Just to be clear (because I've referenced a few planned releases in the last several months):
I'm hoping to put out three releases as An Historic this year.
One will be a digital-only live album. It is a recording of the live set performed with the aid of Brian Slattery and Carl Testa at the December installment of the Uncertainy music series. I'm hoping to work more with this trio in the future.
One will be an EP, tentatively titled Seicremllams. This release contains 6 tunes, based around live single takes of accordion and voice with slight overdubs (vocal harmonies, clarinet, recorders, bowed cymbal). This release will have four stripped down arrangements of tunes that also exist in expanded form (either with the trio or performed with Dr. Caterwauls), as well as two tunes not heard anywhere else from a similar period of time. Hoping to release this on tape as well as digitally.
The last, hopefully, will be a full length, titled Small Mercies. There are ten tunes lined up for this set, all completed and fully arranged. As mentioned these will be more definitive versions of some of the tunes from the EP, as well as several tunes I've been playing live in various capacities for the last two years, which have been tweaked and refined by those experiences. The recording will also feature two tunes from the "Cutoff" split, also refined to fit the band sound.
This is plenty ambitious and all, but I have these tunes and more in the cue and it will be nice to launch some of them, so to speak, and clear the air for more. I have been working on a new series of piano-focused tunes and several new covers, and the momentum doesn't appear to be slowing. This year will also most likely see a self-made/shot/directed music video for one of the tunes from Seicremllams, if all goes well.
12.28.2011
12.26.2011
First things in the New Year
Here is a solo An Historic cover of Scott Matthew's "Language," as seen in Shortbus. I have wanted to cover this song for awhile but only a few days ago discovered a satisfying way to approach it. enjoy!
An Historic plays next in Hadley, MA on January 6th at Emmett Island (8 Pine Hill Rd) w/ Wood Spider, The Suitcase Junket, Asher (of Bella's Bartok). I'll be releasing a live album soon of the performance at the December Uncertainty Series - the second ever An Historic trio set, recorded in full by Lou Guarino. This set features tunes current and past, and I'm very pleased with the way Brian (Slattery, fiddle) and Carl (Testa, bass) have helped to realize these finicky compositions.
Dr. Caterwaul's hosts Wood Spider in New Haven on the first day of their winter tour. The show also features Tyler Bussey and Black is the Color (ex-Feral Flowers). Come out on Wednesday, January 4th to the coziest venue in New Haven, Neverending Books (810 State St)
Dr. Caterwauls appears again on January 14th at the Euphoria Salon in New Haven, doing a cabaret set with the Cygnet Sisters. The event is an opening for the art of Erin Jenkins. The opening is between 5-8PM and our set time is TBA.
Finally, I'll be participating in a Large ensemble project featuring a new composition by Barry Seroff and one by Nate Trier. The date is the 29th of January, at the Outer Space.
Take a look at the (finally updated) performance bar for some upcoming appearances January and beyond.
An Historic plays next in Hadley, MA on January 6th at Emmett Island (8 Pine Hill Rd) w/ Wood Spider, The Suitcase Junket, Asher (of Bella's Bartok). I'll be releasing a live album soon of the performance at the December Uncertainty Series - the second ever An Historic trio set, recorded in full by Lou Guarino. This set features tunes current and past, and I'm very pleased with the way Brian (Slattery, fiddle) and Carl (Testa, bass) have helped to realize these finicky compositions.
Dr. Caterwaul's hosts Wood Spider in New Haven on the first day of their winter tour. The show also features Tyler Bussey and Black is the Color (ex-Feral Flowers). Come out on Wednesday, January 4th to the coziest venue in New Haven, Neverending Books (810 State St)
Dr. Caterwauls appears again on January 14th at the Euphoria Salon in New Haven, doing a cabaret set with the Cygnet Sisters. The event is an opening for the art of Erin Jenkins. The opening is between 5-8PM and our set time is TBA.
Finally, I'll be participating in a Large ensemble project featuring a new composition by Barry Seroff and one by Nate Trier. The date is the 29th of January, at the Outer Space.
Take a look at the (finally updated) performance bar for some upcoming appearances January and beyond.
11.23.2011
Another month and change has gone by without an update. I don't think the idea of keeping each project isolated by updates is actually going to work.
Coming up soon is two shows back to back with Dr. Caterwauls, first opening for the excellent David Wax Museum from the Boston area on November 30th. This show is free and at BAR in New Haven, a fine venue with homemade pizza and house-brewed beer selections. The following day, we return to the Outer Space (a favorite venue in New Haven) to open for touring songwriters Andru Bemis and Elizabeth Pixley-Fink. See the sidebar for more details.
The day after THAT I'm doing a solo set as An Historic at a house show, details for which will be forthcoming.
The day after THAT I'll be performing with Atlas, a subgrouping of the New Haven Improvisers Collective, at Firehouse 12, at 8:30. NHIC does an annual concert at Firehouse 12 which is a fantastic venue both for listening and performing, and this year will also include the debut of NHIC Electric. Again, more details on the sidebar.
December will slow down a bit after that opening burst. I'll be performing with the Yale Klezmer band on December 7th, and again with Dr. Caterwauls at the Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport on the 22nd. Most of this month is devoted to working on a short opera that I've mentioned here before, as well as a pretty crucial grad school application.
More details as I get em.
Coming up soon is two shows back to back with Dr. Caterwauls, first opening for the excellent David Wax Museum from the Boston area on November 30th. This show is free and at BAR in New Haven, a fine venue with homemade pizza and house-brewed beer selections. The following day, we return to the Outer Space (a favorite venue in New Haven) to open for touring songwriters Andru Bemis and Elizabeth Pixley-Fink. See the sidebar for more details.
The day after THAT I'm doing a solo set as An Historic at a house show, details for which will be forthcoming.
The day after THAT I'll be performing with Atlas, a subgrouping of the New Haven Improvisers Collective, at Firehouse 12, at 8:30. NHIC does an annual concert at Firehouse 12 which is a fantastic venue both for listening and performing, and this year will also include the debut of NHIC Electric. Again, more details on the sidebar.
December will slow down a bit after that opening burst. I'll be performing with the Yale Klezmer band on December 7th, and again with Dr. Caterwauls at the Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport on the 22nd. Most of this month is devoted to working on a short opera that I've mentioned here before, as well as a pretty crucial grad school application.
More details as I get em.
10.05.2011
An Historic - upcoming events
The first two tracks of the long-awaited "Cutoff" Split with Cud Eastbound are up for streaming HERE. I am very excited to see this get off my harddrive and out into the cyber-aether. The full release (including Cud's tracks) will be available for PWYC download by this weekend.
This release coincides with a minitour I'm conducting next week with Mountain Wasp (mountainwasp.tumblr.com). There are only three dates, due to various unfortunate and last minute circumstances:
-10/11 in New Haven, at The Outer Space. (10PM, Free show but donations for gas and whatnot greatly accepted.)
-10/13 in Northampton, MA, on top of the parking garage downtown. With Nicholas Francis and maybe +1 TBA? Email me for more details.
-10/15 in Portland, ME. This will be with musical sibling Jakob Battick, in what will be the last ever show of his Jakob Battick and Friends project, for which he's put together the "Bloodworm Orchestra" for something really epic and special. (8PM, Poland St, Portland, ME.)
Two other shows in New Haven to mention, post tour:
10/27, at Bru Cafe. I'll be doing a set in support of Nicholas Francis and Homebody, two awesome acts (and friends) on a tour from Northampton, MA. 7:00 PM
11/7, at Neverending Books, in support of Mal Blum and Zoe Boekbinder. Circle Circle and an acoustic version of Proud Flesh will be playing. I am especially excited for this date as I will be joined by Brian Slattery on fiddle and Carl Testa on upright bass, which will be the first time I've performed a full set of An Historic material with something resembling a band. 7:30. This'll be a barn burner.
The possibility of scheduling a recording has ended up being a hassle, and thus will be postponed until early next year. I am still hoping to draw in the rest of Dr. Caterwaul's after some woodshedding, and there will still be a kickstarter campaign to fund its recording and release, although probably not on vinyl as originally expected. Details for that are still stewing, and I hope to release them soon.
This release coincides with a minitour I'm conducting next week with Mountain Wasp (mountainwasp.tumblr.com). There are only three dates, due to various unfortunate and last minute circumstances:
-10/11 in New Haven, at The Outer Space. (10PM, Free show but donations for gas and whatnot greatly accepted.)
-10/13 in Northampton, MA, on top of the parking garage downtown. With Nicholas Francis and maybe +1 TBA? Email me for more details.
-10/15 in Portland, ME. This will be with musical sibling Jakob Battick, in what will be the last ever show of his Jakob Battick and Friends project, for which he's put together the "Bloodworm Orchestra" for something really epic and special. (8PM, Poland St, Portland, ME.)
Two other shows in New Haven to mention, post tour:
10/27, at Bru Cafe. I'll be doing a set in support of Nicholas Francis and Homebody, two awesome acts (and friends) on a tour from Northampton, MA. 7:00 PM
11/7, at Neverending Books, in support of Mal Blum and Zoe Boekbinder. Circle Circle and an acoustic version of Proud Flesh will be playing. I am especially excited for this date as I will be joined by Brian Slattery on fiddle and Carl Testa on upright bass, which will be the first time I've performed a full set of An Historic material with something resembling a band. 7:30. This'll be a barn burner.
The possibility of scheduling a recording has ended up being a hassle, and thus will be postponed until early next year. I am still hoping to draw in the rest of Dr. Caterwaul's after some woodshedding, and there will still be a kickstarter campaign to fund its recording and release, although probably not on vinyl as originally expected. Details for that are still stewing, and I hope to release them soon.
9.28.2011
Broadcloth Awakens!!
Broadcloth has technically been on hiatus for the past few months; although we all performed in several concerts together (notably with Carl Testa and guitarist Ben Shirley performing Shirley’s compositions, and with vocalist Kyoko Kitamura on a different bill), and did one recording session in order to continue tracking the ever-impending full length album, we hadn’t performed as Broadcloth since the end of June.
All this is about to change. As Nathan will be leaving for Europe in November, and we’re all extraordinarily busy with varying events including the Energies, Ideas, Intuitions Festival at Roulette between October 5-8, performing the music of Anthony Braxton (more info at: http://www.roulette.org/events/upcoming.php), we’ve only got a few dates on the horizon, but hopefully more soon.
First is this weekend, October 1st, at The Home Of in Gowanus. (http://www.thehomeof.org). This will be our second visit to curator/saxophonist Edward Schneider’s Holidays for the Future series which focuses on new and experimental music as well as improvisation. This is part of a two day mini-fest (day 2 is at 16 Beaver St in Manhattan, which will also feature Anne and Nathan along with other improvisers.) Our first time there was a blast and produced one of our best sets (audio available at http://thehomeof.org/holidays-for-the-future-4), and we are excited to return!
The next will be on November 2nd, as the debut installment of another arm of the Uncertainty Series, happening at the Elm Bar in New Haven, CT. Details surrounding start time are still nebulous but we’ll have them as we get them.
More as we hear it!
All this is about to change. As Nathan will be leaving for Europe in November, and we’re all extraordinarily busy with varying events including the Energies, Ideas, Intuitions Festival at Roulette between October 5-8, performing the music of Anthony Braxton (more info at: http://www.roulette.org/events/upcoming.php), we’ve only got a few dates on the horizon, but hopefully more soon.
First is this weekend, October 1st, at The Home Of in Gowanus. (http://www.thehomeof.org). This will be our second visit to curator/saxophonist Edward Schneider’s Holidays for the Future series which focuses on new and experimental music as well as improvisation. This is part of a two day mini-fest (day 2 is at 16 Beaver St in Manhattan, which will also feature Anne and Nathan along with other improvisers.) Our first time there was a blast and produced one of our best sets (audio available at http://thehomeof.org/holidays-for-the-future-4), and we are excited to return!
The next will be on November 2nd, as the debut installment of another arm of the Uncertainty Series, happening at the Elm Bar in New Haven, CT. Details surrounding start time are still nebulous but we’ll have them as we get them.
More as we hear it!
Miscellaneous events in the next few weeks
*note: for ease of navigation, I've decided to do organize updates by project, instead of trying to cram everything into a single update. Hopefully this will mean smaller, less unwieldy updates, happening more regularly*
The Miscellaneous tag will be used for anything not connected to An Historic, Broadcloth or Dr. Caterwauls, the most active working groups I'm involved in at the moment. This is a formatting experiment, so please let me know if it's a terrible decision.
On October 2nd, I'll be performing with the Afro-Semitic Experience again at the West Haven I Wage Peace Walk. The walk and our set begins around 3PM - we'll be playing on the boardwalk, weather permitting, and if not, we'll be set up in St. John Vianney, at 300 Captain Thomas Blvd in West Haven.
October 7th, I'm EXTREMELY thrilled to be performing in the debut performance of the Ghost Trance Choir, which will be singing the music of Anthony Braxton as part of a 4 day festival called Energies, Ideas, Intuitions that is happening at the new Roulette space. That night will also see a performance of the 12+3tet, and the whole festival will feature some orchestra music, a new system incorporating voice, instruments and movement called Pine Top Aerial Music, and the debut of acts I and III of the new opera Trillium J, which will be accompanied by a 35 piece orchestra. Suffice to say that there is an incredible amount of energy going into the organization of this festival and if early rehearsals are any indication, it will pay off massively.
On November 12th, I will be involved in a composition recital of local friend and colleague Nate Trier. He is writing two pieces specifically for this occasion and I am very excited to be premiering them for him.
Stay tuned for opera updates - Brian, the librettist, and I have been having some great talks about the story/content, and I am excited to take the next step past the sketches I've been working on already. More to come!
The Miscellaneous tag will be used for anything not connected to An Historic, Broadcloth or Dr. Caterwauls, the most active working groups I'm involved in at the moment. This is a formatting experiment, so please let me know if it's a terrible decision.
On October 2nd, I'll be performing with the Afro-Semitic Experience again at the West Haven I Wage Peace Walk. The walk and our set begins around 3PM - we'll be playing on the boardwalk, weather permitting, and if not, we'll be set up in St. John Vianney, at 300 Captain Thomas Blvd in West Haven.
October 7th, I'm EXTREMELY thrilled to be performing in the debut performance of the Ghost Trance Choir, which will be singing the music of Anthony Braxton as part of a 4 day festival called Energies, Ideas, Intuitions that is happening at the new Roulette space. That night will also see a performance of the 12+3tet, and the whole festival will feature some orchestra music, a new system incorporating voice, instruments and movement called Pine Top Aerial Music, and the debut of acts I and III of the new opera Trillium J, which will be accompanied by a 35 piece orchestra. Suffice to say that there is an incredible amount of energy going into the organization of this festival and if early rehearsals are any indication, it will pay off massively.
On November 12th, I will be involved in a composition recital of local friend and colleague Nate Trier. He is writing two pieces specifically for this occasion and I am very excited to be premiering them for him.
Stay tuned for opera updates - Brian, the librettist, and I have been having some great talks about the story/content, and I am excited to take the next step past the sketches I've been working on already. More to come!
Upcoming Dr. Caterwauls Events
*note: for ease of navigation, I've decided to do organize updates by project, instead of trying to cram everything into a single update. Hopefully this will mean smaller, less unwieldy updates, happening more regularly*
Dr. Caterwaul's Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps has three upcoming performances, one of which I won't be involved in (we've done plenty of shows short a member before, no worries).
The first is THIS FRIDAY, September 30th, at the Outer Space in Hamden. We will be joined by vocalist Arminda Thomas and guitarist Jonny Rodgers, playing a set of early swing, and looking sharp. The rehearsals for this set have gone really well - it's going to be a ton of fun, and we would be awfully disappointed if no one danced.
(I can't seem to find info about the one in between, as that's happening while I'm on tour. However, it'll be for a tasting of some kind. whoops.)
The last, is Friday, October 21st, and is happening at Lyric Hall. For this , Dr. Caterwaul's will be joined by The Cygnet Sisters, vocalists Anne Rhodes and Zohra Rawling. Together we'll be affectionally deconstructing some classical repertoire, ranging from Mozart to Kurt Weill. There will be light fare and beverages included as part of the ticket price - further details on this event TBA.
Later we'll be playing at the Outer Space again, opening for Andru Bremis. That date is November 30th, and details will be confirmed for that later as well!
Dr. Caterwaul's Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps has three upcoming performances, one of which I won't be involved in (we've done plenty of shows short a member before, no worries).
The first is THIS FRIDAY, September 30th, at the Outer Space in Hamden. We will be joined by vocalist Arminda Thomas and guitarist Jonny Rodgers, playing a set of early swing, and looking sharp. The rehearsals for this set have gone really well - it's going to be a ton of fun, and we would be awfully disappointed if no one danced.
(I can't seem to find info about the one in between, as that's happening while I'm on tour. However, it'll be for a tasting of some kind. whoops.)
The last, is Friday, October 21st, and is happening at Lyric Hall. For this , Dr. Caterwaul's will be joined by The Cygnet Sisters, vocalists Anne Rhodes and Zohra Rawling. Together we'll be affectionally deconstructing some classical repertoire, ranging from Mozart to Kurt Weill. There will be light fare and beverages included as part of the ticket price - further details on this event TBA.
Later we'll be playing at the Outer Space again, opening for Andru Bremis. That date is November 30th, and details will be confirmed for that later as well!
8.10.2011
New An Historic Videos
Birthquake Records head honcho Max was at the last two An Historic shows and got some nice video. You can check them all out HERE but here are a few of my favorites:
Stitched Together/Duke Barbatos
Hindsight
Briefest Eye
Thanks Max!
Stitched Together/Duke Barbatos
Hindsight
Briefest Eye
Thanks Max!
Upcoming Events
First off, two exciting bits of news:
I had a proposal for a short opera accepted by the Baltimore based company Rhymes With Opera, to be performed in the summer of 2012. I'm excited to announce that the libretto will be written by Brian Slattery, who seems to get himself stuck on the same narrative questions I do, which has made for some intriguing conversations about the plot and structure of the piece. More details on that as they emerge.
I will also, next February, be working on a trio composed by Terran Olsen of the bands Kayo Dot and Autumn Tears. I have frequently enjoyed the chance to work with composers (as in my own composition) the possibility of integrating the accordion into an ensemble, and this will allow me to continue that to some degree. Terran will also be playing clarinet for the piece and Toby Driver, Terran's bandmate and the composer for Kayo Dot will play bass guitar.
Then, some upcoming shows -
I'm very excited to play with Dr. Caterwaul's twice before our mini-tour begins - once tonight, on the New Haven Register's "Register Sessions" at 6:00PM tonight (http://www.newhavenregister.com), and once tomorrow at Cafe Nine in New Haven, opening for the Fishtank Ensemble at 9:00 PM. Our mini-tour begins either in Philly on Thursday or New York on Friday, depending on a few factors. Look here or the facebook page for updates.
This weekend is the Uncertainty Series mini-festival. Many great folks are involved including on Friday locals Nathan Bontrager and Ben Shirley in a string quartet with Al Margolis and James Ilgenfritz, and Bird Fly Yellow with Joe Moffett, Dan Blacksberg and Dave Flaherty. That night I'll be doing a duo with Carl Testa, and we're both quite pleased with how we're helping to realize each other's compositions. On Saturday I'll be performing a short solo set alongside a set by Nathan Bontrager and a duo set between Anne Rhodes and Kyoko Kitamura.
Finally at the end of the month, An Historic plays with World History and Real Live Tigers, both intriguing songwriters playing in a scaled back fashion. The date for that is August 26th.
I had a proposal for a short opera accepted by the Baltimore based company Rhymes With Opera, to be performed in the summer of 2012. I'm excited to announce that the libretto will be written by Brian Slattery, who seems to get himself stuck on the same narrative questions I do, which has made for some intriguing conversations about the plot and structure of the piece. More details on that as they emerge.
I will also, next February, be working on a trio composed by Terran Olsen of the bands Kayo Dot and Autumn Tears. I have frequently enjoyed the chance to work with composers (as in my own composition) the possibility of integrating the accordion into an ensemble, and this will allow me to continue that to some degree. Terran will also be playing clarinet for the piece and Toby Driver, Terran's bandmate and the composer for Kayo Dot will play bass guitar.
Then, some upcoming shows -
I'm very excited to play with Dr. Caterwaul's twice before our mini-tour begins - once tonight, on the New Haven Register's "Register Sessions" at 6:00PM tonight (http://www.newhavenregister.com), and once tomorrow at Cafe Nine in New Haven, opening for the Fishtank Ensemble at 9:00 PM. Our mini-tour begins either in Philly on Thursday or New York on Friday, depending on a few factors. Look here or the facebook page for updates.
This weekend is the Uncertainty Series mini-festival. Many great folks are involved including on Friday locals Nathan Bontrager and Ben Shirley in a string quartet with Al Margolis and James Ilgenfritz, and Bird Fly Yellow with Joe Moffett, Dan Blacksberg and Dave Flaherty. That night I'll be doing a duo with Carl Testa, and we're both quite pleased with how we're helping to realize each other's compositions. On Saturday I'll be performing a short solo set alongside a set by Nathan Bontrager and a duo set between Anne Rhodes and Kyoko Kitamura.
Finally at the end of the month, An Historic plays with World History and Real Live Tigers, both intriguing songwriters playing in a scaled back fashion. The date for that is August 26th.
8.04.2011
ACK! SHOW TONIGHT!
Totally neglected to update this in the 4 days since I was added to this bill, but:
An Historic is making a debut performance in NYC TONIGHT! The show will be at The Delancy in Manhattan, (168 Delancy St), and I go first at 8PM. The bill, which is awesome, also includes Mal Blum (playing as part of a 4-piece band), Wood Spider and L.E. Rubin. I am incredibly stoked to be playing my first NY show as An Historic among such great company. Please come out! The venue is naming a drink special after one of Wood Spider's songs, "Oh Eloise!" (a proper ditty about getting shitfaced and writing a regrettable letter). $5-10 sliding scale, and $3 PBRs all night!
An Historic is making a debut performance in NYC TONIGHT! The show will be at The Delancy in Manhattan, (168 Delancy St), and I go first at 8PM. The bill, which is awesome, also includes Mal Blum (playing as part of a 4-piece band), Wood Spider and L.E. Rubin. I am incredibly stoked to be playing my first NY show as An Historic among such great company. Please come out! The venue is naming a drink special after one of Wood Spider's songs, "Oh Eloise!" (a proper ditty about getting shitfaced and writing a regrettable letter). $5-10 sliding scale, and $3 PBRs all night!
7.25.2011
Collaborations
I've been very glad to participate in several other projects outside of the most active 3-5 (at any given time), and a few have been or will be documented in some capacity before the end of the year. Chronologically:
I recorded a track with Elan O'Neal for his Old Forgotten Lands project, contributing throat singing, accordion and recorder to an epic ambient/dark folk track. The new Old Forgotten Lands album, "Primal," will be released later this year on Hypnotic Dirge Records. Elan and I talked about collaborating pretty much the whole time he lived in New Haven, given how similar our musical instincts are, and I was glad to finally do something before he left the city.
I contributed some Clarinet/Bass Clarinet and an accordion solo to Sigh's upcoming album "In Somniphobia." This will be coming out in November of 2011. I am very pleased to be again doing some spot recording for Sigh - I also contributed the same instruments to the orchestral palatte of 2010's "Scenes from Hell," and they are using those sounds to even creepier effect, complementing the keyboards/guitars/sax/bass/drums core lineup of the group. It was a great pleasure to get into the mind of Mirai Kawashima (frontman and composer) hearing drafts and demos of the tunes as they were taking shape.
I also recorded some doomy accordion for Mountain Wasp's upcoming split with Story. This will possibly be out (self-released) by October for our mini-tour. A future post will go into more detail about the mini tour - stay tuned!
Finally, the Atlas grouping of the NHIC that performed and recorded last year will be gearing up for the release of that material. Details TBA but it will probably be out by the end of this year. on NHIC Records.
I recorded a track with Elan O'Neal for his Old Forgotten Lands project, contributing throat singing, accordion and recorder to an epic ambient/dark folk track. The new Old Forgotten Lands album, "Primal," will be released later this year on Hypnotic Dirge Records. Elan and I talked about collaborating pretty much the whole time he lived in New Haven, given how similar our musical instincts are, and I was glad to finally do something before he left the city.
I contributed some Clarinet/Bass Clarinet and an accordion solo to Sigh's upcoming album "In Somniphobia." This will be coming out in November of 2011. I am very pleased to be again doing some spot recording for Sigh - I also contributed the same instruments to the orchestral palatte of 2010's "Scenes from Hell," and they are using those sounds to even creepier effect, complementing the keyboards/guitars/sax/bass/drums core lineup of the group. It was a great pleasure to get into the mind of Mirai Kawashima (frontman and composer) hearing drafts and demos of the tunes as they were taking shape.
I also recorded some doomy accordion for Mountain Wasp's upcoming split with Story. This will possibly be out (self-released) by October for our mini-tour. A future post will go into more detail about the mini tour - stay tuned!
Finally, the Atlas grouping of the NHIC that performed and recorded last year will be gearing up for the release of that material. Details TBA but it will probably be out by the end of this year. on NHIC Records.
Stupid Busy Again
As you may have noticed, there are a ton of new events along the sidebar. August looks to be a pretty exhausting month but also one quite worthwhile.
First up, since weather forced the cancellation of the first scheduled appearance with this group, I will be playing with the Afro-Semitic Experience on July 27th in Hadley, MA at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House.
Two days later I'll be trying to work on a different set of old songs as An Historic at Neverending Books (July 29th, 8PM.) I'm excited to be splitting the bill with Robin Aigner and Serena Jost, two songwriters with some sonic kinship to me, from what I've heard. Please come out for what should be an excellent show.
Dr. Caterwaul's will then have a busy week, starting on August 7th at Lyric Hall as part of the launch party for the new Here Digest. We will play a live streaming set as part of the "Register Sessions," a series run by the New Haven Register, on August 10th at 6:00 PM, and on the 11th we'll play at Cafe 9 with the ridiculously talented Fishtank Ensemble, at 9:30 PM.
Then I'll be playing two days back to back as part of a mini-festival of the Uncertainty Series. On August 12th (Bru Cafe, New Haven, 7:30 PM) I'll be doing some new Duo compositions with Carl Testa, alongside Bird Fly Yellow from Philadelphia, PA, and the James Ilgenfritz String Quartet featuring local cellists Ben Shirley and Nathan Bontrager. Then on August 13th (Neverending Books, New Haven, 8:00 PM) I'll be doing a short set of solo music on a bill that features a split set with vocalists Kyoko Kitamura and Anne Rhodes as well as a solo set by Nathan Bontrager. All four performers will be variously involved throughout the night.
Further along (with more info coming) are a mini tour with Dr. Caterwaul's, a few performances in a play, and later an An Historic mini tour also featuring Mountain Wasp. Look also for an upcoming summary of collaborations and guest appearances that have happened this year and last, many of which will be released before the year is out.
First up, since weather forced the cancellation of the first scheduled appearance with this group, I will be playing with the Afro-Semitic Experience on July 27th in Hadley, MA at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House.
Two days later I'll be trying to work on a different set of old songs as An Historic at Neverending Books (July 29th, 8PM.) I'm excited to be splitting the bill with Robin Aigner and Serena Jost, two songwriters with some sonic kinship to me, from what I've heard. Please come out for what should be an excellent show.
Dr. Caterwaul's will then have a busy week, starting on August 7th at Lyric Hall as part of the launch party for the new Here Digest. We will play a live streaming set as part of the "Register Sessions," a series run by the New Haven Register, on August 10th at 6:00 PM, and on the 11th we'll play at Cafe 9 with the ridiculously talented Fishtank Ensemble, at 9:30 PM.
Then I'll be playing two days back to back as part of a mini-festival of the Uncertainty Series. On August 12th (Bru Cafe, New Haven, 7:30 PM) I'll be doing some new Duo compositions with Carl Testa, alongside Bird Fly Yellow from Philadelphia, PA, and the James Ilgenfritz String Quartet featuring local cellists Ben Shirley and Nathan Bontrager. Then on August 13th (Neverending Books, New Haven, 8:00 PM) I'll be doing a short set of solo music on a bill that features a split set with vocalists Kyoko Kitamura and Anne Rhodes as well as a solo set by Nathan Bontrager. All four performers will be variously involved throughout the night.
Further along (with more info coming) are a mini tour with Dr. Caterwaul's, a few performances in a play, and later an An Historic mini tour also featuring Mountain Wasp. Look also for an upcoming summary of collaborations and guest appearances that have happened this year and last, many of which will be released before the year is out.
6.27.2011
A Brief Look Forward - EDITED
(someone who proofreads a lot better than I do mentioned that it looked from the previous post as though Dr. Caterwaul's was breaking up. this is definitely not the case.)
As July has basically snuck up on me, here is a brief rundown of the gigs I’ve got coming up in the next week weeks.
July 1st – this Friday the month begins with a proper Dr. Caterwaul’s quartet show at the Acoustic Café in Bridgeport. We’re sharing the bill with Dada Mr. and the Diana Wayburn Ensemble. – things get going at 9 PM.
July 2nd is a Dr. Caterwaul’s trio gig at the Outer Space – Mike won’t be joining us as his reggae band, I Anbassa, will be opening for Steel Pulse at Toad’s Place in New Haven. Not to put too many thoughts into your heads, but you can totally make both sets without incurring a reckless endangerment charge. Due to various reasons this will be the last official Dr. Caterwaul’s show until mid August, although look to your local farmer's markets and street corners for a bit of busking between now and then. Some of us for certain will be around July 9th at the Wooster Square Farmer's Market, and more of us will be around July 17th at the Edgewood Farmer's Market. Should be grand.
July 3rd will be a new thing entirely for me. I am sitting in for this date with the Afro Semitic Experience, the group co-led by David Chevan and Warren Byrd that culls from spiritual music of both Jewish and African American Gospel traditions, throwing in a healthy bit of jazz. This will be a somewhat rare gig for me playing straight ahead jazz, but filling in for a pianist in this context is going to be fun and challenging. The other date is July 27th, in Hadley, MA, with details forthcoming.
July 9th – I’m pleased to be playing in a small ensemble put together by guitarist Ben Shirley for his Uncertainty Series date for the month of July. The ensemble comprises, at various points, myself on accordion, Carl Testa on Bass, Anne Rhodes on voice, and Nathan Bontrager on Cello as well as Ben on Guitar – Ben will also be performing duets with each of us as part of his presentation. Ben is a person I have enjoyed playing with immensely in every context thus far and his pieces make the most of the guitarist-perspective that I find can very nicely inform harmonic language, and can make harmonic progressions that are idiomatic to approach on other instruments.
July 14th is looking to be a solo An Historic gig at the New Haven Free Store – all proceeds raised will go to benefit the New Haven Bike Collective, which has had a strange history in the city but now is finally at a point where its existence will enable low-income folks to build and repair bicycles, which I am always in support of.
The rest of the month is forthcoming, and in many cases, not even fully pinned down yet. More to come!
As July has basically snuck up on me, here is a brief rundown of the gigs I’ve got coming up in the next week weeks.
July 1st – this Friday the month begins with a proper Dr. Caterwaul’s quartet show at the Acoustic Café in Bridgeport. We’re sharing the bill with Dada Mr. and the Diana Wayburn Ensemble. – things get going at 9 PM.
July 2nd is a Dr. Caterwaul’s trio gig at the Outer Space – Mike won’t be joining us as his reggae band, I Anbassa, will be opening for Steel Pulse at Toad’s Place in New Haven. Not to put too many thoughts into your heads, but you can totally make both sets without incurring a reckless endangerment charge. Due to various reasons this will be the last official Dr. Caterwaul’s show until mid August, although look to your local farmer's markets and street corners for a bit of busking between now and then. Some of us for certain will be around July 9th at the Wooster Square Farmer's Market, and more of us will be around July 17th at the Edgewood Farmer's Market. Should be grand.
July 3rd will be a new thing entirely for me. I am sitting in for this date with the Afro Semitic Experience, the group co-led by David Chevan and Warren Byrd that culls from spiritual music of both Jewish and African American Gospel traditions, throwing in a healthy bit of jazz. This will be a somewhat rare gig for me playing straight ahead jazz, but filling in for a pianist in this context is going to be fun and challenging. The other date is July 27th, in Hadley, MA, with details forthcoming.
July 9th – I’m pleased to be playing in a small ensemble put together by guitarist Ben Shirley for his Uncertainty Series date for the month of July. The ensemble comprises, at various points, myself on accordion, Carl Testa on Bass, Anne Rhodes on voice, and Nathan Bontrager on Cello as well as Ben on Guitar – Ben will also be performing duets with each of us as part of his presentation. Ben is a person I have enjoyed playing with immensely in every context thus far and his pieces make the most of the guitarist-perspective that I find can very nicely inform harmonic language, and can make harmonic progressions that are idiomatic to approach on other instruments.
July 14th is looking to be a solo An Historic gig at the New Haven Free Store – all proceeds raised will go to benefit the New Haven Bike Collective, which has had a strange history in the city but now is finally at a point where its existence will enable low-income folks to build and repair bicycles, which I am always in support of.
The rest of the month is forthcoming, and in many cases, not even fully pinned down yet. More to come!
6.16.2011
Buzz Generator
I'm getting strangely excited for this new An Historic Album, even though several details about it still remain undetermined. The grand plan remains to utilize Kickstarter to fund the recording and release of the album, and things are slowly falling into place - with every opportunity, I try and entice the rest of Dr. Caterwaul's into playing some of my tunes to try and align my vision for a final arrangement with the very alluring musicality of this group, and to that end, here are a few rough demonstrations - two tracks from the upcoming album as realized live at Lyric Hall during the last Dr. Caterwaul's concert.
Ice All Melting:
An Historic - Ice All Melting by gzarapanecko
Coffee Mouse:
An Historic - Coffee Mouse by gzarapanecko
The turnout of these, with minimal rehearsal and direction, is still quite satisfying and I'm very excited to get to work on the rest of the material. Part of the kickstarter rewards will include handmade CD copies of a Bonus EP (that I have literally JUST NOW finished recording) with an exclusive track not to be found anywhere else, and a live recording of some of my earlier songs being fleshed out and re-done with the help of various members of Dr. Caterwaul's, sometimes all at once. Stay tuned for all details, previews, etc.
Dr. Caterwaul's will be performing next week in New Haven, Thursday, June 23rd, as part of the Cirque du Papier, the New Haven Advocate's carnival/burlesque themed event as part of this year's Ideat Village festival. So far we know we're performing one set at 7:15, and possibly another later in the evening. Those coming out to bask in the stern visage of Brian Slattery should note that he'll be absent this performance, leaving me, Nathan and Mike to try and work a few new tunes in with our existing repertoire. (We'll be trying the above-posted An Historic Tunes on as a trio as well).
Later in the summer we're cooking up a Mini-tour with Spiff Wiegand's One Man Band, a multitasker's dream come true in which Spiff sings, plays rhythm, percussion and an occasional lead instrument without breaking a sweat. We're thrilled to be planning this - dates include Philly, NYC, New Haven, CT and Western Mass, with details TBA. Stay tuned, indeed.
Finally, Broadcloth has one more show before a summer vacation of sorts. We play June 24th at Cafe Orwell as part of a cello-themed night of experimental music, and we're super stoked for this. Our show with Prehistoric Horse was quite lovely in New Haven, and we're glad to be sharing a bill with them again - other performers include Hughs Vincent and Silver Process. We'll pretty much only be coming together as a group over the summer to try and finish up our impending debut release. In the mean time, check out http://music.broadclothtrio.com for the full audio of our Big Room show.
That's it for now.
Ice All Melting:
An Historic - Ice All Melting by gzarapanecko
Coffee Mouse:
An Historic - Coffee Mouse by gzarapanecko
The turnout of these, with minimal rehearsal and direction, is still quite satisfying and I'm very excited to get to work on the rest of the material. Part of the kickstarter rewards will include handmade CD copies of a Bonus EP (that I have literally JUST NOW finished recording) with an exclusive track not to be found anywhere else, and a live recording of some of my earlier songs being fleshed out and re-done with the help of various members of Dr. Caterwaul's, sometimes all at once. Stay tuned for all details, previews, etc.
Dr. Caterwaul's will be performing next week in New Haven, Thursday, June 23rd, as part of the Cirque du Papier, the New Haven Advocate's carnival/burlesque themed event as part of this year's Ideat Village festival. So far we know we're performing one set at 7:15, and possibly another later in the evening. Those coming out to bask in the stern visage of Brian Slattery should note that he'll be absent this performance, leaving me, Nathan and Mike to try and work a few new tunes in with our existing repertoire. (We'll be trying the above-posted An Historic Tunes on as a trio as well).
Later in the summer we're cooking up a Mini-tour with Spiff Wiegand's One Man Band, a multitasker's dream come true in which Spiff sings, plays rhythm, percussion and an occasional lead instrument without breaking a sweat. We're thrilled to be planning this - dates include Philly, NYC, New Haven, CT and Western Mass, with details TBA. Stay tuned, indeed.
Finally, Broadcloth has one more show before a summer vacation of sorts. We play June 24th at Cafe Orwell as part of a cello-themed night of experimental music, and we're super stoked for this. Our show with Prehistoric Horse was quite lovely in New Haven, and we're glad to be sharing a bill with them again - other performers include Hughs Vincent and Silver Process. We'll pretty much only be coming together as a group over the summer to try and finish up our impending debut release. In the mean time, check out http://music.broadclothtrio.com for the full audio of our Big Room show.
That's it for now.
6.13.2011
Recent An Historic stuff:
Since I haven't been doing a great job of juggling all the different outlets, facebook pages, blogs, etc too well, here is all of the most recent video and audio I've produced.
first, two of the most recent solo songs.
Soft as Snow:
Ice all Melting:
and finally a rough mix from the upcoming companion EP to the full length album that I will be trying to Kickstart soon:
An Historic - 2012 (unmixed) by gzarapanecko
Coming soon will be two renditions of An Historic songs by Dr. Caterwaul's (at our recent set with Tyler Bussey at Lyric Hall), and a proper update.
first, two of the most recent solo songs.
Soft as Snow:
Ice all Melting:
and finally a rough mix from the upcoming companion EP to the full length album that I will be trying to Kickstart soon:
An Historic - 2012 (unmixed) by gzarapanecko
Coming soon will be two renditions of An Historic songs by Dr. Caterwaul's (at our recent set with Tyler Bussey at Lyric Hall), and a proper update.
6.05.2011
a heaping plate
It has been awhile since I updated this blog but the time has been well spent. Broadcloth has played 4 shows in the last 2 weeks and we have two more on the horizon – highlights of this recent string of shows included playing amplified for the first time and collaborating and improvising with folks none of us have ever played with, including Jim Hobbs and Junko Fujiwara Simons in Cambridge at Outpost 186, the duo Architeuthis Walks on Land at IBeam and Edward Schneider and Constance Cooper at The Home Of… in Gowanus. These experiences were challenging and quite rewarding, as to my ears it helps us both expand our identity as a group as well as helps to define it more clearly when interacting with other players, instruments and approaches to improvisation. Expect assorted audio as well as the free/donation basis Big Room show at http://broadclothtrio.com in the next few weeks.
I played a few An Historic shows recently, finally got a handle for the new songs that I wrote over the course of the winter, and it seems as though the new album, Small Mercies, will be shaping up soon. There is a Kickstarter campaign that I am in the process of putting together, which will feature some handmade editions of upcoming promotional material I’m recording – a promo EP featuring alternate arrangements of songs that will be on the album as well as some other unreleased items. And at a recent Dr. Caterwaul’s gig we tried out a few of my more recent tunes in what were pretty invigorating arrangements, which makes me quite excited to pin them down and record them hopefully before the year is out. Dr. Caterwaul’s will be briefly on hiatus until July, although expect some of us to be out busking and trying to keep the spirit alive as we can during the rest of June. Stay tuned for info on that once I have done some more of the groundwork.
G. Zarapanecko is still experiencing some active splintering. I’ve been experimenting on utilizing black metal texture and tonality on synths toward some future recording goals, and in the meantime have been utilizing these works as the basis for some new small and large group compositions, trying to see in those pieces a potential for extreme fluidity that I think could really be beneficial. To that end I’ll be working in some capacity with Carl Testa, reviving our duo from last summer with some new motivations and goals in mind. Other permutations to be announced.
Finally, I’m working toward some manner of solo set for the Uncertainty Music series in August. Details to come but I am trying to make something cohesive out of the past 2+ years of miscellaneous composition and sketches. Expect details on everything soon!
I played a few An Historic shows recently, finally got a handle for the new songs that I wrote over the course of the winter, and it seems as though the new album, Small Mercies, will be shaping up soon. There is a Kickstarter campaign that I am in the process of putting together, which will feature some handmade editions of upcoming promotional material I’m recording – a promo EP featuring alternate arrangements of songs that will be on the album as well as some other unreleased items. And at a recent Dr. Caterwaul’s gig we tried out a few of my more recent tunes in what were pretty invigorating arrangements, which makes me quite excited to pin them down and record them hopefully before the year is out. Dr. Caterwaul’s will be briefly on hiatus until July, although expect some of us to be out busking and trying to keep the spirit alive as we can during the rest of June. Stay tuned for info on that once I have done some more of the groundwork.
G. Zarapanecko is still experiencing some active splintering. I’ve been experimenting on utilizing black metal texture and tonality on synths toward some future recording goals, and in the meantime have been utilizing these works as the basis for some new small and large group compositions, trying to see in those pieces a potential for extreme fluidity that I think could really be beneficial. To that end I’ll be working in some capacity with Carl Testa, reviving our duo from last summer with some new motivations and goals in mind. Other permutations to be announced.
Finally, I’m working toward some manner of solo set for the Uncertainty Music series in August. Details to come but I am trying to make something cohesive out of the past 2+ years of miscellaneous composition and sketches. Expect details on everything soon!
4.25.2011
(Cross)Pollination
It is nice enough outside that I'm spending countless nights sitting on the porch past my bedtime enjoying the two weeks a year when the smell in New Haven is relatively pleasant. There is an enormous flowering tree in the next yard and with the right breeze this rather heavenly aroma is all you can smell. It's a wonder I get anything done...
This is some of the cross pollination I have been ranting about for the past few months:
In which I start to see all compositions as mutable and modular and then slowly lose my sanity. This is the Erasmus Quintet performing a version of "Decade Orbit" from the last G. Zarapanecko record, and was a good dry run for the type of stuff I want to do with a live jazz/electronics group in the future. That project is totally embryonic right now although I have been sketching for it and thinking about it often over the past few months.
Upcoming shows include one I'm super excited about, what will be my last show at the Fucking Discovery Zone ever (the house is drying up at the beginning of June). This will be a milestone in a lot of sentimental ways that I won't go into here, but it will ALSO be an excuse to lure the fucking excellent Birth of Flower down to New Haven - think really mature-sounding insistently dissonant post-punk married with a bit of the Talking Heads. I never grew up listening to Spoonboy or the Max Levine Ensemble and I have heard various levels of enthusiasm about them from people that did, but I'm looking forward to checking it out for myself. And Circle Circle is another project of the prolific Emily Byram from the CT area, although I don't know much more about it.
Also really glad for Dr. Caterwaul's to be returning to Lyric Hall, this time with good friends and cohorts in this vaguely defined folky business Goodnight Blue Moon in tow. May 13th, further details TBA.
Finally G. Zarapanecko rolled over in its sleep, finished and then spat out two old covers onto Soundcloud. Check them out here:
The Brink Ov Time by gzarapanecko
G. Zarapanecko - Secret of the Forest by gzarapanecko
more to come, as always!
This is some of the cross pollination I have been ranting about for the past few months:
In which I start to see all compositions as mutable and modular and then slowly lose my sanity. This is the Erasmus Quintet performing a version of "Decade Orbit" from the last G. Zarapanecko record, and was a good dry run for the type of stuff I want to do with a live jazz/electronics group in the future. That project is totally embryonic right now although I have been sketching for it and thinking about it often over the past few months.
Upcoming shows include one I'm super excited about, what will be my last show at the Fucking Discovery Zone ever (the house is drying up at the beginning of June). This will be a milestone in a lot of sentimental ways that I won't go into here, but it will ALSO be an excuse to lure the fucking excellent Birth of Flower down to New Haven - think really mature-sounding insistently dissonant post-punk married with a bit of the Talking Heads. I never grew up listening to Spoonboy or the Max Levine Ensemble and I have heard various levels of enthusiasm about them from people that did, but I'm looking forward to checking it out for myself. And Circle Circle is another project of the prolific Emily Byram from the CT area, although I don't know much more about it.
Also really glad for Dr. Caterwaul's to be returning to Lyric Hall, this time with good friends and cohorts in this vaguely defined folky business Goodnight Blue Moon in tow. May 13th, further details TBA.
Finally G. Zarapanecko rolled over in its sleep, finished and then spat out two old covers onto Soundcloud. Check them out here:
The Brink Ov Time by gzarapanecko
G. Zarapanecko - Secret of the Forest by gzarapanecko
more to come, as always!
3.28.2011
the imminence of tour
Broadcloth, which has a brand spankin new website, is also getting ready to depart on our first ever tour starting Wednesday in Philadelphia. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to bring our act on the road in a highly focused manner, and we'll be playing in New Haven at the Big Room the following Friday, April 8th. It will also be quite nice to be able to take in a bunch of new music in a semi-focused fashion. For the tour we'll have a bunch of new schwag, including business cards, buttons, stickers, and a tour-only hard-copy run of the compilation. There are some interesting possibilities on the horizon, but many too early to say - most intriguing to us is the chance of getting in a few recording sessions after tour, and channeling some of that chemistry in a recording setting. Stay tuned to the Broadcloth website for all that info and updates from the road.
3.19.2011
Odds and Ends
Alice
We finally outsmarted the computers and got this video of Alice to work. The version edited to our score was not quite the same cut that we played along to - the latter version had one really long title card which had to be approximated in this version. Anyhow, enjoy:
New Shows
Broadcloth will be warming up for our tour in New London, CT, at Telegraph on March 25th. Everyone will have new stuff to try out that we've been steadily working on. The tour goes as planned from March 30th through April 2nd, as unfortunately our IBeam show fell through. We'll still have the homecoming show in New Haven at The Big Room on April 8th as well.
The following day, April 9th, Nathan and I will be performing in the Lyric Hall Theater Orchestra, with music by Steve Asetta to accompany Tod Browning's "The Unknown." There are two screenings at 8PM and 10PM, and tickets are $10. If you're interested in securing a ticket, feel free to email me at weillwedance [at] gmail [dot] com.
The day after that, April 10th, Dr. Caterwaul's will play a set at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Milford, CT at 2:30 PM. We'll be slightly tweaking our repertoire for the setting, and we are expecting some guest vocals by Anne Rhodes for the occasion.
The other new date on that list to your right is May 25th at Outpost 186 in Cambridge, MA. We're very glad to be returning to that venue as it produced one of the more remarkable moments in our collective development as a group. Details about that are forthcoming.
that's all for now.
We finally outsmarted the computers and got this video of Alice to work. The version edited to our score was not quite the same cut that we played along to - the latter version had one really long title card which had to be approximated in this version. Anyhow, enjoy:
New Shows
Broadcloth will be warming up for our tour in New London, CT, at Telegraph on March 25th. Everyone will have new stuff to try out that we've been steadily working on. The tour goes as planned from March 30th through April 2nd, as unfortunately our IBeam show fell through. We'll still have the homecoming show in New Haven at The Big Room on April 8th as well.
The following day, April 9th, Nathan and I will be performing in the Lyric Hall Theater Orchestra, with music by Steve Asetta to accompany Tod Browning's "The Unknown." There are two screenings at 8PM and 10PM, and tickets are $10. If you're interested in securing a ticket, feel free to email me at weillwedance [at] gmail [dot] com.
The day after that, April 10th, Dr. Caterwaul's will play a set at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Milford, CT at 2:30 PM. We'll be slightly tweaking our repertoire for the setting, and we are expecting some guest vocals by Anne Rhodes for the occasion.
The other new date on that list to your right is May 25th at Outpost 186 in Cambridge, MA. We're very glad to be returning to that venue as it produced one of the more remarkable moments in our collective development as a group. Details about that are forthcoming.
that's all for now.
3.11.2011
Triumph at Lyric Hall
Dr. Caterwaul's show at Lyric Hall was awesome. Technical difficulties led to nerves led to general jitters but all in all it was great fun. We even have a few things to show for it - check out audio of our set HERE and also one of our soundtracks, for Georges Méliés "The Doctor's Secret" which features some music I composed/structured, expertly interpreted by the rest of the band:
I am still planning on doing the same treatment with our soundtrack to Cecil Hepworth's "Alice in Wonderland" but some really weird errors with my computer seem to be blocking this from happening. Soon, hopefully.
We also backed up Tyler Bussey on a set of folk tunes. I was quite enamored of his interpretations, and it is something we hope to do again, as our musical interests bisect at just the right angles that it really makes the collaboration work quite naturally. It also has got us discussing backing up other singers or singer-instrumentalists, with a few especially tantalizing possibilities on the verge of happening. That being said, if you have any inclination to sing your tunes and you want an incredibly smart, talented and goodlooking band to back you up, you should shoot us an email at doctors.caterwaul [at] gmail.com.
Upcoming will be a performance at St. Peter's Episcopal church in Milford, CT, possibly with a special guest, as well as a spot at Jalopy's Debauchery Series, hosted by the Whistlin' Wolves, on 5/20. The series in each of its installments focuses on a particular form or method of moral debasement, and the theme in May is sex; I'll leave it to you to guess which Prince song we're going to try and adapt. Shouldn't be hard.
Upcoming immediately is the return of the Erasmus Quintet. We're playing a set with Nick DiMaria's Zero Dollar Trio on Saturday at The Funky Monkey in Cheshire, CT, and while we've all grown as musicians since our last meeting, that certain je ne sais quoi about the group's identity is still maintained, and stronger than ever. Rehearsals over the last few weeks have been fun and there are some new compositions for the group, including two by myself and one by Nate Trier , musical renaissance man and NHIC affiliate. An upcoming gig on April 15th featuring the Erasmus Quintet also features the debut of Open Spaces, a free jazz group led by Trier. The gig will also feature a large group improv led by Trier, as well as a performance by Steve Asetta's Triolocus, prompting the gig to be branded as the NHIC's first annual Verge Fest, which will hopefully establish a tradition of drawing out some of the more well hidden groups contained within the fold of the NHIC.
Broadcloth is touring awfully soon. More on that in a later post.
At some point soon both Broadcloth and Dr. Caterwaul's are going to be aiming for a proper web site, instead of these stop-gap facebook pages and miscellaneous blog post mentions. I might end up cross posting some things between them if I start getting overwhelmed. Don't worry. I'm not likely to become a spam robot anytime soon.
I am still planning on doing the same treatment with our soundtrack to Cecil Hepworth's "Alice in Wonderland" but some really weird errors with my computer seem to be blocking this from happening. Soon, hopefully.
We also backed up Tyler Bussey on a set of folk tunes. I was quite enamored of his interpretations, and it is something we hope to do again, as our musical interests bisect at just the right angles that it really makes the collaboration work quite naturally. It also has got us discussing backing up other singers or singer-instrumentalists, with a few especially tantalizing possibilities on the verge of happening. That being said, if you have any inclination to sing your tunes and you want an incredibly smart, talented and goodlooking band to back you up, you should shoot us an email at doctors.caterwaul [at] gmail.com.
Upcoming will be a performance at St. Peter's Episcopal church in Milford, CT, possibly with a special guest, as well as a spot at Jalopy's Debauchery Series, hosted by the Whistlin' Wolves, on 5/20. The series in each of its installments focuses on a particular form or method of moral debasement, and the theme in May is sex; I'll leave it to you to guess which Prince song we're going to try and adapt. Shouldn't be hard.
Upcoming immediately is the return of the Erasmus Quintet. We're playing a set with Nick DiMaria's Zero Dollar Trio on Saturday at The Funky Monkey in Cheshire, CT, and while we've all grown as musicians since our last meeting, that certain je ne sais quoi about the group's identity is still maintained, and stronger than ever. Rehearsals over the last few weeks have been fun and there are some new compositions for the group, including two by myself and one by Nate Trier , musical renaissance man and NHIC affiliate. An upcoming gig on April 15th featuring the Erasmus Quintet also features the debut of Open Spaces, a free jazz group led by Trier. The gig will also feature a large group improv led by Trier, as well as a performance by Steve Asetta's Triolocus, prompting the gig to be branded as the NHIC's first annual Verge Fest, which will hopefully establish a tradition of drawing out some of the more well hidden groups contained within the fold of the NHIC.
Broadcloth is touring awfully soon. More on that in a later post.
At some point soon both Broadcloth and Dr. Caterwaul's are going to be aiming for a proper web site, instead of these stop-gap facebook pages and miscellaneous blog post mentions. I might end up cross posting some things between them if I start getting overwhelmed. Don't worry. I'm not likely to become a spam robot anytime soon.
2.22.2011
Updates
The Dr. Caterwaul's show on March 6th is really shaping up nicely - cellist Nathan Bontrager is writing some interesting material for the 1903 short silent film "Alice in Wonderland," and I'm pretty excited about what I'm writing for the 1909 short "The Doctor's Secret." The program also includes a short set by Dr. Caterwauls, playing quite a few new tunes, and a short set led by Tyler Bussey with Dr. Caterwauls as his backing band. Starts at 7PM on Sunday, March 6th at Lyric Hall in New Haven, CT.
Broadcloth has the dates for our short tour set. As follows:
March 30th - Fire Museum, Philadelphia, PA, 8PM, with Augmented Fourthet, Dan Blacksberg/Julius Masri
March 31st - The Windup Space, Baltimore, MD, 9:30, with Erik Spanger/ Jason Sloan, Three Red Crowns
April 1st - Infantree, Lancaster, PA, time TBA
April 2nd - Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring, MD, 8PM, with Seabrook Power... Plant, Lost Civilizations +2
April 8th - The Big Room, New Haven, CT, 8PM
We've decided to postpone recording until after the tour, which will hopefully allow for an even better turnout. Details forthcoming. In the meantime, we've been sorting through the past year of miscellaneous live recording and will be putting together a compilation with a limited handmade cd run exclusive to tour from some of that material. The compilation will be put on bandcamp for download after the tour is complete.
Gearing up, we've started a Facebook page as a stopgap for something that is more...of everything. "Like" us if you wanna: Broadcloth on the Infernal Machine/Facebook
also check out some of these videos.
It's spring and cross pollination is in the air. I have always liked the idea of hearing the same tune in different formats and instrumentations and for the first time I'm getting the chance to apply that in my own music through various collaborations. This has taken a chart on an incredibly large piece of paper to organize properly and is in fact still in progress, but will have various implications for the future - most significantly the adaptation of various studio G. Zarapanecko pieces into a way that can be performed live. Performing with my duo with Carl Testa and the Erasmus Quintet and doing some semi-regular workshop sessions has enabled this exploration and I am so far pleased with the results. Hopefully I'll have more to say on this soon.
Finally I should mention the Erasmus Quintet has added another date at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown on Friday, May 6th. Time TBA. We'll be gearing up for the date at The Funky Monkey in Cheshire in March 12th soon. In the mean time check out the CD HERE.
ok, that's it for now.
2.04.2011
Dr. Caterwaul's Demo
Just wanted to announce that Dr. Caterwaul's Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps has released a free demo recording on our bandcamp page. Find it HERE.
We also have a page on Folk Routes.
We also have a page on Folk Routes.
1.30.2011
Another gig
I'm excited to announce that I'll be performing in a 4tet with trumpeter and electronic manipulator Lou Guarino Jr., as well as guitarist Christopher Riggs and bassist Carl Testa at the February installment of Testa's Uncertainty Music series, at 8PM, Neverending Books, New Haven, CT. This promises to be an energetic group! Lou Guarino Jr. opens with a solo set. 8PM, $5 suggested donation. More info at http://uncertaintymusic.com
1.29.2011
So ridiculously busy, but in the right kind of way recently.
of note:
Dr. Caterwaul's Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps played two excellent shows early this month, hosting Jakob Battick and Friends from Portland, ME and Wood Spider from allover CT, and picked up a drummer, Michael Paolucci. Big plans for this group include an upcoming demo, performing live in studio on Jeff Day's radio show (3/4, 89.5 or wpkn.org, 10pm) performing live accompaniment to a silent film (3/6, Lyric Hall, New Haven, CT, time TBA) and world domination. Check out our page on Folk Routes: http://folkroutes.org/profiles/drcaterwauls/
Broadcloth played the Local 269 as part of Fay Victor's Evolving Voice series on Jan. 17th. I felt really good about the set and it makes me excited for our upcoming Tour (March 30th to April 2nd). We've got two dates in PA, one in Baltimore and one in Silver Springs, MD, details up on the little sidebar. Our one year anniversary came and went without much fuss, but I've really enjoyed the past year of developing a group sound with these folks that continues to evolve. We're also gearing up to record a CD around the time of the tour, details forthcoming.
The Erasmus Quintet is gearing up for the official launch of the disc "Serious Folly" featuring myself on accordion and clarinet, Bob Gorry and Jeff Cedrone on Guitars, Paul McGuire on Soprano/Alto saxes and Steve Zieminski on Electro-Vibes. Shows coming up include one at the Funky Monkey in Cheshire, CT on March 12th with trumpeter Nick DiMaria's Zero Dollar Trio, and a Tax Day Mini Fest (for lack of a better term) featuring saxophonist Steve Asetta's new trio and a free jazz quartet led by keyboard-wrecker Nate Trier, on April 15th at Lyric Hall. More to come, too.
While An Historic still does exist it is pretty dormant at the moment. I have written a few new songs and am planning a release for hopefully this summer. Dr. Caterwauls has played a few An Historic tunes in concert, and they may be kind enough to help me out on the album. That might just fracture my ego, though. Additionally, I set up an old Yamaha synth with a really fat sound and have been recording some really strange stuff with it and bowed cymbals. I don't know if it qualifies as G. Zarapanecko stuff but it is fairly ambient, just much more melodic. Given the pace of that project it might be months before those ideas gestate. Finally, there is a group that I've been conceiving and writing for very slowly, which will also interpolate G. Zarapanecko material from the last album as well as some improv structures I've written for other groups. I've gotten maybe 20 minutes of sunlight daily in the last 4 days, but dammit, winter doesn't win. Snow, maybe.
of note:
Dr. Caterwaul's Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps played two excellent shows early this month, hosting Jakob Battick and Friends from Portland, ME and Wood Spider from allover CT, and picked up a drummer, Michael Paolucci. Big plans for this group include an upcoming demo, performing live in studio on Jeff Day's radio show (3/4, 89.5 or wpkn.org, 10pm) performing live accompaniment to a silent film (3/6, Lyric Hall, New Haven, CT, time TBA) and world domination. Check out our page on Folk Routes: http://folkroutes.org/profiles/drcaterwauls/
Broadcloth played the Local 269 as part of Fay Victor's Evolving Voice series on Jan. 17th. I felt really good about the set and it makes me excited for our upcoming Tour (March 30th to April 2nd). We've got two dates in PA, one in Baltimore and one in Silver Springs, MD, details up on the little sidebar. Our one year anniversary came and went without much fuss, but I've really enjoyed the past year of developing a group sound with these folks that continues to evolve. We're also gearing up to record a CD around the time of the tour, details forthcoming.
The Erasmus Quintet is gearing up for the official launch of the disc "Serious Folly" featuring myself on accordion and clarinet, Bob Gorry and Jeff Cedrone on Guitars, Paul McGuire on Soprano/Alto saxes and Steve Zieminski on Electro-Vibes. Shows coming up include one at the Funky Monkey in Cheshire, CT on March 12th with trumpeter Nick DiMaria's Zero Dollar Trio, and a Tax Day Mini Fest (for lack of a better term) featuring saxophonist Steve Asetta's new trio and a free jazz quartet led by keyboard-wrecker Nate Trier, on April 15th at Lyric Hall. More to come, too.
While An Historic still does exist it is pretty dormant at the moment. I have written a few new songs and am planning a release for hopefully this summer. Dr. Caterwauls has played a few An Historic tunes in concert, and they may be kind enough to help me out on the album. That might just fracture my ego, though. Additionally, I set up an old Yamaha synth with a really fat sound and have been recording some really strange stuff with it and bowed cymbals. I don't know if it qualifies as G. Zarapanecko stuff but it is fairly ambient, just much more melodic. Given the pace of that project it might be months before those ideas gestate. Finally, there is a group that I've been conceiving and writing for very slowly, which will also interpolate G. Zarapanecko material from the last album as well as some improv structures I've written for other groups. I've gotten maybe 20 minutes of sunlight daily in the last 4 days, but dammit, winter doesn't win. Snow, maybe.
1.02.2011
New Albums and video!
I'm pleased to announce the release of G. Zarapanecko's "Little Black Dots on the Air," officially released December 31st 2010. The album contains six noisy, drone-y ambient tracks, and one bonus track - a cover of the Sigh song "Nietzschean Conspiracy" done in raw black metal form. Find that HERE.
I've also just finished (yeah, like, just now) the "promo video" or what have you for Decade Orbit, from the new album. Shot over the period of several weeks on various borrowed cameras and compiled into an abstract visual narrative to accompany the song. This is my first such endeavor with video in general (not counting two "short films" for a high school language class) let alone a music video but I think the images do justice to the music. In addition to the Bonus track and high quality art, the video will be included as part of the bonus package. The album is free but if you have a few bucks to spare consider contributing a few for the release.
If you've already downloaded the album and you want to have a file of the video, please email me and we can set something up. Also check it out here:
I also recently released a recording of a live set from last May, featuring Steve Asetta, Nathan Bontrager, Anne Rhodes and Carl Testa in a series of improv structures. Results were quite good, I think, and worth a listen for an example of some fine acoustic improvisation with some real energy to it but full of the fluidity of an acoustic ensemble. Find that one HERE.
And a happy new year to everyone!
I've also just finished (yeah, like, just now) the "promo video" or what have you for Decade Orbit, from the new album. Shot over the period of several weeks on various borrowed cameras and compiled into an abstract visual narrative to accompany the song. This is my first such endeavor with video in general (not counting two "short films" for a high school language class) let alone a music video but I think the images do justice to the music. In addition to the Bonus track and high quality art, the video will be included as part of the bonus package. The album is free but if you have a few bucks to spare consider contributing a few for the release.
If you've already downloaded the album and you want to have a file of the video, please email me and we can set something up. Also check it out here:
I also recently released a recording of a live set from last May, featuring Steve Asetta, Nathan Bontrager, Anne Rhodes and Carl Testa in a series of improv structures. Results were quite good, I think, and worth a listen for an example of some fine acoustic improvisation with some real energy to it but full of the fluidity of an acoustic ensemble. Find that one HERE.
And a happy new year to everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)