NAMM Wrap-up: Booth Babe Blues
It’s hard to sing in a trade show booth — that is, without all the trappings. At NAMM, everywhere you walked there was a musician playing in a booth, showing off the wares of his or her corporate sponsor. Some had a better set-up than others: A small wooden circle stage, just 8 inches off...
NAMM: Steve Vai on Not Struggling in the Music Business
“I never struggled a day in this business,” said Steve Vai. “I’ve been so blessed. It was always, how can I do this thing on guitar, and you work until you can do that.” Vai was honored at the 27th annual TEC awards, receiving the 2011 Les Paul award for the creative application of music...
Day One at NAMM
Today was actually our day two, as we started yesterday for the press preview. Some of the press we previewed for were legit, some probably formed a publishing concern in order to get a pass to NAMM. But today it started to become clear just how much of an onslaught of music business insiders and...
See you at NAMM! My first (appropriately geeky) endorsement deal!
So I’ve had a really interesting gig these past few months, where I get to mix my three main skills as a professional musician & bandleader, a technology journalist/pundit and a copywriter. I’m actually working with Exadel, the makers of Tiggzi, to shape the perfect tool to help musicians build their own mobile apps to...
We won Latin Jazz Outer Edges Album of the Year!
Thanks to all the fans who voted for us! I share the award for Latin Jazz Outer Edges Album of the Year with arranger/associate producer Sam Bevan, as well as Colin Douglas, Carlos Caro, Jonathan Alford, Gary Mankin, Steffen Kuehn, Mara Fox and Felix Samuel! Thank you all, and thanks to Chip Boaz of the...
Tonight on KPFA 94.1 FM
I’ll be interviewed by Afrikahn Jahmal Dayvs at 11 pm tonight on KPFA 94.1 FM in Berkeley. You can listen online at http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/75915!
Review: The Montclair Women’s Big Band at Yoshi’s
I went to see the Montclair Women’s Big Band last Sunday at Yoshi’s Oakland. It was a packed house for the 17-piece ensemble. I’ve always loved big bands, but I’m more attuned to them now than ever since I’ve been working this year steadily with Pacific Mambo Orchestra. Unlike PMO, where trombonist Mara Fox (who...
I WANNA WORK FOR YOU CD Release Party @ Yoshi’s Oakland 12/18
Announcing the I WANNA WORK FOR YOU album release concert Sunday, December 18 at Oakland Yoshi’s! Sam Bevan, Mara Fox, Vince Mansel, Braulio Barrera, Carlos Caro, Colin Douglas, Steffen Kuehn and Jonathan Alford join Grammy-nominated vocalist Alexa Weber Morales in performing originals from her latest album, which was fan-funded on Kickstarter. Tickets for the 7...
I Wanna Work For You Goes On Sale Today!
Today, my third full-length album goes on sale in digital format. This is an album about the search for work, for purpose, for justice, for love, for anything real in an artificial world. The 10 original tunes on I Wanna Work for You ruminate on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and naked grabs for...
Alexa Gets Funky with PMO
Oh man. I was feeling good on Monday. Here’s a funky chacha brassy big band salsa BAYAREA soul breakdown version of Asi No Papa with Pacific Mambo Orchestra at Cafe Cocomo in San Francisco! See all you papacitos & mamacitas on SATURDAY night!
The Rush of Real Music
OVERHEARD: “It was the greatest performance! They really put on a show! The whole time the band plays, there’s a painter who’s using tennis balls to create a bigger-than-life portrait of Che Guevara. The singer is a freaking contortionist. There’s a lot of really hot girls in the audience because the bass player is ripped,...
Pacific Mambo Orchestra
One of my favorite bands to work with is Pacific Mambo Orchestra, which is led by Christian Tumalan and Steffen Kuehn, boasts several of the Bay Area’s best salsa singers including Alexis Guillen and Braulio Barrera, and is frequently home to Santana players Karl Perazzo and Jeff Cressman. Pacific Mambo Orchestra has changed the San...
