December 2009 Newsletter
October and November both ended up being busier than expected and I was unable to find enough time to get a newsletter together either month. I have been hard at work on a new album and a variety of other musical projects and am definitely excited about a musically rich December, check out all the details below.
December 4th - I will be performing as an electric duo with Jaran Carson (WigglePuppy) on the drums at the Root Note in downtown La Crosse, WI. This show should be excellent for a number of reasons. First, the Root Note is my favorite local business in La Crosse and is owned and operated by many of my close acquaintenances. They provide a delicious local and organic food and beverages as well as a great venue for live music.
Second, I will playing the show with a diverse group of local musicians that I am excited to watch perform. One of these is local singer/songwriter Nick Shattuck who has been building a substantial following in the area. He has also been kind enough to let me play drums for him during a number of live performances over the past few months, which has been a blast, and I will be drumming for him again for this show. Nick has also asked me to produce his debut album "Chorus & Verse" which we are currently working on at Ghost in My House Studio. Nick is playing shows all the time with a revolving cast of musicians, for more info on his music and upcoming dates just click here.
The show will also feature a solo performance from my good friend and local hip-hop guru Blake Auler-Murphy a.ka. Hyphon. We collaborated on the song Have it Back earlier this year and are currently working on some new material together. Check out Have it Back and more songs from Hyphon by clicking here. Another great local act, Beauford Firebeard, will be closing the show. This will be my first opportunity to see them live and I am really looking forward to it. For more info on the show click here.
December 10th - I will be back at the Acadia Cafe in Minneapolis performing as a three piece with Andy Blessing on drums and Matt Uttech on bass who. My good friend and independent music industry maven Adam Wiltgen set up this show through the Diverse Emerging Music Organization (D.E.M.O). Adam will also be performing with the Brillant Beasts, another favorite Minneapolis area band of mine who are nearing completion of a new album as I type this. Hyphon will also be doing a set at this show. For more info on this show click here.
December 26th - This is a very special show for me because I will be performing for the first time with my brother Mike on drums. He will be in town from Chicago for the holidays and we have been itching to perform together for awhile now. The show is at the Popcorn Tavern in La Crosse, WI. We will be opening for Nick Shattuck, who I will be playing drums for.
Other musical happenings - My good friend and talented singer/songwriter Michelle Lynn was kind enough to add some amazing vocals to a musical track I wrote, the resulting song, "Death By Fear", will be on her recently completed new album, "Pre Echoes for the Post Modern". I also did a little bit of post production work on the record which should be out in early 2010. Her new album is amazing and definitely worth a listen, in the meantime, do yourself a favor and check out her first two albums by clicking here.
My favorite local band, Porcupine, is hard a work on their second record. I am quite excited to hear the new material because their debut album, "The Trouble With You", is still close to my favorite record of 2009. If you haven't heard any of their material yet do yourself a favor and get some more info on the music and upcoming dates by clicking here.
Adam Ptacek and I are still slowly working on more material for our collaborative project, Objective Subject, which is currently about half done. We have been working this one for awhile and hope to have it completed and released sometime in mid 2010. Look for more info in the near future.
I have been hard at work on material for a new album since the release of Vision Question in the Fall of 2008. I currently have 18 songs written and recorded to some extent for my as yet untitled second album. Hoping to pick the best 10-12 songs, with a little help from some close friends, and have the album out in early 2010. More info in the near future.
In other news I have begun giving guitar and beginning drum lessons. If you yourself are interested or know anyone who is feel free to drop me an email.
I am on all over the web on Facebook, MySpace, Itunes, Amazon, YouTube, Twitter, Band Camp, Zazzle, Blogger etc...
As always www.brahmanshaman.com is the best place to access BRAHMAN SHAMAN info and music on the web all in one place as there are links to all the above mentioned sites there.
Until next time, enjoy the holidays, be well and take a little bit of time everyday to do something creative.
