Helllllooooooo

Whoa, haven't been on here IN A MINUTE!!!


Life's been a little crazy but good -

Traveled out to Los Angeles again - did a private party in Beverly Hills for a friend of Beth Shaw, CEO of Yoga Fit, who has taken a liking to my music.

I also went to Palm Springs to her home there and did a showcase for her and invitees of my new management, KMP Artists.

I spent two days in San Diego with my friend Tori Roze, and did the open mic at Lestat's, as well as a featured spot at Train of Thought San Diego.

Back in LA, I did a show with Wesley Cole on bass and Julian Hogan on drums at M Bar in Hollywood.

Meanwhile, I took a bunch of dance class, and had some great writing sessions with songwriter friends Adam Tressler, Brooke Parrott, and Jill Krachmer.

Planning on moving to LA later this year or early next.

On the way back to the east coast, I stopped in Austin to visit a friend. First time there - what a lovely city - but sooo hot.... then I flew to Boston and spent 4th of July with my brother Jeremy, Bridget, and nephews Gus & Cal.

Now I'm back in NYC, getting some things poppin here - getting ready for my cousin Chris' wedding. I am providing the music along with bandmates Cara Scherker, Iakov Kremenskiy, Josh Giunta, and Brian Holtz.

AND I got approved for artist housing - $470/month for a studio apartment in midtown. So alot's going on, but all good stuff.

Stay tuned!

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.

California I'm coming!! (home?)

I cannot WAIT to come to the West Coast!!!

This is kinda my first ever tour -

Kicking it off with a Bitter End show in NYC on April 5

First stop out-of-town is Phoenix for the Phoenix Pride Festival - performing there on April 16 -

Then I go to San Diego to see my friend Tori Roze - and perform two shows - April 17 at Ruby Room and April 20 at Portugalia.

Then off to LA to see some friends, network, take some meetings, dance classes, do some writing sessions (hopefully), see some shows, etc etc. and perform April 25 at M Bar in Hollywood.

I am BEYOND BEYOND BEYOND excited to get out there - Here are the flyers for all those events

BIRTHDAY

Today was my birthday and it was so awesome!!!

I loved getting so many facebook birthday messages...IT made me feel so loved!

And my love Cara Scherker invited me over and cooked me turkey meatballs, pasta and salad, and even bought an ice cream cake!!! IT was the sweetest thing ever!!! (and soooo delicious) She made me feel so special!!!

Then I met up with another friend and then went SWIMMING at the Recreation Center in Chelsea. That branch is serious about the swimming!!

Had my last gig with Tori tonight. She played the midnight set at Rockwood, and she was awesome!! I'm gonna miss my buddy!!! xoxoxoxo Tori!!!

Cuba

Had a nice night with Tori, her guitar player Johnny, and Mike, who's playing drums for her in NYC.

We went and had a nice dinner at a restaurant called Cuba, on Thompson between Bleecker & 3rd. There were a bunch of chess stores there, and Mike loves chess and sat down and played a game with someone who was really good.

I bought a t-shirt and me and Tori went to a hat store, and she helped me pick out a hat :-) I love it!

Then a little Pinkberry, and we walked by all alot of music clubs, and I was pointing them out to her. We went by Bitter End, and I saw one of the guys who works there who is friendly with me. He invited us in to listen to one of the bands that just started jamming. They were great! Alot of great touring and session musicians.

Good birthday so far :-)

Shrine

Had my first gig tonight with Tori, playing keys with her band. She had bass, drums, guitar, and a couple horns. Sounded pretty good! We played at Shrine.

Unbeknownst to me, the band before me consisted of three guys who have played with me on a few gigs. Iakov Kremenskiy on guitar, Jeff Villanueva on drums, and Evgeny Lebedev on keys.

Good guys!

They sounded awesome

Tomorrow me and Tori play at Parkside Lounge. Wooord!

Tori Roze!

Met today with Flash, aka Bobby Brickstone, who's an awesome dancer/choreographer, and also doing music. We worked on a track which might have a lot of potential. Excited about a possible working relationship with him. He's a good writer and awesome guy. Very motivated.

AND.....TORI's here finally! Reunited at last. We're gonna have a great week. Playing a show with her band tomorrow at Shrine :-)

Set list

So excited...I love music!!

     Creating arrangements for the show on Thursday.

Had a WONDERFUL rehearsal today with Cara Scherker and Nick Boddington. They are awesome vocalists and the three of us sound wonderful together, and haven't all sung together since a gig back in February.

It's great to be reunited!

Full band rehearsal is tomorrow.

AND then TORI Roze, my long lost lover is coming in!!! Woo-hoo. I gotta clean (maybe) and practice her material. I'm playing keys with her on her sets.

Can't wait for show on Thursday! YEAH!

ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzip

Sooooo freakin tired.....Warming up some food, then time for bed.

Looks like I have one of my first lessons tomorrow. Student is coming over and we will go over some voice, piano, and ear training. Seems like some people are interested in the "combination" lesson. I'm ready to jump in and teach!

Still rehearsing for Faraway Bayou. The reading for that is on the 13th.

Excited for my bud Tori Roze to get here :-) She'll be here in two weeks.

Worked today a bit with Heightz. He has some new material he wants to collaborate on. I like that dude.

Tonight was a special birthday show for my bud Eli Bolin at Bar Nine in Midtown.

It was a fun time :-)