Fall Back Into It

I’ll keep this short and sweet. I am happy to report the 45 for ‘City Of My Mind’ and the dub version are off to the presses! It’s been a hugely educational process releasing this; I haven’t released my own vinyl anything before and I learned a ton. The next one will take much less time.

I took the summer to reflect on my life in music, which was a beautiful and revealing time. I listened to tons of new music, revisited all of my favorites, wrote a little bit, played some, and everything I did, I did with positivity. I also worked four jobs to fund my 45 release and the traveling I have planned later this fall and winter time. If anyone reading this is ever feeling in a slump, I highly recommend taking some time to reflect on what’s working/not working. There’s no shame in taking a step back to reapproach whatever is obstructing your forward momentum.

There are many fun shows and recording projects on the horizon that I am excited to share with you, so keep posted and we’ll see ya out there sometime! As always, don’t hesitate to hit me up with questions or to extend a friendly hello. Keep it chill!

Progress Report

How's it going y'all!  I'm currently enjoying a ginger-turmeric tea with plenty of honey, giving my immune system all it needs to fight off these damn allergies.  I have some exciting news and updates for ya!

This last month has seen some great progress with all of my projects.  The currently unnamed Nola Night Band (Emmett Harrity on keys, Ryan Curless on drums, and Max Cantlin on guitar) has been rehearsing and is tightening up nicely.  We're going to be hosting a New Orleans vibe night somewhere in Portland, probably Local 188, so keep on the lookout for that if you live close to there or are in the area.  

The single 'City of My Mind' has its final vocal performance DONE by Dave Gagne!!!  I am so stoked for y'all to hear this...Royal Hammer crew on rhythm section and Gagne on vocals makes for some serious heat!

Bence/Redman/Mahan has our first performance booked!  We are playing at the Apohadion Theater on July 8.  We've been working on getting our ears sharpened up for this and we are talking about releasing some recorded material that night as a celebration for the new project.  

I traveled to NYC recently to record on Bonehart Flannigan's new album, which was really fun.  Bonehart (Jon Dell) is a great songwriter from Lincoln, Nebraska and he got a stellar band to cut his new record.  Be on the lookout for that gem!

Binky Griptite throws a blues jam hang on Sunday's in BK, so I went after my session and sat in.  Somehow, the next day I found myself working on Binky's new album at Electric Ladyland Studios in the A room!  The other bass player couldn't make it, so Binky asked if I could come in and dial in sounds and such.  I humbly accepted.  Thanks Binky!

I play guitar in Kenya Hall's band and I've been shedding a fair amount to keep sharp.  I played my first guitar solo in a performance setting and got a ton of positive feedback, so I must be doing something right.  While guitar is similar to bass, the role of the guitar is different and I love exploring new territory on different instruments, it makes me approach music from a different headspace.  For instance, I've been singing a lot lately and I feel like my bass playing has gotten much stronger as a result.  I'm fully intrigued now and can't wait to dig deeper into instruments I am unfamiliar with.  

Well, you're up to speed.  Keep on the look out for new music, more performances, and other happenings as they come up.  I'm still trying to figure out how to get more past recorded music up on my audio page, sorry for the delay!

Stay well out there everyone!  These beautiful summer months are upon us and there's a lot of positivity floating in the air :)