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Playing at good ol' Cellspace tonight. Art + Music.

Magic Mirror

Hard to believe it's been over a month since my last post. I have kept myself busy. Saw Dungen at the New Parish, Arcade Fire and Calexico at The Greek. Gojogo played a concert at the DeYoung on October 3rd and then I walked down to see some great stuff at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Killbossa played at the Make-Out and Aca at the Rev. This is starting to feel like a Romper Room Magic Mirror post! Also Dina band (with Cello!) at the Knockout and Dave Hudson at the Argus- all elements distorted- what were we thinking? Anyway, I'm looking forward to tonight's Full Harvest Moon show at Viracocha. Chasing The Moon is a really beautiful podcast and Seaweed Sway shows are always classy and interesting.

There is a nice music community here.

I had a real nice time playing and listening to music at the Make-Out Room last night. We (Mercury Falls) seemed to find some interesting new routes to take through the tunes after 8 weeks of fermentation. Maybe it's just having an attentive and engaged audience and sharing the bill with such inspiring musicians but it seemed like a little taste of the good ol' days on 22nd street. With improvisational music you're often rolling the dice. Will we have a good show or a transcendent one? This was somewhere in between but it felt like a success. We were able to hear each other and the samples, good. We alternated short sets with Shimmering Leaves, very good- there was a subtle exchange of ideas happening between the bands. We were relaxed and open-hearted, so the music spoke. Thanks to Porto Franco for supporting local music.

Mercury Falls CD release Thursday 9/16

Mercury Falls will be alternating sets with Dave Mihaly's Shimmering Leaves this Thursday at the Make-Out Room. This is a Porto Franco Records CD release event for both groups. I'm looking forward to revisiting the Mercury Falls music a couple of months after our summer tour.

Many (S)Miles

4617. Imperfectly precise. That is the number of miles I have traversed in various vehicles in the last 3 weeks. Moving very quickly while staying mostly still. Close quarters with various comrades. Hurry up and wait. New languages of insanity. This is the life of a band on the road. In late July I spent a week playing shows with Mercury Falls. We made our way up and down the left coast- as far south as LA and up to Vancouver. One of my favorite aspects of touring is the meeting and hanging out with new, great folks. We had plenty of that on this one, especially in B.C. where we played a couple of shows with The Inhabitants. They were impressive and inspiring and Skye and Karma were kind enough to host us at their idyllic home in the country, as we fortified ourselves for the punishing non-stop trip back to California.

After a brief trip to SD to spend time with family and celebrate Bomma's 89th b-day, I flew to Chicago to begin another mad-cap run with the Dina Maccabee Band through the Midwest and Northeast. The characters change but the script is strangely similar: in the first 24 hours, a secret language of references and gestures is developed. This will be the glue that binds us together when the road shows it's teeth and showers are sorely missed. Music is shared and gives added meaning to the monotonous or beautiful landscape. The vehicle starts and stops but mostly just goes and goes...We arrive just in time for load-in and then wait, wait, wait. Jargon is flung about: strike, check, wedge, downbeat. Then find a place to crash and start it all over again.

Amazingly, I almost always come away feeling inspired and renewed despite being roadworn and sleep-deprived. Generous people, seeing new cities & lands, getting to know your cohorts more completely, and playing music every night is a beautiful thing. When do we go again?

Their Sun Is Not The Same as Ours

I think about how to be silent, and then don't practice it. I love the visceral fuzzed out noise set against tropical rhythms and acoustic textures. Pretty voices singing prettier melodies. Gilberto Gil '68-'71. Desperate songs that sound happy. Low hanging fruit. Killbossa is playing Pirate Cat Radio today at 6:15 PM. We'll wing it as always, probably play unplugged. After, we'll do a set at The Knockout, 9PMish.

Schoolhouse Rock

May brought just the right job to mix things up: making a record in Kentucky. Thunderstorms, farmland, midnight bike rides, bourbon, isolation, great people. We spent about 10 hours a day recording in an old schoolhouse just a couple of miles outside of Hodgenville, birthplace of honest Abe. No truck or tractor passed by without a nod & a wave, but many pulled off the road to say hello, share a story and see what we were up to. There was a steady drip of the KY brown wine, jokes good & better, and the sometimes daunting task of making music with strangers sound like you've been at it for years. We got it done and had a good time along the way. The logistics of this kind of undertaking can be staggering. People coming from California and Tennessee and meeting in the middle of nowhere. Transporting all kinds of gear and instruments and renting everything else that is needed. We slept in a beautiful old farmhouse and lived real, true porchlife each night. Ghosts were seen. What a beautiful thing.

Killbossa on MissionLocal

Deia De Brito produced this cool little video about Killbossa.

Killbossa opens for Extra Action Marching Band

In what is sure to be a freak fest, I am pleased to announce Killbossa's upcoming show at The New Parish in Oakland. Saturday, May 8th. 579 18th St. Oakland, 94612.

New Flavor, Same Great Taste

Killbossa is playing at Bollyhood Cafe tomorrow night. There is a slight change in the line-up for this show, but I'm certain that it'll be a solid. I have a great time playing this music and hopefully this will be a lovely, eclectic and multicultural? evening...10:30 set. 3372 19th Street @Mission.

The Cannery Ventures Out!

Yes, I like to sing songs and play acoustic guitar among many other things. This very real band doesn't venture out into the great wide open all too often, so here's your opportunity to catch a rare glimpse and earful. CS and I meet weekly to collaborate, negotiate harmonies in both the California and Kentucky manner and generally keep the flames dancing. Bluesix is a nice, intimate music space and we're looking forward to playing it. JS will join us on bass and maybe some hollering. Cathal O'brien and Dave Hudson (who I'll also be playing with) are also on the bill. Thursday 3/25/10 at 9PM. 3043 24th St. @ Treat, SF.
http://thecannery.bandcamp.com/

Upcoming Shows

The next 2 are with Dina Maccabee and Co. This is as pop and rockin' as I've gotten in a while. The musicians are super and the songs are crafty and infectious. Come see us at El Rincon ('The Corner', wish it was in a Miles Davis way) on March 13th and/or March 22nd at The Knockout.

What gives? Or, this is a Mission thing.

Well, I didn't mention the 2 fun fun gigs that I did with Killbossa recently. We played at Amnesia on Feb 27th and it was a full night of amazing local musicians in various configurations. I had the pleasure of playing with Dave Mihaly's Shimmering Leaves before Killbossa did a little raindance and brought some Tropicalia to the mission. Wardrobe has come to be a significant part of the Killbossa presentation, and I think that deserves a proper exposition, but for now let's just say documentation is forthcoming...

And forget about saturation, we did another gig right down the street at the Make-Out on March 1st, and it was a completely different thing. Great acts again preceded us- this time contextualizing Killbossa as the more "inside" sounding group. We found a more rigorous line through some our newest material and my head got very hot- but that was just an acceptable kind of wardrobe malfunction.

New York Bound

I'm headed to NYC for a couple of shows this week and next. Saturday Feb 13 I'll be performing with Odessa Chen at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. The event is called the Valentine's Eve Fest and we're looking forward to it. Monday Feb 15 I'll be playing with Michelle Amador at Cameo Gallery in Williamsburg.

Gojogo plays live soundtrack for Yuri Norstein films.

What an honor it was to perform our original music to accompany Yuri Norstein's beautiful animated films at the Balboa Theater this week. Actually it was a bit nerve-wracking to have the great man sitting right behind me as I lead the group through the score for Tale of Tales. One part of my mind was completely focused on the task at hand while another was searching for his response to our re-contextualization of his masterpiece. (It was the first time he had heard it, and the large Russian audience seems to hold the original score and narration dear.) In the end it was received well and we had the even more harrowing experience of providing music for his work in progress 'The Overcoat' which only exists as a silent piece so far. We got a copy of it in the morning and quickly created a series of cues and improvisations to underline the intricate character study. Despite the language barrier, Mr. Norstein seemed tickled by our dedication to his films and seems to have appreciated the change of perspective it gave him on his own work.

Cyber break is over!

Despite not posting in the last 2 months, I've been keeping busy with all sorts of great stuff. The year got off to a nice start with a few weeks in the Caribbean. Despite hearing some great Afro-Caribbean street music of the voice-meets-beaten-metal variety, the soundtrack to our first few days was mostly provided by a never ending chain of small and medium sized explosions. Willemstadt loves it's fireworks!