Louder Than Words: The Songs and Legacy of Jonathan Larson

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I had the great pleasure of playing for 92NY’s esteemed Lyrics & Lyricist series over the weekend, featuring the music of Jonathan Larson.

Frankly, I was nervous going into this one. For one, the band was some of the most ridiculous musicians you could ever play with (Aaron Heick, the former saxophonist of the Late Show with David Letterman? Sherod Barnes, producer of Roberta Flack, who has played guitar with every r&b artist you’ve ever heard of???). Not to mention the actors, including Tony Nominee L Morgan Lee and Adam Kantor, who played Mark in the closing Broadway company of Rent.

company photo by richard termine

Secondly, Larson has had more influence on musical theater people of a certain age (mine) than anyone else, and I felt a great deal of responsibility to do this music justice. Thankfully, under the leadership of Music Director Jacinth Greywoode, we were in good hands.

I have played a lot of the music of Rent, but I had to learn a few new charts from the show, as well as several unfamiliar-to-me songs from Tick Tick Boom. It was a lot of work and we had little time, but I think we pulled it off!

the overhead view

We played three shows and honestly, the nerves never really left until the end! Each concert was a joy to play, and I gained even more of an appreciation for Larson, who was taken from us at just 35. It’s remarkable to see the impact he left in his short time in this world. Instead of wondering what could’ve been, I am just thankful for what he left us with. And now Take Me or Leave Me is stuck in my head for all eternity…

BroadwayCon

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Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of presenting on a panel at BroadwayCon, a three-day convention where fans can meet and interact with their favorite Broadway stars.

My panel—Onstage, Offstage, and Under the Stage: Broadway Pit Musicians—was a moderated, hour-long discussion with several other musicians in the Broadway community: Emily “Freddie” Fredrickson, Shannon Ford, Michiko Egger, Sarah Elizabeth Haines, and Carolina Díaz Chan.

From L-R: Carolina, Michiko, Sarah, Freddie, and yours truly. missing from class photo: Shannon Ford, one of the greatest of broadway drummers.

We discussed how our careers led us to Broadway, the differences of performing on stage vs. in a pit, unusual locations (like how I literally have to climb a ladder to get to the drums at Little Shop of Horrors), and other challenges of the gig. We even took a few audiences questions. While we all had similarities and differences in our careers, one thing was unanimous: nothing is more stressful than subbing!

I was nervous going into the panel, but I thought it went really well! I truly felt like a part of the Broadway community, especially since I went directly from the panel to the afternoon show at SIX! It was a rewarding and validating day for sure.

 

Hot Tub Sessions Vol. I

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Last week, Brass Queens released our newest album, Hot Tub Sessions Vol. I, a collection of all-original music. We recorded it over two sessions at Atlantic Records with engineer Joseph Pomarico with mixing by Ian Kagey at Renaissance Recording.

Stream the record below or wherever you get your music. If you like what you hear, please consider buying the album, available on CD and vinyl here (it takes 230 streams for an artist to make $1 on Spotify).

Here are some pics and a video from the Atlantic Sessions:

arriving at atlantc

the dw house kit

me with the greatest to ever do it, mr. john bonham

The Midwest

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The Grand theater in wasssau, wi

Brass Queens just returned from our first ever trip to the Midwest. We had the best time. Man, Midwesterners are just so dang nice!

on david byrne’s reasons to be cheerful at town hall

We sort of kicked off the tour here in NYC at Town Hall, where we played David Byrne’s Reason’s to Be Cheerful live show. It’s been an entire week and I still don’t have the words to say how much this show meant to me. I was starting to get in to the Talking Heads in high school, but when I saw Byrne perform at Bonnaroo in 2004 I sort of became obsessed. The man is the embodiment of ART and to be on his radar is simply a dream. Here’s the link to the video of every artist at the show (including Byrne, Thao, and Fred Armisen) performing our arrangement of Just the Two of Us.

I booked it home after the show because we had 7am flight to Chciago. We went directly from O’Hare to WGN9 to play their Midday Show. It was so cool to be in the studio of a major news network! Check out our performance here.

The house kit at wgn, home of bozo the clown

After a little nap, we loaded in at the Hideaway to play what was probably my favorite show of the tour. We had a great turn out and the crowd was into it. I haven’t played in Chicago in almost 15 years and I hope we can get back ASAP.

At the hideout | credit: janet M. Takayama

From Chicago, we traveled up to Wausau, WI to play a sold out concert at the Grand Theater’s 10 x 10 series. The show was a blast and afterwards we traveled a few miles out of the city to get a look at the aurora.

The aurora borealis from Wasusa, wi

From Wausau, we traveled down to Madison for a radio spot at WSUM before we co-billed the High Noon Saloon with one of our absolute favorite brass bands, Mama Digdown’s! We got to play their song Mojito with them at the end of their set. Here’s what that was like from my view:

Next up was Ludington, MI for a performance at the Ludington Area Center for the Arts, another lovely show. We stayed right on Lake Michigan and I got to spend a little bit of time by the water in the morning before heading off to Detroit.

lake Michigan

And finally, we arrived in Detroit for a sold out show at the legendary Cliff Bell’s. Prior to the show, we checked out the Motown Museum. Simply put, I was verklempt. Here’s a picture from Studio A. All of this gear was used on those original Motown Records.

motown’s studio A

The next day, we played at Detroit’s Fox 2 (here’s the vid) before having brunch and heading home exhausted but grateful. Tomorrow we play an album release show at Brooklyn Bowl. We hope to see you there for a hometown show!

The Western Slope

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I had an amazing time in Colorado this past weekend with @brassqueensnyc. We played shows in Durango and Mancos, enjoyed the hot springs, and explored the towns. I’d never been this far west in CO, “where the west lives.” Special thanks to @allyinmusic’s parents, Mark and Jody, for hosting us on their absolutely stunning property. I hope we get to go back soon!

Kaatsbaan

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THe begginings of my setup

I just returned from a 4-day artist retreat at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, a 153-acre artist sanctuary in Upstate New York. I had somehow never heard of this magical place until I was asked to collaborate on a new work there with Suzzanne Ponomarenko Dance.

Morning commute

The property is stunning and reminiscent of one of my favorite places, Storm King, with its rolling hills and sculptures scattered throughout the property. We spent our days in a gorgeous studio (with windows!) and our nights relaxing — one evening we watched Center Stage together. Everyone should have the opportunity to watch a dance movie with a group of actual dancers!

View from artist housing

Other than playing a few ballets and drumming for dance classes, I’ve never developed a dance piece before. It was a really interesting process: I was essentially watching the five dancers and trying to find music that complimented their movements. Alongside pianist/bassist Meghan Rose, we found moments for musical meditations and grooves both joyous and dark.

gotta stay caffeinated

The full piece will be presented at Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn on May 3 & 4. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Artist housing at night. for sure haunted.

Out Now: Black & Gold by Brass Queens

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The first full length album from Brass Queens is officially here! We recorded Black & Gold back in May at the Bunker in Brooklyn with engineers Alex Conroy and Megan Mishkin. The album contains 5 BQ originals, 10 covers, and features the following personnel:

Trumpet: Alex Joseph, Stephanie King, Minerva Johnson
Alto Sax: Ally Chapel
Tenor Sax: Jenna Murdoch
Trombone: Elizabeth Arce, Stephanie Young
Sousaphone: Nora Nalepka, Heather Ewer
Percussion: Caitlin Cawley
Drum set: Yours Truly

The Bunker has a lot of great vintage kits but I wanted the drums on this to sound as modern as BQ does so I brought in my Yamaha Tour Custom. To say I’m thrilled about the way the drums sound would be an understatement. I mean, listen to that 14” tom. It sounds MASSIVE! My Ludwig Supraphonic really cuts through the band and my Zildjian As blend nicely.

Here’s a short video of three drum clips: The first is an excerpt of Titi’s Kawa where I try to sneak in some licks inspired by two of my favorite drummers - John Bonham and Stanton Moore. Next is the halftime breakdown of Lady Marmalade. And finally, here’s some uninterrupted drum footage of Vision Quest. I don’t have video of the take that we used for the album, but I’m really happy with the drums throughout this song so I wanted to feature it anyway:

As always, Brass Queens has a jam packed schedule coming up, but I invite you to join us for an official release show for the album on November 18th at Littlefield. I hope to see you there!

Musikfest

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photo: Saed Hindash

I had the best time playing Musikfest over the weekend with Brass Queens. If you aren’t familiar, Musikfest is the nation’s largest free music festival, held in Bethlehem, PA. There were something like 400 different musical performances!

Our first set of the weekend was at the Levitt Pavilion at the base of Bethlehem’s iconic SteelStacks. It was 5pm and by the end of the show we were in full sun on the stage. We still had a blast and it was an awesome way to start out the weekend. Thanks to lehighvalleylive.com for the awesome profile (if anyone wants to talk about the no-analysis rule after reading this article, hit me up!).

Photo: Saed Hindash

The next day, we played an evening set on the PNC Stadplatz Stage which overlooks the valley. Prior to our set, the festival shut down for about 20 minutes due to lightning in the area. We were getting nervous that our set may be cut short, but everything quickly got back on track.

cumberland vibes for sure.

This was definitely my favorite set of the weekend. The energy on stage and in the audience was through the roof. We saw a lot of people from our first show at this one which is always nice. One of the main missions of BQ is to inspire women so it was awesome to see a few young girls right at the foot of the stage. It was HOT out. I drank an entire Vitamin Water during the show and wish I had another. Despite the heat, we unlocked a new level of energy, as seen in this video of Lady Marmalade which was filmed 80 minutes into our set.

I had to leave immediately after the performance as I was subbing my first show at Little Shop the next day (more on that another time). I wish I could’ve stayed longer but I definitely left happy and fulfilled. I hope we return to the Bethlehem region soon!

Workshop Season

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It’s officially summertime, which means workshop season is upon us! Earlier this month, I worked on a new musical adaptation of the play/film Prelude to a Kiss, which will receive its premiere at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa in spring 2024. I was brought on to the project by Wiley DeWeese who was the music director of The Lightning Thief. Along with guitarist Mike Rosengarten, we worked closely with composer Dan Messé to bring his vision to life. Here are some setup shots of the drums in the beautiful Baryshnikov Arts Center, as well as a view from the rehearsal room during the surreal smoke situation from the Canadian wildfires.:

Next up was a workshop in Washington, DC of My Joy Is Heavy, a new show by Shaun and Abigail Bengson, commissioned by Arena Stage. The Bengsons are some of the most talented people I’ve ever met, so I will gladly do anything they ask of me! It was also a dream come to work with Tony Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin, who I found out is a fellow Marylander! Speaking of Maryland, I was able to meet up with a few percussion friends as well as my two eldest nephews while I was in town. It was a treat! Apparently I did not take any pictures of my setup (drum set + SPD), but here is a photo of the program that was handed out during our two presentations:

Now I’m off for a week of work at Berklee Powerstation with my friend Julianne Merrill, followed by a much needed trip to the Hamptons for July 4. Until next time!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

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I can’t believe I haven’t written a blog update since February! I have been so busy lately that I literally wrote on my calendar “DON’T SCHEDULE ANYTHING” for today so I can take care of some loose ends and write to all you lovely people with what I’ve been up to. In addition to playing at Six, numerous cabarets, and with Brass Queens, I’ve had some pretty cool gigs come up lately.

practice, practice, practice!

I started off last Saturday performing with the National Children’s Chorus at Carnegie Hall. It’s been a few years since I’ve played Carnegie and I was delighted to see my name on a dressing room! I’ve only performed there with orchestras in the past and in those instances, the whole orchestra is in one big room backstage! I joined the group for a few different pieces on glockenspiel, djembe, and congas. The kids were fantastic —all 240 of them!

Following the performance at Carnegie, Cinco 12 played a benefit for a pre-school in Brooklyn. This same benefit in 2020 was my last gig before the pandemic hit! I was ecstatic to show up and see that we were performing al fresco as it was a beautiful night. Here is a clip of me soloing with the legendary Samuel Torres on congas:

a view from the drums at the cunard building for Nova Ball

Last week, I got to play Ars Nova’s gala for the second year in a row. The room was gorgeous and I got to play with two incredible performers: Bridget Everett and Shaina Taub. Here’s a pic of Bridget slaying with me in the background:

This weekend, I played in Easton, PA (home of Crayola!) with a super tight band, backing up Dee Roscioli and Ben Clark. We played a selection of covers under the stars on a lovely night. I hope we get to do it again soon! Special thanks to John SanFilippo of California Drum Shop for lending me a kit for the night.

I think that’s it for now! I’m looking forward to a summer of more gigs, fun, and seeing live music!