Fresh off a really fun Halloween show where we played Cyndi Lauper, Christina Alessi & the Toll Collectors are back at Maxwell’s tomorrow night for a set of original music at 10pm!
It’s also the release of Bern & the Brights new EP. This is going to be a great show. It begins at 8:30pm. The Toll Collectors hit the stage at 10pm sharp.
Here’s the link to RSVP on Facebook.
Friday, November 6th
Christina Alessi and the Toll Collectors
Maxwell’s Tavern
Hoboken, NJ
8:30pm
Must it exist physically as polycarbonate, vinyl, tape, drive, or cloud storage? Must it spin?
Must it be made in a studio? (What is the definition of a studio?)
Must it include a producer? An engineer?
Must it be multi-tracked? Click-tracked?
Must it contain real instruments? (What is the definition of a real instrument?)
Must it have a human element? (Is there a line between what is human and what is hardware and software?)
Must it play for a minimum duration?
Must it have an audience?
Must it be owned?
Must it be purchased?
Must it be streamed?
Must it be promotional?
Must it tell a story?
There are very few “musts” for an album anymore. That notion can be both scary and liberating.
All I know is this. An album (or record) is one medium on which music can be captured and communicated. Like any piece of art, it is created using tools of the artist’s choosing to make a statement.
Join me on Halloween for a one-of-a-kind show. I’ll be playing drums with Christina Alessi and the Toll Collectors, but with a twist. We won’t be playing our songs. We’ll be covering Cyndi Lauper. Yes. Show your true colors and get to this show! We’re excited to sharing the night with two other bands who are also “dressing up” as other bands.
Here’s an article in HMag all about it. http://hmag.com/halloween-covered-maxwells-phish-police-cyndi-lauper-tribute-bands-take-stage/
RSVP on Facebook here.
It should be a really fun night. I hope you can join us!
Some good news. Some bad news.
The good news is that the listenership for Banding Together is up this year! The bad news is that donations are down.
Don’t worry. The webathon is re-airing through Friday evening, so there is still time to make your donation to the Spondylitis Association of America. Ankylosing spondylitis is a form of progressive arthritis due to chronic inflammation of the joints in the spine. It can be very painful to those who are affected by it.
Please consider donating today!
P.S. If you missed the first airing of my set, you can listen to it again on Friday, October 23rd at 11am!
Banding Together begins tomorrow – Friday, Oct 16th at 11am and runs through Monday evening at blowupradio.com.
But you don’t have to wait until tomorrow to make a donation to the Spondylitis Association of America and receive this year’s special compilation album download!
Here’s the track list of the compilation album you’ll receive:
1. Josh Bicknell – a new start [live at Espresso Joe’s]
2. Jersey Drive – if minds could kill [single version]
3. The Deafening Colors – jerry ryan
4. The Extras, Inc. – some people in this world
5. Lifeguard Nights – bible girl [rough mix]
6. d.smith – alcohol [live]
7. Shotgun Bill and the Red Hot Pistols – one too many
8. David Van Orden Jr. – stories of a man with my name
9. HAL – dichotomy
10. The Clydes – the lie escape
11. Jonathan Andrew – silver screen [live]
12. Diego Allessandro & Lot 25 – restless heart
13. Keith Beck’s Zigman Bird – dry tears
14. Fun While You Wait – lost [live]
15. Christian Beach – paper ships [live]
16. Son Of Dov – breathing fire [live]
17. Fairmont – bad time
18. Suspecting Victim – wolves in sheep clothing
19. Colie Brice – delicate flower (out loud)
20. Weird and Wonderful Words – canoodle
21. Catherine Wacha – the ballad of marion crane
22. Deena – been so crazy lately
23. Faust Fulton And Friends – something real [live]
24. LHCisco – mr. gloom [chill version]
25. A Halo Called Fred – I haz a sad
26. The Blurry Minds – I just want to be gold
27. Little Big Toe – build a boat
28. The Wag – I’ll be all right (F#m7)
29. Naked Ant – the scene
30. Don Lee – brand new star
31. Hat & Boots – I could be
32. 1L – the 1L show
33. Melissa Anthony – 4/14
34. Just Waiting – useless
35. The Accelerators – beat generation
36. Frank & Bill – purple corvette
37. Joe Canzano – ride thru wyoming
38. The Wailing Kids – de la pueblo
39. The Way Out – deep end
40. Bruce Tunkel – friday’s here [live]
41. Mike Clifford – on a friday night
So don’t wait! Make your donation today.
I’m happy to announce that I’ll be performing as part of Banding Together, a webathon to benefit the Spondylitis Association of America. October 16-19th.
This year marks my fourth year of playing this webathon as a solo acoustic artist.
Lazlo is the man behind this benefit. He is someone who works tirelessly in service of independent artists. His internet radio station Blowupradio is one of the longest-running stations on the web. Long before you could stream Pandora on your iPhone, long before iPhones even existed, you could stream his radio station over the Internet.
This benefit is a personal one for him, as his wife suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis. In his spirit of giving, Lazlo will be giving a ton of his time and all donations to the Spondylitis Association of America.
How do you donate?
Throughout the webathon there will be a link on blowupradio.com to donate to the SAA.
What do you get for donating?
Besides the release of positive endorphins from donating to a worthy cause? Everyone who donates will receive a compilation album to download. It includes special tracks from artists performing during the webathon. I’m adding a live performance of my song “A New Start” to this compilation. It will not be available anywhere else. The recording was captured this past year at Espresso Joe’s coffee house during one of Lazlo’s Guitar Pull events.
How do you learn more?
The official press release and schedule of performances is here: http://blowupradio.tripod.com/newsletters/2015/spondypr.html
What else do you need to know?
More posts about this will be forthcoming. In the meantime, feel free to stream and download my performances from the three previous years.
I’m releasing a new piece of instrumental music today. “My Favorite Daydream” is available via Bandcamp to stream and download.
Daydreams can carry a stigma. Minds that daydream can be considered weak, wandering, and even wasteful. If you are a daydreamer you are not someone who is grounded in reality.
Yet there is a certain power in daydreams.
It gives your mind a chance to unwind. A chance to release the tension that comes as a result of concentration, in an age where we are pulled in many directions and always expected to be “on.” An age where our FOMO is urging us to fill our schedules to capacity.
This piece celebrates daydreams. (And is also a reminder to myself that I need to have them more often.)
The music is like a daydream in that it moves along at its own pace and combines instruments that wouldn’t normally come together. When I listen to it, I hear movement, a sense of adventure, and also a little bit of sadness. Layers of conflicting emotions. The mind unwinding in its own way.
I hope you enjoy this piece. Let it lead you to many of your own non-wasteful daydreams.
Listen below or here, if you don’t see the embedded player. Download your own copy by naming your price here.
I’m releasing a new instrumental piece of music on Friday, September 25th. Here’s a sneak peek of what it looks like as waveforms.
You’ll have to wait until Friday to hear it in its entirety!
I had a really great evening performing at Pianos Upstairs Lounge on Thursday, August 27th.
Ardith joined me on cello for an evening filled with original music, cover songs, and picklebacks. We even had a chance to extend the setlist with a few extra songs! Can’t wait to do it again sometime soon.
Join me for a solo acoustic gig at Pianos Upstairs Lounge. This one is especially exciting… not just because it’s a FREE Show, but also because Ardith Collins will be joining me on cello. We’ll be doing something similar to what we did at Canal Day last weekend.
It will be awesome. Don’t miss it.
Thursday, August 27th
Solo Acoustic with Ardith Collins on cello
Pianos Upstairs Lounge
158 Ludlow Street
New York, NY
7pm