Tour Blog

Well I'm back from my first mini-tour...

and I totally FAILED at Blogging ~~

I don't even have many photos or videos from the trip, but I have some great memories.

Here's the basic rundown:

Phoenix was gorgeous --- I played at the Pride Festival with a great drummer and bass player that were recommended through a friend. They were really groovin and the set was awesome - then I wandered around the park, met up with friend Ryan Pinkston, and generally lived it up at Pride.

I drove my rental across the desert to San Diego, where I stayed for a few days with good friend Tori Roze. I performed on a bill with her band, Tori Roze & The Hot Mess, at the Ruby Room in San Diego - I wasn't totally comfortable because of some issues with the keyboard I was using, but it turned out ok and I met some cool people.

The next night I played at the open mic at LeStat's, great venue in San Diego. However, the next day, after taking a Bikram class, I started feeling really ill. I stayed in that night and rested all day Wednesday before my gig at Portugalia in Ocean Beach - I rented a keyboard for my Portugalia gig, and I felt comfortable and it went well - had some friends from San Diego come out to see me, and saw Tori's brother and sister again and made some new friends. However, after the set, I started to feel ill again and went home. The next day, I could barely swallow, and I just had a feeling I had strep throat.

I went to the doctor, and sure enough, I had strep - they gave me antibiotics and a steroid to help the swelling go down - and by that evening, I started feeling good again.

Friday, I drove up to Los Angeles, where I stayed in Hollywood with my friend Tyler Parks. I had a good day of taking dance classes & going for sushi. I rented a keyboard for my LA gig, and found someone to touch up my design - also made it to Room 5 Lounge for a few performances, including my incredibly talented friend Jen Hirsh, and Annie & The Beekeepers, who I saw for the first time - even though she actually lives in Brooklyn.

My gig Monday night at M Bar in Hollywood went great - they actually had a grand piano in good shape which I used for half of the show. I had Wesley Cole on bass and Enrique Lara on drums (both from Berklee), and invited Jen Hirsh up to sing with me on "Seed." Audience was great, including some friends I hadn't seen in YEARS - was great seeing them along with some new faces. Was a great way to wrap up the tour.

Now I'm back in NYC - and I have to say, part of my heart definitely belongs to NY. I can't wait to tour more and go back to LA, but NYC will always be a home to me.

Loooooong day

Wow, what a long day...

After work, I did a coaching with the lovely Kalynn Dodge.

Then lunch with Jennifer Hirsh and Emily Greene at Yuca Bar on Avenue A.

Half price tapas and great conversation with these lovely ladies, who are amazing singers and artists themselves.

Had a great meeting with Rich Overton, someone I would love to work with,

hopefully we can get started sooner than later. He does PR campaigns for artists, specializing in the LGBT community.

Then rehearsal with Story Pirates,

followed by another rehearsal,

with The Bloodsugars (for a gig at Bellhouse on Thursday)

Wow, looooong day but full of great things.

Now for sleep....

Jennifer Hirsh & jazz

I had a great weekend in Pennsylvania with extended family, welcoming the addition of my cousin Emily's little girl Lili....they had a baby dedication for her.

This weekend I also saw a good friend Faith Ruark (we went to school in Harrisonburg and she now lives in Lancaster, PA), and I saw the movie The Devil.

My parents came back with me to the city tonight. They are meeting tomorrow with my manager Janet to go over a few things.

Tonight we went and saw Jennifer Hirsh at Living Room. She is so wonderful, and the new songs and full band sounded amazing!

Afterwards we went to Caffe Vivaldi to see Evgeny Lebedev, who has played keyboard on a few of my shows. He was playing with his trio and they sounded incredible.

I love live music!

Jennifer Hirsh, etc....

Wonderful day today...

*Got another SICK haircut / design from Carlos up in Washington Heights

*Did a video taping in Jersey with "The Bloodsugars" at Soundwaves Studio for a new website being developed called Fuzztopia. They loved us there!

*went swimming for the first time in awhile at Bally's. So refreshing!

*saw my good friend Jennifer Hirsh tear it UP @ Googie's Lounge (above the Living Room). Definitely my favorite set that I've seen her play. Her voice is so wonderful, probably my favorite of anyone I've met. Her tone, her control & pitch, the choices she makes when she performs. She was raw & vulnerable tonight, and her band was sounding sick!  Click here to check out her website!

I Can't Go On, I'll Go On

I got a bikram class in today. Ahh, I love Bikram, especially in the winter. When it's cold outside, it's so awesome to be in a really hot room sweating my face off.

I also had rehearsal today with Jason Rabinowitz. I'm currently playing keyboard/synth for his band, "The Bloodsugars."

We went on tour a couple weeks ago to Minneapolis, Madison, and Chicago, and in March, we will be going to South by Southwest. I'm excited, it'll be my first time going there! It's one of the biggest music festivals in the country.

And now, I'm watching "American Idol." I'm a little obsessed with the show right now, especially since it's during Hollywood week. I love watching all the auditions, and seeing the talent. You see the hunger & the dream in these kids.

Two of my friends, Jennifer Hirsh and Jess Wolfe of the group "Lucius", made it to Hollywood week. I am so proud of them. Jennifer sang "Ding dong the witch is dead," in her initial audition, and Jess sang "People get Ready." They sounded amazing. Jen performs original material with her awesome band in NY, and Jess is in "Lucius," a band fronted by herself and Holly Laessig, another friend and awesome singer. Check out their material!

Ok, back to Idol....