Out Now: Black & Gold by Brass Queens

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!

Now Playing: Her Sound, Vol. 2

Ethan Carlson’s Her Sound, Vol. 2 was released on September 17. This follow up to Vol. 1 (here ICYMI) features many amazing singers including Alysha Umphress (On the Town, Bring It On, American Idiot), Jewelle Blackman (Hadestown), Krystina Alabado (Mean Girls) , and the homie Jo Lampert (Joan of Arc), with orchestrations by Solomon Hoffman.

I tracked this in April and it’s such a joy listening now and returning to the space these gorgeous songs take me to. Congrats to Ethan and all involved in this project and stay tuned for Vol. 3!

Now Playing: Her Sound, Vol. 1

Today is release day for Ethan Carlson’s Her Sound, Vol. 1, and it. sounds. amazing! I’m extremely proud of this one, as I tracked all of the percussion on my own. It was HARD TO DO and it nearly drove me to the edge, but the payoff has been extremely rewarding.

The album is produced by Thousand Faced Theatre in association with the incomparable Ryan Scott Oliver and features many fantastic musicians (with orchestrations by Solomon Hoffman) and an array of talented singers. I first played this wonderful music at Don’t Tell Mama in June 2017.

Here’s some info on the recording. Give a listen below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Her Sound is a new song cycle that reimagines the ancient stories of women in the Bible. Instead of the tired tropes of “wife”, “mistress”, and “whore”, discover the untold accounts of a rebel contemplating the cost of knowledge for a bite of an apple, a disobedient wife celebrating her community of women, a groundbreaker escaping the walls that trap her, and many more.

Selena @ Barbes

I am still radiating joy from the all-Selena show I played at Barbes over the weekend. This gig had been in the books for quite sometime. With only a few rehearsals, I was pretty nervous about it to tell you the truth!

I’ve played a lot of Latin styles in my career, but never cumbia, the folk music of Colombia, which is the basis for many of the grooves in Selena’s repertoire. After understanding the fundamentals of the style, I had to figure out how to adapt it to the drum set and share duties with only one other percussionist, who I only had one rehearsal with. Thankfully Brian Adler is a true pro and with his guidance, we were easily able to divvy up responsibilities.

On the day of the show, I finalized what my setup would be: after toying with it on the left, I mounted a cowbell on the right side of the kit, used mostly my left hand to cover maracones with the hi-hat, and left the snares off to play some timbale-like fills. Brian covered congas, bongos, and a ton of fun “toys."

I am happy with the way it turned out and thought I would share the entire recording. Here’s the personnel and setlist:

La carcacha—>
Techno cumbia
No me queda más
Si una vez
Como la flor
I could fall in love
Dreaming of you
Baila está cumbia—>
Amor prohibido
Tu solo tu
El chico del apartamento 512—>
Bidi Bidi bom bom
E: La carcacha —>Techno cumbia

Jenny Luna: vocals
Barrie Lobo McLain: backup vocals
Sky Steele: synths, violin, backup vocals
Joshua Camp: accordion, keys
Michael Winograd: clarinet, saxophone
Ilusha Tsinadze: guitar
Mike Lavalle: bass
Ashley Baier: drums
Brian Adler: percussion

Out Now: Sing Shalom

The album I recorded for Music Together’s Sing Shalom program is out and being used in Fall classes as we speak. I tracked the drums live with piano, guitar, and upright bass so it’s fun hearing other elements of the songs for the first time, especially the lyrics. My favorite jam is “Sweet,” a jazzy tune about Rosh Hashanah. The album begins with a doumbek solo, too! To learn more about Sing Shalom, click here.

Audio: At Percussion Podcast

It was a delight to speak with Karli Viña, Casey Cangelosi, and Ben Charles on the @ Percussion Podcast a few weeks back. We discussed a variety of topics including playing both orchestral percussion and drum set, touring, subbing on musicals, life as a drummer in New York City, and why equality matters. Give a listen here or wherever you get your podcasts!

The Chris Gethard Show

View fullsize

Watch the full episode here! 

Now Playing: Ben Brody - Flow State

View fullsize

​I'm currently enjoying the latest release from guitarist/composer/horn guru Ben Brody. If you're a fan of minimalism, you definitely don't want to miss this. Stream it for free on Ben's Bandcamp page. If you like what you hear, buy, buy, buy! Independent artists cannot continue to make great music like this without your help!