Honk NYC! Featured Musician of the Day

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I was happy to be the Featured Musician of the Day for Honk NYC! on Friday. Check out the interview I did with them and catch PitchBlak's performance for Honk! on Wednesday, October 15 at Littlefield. 

FEATURED MUSICIAN OF THE DAY:
We are excited to bring you Ashley Baier: Drummer for PitchBlak Brass Band
Ashley has been in New York City for just over seven years. She moved here for graduate school at Mannes College The New School For Music in 2007, after living in Maryland for the first 22 years of her life. 

She says “I started playing with PitchBlak in early 2011. They had been playing together for a few months and needed a drummer to fill in for an upcoming gig. Chanell, the bandleader, was actually one of the first people I ever met in New York, but I do believe this was the first time we had actually played together.”

Brooklyn Bowl is one of her favorite venues to play with PitchBlak in New York City. “We always have such a great time there on and off the stage. They really got everything right with that place. Another place that stands out that we've played is The Bowery Electric. It's a small room, but the way that the stage is set up on the floor allows for a really electric symbiotic relationship between the audience and the band. While PitchBlak hasn't played there yet, the hype of Carnegie Hall is real. The house sounds great, obviously, but you can hear with incredible clarity on the stage, too. Hopefully they'll be interested in presenting PitchBlak one day!”

“This isn't a problem unique to New York City, but one of the biggest challenges facing musicians or any artists, really, is getting paid for your work. I am happy that my favorite thing to do brings people such great joy, but my favorite thing to do is also my job, and I need to bring home some money so I can afford to live in this great city. A lot of people who don't have experience in the arts do not realize how much work and dedication goes into perfecting a craft such as music.”

One of the great things about being a musician: “My career could take me anywhere! I've seen almost the entire United States through music travels. My career has yet to take me to Europe, but I know it someday will, and I would be most excited to explore Amsterdam.”

Ashley’s final thought for us today: “I'm really looking forward to playing HONK NYC! for the second year in a row. It feels good to be a part of such a strong community.”

Support Ashley and our other 195+ musicians here, for only 17 more days!! Please share this, and help us spread the word. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1737928085/its-time-for-the-8th-annual-honk-nyc-festival

Please visit our new website>>>>http://www.honknyc.com/

PitchBlak Summer: Fare the well

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The whole gang, smiley and giggly at the start of tour. 

I told myself I would blog every day while I was on tour, but of course I didn't, so how about a recap? 

Day 1: Flew EWR->LAX. Slept almost the entire flight (rare). Once we landed we had to pick up the van as well as the drums I rented (thank you Joseph Muskat for the beautiful looking and sounding Yamaha kit) and then it was time for some fun on our only day off! First stop was In-N-Out (overrated but good as always) and then a trip to Dodger Stadium with Max and Brian to watch Clayton Kershaw dominate the Padres. Got back to the hotel for a late-night hot tub session with Bryan, Alison, Brody, and Max. 

Day 2: Drove to San Francisco for our first show of tour at Neck of the Woods. Had some just ok Vietnamese beforehand and caught a random Phish cover band at Cat Club (I heard Reba, First Tube. E: Wingsuit, Llama. Took a moment to reflect on the fact that I would not be at Dick's this year.)

Day 3: Spent the day wandering by myself in Haight-Ash where I picked up some Grateful Dead playing cards and a hoodie. Checked out the Grateful Dead house. Short drive to play in Nevada City where we found out pretty much the entire town goes to Burning Man. Got back to our apartment in Oakland just in time for the earthquake! #wesurvived. 

Day 4: Played an afternoon show for 350.org, busked for a hot minute in Berkeley, and then played at Cafe von Kleef in Oakland. 

Day 5: Started a long drive to Arcata with a busted tire. Thankfully we were close to a Mercedes dealership and they were able to quickly get us back on the road. Thank god because it was time for my favorite part of the trip - the redwood forest! I have seen redwoods before, but this community forest in Arcata was simply breathtaking. A true marvel! Played at Jambalaya and drove 4 hours afterwards to Roseburg, OR. 

Day 6: 6-hour drive to Seattle. Had coffee from a Dutch Bros. The dudes working there commented on my Phish shirt so they got a PB business card. Seattle's Nectar Lounge is a great spot to play and the sound engineer, Mell Dettmer, was among the best I've ever worked with. Also got to see Jasmine, a friend from home, who now lives in Seattle. Went to a clubby-club afterwards but ended up at a quiet gay bar because all I really wanted was a drink and not a fight with some jerk I crossed paths with. 

Day 7: Short drive to Portland. Stopped off at one of the stores you can only find in Washington or Colorado. First time having Voodoo Doughnut (maple bacon bar), first time at a strip club (the entire band went and it wasn't sleazy at all). Free Buck Hunter backstage at the Star Theater. Thought we lost the keys to the van. Oye.  

Day 8: Brunch at Emily's (sax player in Cherimoya) and a quick stop in Hawthorne. Got a hair cut (and complimentary High Life) at Bishop's just as I had 5 years ago on Good Asian Drivers tour. Short drive to Eugene. Second time having Voodoo Doughnut (maple cream) and a short set at Cozmic. Back to the hotel early to crash. Rest was very much welcomed. 

Day 9: Absolutely gorgeous drive to Chico through Shasta National Forest which included distant forest fires and a very dry Shasta Lake.  Opened for Afrofunk Experience at Lost on Main. Loved their drummer Paul who took a picture of me because I look a lot like his sister, apparently.  Got invited to the Conch (aka #SecretStonerMILFCave). Slept in Andrea's pool house.

Day 10: Last drive of tour! Woo! All the way to L.A! Boo! Somehow stopped at the same gas station we stopped at on the way up to San Francisco. Walked around Little Ethiopia, played at the Mint, got to see my old co-worker, Nate. Julia Nunes sat in with us and we stayed at her apartment. Brian, Max, TJ, Ben and I went on a late-night excursion through Hollywood and ate at Mel's Drive-In. 

Day 11: Dropped off the drums and the van, got through security at LAX, and immediately started celebrating the end of tour with Max and Brian. I slept most of the flight home, too. Glad to be back east.  

Heading West!

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A week from today, my band - PitchBlak Brass Band - will be flying west to embark on a 10-day, 8-city tour.  Do you live in any of these cities? If so, the best thing you can do (next to coming to the show) is to tell your friends about it. We don't know a lot of people in many of these towns, so we could really use your help spreading the word.

Click the name of your city below to get info on the show. Thank you so much for helping get the word out. It means a lot to me and the rest of PitchBlak! 

Aug 22 - San Francisco 

Aug 24 - Oakland

Aug 25 -  Arcata

Aug 26 - Seattle

Aug 27 - Portland

Aug 28 - Eugene

Aug 29 - Chico

Aug 30 - Los Angeles