Brian Donohoe's music: Austin-based saxophone, piano, keyboard, guitar, bass, composer, producer

February is Februar-cray

2012-02-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

With February only a quarter of the way done, I feel like I'm standing at the edge of a precipice, wearing a hang glider, getting ready to be pushed off into a flurry of extreme activity. Part of me feels like I'm already in that flurry, but I know it hasn't even begun yet. South by Southwest is six weeks away, Nelo is booking dates around the country, Progress is looking to play a bunch of really cool shows, and both bands are hitting the studio soon.

Throughout it all, I've been thinking a lot about how lucky I am: not only to be spending my life working with things I'm passionate about, but to be working with the very same people I'd prefer to be hanging out with, anyway.

Lots of public shows coming up with a variety of groups, mostly Nelo and Progress, but some other stuff here and there. Check them out if you're inclined.

Calendar
2/10: Progress at Lambert's, Austin, TX, 7:00pm
2/11: Nelo at Floore's, San Antonio, TX
2/13: Nelo Acoustic at Saxon Pub, Austin, TX, 8:30pm
2/14: with Jon Blondell at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
2/15: Monster Big Band at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
2/16: Nelo at the Blue Light Live, Lubbock, TX
2/23: Progress at Skinny's Ballroom, Austin, TX
2/24: Nelo at the Parish, Austin, TX
3/13: D Madness/Thermostat at Lucky Lounge, Austin, TX
3/16: Progress at Key Bar (free unofficial SXSW show), Austin, TX, 4:00pm

Steamrolling into February

2012-01-23T00:59:00.000-08:00

It's been an extremely busy January, and for that I'm most grateful! I haven't really had time to update much, so some gigs slipped by before I could post them. But there's a lot coming up in February and for the rest of this month, and in just a couple months South By Southwest will be here again... and that's going to be insane, for both Nelo and Progress. In the meantime, I've been getting involved with a number of cool projects, including some stuff with the incredible D Madness, that I can't wait to see unleashed upon the world. I'll also be playing my first gig with the legendary Jon Blondell on Valentine's Day. 2012 is already gearing up to be even busier than 2011, but please come say hi if you're at a show!

Calendar
1/26: Nelo at the Aardvark, Fort Worth, TX
2/6: Nelo Acoustic at the Saxon Pub, Austin, TX
2/10: Progress at Lambert's, Austin, TX
2/13: Nelo Acoustic at the Saxon Pub, Austin, TX
2/14: Jon Blondell at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
2/15: Monster Big Band at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
2/16: Nelo at the Blue Light, Lubbock, TX
2/23: Progress at Skinny's Ballroom, Austin, TX
2/24: Nelo at the Parish, Austin, TX
3/16: Progress at Key Bar (free unofficial SXSW show!), 4:00pm, Austin, TX

Inspiration from the Northwest

2011-12-29T23:00:00.000-08:00

Rain is tapping against the window of the bedroom I'm borrowing from my eighth-grade nephew. While I've visited Portland, Oregon a couple times in the past, I've never spent an appreciable amount of time exploring the city and its surroundings as an adult; in the past I've only passed through with my family on the way to the coast, or Seattle. The majority of my current visit consisted of a relaxing week with my parents in Moscow, Idaho, but for the last two days I've had the opportunity to get a feel for downtown Portland, Oregon: its books, its coffee, and its excellent Chinese food.

Since I grew up in Albuquerque, which gets three hundred days of sunshine a year, I never had the overexposure-driven aversion to rain that many northerners do. So, while I'm a northerner by genetics and, realistically, by mindset, I happen to love the rain, and perceive it as a moody, depth-enhancing treat. Living in Austin, I don't have to have this mindset shattered by overexposure, particularly during abnormally dry years like this past one.

It's been raining nonstop since I arrived in Portland from Moscow, and today I went on a hike that may be the best I've ever experienced. Multnomah Falls, which lies not too far east of Portland, may be the most beautiful place I've ever seen. The dense ferns and moss decorating the massive trees amongst a series of impressive rapid rivers and waterfalls make for an endlessly inspiring series of views. The whole place is staggeringly beautiful, and I can understand why writers and artists have, over the years, traveled or moved to this part of the world for inspiration: the penetrating beauty of this place makes me want to create. I'm hoping to bring this energy home with me and use it to start some new pieces, for Progress or otherwise. Regardless, this trip has been an irreplaceable experience, and I'm already looking forward to my return to the Northwest.

End-of-year reflections, love for my squad

2011-12-20T11:46:00.000-08:00

Well, gentlepeople of the internets, the year is drawing to a close and I've retreated up to the lovely hills of Moscow, Idaho, to recuperate with my family after what turned out to be an incredibly busy fall. 2011 ended up being a year of extremes: there were some very difficult things to deal with, but there were some incredibly great things that happened, too; some of the months were absolutely devoid of work, and other months were so jam-packed that they more than doubled a normal month.

More than anything, I'm glad to have been able to spend time with many good friends, on and off the bandstand. I had the privilege of meeting some people who quickly became great friends and some of my favorite guys on the planet, and strengthened bonds with people I already knew were awesome. I can't even put into words how happy I am to have gotten together with the guys who became Progress, and having people around that are that fun to make music with-- and, on top of that, who really get MY music and are able to make it sound its best-- is beyond awesome.

There are some very exciting things coming in 2012. I'm not counting on the Mayan apocalypse happening. Nelo is in the process of planning an extensive spring tour that will take us to the east coast and back, and I'm planning on doing both live and studio recordings with Progress. If all goes according to plan, I'm also going to find some time to play more with my soul-brothers in Snarky Puppy. They just recorded a new live audio-video masterpiece, it's going to be awesome, and them fools really and truly are blowing up.

Thanks so much to all of my dear friends in Austin, Dallas, Albuquerque, New York, and everywhere else for making this year, and my life, a joy. I love you all, and I'll see you all in the new year. In the meantime I'll be chilling with my awesome family in the hills of Idaho and Oregon. Holla.

Last month of 2011, and we got some rain

2011-12-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

We finally got some rain! Real rain! It was a pretty drizzly day but I'm very happy for it, we needed it so badly. Thank you, clouds.

2011 has evaporated quickly, which is an unsettling shock, but overall it's been very busy, productive, and enjoyable. I've gotten to do some extremely fulfilling things with Nelo, developed my exciting new band (Progress), written a ton of music, worked on studio projects by some really cool artists, and played a heap of shows. I'm grateful to all my friends, colleagues, and everyone else who makes it possible for me to keep going.

Keep an eye out for a new Nelo single in January, and a bunch of new Progress shows. If all goes according to plan, we'll have a real recording out in the next few months. In the meantime, I have a big variety of shows coming up.

CALENDAR
12/2/11: Four Seasons with Tameca Jones, Austin, TX
12/3/11: Hindu temple with Naga Valli, Temple, TX
12/5/11: Magnificent Seven at the Elephant Room (early show), Austin, TX
12/7/11: Nelo Acoustic at the Blue Light, Lubbock, TX
12/9/11: Nelo Acoustic at Schotzi's, College Station, TX
12/13/11: Progress at Momo's (happy hour-- 5:30pm), Austin, TX
12/17/11: Nelo at Papa's Ice House, the Woodlands, TX
1/12/11: Progress at the Flamingo Cantina, Austin, TX

Fall shuffle

2011-11-16T16:24:00.000-08:00

Today's temperature in Austin was probably the best in the history of weather on Earth, and all the windows are open as I sit here, producing beats for my friend Nathan Felix, playing with my new Korg R3, and updating my website. This past week was a bit on the nutty side, with wild Nelo travels from Fayetteville, AR (George's Majestic Lounge is a great, great venue) to College Station, TX (the Hurricane Harry's show with Pat Green was great success) and back to Austin for some minor surgery (I'm fine).

The rest of 2011 is starting to shape up, with a few changes. I was very excited about the Progress show at Momo's on 12/8 with Eli Haslanger and Eddy Hobizal, but unfortunately it's being rescheduled for January because of an unforseen conflict with the venue. Progress will be doing a happy hour set at Momo's on 12/13 at 5:30pm, so be sure to check that out if you want some funk in your evening patio cocktail. Who doesn't?

I'm playing with the ever-outrageous Rick White's Monster Big Band tonight at the Elephant Room, so come check it out if you're downtown! No cover, great beer selection, loud big band.

Calendar
11/16: Monster Big Band at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
11/17: Progress at the Flamingo Cantina, Austin, TX
11/19: Nelo at the House of Blues, Dallas, TX
11/30: Progress with Mente Clara at Skinny's Ballroom, Austin, TX
12/2: Nelo Acoustic at Gibson Showroom, Austin, TX
12/7: Nelo Acoustic at the Blue Light, Lubbock, TX
12/13: Progress at Momo's, Austin, TX, 5:30pm (happy hour)
12/17: Nelo at Papa's Icehouse, the Woodlands, TX (fundraiser)

Winter happenings

2011-11-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this post in Dallas on a stop between Fayetteville, AR and College Station, TX. Nelo had a very fun show last night at George's Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, and I feel lucky to get to play at venues like this. George's is a great room with great sound, they treat their bands right, and they get cool acts like Robert Randolph, Jeff Coffin, and Galactic. Fayetteville is a cool town overall, too, very beautiful and hip. Tomorrow we hit at Hurricane Harry's in College Station supporting Pat Green, and that's gonna be crazy... no idea what to expect, but it will be big.

Progress has several more shows before year's end, including one with Eddy Hobizal and Eli Haslanger, two of Austin's greatest musicians. Catch that at Momo's on December 8. Lots of other stuff going on, too.

CALENDAR
11/11: Nelo at Hurricane Harry's in College Station, TX, supporting Pat Green
11/17: Progress at the Flamingo Cantina, Austin, TX
11/19: Nelo at the House of Blues, Dallas, TX
11/30: Progress at Skinny's Ballroom in Austin, TX with Mente Clara
12/8: Progress at Momo's in Austin, TX with Eddy Hobizal and Palladium (Eli Haslanger)
12/15: Nelo at the Blue Light, Lubbock, TX

Progress in the Fall

2011-10-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

It's turning into a really great fall, musically speaking, and I'm feeling very lucky to be playing so often with really gifted and good people. There's a great pool of talent in this town, and plenty of those talented people are also extremely cool. I've had the pleasure to work with Jacob Sciba, my favorite recording engineer on earth, on a record he's producing for singer-songwriter John McDonough, and there will be some really good sounds on that album when it comes out. Several other projects are in the works, as well. There's going to be some serious road-hitting in the spring.

In the meantime, though, the big events are going to be the upcoming Progress shows, the first of which is tomorrow at the Elephant Room. The band has a ton of new music from four of the six members, and we're going hard to make it a funky All Hallows Eve-Eve. We have two shows in November, and one so far in December that will be very exciting: a triple-bill featuring the bands of Elias Haslanger (Palladium) and Eddy Hobizal along with Progress. Electric-jazz mayhem.

CALENDAR
10/30: Progress at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX, 9:30pm
11/3: The Vineyard, Florence, TX, 6:30pm
11/5: Nelo Acoustic Duo at the Cactus Cafe, Austin, TX, 8:30pm
11/11: Nelo opening for Pat Green in College Station, TX
11/17: Progress at the Flamingo Cantina, Austin, TX
11/19: Nelo at the House of Blues, Austin, TX
11/30: Progress at Skinny's, Austin, TX
12/8: Progress with Eddy Hobizal and Palladium at Momo's, Austin, TX
12/15: Nelo at the Blue Light, Lubbock, TX

Austin is beautiful, especially when it's not a hundred and five out

2011-10-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

The weather has started cooling off, and I've been enjoying this beautiful city that's been my home for the last two years. The trail from Barton Creek to Town Lake, the Lamar footbridge over the Colorado River leading right to downtown, and the pervasive sense that the people who live here WANT to live here make me very happy to be in Austin. The community here is only getting stronger, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Progress is playing at the end of the month, and we've got a grip of new music that we'll use to lay waste to the Elephant Room. Nelo's got a string of new dates, as well, plus we're gearing up for a humongous nationwide tour in the spring. Here are all my public gigs coming up.

10/13/11: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
10/14/11: Nelo at Hotel Sorella, Houston, TX
10/15/11: Nelo at Schotzi's, College Station, TX
10/19/11: Monster Big Band at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
10/20/11: Nelo at the House of Blues, Houston, TX
10/22/11: Nelo at Lola's, Fort Worth, TX
10/27/11: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
10/30/11: Progress at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
11/3/11: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
11/4/11: Nelo at the Parish, Austin, TX
11/19/11: Nelo at the House of Blues, Dallas, TX

Fall is on

2011-09-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

The summer has been heavily on-and-off in terms of activity, but it's looking like the rest of this Fall is going to be very much on. Nelo has a bunch of stuff coming up regionally that will take us through December, but, much more excitingly, we're also in the early stages of planning a full-on tour of the southeastern States in the Spring. From Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, none of them will be safe from our path of face-meltage.

Next weekend I'll be heading up to Denton to see my old brothers-in-arms, Snarky Puppy, play at Hailey's, the club where we cut our teeth and embarked on our epic journey of outer-space sound exploration. I might just play with them on a few tunes, too, if they'll let me.

Also, I'm happy to announce that Progress, my funk-fusion band that features such notable Austin heroes as Carter Arrington, Matt Muehling, Nick Clark, Phil Adair, Daniel Watson, and numerous talented guests, will be playing a couple shows in October and November at the Elephant Room and Skinny's, respectively. Here are the public shows I'll be involved in:

10/3: Snarky Puppy at Hailey's, Denton, TX
10/15: Nelo at Schotzi's, College Station, TX
10/20: Nelo at House of Blues, Houston, TX
10/22: Nelo at Lola's, Fort Worth, TX
10/27: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
10/30: Progress at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
11/3: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
11/4: Nelo at the Parish, Austin, TX
11/9: Nelo at George's, Fayetteville, AR
11/11: Nelo at the House of Blues, Dallas, TX
11/30: Progress with the Hermeto Pascoal Project at Skinny's, Austin, TX

Progress

2011-09-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who came out to our show at the Elephant Room! I'm kind of overwhelmed by how well it went. It was ridiculous fun, thanks to the band I'm extremely lucky to play with, but there were also more people in the Elephant Room than I've ever seen on a Sunday, so thanks for making it such an unexpected success. Everyone in the band is extremely grateful, and we can't wait to be back.

Also, we've decided to call the band "Progress," so if you see that name on a bill around town, that'll be us. If you want to get on our email list for updates about our upcoming shows, send an email to briandonohoemusic@gmail.com, or just check back here, since I'll always be posting them well in advance. We're working on booking shows at a number of other venues around Texas, too.

The Austin City Limits Festival is coming up this weekend, so our town is going to be flooded with insanity. I'm hopeful that it will be the good kind, and that nobody sets the park on fire. Stevie's playing on Saturday and I'm extremely stoked to see him. Speaking of ACL, Return to Forever tore up ACL Live last night. Chick and Lenny are telepathic. RTF is always outrageous and over-the-top, but there were definitely some moments of true genius. Love that band.

My public dates are spotty right now, but there are going to be many more in October and November that aren't on the books yet. Here's what's coming up so far.

9/15: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
9/21: Monster Big Band at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
9/22: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
10/14: Nelo at Hotel Sorrillo, Houston, TX
10/15: Nelo at Schotzi's, College Station, TX
10/20: Nelo at House of Blues, Houston, TX
10/27: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
11/3: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
11/4: Nelo at the Parish, Austin, TX

Elephant Room weekend, Ephraim Owens tonight, my group tomorrow

2011-08-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

This is turning out to be a much busier weekend than I thought it would be. Tonight I'll be playing at the Elephant Room with Ephraim Owens and his group, which I'm really looking forward to. Ephraim is one of my favorite musicians in town and his band is always great. That will be a nice warm-up for the funk-fusion madness my own group will bring to the Elephant Room tomorrow night. Both shows start at 9:30pm, no cover tomorrow, small cover tonight (probably five dolla dollas).

We still haven't had much relief from this insane heat and drought, despite the tiny shower we got a couple days ago that brought the temperature all the way down to a chilly 89. Still, I'm grateful to be doing what I'm doing. Four out of six members of my group have brought compositions to the table, now, and they're all great. I'm hoping it will continue to become a community of composer-musicians, and that we'll be able to develop some serious new sounds for this music town.

8/28: Ephraim Owens at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
8/28: My group at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
9/4: Nelo at Schotzi's, College Station, TX
9/10: Rotelle and the Hot Tomatoes at House Pasture, Concan, TX
9/15: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
10/14: Nelo at Hotel Sorello, Houston, TX
11/4: Nelo at the Parish, Austin, TX

More dates rolling in, check back for more updates! Nelo's going to be doing a lot more.

August update, new dates

2011-08-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

"My" group, tentatively called the 12:30 All-Stars, is not really my group. A bunch of us play together as often as possible, and the hang got going thanks to the energy of Nick Clark and Matt Muehling in particular, plus the ever-significant contributions of guys like Carter Arrington, Phil Adair, Daniel Watson, Dave Sierra, Chris McQueen, Paul Deemer, and Bennett Wood. These are some of my favorite Austin musicians to play with, and I'm really excited to be getting some of them out to the Elephant Room this month.

Got a few more public dates added since my last update, so here we go:

8/13: Vintage 15 on KXAN, 7:00am (!), Austin, TX
8/13: Vintage 15 at Swan Dive, midnight, Austin, TX
8/17: Monster Big Band at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
8/18: Nelo at Cirrus Logic, Austin, TX
8/20: Rotelle and the Hot Tomatoes at the Oasis, Austin, TX
8/25: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
8/28: My group at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
9/4: Nelo at Schotzi's, College Station, TX

There are definitely going to be more dates rolling in with Nelo, so keep your ear to the ground. We'll be playing around Texas and the country as often as possible, and there's been talk of a long-overdue tour of the Southeast... that's gonna be bananas...

Slow sweaty August, greasy funky soul jazz

2011-08-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

As Texas grows hotter and nastier in this epic drought, public shows are slowing down a little bit... EXCEPT that I'm very pleased to announce my very first gig as a leader at the legendary Elephant Room on Congress Ave in downtown Austin! It will be at 9:30pm on Sunday, August 28, and the band's gonna be smoking (Matt Muehling and Carter Arrington on guitar, Phil Adair on keys, Nick Clark on bass, Daniel Watson on drums). We're playing tunes by me, Phil, Carter, and some other no-names like Herbie Hancock and Roy Hargrove. I know, I've never heard of them, either. The music is going to be jazz, but of the greasy, funky, souly variety. I'm excited, and I'd love to see all my homies out there supporting one of the last great jazz clubs in North America.

Nelo just recorded some extremely happening tracks at Pedernales Studio that will be available online in the near future. We're all pretty damn stoked at how they turned out, so keep checking out the website for updates. Here's my calendar.

8/4: The Vineyard, Florence, TX
8/6: Rotelle and the Hot Tomatoes, Corpus Christi, TX
8/17: Monster Big Band at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
8/18: Nelo at Cirrus Logic, Austin, TX
8/28: My group at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX

There are going to be more dates coming in, so look for an update soon.

All Texas, all July

2011-07-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

The summer is never predictable in terms of where and when a musician plays, but I have some exciting shows coming up nonetheless. Not a lot of travel outside Texas in the near future, but plenty of action in the enormous freeway triangle that connects Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

Denitia Odigie is an awesome singer, songwriter, and guitar player from New York, and I get to play with her on the tenth at 718 Lounge. If you're looking for some hip music to check out on a Sunday night, you definitely need to come hear this chick. She's bad.

7/8: Nelo at the House of Blues, Dallas, TX
7/9: Nelo at the House of Blues, Houston, TX
7/10: Denitia Odigie at 718 Lounge (S. Congress), Austin, TX
7/14: Nelo at Continental Club, Austin, TX
7/16: Nelo (opening for Pat Green!) at River Road Ice House, New Braunfels, TX
7/20: Monster Big Band at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
7/28: Nelo (ACOUSTIC) at the Cactus Cafe, Austin, TX
8/4: Florence Vineyard, Florence, TX

Triple-Digit$

2011-06-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Chicago and had a great time with friends, family, Ryan Jacobi's wedding, and nice, cool weather. Now it's time to sweat in Austin for the rest of the summer, minus a bit of travel with Nelo. Speaking of, we're heading up to the Iguana Grill on Lake Travis later tonight to play an acoustic show. We've added the endless creative energy of Matt Muehling to our acoustic lineup, and it's already evolving in really cool ways.

I'm still working on booking some jazz gigs with my own group, so stay tuned and I'll post them as soon as they come up. In the meantime, here's where I'll be:

6/18: Nelo (ACOUSTIC) at Iguana Grill, Austin, TX
7/2: Vintage 15 in Houston, TX
7/8: Nelo (full band) at the House of Blues, Dallas, TX
7/9: Nelo (full band) at the House of Blues, Houston, TX
7/14: Nelo (full band) at Continental Club, Austin, TX
7/16: Nelo (opening for Pat Green!) at River Road Ice House, New Braunfels, TX
7/22: Nelo in Concan, TX (for all the river floaters)
7/28: Nelo (ACOUSTIC) at the Cactus Cafe, Austin, TX

End-of-May summer updates

2011-05-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

This month I've had the pleasure of playing at some really great venues with some really great people. Nelo's music has been developing like it never has before, mostly thanks to the brilliant and energetic contributions of the two newest members, Ryan Jacobi and Matt Muehling. And Matt Ragland's new songs, of course, which just keep getting better. Nelo usually backs off from performing in the summer, but there are going to be many acoustic shows, plus a live-in-the-studio project that will be very cool. The more time I get to spend in Pedernales, the better.

I'll be playing lots of other gigs with various people over the summer, too, and with luck I'll be able to put together some shows with my own group and at least one with my ol' chum Pete Weise, the great composer and guitarist from Dallas. Nothing on the books yet, but there will be soon. Here are my upcoming public shows:

5/30: Nelo (ACOUSTIC) at Saxon Pub, Austin, TX
6/1: Nelo (full band) at ACL Live at the Moody Theater, Austin, TX
6/6: Nelo (ACOUSTIC) at Saxon Pub, Austin, TX
6/17: Nelo (ACOUSTIC) at Schotzi's, College Station, TX
6/18: Nelo (ACOUSTIC) at Iguana Grill, Austin, TX
7/14: Nelo (full band) at Continental Club, Austin, TX
7/16: Nelo (opening for Pat Green!) at River Road Ice House, New Braunfels, TX
7/22: Nelo in Concan, TX (for all the river floaters)
7/28: Nelo (ACOUSTIC) at the Cactus Cafe, Austin, TX

It's getting really hot in Austin

2011-05-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

It's already nice and sticky outside in Texas, particularly since we've finally been getting some much-needed rain. I've been having a good time over the last few weeks playing a healthy balance of jazz and rock with big bands and small bands, and it looks like that's going to continue through the summer. My good buddy Ryan Jacobi is getting married in Chicago in a few weeks, and my GF and I will be driving up for that... so if you don't see me playing anywhere between June 9 and 15, well, that's why. Here's where I'll be in the upcoming weeks:

5/26: Glass Cactus, Grapevine, TX, with Nelo
5/30: Saxon Pub, Austin, TX, with Nelo (Acoustic)
6/1: ACL Live, Austin, TX, with Nelo
6/9-6/15: Jacobiland
6/25: Oklahoma City, with Nelo

May

2011-05-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

Spring has been busy, and that's something I'm extremely happy about and grateful for. I've had the privilege to play some really awesome music with good friends and good players, work in some of my favorite music studios on earth, meet some incredible characters, and do a bit of traveling, too. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this year eventful and productive; I feel very lucky to get to play this much music.

May is going to be just as crazy as March and April were. Here are my upcoming public shows as of right now:

5/6: Schotzi's, College Station, with Nelo (LATE)
5/7: Austin Family Music Festival, Austin, with the Monster Big Band (noon)
5/7: River Road Ice House, New Braunfels, with Nelo (late)
5/14: Executive Surf Club, Corpus Cristi, with Nelo
5/18: Elephant Room, Austin, with the Monster Big Band (9:30pm)
5/20: House of Blues, Houston, with Nelo
5/26: Glass Cactus, Grapevine, TX, with Nelo
6/1: ACL Live, Austin, with Nelo

There are going to be more in June, and probably a few more in May, as well, so I'll post those as they come up.

Live and in the studio

2011-04-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

I get to spend some time this week in two very cool studios: Pedernales, 25 miles west of Austin, and 1916, in Kyle. Working in the studio is one of my favorite things in the world, especially when I get to work with extremely talented songwriters and musicians. Pedernales Studio deserves all the hype it gets, but Studio 1916 is very new and also very happening. Blake knows what he's doing.

The spring is really gearing up with tons of shows. Not all of them are public, but here are some that are, and I'm going to add more soon:

4/16: Nelo at the Berry Street Block Party and Filthy McNasty's, Fort Worth, TX
4/20: Monster Big Band at the Elephant Room, Austin, TX
4/21: Nelo at the Blue Light, Lubbock, TX
5/6: Nelo at Schotzi's, College Station, TX
5/7: Nelo at River Road Ice House, New Braunfels, TX
5/14: Nelo at the Executive Surf Club, Corpus Christi, TX

Life after SXSW

2011-03-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

South By Southwest is done. It was busy, it was insane, and it was very hard to drive downtown, but it's over until next year. I got to hang out with some friends I hadn't seen in a long time, and I discovered a couple bands that I really, really like-- plus, Nelo had a great turnout for our showcase, and got to have it at a very hip venue (Lustre Pearl). I'm in the process of booking another show with my own group, but in the meantime here's where I'll be playing in the upcoming weeks:

3/24: Florence Vineyard, Florence, TX
3/25: Schotzi's (outside), with Nelo, College Station, TX
3/31: Blue Light, with Nelo, Lubbock, TX
4/1: High Ball, with the Monster Big Band, Austin, TX
4/2: Cactus Cafe, with Nelo (acoustic), Austin, TX
4/7: Nelo in Fayetteville, AR
4/8: Nelo in Auburn, AL
4/9: Nelo in Baton Rouge, LA
4/10: Hills Cafe, with Nelo, Austin, TX
4/16: Nelo in Fort Worth, TX
5/2: Vintage 15 in San Antonio, TX

SXSW on the way

2011-03-07T00:18:00.000-08:00

My original group's Austin debut was extremely enjoyable, and I'm going to book this group as much as possible. Austin is really lucky to have musicians like this (Mike St.Clair, Matt Muehling, Carter Arrington, David Sierra) and I'm even luckier to have them playing my music. Thanks, guys.

South By Southwest week is coming up, and it's gonna be a busy one. Here's what's going down with me for the next few weeks:

3/15: Austin Rodeo, with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/16: Luster Pearl, with Nelo, Austin, TX (SXSW)
3/17: Florence Vineyard, Florence, TX
3/18: Charlie's, with the Ingredients, Austin, TX (SXSW)
3/24: Florence Vineyard, Florence, TX
3/25: Schotzi's (outside), with Nelo, College Station, TX
3/31: Blue Light, with Nelo, Lubbock, TX
4/1: High Ball, with the Monster Big Band, Austin, TX
4/2: Cactus Cafe, with Nelo (acoustic), Austin, TX

March Madness for those of us who don't watch basketball

2011-03-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

March is going to be a busy month. South By Southwest will be epic, and, for the first time, I'm playing an official showcase, so I get a wristband! I'm also very excited that my Ghost Room show is only a few days away. I've been spending a lot of time updating charts and getting things ready for this new group, playing for the first time together: me (s), Carter Arrington (g), Matt Muehling (g), Mike St.Clair (b), and David Sierra (d). That's right, a jazz group with two electric guitars. Wouldn't be possible if they both weren't extremely gifted and tasteful musicians. I'm looking forward to hearing how it all turns out. Here are the rest of my dates:

3/3: Rebels Honky Tonk, with Nelo, Houston, TX
3/4: The Parish, with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/6: The Ghost Room, with my group, Austin, TX
3/15: Austin Rodeo, with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/14-3/19: South By Southwest with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/25: Schotzi's (outside), with Nelo, College Station, TX
3/31: Blue Light, with Nelo, Lubbock, TX
4/1: High Ball, with the Monster Big Band, Austin, TX

Modern jazz night @ Ghost Room, 3/6/11, other gigs too

2011-02-21T23:51:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited to announce my first gig in Austin as a leader! (Not counting some stuff with Moosehound a couple years ago.) I'll be playing a set of my original tunes at the Ghost Room on Sunday, March 6th, and I'll have some really awesome players helping me out: Carter Arrington on guitar, Mike St.Clair on bass, and David Sierra on drums. I'll be playing tenor saxophone, probably with some pedals. There will be a couple other groups playing sets that night, as well, and I don't think there will be a cover charge... so you'll get lots of good music for your money. I'd love to see some people out supporting modern jazz in Austin, so please help spread the word, if you're feeling it!

Plenty of other gigs coming up over the next few weeks, too:

2/22: Schotzi's (inside), with Nelo acoustic, College Station, TX
2/23: Stomping Grounds, with Chris Lloyd, Austin, TX
2/24: Florence Vineyard, Florence, TX (6:30-8:30pm)
2/24: Ruta Maya, Austin, TX, with Michael Rey's big band (10pm)
3/4: The Parish, with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/6: The Ghost Room, with my group, Austin, TX
3/15: Austin Rodeo, with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/14-3/19: South By Southwest with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/25: Schotzi's (outside), with Nelo, College Station, TX
3/31: Blue Light, with Nelo, Lubbock, TX
4/1: High Ball, with the Monster Big Band, Austin, TX

As always, if you're out at a show or a gig, come say hi. Looking forward to playing with some good musicians over the next month.

Streaming music

2011-02-15T23:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I've finally done it: I've found a way to easily and effectively stream audio on my ultra-simple, Blogger-built web site. Thank you, Soundcloud.com! Very cool community web site for musicians, producers, and beat makers. From now on you'll see all the music I'm sharing on donomation.com in the media player to your right. I hope you like my tracks!

The spring is starting to get pretty busy. I have many gigs coming up over the next few months. If you're in the area for any of these, please come out, listen, hang, and say hi.

2/16: Elephant Room, with the Monster Big Band, Austin, TX
2/22: Schotzi's (inside), with Nelo acoustic, College Station, TX
2/23: Stomping Grounds, with Chris Lloyd, Austin, TX
2/24: Florence Vineyard, Florence, TX
3/4: The Parish, with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/6: The Ghost Room, with my group, Austin, TX
3/15: Austin Rodeo, with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/14-3/19: South By Southwest with Nelo, Austin, TX
3/25: Schotzi's (outside), with Nelo, College Station, TX
3/31: Blue Light, with Nelo, Lubbock, TX
4/1: High Ball, with the Monster Big Band, Austin, TX