So, I’m being reunited with my old friend & fellow Berklee grad Matt Sorensen. He & his girl, Jennifer, have been playing some of her tunes together, but they’ve been lacking in the low end, so I’m stepping on in & bringing the bass!
We’re playing a place in Plymouth, MA, called the GURU Grille; it’s an Indian restaurant + music room, should be a lot of fun.
It is! I’m playing a show tomorrow night with a band called Matrajah, at the Woodbine Club, located at 57 Blue Hill Ave, Boston MA.
Found a new favorite website, courtesy of, of all places, Deus Ex Malcontent. It’s From the Basement, a website set up to showcase live performances from artists in a studio setting. Filmed entirely in HD, sans host and audience, and lovingly produced by Nigel Godrich, the engineer & producer best known for his work with Radiohead. His credits list is impressive even beyond his work with that group, but what I’m really keen on is just how awesome everything looks & sounds in these recordings. The one that sucked me in though, is actually a recording that’s not on the website, but available for purchase as part of a video album on iTunes, In Rainbows — From the Basement. Thankfully, there’s a YouTube version of the video. And so, I present Radiohead’s “All I Need”, From the Basement:
On March 28, 2009, my friend Matt Sorensen premiered his first orchestral work with the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra at Plymouth’s Memorial Hall. I had the pleasure of staying the weekend with Matt & his family at the house he grew up in. Our mutual friends from Berklee, Will Mitchell, Joe Koubek, Alison Batignani, & Vlad Ufimtsev were also in attendance, coming from as far as Atlanta!
Besides being a totally awesome reunion weekend for old friends who spent almost every waking moment together at Berklee, it was also really encouraging to Will, Joe, & myself, as we have not yet experienced success as musicians, but as Matt has proved, it’s definitely within reach.
As for the performance itself, the Plymouth Phil is no mere “community orchestra”, but definitely the equal all but the greatest of the world’s orchestras. I noticed especially the tubist was an exceptional performer, & as it turns out, he happens to be one of the best tubists in the world. So, it goes to show you never know where you might find magnificence…
Matt’s piece itself is a really spectacular work, & I highly recommend getting in touch with the Plymouth Phil to see about securing a copy of the recording they made of their performance this past March when it becomes available. The Boston Globe has a great article that describes the evening of music, and Matt’s piece in particular, really well, check it out here: Mathematical theory, music to intersect at Plymouth Philharmonic concert — The Boston Globe.
Amber spotted this on the internets, and, it being one of my favorite songs, especially to play, I just had to reblog it.
(Via Amber’s twitter stream)
Maria McNeil, the R&B/jazz songstress I play bass for, has the first of an ongoing monthly engagement at Café Luna this coming Saturday. Details can be found to the right in the sidebar, or at the facebook event. Hope to see lots of folks out there!
So I just spotted this delightful nugget of joy on the BSO Facebook page:
Big News from the BSO!
We are pleased to announce that a generous donor has come forward to fund tickets for patrons under 40 years old to attend Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts at Symphony Hall on a regular basis. “I have been attending Boston Symphony concerts for years, and I want to make sure the next generation can attend the Symphony as often as they like. My support of this program will enable people under 40 to enjoy the thrill of a live concert at a relatively low cost.” Thanks to this donation, we will be able to offer people under 40 $20 tickets to Symphony Hall for the remainder of the BSO Season.
Tickets can be ordered online, by phone are in person at the Symphony Hall Box Office. All ticket categories are available, so individuals under 40 can purchase $20 tickets normally priced from $29 to $115. The discount can only be offered when seats are available, and now there are approximately 4000 tickets available to several different concerts. Patrons under 40 must show, send us or email us proof of age in order to be able to purchase the tickets at this $20 price. The offer is limited to two tickets per show per individual, but people may purchase 2 tickets to as many shows as are available.
During these challenging economic times, we are thrilled to be able to offer these very affordable ticket prices to build the audience of tomorrow.
Very cool. Definitely recommend snapping up some of these if you live in the Boston area, especially if you can score some orchestra seating.
Had a spectacular gig at La Luna Caffé this past Saturday with Maria McNeil. It’s a great little place just on the southern edge of Central Square, right on Mass Ave across from the firehouse. We got started around 9:30pm, played a great set, but after we finished up, one of the employees asked us to keep going. So Maria played a tune of hers solo, then Samad, Aaron & I ended up jamming for another 20-odd minutes. Haven’t done that in ages. Really refreshing to just play, y’know? Really encouraging for us was the tip jar at the end of our set, people were very generous.
One of Aaron’s friends took a few pictures, I’ll see about finding those & posting a few. Hope to see some of you out at my next show, this weekend at Tommy Doyle’s with Tony Brown & the Faithful!
