The Seafarer hits the Festival circuit
I did not expect to get into the land of film festivals when I started reading Burton Raffel’s translation of The Seafarer in a ratty used copy in my Peabody dorm back in whenever that was. 2004? But here we are. Michael Feldman, who directed the film, and I got to work on submitting our...
Ruckus Amongstus was a huge success!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the two dozen or so people (I never got an accurate head count) who performed in the show, filmed it, recorded it, served fantastic cocktails, and yes, carried a disassembled marimba around in travel bags. We had one hell of a day, starting with loading in and lunch,...
Always Carry Drums
I have a rule about this. It has broader implications, but for me it starts from putting on shows. And it’s this: Always Carry Drums. Here’s what I mean. If you’re putting on a show, and you’re not a drummer, at some point you’re going to be standing around, having totally finished “your bit” of...
These YouTube Videos Are Part of my Libretto
There aren’t any words, but they’re part of a script, not a performance. I’ve talked before about the dumbshow at the beginning of Summer’s Twilight. I don’t want to write a vamp with a few sound effects to be played underneath the mime. I want to score the physical beats of the scene, moment for...
Ruckus Amongstus: or, the rise and fall of the city of Muppet Darmstadt
This is going to be a wonderfully mad show. I’ve been looking forward to the day when the team behind No Signal got back together with some new friends in New York and put on shows again, and that time is finally upon us. This Saturday, 8 PM, at the Exapno New Music Community Center,...
Saxophone Players are great.
One of the weird side effects of coming out of Peabody is that you get to know a fair number of classical saxophone players who are also bizarrely accomplished recording engineers. Ian Richter is just such a one. I’ve crossed his path before, but the first time I got to know him properly we were...
Employees Must Wash Haiku
Journeyman is a fantastic restaurant. If you haven’t, go eat there. In the bathrooms at Journeyman you won’t see signs that say “Employees must wash hands”. You’ll see some pretty damned funny haiku nicely framed on the wall which meet the same legal requirement. When I read these haiku I thought one thing: Classical music...
Cucumbers & Gin, live at Exapno tomorrow night!
Tomorrow night, Sean-David Cunningham is going to perform Cucumbers & Gin live! After all our work on the Kickstarter campaign, on the recording, and on the film, it’s easy to forget that you can also just go up to people and perform for them. The concert’s at the Exapno New Music Community Center, where I’m...
Prufrock tomorrow, Gershwin Hotel, 3 PM
Tomorrow, as a cap to their rollickingly successful Kickstarter campaign, No Signal alums Zach Herchen and Elisabeth Halliday are giving a concert at the Gershwin Hotel. Tickets are $10. The program includes my piece for Zach, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, which Zach really owns every time he does it. You can hear...
Emerging Voices Project
Zachary Herchen and Elisabeth Halliday are launching a commissioning and recording project called Emerging Voices. Both No Signal alumni, they’re commissioning a couple new pieces for soprano and saxophone, including from Adam Knauss – another No Signal alum. George Lam of Rhymes With Opera and Kathleen Bader are also writing pieces for Zach and Elisabeth....
New Recording of Crystal Tresses!
Greg Jukes made this new recording on my actual birthday last month – June 6. (By the way, that’s also D-day and the birthday of Tetris.) The piece, Crystal Tresses in the Sky is a short vibraphone solo he commissioned a couple years back. It’s something he can take on the road and perform in...
Greg Jukes and a new recording of Crystal Tresses
Today is my birthday, and Greg got me an awesome present. Today he’s playing the vibraphone solo I wrote for him, Crystal Tresses in the Sky in Evansville. He commissioned the work a couple years ago, and played a couple times when we were both back at Peabody. He’s gotten a bunch better at the...
