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July 31, 2008



After several years of either a) playing other people's music b) working with another primary writer or c) both (which I DO enjoy by the way, just sayin') I was itching to do something that was different from what I've been playing but also something that touched on a good deal of my influences. Luckily Trevor Dunn and Shelly Burgon were curating the Stone and were kind of enough to give me a slot.

On top of that, old friend Steve Moore (Zombi, Titan, Microwaves) was gracious enough to help me out before I even told him what I was doing. Travis Laplante (tenor sax player - Little Women and Extra Life) and trumpet player Nate Wooley (more groups than you can shake a stick at) -- 2 musicians I had been wanting to work with since I moved here -- were kind enough to agree to do it without even hearing the music or ever really meeting me in person.

 The result it an 8 part song cycle conceptually inspired by the Spiritual Research Foundations classification of different types of other-worldly inhabiters. I'm calling it "punk/jazz" for a lack of a better description. Jazz charts, for the most part handled with the subtlety of a hammer, with carefully placed moments of free-improv.

In case you are unfamiliar THE STONE is a non-profit venue that is geared towards focusing on music of an experimental nature. 100% of the door goes to the musicians. There is no bar, no drinks. Just a room with music. The venue survives from donations and the musicians that inhabit it. This is the debut performance, and could very well be the ONLY performance, who knows...

It's been a scary/entertaining year so far, I recently finished all of my tracking on the EMANUEL AND THE FEAR record, which is being mixed as we speak. I also just tracked 17 songs for a 25 song concept record that will be coming out with an accompanying comic book (more on that later), did some recording for a couple of singers from Brooklyn, composed a piece for a dance commission, started getting involved in the improv scene here in NY, got some musical theatre work, and I should be heading to Baltimore in the next month or so to track drums for the new ZAO record.

If all of that wasn't enough, I recently took over the drum stool in Brooklyn's ZERO SPANISH. Drums, Bass, Fender Rhodes/Organ. Slightly off kilter, super agressive, melodic rock. I'm super excited and in addition to playing my first show with them on August 15th, we will be recording soon.

And as always, I'm still writing. Currently there are 4 or 5 different "projects" that I have in mind and am gradually putting together. As they finish up, it's a matter of lining up the players and getting them out there.