Move on up!
How's it goin' y'all?!? It's another beautiful summer day up here in the 207. Here's what's been going on and what is coming up.
I had some liberating experiences over the last 6 weeks and I'm excited to share them with you. My friend Nigel Hall asked me to play with him for a VIP performance benefiting hungry kids. The show was so fun! It was essentially Lettuce and me. Jesus was playing so there were two bass players. I paid careful attention to not step on any toes and find space for me to add to the music rather than muddy everything up. Everybody in the band was very kind and encouraging and I am extremely humbled to have shared the stage with those guys.
Paco Naviera's project Octopus Kid has released the vinyl version of his debut album 'Demonstration', which I co-produced, co-arranged, played bass, wurlitzer, and percussion among various other things. I love Paco's music so much and am grateful he included me on this project. I look forward to working with him again and am very excited for people to hear this music.
Aimee Bayles has released the first two singles from her upcoming EP. We worked diligently on this record over the last year and the results are wonderful. She'll be playing some shows coming up pretty soon here and the EP will be released in the fall, so be on the look out (ear out?) for everything Aimee Bayles.
Two of my personal projects have bore their first fruits. Arbelos, the improvisational group, had its first show at Apohadion Theater and my New Orleans funk night kicked off last night at Local 188, both venues in Portland, Maine. The Arbelos show was interesting, but insanely good and fun. It was interesting because our guitar player, Zach Bence, broke down on his way back from another show in Vermont, so we asked our friend Kyle Friday to come through. Kyle brought his keyboard and guitar, created interesting loops and other sonic textures, and filled the space beautifully around Henry and my playing. It was lightly attended, but the people who came were enthusiastic. I'm looking forward to seeing how Arbelos evolves.
The Nightshades (NOLA funk/soul) was a large step for me personally in that it was the first band where I sing lead vocals tunes. It brought me a lot of comfort to have incredible musicians backing me up...Ryan Curless on drums, Max Cantlin on guitar, and Emmett Harrity on keys. We all sing and do our best to make shit groovy af. People REALLY dug it!!! We are doing a residency every Tuesday for July and I am so excited for the next one.
Kenya Hall's band has been picking up some momentum. We opened for the legendary Roots on 6/29. Kenya has a talent for uplifting everyone around her wherever she goes and the 500+ people we played for are no exception. The cheers were as thunderous as her voice and it felt good to be next to her on stage...playing guitar!
Speaking of playing non-principal instruments, I played keys on a Jaw Gems show in Brooklyn too! Those guys are so fun to chill with. I did my absolute best to bring the heat with that crew and it was super fun to approach music from a keyboard perspective vs guitar or bass. I anticipate more of this in the future :)
'City of My Mind' has taken a back seat while I get these other thing rolling. It certainly doesn't take away from my love of that song though. For anyone who reads this and is interested, it will be coming out soon, I promise!!!
I went to NYC to play with my friend Swerling a few weeks back and caught up with a bunch of friends while I was there. Swerling continues to grow immeasurably as a songwriter and frontman. I have enjoyed watching his process, it really inspires me. Stay tuned for all things Swerling as well.
That's pretty much the long and short of it. I have some production endeavors on my plate that I can't reveal at this time, but I am stoked about them. If anyone has any questions or comments, please drop me a line. In the meantime, keep it greasy!