Baltimore, Maryland 21201
409 Woodport Road, Sparta, NJ
Brooklyn, NY
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410 545 0444
August 15, 2009, 8:00 PM at Now Now Gallery
205 Spring St., Newton, New Jersey -- $5
with Sparta Philharmonic and Small Boy Pants
August 16, 2009 8:00 PM at Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway, Brooklyn NYC, New York
with Sparta Philharmonic and Gala Klang.
August 17, 2009 8:00 PM House Party. 517 Greenwich St., Wyomissing, PA. With Sparta Philharmonic and Phantasm -- $5
August 20, 2009 8:00 PM at Looking Glass
601 W Main St, Carrboro, North Carolina
with Sparta Philharmonic and Cracker Creeptacular
1825 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
with Sparta Philharmonic, The Expanding Man, and Zevious
http://www.hexagonspace.com
May 10, 2009. St. John's College. Annapolis, MD.
April 26, 2009. 49 West. Annapolis, MD 8 pm. $6.
February 13, 2009 The Raconteur 431 Main Street, Metuchen, New Jersey
May 2, 2008 Hub City Junkyard Palace 331 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey
May 9 and 10, 2008 Goucher College 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Baltimore, Maryland
2007
June 1 Jamestown, New York -- Mojo's -- 104 E. 2nd Street
June 2 Buffalo, New York -- Merlin's -- 27 Elmwood Ave.
June 5 New York City -- Trash Bar -- 256 Grand St. between Driggs Ave. and Roebling St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 10 pm.
June 6 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- Tritone -- 1508 South Street (w/Sparta Philharmonic). 11 pm.
June 9 Chapel Hill, North Carolina-- Nightlight -- 405 1/2 West Rosemary Street (w/ *SONS). 10 pm.
June 10 Richmond -- Nara -- 1309 W. Main Street . 10 pm.
June 12 Washington, DC -- The Red and the Black -- 1212 H Street, NE. 10 pm.
June 15 New Brunswick, NJ -- Southwest Burrito -- 10 Easton Avenue New Brunswick, NJ 08901. 7 pm.
August 1, 2010
I’ve just gotten home after three nights of performances. I like these microtours. It’s a way to get out there and get dirty without getting exhausted. Two shows in NJ and one in Baltimore. It was great to hang out with the guys from Atlas Records, which is the entity that brought me up to the Jerse. Chris was a most gracious host, and Bronson took care of business, occasionally flashing his inner shark. I played before Moniker both nights in Montclair, and those dudes are great. Matt P. knows things.
On Friday I was on the bill with the French Kings, who, in my opinion, are totally fucking awesome. They’ve channeled the spirit of a very particular strain of 70s glam and fused it with modern pop in the crucible of postpunk cyclotronica. These guys are all about the ladies.
Saturday I played with Dustin Wong in Baltimore, and this was a real honor. If you don't know Dustin's work yet I would strongly encourage you to check him out. I have been an observer of guitarists and guitar gear for a while now, but I have never before seen anyone achieve what he does with just a few Boss pedals. A truly humbling sight. The Water closed the show. Dan and James are very strong players who convincingly play five physical instruments (including a full drum kit) between the two of them on stage. Nothing weird about it; really powerful rock music.
June 14, 2010
Just completed a few days in the studio with Greg Bortnichak of the Sparta Philharmonic. We are writing and recording songs under the Antler moniker. This material is acoustic and raw, and it explores a wide range of feelings, moods, and styles. During these sessions we used cello, banjos, and a couple of acoustic guitars. Greg also broke out his Jazzmaster for some sonic nightmare mayhem. There are already five or six tracks from earlier sessions. The aim is to release this material within a year or so.
It’s a rare privilege to get to spend several days with a friend in uninterrupted musical exploration.
Exceptional show at Hexagon in Baltimore last night. Planets were aligned, I suppose. Frontier Myth is a young band destined to go far, it seems to me. Delicate Steve is a virtuoso instrumental group that must be seen to be believed. Amazing. Sparta Philharmonic was transcendent, as usual. A very large, very supportive audience made the night a success. I tried out some new material that worked well for me and seemed to please others.
Joy was in the air.
Good show at Joe Squared last night with Elaine Lachica and Bridges and Powerlines, both from NYC. Bridges and Powerlines played good, clean pop with intelligent and well-executed ornamentations. Their songs are real, and crisp. They implement a great range of textures and dynamics, from hand-claps to fuzz synth.Very cool.
Elaine Lachica is an angel. Amazing vox; enchanting songs; great band. I particularly liked the way her guitarist provided clouds of atmosphere to her arrangements.
January 13, 2010
"The Insight that Comes from Repeated Time Dilations"
from the forthcoming CD Unsung Stories from Lilly's Days as a Solar Astronaut
Lilly's Days is complete and we will soon be taking pre-orders, but the official release date won't be until March 23, 2010. Some of the tracks will be showing up here in a few days, as well as on myspace and facebook. Check back soon.
October 24, 2009
Soon to be released on MT6 Records: "Unsung Stories from Lilly's Days as a Solar Astronaut." In her youth Lilly was a bad girl.
October 4, 2009
The past few weeks have been spent on recording and mixing. My aim has been to focus all that energy generated by the hundreds of hours of practicing and preparing for the live presentations of this past spring and summer, as well as the energy generated by the performances themselves, and direct it into a sustained blast of studio work. Six weeks of this is about all I can endure.
August 23, 2009
Baltimore, MD
Great night at the Hexagon last night. Was very cool playing with Zevious and Expanding Man, both of which are exploring outer limits. Zevious has a level of musicianship one sees only rarely. Prog jazz darkness in the extreme. They brought a connoisseur audience to the event.
The Expanding Man was a wonderful duo of lush fuzzy guitar and vibraphone. Superb.
Sparta Phil adopted some local dancers for one song. A new twist on an old piece. Everyone was very impressed with Sparta, as usual. This was my last show with them this summer. Bittersweet.
My own set felt great to me. I could hear everything well, and the rig performed pretty much without a hitch. This is always a blessing. A couple of mechanical snaffoos in the final moment of the set, but the music made it into being before these mishaps could stop it. Very satisfying. Every piece felt balanced, and a strong, palpable momentum carried the whole set. A great audience. I love the Hexagon.
August 21, 2009
Carrboro, NC
The Looking Glass. A very orange, very loud space. Daniel was a trooper, putting the show together, organizing gear, running the event. Many thanks to him.
Turnout was good enough, but the audience was so far away it sometimes slipped my mind that they were there. Still, the crowd was very supportive and generous. Was pleased to see former BF5 bassist Robert Sledge at the show.
S.P. had a good show, although Greg's Jazz Master let him down. Still, they wowwed the crowd and rocked the house. Cracker Creeptacular is a courageous and talented duo. Locals should definitely follow them closely. Very cool stuff.
Alex had a good night, receiving the attention and gratification he deserves.
August 18, 2009
"undisclosed location," NJ
As it turned out, we did not play in Reading, PA. Rather, the gig was changed to a party in an undisclosed location, somewhere in northern NJ. The property was beautiful and rustic, and the actual performance space was a punk rock rave shack called the Shop. The crowd was young and extremely enthusiastic. Tiny People opened the show, and they were fantastic. This is a group I plan to keep my eye on.
I played next and I was touched by the love I felt from the kids. Greg said that he thought this was the best he had seen from me, and if this is right then I attribute it to the supportive vibe from the audience. When true believers pool their attention and enthusiasm, something magical becomes possible -- something that exceeds the sum of the parts, as they say. I can report that for my part, I felt music in full flight.
Sparta Phil played next and was like a hydrogen bomb. Minds were blown.
Bermuda Urn closed the night with their groovy-trippy drama pop. The audience, drenched and spent, stripped and went swimming.
alex and greg: drums and cello:
punkravers i:
punkravers ii:
by the garish light of day i:
by the garish light of day ii:
August 17, 2009
Brooklyn, NYC
New York shows are always hard, and I can never put my finger on exactly what makes this so. But despite this (or maybe because of it) they are usually intense and take me to new places in my relationship with whatever technology I'm using. Last night was like this. The gear went absolutely haywire twice. But somehow, beyond all reckoning, this was ok -- the music had a will to form itself despite the functional impediments. The event felt strong.
It was great to see Glala Klang and meet those guys. Very cool stuff.
Was surprised to see a gang of young philosophers in the audience.
Some friends of Alex's were there, and after the show we stayed up all night at their apartment, singing and playing -- guitar, piano, cello. An amazing night, and so great to meet these beautiful people.
August 16, 2009
Newton, NJ
Great times with Sparta Phil. Our show on the 15th at the Now Now was a blast. What a great way to begin. Small Boy Pants delivered a healthy dose of snappy pop inflections. Now Now is a supercool artspace run by really nice people.
Greg and Alex of S.P. have taken their mind blowing new energy rock to a new level since the last time I saw them.
August 6, 2009
Gearing up to hit the road next week with Sparta Philharmonic. These short tours are fun and satisfying without being too hard on the body. Looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.
July 4, 2009
Spent the past month secluded in a mountain cabin alongside the New River in the gorgeous Blue Ridge of western North Carolina. Reading, writing, reflecting, and tweaking mixes on a laptop.
Here's what's coming up: A 7" vinyl release with Carlos Guillen (The Expanding Man); August and September performances with Sparta Philharmonic, Photovoltaic, and Elaine Lachica; and (at long last) a new CD is scheduled to enter the world in the autumn. It's called "Unsung Stories from Lilly's Days as a Solar Astronaut."
If you're in the mid-Atlantic area, come out to one of the shows and be sure to say hi. I'm really looking forward to these gigs. Sparta P. (who also have a new record coming out soon), Photovoltaic, and Elaine Lachica are all great musicians. It should be lots of fun.
Happy summer.