Old Time Musketry Tour Recap

Just got back from a great week of gigs with Old Time Musketry. It's such an amazing thing to get to play with a band every night, the music really developed a lot! We played a homecoming show at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn that might have been one of our best gigs ever.
We were interviewed on the Washington DC station WPFW by the wonderful Keanna Faircloth, who hosts the show "Mid Day Jazz". The show is archived for a few more days here.
We're going to start planning our next tour for the fall when our first CD will be released! Our next show is August 1st at Zirzamin.

Old Time Musketry Northeast Tour Itinerary

Old Time Musketry is on the road this week playing around the Northeast. Here's where we're playing, please spread the word if you know anyone is these parts who might like to hear us!

Monday July 9th: An Die Musik
409 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD
8pm Jazz Lunch
9pm Old Time Musketry
$10 cover
www.andiemusiklive.com

Tuesday July 10th: Twins Jazz
1344 U Street Northwest
Washington, DC
Sets at 8pm and 10pm
$10 cover + $10 minimum
www.twinsjazz.com

Wednesday July 11th: Time Midtown
1315 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA
9pm to 1am
www.timerestaurant.net

Thursday July 12th: The Outpost 186
186 1/2 Hampshire St.
Cambridge, MA
8pm Haven Quartet
9pm OTM
$10 suggested donation
www.outpost186.com

Friday July 13th: Dobra Tea
151 Middle Street
Portland, ME
8-9:45 PM
$10 suggested donation
www.dobrateame.com

Saturday July 14th: Radio Bean
8 North Winooski Avenue
Burlington, VT
7-8pm
$10 suggested donation
www.radiobean.com

Sunday July 15th: The Elevens
140 Pleasant Street
Northampton, MA
8pm Tim Eriksen and the Feral Woods
9pm Old Time Musketry
10pm In Example
www.elevensmusic.com

Beasts of the Southern Wild soundtrack

Here's an interview with multi-instrumentalist and producer Dan Romer, who composed the score to the new film Beasts of the Southern Wild, which is really starting to blow up.
I recorded some piano for part of the score, I'm excited to see it on the big screen!

Being an ethical music fan

Links to David Lowery's letter to Emily White at NPR's All Songs Considered have been popping up everywhere I look lately and I finally got around to reading it this evening. It is the best article I've seen thus far about the ethical decisions that we face as music consumers in the digital age. I strongly urge you to read it if you care about these issues.
I mused on some of these dilemmas in my post about Spotify a while back.

Some particularly good points from Mr. Lowery's article:

On the perception that fairly compensating artists should be up to large corporations or governments:

"fairness for musicians is a problem that requires each of us to individually look at our own actions, values and choices and try to anticipate the consequences of our choices. I would suggest to you that, like so many other policies in our society, it is up to us individually to put pressure on our governments and private corporations to act ethically and fairly when it comes to artists rights. Not the other way around. We cannot wait for these entities to act in the myriad little transactions that make up an ethical life."

On the "you can't fight progress" idea:

"Rather than using our morality and principles to guide us through technological change, there are those asking us to change our morality and principles to fit the technological change–if a machine can do something, it ought to be done. Although it is the premise of every “machines gone wild” story since Jules Verne or Fritz Lang, this is exactly backwards."

And just really laying it out there for you.....

"The existential questions that your generation gets to answer are these:

Why do we value the network and hardware that delivers music but not the music itself?

Why are we willing to pay for computers, iPods, smartphones, data plans, and high speed internet access but not the music itself?

Why do we gladly give our money to some of the largest richest corporations in the world but not the companies and individuals who create and sell music?

This is a bit of hyperbole to emphasize the point. But it’s as if:

Networks: Giant mega corporations. Cool! have some money!

Hardware: Giant mega corporations. Cool! have some money!

Artists: 99.9 % lower middle class. Screw you, you greedy bastards!"

Tonight at Sycamore: RADIO ZERO SERIES VOL. 3

This week's RADIO ZERO series concert promises to be an exciting evening with the Mavi Yol Quartet and Nashaz! Two groups playing original music incorporating Arabic music, jazz, and improvisation.

The RADIO ZERO series is happening every Monday at Sycamore (1118 Cortelyou Rd) in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. The month of June was curated by me.

8:30PM MAVI YOL QUARTET

Senem Diyici - Voice, Percussion
Alain Blesing - Guitars
Bruno Tocanne - Drums
Can Omer Uygan - Trumpet

On tour from France!

Mavi Yol 4tet evolves constantly between jazz, free improvisation and traditional music from Turkey. A musical complicity nurtured by their exceptional qualities of improvisers allows the 4 musicians to explore an infinite number of musical horizons while remaining in the heart of emotion.

9:30PM NASHAZ

Brian Prunka - Oud
Kenny Warren - Trumpet
Apostolos Sideris - Bass
George Mel - Percussion

Nashaz plays original music drawing on the Arabic tradition with a jazz perspective.


Here's a collage of video from last week's concert:

Jesse Stacken's Weekly Composition Project

I was just at pianist/composer Jesse Stacken's website catching up on his weekly composition project. He's writing a new piece every week and posting a recording and score online. This is an inspiring feat, my composing process can be pretty slow. Also, Jesse is exploring specific musical concepts in each piece, like a compositional etude. My favorite so far is "Seeing Iris", a slow brooding piece with mystical-sounding chords constructed from a diminished scale.

Announcing the RADIO ZERO music series at Sycamore!

This Monday, June 4th marks the beginning of the RADIO ZERO music series, hosted by Sycamore in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.

Every Monday we'll be bringing you exciting music from the Brooklyn improvised music world and beyond. Each month will be curated by a different musician, so expect lots of variety and a great hang!

I curated the month of June, and I'm playing a few times, including tomorrow night with Old Time Musketry!

There is no cover charge for these shows, but there is a $10 suggested donation, all of which goes to the musicians. The full calendar for June is below, we hope to see you!

Monday June 4th

8:30PM SPOKE

Dan Loomis - Bass
Justin Wood - Alto Saxophone
Danny Fischer - Drums
Andy Hunter - Trombone

Improvised music in the creative cauldron of New York City.

9:30PM OLD TIME MUSKETRY

JP Schlegelmilch - Accordion, Wurlitzer
Adam Schneit - Saxophone, Clarinet
Max Goldman - Drums
Phil Rowan - Bass

OTM presents a joyous music that draws on the exuberant spirit of early jazz, the poignant melodies and soulful grooves of rock and folk music, the energy and spontaneity of free improvisation, and a willfully experimental attitude towards combining these elements into a unique vision of American music.

Monday June 11

8:30PM CARLO COSTA QUARTET

Carlo Costa - Drums
Jonathan Moritz - Saxophone
Sean Ali - Bass
Owen Stewart-Robertson - Guitar

Textural improvisation, sonic landscapes conjuring strange distant forests teeming with life.....

9:30PM DOWN TO THE VALLEY

jonathan goldberger - guitar
owen stewart-robertson - guitar
aryeh kobrinsky - bass

Ambient Americana

Monday June 18 (an evening of Middle-Eastern-infused improvised music!)

8:30PM MAVI YOL QUARTET

Senem Diyici - Voice, Percussion
Alain Blesing - Guitars
Bruno Tocanne - Drums
Can Omer Uygan - Trumpet

On tour from France!

Mavi Yol 4tet evolves constantly between jazz, free improvisation and traditional music from Turkey. A musical complicity nurtured by their exceptional qualities of improvisers allows the 4 musicians to explore an infinite number of musical horizons while remaining in the heart of emotion.

9:30PM NASHAZ

Brian Prunka - Oud
Kenny Warren - Trumpet
Apostolos Sideris - Bass
George Mel - Percussion

Nashaz plays original music drawing on the Arabic tradition with a jazz perspective.

Monday June 25th

8:30PM DOUGLAS BRADFORD TRIO

Douglas Bradford - Guitar
Nicholas Anderson - Drums
Zach Lober - Bass

Guitarist Douglas Bradford unveils his new trio project!

9:30PM TWO OF ANYTHING

JP Schlegelmilch - Wurlitzer, Synth, Compositions
Jason Nazary - Drums and Electronics
Aryeh Kobrinsky - Bass
Jeremy Viner - Saxophone

Analog sounds? check. Digital? check. Acoustic? double-check.