North Of Sunset West of Vine

Last night was the third and final performance of North of Sunset West of Vine, which is a musical theater performance written by the incredibly talented vocalist Raya Yarbrough and music directed by Bear McCreary.  I really had an amazing time working with the band, cast, and crew, plus it gave me a great reason to use my upright again!  It's been many years since I've been involved in a musical like this, I played in a lot of "pits" in college but not so many since then. 
I've been fortunate to work with Bear on several projects recently, including the Queen tribute we did in late 2011, and it's always such a pleasure both professionally and creatively.  Not only is he an amazing composer (there's a reason he's worked on so many HUGE shows like Battlestar Galactica and The Walking Dead), but he also realizes the benefit of doing film/TV composing the old-school way, by actually writing parts for musicians rather than using sampled sounds and doing it all himself.  More often than not these days, the "bass" you're hearing on your favorite TV show is actually a sampled sound played by a keyboard or simply programmed into a computer, and the average listener can't tell the difference (a perfect example is the credits music for The Wire, which has an acoustic bass sample.)  Bear understands that while the sample-heavy approach might be economical and quick, nothing beats the sound of actual musicians playing their instruments, so he hires as much as a full orchestra on a regular basis.  It's looking like I'll be working with him a lot more starting soon, so boy am I glad he works the way he does!
In other news, my electronica alter ego Captain Apathy has released a new song, called "Billy Pilgrim."  You can hear it and download it for the price of "whatever you feel like" HERE

Gryphon Labs 3/13 at the Roxy

Come on out on Wednesday March 13th and watch me pull a double header!  First, at 8:30 I'll be leading Gryphon Labs, which will actually be our first gig of 2013!  Then, I'll be playing with The Great Wall, a killer band that I've been playing with for about a year now.  Chris Waldrep, the guitar player/singer/songwriter behind The Great Wall, did the art for the above poster as well as my other project Captain Apathy, and the live show he's put together incorporates some really amazing visuals.  Captain Apathy actually just released a remix of a Great Wall song, you can check that out HERE. 
I just got back from a quick trip to Manila, Philippines where I played a show with jazz artist Mindi Abair.  We actually spent more time on planes than we did in Manila, but it was still a fun trip and a eye-opening view of the other side of the world.
I'm really looking forward to the release of 2 albums I recorded late last year.  First is the debut full-length from technical metal band Save Our Souls.  Not only did the record perfectly capture this incredibly hard music, but I got to use my new Sandberg Custom Supreme bass and the tone we got is huge and crushing.
The other recording was with Young Beautiful in a Hurry, the funky pop/rock group led by singer/songwriter Brendan McCreary.  The songs Brendan wrote for this session are instant classics in my mind, just catchy enough to leave you wanting more.  We debuted some of these songs during a recent residency at Witzend, and they went over really well.  Combining elements of Prince, Queen, Muse, and Bowie, I really think this recording is going to blow people away.
So, I'm wearing a lot of different hats these days, but it certainly keeps things interesting!

The Birth of Captain Apathy

With all the music writing I've been doing for the past few years I've had to decide which songs would work for Gryphon Labs and which ones wouldn't. I always wanted Gryphon Labs to be as much about the contributions of the other musicians as the songs themselves, so I've left room in the arrangements for guitar solos, drum fills, and other "interpretations." But occasionally I would come up with a tune that was a little more straightforward, a little more electronic, and a little more, dare I say it, "mainstream." So, rather than dooming those songs to never being heard, I've created the alter ego of Captain Apathy with the intention of putting them out, performing, recording, and producing all the parts myself. It's pretty amazing what you can do musically with just a laptop these days, and Captain Apathy will be an exploration of that. I've put the first song, "Dizzy, Mopey, and Me" up on Bandcamp so you can check it out and download it for whatever price you see fit, including $0. There will be more coming, so stay tuned!
Also, check out this video of my bass solo from a Monday Night Jam at the Baked Potato. The band was made up of killer musicians that night, including drummer extraordinaire Chris Coleman. Chris' playing behind my solo is so tasteful and supportive, probably because he's a badass bass player himself and knows what he would want behind his own soloing.