Tonight’s show (1/24) at Espresso Joe’s is cancelled due to weather. Looks like I’m 0-2 on January shows. The good news is that I have reschedule dates for both cancelled shows already. Mark your calendars.
Wednesday, February 25th 8pm
Pianos Upstairs Lounge
Saturday, March 21st
Espresso Joe’s
I’m excited to be joining fellow acoustic musicians Joe Beninati and Tim Aanensen for a Guitar Pull. Sponsored by blowupradio.com, the evening will feel more like sitting around a campfire and listening to old friends sharing songs. Usually the songs are accompanied by stories, or conversations about the creative process. It’s a collaborative show format that I know you’ll enjoy watching.
Really excited for this one. Mark your calendars.
Saturday, January 24th
Solo Acoustic
Espresso Joe’s
Part of blowupradio.com’s Guitar Pull with Joe Beninati and Tim Aanensen
50 West Front Street
Keyport, NJ
FREE
7pm – Opening Act: Jersey Drive
8pm – Guitar Pull
Hi everyone. I’ve come down with a nasty case of bronchitis and I’m going to have to cancel my performance at Pianos Upstairs Lounge, Tuesday 01/13/15. I hate to cancel, but the bronchitis has really knocked me over! I hope to get another show scheduled in the city soon. Stay tuned.
Thanks for your support!
Please join me next Tuesday for a solo acoustic performance at Pianos in the Upstairs Lounge. This is a great little spot to grab a drink after work and enjoy some live music. Laid back. No cover charge, no pressure. Perfect for easing into the new year.
Tuesday, January 13th
Solo Acoustic
Pianos Upstairs Lounge
158 Ludlow St.
New York, NY
8pm sharp
Hope to see you there!
Draft of new song, “Walking On”
I’m working on a new song.
As I do, I am keeping in mind the advice of writer Steven Pressfield. He says that your only job on the first draft is to cover the canvas. Get your ideas on the page, no matter how sloppy. Don’t lose momentum. Don’t second guess or rewrite when you’re in the idea-capturing phase.
I’m finding that it works quite well. It keeps my mind in “creation mode,” knowing it doesn’t have to switch over to “editing mode” until later. In the past, I would try to be in both modes at once. I would work on one verse until I was satisfied and then try to move on to the next one. Usually by the time I got to the next one, my mental energy was too low to make any further progress on the song.
I’m finding it refreshing to work this way, using the first draft to simply cover the canvas.
Here are a few takeaways from the experience:
Writing is rewriting. Spending the time to work and rework leads to further inspiration.
What a gig!
I had a blast playing with Christina Alessi and the Toll Collectors last Friday night at Tierney’s Tavern in Montclair, NJ – 12/12/14. It was so great to play in a band with such excellent musicians.
Here was the line up:
Christina Alessi: voice and acoustic guitar
Jon Andrew: Bass
Josh Bicknell: Drums
Ty Tuschen: Guitar
Mari Hubley: Mandolin/ Vox
Sean-David Cunningham: Epic Violin
Here was the setlist:
Watch a cover of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me”
In case the embed doesn’t work above, here’s the link: http://youtu.be/PetxyoxW2Kk
Watch a cover of “Wagon Wheel” (which actually has a pretty interesting origin story):
In case the embed doesn’t work above, here’s the link: http://youtu.be/MwjWWagcN8U
We hope to do it all over again sometime soon. Stay tuned!
Here’s a YouTube playlist of five songs from my performance at Espresso Joe’s last month. Thanks to my parents for capturing these on their iPhones!
The playlist includes:
If you can’t see the video playlist embedded below, click here.
I’m excited to play with Christina Alessi at Tierney’s Tavern in Montclair, NJ on Friday, December 12th. We have an amazing all-star band, complete with Mari Hubley on mandolin, Jonathan Andrew on bass, Sean-David Cunningham on violin, Ty Tuschen on guitar, and a full horn section! I’ll be playing drums and singing backing vocals.
Very excited for this. Hope you can join.
Friday, December 12th
with Christina Alessi and the Toll Collectors
Tierney’s Tavern
Montclair, NJ
9pm sharp
What an amazing night at Espresso Joe’s!
I was absolutely blown away by the undivided attention of the audience. As a singer/songwriter, it’s rare to play a room where everyone is there to listen. Kudos to Ed Kok for creating such an environment at Espresso Joe’s. Ed, you’ve created something really special in Keyport, NJ.
Many thanks are also due to Brian from The Wag. Without his support, the show would’ve never happened. He was also responsible for making me the Feature Artist of the Month, inspiring me to print and frame my photography. His band writes super catchy songs that immediately put you in a good mood. Check them out here.
As the finale of their set, The Wag asked me to join them and sing “Here Comes the Sun,” by the Beatles. Here’s a photo.
Here’s a photo of my setlist. I played two songs to open up the show and then came back later for a full set.
The place was packed!
Here are two photos showing my photography on the walls.
My favorite part – performing with my sister and with Ardith from double-breasted. We played a cover of “Say Something,” by A Great Big World.
Just before closing the set with a cover of Modern English’s “Melt with You,” I performed a cover of The Beatles’ “Across the Universe” on ukulele.
As mentioned at the show:
Thank you all so, so much for attending on Friday. It was such a fun night!
Today, I’m releasing a new record into the world! It’s a recording of my recent performance on Banding Together: A Webathon to Benefit the Spondylitis Association of America.
Things you won’t find on the record:
Things you will find on the record:
The recording features a half hour of original music, recorded in a way that captures the live performance with high fidelity. I worked with Missile Silo Studios to mix and master it professionally, so it sounds good coming out of your sound docks, speakers, and earbuds. (Read more about the recording process here.)
The record is available as a digital download.
Pay what you want for it. You can even grab it for free. I’m proud of the way it came out and I just want you to have it!
After you download it to your computer, you can easily add it to iTunes, Spotify, or any other music player. Just drag the files into your player.
I hope you enjoy it!