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!

Brass Queens Take New Orleans

I had simply THE BEST TIME in New Orleans over the last week with Brass Queens! We played 4 shows in 3 days and they were all a blast. I thought we played really well and the New Orleans audiences really know how to turn up. Everyone on and off stage had one gear: full send.

As you can see from the picture above, I was really down to get into the Mardi Gras spirit, as Carnival season was in full swing during our trip. There were multiple parades every day we were there and it was so cool to see all of the floats and dressed up folx as well as many amazing brass bands.

Our first show was at Zony Mash, an incredible brewery in Mid-City. We opened for the legendary Cha Wa band. I had never seen them before and I was blown away. The music was amazing and I learned a lot about the history of the Mardi Gras Indians.

I didn’t take any pics at our second show which was at The Rabbit Hole. That venue had one of the coolest backyards I had ever seen, complete with a neon dinosaur. I unfortunately didn’t take any pictures of it, or the backline drum set which was in excellent condition. All of the backline kits I used down there were in much better shape than the ones here in NYC.

The next show was definitely my highlight of the trip: Mardi Gras brunch at Music Box Village. I had been eyeing up this spot since they opened up a few years ago.

From their website: The Music Box Village is a place where play, imagination, experimentation, collaboration, community and hard work come together as a whimsical village of artist-made interactive “musical houses.” Each installation is inspired by the unique musical and architectural culture of our home city of New Orleans, and represents a collaborative process between artists based here and abroad. Our one-of-a-kind art site hosts intensive artist residencies, performances, panels, and welcomes visitors for exploration and play.

Let’s just say the brunch drinks must’ve been pretty strong because the audience was going NUTS for us. It was the best possible way to start the day!

After Music Box, I mostly took it easy and napped for the rest of the day as we then played from 9pm-2am (!) at Favela Chic on Frenchmen Street. Even with the napping I was still pretty tired but we once again had an amazing audience to carry us through. Here I am with percussionist Caitlin Howe at 1am on Frenchmen with my first beer of the night:

After surviving the insane Saturday schedule, I got to spend Sunday and most of Monday hanging around town with my wife. Enjoy some of those pictures as I continue to detox off of butter:

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Video: Brass Queens at Brooklyn

I played Brooklyn Bowl for the first time since 2016 last week with Brass Queens. It felt so good to be back on the stage there, a place where I’ve seen countless incredible shows, ate so much delicious fried chicken, and probably had, oh I don’t know, one or two beers over the last 10+ years (it looks like Brooklyn Blast is no longer on tap which is honestly probably for the best).

I made a little highlight real from some of the clips my wife was kind enough to shoot. I was so proud of the Brass Queens that night! Everyone brought their A-game. I’m hopeful that we’ll be invited back soon!

We are definitely back

I just wrapped what was certainly my busiest week of playing since the pandemic began. If my calculations are correct, I logged 4 gigs in a week which doesn’t sound that crazy until you factor in the 19 hours of rehearsal (actual number!) that these shows required.

On Monday, I had a morning rehearsal for Prospect Theater’s Tuesday night REIGNITE concert. Before the concert, we had a 5-hour tech rehearsal where we worked out the staging for 15 different songs, each featuring a different vocalist or vocal ensemble. It was my first time playing at Symphony Space in at least ten years! I thought the drums looked great on the stage!

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On Monday and Thursday, I had rehearsals for the Selena project I’m in. We played a Dia de los Muertos party on Saturday night at what is normally a restaurant in Ditmas Park. It turned out to be a great place for a concert. We sold the place out! I didn’t take any pictures except for this blurry one with percussionist Neil Ochoa. That dude can play.

Before the Selena gig, I played a super fun Halloween gig with Brass Queens at the Zo Loft in Rockefeller Center. I thought one of the coolest parts was that I got to venture down to the loading dock that services all of RocCen to load in my drums and park my car while I was at the event. It blew my mind that I entered the loading dock at 50th street and drove a block and a half underground to get to 1 RocCen. There’s a whole world down there! Brass Queens repurposed their custom Stella McCartney jumpsuits made for the Met Gala into “Brasstronaut” suits. I LOVED IT!

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The final show of the week was Drew Gasparini’s show last night at “Broadway’s Living Room,” 54 Below. This has become the cabaret spot in NYC. The energy in that room is always electric and Drew really brought down the house. I last played with Drew in the Bahamas in February 2020 for a presentation of his coming-to-Broadway show, the Karate Kid.

The craziest part of the week, perhaps, was the rehearsal for Drew’s show, which was at Euphoria Studios, the place I was rehearing on 3/12/2020 when it became suddenly clear that the world was shutting down. On my way in I passed the Sweetgreen we ate lunch at that day and the matcha shop that we stopped at for a quick pick-me-up. Coincidentally, the bass player on Drew’s gig, Justin Goldner, was the MD for that rehearsal in March. It was all very surreal.

Again, I only took one photo last night and it was with Erica Rotstein, Drew’s manager and one of the producers from Hundred Days, who happens to be married to my lifelong friend Ian Kagey. It was great to get to catch up over a drink at the end of a very long week!

I think that’s it! Thanks for following along. Now it’s time to pack for Grinch tour which kicks off on Saturday!

Busy Weekend with Brass Queens

View from the stage in Cape May

I had so much fun this weekend playing a run of shows with Brass Queens. We had an early hit at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival in Cape May, NJ on Saturday, so we spend the night in Wildwood Friday night. Though I’ve played out of town a few times over the pandemic, this was the first overnighter I’ve done since February 2020 and it was a blast to be “on the road,” even if it was for one night.

This was my first trip to Cape May and it was quaint and wonderful and the view from the drum kit (above) was spectacular! I spent a significant amount of our set watching the waves crash behind the audience.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to stay for very long as we had to return to Brooklyn to play the launch of Witch Please, a new pumpkin beer by Dyke Brewing, at the Crown Inn. I don’t usually go for pumpkin beers, but it was pretty tasty and I even bought a shirt! It was, as always, nice to play an event for the queer community.

This may surprise you, but every drummer loves free beer!

On Sunday, we got to play yet another waterfront gig, this time at The Hudson in Inwood. Somehow I’ve never heard of this restaurant, but I will be back for dinner and drinks sometime. This was a 70th birthday party and everyone was down to get down! We even had jet skiers on the river pull up behind us to listen for awhile.

On the Hudson, at The Hudson

After that, my wife and I went to a belated Sukkot dinner at our friends’ apartment in Harlem. There’s no better way to round out the weekend than with good friends, good food, and good drinks! There may have also been a trip to the ice cream shop :-)

Sukkot Squad <3

Operation Gig

At the Japanese House with Brass Queens

I had the pleasure of playing not one but TWO events presented by Operation Gig over the weekend. If you aren’t familiar with the series, Operation Gig has been presenting crowd-funded outdoor gigs to help support working musicians through the Covid era. The concerts are hosted throughout porches in Ditmas Park, one of my absolute favorite neighborhoods in all of New York City.

Amor Prohibido pre-show. Yuka Tadano on bass and Rich Stein hiding back there on percussion.

Saturday’s concert featured the triumphant return of Amor Prohibido: The Must of Selena. I fall in love with her songbook the more I play it and it is truly a joy to play with each and everyone in that group! Sunday’s concert was with Brass Queens at the famed Japanese House and it was amazing to play with those ladies after being away in California for three weeks!

It felt really good to have back to back weekend gigs after a difficult year of lockdowns and cancellations. The Ditmas Park community came out strong both days and it was a delight to share both of these projects with everybody.

Me and some absolute legends who came out to Brass Queens: Jo Lampert, Kate Freer, Barrie Lobo-McLain, and Ada Westfall.

That's the Shot: Brass Queens

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Last Saturday, I joined Brass Queens for a celebration of International Women’s Day in Downtown Brooklyn. I love everything about this picture, from Stephanie’s megaphone, to Nora’s Sinatra Orchestra Golden Nugget jacket, and my gold bling (gold and black are the official colors of BQ).

I have a few upcoming outdoor dates with this group and we will be hitting the studio in April to record some music. (In case you missed it, they put out an EP in January. I play on the last two tracks, “Mad” and “Liza.” Here’s the link.)

If you’re in Brooklyn this spring and summer, keep your ears open for the sounds of New Orleans on the streets. It just might be us!

Out Today: Brass Queens - Royal St.

Congratulations to Brass Queens on the release of their new EP, Royal St! I’ve been playing with the Queens since the summer and it’s always fun. The ladies and the music they make are simply infectious! They play with a few different drummers and I am honored to play on “Mad” and “Liza” for this release. Above is a picture from the recording session we did a few weeks ago. They took my lunch “dietary restriction” seriously, which I always appreciate!

Have a listen and enjoy!

Served Up Live

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Last night I joined Brass Queens for a performance of Served Up held at Culture Lab LIC. It was the first time I’ve performed on an actual stage since March! It felt wonderful to play with a group of women for a group of women.