everyone else. Musician's of this caliber and school confirm what I've been saying in my brain for the past few weeks, this is the best stuff I've ever recorded.
Six hours later my record is finished, ready to be duplicated I write two checks and am out the door.
I take the train into the city and go straight to Philly Rising.
It took six months to finish Superego. So to have a finished album in three weeks is really an amazing feeling.
Mastering Session
I take a train to Frankfort, get in Joe's car and we ride to Blue Bell. We listen to the mixes on the way up and he plays me some City Line Stuff. It's funny how a relationship can shift just by spending time with someone. It's even funnier when someone is exactly who you thought they were when you first met them. You never know what sort of effect a person is going to have on your life when you first meet them, God reveals that to you with the passage of time. This guy opened up a creative door that I didn't even know was in the room and finally I got the right person to make the record I always wanted to make.
Today we were mastering the record. I don't know much about the mastering process, the guys who are going to do it, or where the hell we are in fact going. But for the first time in this entire process I'm putting my faith in Joe and not even questioning it. He's been right 99% of the time throughout the entire recording process (I did win one acoustic guitar battle) so I figure why fight it in my head or out loud.
We pull into a house. An older lady answers the door and so does a strange looking dog (I would find out later it was a poodle owned by the mastering engineer, he basically didn't do the punk ass poodle haircut on his dog...a thing I respect) she tells me and Joe that the guys are downstairs.
We walk downstairs and into a very impressive recording studio. It's not very fancy but there's something about the room that let's you know that it gets a good sound and that if the walls could talk they'd tell you some very interesting stories.
I meet two guys named Paul they will be taking care of my record today. Joe has to work so he departs not soon after they begin. I sit for a while and it wouldn't be long till I start asking questions. This is the first mastering session I've ever sat in on and I'm curious about what actually happens. The general thing people say is that they just make it louder, but even I can see there's so much more than that. Paul starts talking to me about equalization, compression, limiting, noise reduction among other things...my eyes glaze over as I don't have a clue what he's talking about. All I know is that the songs sound better then they did before and that they are working to establish a sonic consistency so that everything sounds like it came from the same guy.
They're super cool guys. We chat about music and life stuff, I realize that they are the guys from Get The Led Out, this super cool Zeppelin Tribute band that Andrew Lipke plays in, I laugh at how small the world is. I'm flattered by the compliments they give me as we go through the songs. I'm even more flattered when they compliment everyone else. Musician's of this caliber and school confirm what I've been saying in my brain for the past few weeks, this is the best stuff I've ever recorded.
Six hours later my record is finished, ready to be duplicated I write two checks and am out the door.
I take the train into the city and go straight to Philly Rising.
It took six months to finish Superego. So to have a finished album in three weeks is really an amazing feeling.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 263
Year Two Day 99 – June 15th 2010
Sixth Day in The Studio
It's really funny. As independent and “the guy who calls the shots” as I claim to be (and am more often than not) I felt a little strange that I'd be spending the majority of the final day of tracking for the new album without Joe there. Every producer is different and plays a different role when making an album and different artists require different things. Whereas Angie took a more passive approach producing Superego lending a more big picture vision and allowing me to figure out how best to execute it, Joe micromanages just about everything. He has a specific idea about how things should sound from the bass knob on the guitar to the proper shaker used on a song to the lead vocal. I decided that I was just going to trust him and it was a little like mommy dropping you off for preschool. He'd been holding my hand through the process.
But with Brian from Range Standing in I was sure things would be just fine and quickly settled in to get the work done that we needed to get done. The plan; go through each song one by one and do the leads and the backgrounds. For the first time since I've been making records I'm singing all of the background vocals as well as the leads. I've always been fascinated by using voices other than my own when doing recordings. I figure that's what you'd hear at a concert so it's best to hear on a record. Often when I'd bring this up Joe would go “Oh, I see this more as a...You kinda record” I imagined people like Michael Jackson or Sting stacking their voices on top of each other making that big sweet vocal sound.
I got a chance to take a lil breather as Today was also collab day. There are three musicians on this new record other than Jake and Rob and Two were coming in today.
If there's one thing I've carried over from my days in film school it's casting. When I was making movies in high school and college (and even beyond) I always tended to cast a person who's look and personality was closest to the role as opposed to casting a super talented actor who would have had to work harder to create the reality and exist in the world of the movie. There are some skilled people out there but if they're not right for the role it doesn't work. Same with music. You have to look at the tune itself and put the right person in a kind of position that allows them to shine. Otherwise your record's gonna sound like crap.
Bob Beach was in at 1:10 to lay down some harmonica on one of the record's blusier numbers, At 1:25 he had finished. The man is a phenomenal musician and an even better human being. I think we spent more time chatting about music and life then he did actually laying down his track. I know a few other guys that play harmonica, but they never get called because Bob always seems to know exactly what to do. I wanted the song to capture the chaos that comes with certain kinds of...ahem romantic issues how certain events can really turn into a tornado that turns your life upside down, I had gotten the pain part down but Bob was really the one that brought the ruckus. I'm really proud of the track Bob bounces and I get back to work. Getting these harmonies right is a lot tougher than I thought. Maybe I'll be nicer to singers when they come in to do backgrounds...lol
Joe rolled in around 4. He listened to the songs I had worked on with Brian. He surprisingly hears Bob's Harmonica
Joe: What?!
Me: What?
Joe: Did Bob Beach Come In?
Me: Yeah
Joe: How long was he here for?
Me: 15 Minutes
Joe: That's Nuts
We did some patchwork on some of the vocals as Katherine Mundy walks into the room with her guy Kent. Probably the most normal couple I've ever met.
Kat has a quiet confidence, behind quite a few layers of modesty I always get a sense that she knows that she can handle anything that's thrown at her. I don't generally ask a whole lot of people anyway because the music's never that complex. Did I mention she's one of the most talented pure singers I've ever met, a pure clear tone with just enough blues to make it interesting. This is the second time she's done background vocals for me (she did quite a bit of work on Superego) probably because out of all of the female vocalists that I've encountered her voice is the closest to mine. She's done her homework and is prepared to lay down the vocals when she walks in the room which is so important (not knowing what you're doing in the studio wastes time and money) 30 minutes later she's finished. Her vocal makes the track sparkle, like Andy Summers always did with Sting.
Kat bounces and we go through everything just to make sure we're satisfied. This is the last day of tracking and Joe is going to mix the record this week. Six days in the studio and I'm done tracking . By Monday we master. Should be awesome.
Sixth Day in The Studio
It's really funny. As independent and “the guy who calls the shots” as I claim to be (and am more often than not) I felt a little strange that I'd be spending the majority of the final day of tracking for the new album without Joe there. Every producer is different and plays a different role when making an album and different artists require different things. Whereas Angie took a more passive approach producing Superego lending a more big picture vision and allowing me to figure out how best to execute it, Joe micromanages just about everything. He has a specific idea about how things should sound from the bass knob on the guitar to the proper shaker used on a song to the lead vocal. I decided that I was just going to trust him and it was a little like mommy dropping you off for preschool. He'd been holding my hand through the process.
But with Brian from Range Standing in I was sure things would be just fine and quickly settled in to get the work done that we needed to get done. The plan; go through each song one by one and do the leads and the backgrounds. For the first time since I've been making records I'm singing all of the background vocals as well as the leads. I've always been fascinated by using voices other than my own when doing recordings. I figure that's what you'd hear at a concert so it's best to hear on a record. Often when I'd bring this up Joe would go “Oh, I see this more as a...You kinda record” I imagined people like Michael Jackson or Sting stacking their voices on top of each other making that big sweet vocal sound.
I got a chance to take a lil breather as Today was also collab day. There are three musicians on this new record other than Jake and Rob and Two were coming in today.
If there's one thing I've carried over from my days in film school it's casting. When I was making movies in high school and college (and even beyond) I always tended to cast a person who's look and personality was closest to the role as opposed to casting a super talented actor who would have had to work harder to create the reality and exist in the world of the movie. There are some skilled people out there but if they're not right for the role it doesn't work. Same with music. You have to look at the tune itself and put the right person in a kind of position that allows them to shine. Otherwise your record's gonna sound like crap.
Bob Beach was in at 1:10 to lay down some harmonica on one of the record's blusier numbers, At 1:25 he had finished. The man is a phenomenal musician and an even better human being. I think we spent more time chatting about music and life then he did actually laying down his track. I know a few other guys that play harmonica, but they never get called because Bob always seems to know exactly what to do. I wanted the song to capture the chaos that comes with certain kinds of...ahem romantic issues how certain events can really turn into a tornado that turns your life upside down, I had gotten the pain part down but Bob was really the one that brought the ruckus. I'm really proud of the track Bob bounces and I get back to work. Getting these harmonies right is a lot tougher than I thought. Maybe I'll be nicer to singers when they come in to do backgrounds...lol
Joe rolled in around 4. He listened to the songs I had worked on with Brian. He surprisingly hears Bob's Harmonica
Joe: What?!
Me: What?
Joe: Did Bob Beach Come In?
Me: Yeah
Joe: How long was he here for?
Me: 15 Minutes
Joe: That's Nuts
We did some patchwork on some of the vocals as Katherine Mundy walks into the room with her guy Kent. Probably the most normal couple I've ever met.
Kat has a quiet confidence, behind quite a few layers of modesty I always get a sense that she knows that she can handle anything that's thrown at her. I don't generally ask a whole lot of people anyway because the music's never that complex. Did I mention she's one of the most talented pure singers I've ever met, a pure clear tone with just enough blues to make it interesting. This is the second time she's done background vocals for me (she did quite a bit of work on Superego) probably because out of all of the female vocalists that I've encountered her voice is the closest to mine. She's done her homework and is prepared to lay down the vocals when she walks in the room which is so important (not knowing what you're doing in the studio wastes time and money) 30 minutes later she's finished. Her vocal makes the track sparkle, like Andy Summers always did with Sting.
Kat bounces and we go through everything just to make sure we're satisfied. This is the last day of tracking and Joe is going to mix the record this week. Six days in the studio and I'm done tracking . By Monday we master. Should be awesome.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 262
Year Two Day 98 – June 14th 2010
Fifth Day In The Studio
This has been an extremely intense process as we try to get everything done we need to get done to put the record out by July 2nd. The agenda today? Acoustic Guitar Stuff Mostly, likely some electric stuff as well along with vocals, which would eat up most of the day.
One of the main differences between this record and the ones proceeding it will most definitely be the way guitars have been used. Joe has a way of blending acoustic and electric guitars that I'd never even thought of, stuff that people actually do on records, as a player I would've never even attempted to do stuff like what I'm doing now...which is why Joe got the job.
As the songs build from layering guitars I notice this is probably the most acoustic guitar I've used on a record since my first. I often don't think of all the people that see me playing solo acoustic at Philly Rising Every Monday, to those folks that's all I do. I've been running away from that aspect of what I do for quite some time on record and it's cool that Joe's kinda saying uh this is a part of your overall game and we need to showcase it.
After laying down all the guitars we needed we went to a Whole Foods, got some throat coat tea and went to work.
We have finally arrived at the place where I'm most confident. I'm usually a nervous wreck when it comes to writing songs and playing guitar but I've been singing for almost 25 years. I'm at ease because I know exactly what needs to be done and exactly what it's going to take to do it. Singing full time has forced me to hone my instrument and now I can pull things from my body that I wasn't able to the last time around (Thank You Bang Camaro). It is here when I can become difficult to work with because in my mind if we're doing MY material nobody's gonna tell me how to sing it.
This part of it is less dramatic as Joe and I burn through the majority of the tunes. I'm trying to get as much done as humanly possible because Joe won't be here for most of the final session tomorrow and I'd rather get as much stuff done as possible with him here so that we have some sort of consensus as to how everything should sound. I'm excited about everything so far. The Music is taking the kid of direction I've always wanted it to take. This record is the record I've always wanted to make.
As the day came to a close I received two things I'd been waiting for. Album Artwork and Alex (of Bang Camaro and Township Fame)'s guitar solo's via email for one of the songs. Everything is phenomenal. Although getting the artwork exactly right is probably gonna take the rest of the evening.
I'm excited as we might actually make this July 2nd Release Date
Fifth Day In The Studio
This has been an extremely intense process as we try to get everything done we need to get done to put the record out by July 2nd. The agenda today? Acoustic Guitar Stuff Mostly, likely some electric stuff as well along with vocals, which would eat up most of the day.
One of the main differences between this record and the ones proceeding it will most definitely be the way guitars have been used. Joe has a way of blending acoustic and electric guitars that I'd never even thought of, stuff that people actually do on records, as a player I would've never even attempted to do stuff like what I'm doing now...which is why Joe got the job.
As the songs build from layering guitars I notice this is probably the most acoustic guitar I've used on a record since my first. I often don't think of all the people that see me playing solo acoustic at Philly Rising Every Monday, to those folks that's all I do. I've been running away from that aspect of what I do for quite some time on record and it's cool that Joe's kinda saying uh this is a part of your overall game and we need to showcase it.
After laying down all the guitars we needed we went to a Whole Foods, got some throat coat tea and went to work.
We have finally arrived at the place where I'm most confident. I'm usually a nervous wreck when it comes to writing songs and playing guitar but I've been singing for almost 25 years. I'm at ease because I know exactly what needs to be done and exactly what it's going to take to do it. Singing full time has forced me to hone my instrument and now I can pull things from my body that I wasn't able to the last time around (Thank You Bang Camaro). It is here when I can become difficult to work with because in my mind if we're doing MY material nobody's gonna tell me how to sing it.
This part of it is less dramatic as Joe and I burn through the majority of the tunes. I'm trying to get as much done as humanly possible because Joe won't be here for most of the final session tomorrow and I'd rather get as much stuff done as possible with him here so that we have some sort of consensus as to how everything should sound. I'm excited about everything so far. The Music is taking the kid of direction I've always wanted it to take. This record is the record I've always wanted to make.
As the day came to a close I received two things I'd been waiting for. Album Artwork and Alex (of Bang Camaro and Township Fame)'s guitar solo's via email for one of the songs. Everything is phenomenal. Although getting the artwork exactly right is probably gonna take the rest of the evening.
I'm excited as we might actually make this July 2nd Release Date
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 261
Year Two Day 96 – June 12th 2010
Fourth Day In The Studio
We roll in on a Saturday for a few hours of auxiliary percussion and possibly acoustic guitars. It was the first time during the making of a Boy Wonder album that one of the trio came back intot he studio after the initial recording sessions. Joe had ideas, the one thing I'm learning about Joe is that he always does. He wanted Rob to come in and throw some shakers, woodblocks, triangles etc. on a few of the tracks to round them out I guess. Not quite sure what he's up to, and part of me finds that oddly refreshing.
Rob and Joe both beat me there, not that I needed to be there for the session other than to approve or disapprove of something. They were already hard at work.
Lately I've been discovering that we're just scratching the surface of how good Rob in fact is. He like Jake is always surprising me. He's is now the longest standing drummer in the Boy Wonder band. He's got an energy and a modern feel that's really shaped the music since he's been here.
My sentimental thoughts are quickly squashed as I try to stop him and Joe from using wind chimes on one of the songs. They're probably joking but I'm not gonna take any chances, cause unless someone's gonna pay me large sums of money, I ain't usin wind chimes on any of my songs.
I'm learning how even the smallest of things (like which shaker to use) can really make or break what a song sounds like when you lay it down. We must have gone through a bunch of different things before settling on the right one. Crazy stuff.
Of course the time flew by and we didn't have time to do acoustic guitars. Fortunately we've got Monday and Tuesday to finish up
Fourth Day In The Studio
We roll in on a Saturday for a few hours of auxiliary percussion and possibly acoustic guitars. It was the first time during the making of a Boy Wonder album that one of the trio came back intot he studio after the initial recording sessions. Joe had ideas, the one thing I'm learning about Joe is that he always does. He wanted Rob to come in and throw some shakers, woodblocks, triangles etc. on a few of the tracks to round them out I guess. Not quite sure what he's up to, and part of me finds that oddly refreshing.
Rob and Joe both beat me there, not that I needed to be there for the session other than to approve or disapprove of something. They were already hard at work.
Lately I've been discovering that we're just scratching the surface of how good Rob in fact is. He like Jake is always surprising me. He's is now the longest standing drummer in the Boy Wonder band. He's got an energy and a modern feel that's really shaped the music since he's been here.
My sentimental thoughts are quickly squashed as I try to stop him and Joe from using wind chimes on one of the songs. They're probably joking but I'm not gonna take any chances, cause unless someone's gonna pay me large sums of money, I ain't usin wind chimes on any of my songs.
I'm learning how even the smallest of things (like which shaker to use) can really make or break what a song sounds like when you lay it down. We must have gone through a bunch of different things before settling on the right one. Crazy stuff.
Of course the time flew by and we didn't have time to do acoustic guitars. Fortunately we've got Monday and Tuesday to finish up
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 260
Year Two – Day 91 – June 7th 2010
Third Day In The Studio
Guitars, Guitars, and more Guitars
I was able to get myself and my gear a ride from pop dukes this morning. Today would be the day where the record would become a more solitary thing. The thrill of working with the band rarely lasts long in this process one maybe two days tops, we get their parts and they serve as the foundation of what will become a Boy Wonder album. We were super focused on making sure their parts sounded good so that I could come in today and add my guitar parts.
Oh have I mentioned that I'm trying to fast track this album to be released by my Downstairs Show at World Cafe Live on July 2nd ? Which means I will be dealing with other stuff today as well as it pertains to making the record. I met a young up and coming artist who is going to be doing some artwork for my new album cover, which means I need a title for the record soon. It's weird to be working on a bunch of aspects of this process at the same time, usually everything is more linear. But if I want to do this fast I don't have that option.
I get to the studio before Joe does and after a quick conversation with Marc Joe arrives and I'm ready to work. When it comes to being in the studio you have to drag me there kicking and screaming but once I'm there I love getting in there and working, especially on my stuff. You can get in there and just roll.
Joe's got a plethora of Guitars, Amps, and effects. You add those plus the things in the studio and the gear I brought you've got a lot of tools to play with which was good because it gave each song an opportunity to have it's own voice. I don't want them to sound too far apart, one of the knocks I've always gotten is that I hop around too much from genre to genre and this time around I'd like something at least a little more cohesive.
We started out by going through all the tunes that were gonna rock primarily on acoustic guitar since we weren't doing acoustic guitars today we were going to skip those and rock with the ones that were going to be half or all electric. We threw the amp heads on a table in the control room with the cab in the recording room and basically sat all day and searched to the right guitar sounds. We were going for wet and sparse mostly, like Andy Summers approach to the Police Songs. As usual I grumble to myself as I'm generally not open to new things when it comes to making records especially if I think a song sounds fine the way it is. But again I brought Joe in because I wanted his vision. I felt extremely apprehensive at first...but only at first. Once I saw past my nose I started to listen to what he was actually going for and as I nodded my head to the grooves I began to run his ideas through my filter and find my own voice.
After five hours of banging through most of these songs Joe decided that he needed a slice of his Ellios Pizza, I looked up and decided I also needed a slice of Joe's Ellios Pizza. We got one of the interns to preheat the oven for us (I f'n love Range) and we took a short break. I'm not really a fan of breaks when I'm paying by the hour but I did need to rest for a minute.
I'd also got word that Alex from Bang Camaro and Township had agreed to play on a song on the album. I was extremely excited about it, the second I heard the Camaro double guitar thing I often wondered how that would sound over one of my songs, not to mention Alex is just a beat on the axe and a helluva guy. I felt like I had a tune that fit the vibe perfectly.
The sun has set and the songs are really beginning to take shape. I'm extremely happy with everything that's happening so far even if I have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the finish line. As the day ends I get a first glimpse of the artwork for the album cover.
Third Day In The Studio
Guitars, Guitars, and more Guitars
I was able to get myself and my gear a ride from pop dukes this morning. Today would be the day where the record would become a more solitary thing. The thrill of working with the band rarely lasts long in this process one maybe two days tops, we get their parts and they serve as the foundation of what will become a Boy Wonder album. We were super focused on making sure their parts sounded good so that I could come in today and add my guitar parts.
Oh have I mentioned that I'm trying to fast track this album to be released by my Downstairs Show at World Cafe Live on July 2nd ? Which means I will be dealing with other stuff today as well as it pertains to making the record. I met a young up and coming artist who is going to be doing some artwork for my new album cover, which means I need a title for the record soon. It's weird to be working on a bunch of aspects of this process at the same time, usually everything is more linear. But if I want to do this fast I don't have that option.
I get to the studio before Joe does and after a quick conversation with Marc Joe arrives and I'm ready to work. When it comes to being in the studio you have to drag me there kicking and screaming but once I'm there I love getting in there and working, especially on my stuff. You can get in there and just roll.
Joe's got a plethora of Guitars, Amps, and effects. You add those plus the things in the studio and the gear I brought you've got a lot of tools to play with which was good because it gave each song an opportunity to have it's own voice. I don't want them to sound too far apart, one of the knocks I've always gotten is that I hop around too much from genre to genre and this time around I'd like something at least a little more cohesive.
We started out by going through all the tunes that were gonna rock primarily on acoustic guitar since we weren't doing acoustic guitars today we were going to skip those and rock with the ones that were going to be half or all electric. We threw the amp heads on a table in the control room with the cab in the recording room and basically sat all day and searched to the right guitar sounds. We were going for wet and sparse mostly, like Andy Summers approach to the Police Songs. As usual I grumble to myself as I'm generally not open to new things when it comes to making records especially if I think a song sounds fine the way it is. But again I brought Joe in because I wanted his vision. I felt extremely apprehensive at first...but only at first. Once I saw past my nose I started to listen to what he was actually going for and as I nodded my head to the grooves I began to run his ideas through my filter and find my own voice.
After five hours of banging through most of these songs Joe decided that he needed a slice of his Ellios Pizza, I looked up and decided I also needed a slice of Joe's Ellios Pizza. We got one of the interns to preheat the oven for us (I f'n love Range) and we took a short break. I'm not really a fan of breaks when I'm paying by the hour but I did need to rest for a minute.
I'd also got word that Alex from Bang Camaro and Township had agreed to play on a song on the album. I was extremely excited about it, the second I heard the Camaro double guitar thing I often wondered how that would sound over one of my songs, not to mention Alex is just a beat on the axe and a helluva guy. I felt like I had a tune that fit the vibe perfectly.
The sun has set and the songs are really beginning to take shape. I'm extremely happy with everything that's happening so far even if I have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the finish line. As the day ends I get a first glimpse of the artwork for the album cover.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 259
Year Two – Day 88 – June 5th 2010
Second Day in the Studio
In my head I figured that today would be easier since everything was left here set up from Thursday's session. I was right.
Joe and I are still each other out, I'm beginning understanding the way Joe likes to work and the sounds he wants to go for. There will be a push and pull as the days progress, because I have my own ideas and vision as well for the project. The self imposed deadline won't give us time to argue these things out. I've decided to put myself in his hands and see what we have when we're done.
Today we finished up the rest of the bass and drum tracks for the songs. I am blown away by the growth of Jake and Rob. As I take this music in a slightly different direction they're there, they're game, they're used to it.
We worked on more of the heavier stuff tonight. I often wonder if this is the right move for me, if taking the music in a more rock and roll direction is a good idea considering all the in roads I've made in certain circles more focused on funk and soul music. I remind myself that I got into this because I wanted to make rock music and finally I'm going in a direction more in tune with what I wanted when I first went on my journey.
We were done in about four hours the foundation for the songs is laid down and over the next few days I'll add my guitars and my voice to seal the deal. I brace myself cause I'm almost certain Joe has different plans than I do.
Second Day in the Studio
In my head I figured that today would be easier since everything was left here set up from Thursday's session. I was right.
Joe and I are still each other out, I'm beginning understanding the way Joe likes to work and the sounds he wants to go for. There will be a push and pull as the days progress, because I have my own ideas and vision as well for the project. The self imposed deadline won't give us time to argue these things out. I've decided to put myself in his hands and see what we have when we're done.
Today we finished up the rest of the bass and drum tracks for the songs. I am blown away by the growth of Jake and Rob. As I take this music in a slightly different direction they're there, they're game, they're used to it.
We worked on more of the heavier stuff tonight. I often wonder if this is the right move for me, if taking the music in a more rock and roll direction is a good idea considering all the in roads I've made in certain circles more focused on funk and soul music. I remind myself that I got into this because I wanted to make rock music and finally I'm going in a direction more in tune with what I wanted when I first went on my journey.
We were done in about four hours the foundation for the songs is laid down and over the next few days I'll add my guitars and my voice to seal the deal. I brace myself cause I'm almost certain Joe has different plans than I do.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 258
Year Two Day 86 – June 3rd 2010
Today is the first day of the sessions for the new Boy Wonder album.
As I rode the bus to the studio I thought of how much had changed in the two years plus since I went in the studio to record what would become Superego. I had a 9-5 job and had just taken over Philly Rising, I was booking at The Mansion and had just taken a residency at a Place called Lickety Split. Jake and Rob were my unit Rob had been with me maybe less than a year. I wasn't terribly sure of myself, all I knew was that these songs were good and if I did them right I might be able to sell more records than I had previously. I had given up on local media giving a crap about my work I just wanted to make a good record.
I'd done that bus ride a million times before it was only when I walked up to the studio I realized that two years had passed. I'd taken the work I'd done here previously and used it to showcase myself all over the country. I played my first downstairs show at World Cafe Live six weeks after the album came out. Songs from the album were what I showcased to Bang Camaro and the rest is history. Superego had outsold all of my previous records combined, was the first of my records played on the radio, the first time people danced to my music, I won an award for one of the songs (it was local but you know what I mean) there's an audience now albeit a small one, so following up something like that can be a little intimidating.
Fortunately I have enough of what worked last time to make me comfortable. Jake and Rob are the Rhythm Section, I'm back at Range Recording Studios, I've got my gear, and a few songs that I like in my back pocket. I was running late, Jake was there when I arrived as we waited on Rob and Joe to show up. I go to grab a six pack as Joe walks into the studio.
Joe Bisirri, the producer/engineer for this particular project. Skinny guy mad scientist type. Primarily I know him from beign the bassist for one of my favorite local bands City Line. As I got to know him I learned he was producing their stuff and he'd really whipped them into shape. He'd done some work with Mat Duke and John Legend so I figured someone with that broad a body of work would know what to do with me. We've had a few meetings prior to this session. He's heard the tunes and he has a bunch of stuff in a box, mics and stuff and as Rob arrives he uses the next two hours setting up drums. I'm a little anxious, cause I'm paying by the hour but he's assuring me it will be worth it.
Two hours pass and we begin to lay down tracks the way we did it before the three of us in a room playing some music. One thing was extremely apparent as the sessions progressed...that Joe wasn't gonna let anything just slide by. Didn't matter how long it took we were gonna get good takes. Also we're gonna be relaying down guitars. I do prefer the sound of the three pieces playing together but making this record is going to be about stretching and doing stuff I hadn't done previously which is what it should always be about.
Fast forward 8 hours later we got exactly half of what we needed. We're behind where I'd like us to be but the stuff sounds awesome
Today is the first day of the sessions for the new Boy Wonder album.
As I rode the bus to the studio I thought of how much had changed in the two years plus since I went in the studio to record what would become Superego. I had a 9-5 job and had just taken over Philly Rising, I was booking at The Mansion and had just taken a residency at a Place called Lickety Split. Jake and Rob were my unit Rob had been with me maybe less than a year. I wasn't terribly sure of myself, all I knew was that these songs were good and if I did them right I might be able to sell more records than I had previously. I had given up on local media giving a crap about my work I just wanted to make a good record.
I'd done that bus ride a million times before it was only when I walked up to the studio I realized that two years had passed. I'd taken the work I'd done here previously and used it to showcase myself all over the country. I played my first downstairs show at World Cafe Live six weeks after the album came out. Songs from the album were what I showcased to Bang Camaro and the rest is history. Superego had outsold all of my previous records combined, was the first of my records played on the radio, the first time people danced to my music, I won an award for one of the songs (it was local but you know what I mean) there's an audience now albeit a small one, so following up something like that can be a little intimidating.
Fortunately I have enough of what worked last time to make me comfortable. Jake and Rob are the Rhythm Section, I'm back at Range Recording Studios, I've got my gear, and a few songs that I like in my back pocket. I was running late, Jake was there when I arrived as we waited on Rob and Joe to show up. I go to grab a six pack as Joe walks into the studio.
Joe Bisirri, the producer/engineer for this particular project. Skinny guy mad scientist type. Primarily I know him from beign the bassist for one of my favorite local bands City Line. As I got to know him I learned he was producing their stuff and he'd really whipped them into shape. He'd done some work with Mat Duke and John Legend so I figured someone with that broad a body of work would know what to do with me. We've had a few meetings prior to this session. He's heard the tunes and he has a bunch of stuff in a box, mics and stuff and as Rob arrives he uses the next two hours setting up drums. I'm a little anxious, cause I'm paying by the hour but he's assuring me it will be worth it.
Two hours pass and we begin to lay down tracks the way we did it before the three of us in a room playing some music. One thing was extremely apparent as the sessions progressed...that Joe wasn't gonna let anything just slide by. Didn't matter how long it took we were gonna get good takes. Also we're gonna be relaying down guitars. I do prefer the sound of the three pieces playing together but making this record is going to be about stretching and doing stuff I hadn't done previously which is what it should always be about.
Fast forward 8 hours later we got exactly half of what we needed. We're behind where I'd like us to be but the stuff sounds awesome
Friday, May 28, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 257
Year Two Day 67 – May 15th 2010
Sitting in New York's Penn Station awaiting a Megabus to take me to Boston, for today I have a show with the mighty Bang Camaro at Dartmouth College. I had been looking forward to this for a few weeks now, I knew that if nothing else it would be good to see the guys again. I hadn't see them since last October.
The four hour bus ride to Boston was...interesting. On one side of me was a Dead Ringer for lady Gaga who split the time on ride between doin her make up and sleeping on the other side were a cackle of German tourists who just wouldn't stop talking.
We arrived in Boston around 3 and after a short subway ride there they were, Bang Camaro inside the van waiting for us. After picking some last folks up we hit the road. Apparently there are no rest stops in New Hampshire so 15 guys stopped over on the side of the road to pee, we make even the simplest of things seem grand and epic just because of the sheer size of the group.
Soundcheck was at 3. There were a few kinks to work out, I was sharing a mic for the very first time, and they had rehearsed together as a band for this show, rehearsals that I missed not to mention the volume, I had forgotten how loud this band is. It was a little rough for me but I figured that we'd get through it.
Fillinger opened the show to a raucous crowd response. They'd done a show with me in October at Dewey Beach so I was familiar with them. It was kinda weird seeing the two worlds collide like that.
There was only one way to get from outside into the Green Room and that doorway was being blocked by the drum kit so we had to enter from the basement. There was something about this basement that really stood out... The Smell. I was told that kids pee in the corners down there and boy was that apparent. Decades old urine combined with puke and spilled beer gave the room an odor so pungent that I gagged every time I walked by it. No matter how many hot half naked girls were down there it didn't make up for it. I lasted about 30 seconds before running for the hills.
The time came for us to play and we discovered that the kids had been throwing beer onto the stage from a deck above it. Some got on Bryn's amp and it stopped working...not good. Luckily there was some sort of back up system that he had in place and away we went.
Set List
Out On The Streets
Pleasure Pleasure
Swallow The Razor
Night Lies
You Know I Like My Band
Bang Camaro
Rock of Mages
Thunderclap
Revolution
Push Push Lady Lightning
F.Y.T.F.O
Encore
Blood Red Rock
Nightlife Commando
I was really worried that I would forget everything but as soon as the music started playing it was like the Viper Room was yesterday. It's really like riding a bike.
The frat kids were appreciative, fun, and boy were they rowdy. It was quite the party after wards. I'll save the details for another time. Once we figure out what we're doing I'll be headed back home.
Sitting in New York's Penn Station awaiting a Megabus to take me to Boston, for today I have a show with the mighty Bang Camaro at Dartmouth College. I had been looking forward to this for a few weeks now, I knew that if nothing else it would be good to see the guys again. I hadn't see them since last October.
The four hour bus ride to Boston was...interesting. On one side of me was a Dead Ringer for lady Gaga who split the time on ride between doin her make up and sleeping on the other side were a cackle of German tourists who just wouldn't stop talking.
We arrived in Boston around 3 and after a short subway ride there they were, Bang Camaro inside the van waiting for us. After picking some last folks up we hit the road. Apparently there are no rest stops in New Hampshire so 15 guys stopped over on the side of the road to pee, we make even the simplest of things seem grand and epic just because of the sheer size of the group.
Soundcheck was at 3. There were a few kinks to work out, I was sharing a mic for the very first time, and they had rehearsed together as a band for this show, rehearsals that I missed not to mention the volume, I had forgotten how loud this band is. It was a little rough for me but I figured that we'd get through it.
Fillinger opened the show to a raucous crowd response. They'd done a show with me in October at Dewey Beach so I was familiar with them. It was kinda weird seeing the two worlds collide like that.
There was only one way to get from outside into the Green Room and that doorway was being blocked by the drum kit so we had to enter from the basement. There was something about this basement that really stood out... The Smell. I was told that kids pee in the corners down there and boy was that apparent. Decades old urine combined with puke and spilled beer gave the room an odor so pungent that I gagged every time I walked by it. No matter how many hot half naked girls were down there it didn't make up for it. I lasted about 30 seconds before running for the hills.
The time came for us to play and we discovered that the kids had been throwing beer onto the stage from a deck above it. Some got on Bryn's amp and it stopped working...not good. Luckily there was some sort of back up system that he had in place and away we went.
Set List
Out On The Streets
Pleasure Pleasure
Swallow The Razor
Night Lies
You Know I Like My Band
Bang Camaro
Rock of Mages
Thunderclap
Revolution
Push Push Lady Lightning
F.Y.T.F.O
Encore
Blood Red Rock
Nightlife Commando
I was really worried that I would forget everything but as soon as the music started playing it was like the Viper Room was yesterday. It's really like riding a bike.
The frat kids were appreciative, fun, and boy were they rowdy. It was quite the party after wards. I'll save the details for another time. Once we figure out what we're doing I'll be headed back home.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 256
Year Two Day 66 – March 14th 2010
My morning starts as it often does, with a workout. I've gotten a little soft in the mid section as often happens when I'm holed up in the house working on new music. With diabetes (My Dad and Borther) and Hypertension (Mom and Dad) running in my family I'm concerned about my health.
I leave for Dartmouth in the evening/early morning to perform with Bang Camaro so much of what I have to do today involves me packing a backpack with clothes and what have you inside, making sure I have all that I need to survive a weekend in Boston. As always my musician friends ask me why I even bother performing with them now that I have so much other stuff going. The answer is as far as musical experiences go, there's nothing quite like the force of nature that is Bang Camaro, it's loud, it's primal, it's simple, it's the feeling you get when you know nobody's gonna dare mess with you with 11 other guys watching your back. It keeps certain stage muscles in tact.
First things first would be my boy Kaloni's screening. Kaloni Davis is an old friend from CAPA and Temple. I always find myself pulled to people with good spirits, even back then when I didn't realize it. I remember during our senior showcase when I sang and would often be the butt of a joke or two and I remember him saying “I know what you're hearing in your head, keep doing what you're doing cause they're gonna hate.” That always stuck with me believe it or not.
I often think about the old gang at CAPA, how passionate we all were about moving pictures and how at the moment Kaloni and Josh Coates are the only guys left standing, probably because they weren't playing around and had things to say which is what art's supposed to be about.
Kaloni's movie The Visit a psychological thriller is a fantastic movie without a hint of narcissism something that I find holds back auters from making really great movies. It has religious themes but doesn't beat you to death with them. He even made me jump a few times. The beats are right there and his eye is a s sharp as ever. I was proud of him. Proud that someone I know from that time in my life still loves it and still has the passion for it and is good at it.
It was from the screening to Lickety Split as I run into more old friends. I was particularly interested in hearing Sabrosa, the only band I've ever booked at Lickety Split sight unseen, mainly because it's three memebers (Ben Tinsley, Mike Oxman and Dimitri Papadopoulos) are among the best musicians in the scene. Dimitiri or Double D as I've always liked to call played for me for years. Boy were they amazing. I see a three piece funky band and I imagine all the things that can be done with them. I hope they stick together.
I met up with Sean and we headed over to 30th Street thanks to my folks transporting us. Megabus is 30 minutes late, a tad abnormal for them. I fall asleep on the bus wondering what will happen tomorrow.
My morning starts as it often does, with a workout. I've gotten a little soft in the mid section as often happens when I'm holed up in the house working on new music. With diabetes (My Dad and Borther) and Hypertension (Mom and Dad) running in my family I'm concerned about my health.
I leave for Dartmouth in the evening/early morning to perform with Bang Camaro so much of what I have to do today involves me packing a backpack with clothes and what have you inside, making sure I have all that I need to survive a weekend in Boston. As always my musician friends ask me why I even bother performing with them now that I have so much other stuff going. The answer is as far as musical experiences go, there's nothing quite like the force of nature that is Bang Camaro, it's loud, it's primal, it's simple, it's the feeling you get when you know nobody's gonna dare mess with you with 11 other guys watching your back. It keeps certain stage muscles in tact.
First things first would be my boy Kaloni's screening. Kaloni Davis is an old friend from CAPA and Temple. I always find myself pulled to people with good spirits, even back then when I didn't realize it. I remember during our senior showcase when I sang and would often be the butt of a joke or two and I remember him saying “I know what you're hearing in your head, keep doing what you're doing cause they're gonna hate.” That always stuck with me believe it or not.
I often think about the old gang at CAPA, how passionate we all were about moving pictures and how at the moment Kaloni and Josh Coates are the only guys left standing, probably because they weren't playing around and had things to say which is what art's supposed to be about.
Kaloni's movie The Visit a psychological thriller is a fantastic movie without a hint of narcissism something that I find holds back auters from making really great movies. It has religious themes but doesn't beat you to death with them. He even made me jump a few times. The beats are right there and his eye is a s sharp as ever. I was proud of him. Proud that someone I know from that time in my life still loves it and still has the passion for it and is good at it.
It was from the screening to Lickety Split as I run into more old friends. I was particularly interested in hearing Sabrosa, the only band I've ever booked at Lickety Split sight unseen, mainly because it's three memebers (Ben Tinsley, Mike Oxman and Dimitri Papadopoulos) are among the best musicians in the scene. Dimitiri or Double D as I've always liked to call played for me for years. Boy were they amazing. I see a three piece funky band and I imagine all the things that can be done with them. I hope they stick together.
I met up with Sean and we headed over to 30th Street thanks to my folks transporting us. Megabus is 30 minutes late, a tad abnormal for them. I fall asleep on the bus wondering what will happen tomorrow.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 255
Year Two Day 65 – May 13th 2010
Today it all begins...well it all begins again I guess as I endeavor on the path to making a new Boy Wonder record. As much as I love being in the studio and making new music on a regular basis I'm more at home (so it seems) playing live. Ripping a stage comes much easier to me.
Making these records has always been about overcoming the mountain of insecurities that I have about my songwriting, which is always the most difficult part of the process, writing a bunch of things that really get me going and then taking them into the studio. I know once I do that recording would be a breeze but we got to get to that part first
Last time out there was less to worry about. I had just started Philly Rising and had been an artist in Philadelphia that was largely ignored I could do my thing in the corner over here because no one was going to bother me, no one cared. But making the record that would end up being Superego changed all that. Those recordings vaulted me to another level. They got me radio play, they won me awards, they got me gigs all over the country, not to mention those recordings were the one's Bryn heard when he asked me to come up and audition for Bang Camaro, the gig that put me on the path to being a full time music hustler. I feel like this next album has to justify all the work that I've put into this project, that's a lot of pressure to put on myself.
Nevertheless I do what I always do, put it aside and get to work and trust that things will take care of themselves. I have about 15 songs written and four that really get me goin, so today was the first day of rehearsals with Rob Benton my drummer. I like meeting with people individually so that I can talk to them up close and personal about the music, rehearsals are often the only time I get to physically talk about the music because once the machine gets rolling and we start doing shows we get it to the point where we often don't enjoy a great deal of eye contact.
I met Rob at his place and we went to my house. Going over each song individually, we try different feels and rhythms looking for the best fit. We've been playing together for so long he either knows instinctively exactly what I want or he gives me something fresh that makes the song better raising the number of songs I'm excited about from four to six. Rob's scary good quite possibly the best drummer I've ever shared a stage with, the push and pull that I get from both of those guys has made me a better player.
I do have a plan, for now anyway.
The game plan is to make a sweet album in the Power Trio format. It's surprising that with most of my favorite bands being three pieces, and the fact that I often perform and tour with a trio that I've never really made a power trio record. A lot of that's going to be on me to make the guitar stuff interesting. I'm excited about that. I've had so many different musical experiences in the past two years and I'm interested in pouring all of that into this new music.
Three hours later we emerge form the basement and I have a clearer picture of what the album might sound like as we make all the pieces fit. Next up is a weekend that includes a show with Bang Camaro. Talk about making the pieces fit, I haven't performed with them since October.
Today it all begins...well it all begins again I guess as I endeavor on the path to making a new Boy Wonder record. As much as I love being in the studio and making new music on a regular basis I'm more at home (so it seems) playing live. Ripping a stage comes much easier to me.
Making these records has always been about overcoming the mountain of insecurities that I have about my songwriting, which is always the most difficult part of the process, writing a bunch of things that really get me going and then taking them into the studio. I know once I do that recording would be a breeze but we got to get to that part first
Last time out there was less to worry about. I had just started Philly Rising and had been an artist in Philadelphia that was largely ignored I could do my thing in the corner over here because no one was going to bother me, no one cared. But making the record that would end up being Superego changed all that. Those recordings vaulted me to another level. They got me radio play, they won me awards, they got me gigs all over the country, not to mention those recordings were the one's Bryn heard when he asked me to come up and audition for Bang Camaro, the gig that put me on the path to being a full time music hustler. I feel like this next album has to justify all the work that I've put into this project, that's a lot of pressure to put on myself.
Nevertheless I do what I always do, put it aside and get to work and trust that things will take care of themselves. I have about 15 songs written and four that really get me goin, so today was the first day of rehearsals with Rob Benton my drummer. I like meeting with people individually so that I can talk to them up close and personal about the music, rehearsals are often the only time I get to physically talk about the music because once the machine gets rolling and we start doing shows we get it to the point where we often don't enjoy a great deal of eye contact.
I met Rob at his place and we went to my house. Going over each song individually, we try different feels and rhythms looking for the best fit. We've been playing together for so long he either knows instinctively exactly what I want or he gives me something fresh that makes the song better raising the number of songs I'm excited about from four to six. Rob's scary good quite possibly the best drummer I've ever shared a stage with, the push and pull that I get from both of those guys has made me a better player.
I do have a plan, for now anyway.
The game plan is to make a sweet album in the Power Trio format. It's surprising that with most of my favorite bands being three pieces, and the fact that I often perform and tour with a trio that I've never really made a power trio record. A lot of that's going to be on me to make the guitar stuff interesting. I'm excited about that. I've had so many different musical experiences in the past two years and I'm interested in pouring all of that into this new music.
Three hours later we emerge form the basement and I have a clearer picture of what the album might sound like as we make all the pieces fit. Next up is a weekend that includes a show with Bang Camaro. Talk about making the pieces fit, I haven't performed with them since October.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 254
Year Two Day 11 - March 20th 2010
6AM
Brian: Andre
Me (Groggy): Yeah
Brian: You hear that?
Me (Groggy): Yeah who's taking a shower
Brian opens the window
Brian: God is taking a shower.
Me: Damnit!
What I saw on the other end of the window were torrential downpours my mind immediately went to concerns about the show...who would come if anyone at all etc. etc.
Me: What time is it?
Brian: 6AM
Me: Screw it, I'll deal with this when I wake up.
I woke up, showered and we were on our way out when Aunt Martha asked if we had time fro breakfast. We said yes and then she whipped up some bomb ass french toast. It was nice to sit around a table and eat together. These guys are probably sick of me and each other but I'm pretty much in heaven right now...I love the road.
We cleaned everything up and proceeded to the venue, where the fleeting ends were waiting on us. They were playing in place of Gang who had to pull out last minute. We helped them set up their gear and quickly went to do some last minute flyering. Did I mention it's cold as a polar bear balls here right now, I mean geeze.
We started the show at noon and the Fleeting Ends started to play. Great sound, Good look, girls will like them, like the girls from Austrailia who came in to have a beer for breakfast. One of the few bands of it's kind that I actually like. They've got a bright future in the Philly Scence and a bright future in general.
Brady and The Bear would hit the stage next, well just Joe Brady cause they wouldn't let him bring the bear on the plane. His down home sound and energetic performance played well to the Austin crowd. Joe's a guy that I've been working with for less than a year, I often kick myself for not finding him sooner. Great musician and an even better person.
We were a little worried about the crowd until the sounds of good music, good food, and free beer started to resonate onto the street.
Dani Mari got there just as Da Rezarekt was about to hit the stage. It was nice to see someone from yesterday's show show up to support.
One of the first events I'd ever MCed was headlined by Da Rezarekt's frontman Supreeme (Well his old band), so it was awesome to bring him out again. Da Rezarekt freaking killed it. A high energy blend of hip hop, rock, funk, and jazz combined with Supreeme's stage presence make for a really good show. One of only two bands to get an encore today.
Katherine Mundy would bring the room to a simmer with her well crafted songs and sultry voice. I stood in on bass for her and wish I would have done a better job, but I love the way her voice sounds. She is going to be huge one of these days.
Then came my moment. I've had a lot of them the past 10 days. If one wishes to be anything more than just good it's about rising to the occassion when the opportunity arises. I wondered if we could conjure up some more of that New Orleans Magic, or some of that Magic we had yesterday. So the show starts and we reach for it...
Set list
Superhero
How Can This Be Love
Walking on The Moon
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed To Be This Way
Wasted
Feels So Good
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Leavin
Encore
Body
...and it was there! It was there in spades My guys gave me everything they had and I felt like I could fly again. I messed up one chord as Sean and Alex walked into the room, I was sort of surpised to see them (even though Alex was playing later). We seemed to have found another gear and the crowd loved us
I sold some CD's and singed some autographs and handed out a few hugs to some really pretty girls...lol one even said she was gonna tell all of her friends about the band which would be awesome.
Township rocked it like beasts. It was cool to see Alex play guitar. I don't really know how long Camaro's gonna be on hiatus but Township seems to be a perfect fit for him. He was shredding like a manaic. We're gonna be doing quite a bit together in the future I hope.
After the show we said our final goodbyes and left like theives in the night. Most of the time we cracked jokes and slept. for fun and giggles I searched Boy Wonder SXSW on google on my phone and low and behold the pic that Jake and I were in appeared in several music blogs pertaining to SXSW all over the country.
By this time tomorrow We'll be home. I'll get a good night's sleep and then it's back to the grind for me. I have a shoot for a TV Pilot on Monday and possibly a show with Wyldlyfe Wed night that I'm not really prepared for.
Alright guys it's my turn to sleep so I'll holla at y'all tomorrow.
6AM
Brian: Andre
Me (Groggy): Yeah
Brian: You hear that?
Me (Groggy): Yeah who's taking a shower
Brian opens the window
Brian: God is taking a shower.
Me: Damnit!
What I saw on the other end of the window were torrential downpours my mind immediately went to concerns about the show...who would come if anyone at all etc. etc.
Me: What time is it?
Brian: 6AM
Me: Screw it, I'll deal with this when I wake up.
I woke up, showered and we were on our way out when Aunt Martha asked if we had time fro breakfast. We said yes and then she whipped up some bomb ass french toast. It was nice to sit around a table and eat together. These guys are probably sick of me and each other but I'm pretty much in heaven right now...I love the road.
We cleaned everything up and proceeded to the venue, where the fleeting ends were waiting on us. They were playing in place of Gang who had to pull out last minute. We helped them set up their gear and quickly went to do some last minute flyering. Did I mention it's cold as a polar bear balls here right now, I mean geeze.
We started the show at noon and the Fleeting Ends started to play. Great sound, Good look, girls will like them, like the girls from Austrailia who came in to have a beer for breakfast. One of the few bands of it's kind that I actually like. They've got a bright future in the Philly Scence and a bright future in general.
Brady and The Bear would hit the stage next, well just Joe Brady cause they wouldn't let him bring the bear on the plane. His down home sound and energetic performance played well to the Austin crowd. Joe's a guy that I've been working with for less than a year, I often kick myself for not finding him sooner. Great musician and an even better person.
We were a little worried about the crowd until the sounds of good music, good food, and free beer started to resonate onto the street.
Dani Mari got there just as Da Rezarekt was about to hit the stage. It was nice to see someone from yesterday's show show up to support.
One of the first events I'd ever MCed was headlined by Da Rezarekt's frontman Supreeme (Well his old band), so it was awesome to bring him out again. Da Rezarekt freaking killed it. A high energy blend of hip hop, rock, funk, and jazz combined with Supreeme's stage presence make for a really good show. One of only two bands to get an encore today.
Katherine Mundy would bring the room to a simmer with her well crafted songs and sultry voice. I stood in on bass for her and wish I would have done a better job, but I love the way her voice sounds. She is going to be huge one of these days.
Then came my moment. I've had a lot of them the past 10 days. If one wishes to be anything more than just good it's about rising to the occassion when the opportunity arises. I wondered if we could conjure up some more of that New Orleans Magic, or some of that Magic we had yesterday. So the show starts and we reach for it...
Set list
Superhero
How Can This Be Love
Walking on The Moon
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed To Be This Way
Wasted
Feels So Good
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Leavin
Encore
Body
...and it was there! It was there in spades My guys gave me everything they had and I felt like I could fly again. I messed up one chord as Sean and Alex walked into the room, I was sort of surpised to see them (even though Alex was playing later). We seemed to have found another gear and the crowd loved us
I sold some CD's and singed some autographs and handed out a few hugs to some really pretty girls...lol one even said she was gonna tell all of her friends about the band which would be awesome.
Township rocked it like beasts. It was cool to see Alex play guitar. I don't really know how long Camaro's gonna be on hiatus but Township seems to be a perfect fit for him. He was shredding like a manaic. We're gonna be doing quite a bit together in the future I hope.
After the show we said our final goodbyes and left like theives in the night. Most of the time we cracked jokes and slept. for fun and giggles I searched Boy Wonder SXSW on google on my phone and low and behold the pic that Jake and I were in appeared in several music blogs pertaining to SXSW all over the country.
By this time tomorrow We'll be home. I'll get a good night's sleep and then it's back to the grind for me. I have a shoot for a TV Pilot on Monday and possibly a show with Wyldlyfe Wed night that I'm not really prepared for.
Alright guys it's my turn to sleep so I'll holla at y'all tomorrow.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 253
Year Two Day 10 - March 19th 2010
Now Today is REALLY The Big Day...one of two in fact
Today would be the first of two Philadelphia Invasion Shows at 219 West in Austin Texas coinciding with the South By Southwest Music Festival and Conference.
I've been planning this since November of Last Year. I had my ups and downs, there were times where I wasn't sure how I was going to do this if it happened at all. What buisness has some kid from 60th and Osage got putting together an event in Austin Texas and saying this is the best Philadelphia has to offer. What do I know about anything?
What I do know is that we had something good, something unique, something that nobody else in Austin had this week, sure there were a smattering of Philadelphia acts involved in the festival but not to this degree. Just like Chicago Atlanta Finland and Sweeden (among others) Philadelphia had a show you could go to where you could see its vast array of talent.
I woke up early and made sure we were out of the house by 10, 10:30. We got there at 11 and started setting up. 219 West is a really nice place...upscale liek Sauceor Upstairs at World Cafe Live, the kind of rooms we're used to playing in. Mike set up the PA and by 12:10 we were ready to go. I wanted to start on time but this stuff happens and I was glad I had half an hour already built into the schedule.
Catherine Prewitt and the temperature were up first. The newest of us but just as good. Their music is a reflection of the people I'm getting to know, understated but beautiful. The harmonies are awesome and the attention to detail is impeccable. She's someone that will be involved with the HYPE! as soon as we get home. I throughly enjoyed their performance. They brought a nice crowd as well.
We kept the ball rolling with Dani Mari. Probably the person on the bill I know best, she's really found another gear these past few months, her performance was sensational. The only person of the afternoon performing completely by themselves. She also had a few friends that came out to the show.
Seth Glier came in as a last minute fill in. Seth although from Boston has become quite prominent back home, playing show after show with some amazing artists, not to mention he's flat out good, his soulful voice and immaculate songwriting fit in with the rest of the evening perfectly. He elevates the event because of the quality of his work and makes us all look better because he graced us with his presence.
I started to notice all of the people that were there at the show, some I recognized, some I didn't. Turns out we had quite a few thigns workign in our favor.
1) People were getting kicked out of nearby parties and our street team was there to bring them inside.
2) According to Mayte...Jake and I were in The Austin American Statesman ( A Local Newspaper) this morning. Funniest thing abotu that is I can't get arrested at home and here I'm in the paper
3) People heard the public radio interview I did yesterday while busking
Then the big moment, the one i'd been waiting for since I played int he streets of Austin One Year Ago. It's was time for me and the boys to go to work. I wondered if we could recapture the magic that we found in New Orleans or if that was just a one time thing. We set up, we plugged in and BOOM...Hello Austin Texas
Superhero
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
The Way You make Me Feel
How Can This Be Love
Wasn't Supposed to be This Way
Feels So Good
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Michelle
Leavin
The Set Was amazing. Jake and Rob were really really doing it. The nut on My Guitar needs to be replaced post haste, the strings kept moving. I was in fine voice though, soaring over the groove created by the bass drums and my guitar. I felt like I could fly. I know it sounds stupid but this whole experience was a big deal for me, I wanted us to play well and we did. It exceeded any expectations that I had.
I got a lot if positive feedback from the locals for the overall show as well as the performance itself. Which I was happy about. The owners/managers of the club said it was the best day show they'd ever had. I sold some CDs and some T-Shirts signed some autographs. People telling me I should move here. Truly Amazing.
The Vanguard would close the show, and they did a great job.
We spent the rest of the day going to shows (I caught Township last night and Big Bro (Alex) was on Fire) busking trying to promote for tommorrow's show, and just hanging out and having a good time. We met up withthe rest of Philly Invasion Crew and gave them flyers and I handed out the rest, my boys have done mroe than their fair share.
It's been a truly amazing experience and we still got one more day to go.
Now Today is REALLY The Big Day...one of two in fact
Today would be the first of two Philadelphia Invasion Shows at 219 West in Austin Texas coinciding with the South By Southwest Music Festival and Conference.
I've been planning this since November of Last Year. I had my ups and downs, there were times where I wasn't sure how I was going to do this if it happened at all. What buisness has some kid from 60th and Osage got putting together an event in Austin Texas and saying this is the best Philadelphia has to offer. What do I know about anything?
What I do know is that we had something good, something unique, something that nobody else in Austin had this week, sure there were a smattering of Philadelphia acts involved in the festival but not to this degree. Just like Chicago Atlanta Finland and Sweeden (among others) Philadelphia had a show you could go to where you could see its vast array of talent.
I woke up early and made sure we were out of the house by 10, 10:30. We got there at 11 and started setting up. 219 West is a really nice place...upscale liek Sauceor Upstairs at World Cafe Live, the kind of rooms we're used to playing in. Mike set up the PA and by 12:10 we were ready to go. I wanted to start on time but this stuff happens and I was glad I had half an hour already built into the schedule.
Catherine Prewitt and the temperature were up first. The newest of us but just as good. Their music is a reflection of the people I'm getting to know, understated but beautiful. The harmonies are awesome and the attention to detail is impeccable. She's someone that will be involved with the HYPE! as soon as we get home. I throughly enjoyed their performance. They brought a nice crowd as well.
We kept the ball rolling with Dani Mari. Probably the person on the bill I know best, she's really found another gear these past few months, her performance was sensational. The only person of the afternoon performing completely by themselves. She also had a few friends that came out to the show.
Seth Glier came in as a last minute fill in. Seth although from Boston has become quite prominent back home, playing show after show with some amazing artists, not to mention he's flat out good, his soulful voice and immaculate songwriting fit in with the rest of the evening perfectly. He elevates the event because of the quality of his work and makes us all look better because he graced us with his presence.
I started to notice all of the people that were there at the show, some I recognized, some I didn't. Turns out we had quite a few thigns workign in our favor.
1) People were getting kicked out of nearby parties and our street team was there to bring them inside.
2) According to Mayte...Jake and I were in The Austin American Statesman ( A Local Newspaper) this morning. Funniest thing abotu that is I can't get arrested at home and here I'm in the paper
3) People heard the public radio interview I did yesterday while busking
Then the big moment, the one i'd been waiting for since I played int he streets of Austin One Year Ago. It's was time for me and the boys to go to work. I wondered if we could recapture the magic that we found in New Orleans or if that was just a one time thing. We set up, we plugged in and BOOM...Hello Austin Texas
Superhero
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
The Way You make Me Feel
How Can This Be Love
Wasn't Supposed to be This Way
Feels So Good
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Michelle
Leavin
The Set Was amazing. Jake and Rob were really really doing it. The nut on My Guitar needs to be replaced post haste, the strings kept moving. I was in fine voice though, soaring over the groove created by the bass drums and my guitar. I felt like I could fly. I know it sounds stupid but this whole experience was a big deal for me, I wanted us to play well and we did. It exceeded any expectations that I had.
I got a lot if positive feedback from the locals for the overall show as well as the performance itself. Which I was happy about. The owners/managers of the club said it was the best day show they'd ever had. I sold some CDs and some T-Shirts signed some autographs. People telling me I should move here. Truly Amazing.
The Vanguard would close the show, and they did a great job.
We spent the rest of the day going to shows (I caught Township last night and Big Bro (Alex) was on Fire) busking trying to promote for tommorrow's show, and just hanging out and having a good time. We met up withthe rest of Philly Invasion Crew and gave them flyers and I handed out the rest, my boys have done mroe than their fair share.
It's been a truly amazing experience and we still got one more day to go.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 252
Year Two Day 9 - March 18th 2010
Today's the big day.
We'll there's a bigger day looming but today was significant. Today would be the first promo day for The Philadelphia Invasion Showcases. Most of the acts would be flying in today to help out.
From Philadelphia To Austin to Timbuktu promotion is important for any sort of entertainment event. People won't show if they don't know so you have to make sure you find a way to make yourself visible and appealing. Everybody and their mother has a day show at SXSW so we need to be bale to stand out. Walking up and down the street handing out flyers wasn't going to do the trick, not the way we needed it done so the solution was...busking. I didn it last year and made quite a bit of money, today we'd use it to grab attention for ourselves and pass out these flyers. We found a spot and started playing while rob handed out our flyers.
There are a few things you hope for doing something like this. One that people stop, Two that they take the flyer, three that they don;t throw them on the ground. I've got 2500 flyers I'd like ot get rid of, Joe Brady of Brady and The Bear fame met up with us, and we got to work. Trading off songs as people walked by. People stopping to talk to us, snapping pictures, I even got interviewed for Public Radio. Joe and I got got interviewed for a documentary about street musicians. People even threw money in the case. We ran into Catherine Prewitt's mom, for some reason I thought she was Katherine Mundy's mom. I was pretty psyched she had come ti support her daughter. I was even more psyched to see Catherine. I gave her some flyers and she faded off into the crowd.
Jake got word about a show featuring a bunch of New England Bands that ahd free pizza and beer. Two opportunites, one to eat free pizza and drink free beer, two an opportunity to really talk to some musicians and music lovers that live close to us followed by handing them a flyer. Nothign beats a conversation, my enthusiasm has a chance to rub off on people. We ended up staying for most of the show, the bands were awesome and we passed out a lot of flyers (fingers crossed) Dani Mari met us there, again good to see her.
I ended up seeing Sean who was running around reviewing bands for his blog, it was good to see him.There are certains points where I miss the Camaro guys, Sean lives in Philly and I don't see him nearly enough. Dani and I went to pee in a piano bar and ran into a guy with an accent, I recognized it as Doz's accent and figured he was from new Zealand. So amped up that I knew he bought me a drink...which sent me hurdling over a line I didn't want to cross tonight.
We met up with everyone else and headed over to Jakalope where Alex was. I see Alex as sort of a big brother. Growing up in a house under the protection of older siblings, I tend to seek that out when I'm in strange situations, he and I got really close, from the first gigs with Camaro, to the time I broke the house in Austin tothe time I broke the toilet in Kansas City. I learned a lot from him and Bryn last year. I say it often, but probably not often enough. Our conversation went a lot smoother than usual, we sort of always speak in spirts with silence in between, tonight it was flowin like the nile. He told me how proud he was of me, that meant a lot.
We were meeting Mayte but my phone was dead and Rob and I went to the van so that I could charge it enough to call her.We walked from 6th to 11th and I did just that. I close the door
Rob: Did you lock the door
Me: I didn't
I Lock the door
Rob: Arm the alarm
I search for the keys
Me: Shit!
Rob: What?
Me: I don't have them
Rob: Are you serious?
Me: Unfortunately yes.
Rob: Not again.
The not again referrs to an incident in Detroit where I locked the keys in the van. I'm absent minded and I do stuff like that. It's a high pressure situation, I've been drinking, and sometimes for no reason I do stuff that's stupid. I call home
Me: Mom
Mom (Groggy): Yes.
Me: Dad up?
Mom: What's wrong?
Me: Looks like I locked the keys in the car.
Mom (snickering) What? Again?
Me: Don't need this right now, can you call Allstate?
Mom (Laughing): Sure.
She calls back and says they'll be there in 30 minutes. Rob and I have a chance to bond. 28 minutes go by I look up and look towards the corner for the All State Agent I hear an all to familiar Woop Woop Sound
Rob: Andre
I turn around and there Rob is holding the keys. Apparently I had given them to him while still the car (cause hey I have a history) and he put them in his pocket, and somehow int he middle of all the excitement. I forgot I gave him the keys, and he forgot I gave them to him. We walked to the bar lamenting at how simple we both are. We met the crew and walked back to the van and went home and hit the bed.
The real big day is tommorrow
Today's the big day.
We'll there's a bigger day looming but today was significant. Today would be the first promo day for The Philadelphia Invasion Showcases. Most of the acts would be flying in today to help out.
From Philadelphia To Austin to Timbuktu promotion is important for any sort of entertainment event. People won't show if they don't know so you have to make sure you find a way to make yourself visible and appealing. Everybody and their mother has a day show at SXSW so we need to be bale to stand out. Walking up and down the street handing out flyers wasn't going to do the trick, not the way we needed it done so the solution was...busking. I didn it last year and made quite a bit of money, today we'd use it to grab attention for ourselves and pass out these flyers. We found a spot and started playing while rob handed out our flyers.
There are a few things you hope for doing something like this. One that people stop, Two that they take the flyer, three that they don;t throw them on the ground. I've got 2500 flyers I'd like ot get rid of, Joe Brady of Brady and The Bear fame met up with us, and we got to work. Trading off songs as people walked by. People stopping to talk to us, snapping pictures, I even got interviewed for Public Radio. Joe and I got got interviewed for a documentary about street musicians. People even threw money in the case. We ran into Catherine Prewitt's mom, for some reason I thought she was Katherine Mundy's mom. I was pretty psyched she had come ti support her daughter. I was even more psyched to see Catherine. I gave her some flyers and she faded off into the crowd.
Jake got word about a show featuring a bunch of New England Bands that ahd free pizza and beer. Two opportunites, one to eat free pizza and drink free beer, two an opportunity to really talk to some musicians and music lovers that live close to us followed by handing them a flyer. Nothign beats a conversation, my enthusiasm has a chance to rub off on people. We ended up staying for most of the show, the bands were awesome and we passed out a lot of flyers (fingers crossed) Dani Mari met us there, again good to see her.
I ended up seeing Sean who was running around reviewing bands for his blog, it was good to see him.There are certains points where I miss the Camaro guys, Sean lives in Philly and I don't see him nearly enough. Dani and I went to pee in a piano bar and ran into a guy with an accent, I recognized it as Doz's accent and figured he was from new Zealand. So amped up that I knew he bought me a drink...which sent me hurdling over a line I didn't want to cross tonight.
We met up with everyone else and headed over to Jakalope where Alex was. I see Alex as sort of a big brother. Growing up in a house under the protection of older siblings, I tend to seek that out when I'm in strange situations, he and I got really close, from the first gigs with Camaro, to the time I broke the house in Austin tothe time I broke the toilet in Kansas City. I learned a lot from him and Bryn last year. I say it often, but probably not often enough. Our conversation went a lot smoother than usual, we sort of always speak in spirts with silence in between, tonight it was flowin like the nile. He told me how proud he was of me, that meant a lot.
We were meeting Mayte but my phone was dead and Rob and I went to the van so that I could charge it enough to call her.We walked from 6th to 11th and I did just that. I close the door
Rob: Did you lock the door
Me: I didn't
I Lock the door
Rob: Arm the alarm
I search for the keys
Me: Shit!
Rob: What?
Me: I don't have them
Rob: Are you serious?
Me: Unfortunately yes.
Rob: Not again.
The not again referrs to an incident in Detroit where I locked the keys in the van. I'm absent minded and I do stuff like that. It's a high pressure situation, I've been drinking, and sometimes for no reason I do stuff that's stupid. I call home
Me: Mom
Mom (Groggy): Yes.
Me: Dad up?
Mom: What's wrong?
Me: Looks like I locked the keys in the car.
Mom (snickering) What? Again?
Me: Don't need this right now, can you call Allstate?
Mom (Laughing): Sure.
She calls back and says they'll be there in 30 minutes. Rob and I have a chance to bond. 28 minutes go by I look up and look towards the corner for the All State Agent I hear an all to familiar Woop Woop Sound
Rob: Andre
I turn around and there Rob is holding the keys. Apparently I had given them to him while still the car (cause hey I have a history) and he put them in his pocket, and somehow int he middle of all the excitement. I forgot I gave him the keys, and he forgot I gave them to him. We walked to the bar lamenting at how simple we both are. We met the crew and walked back to the van and went home and hit the bed.
The real big day is tommorrow
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 251
Year Two Day 8 - March 17th 2010
I don't know how people ever manage to leave New Orleans
Even though the hurricane caused them to lose a bit of it's luster it's spirit is one that pulls you in close and tells you it loves you. We played there and we played well and we were aksed back. So we'll see you again sometime soon, hopefully after the new record comes out.
We would begin the drive to Austin, Brian, Jake, Rob, and I have been out here for almost a week now, the longest we've ever been together Brian's as much a part of this now as any of us, he's developing into quite the solid tour manager which is great because I need the help, as soon as I show him some other stuff it will be a HUGE weight off of my shoulders as I'll only need to focus on my playing and singing.
I get a text to call her Mother Martha (as we'll be staying with her in Austin) when we're about an hour out, so I do that and make sure she knows when we're getting there and she said dinner would be waiting for us when we get there....awesome.
A short 8 hour drive later and there she was, the Austin Skyline. There aren't many sites more beautiful to me these days. Austin might as well be heaven, a place where music is not only tolerated, but appreciated, celebrated and once a year they roll out the red carpet for bands and artists from all over the world. It's a true Mecca, where all musicians shoud make a pilgrmaage.
We arrive at Martha's house, we talk for a minute and she says dinners ready. Truth be told it didn't really compute on the phone an hour earlier but we all sat and ate together. The Food was amazing, from the salad to the main course to the desert. You eat so bad on the road sometimes (I may have to resume my relationship with subway) it's nice to get a home cooked meal. I ate until the itis set in. Which was counterproductive because we were going to hit downtown later. We piled into the car and headed downtown, flyers in hand cause I'm ready to get to work.
Our first stop would be 219 West, the venue we're playing Friday and Saturday. I wanted to see it and get a feel for it. Really nice upscale place, this far away fromt he action I do have some concerns about whether or not we can get people to come out. But we wanted to come down and get a feel for the flow and see if there were some people who might be interested.
After 219 West we arrive on 6th Street. It was like I never left. The street bustling with musicians music lovers and really hot girls. People wearing badges and wristbands passing out flyers for shows, and just simply trying to get noticed. It's real now, the vision I had a year ago when I first arrived has materialized. I'm here, I'm here because I'm playing this week, and I'm playing my music.
We pass out some flyers rolling up and down. We've got quite a few asshole out here, mainly the St Patricks Day Crowd who are mixed in with people who actually care about music. Flyers are wasted on these fools. In their durnken state they envision having power over you by saying they're not coming to your show or taking the flyer and throwing it on the ground...are you kidding? I've got 2500 of these things.
We would end up at the blind pig pub for the Red Gorilla Shows. We caught The Elevators from LA, a really awesome Funk/Hip Hop band. We ran into some guys from Da Rezarekt and gave them some promo materials for the shows. We danced the night away and came home and got some rest. Tomorrow would be the first day of going hard and really promoting these shows. Learning to do this will be exciting because if there's a way to get people in Austin to come to an Unofficial showcase on 4th street featuring Philly bands I'm going to find it.
The Day is drawing nigh.
I don't know how people ever manage to leave New Orleans
Even though the hurricane caused them to lose a bit of it's luster it's spirit is one that pulls you in close and tells you it loves you. We played there and we played well and we were aksed back. So we'll see you again sometime soon, hopefully after the new record comes out.
We would begin the drive to Austin, Brian, Jake, Rob, and I have been out here for almost a week now, the longest we've ever been together Brian's as much a part of this now as any of us, he's developing into quite the solid tour manager which is great because I need the help, as soon as I show him some other stuff it will be a HUGE weight off of my shoulders as I'll only need to focus on my playing and singing.
I get a text to call her Mother Martha (as we'll be staying with her in Austin) when we're about an hour out, so I do that and make sure she knows when we're getting there and she said dinner would be waiting for us when we get there....awesome.
A short 8 hour drive later and there she was, the Austin Skyline. There aren't many sites more beautiful to me these days. Austin might as well be heaven, a place where music is not only tolerated, but appreciated, celebrated and once a year they roll out the red carpet for bands and artists from all over the world. It's a true Mecca, where all musicians shoud make a pilgrmaage.
We arrive at Martha's house, we talk for a minute and she says dinners ready. Truth be told it didn't really compute on the phone an hour earlier but we all sat and ate together. The Food was amazing, from the salad to the main course to the desert. You eat so bad on the road sometimes (I may have to resume my relationship with subway) it's nice to get a home cooked meal. I ate until the itis set in. Which was counterproductive because we were going to hit downtown later. We piled into the car and headed downtown, flyers in hand cause I'm ready to get to work.
Our first stop would be 219 West, the venue we're playing Friday and Saturday. I wanted to see it and get a feel for it. Really nice upscale place, this far away fromt he action I do have some concerns about whether or not we can get people to come out. But we wanted to come down and get a feel for the flow and see if there were some people who might be interested.
After 219 West we arrive on 6th Street. It was like I never left. The street bustling with musicians music lovers and really hot girls. People wearing badges and wristbands passing out flyers for shows, and just simply trying to get noticed. It's real now, the vision I had a year ago when I first arrived has materialized. I'm here, I'm here because I'm playing this week, and I'm playing my music.
We pass out some flyers rolling up and down. We've got quite a few asshole out here, mainly the St Patricks Day Crowd who are mixed in with people who actually care about music. Flyers are wasted on these fools. In their durnken state they envision having power over you by saying they're not coming to your show or taking the flyer and throwing it on the ground...are you kidding? I've got 2500 of these things.
We would end up at the blind pig pub for the Red Gorilla Shows. We caught The Elevators from LA, a really awesome Funk/Hip Hop band. We ran into some guys from Da Rezarekt and gave them some promo materials for the shows. We danced the night away and came home and got some rest. Tomorrow would be the first day of going hard and really promoting these shows. Learning to do this will be exciting because if there's a way to get people in Austin to come to an Unofficial showcase on 4th street featuring Philly bands I'm going to find it.
The Day is drawing nigh.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 250
Year Two Day 7 - March 16th 2010
A night on Burbon Street's gonna wear anybody out. We hada gig today so I wanted ot take it as easy as possible, knowing that from tomorrow on out it's gonna be about working and making sure that we have a really awesome couple of shows in Austin. I even looked into the possibility of playing somewhere Thursday as well, trying to do as much as we can while down there.
We finally got moving and went to Port of Call, a place a friend of Jake's recommedned that we hit for some really good burgers.
We hit up Burbon Street one more time to see it during the day and stop in some gift shops for nick nacks and things it was weird seeing it during the day. It was still pretty busy in terms of people being there but without the debauchery.
We rolled by the club to check it out. Looked pretty sketchy from the outside and it was closed, so we went in serch for gumbo and came back.
Tonight we would be the featured performers at the Hi Ho Lounge Tuesday Night open Jam hosted by Fat Sweat. Kind of strange being on the other side of something like this in another city no less. It's in it's infancy so the crowd wasn't quite where I would have liked it to be. But the point tonight was to play in front of people, and there are people here. Whether it's 5 or 500 you play a good show and you give them all you've got.
They played a set and then we were on. After the Dallas show I was a tad discouraged, I wasn't at my best, playing or singing. But tonight was more focused, we were going to be playing a set closer to the one's we'd be playing at SXSW.
Set List
Superhero
(Oh) I wish I Loved You
Walking on the Moon
How Can This Be Love
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
Feels So Good
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Leavin
Sometimes you reach for it and it's not there. Other times there's waaay more there than you ever could have imagined. Rob's Powerhouse Drumming and Jakes Swooping Melodic Bass Lines laid in perfect with my guitar, as a singer you feel like you can do anything when the band sounds that good. We were rolling like a well oiled machine, which allowed me to soar over the music vocally, which is about all you can really ever hope for. We were tight, we were right, I didn't mess up lyrics, I even took a few risks vocally that I won't be taking Friday and Saturday. I'm probably gonna need a new guitar cable though.
We stuck around and enjoyed some of the music before getting out of dodge. We have an early drive tomorrow and we gotta make sure we get to Austin at a reasonable time.
A night on Burbon Street's gonna wear anybody out. We hada gig today so I wanted ot take it as easy as possible, knowing that from tomorrow on out it's gonna be about working and making sure that we have a really awesome couple of shows in Austin. I even looked into the possibility of playing somewhere Thursday as well, trying to do as much as we can while down there.
We finally got moving and went to Port of Call, a place a friend of Jake's recommedned that we hit for some really good burgers.
We hit up Burbon Street one more time to see it during the day and stop in some gift shops for nick nacks and things it was weird seeing it during the day. It was still pretty busy in terms of people being there but without the debauchery.
We rolled by the club to check it out. Looked pretty sketchy from the outside and it was closed, so we went in serch for gumbo and came back.
Tonight we would be the featured performers at the Hi Ho Lounge Tuesday Night open Jam hosted by Fat Sweat. Kind of strange being on the other side of something like this in another city no less. It's in it's infancy so the crowd wasn't quite where I would have liked it to be. But the point tonight was to play in front of people, and there are people here. Whether it's 5 or 500 you play a good show and you give them all you've got.
They played a set and then we were on. After the Dallas show I was a tad discouraged, I wasn't at my best, playing or singing. But tonight was more focused, we were going to be playing a set closer to the one's we'd be playing at SXSW.
Set List
Superhero
(Oh) I wish I Loved You
Walking on the Moon
How Can This Be Love
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
Feels So Good
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Leavin
Sometimes you reach for it and it's not there. Other times there's waaay more there than you ever could have imagined. Rob's Powerhouse Drumming and Jakes Swooping Melodic Bass Lines laid in perfect with my guitar, as a singer you feel like you can do anything when the band sounds that good. We were rolling like a well oiled machine, which allowed me to soar over the music vocally, which is about all you can really ever hope for. We were tight, we were right, I didn't mess up lyrics, I even took a few risks vocally that I won't be taking Friday and Saturday. I'm probably gonna need a new guitar cable though.
We stuck around and enjoyed some of the music before getting out of dodge. We have an early drive tomorrow and we gotta make sure we get to Austin at a reasonable time.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 249
Year Two Day 6 - March 15th 2010
Dallas
Well rested and ready to roll
We'd be headed to New Orleans today...a city that I've heard so much about and have never been. We had some thigns to take care of like picking up the laptop, mailing some stuff off and finding some new DVDs for the van rides. We picked up the stuff and headed to Downtown Dallas.
I've never been that big a fan of seeing the sites, There's just never been that much time to do so before. My previous experience has been getting to the gig playing the gig and getting to the next one, but good thing for me I have these guys with me because I'm enjoying all this more. Actually seeing some of these places is a novel concept for me.
This was the easiest drive, the shortest by far. I spent most of it working on some lyrics for new songs. Wiritng has been a frustrating process because I have so many things to express and I don't know how to express them. I feel less self assured than I have in the past. I thought I knew a bunch of stuff about myself and the world in general but the more I learn the more I realize that I don't know squat.
My mind wandered back home Kelvin was hosting Philly Rising in my absence, aside from the Bang Camaro tour last year I've never missed a Philly Rising (I got off the plane from LA and went there immediately upon my return home) I felt at ease knowing that Kelvin was handling buisness in my place. He's talented, charismatic, and a little looser than me. So I wasn't surprised when i heard that everyone had a great time. Wyldlyfe was also playing a show that night downstairs, a lot of big names and what have you I'm sure they did a great job as well. Mind you I'm extremely happy where I am right now and these thoughts lasted all of 15 seconds.
We arrived around 9 and checked into the hotel, sketchy neighborhood (they lock the doors after 11 and you need a room key to get in) but they had a gym and a pool, not that into the pool but I've been craving a workout.
The mission was simple...go to Burbon Street and have as much fun as humanly possible. For me this would have to be the last night to cut loose a little. Tommorrow we play and then we hit Austin and I'll have ot be 100% focused on that.
This is where the story will stop...Cause I'm not gonna get into details. I will say I had a couple drinks, danced a little and had a good time.
Show's tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, should be a blast.
Dallas
Well rested and ready to roll
We'd be headed to New Orleans today...a city that I've heard so much about and have never been. We had some thigns to take care of like picking up the laptop, mailing some stuff off and finding some new DVDs for the van rides. We picked up the stuff and headed to Downtown Dallas.
I've never been that big a fan of seeing the sites, There's just never been that much time to do so before. My previous experience has been getting to the gig playing the gig and getting to the next one, but good thing for me I have these guys with me because I'm enjoying all this more. Actually seeing some of these places is a novel concept for me.
This was the easiest drive, the shortest by far. I spent most of it working on some lyrics for new songs. Wiritng has been a frustrating process because I have so many things to express and I don't know how to express them. I feel less self assured than I have in the past. I thought I knew a bunch of stuff about myself and the world in general but the more I learn the more I realize that I don't know squat.
My mind wandered back home Kelvin was hosting Philly Rising in my absence, aside from the Bang Camaro tour last year I've never missed a Philly Rising (I got off the plane from LA and went there immediately upon my return home) I felt at ease knowing that Kelvin was handling buisness in my place. He's talented, charismatic, and a little looser than me. So I wasn't surprised when i heard that everyone had a great time. Wyldlyfe was also playing a show that night downstairs, a lot of big names and what have you I'm sure they did a great job as well. Mind you I'm extremely happy where I am right now and these thoughts lasted all of 15 seconds.
We arrived around 9 and checked into the hotel, sketchy neighborhood (they lock the doors after 11 and you need a room key to get in) but they had a gym and a pool, not that into the pool but I've been craving a workout.
The mission was simple...go to Burbon Street and have as much fun as humanly possible. For me this would have to be the last night to cut loose a little. Tommorrow we play and then we hit Austin and I'll have ot be 100% focused on that.
This is where the story will stop...Cause I'm not gonna get into details. I will say I had a couple drinks, danced a little and had a good time.
Show's tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, should be a blast.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 248
Year Two Day 5 - Marh 14th 2009
Long drives
Hopefully when we're more well known we canplay more citites and the drives won't be as long. I don't do any of the driving that's left to Brian but sitting in a cramped vehicle for hours on end can be rough on anyone.
We pulled into the parking lot by the stage for the Rock and Roll Marathon in Dallas around 3 in the morning. We've played races for the same company in Philadelphia for years so when I was sure that we were gonna play in Austin i contacted them about doing their race in Dallas. We play in front of 14,000 people (I mean they're runnign by but they still hear us) and it pays so it's a win win. We slept in the van and waited for people to get there to set up. This would be the inagural run here in Dallas so we probably have more experience with these types of events than anyone else playing. Even though the sound people
We set up the gear and the first band played, your general bar band, some cool covers cooler than the Bon Jovi heavy cover bands that play back at home. A lot of blues and classic rock. We hit the stage around 10:30
Playing the marathons require a different approach, it's not about stringing a bunch of tunes togeher for maximum emotional effect, it's about keeping the runners motivated and with a lot of our songs being mid tempo and slow I didn't have much of a game plan going intot his gig. It's not like me, but I've been distracted.
Bad gigs are funny, because generally you know it at the outset. Something major will happen and everything will begin to unravel. Today it was my guitar's inability to stay in tune, I'd put new strings on before I left and hadn't really had the time to stretch them and what not. I used my backup strat but I couldn't get the sounds that I wanted out of it so it was a bit strange. I was I made way too many mistakes. We played for about two hours and didn't snap back into step until about the last 30 minutes.
I'll qualify this by saying that the term bad gig is relative at this point. I don't think we've played an actual bad gig in a while, I just know how good this band isand when we don't play as good as we normally do I'm dissapointed. The people around us thought it was great which is alwys a relief. We haven't really gotten a bad reaction anywhere we've played around the country. Often I feel like my music is taken for granted at home overshadowed by skill as a promoter and my position in the scene as a personality, when I felt that the quality of music that I make was key in being able to establish all these other things, I don't think any of my peers would have played shows with me if my music sucked.
I spent most of the afternoon frustrated mainly because I've been burning the candle at both ends for the past few days. I didn't feel like I was focused enough on the task at hand.
We pull into the best western, the owner of the place says the rooms would be ready in half an hour so we go get Mexican and return ot the hotel. As I run to use the bathroom I noticed that the top sheet wasn't on the bed straight but I thought nothing of it till Rob entered.
Rob: The bed isn't made, I don't think they changed the sheets
Me: I'm sure they did, they were just rushing to get the room cleaned on time.
Rob: Clean my ass! There's a condom wrapper ont he floor.
Me: What?!
Rob: Yeah.
I walk outside of the can and there it is...The Trogan Magnum wrapper standing stright up by the bed the sun's rays made it shine as if to say..."How the hell did you miss me standing here?!"
I immediately walk to the front desk
Me: Yeah um I'm gonna need a new room
Clerk: What is wrong my friend?
Me: Yeah uh the sheets weren't clean and there was a condom wrapper on the floor
Clerk: We will clean immediately
Me: I'd feel better if I had another room
Clerk: Right away sir.
We move into the new room and I turn on my laptop to find that the screen had been cracked, fortunately we found a guy that fixes them in town. His store was closed so we had to find him at the Traveler's Village a huge open air Bazarr outside of town. Not much there but a whole lot of Rim and Grille places, Sound System stores, DVD stands and Mexican people, took a while to find the guy but we did and would be ok to have the laptop back by tommorrow.
Upon our return we went to Arbees, watched South Park and I went to bead early. There's free in the hotel lobby tommorow morning so I'm gonna mke sure I'm up early. We've got to pick up the lap top then head to New Orleans tommorrow.
Long drives
Hopefully when we're more well known we canplay more citites and the drives won't be as long. I don't do any of the driving that's left to Brian but sitting in a cramped vehicle for hours on end can be rough on anyone.
We pulled into the parking lot by the stage for the Rock and Roll Marathon in Dallas around 3 in the morning. We've played races for the same company in Philadelphia for years so when I was sure that we were gonna play in Austin i contacted them about doing their race in Dallas. We play in front of 14,000 people (I mean they're runnign by but they still hear us) and it pays so it's a win win. We slept in the van and waited for people to get there to set up. This would be the inagural run here in Dallas so we probably have more experience with these types of events than anyone else playing. Even though the sound people
We set up the gear and the first band played, your general bar band, some cool covers cooler than the Bon Jovi heavy cover bands that play back at home. A lot of blues and classic rock. We hit the stage around 10:30
Playing the marathons require a different approach, it's not about stringing a bunch of tunes togeher for maximum emotional effect, it's about keeping the runners motivated and with a lot of our songs being mid tempo and slow I didn't have much of a game plan going intot his gig. It's not like me, but I've been distracted.
Bad gigs are funny, because generally you know it at the outset. Something major will happen and everything will begin to unravel. Today it was my guitar's inability to stay in tune, I'd put new strings on before I left and hadn't really had the time to stretch them and what not. I used my backup strat but I couldn't get the sounds that I wanted out of it so it was a bit strange. I was I made way too many mistakes. We played for about two hours and didn't snap back into step until about the last 30 minutes.
I'll qualify this by saying that the term bad gig is relative at this point. I don't think we've played an actual bad gig in a while, I just know how good this band isand when we don't play as good as we normally do I'm dissapointed. The people around us thought it was great which is alwys a relief. We haven't really gotten a bad reaction anywhere we've played around the country. Often I feel like my music is taken for granted at home overshadowed by skill as a promoter and my position in the scene as a personality, when I felt that the quality of music that I make was key in being able to establish all these other things, I don't think any of my peers would have played shows with me if my music sucked.
I spent most of the afternoon frustrated mainly because I've been burning the candle at both ends for the past few days. I didn't feel like I was focused enough on the task at hand.
We pull into the best western, the owner of the place says the rooms would be ready in half an hour so we go get Mexican and return ot the hotel. As I run to use the bathroom I noticed that the top sheet wasn't on the bed straight but I thought nothing of it till Rob entered.
Rob: The bed isn't made, I don't think they changed the sheets
Me: I'm sure they did, they were just rushing to get the room cleaned on time.
Rob: Clean my ass! There's a condom wrapper ont he floor.
Me: What?!
Rob: Yeah.
I walk outside of the can and there it is...The Trogan Magnum wrapper standing stright up by the bed the sun's rays made it shine as if to say..."How the hell did you miss me standing here?!"
I immediately walk to the front desk
Me: Yeah um I'm gonna need a new room
Clerk: What is wrong my friend?
Me: Yeah uh the sheets weren't clean and there was a condom wrapper on the floor
Clerk: We will clean immediately
Me: I'd feel better if I had another room
Clerk: Right away sir.
We move into the new room and I turn on my laptop to find that the screen had been cracked, fortunately we found a guy that fixes them in town. His store was closed so we had to find him at the Traveler's Village a huge open air Bazarr outside of town. Not much there but a whole lot of Rim and Grille places, Sound System stores, DVD stands and Mexican people, took a while to find the guy but we did and would be ok to have the laptop back by tommorrow.
Upon our return we went to Arbees, watched South Park and I went to bead early. There's free in the hotel lobby tommorow morning so I'm gonna mke sure I'm up early. We've got to pick up the lap top then head to New Orleans tommorrow.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 247
Year Two Day 4 - March 13th 2010
Nashville. A quick stop on our way to Dallas for the first warmup shows for SXSW. We would be staying with Brianne O'neill, a very good friend of mine and an extremely tlaneted singer/songwriter in her own right. I met her while booking bands at O.N.E. a couple of years back and worked with her right up until she left for Nashville. Her blend of melody and vulnerability won her quite the following up here, not to mention the fact that she's not pareticularly hard to look at.
When I told her that we were heading in her direction she offered her home for us to stay in so that we would have to drive 22 hours straight to Dallas.
We gave Brianne a call as we pulled into Nashville and she was there to meet us. It was a good day apparently because her roomates were out of town so there were beds to sleep in. So Brianne asks the inevitable question..."Do you guys wanna go out or are you ready to hit the sack?" We opt to go out. We go to a rather cool little spot.
The first thing we notice about Nashville is that the people are friendly it was like a bizzaro world where hipsters aren't douchebags. In my exhausted state (I hadn't really slept much the night before) two beers were deadly. I meet Joey from Anberlin, and like an ass I confuse his band with another. I'd definitely heard the name and some of the music before, he seemed a bit taken a back that I wasn't a 100% solid on who he was, the band does have songs in the charts. It's a testament to the state of the music industry, 10-20 years ago if a band had a hit song, even if you couldn't hum the tune you knew who they were, in 2010 you make an ass of yourself in a bar. Despite the speed bump, I manage to hold a pretty solid conversation with him, we talk about SXSW and he tells me about his experiences in the industry.
We catch up with Brianne mostly. I miss her presence. She was one of the artists that played a critical role in the HYPE! being successful. Not to mention that I met the Soulfatronic/Bam crew (who were her backing band at first) through her. I always knew if she was playing the show was going to be good.
Bar to the Kroger, Kroger to her apartment.We hang out till about 5 and hit the sack, but I don't sleep long. I'm up by 9 cause frankly I haven't showered in two days and it's starting to bother me. A quick breakfast followed by a trip to downtown Nashville. Pretty cool to see especially druing the SEC tournament. Most of the cute girls were wearing Kentucky blue, although there was enough foundation on their faces to build a house. There was a whole stretch of clubs with stages playing country music, which was pretty cool.
We eat some food and hit the road...three hours later we're in Memphis. It's a lot bigger than Nashivlle. The Gibson factory and the Staxx Museum were closed but we found a chill little spot and hung out for a while. It's a beautiful city. Even the cougars are hot.
Brian wants to see the Mississippi River, so we check it out and are currently headed towards Dallas. Dad calls, I mention my concerns about the weight we're carrying, he suggests springs, I suggest a trailer, I never know where the money for any of this is going to come from lol.
Best part of this stretch of highway is that you get to see the stars and vibe out on some music. You're often surprised what or should I say who you're thinking about when the stars are out at night. It's usually someone beautiful.
By the time I wake up we should be in Dallas Texas, I'm itching to play, far too much leisure time on this trip for me, not that I'm against fun, but I raring to get to work. I want us to be at our very very best.
Nashville. A quick stop on our way to Dallas for the first warmup shows for SXSW. We would be staying with Brianne O'neill, a very good friend of mine and an extremely tlaneted singer/songwriter in her own right. I met her while booking bands at O.N.E. a couple of years back and worked with her right up until she left for Nashville. Her blend of melody and vulnerability won her quite the following up here, not to mention the fact that she's not pareticularly hard to look at.
When I told her that we were heading in her direction she offered her home for us to stay in so that we would have to drive 22 hours straight to Dallas.
We gave Brianne a call as we pulled into Nashville and she was there to meet us. It was a good day apparently because her roomates were out of town so there were beds to sleep in. So Brianne asks the inevitable question..."Do you guys wanna go out or are you ready to hit the sack?" We opt to go out. We go to a rather cool little spot.
The first thing we notice about Nashville is that the people are friendly it was like a bizzaro world where hipsters aren't douchebags. In my exhausted state (I hadn't really slept much the night before) two beers were deadly. I meet Joey from Anberlin, and like an ass I confuse his band with another. I'd definitely heard the name and some of the music before, he seemed a bit taken a back that I wasn't a 100% solid on who he was, the band does have songs in the charts. It's a testament to the state of the music industry, 10-20 years ago if a band had a hit song, even if you couldn't hum the tune you knew who they were, in 2010 you make an ass of yourself in a bar. Despite the speed bump, I manage to hold a pretty solid conversation with him, we talk about SXSW and he tells me about his experiences in the industry.
We catch up with Brianne mostly. I miss her presence. She was one of the artists that played a critical role in the HYPE! being successful. Not to mention that I met the Soulfatronic/Bam crew (who were her backing band at first) through her. I always knew if she was playing the show was going to be good.
Bar to the Kroger, Kroger to her apartment.We hang out till about 5 and hit the sack, but I don't sleep long. I'm up by 9 cause frankly I haven't showered in two days and it's starting to bother me. A quick breakfast followed by a trip to downtown Nashville. Pretty cool to see especially druing the SEC tournament. Most of the cute girls were wearing Kentucky blue, although there was enough foundation on their faces to build a house. There was a whole stretch of clubs with stages playing country music, which was pretty cool.
We eat some food and hit the road...three hours later we're in Memphis. It's a lot bigger than Nashivlle. The Gibson factory and the Staxx Museum were closed but we found a chill little spot and hung out for a while. It's a beautiful city. Even the cougars are hot.
Brian wants to see the Mississippi River, so we check it out and are currently headed towards Dallas. Dad calls, I mention my concerns about the weight we're carrying, he suggests springs, I suggest a trailer, I never know where the money for any of this is going to come from lol.
Best part of this stretch of highway is that you get to see the stars and vibe out on some music. You're often surprised what or should I say who you're thinking about when the stars are out at night. It's usually someone beautiful.
By the time I wake up we should be in Dallas Texas, I'm itching to play, far too much leisure time on this trip for me, not that I'm against fun, but I raring to get to work. I want us to be at our very very best.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 246
Year Two Day 3 - March 12, 2010
Leaving to tour isn't as hard as it was a year ago. I remember a lot of long goodbyes last time around. Now everyone (including me) is used to it I guess.
Zach's surprise birthday party was last night. It was awesome to see a lot of my friends, I can' think of a better reason for all of us to come together, Zach is a good man, one of the best. His Birthday is actually today but we had a long ride ahead of us.
I was up at 4AM, a Hangover will do that to you. I went over just about everything that I had in the basement, even taking a PA in case I needed it. I didn't want to overpack but all my bases need to be covered. I go over the checklist a thousand times in my miond and I still don't think I have everything.
We left my place and headed to Rob's, did a fresh pack of the van and went to get Jake. After a few stops there it was again...The Road. Touring is the one time that I feel like I'm 150% focused on my own music. It's just me and the crew. I'm not a promoter, or an open mic host, or a show runner. I can worry about what time I'm going on and not have toi zoom out and worry about the big picture. It's a true test to how good in fact this stuff is, we're playing in front of strangers again. I'm anxious to prove myself in one of the greatest music cities in the world at one of the biggest music ocnferences in the world. As the crumbling music industustry seems to have no real interest in me at the moment, I do things the old fashioned way, I bring the music to the people. I believe in what I'm doing, it's a truly enpowering feeling.
It's good to be with the guys again, we laugh most of the time...well I do anyway. But I think the laughter is more of a byproduct of the joy I feel (as conry as that sounds) taking this unit far away from home to play this music. We watch movies, we listen to tunes, we shoot the shit. I am relaxed not worried for now about the enormity of what's to come. I'll worry about that later. Now I worry about getting to Nashivlle in one piece.
There is a show at Lickety tonight. I'm not a big fan of not being at least in city while the show is going on, I run the music portion pretty much by myself so I worry when I'm not there, especially when there's a band from out of town coming to play. But usually things go well.
Most of the guys are asleep now as Brian gets us ever closer to a bed (or floor) for the night. As we were driving we passed a 15 passenger van and a trailer...a reminder of a time that seems like so long ago. I think of the Camaro/Leslie Crew quite often when I look up at the night sky. I'll get to see some of them hoepfully while I'm down there.
Before the night is out I will retrive my notepad from the guitar case and work on some material. As a new chapter comes into focus I'm gettign excited about making music again. I'm hungry to be better than I've ever been, to write new songs, to have new experiences musically.
It's roughly 7:30 and we've driven past the rain thats followed us since we've left. It's too dark to see the scenery now so I'll focus straight ahead. i need to be doing that anayway.
Leaving to tour isn't as hard as it was a year ago. I remember a lot of long goodbyes last time around. Now everyone (including me) is used to it I guess.
Zach's surprise birthday party was last night. It was awesome to see a lot of my friends, I can' think of a better reason for all of us to come together, Zach is a good man, one of the best. His Birthday is actually today but we had a long ride ahead of us.
I was up at 4AM, a Hangover will do that to you. I went over just about everything that I had in the basement, even taking a PA in case I needed it. I didn't want to overpack but all my bases need to be covered. I go over the checklist a thousand times in my miond and I still don't think I have everything.
We left my place and headed to Rob's, did a fresh pack of the van and went to get Jake. After a few stops there it was again...The Road. Touring is the one time that I feel like I'm 150% focused on my own music. It's just me and the crew. I'm not a promoter, or an open mic host, or a show runner. I can worry about what time I'm going on and not have toi zoom out and worry about the big picture. It's a true test to how good in fact this stuff is, we're playing in front of strangers again. I'm anxious to prove myself in one of the greatest music cities in the world at one of the biggest music ocnferences in the world. As the crumbling music industustry seems to have no real interest in me at the moment, I do things the old fashioned way, I bring the music to the people. I believe in what I'm doing, it's a truly enpowering feeling.
It's good to be with the guys again, we laugh most of the time...well I do anyway. But I think the laughter is more of a byproduct of the joy I feel (as conry as that sounds) taking this unit far away from home to play this music. We watch movies, we listen to tunes, we shoot the shit. I am relaxed not worried for now about the enormity of what's to come. I'll worry about that later. Now I worry about getting to Nashivlle in one piece.
There is a show at Lickety tonight. I'm not a big fan of not being at least in city while the show is going on, I run the music portion pretty much by myself so I worry when I'm not there, especially when there's a band from out of town coming to play. But usually things go well.
Most of the guys are asleep now as Brian gets us ever closer to a bed (or floor) for the night. As we were driving we passed a 15 passenger van and a trailer...a reminder of a time that seems like so long ago. I think of the Camaro/Leslie Crew quite often when I look up at the night sky. I'll get to see some of them hoepfully while I'm down there.
Before the night is out I will retrive my notepad from the guitar case and work on some material. As a new chapter comes into focus I'm gettign excited about making music again. I'm hungry to be better than I've ever been, to write new songs, to have new experiences musically.
It's roughly 7:30 and we've driven past the rain thats followed us since we've left. It's too dark to see the scenery now so I'll focus straight ahead. i need to be doing that anayway.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 245
Year 2 Day 1 - March 10th 2010
Today has been...interesting.
The day started with a workout as I try to get in some sort of shape for the trip and the shows, it started off as a mission to be able to take my shirt off in the Austin sun and not be ashamed but now it's just like a health thing, eatign as right as possible as well.
It would continue with a rehearsal with Katherine Mundy, a very talented singer, songwriter and guitarist. Wanting a band sound on some of her tunes She's got her boyfriend Kent on Drums and Me on...Bass. It was kinda funny when she first asked because I don't play bass. I own one, I've recorded bass on the first two Boy Wonder Albums and my buddy Claire's album but I've never played bass in a live gig type setting.
They came to the crib and we got to work. I wanted to make sure I simplified things for myself, doing things that sound good that are out of the way. I'm not sure if I've done that but we were able to put something together that Katherine's Happy with (at least I think so) there's a cool cover in the set that I'm looking forward to playing.
The rest of the day would be about the politics and deal making that goes along with being in the music buisness at any level. With the back biting and the shit talking and the strong arming truthfully I often wonder if I have the stomach for the actual buisness side of things. Saying no is as much a part of the job as saying yes, pleasing everyone is impossible and I have to learn that and keep what's best for me and those I work with in mind as I move through these mind fields. The main difference between what's up now with me and what was up when I first started is that this is how I eat now, this isn't a game to me (not like it ever was) I don't have time for the games grownups play.
I hit bluebond for some odds and ends (strings, a new strap picks etc.) and I ran into a fellow Philly Musician and we talked about some of our mutual experiences and the inflated sense of self that has permeated certain sections of the Philadelphia Music Scene. Seems to be troubling more than just me.
Slow night at lickety, which sometimes is a good thing. Physically I wasn't feeling much up to being the life of the party. Good acts though. Wild Rompit has quite a bit of potential I think, hopefully we'll be hearing from them more in the future. The Open Jam was a big hit and is growing by the week. Lickety Split is such a cool place to see a band and I like that fact that it's slowly but surely turning around.
Throughout the day I managed to work on a song that I'm really excited about. I've been really intrigued mixing dark subject matter and sweet melodies and harmonies. I asked about studio time and I have about 4 to 6 new songs so we'll see what happens after SXSW.
Tommorow is the last day, I can't wait to go. It's gonna be amazing
Today has been...interesting.
The day started with a workout as I try to get in some sort of shape for the trip and the shows, it started off as a mission to be able to take my shirt off in the Austin sun and not be ashamed but now it's just like a health thing, eatign as right as possible as well.
It would continue with a rehearsal with Katherine Mundy, a very talented singer, songwriter and guitarist. Wanting a band sound on some of her tunes She's got her boyfriend Kent on Drums and Me on...Bass. It was kinda funny when she first asked because I don't play bass. I own one, I've recorded bass on the first two Boy Wonder Albums and my buddy Claire's album but I've never played bass in a live gig type setting.
They came to the crib and we got to work. I wanted to make sure I simplified things for myself, doing things that sound good that are out of the way. I'm not sure if I've done that but we were able to put something together that Katherine's Happy with (at least I think so) there's a cool cover in the set that I'm looking forward to playing.
The rest of the day would be about the politics and deal making that goes along with being in the music buisness at any level. With the back biting and the shit talking and the strong arming truthfully I often wonder if I have the stomach for the actual buisness side of things. Saying no is as much a part of the job as saying yes, pleasing everyone is impossible and I have to learn that and keep what's best for me and those I work with in mind as I move through these mind fields. The main difference between what's up now with me and what was up when I first started is that this is how I eat now, this isn't a game to me (not like it ever was) I don't have time for the games grownups play.
I hit bluebond for some odds and ends (strings, a new strap picks etc.) and I ran into a fellow Philly Musician and we talked about some of our mutual experiences and the inflated sense of self that has permeated certain sections of the Philadelphia Music Scene. Seems to be troubling more than just me.
Slow night at lickety, which sometimes is a good thing. Physically I wasn't feeling much up to being the life of the party. Good acts though. Wild Rompit has quite a bit of potential I think, hopefully we'll be hearing from them more in the future. The Open Jam was a big hit and is growing by the week. Lickety Split is such a cool place to see a band and I like that fact that it's slowly but surely turning around.
Throughout the day I managed to work on a song that I'm really excited about. I've been really intrigued mixing dark subject matter and sweet melodies and harmonies. I asked about studio time and I have about 4 to 6 new songs so we'll see what happens after SXSW.
Tommorow is the last day, I can't wait to go. It's gonna be amazing
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