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!

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!

The Quarantined Woodwind Ensemble

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I am honored to be a part of the latest arrangement from the Quarantined Woodwind Ensemble: Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles!

The Quarantined Woodwind Ensemble is a virtual ensemble with a rotating personnel comprised of NYC's top-call woodwind musicians from Broadway pit orchestras and the New York jazz scene. The group is directed by Tyler Burchfield and Emily Pecoraro, the latter of which I met through the extended Grinch family.

If you love piccolo, this is the video for you! Enjoy!

Video: Golden (Timothy Huang)

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Timothy Huang just released a new video featuring me and a marvelous band as well as some of his students from the University of Utah, University of Michigan, Emerson, and New York Film Academy.

From his Facebook post:
This past year i have been super lucky to guest teach and/or write for many students across many different universities. Even more astounding than the sheer diversity of students studying musical theater though was the amount of whole-throated support they were getting from faculty and staff to break free from what was once a very standard, very homogeneous interpretation of what musical theater is.

I first began working with Tim two years ago for Prospect Theater’s production of his musical American Morning and he’s been keeping me busy since! The future of musical theater is in good hands!

Enjoy!

The Miller Machine

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About this time last year, I was asked to make a promo video for the Miller Machine. My video was cut together with videos from a bunch of other amazing percussionists, which you can watch here. Today, I am happy to share with you my full video that I created with the help of my wife (and cat). We had a lot of fun making this!

If you aren’t familiar with the Miller Machine, you are probably not a percussionist who performs in musical theater. Easily one of the most important percussion innovations of the last 50 years, the Miller Machine allows you to play triangle without having to fumble around for a beater. This is especially handy during a quick change situation. For example, you can be playing timpani with your fluffiest of mallets and execute a perfectly sounding triangle note a beat later without having to put down your sticks and grab a triangle beater. It’s easy to position in any type of setup and is small enough that it can fit in your stick bag when you’re on the go. If this could be of use to you, head over to Billy’s site and grab one for 10% off your first order!

Drum Jam: Taste (Phish)

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Taste is a top tier Phish song. I love this version from the Island Tour (a legendary run of shows from April 2-5, 1998) because Jon Fishman is a true master of clave and it’s fully on display for this entire run. Any musician who wants to dig further into clave should check out Billy Martin’s book on the subject.

Phish is a master of layering complex rhythms, and you can feel this song in so many ways: 6/8, 3/4, and 4/4, primarily. I highly recommend hearing the full version of this song, as each of the four instrumentalists are expertly laying. it. down! Here’s the link (Taste starts around 22:44). Enjoy!

Opening: Twelfth Night

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This weekend, Pace University opens a virtual production of Shaina Taub’s Twelfth Night. Back in January, I was invited to record the drum book by Music Director Alexander Tom, who played keyboard 1 on Grinch in 2019. I’ve done a few things at Pace in the past, including Drowsy Chaperone in 2018. Last year, I was hired to play Head Over Heels there, but unfortunately it was one of the first gigs to go at the start of COVID.

It was really exciting to be in a studio for the first time in nearly a year due to the pandemic. There were only three of us in the main room, plus an engineer and assistant in the control room. COVID protocols were in place, everyone was always masked, and safety was prioritized. We only had a few hours to record the entire score, so we moved quickly and efficiently. I’m excited to hear how everything turned out! If you’d like to watch the show, grab tickets here.

Here is a video of an excerpt from the opening number that I took in my studio in preparation for the session. If music be the food of love play on!

Video: Harofei - from Psalm 147

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It’s always an honor to work with my brilliant friend Solomon Hoffman who once again put together a group of 100+ musicians for his new work, Harofei (Here is his previous liturgical work, which I was also a part of, ICYMI).

For my part, I contributed triangle, finger cymbals, drum set, and some suspended cymbal rolls for good measure. I am really happy with how everything turned out and I’m looking forward to whatever Solomon has in store next!

In his own words:

I am filled with gratitude to the 100+ people who have come together to create this second in a collection of remote Psalms. I offer this to mark the one year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic declaration. This text from Psalm 147:3-4 translates to “healer of the broken hearted, renewer of their bones/the counter of the stars, who calls their names.”

I wrote this setting in early 2020, with no idea of what was in store. Now, I hope it can bring some healing after this year of unprecedented loss and suffering. Since July, I have seen this loss up close in my work as a hospital Chaplain in NYC. I have also witnessed the power of community and resilience, which I hope to reflect in this piece. I dedicate this to those we’ve lost, those who are grieving, and those who have given all they can to provide care throughout this year.

If you would like to purchase this track, you can do so on bandcamp at this link: https://solomonhoffman.bandcamp.com/track/harofei

Proceeds will go to Make the Road New York’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, supporting undocumented and immigrant families that have been affected by the pandemic.

SPD fun!

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I got the Roland SPD-SX out for the first time in awhile today and had some serious fun rocking out with it and my Busta Rhymes playlist. Am I prepared to go on record saying he's my favorite MC? And what is happening with the Pussycat Dolls??? This song slaps! Anyway, I have a few different percussion samples going on the SPD and a trigger running into it from the acoustic bass drum. Hybrid drumming is always a blast!