Second Phainopepla rehearsal this past weekend

Yes, it occurred, and this time Myles Boisen dropped by to hear how the tunes were going preparatory to recording us this month. We are in good shape. The consensus seems to be that we are in the tradition of the Velvet Underground, as far as the sound of the band, which is inspiring to think about. Myles complimented me on my guitar sounds, too. Between now and the sessions I will be practicing hard as usual.

No photos were taken this time but I will post some after the recording sessions.

Announcing Phainopepla, my new solo project

It has been many years since I made any solo music. Reconnaissance Fly came into being in 2009 as my abdication from the role of bandleader. But now, I'm making music that doesn't suit Reconnaissance Fly, so it's time to return to a solo project context to make sure those songs are heard.

This past Saturday night was the first rehearsal of Phainopepla. I call the project Phainopepla in honor of the black birds with racing stripes, members of the cardinal family, who live in the desert.

I have four amazing musicians to play with: John Hanes on the drums, Jason Hoopes on bass, Mark Clifford on vibes, and John Ettinger on violin.

Tim Walters took these photos while we were rehearsing in Temple Studio.

Next month we will record two songs, an original by me plus a Joy Division cover, for release as a download and a purple vinyl single - my first ever vinyl release.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Ghost in the House with ROVA Saxophone Quartet, September 17th

Review of Usufruct opening the 16th Annual Outsound New Music Summit

Thank you very much to Stephen Smoliar for this very lovely REVIEW!

Coming up on August 17th at the Luggage Store Gallery

In the Field with Usufruct

Here we are rambling on in front of Rent Romus' camera telling you all about our duo set coming up this July 25th at the Outsound New Music Summit!